[Note: I’m thrilled to introduce Teresa Romain as a regular contributor to the Direct Sales Classroom community. As our resident Prosperity Coach, Teresa will join us monthly to help us break through the barriers that inhibit our growth and success. Welcome Teresa!]

As a direct seller or network marketer, it’s ESSENTIAL that you pay attention to the foundation upon which you are building your business.  And I’m talking the “bottom line” foundation, i.e., are you building your business on scarcity or prosperity?

Far too often, direct sellers are operating from scarcity – with scarcity the result.   Far too often, your inaccurate perceptions of “not enough” can set up an overemphasis on MORE, ALL, BIG, A LOT.  You may think that achieving success, freedom and prosperity – especially financially – will be the result of doing MORE and making MORE money.

In reality, however, becoming financially successful and prosperous is much more a function of how much money you KEEP than how much you make.

Imagine that you’re driving a Porsche down the road and run over an object that punctures one of your tires.   You don’t have enough time to change the tire so try to pump it up instead. When nothing happens, you pump faster. Nothing changes. No matter how hard, fast, or long you pump air, your fast and powerful Porsche isn’t going to get you anywhere quickly.  You have to fix the leak first.

Like the Porsche, your business is a powerful “vehicle” that can can transport you to greater levels of freedom, wealth, and abundance.   However, if you have a “financial flat tire”, if won’t matter how hard, fast or long you work.  Until you fix the “holes”, you’ll be in for a bumpy ride and you won’t get anywhere very fast.

One such “hole” is debt – both business and personal.  It’s not the only one – but it’s one that affects nearly 85% of Americans these days.  (And that number is growing!)   Even if you work harder and faster and make MORE and MORE money, your “financial tire” will continue to leak and be under-inflated as a result of debt of any kind.

Another, similar “hole” is caused by financial unconsciousness – demonstrated by both lack of clarity about your financials and unconscious spending that creates “money leaks”.

Ironically, it is often the pursuit of MORE that causes direct sellers to go into debt or spend money unconsciously to build their businesses.  If you think that “you have to spend money to make money”, you may spend more money and time and energy than is REALLY necessary to grow your business – maybe money you don’t really have and you accumulate debt as a result.  Then you might justify it by telling yourself “It’s okay – because I’ll be making MORE money in the future.”

Unfortunately, instead of speeding up your results, debt and “money leaks” caused my financial unconsciousness will slow you down.

That’s why the path to freedom and abundance (especially financial) is not necessarily a function of MORE.  Rather, it’s often a function of LESS. When you have LESS expenses and LESS debt (or no debt), you will have MORE money, time and freedom.

Consider this example:

Jean is a direct seller who is making $5,000 a month and has monthly mortgage, car and credit card payments totaling $3,000.

Beth is another direct seller. She’s making $3,000 each month and has no debt.

Jean is making more money – but who is experiencing the most freedom and abundance?

Now consider this:

• If you have a $150,000 30-year mortgage and $23,500 in other debt, you could be completely debt-free (mortgage and all) in 8-9 years if you had a monthly profit of $300-$400 in your business and used it in a focused manner to become eliminate your debt.
• As a result, you would save nearly $120,000 in interest.
• Then, with that “hole” plugged, you could then create investments $1.2 million (or more) in an additional 15 years.

With as little as $300 monthly profit from your business, you would become financially free!

That is, of course, as long as you don’t think that $300 is “not enough” and, as a result, keep trying to make MORE and MORE money.  In your pursuit of MORE, you’ll spend MORE time, money and energy but could wind up with LESS of those same things!  Remember, you can’t pump up a tire until you fix the hole.

So – now it’s time for “the rubber to meet the road” (no pun intended).

Are you “leaking” money in your business and/or personal finances?

If so, are you ready to start patching your “financial tire”?

How can you simplify your business and lifestyle?  How can you reduce your expenses – at least temporarily?  And how can your generate more PROFITABLE income?

As you answer these questions, consider the words of artist Magaly Rodriquez:

“Creativity is not being able to use EVERY color in the spectrum.

It’s about having ONLY TWO and making miracles with them.

Art is discovered by restrictions. Use restrictions as an impulse to creativity.”

In much the same way, you can use financial restrictions as an impulse to creativity, freedom and abundance!

If you do and, as a result, patch your “money leaks”, you’ll more quickly and easily be able access new levels of freedom and prosperity in your life!

And that, my friend, is what it’s all about!

Teresa Romain

About The Author:

Teresa Romain is the founder of Access Abundance, an organization committed to transforming scarcity on all levels of Life and Work into truly Abundant Being, Doing and Having in the World.

Teresa is a speaker, trainer and coach – and creates and facilitates all of the programs  she offers. She claims she is NOT an expert who has figured out all the answers but, rather, is the poster child for the old saying “You teach best what you most need to learn and practice yourself.”