Why I Don’t Talk About My Business Income

Open Facebook or Instagram right now and I can guarantee you’re going to see a post about money.

How much money someone made last year.

How many figures their business is on track to make this year.

Money might be a taboo subject IRL, but in the online business world, it definitely is not!

For some people, those posts can pump you up and get you excited about what’s possible. Because if it’s possible for them, then it’s possible for you, right?

But for other people, those posts can trigger a host of negative feelings -inadequecy, failure, imposter syndrome, and more.

Several years ago I made the decision to not talk about my business income publicly. Today I want to share with you why.

Marketing is a Deceptive Game

At the beginning of my business, there was a business coach I followed who posted several times a week about how much money she was making in her business. She shared often about having a six-figure business while only working a handful of hours a week.

I looked at her in awe, thinking if SHE could make that kind of money in her business, then I could, too!

Then one day she shared with a lot of excitement that her accountant told her that she would probably be able to start paying herself soon.

I had to reread the post several times just to make sure I wasn’t misunderstanding.

She had been making 10k+ a month… but not paying herself a dime.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t consider that worth it. If I am going to take time away from my family, pour my heart and soul into my clients and business, then I want to be getting something in return.

Otherwise my business is just a really expensive hobby.

Over the last 4 years, I’ve seen the same thing time and time again. Coaches bragging about multi-six figure launches… that actually put their business into debt.

Coaches talking about how much money they’ve earned, but it wasn’t actually based on cash brought in.

The truth is talking about how much money you earn makes people want to work with you. Make yourself sound successful, and people will want to hire you to learn your secrets.

Good marketers tell the best story. Honest marketers tell the whole story.

The next time you see a post about someone’s income, remind yourself that wasn’t their profit. Just because someone made $60k in a day doesn’t mean they brought home $60k to their family that day. In fact, that’s rarely the case.

$1 Doesn’t Equal $1

During my junior year of college, I had this amazing opportunity to spend a semester abroad with a program called Semester at Sea. It was pretty much a college student’s dream semester. 100 days living on a cruise ship, visiting 10 countries on 4 continents.

It was the trip of a lifetime for so many reasons. It opened my eyes to how people live, and also how similar we all are at our very core.

But one of the biggest lessons I learned was that a dollar doesn’t equal a dollar everywhere.

In Vietnam, I felt like a queen on a college student’s budget. I had this gorgeous dress custom made for me for $40. It would have cost hundreds of dollars in the U.S.

But when we were in Hawaii, a $40 budget felt like living in poverty.

See, how much money is really worth depends on so many things – where you live, what your lifestyle is like, how many people are in your family, etc.

A six figure business for one person might open up doors to a life that you never thought would be possible.

But for someone else, six figures a year isn’t enough to meet the living expenses for their family.

So when you hear someone talking about how much money they make, remember that you have no idea how much that money is really worth to them.

It’s Really About You

I’ve chosen not to talk about my business income because, at the end of the day, I don’t believe it’s truly helpful to you.

Even if I shared with you how much of my income I actually pay myself, it still doesn’t tell you about the life that money creates for me and my family.

My life shouldn’t be your measuring stick anyway!

At the end of the day, your own progress is the only thing that matters.

How do you define success for yourself?

Are you one step closer today of that picture of success?

If so, celebrate! That’s called progress and that’s a win!

Use your picture of success as your own measuring stick, and just keep growing.