The Difference Between Being Low-On-Cash and Being Broke
What are you doing with the money in your pocket? A shift in mindset may be exactly what you need.
Would you believe that I’ve been so completely focused on what’s going on with the election that I completely forgot that it’s coming up on my two-year anniversary? My 6-month homeless journey was one that brought about a lot of pain, a lot of trauma, and a lot of lessons, but with it came humility, growth, and wisdom. With everything that I went through and everything that I walked away with from that experience, I must say that my most useful accomplishment was my shift in financial mindset. The sad reality is that it was only after making this shift in my mindset that I’m able to now see how making that shift was and is the only path that has led to the peace that I have found. Going from a survival mindset to one of abundance and progression has given me a sense of peace that I truly want everyone to have the opportunity to experience. Too many people live with the misconception that if you just make more money, then you’ll have more money. Or that once you get rich, you never have to worry about money again. You certainly don’t need to make a lot of money to build wealth, you just need to be smart with the money that have, and build from there. Not having cash to spend on frivolous purchases or taking lavish vacations is more common than you’d think, but make no mistake, having your funds tied up in investments I wanted to do something special for my anniversary, so while reminiscing on where I came from, I decided to also mingle with someone on the path of success of where I want to go. This week, I sat down — virtually- with millennial branding mogul, multi-millionaire and coach, Nathalie Nicole Smith.
Dove: I think so many people get caught up in the idea of success and wealth being synonymous. Though that may be the case for some, it certainly will vary depending on who you ask. What do you think of when you hear success?
Nathalie: Success is being able to achieve your highest level of goals and being able to create a massive impact. What good is success if you can’t help people? If you can’t impact lives? That’s the bigger picture.
Dove: I absolutely agree. My drive to help people is one of my largest motivators to keep going. I’m not driven by the idea of making money, money is just a tool that I use on my journey. Realizing that money is just a tool was a major contributor that shifted my financial mindset. When was it that you began to look at money differently?
Nathalie: Running my salon and not being able to really function 100% due to lack of stable liquid income. At the time I was a recent college graduate and wanted to be an entrepreneur. I did not want to join the corporate world, so I hustled to make ends meet. I sold hair, did bottle service, etc. to make it work. I joined direct sales to be able to have liquid income to invest back into my businesses. I was actually not a fan of the direct sales industry, but when I met Coach Stormy Wellington and was introduced to Total Life Changes, I just knew this was what I needed. This was the vehicle I was looking for to change my future.
Dove: It’s always nice to look back and see when it finally clicked for you. There are times when I question myself as to why I was so reckless with money in the past, but then I forgive myself because I also practice self-care, lol. I look back at times in my life when I was bringing in quite a bit of money, but I was spending it just as quickly as I was making it. It’s like I believed money’s purpose in life was to be spent. What would you say is the purpose of accumulating wealth?
Nathalie: Money and wealth means freedom to me. Being able to do what you love without having to think about money. It’s not about the actual items you can obtain, it’s about the stress that is taken off of you when you don’t have to worry how something will get paid.
Dove: I completely agree. It’s that sense of unshakeable peace when you’re battles aren’t all made up of survival. When you go from a place of being homeless to a place of not having to worry about money, you notice a huge difference in the state of your mind. One of the most important lessons that people should hold onto is that when you take care of your money, your money takes care of you. This means managing and paying attention to where your money goes and making smart financial decisions with positive long-term efforts. When you sit down to work out your monthly budget, what does that look like for you?
Nathalie: I live by the “What to do with a dollar” Mantra
1. Self 15–20%
2. Tithes and offering 10%
3. Taxes 25%
4. Household expenses 20–25%
5. Reinvest 10–15%
6. Savings 10%
Dove: Yes! I love it! You made sure to cover all of the bases. Now tracking where your money is going is only have of the financial journey. It’s equally important counterpart consist of where your money is coming from. It is being popularly spread around social media that you need more than one stream of income to survive, but I think the definition is being lost in translation. How would you describe having multiple streams of income? If you had to explain it to someone with absolutely no financial knowledge, What you say to them?
Nathalie: You always want to have money coming in from several different sources. You never want to be in a predicament that you are stuck. You want to focus on one stream until you win big. After you win big, diversify so you can make that money work for you. For example, once I was really able to win in TLC, I was able to put more focus back into Plush Rx and Women Who Boss. Now all wheels are generating income and adding to the bottom line.
Dove: Absolutely. All too often I see someone trying to start up 8 businesses at once when none of them are generating any revenue, yet they brag about having 8 sources of income. You definitely have to focus on one stream in the beginning, then those profits to fund other streams. It takes money to run a business and if you’re steady making deposits and no withdrawals, you’ll end up going bankrupt. Now when it comes to working hard and making smart financial decisions, what are some of the benefits of having a team of like-minded individuals around you?
Nathalie: When you surround yourself with the right people, you are constantly pushed to do more. To go harder. To be an example. To set the bar. I always make sure I am doing income-producing activity to ensure productivity. Every move, every decision must be intentional and influential. Even things that may seem like “fun” or “relaxing” still have the underlined purpose of motivating my team. If they see me in a position they want to emulate, guess what? They are going to work hard to get it themselves, generating their own income-producing activity and keeping the ball moving.
Though we didn’t get execute our Facebook Live, don’t be too disappointed, as you may again get the opportunity to see us on screen together, but that’s a surprise for another day. In the meantime, you can connect with Nathalie on her website or Instagram. Also in honor of my anniversary, I will be releasing a series on making smart financial decisions and ways to shift your financial mindset. Be sure to check back every single day starting on November 18th through Thanksgiving day for a new value-packed article that will start you on your way from a “survival” mindset, to one of freedom, abundance, and wealth.
