Rather than sugar-coating it, today’s Myth Crusher might make a few people angry. For that, I’m not really sorry. Because my duties as an Internet Marketing Sweetie also require me to mix in a little sweet and sour, especially when the end result is a good kick in the butt that some people need.

If I had a dime for every time someone said “But I’m a [insert what you are], I can’t afford it,” in regards to building their business, I’d be a very, very rich woman. Too bad it doesn’t work that way, hey?

Most of the time, I hear the phrase “work at home mom” inserted into that self-limiting belief. They say they can’t afford the proper tools for a business or to outsource the help they need because of their apparent condition of being a “work at home mom”. With my previous work at Internet Based Moms, it was something I heard almost every single day.

I’m sorry, but that is just an EXCUSE.

If you want to limit yourself and keep yourself in the never-grow-my-business-hole, than I guess I can’t do anything about. But if you REALLY want to get out of that hole, stop making excuses.

This issue was brought up on a forum yesterday (yep, the one that always gets me riled up!) when a well-meaning gentleman wrote:

“Yes, I know, if you can’t write or do web design you can outsource. But if you’re dealing with these moms with 4 kids like I have to deal with everyday, who have no money for rent, how are they going to outsource copywriting and graphic design? They can just about put food on the table.

This is no knock on you or anybody else, but I think as successful marketers, we forget that there are people out there who can’t afford to run a business properly, period. They either have to do it themselves or not at all. Their kids have to be fed before the copywriter’s bill gets paid. “

I hate seeing such self-limiting beliefs, so I wrote:

“As a mom and one who has worked with other budding mom business people, the whole ‘I can’t afford it’ thing is an excuse. I’m sorry, but it is.

If your family needs food, you get a job…even if it is you contracting your services from home. If you want to run a business, you take it seriously, manage and invest your money.

I’ve seen countless smart and savvy SINGLE moms manage this and manage it well. Sure, it took time and just getting a bit of help here and there…but smart outsourcing is meant to MAKE you money, not cost you money.

So, sorry…I don’t buy it. If you think you’re in a position where you’ll just be working your butt off to feed your family, you’ll always be in that position.

Mom, Dad, teenager, single dude, woman or alien…if you want to build your business and outsource, it can be done.”

Meet One of Those Single Moms:

Kelly McCausey has been a single mom for a lot longer than she has been running a home business…and she is an inspiration for any budding online entrepreneur who hopes to make it as well.

Kelly started out doing everything herself and being very tight with the purse-strings while she also worked outside of the home so rent was paid and food was on the table. As Kelly’s business grew, she started to invest more and more…and it showed in how her business grew. She eventually got rid of that “real-world” job and is a full-time online business owner, doing remarkably well for herself and her teenage son.

Way to go Kelly for thinking beyond your “situation” that could have held you back.

And it’s not just single moms who need the cash…

Now, I don’t want to put single moms (no matter how AWESOME they are) on a pedestal because many moms with partners struggle as well. In today’s overpriced world, two incomes are often needed and that’s the position many of us are in. When I started my online business, I didn’t do it just for the fun of it. I needed to earn an income so that our bills were paid too…there was no silver spoon in my children’s mouths when I decided to try my hand at running a business.

In fact, not many of us online business owners had a bunch of cash we could just throw at our projects and started off like those people who says “But I’m [insert what you are], I can’t afford it!” The difference was we didn’t limit ourselves with such an idea. Instead we sat down and made a plan to make our money work for us…and let it pay off big time.

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