Running a business today requires more than hard work. It requires a clear understanding of how money and time actually influence growth. Many owners still use habits they learned as employees, so every expense feels like a risk.
That reaction makes sense when income remains fixed, but it hinders a business that needs money to grow and create space for better work.
Costs rise, pressure builds, and owners attempt to control everything by cutting rather than building. This is where things often stall, and it's why a new way of thinking becomes so important.
Barrett Young is a Tax Partner at GWCPA and teaches owners how to shift from employee thinking to true ownership thinking. He explains money in a practical way and shows how each dollar should protect profit or help bring in new revenue.
He focuses on value-based pricing, revenue quality, and the mindset that helps a business grow with intention. Barrett utilizes his CPA background and his own experience as an owner to guide individuals who want to free up their time, avoid underpricing, and understand how customers perceive value.
His work provides owners with a straightforward path to making better decisions and developing stronger financial habits.
Today, we examine the fundamental concepts underlying these shifts. You'll see why spending should be viewed as an investment, how time influences the value of your work, why pricing should align with customer outcomes, and how the right mindset helps a business grow with steadier progress.
Spending Decisions Change in the Owner's Money Mindset
Owners treat money as something that should work for the business. They look at every dollar and ask what it creates, not what it costs. That shift matters because it enables a business to grow its revenue. An employee mindset keeps everything fixed, so spending feels like a risk.
When income stays the same each month, you learn to protect every dollar. You try to make it last, and you focus on saving more than anything else. That habit works at home, but it holds a business back. A business needs money to move, not hide.
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From Protecting Money to Making It Work
This shift starts when you stop guarding every dollar and start asking what that dollar does for the business.
Key ideas include:
A business expense must create something. It should protect profit or help bring in new revenue.
Frugality alone can't drive growth. Being careful helps, but intention matters more.
A tax deduction is not a win by itself. It's only a discount. A weak choice stays weak even with a lower tax bill.
This mindset encourages you to judge spending based on results. You focus on return, not fear. You examine how money drives the business forward.
Spending Should Lead to Real Action
If you spend a large amount, it should create clear movement. That movement can be evident through saved time, stronger systems, or increased revenue. Money that sits still drains energy. Money that drives action builds momentum.
Why Time Shapes the Value of Revenue
More revenue sounds good, but it doesn't always translate to better results. Some work demands more of your time and adds tasks you can't hand off. That work slows growth. It also steals focus. People pay for their own time and freedom, not your hours.
This idea shapes how you price your work and how you judge new jobs. When money protects your time and supports growth, it works. When it steals your time, it holds you back.
Buying Back Time in the Owner Money Mindset
Owners often spend money on help because it frees their time for work that truly advances the business. The numbers can feel uncomfortable at first. You bring in ten thousand dollars and spend four thousand on someone else's labour.
It feels like you gave up money you could keep. However, this choice creates space for tasks only you can do, and that space fuels growth.
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The real benefit of buying time
Time weighs a business. When you free it, you gain room to think, plan, and produce work that holds higher value. You might use that time to bring in new clients or improve your offer. You might use it to reduce stress so you can show up sharp. All of that supports growth.
This works only when the free time is used well. If you outsource a task and then do nothing with the time saved, the expenditure loses its value. However, if you use that time to carry out work that generates more revenue or builds capacity, the decision becomes a smart investment.
When outsourcing supports growth
Outsourcing helps most when it:
Shifts tasks that others can handle
Protects your attention for skilled work
Reduces mental load
Creates space for higher value projects
If the task doesn't need your skill, it often belongs to someone else.
How this thinking shapes pricing
This mindset also affects how you price your services. If you earn ten thousand dollars and spend four thousand on help, you're not losing that money. You're buying back time for work that only you can produce. That's a powerful shift.
Many new owners undervalue their services because they compare them to their old hourly wage. They charge forty or fifty dollars an hour and feel proud because it's more than before.
The issue is that they still think like employees. Pricing should reflect the value you create for the customer and the time you invest in higher-level work.
Pricing Services Around Customer Value in the Owner Money Mindset
Many owners price like an hourly job. They copy old wages or market rates. However, this ignores what the customer gains. Value sits in the customer's mind, not yours. So you must price from their view.
