Money dysmorphia, Chic Money director Jessica Giles explains, is indicative of a fearful and limited relationship with money based upon past experiences and memories, such as from childhood.

“It is not as horrifying as it sounds, in fact from what I see in my practice, there are very few people who aren’t carrying a degree of money trauma! I often say that the world is filled with [eight-year-olds] running around with credit cards and car loans as early memories and experiences with money continue to shape behaviours, beliefs and habits well into adulthood until a decision is made to transform this relationship,” she said.

“This can be particularly challenging for legal business owners as there is not only their own limitations and fears with money, but also those of their team and employees placing stress and pressure upon themselves, clients and the business.”

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Added layers of pressure upon SME owners such as boutique law firm leaders, Ms Waterson notes, often start in high school.

“From the high marks required to study law, to the huge time and financial commitment that follows. Their standing in the community and community expectations that lawyers, quite simply, make a lot of money, are big shoes for anyone to fill,” she mused.

“Add in an underlying dose of money dysmorphia and the pressure can be intense.”

Why money dysmorphia is problematic for boutique lawyers

The “traditional ‘time for money’ business model” of SME owners in law, Ms Waterson told Lawyers Weekly, doesn’t lend itself well to the money dysmorphic.

“The inability to leverage their time under this traditional model coupled with an intense need to continue making more money and a disregard for the number of hours it might take to make that money, simply isn’t sustainable,” she explained.

“During times of crisis, such as what we are now experiencing with coronavirus, the availability of quality, productive hours is challenged. Owners and team [are] working from home often in [less-than-ideal] circumstances. Less productive time available means less money. Less money means more stress and more pressure, with this stress and pressure magnified in the money dysmorphic.”

Ms Giles supported this, noting that unprecedented times such as COVID-19 place significant and undue stress upon legal business owners.

“Supporting and serving clients whilst also managing your team, combined with your own fears is a recipe for sleepless nights! Internal fears and beliefs will always present externally. Such as an underlying fear or memory of someone working hard to build a business and then losing it all during an economic downturn, will never be far from your unconscious mind and result in you feeling stressed and anxious for reasons you can’t quite put a finger on!” she outlined.

“This results in challenges and stresses facing you and the business as that is what your belief system creates. Your inner world creates your outer world, this is why it is so important to uncover and release these limiting fears and beliefs and align yourself to beliefs that create the life and business you desire. Beliefs such as ‘my business is always growing’ ‘my success is inevitable’ ‘I am relaxed, focused and present’ will impact upon the experiences that you create and experience.”

Practical steps to overcome such hurdles

It stands to reason, Ms Waterson remarked, “that if a lack of leverage is a part of the problem, gaining leverage is part of the solution”.

“I refer to the leveraged business as an ‘elegant business’. This is in contrast to the ‘busy business’. It allows you to make the money you desire and in the case of the money dysmorphic, the money you need. But it removes the distinct reliance on you and your time,” she outlined.

“As for what an ‘elegant business’ looks like in practice, you’ll consider a value pricing methodology, build recurring revenue, monitor return on time for you and that of your team. You’ll build a champion team, practice efficiency first such as reducing pick-up put-down, begin marketing for [perfect-fit] clients and investigate hands-free digital service offerings, to name a few. Ultimately, reducing the reliance on the owner, and releasing the pressure and stress on the SME owner in law.”

Ms Giles added: “I always say awareness is the first step to change. Consider what current fears you are experiencing around money. I suggest a very simple, yet powerful exercise where you list the first five words that come to mind around money. Don’t censor, question or judge, just write them down. Strike a line through any feelings that you no longer wish to experience such as worried, stressed, anxious, not enough, debt, etc.”

“From there you then write the top five ways you desire to feel around money. For example: ease, abundance, relief, freedom, adventure, security. There are unlimited desired feelings, these are a few favourites used a lot [among] my clients. Transforming your relationship with money is not a [tick-the-box-done] exercise. Your relationship with money is like any important relationship in your life, it desires and requires consistent energy, attention and love!”

Necessity of adapting to the ‘new normal’

When one changes the way they look at things, the things one looks at also change, Ms Giles submitted.

“When you decide and commit that this is a time of incredible opportunity and that your business will expand into this ‘new normal’ stronger, more powerful and sustainable than ever, that is what you will begin to attract and create,” she posited.

“In life, you receive precisely what you expect (not always want) and therefore this is an opportunity to upgrade your expectations of what this time represents for you personally and professionally. Who says that unprecedented times have to be bad for business? Not me!”

There is a “window of opportunity”, Ms Waterson insisted, for legal leaders to use the age of coronavirus to overcome their money dysmorphia and offer better client service delivery.

“Right now, your clients are expecting change. Take the opportunity to review your business model and be certain your marketing, sales and delivery efforts are giving you a real return on that effort. Right now, your clients are thinking differently,” she said.

“Take the opportunity to introduce hands-free digital offerings or recurring revenue streams and earn money that [don’t] require your presence.”

For SME owners in law, Ms Waterson continued, “there will be red lights and there will be green lights”.

No-one, she reflected, wants to operate a business that works well only when all lights are green.

“Red lights come in different forms; COVID-19 is just one of them. For those that can overcome money dysmorphia and accept that the hours they work don’t need to equal the money they earn will by default, earn more money,” she deduced.

“They’ll build a sustainable, elegant business and reduce the risk of burnout in the process. At the end of the day, you can always make more money but you can never reclaim the lost family time.”

“It is absolutely up to you what you choose to be available for and create during these times, besides no one ever hurt their eyes from looking on the bright side,” Ms Giles concluded.

“This is a time ripe for fresh approaches, innovation and leadership and I invite you to use one of my personal favourite mantras on repeat ‘I was born for a time like this’.”