Would you be interested if I told you that I can help you make big profit?

Merriam-Webster definition for profit:

money that is made in a business, through investing, etc., after all the costs and expenses are paid : a financial gain
the advantage or benefit that is gained from doing something

Almost everybody would say they want to make profit, but many only have a vague idea what that really means to them. In my work of business growth and development coaching, understanding our own meaning for profit is the first and most important step to actually getting there.

Questions to ask on your way to profit:

What am I looking to gain?

money (how much do I want to make, by when?)
power (do I want more control and where?)
influence (what am I hoping to change?)
status (where am I climbing to?)
goodwill/karma (what I am hoping to lift as I climb?)

2. What do I want the money for?

reinvest and keep growing my business
personal satisfaction, bigger better lifestyle
save it, make a pond (stop the river)
help others (family, friends)
establish a practice of giving (tithing)

3. What are my feelings and beliefs around making lots of money?

The next step gets even more into our belief system around profit. As it turns out, many people believe that making big profit could come with big cost. Our belief systems around making money are often as old as we are, plus a few more generations thrown in. I grew up in a household of WW1 and 2 survivors–a battleground for money beliefs and havingness in general. Recognizing and redefining our own beliefs around profit and money can make or break our success in business and life in general.

Looking at the cost of profit, what do you believe? If not getting started on the project you have been dreaming about for forever is your biggest problem, approach avoidance may have got you in a headlock. Dead ringers for believing that the cost will be too high for your desired profit:

being successful will consume me
I'll have no time for anything anymore
what if I'll have too much business and I can't keep up
what if all my shortcomings will get exposed
I don't know how to have boundaries around work
others will be jealous and I'll lose friends

This list could go on and on. The number of reasons we can come up with to stop us before we can even get going on that Big Profit are mind boggling.

So, what is your meaning?