Why I’m Choosing to No Longer Share My Income (In an Industry Where It’s Basically Expected)
Sharing income numbers publicly as a marketing strategy is something I have deeply contemplated and internally struggled with since I stepped online.
If you’ve been around for a while, you may have noticed that I have done this every so often, in both vague and ‘not what you were expecting’ ways.
I.e….
An article on X# of secrets to earning X-figures that refuses to give you a formulaic how or teach you how to become just like me.
A promotion we had made over X$ in X years selling things that typically make no sense to most people is actually about helping with self-intimacy and mastery.
A bio that includes the company is an “X-figure company” but highlights the depths of our commitments as the critical factor in our earnings.
In other words, when I did share numbers, I did my best to do it in a way that felt in integrity (to me).
In sharing numbers, I was often showered in responses of how grateful people were that I was willing to share this, how inspiring it is to them, and, of course—a few cruel projections.
This, to me, was the primary and only ‘positive’ outcome I’ve found in my contemplations…
Others who resonate with the way I show up for Life and practice business see that this can equal prosperity. The “if she can do it, then I can do it too” subconscious expansion.
Early on, I felt very passionate about people, seeing that it could be done the way I was doing it, and that did not have to mean poverty.
Rich in spirit does not have to be separate from rich in material.
I still believe, teach, and embody this.
But can I do all of these things without sharing profit numbers…?
What matters most is our/my credibility stems from how the company is run, who we be, and the underlying principles guiding everything we do.
Moreover, my desire to be an antidote to the (at this point) vastly normalized marketing tactic of sharing income earnings—and the ever-present, often unspoken, accompanying promise that says, “If you pay me, then you will get this too.”
To simplify the complex, there are often 2 things at play when this is occurring:
Person 1: the person marketing like this has discovered a successful formula and believes it can work universally, teaching and selling this method with the promise of financial gain––because that’s what’s happening for them.
Person 2: this person believes this is possible for you, not through their ‘how’ but through ‘calibrating’ to their energy (entraining). They aren’t going to tell you what to do directly. They’re just going to tell you how they did it, trusting that proximity to their success will enable you to find your path to wealth. What’s often missing from this approach is understanding how to facilitate someone finding their unique path through embodied transformation. That gap often encourages not entraining, but instead, matching energy (becoming exactly like that person) as the only secure way to ensure you start making lots of money.
OR a combination of the two. Animal-style fries.
Now I know some of you are nodding furiously. Perhaps even feeling your anger rise.
This is a great place to add that I am only able and willing to speak on this because I do not think the people above are bad or wrong. Most of the time, these styles are entirely congruent for those using them. They don’t know what they don’t know, and they see a LOT of people getting results from their methods.
We will not create change by attempting to punish or destroy these styles. We will create change by becoming antidotes. I.e., clearly and compassionately embodying what we stand for. Which surprisingly is much more nuanced and complex than Ghandi’s timeless quote, especially in today’s age. (Learn more about that in THIS masterclass.)
What are some of the gaps in these styles mentioned above?
For the sake of this being just one article, let’s look at the outcome-based gaps.
Again, keeping it simple—here are the common outcomes of those who pay and learn from these people.
It works for them. They don’t question it. It fits nicely with whoever they are and wherever they are in life. They often begin teaching the same thing. And can live happily ever after this way, an essential piece in the pyramid.
It ‘works’ outcome-wise for them, but internally, there is strife. Perhaps they can sense they are overriding their authentic energies. Maybe they lose touch with the passionate spark they once had for their work. Perhaps they wake one day, look at their business and Instagram, and proclaim, what IS all of this??
Then, proceed into some medley of either throwing it all away, becoming a born-again Christian or Catholic (shoutout, Jesus), or becoming extremely angry, attempting to punish or destroy the person they’ve been enmeshed with, and spending lots of time poo-pooing their former coach and their teachings. Or something like that.
Sound familiar? 🤔Or, It doesn’t work externally, not getting the results they were hoping for, and it doesn’t work internally either. On some level, this person gets that this is just not the way. They may be left frustrated, feeling like there’s nothing out there they resonate with. They might stumble on someone else with empty promises and start the cycle anew. Or, they might be sent into a deep internal journey, discerning their values and ways and cultivating their authentic energies. From there, they may become even more empowered to tune into how their work wants to be expressed. They may find someone skillful who knows how to support this process. Alternatively, they may become defeated and impatient and give up, no longer pursuing their work.
