One of my passions is talking about business with other successful female entrepreneurs and executives. I love their creativity, passion and the hard work required to succeed in building a business from the ground-up, or running a corporation with vast responsibilities to employees, shareholders and customers. Being a female entrepreneur myself, I find I really connect with these women on many professional and personal levels.
One of the most common challenges these women often confide in me is this:
Despite being brilliant at business, they feel insecure about their ability to manage their personal finances, a fact that leaves them paralyzed with shame. The higher-profile their success, the deeper their embarrassment.
Some experts attribute this thinking to the very common “imposture syndrome,” defined as:
Describing high-achieving individuals who are marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a "fraud.”
That makes sense. After all, business people are good with numbers, and good with money. That is why you make so much of it! But managing your own personal finances and investments requires a completely different emotional muscle, one that is often paralyzed by any number of experiences that can cause you to make easily avoidable mistakes — including the biggest mistake: Doing nothing at all.
Common money mistakes successful women often make include:
- Keeping far too much money in cash
- Stick their head in the sand when it comes to future financial planning (and do nothing about it)
- Keep all their assets tied up in their business, and none in the market or other investments. Their one egg is in one basket — the riskiest and worst way to manage your wealth.
- Buy far too little insurance - making both their family and their business vulnerable
The good news is that these challenges are easily overcome. By acknowledging that personal finances are a blind spot, and seeking out help of a trusted advisor, many successful women are stunned by how a few small steps, and short amount of time can alieve them of their shame and fear around money — not to mention the thrill of watching their assets grow and reach their goals!
The result is not only a more secure financial future, but a sense of control and power over your life today.