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Why hourly thinking limits growth
When you price from your side, you tie the price to your time cost. You miss what the customer sees as worth paying for. That creates a gap between:
What does it cost you to deliver the service
What the customer is willing to pay
That gap can be wide. It grows when you market well and stand out from the crowd. If you price just above cost, you leave money on the table. Moreover, you train clients to expect low prices.
The role of pricing experiments
Pricing is a test, not a one-time pick. You raise prices in increments and observe the results. Some offers get rejected, and that stings. That said, rejection gives data. It shows where value limits sit for current clients. If you never test, you hover near the break-even point.
Testing also reveals how your message is received. A clear offer can significantly increase value. A weak offer drags it down. So, you keep tuning the price, message, and fit.
What customers actually buy
Customers don't buy your time. They buy results and relief. They pay to avoid the work and keep focus. Here's what they're really paying for:
Freedom from a task they don't want to learn
Time they can use for higher value work
Relief from confusion or frustration
Confidence that the job gets done well
This view breaks the hourly trap. When you price based on value, you capture the essence of what you create. It feels risky at first, but it works.
Lessons from Pricing Errors in the Owner Money Mindset
Pricing based on value requires practice, and early mistakes indicate that your thinking is still evolving. That's normal. The real goal is to understand how your price supports what the customer gains, not how many hours you spend on it.
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Why early pricing often falls short
Hourly thinking keeps you focused on effort. You guess the hours, pick a rate, and hope the number fits the work. This may seem simple, but it overlooks the actual outcome for the customer.
They don't just complete a task. They get order, clarity, and the time they don't want to spend on the problem.
When you price too close to your cost, you miss the value that sits between your effort and their freedom. Moreover, you make it harder for your business to grow because your rate never reflects the true weight of the service.
What stronger pricing decisions rely on
A value-based approach asks clearer questions. What does your price allow customers to do with their free time? What does your own spending allow you to do with your free time? These questions shift your view of expenses and pricing.
This shift moves you:
From cost to investment
From effort to outcome
From "what does this cost" to "what does this make possible."
Action is the test. If a spend doesn't free you to act, it becomes a cost. It takes from your profit instead of creating room for higher work.
How to judge each spend with clarity
If a task doesn't require your skill, and outsourcing it frees you up for work with higher value, then the expenditure supports growth. If it doesn't open space for better work, then doing it yourself might be wiser.
That said, this mindset takes time to develop. You learn it through trial, error, and reflection. As it strengthens, your pricing shifts away from low-end thinking and moves toward value. That shift helps you charge with confidence because your price reflects what the customer truly gains.
Conclusion
A strong finish to this topic hinges on one simple truth. Your business grows when you treat money and time as tools that help you act, not as things you guard out of fear. This shift may feel strange at first, but it gives you far more control over how your business operates.
You stop asking what something costs and start asking what it makes possible. That small change builds better choices.
Moreover, you learn to see your work the way your customers see it. They don't care about your hours. They care about the time and the relief your service gives them.
When you price with that view in mind, your numbers start to match the real value you provide. And when you outsource the right tasks, you protect your own time for work that carries higher impact.
These ideas take practice, and you won't get them perfect on the first try. You test the price. You watch the response. You learn where your value sits. Some tests feel rough, and some feel encouraging, but each one shows you how to grow with intention.
Ultimately, the Owner Money Mindset enables you to view money as a movement, not a loss. It guides you to make clearer choices and build a business that works with you, not against you. When your time and money support action, you create steady progress and a stronger path forward.
FAQs
How does the Owner Money Mindset help me deal with slow months?
It helps you view slow months as a planning opportunity, not a threat. You focus on actions that protect profit and open room for future revenue. This keeps you steady when income dips.
Does the Owner Money Mindset change how I set financial goals?
Yes. You set goals based on outcomes and capacity, not just money saved. You look at what each goal helps you create and how it supports long-term growth.
How can the Owner Money Mindset help me make better hiring choices?
It pushes you to hire for tasks that drain your time. You match each role to the work that slows you down and free yourself for higher-value decisions.
Does the Owner Money Mindset apply to small teams?
It does. Even with one or two people, you judge each expense by what it makes possible. This keeps small teams focused on taking strong actions, not getting bogged down in busy work.
How do I stop feeling guilty about spending money on my business?
You shift the question from cost to purpose. If the spend frees time, reduces stress, or supports growth, it earns its place.