To me, the second and third outcomes are just some of the many gaps involved in the incessant income-lifestyle marketing we’ve all grown accustomed to.
But back to me. Why am I choosing to no longer share income?
I’ve recently started working very intimately with my fiancé as he has taken a much more significant role in the company. I joke that he is truly the better version of me. I consider myself to have integrity, standards, care, etc. He takes it to a whole different level.
We were sitting in the family room, and I told him I could sense that in 2024, we would cross X income range. He replied, “Do not come to me to design or help you curate anything announcing that.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because that is the one part of the company I disagree with. In my opinion, the negative impacts of sharing your income far outweigh the positive ones. The karma is not something I’m interested in. And for someone like you, it’s even more dramatic.”
Boom 💥
The exact place I’d arrived at in my contemplations hundreds of times but always talked myself out of in some way or another.
“It’s inspiring for people!”
”It’s part of showing the way!”
And even… “it gives you credibility.”
Sometimes you need someone who you deeply respect, who is willing to be so honest with you that they would choose honesty over the relationship, to tell you the damn truth.
That moment was a revelation.
This was the impact I needed as I have been ‘towing the line’ with where I stand with this since the beginning of my business.
I dipped my toes into trying it in a way that felt clean to me. Noticing the immense amount of subtle, negative ripples it sent out and how their impact far outweighed the initial burst of excitement and inspiration-fueled feedback.
It was something my soul had been yearning for. To feel safe, seen, and held enough to let me off the sharing income hook and to let it be entirely about the work and less about me + my specific accomplishments that, in my style, could never be promised.
Here’s the gold: I intentionally anchored and tended this company in a way where I know, in the depth of my being, that none of our success (within and without) is attached to sharing income in any way.
🪐 My money teachings don’t require you to know how much money I make for you to have subtle to significant transformation. In 6 years of teaching and facilitating deep money work, I’ve learned it’s better if the space is free of anything related to ‘my income.’
🪐 My business teachings don’t require you to know how much money we made last month for you to recognize the kind of businesswoman and practitioner-mentor I am to other entrepreneurs.
🪐 This body of work is not contingent on my specific tangible results or what works for me on a mundane level, nor should it ever be.
I don’t sell formulaic shows. I don’t tell you to simply come and match my energy.
In fact, the work I offer is in service to actively transforming those 2 patterns and create the space to come deeper and evermore profoundly in touch with your living energies, where all the hows you seek and the authenticity you yearn for exist.
It’s not flashy, it’s not hype-y, it’s not riddled with unspoken psychic promises.
But damn, it is real.
At this point in the industry, it is basically unheard of to teach and facilitate money and business and not, at the very least, mention how much money you make.
I’m ready to become that ‘unheard of’ person. And to deepen my original commitment––to become the antidote as skillfully and gracefully as possible. ]
To show, there’s a different way.
Follow-Up Nuggets
Some things I have consistently asked myself and looked at to arrive here…
Is there ANYONE I wholly respect (from creatives to artists, to personal development and spiritual teachers, to business and money moguls) who are constantly sharing their income to market their work? Is it evident to me when they’re successful financially without them ever saying anything?
What percentage of people are signing up for my offers in some way influenced by how much money I make (and thinking there’s a psychic promise that this will happen for them, too)? How much does that distort my and their experience? Am I okay with that?
Would my money and business teachings become cleaner, more powerful, and more effective if they weren't attached to how much money I'm making and instead allowed my success within and without to be felt? Is a new frontier available for letting my embodiment speak louder than numbers? Can my personal success step back, allowing the body of work to step forward?
How does the entire world having access to how much money I’ve made or am making (by my own accord) impact my relationships—from business to the local community, to friends and family? Is that an impact I’m okay with? What does that impact do to my system, and do I have the capacity to navigate it consistently in a way I’m proud of?
What would my grandmothers say? Would I be able to, in complete confidence with my decision, share with them that this is a marketing strategy I’m using? (My grandmothers were/are my 2 greatest role models of integrity.)
This goes without saying, but this is what's right for me right now. Throw grains of salt on all of it, create space from me, and keep doing you baby ✊
