This week is special because I’m joined by money mentor, Denise Duffield-Thomas and we’re talking about 2 things that teachers find challenging; maintaining an abundance mindset and applying that to pricing for your business Abundance is something that teachers struggle with in many ways. There never seems to be enough… anything.  Not enough supplies.  Not enough time.  And certainly not enough money. We feel stretched in a million directions and there’s not even enough us to go around. And of course, most teachers enter the profession with that understanding, particularly around money, as we discussed in How Teaching is Keeping You Broke. Denise Duffield-Thomas, author of Chill and Prosper and my money mentor, says, that's what teachers get told. We say to ourselves, “While you're in it for the right reasons, you're in it because you love teaching. You love kids. It's almost like, well, if you love what you do, you shouldn't get paid for it.”  Obviously that’s a b******t excuse… …Derek Jeter loved playing baseball, but no one thought anything of him earning $12 million a year from it. …Lady Gaga loves making music, and no one batted an eye when she earned $100 million dollars from a 2-year Las Vegas residency. So, yeah. B******t. But, as Denise points out,  the amazing opportunity that we have now for teachers is that they can develop side hustles, that they can create abundance for themselves, so they can recapture their love of the profession until the salary catches up. However, our misbeliefs about money often carry over into our side hustles, leading us to under-charge (or not charge at all), and even repel money because we feel bad about earning it. Instead we say we “just want to help people,” as though you can’t help people and make money at the same time. Denise points out that teachers aren’t the only ones who struggle with this money block. A student of hers helps people with postpartum, pelvic floor yoga and believes deeply that everyone should have access to it, so she under-charges or gives away her services for free. Another student is a pet photographer who says, “But I love dogs so much, I’d do this for free!” And that’s great to love what you do that much, but you don’t have to do it for free. Additionally, society frequently reflects these “if you really cared” beliefs back to us.  Have you ever been asked to do something for no pay, “for the kids?” I know I have! Have you ever been offered or given something of no monetary value as a thank you for going above and beyond? Like a jeans pass? Or a mention during morning announcements? That’s all fine, but a jeans pass isn’t going to pay for my kid’s gymnastics class (and I wear yoga pants every day anyway), and a thank you won’t fill my gas tank. Or has anyone ever referred to your work (at school or in business) as selfless?  That’s not really a compliment, you know. According to Denise, there’s often another layer to this money block that makes it particularly hard to clear, and that’s the idea that we have to give up something in order to become a person who makes money. Do any of these resonate with you? I can make money or be a good mother I can make money or be ethical I can make money or be very caring I can make money or I can be down to earth I can be a godly woman or I can make money I can be a good teacher and care about my students, or I can be an entrepreneur Instead, try to embrace the power of and. I can make money and be a good person I can make, make money and take care of the earth I can make money and be a nurturer I can make money and I can be the same person I’ve always been I can be a spiritual person and I can make money I can be a present, engaged teacher and I can be an entrepreneur This often shows up in the Side Hustle Teachers group when it comes to pricing products and services. There are frequent posts about how much to charge fo