How to Consistently Pay Yourself

Kathleen Shannon 0:02
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Kathleen Shannon 0:52
Okay, so I've been working a little bit one on one with some of our braid clients. And just the other day I was chatting with one of them on a call and the client had listened to our episode about how we pay ourselves every single month. And she was super impressed by that, that we're consistently writing ourselves a paycheck no matter what. But then she was like, I don't understand how, like, how are you paying yourselves? If you're, you know, not getting the clients or if things the revenue just isn't coming through? Like how do you literally make that happen? So I kind of want to talk about it here today.

Emily Thompson 1:32
Let's do it.

Kathleen Shannon 1:34
Alright, so first and foremost, chalkboard method. I think that the chalkboard method is one of the best ways to create space for the clients that you need to get paid. Right?

Emily Thompson 1:46
It's a good way to start.

Kathleen Shannon 1:48
So you can find more about the chalkboard method at being boss clubs slash chalkboard, hopefully, you guys have heard us talk about this before. But um, it's essentially a really great visual, manifesting goal tracking tool that you can use in your office space, or wherever you work from, to literally create space for what you want and what you need. I think that it not only is magical, but it kind of

Emily Thompson 2:16
has also practical,

Kathleen Shannon 2:17
its practical. Yeah. And both, you're gonna get some hustle and bustle.

Caitlin Brehm 2:21
Well, it also helps you see each month like you're seeing those spaces, and each space represents a certain amount of money. So add up those spaces each month. And that's how you how much you should be making in terms of just like figuring out like, Okay, this is the pool of money that I am taking some from for myself.

Emily Thompson 2:39
Agreed.

Kathleen Shannon 2:40
Totally. So then I think the next tactic that I really like whenever it comes to paying myself is the hot shit 200 list.

Emily Thompson 2:49
Yes, I think the hot shit 200. Exercise what is that what is the hot shit 200 is an exercise. It's a tactic. And the idea, it's a good one for getting clients for being super proactive about going after the kinds of people you want to work with. Because it filling up your client calendar, or your you know, selling all your products, whatever it may be like that is the first step to consistently paying yourself Kathleen and I were not paying ourselves until we had money with which to pay ourselves. So those two are key to getting to a place where you can start paying yourself. So the first thing you have to do is market yourself, make some goals, hustle it out, get all the things you need in place so that you have money coming in. And then that's when you start paying yourself.

Kathleen Shannon 3:38
Okay, just to clarify what the hot shit 200 list is, is, it's a simple tool that I like to use as a spreadsheet in my computer or a list in a notebook where I'm listing out 200 people or projects or brands that I would love to work with. So even a few years ago, I thought I would love to work with more web developers. I started writing down web developers into my hot shit 200 list. And then in columns next to those people brands or websites or projects that you want to be doing. I'll start to list out contact information and maybe a most recent interaction. And what I do with my list is I go through and I start subscribing to all of the newsletters. And then I hit reply to those newsletters, and I start engaging with the people that I want to work with. And lo and behold, it usually works. If you already have a brand reputation, it reminds them that you're there. And they might be like, Oh yeah, I've been meaning to, you know, hire that person for this thing. So I think that that's how it works. And again, with the chalkboard method as well, it can feel a little bit like you're, you know, doing some sorcery and I think that there is a little bit of that involves, but it's also just really a practical way to engage with your community within your industry and to remind you what you need to be doing. To make it happen,

Emily Thompson 5:01
for sure. And then once you start getting in all the clients, then you start getting really practical with paying yourself every single month. And getting started, the easiest way to do this is to pay yourself a little less than your business can handle. So let's say you're making $5,000 a month, you say I'm gonna pay myself $1,000 every month, or $2,000, or whatever it may be. And you do that every single month, you have, pick a number that will help you live the life you need to live. And you're paying yourself that number every single month and you're paying yourself less than you could, so that you're ready in the event that you have a slow month come along. So let's say you're usually making 5000, but you have a month come along or you only make one, you're you've saved up enough so that you can still pay yourself as much money as you need to. Even whenever your business dips down low. And that way, you're still being compensated for all the hustle that you're doing to get your business back up to where it needs to be. That's how we've done paying ourselves since really early in our businesses and as our businesses grow, we can that we can bring up that number that we're paying ourself every single month,

Kathleen Shannon 6:09
we also use the profit first model. So if you guys haven't had a chance to listen to that full length episode, I would be sure to check it out. But even over at number 126. There we go. Number 126. But even you know, before we were using that model, I think that we were kind of like loosely using the same percentages that Mike lays out in the profit first model. And I think that it's kind of a great model to follow whenever it comes to knowing how much you should be investing back in your business, how much profit you should be taking, how much you should be putting toward operating expenses, and then how much you should be paying yourself. And then also, whenever it comes to paying yourself, make sure you check with your accountant. And the way that you're filing your taxes can be huge whenever it comes to paying yourself.

Caitlin Brehm 7:00
So how long did it take for both of you, then, for each of your businesses before you were able to start paying yourself from the point that you started?

Kathleen Shannon 7:08
Like 30 days?

Emily Thompson 7:10
Yeah,

Kathleen Shannon 7:11
being bosses, probably I mean, we opened a checking account for being bosses six months, but we still paid ourselves before then.

Emily Thompson 7:17
Yeah, we were just doing it a little differently. I mean, pretty much as soon as we were making money. So you know, I'm starting another company, Almanac supply company, and I've had this conversation with my business partner there. And the goal is like if you go into business planning to pay yourself as immediately as possible, you will pay yourself as immediately as possible. And you will always be able to pay yourself if you make that a priority. And so we have a goal of you know, as soon as we hit a benchmark, which isn't that much 1000 or two, then we'll start taking a percentage of that using more or less a profit first model profit versus hard to implement whenever you're that early in business, and is different whenever it's a product based business business a little bit. But it's a priority. And we have a plan in place so that whenever we meet a threshold, we will start cutting ourselves at the beginning, it will be a super small check, but we'll be able to grow it as the business grows. So the way you do it, is you do it.

Kathleen Shannon 8:16
And I think that this is so important, because I think that some people avoid paying themselves either because they don't have to, like maybe they have a partner that can help support them. And so they're like, you know what, I'm just gonna leave that money in my business account. But I think that there is something to be said for even if you're paying yourself $100 a month to really tapping into that flow and feeling what it feels like to pay yourself a check. So make it do write yourself that check, make that transfer, move money around. That's how it goes.

Emily Thompson 8:47
And because it once you start doing it, you won't want to stop

Kathleen Shannon 8:51
and you'll only want it to grow so

Emily Thompson 8:53
right so you only work harder and you'll only get more clients you just have to get started.

Kathleen Shannon 9:00
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Emily Thompson 9:14
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