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Guest Post: How to ASK and Get Serious Money for Your Business

Guest Post from Laura Fredricks, Panelist, Speak Up for Financing Panel at the Speak Up Women Conference

I was doing a radio interview with a fabulous, bright young entrepreneur named Maddy who was starting her own business creating 3-D patterns to make clothes. I was brought on the show specifically to hear her story and give my advice on how she could raise the money to launch her new business. She just did a TED Talk on the topic, so her energy and her promise of a successful business were sky high.

LauraFredricks TheAsk

Maddy told me she had some initial people in mind to ask for the money. One in particular was her mentor, the person who helped her create the business plan for this new venture. Maddy was very organized about her approach to asking people for money. She said her mentor would be “fabulous” to ask because “she was wealthy and really liked” Maddy. Maddy had in mind asking her for a serious six-figure investment in her business. When I asked Maddy why she hadn’t already asked her mentor for money, she couldn’t answer me. Her reluctance to ask puzzled her; she didn’t think her mentor would be offended or that it would alienate their relationship.

So I asked Maddy one simple question: “What does money mean to you?” She looked surprised and answered, “I hadn’t really thought about it. Why did you ask?”

I replied, “When you ask for money, this comes up. All the emotions, feelings, attitudes, and beliefs you have about money come flooding in; I am certain that is why you haven’t asked her for money.”

She thought about it and said, “I think you’re right; I better give this some thought.”

I told her to try to think of money as the best 3-D pattern she ever created, that it was green and flowed and would be the model outfit that every designer envied and copied. Then she should ask her mentor for money.

I circled back with Maddy a few weeks later, and I received the most wonderful email from her. She asked her mentor for money, and her mentor was giving her much more than she asked. Way to go, Maddy!

The first step in anyone’s journey when you ask for money is to answer “What does money mean to you?” It’s the step that everyone skips over. The focus is always on how much to ask for and who to ask. But if you do not have a good relationship with money any ask you make will not go well. If you need to work out your money worries, and have the best relationship with money, I have a 30-Day FREE Money Wellness Program you can check out.

The next step is where you have to change your mindset. Memorize this, live by this and watch your finance asks skyrocket:

When you ASK for Money, You are Not Taking Something Away. You are giving Someone an Opportunity.

Think of Maddy. Her first thoughts were that she would be taking something away from her mentor not what she would be adding to her mentor’s business and her mentor’s life.

In my 25+ years of training and coaching CEO’s; President’s: Four-Star Generals; Multi-millionaire entrepreneurs, Rabbis, Priests, and anyone who wants to start or enhance a business or a charity, the #1 thing that holds them back~ they project that asking for money means taking something away. Just think about this. The ask has not even been made and we are already second-guessing that the person will say no because it will take away their money! Practice my money opportunity mantra and believe in the opportunities you can offer many people from this moment forward. For more great practical and success tips on how to ask for money, you can read my bestselling book: “The ASK: How to ASK for Your Nonprofit Cause, Creative Project, or Business Venture”.

Here is your real motivation to have the best relationship with money. People who worry about money are:

  • 3x more likely to have a digestive disorder;
  • 10x more likely to suffer from headaches or migraines; and
  • 6x more likely to experience depression.

Report by American Psychology Association “Stress in America.”

EVERY decision you make in life involves money. Do you buy coffee or make coffee? Do you take mass transit or do you drive? Do you take a vacation away or take the time to just stay home? Do you have an extravagant wedding or something smaller with close family and friends? The list goes on and on, but once you realize that EVERY decision you make in life involves money, which can build up so much stress and affect your health, you should put every effort into having the best relationship with money. In my most recent book just out February 2016: “Money Wellness: Is Money Making Your $ick?”, I take a deep dive into how our thoughts about money affect our happiness; sleep; diet; exercise; relaxation; spirituality; creativity; and yes, even our fun. I then share numerous ways you can work through and beyond some major Money Blockers that are preventing you from asking for money. So if you are like many people and you want to have the best relationship with money and NOT have it affect your health, this book is your salvation!

Now that you have the tools to have the best relationship with money and you know that asking for money is an opportunity, is there a right way to ask? My resounding answer is YES. Over the years I have brought:

Organization – Structure – Focus

to the process of making the ASK so that you can see there is a process, the right way to ask anyone for money. I created THE FIVE STEP PROCESS FOR ANY ASK. In life, people gravitate towards structure and process so that their activity is not random, or unpredictable. The Five Step Process For Any Ask places structure to what otherwise may be a random and unpredictable ask. I’ve worked with many people and organizations world-wide with this process with amazing results. Want to know what it is so that YOU can have resounding results when you ask for money for your business or yourself?

Well, I will share it with you at the Speak Up Women Conference on March 5, 2016 at the United Nations! See you there!!

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