“How much is your time really worth?”

Do you know? For every minute you spend working on your business, how many more minutes do you spend working IN your business?

This is something I’ve struggled with myself. When we don’t value ourselves in a healthy way, we often discount the value of our time, and end up spending it doing things that don’t bring us joy or fulfillment.

One of the things I challenge everyone in Direct Sales 101 to consider is that they are EASILY worth $500 per hour.

I can’t tell you how many people over the years have balked at this idea. Countless consultants have told me I need to have my head examined. When I asked them what they believed their time was worth, do you know what the typical response is?

$30 per hour.

That makes me incredibly sad.  When I worked in a graphic design house, they paid their top designer just under $30 an hour — as an employee.

You are worth far more than that!

You are a business owner. Why would you settle for $30 per hour when you have additional expenses that an employee doesn’t have? Probably because you don’t know any better. Probably because you think that’s the limit, based on your current experiences.

And I don’t blame you. Not one bit.

But I’m sad for you. Because you have greater potential than that. The bad news is you won’t achieve it until you believe it’s even possible.
Think about it: If you don’t think you’re worth $500 an hour, you’re not very likely to EVER earn that kind of income.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with being an employee and making $30 an hour. My husband is a lifelong employee who loves his job.

But are you content with being an employee, or do you long for the freedom and flexibility that having your own business is supposed to provide?

That doesn’t mean you won’t work hard. You already work hard! So why not reap the benefits?

Begin by believing that you are worth more than a meager $50 an hour. That’s right, I said MEAGER. I know that some of you would do cartwheels if you brought in that kind of money right now, but hear me out.

Most successful leaders in a direct selling company are not working a 40 hour week. At 20 hours per week, a leader earning $100,000 per year is worth about $100 per hour.

How much income would you like to earn?

If you’d like to make $200,000 per year, your hourly value is $200 per hour, if your goal is $500,000, then your value is $500 per hour.  Until you value yourself and your time at this level, you’ll be hard-pressed to earn this kind of income. It’s a simple “jedi mind trick” that you can use to keep you on track with your financial goals.

But it takes practice and reinforcement. We spend several sessions of Direct Sales 101 talking about this topic, and working through belief issues that may be preventing you from earning what your worth. You can’t just say to yourself “I’m worth $500 an hour” and have it stick. You have to demonstrate to yourself that you’re worth it. Here are a few ways to to that:

• Learn to say “no”
• Set office hours and enforce them.
• Work when you’re working and play when you’re playing.

In case you haven’t noticed, this is all about setting boundaries. Sometimes, when we can’t see our own value, we need to create and enforce boundaries as a means of installing new beliefs. Once you’ve got practice enforcing those boundaries (and dealing with the push back from setting those boundaries), you’ll be able to more confidently see your value in the world – not just as a direct seller, but as a human being.

Where do you value yourself right now? I’d love it if you’d share your thoughts in the comments!