The Influence of Your "Silent Co-Founder's" on your Business
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Welcome to Mind Over Money, a weekly newsletter where I share actionable ideas to help women solopreneurs transform your relationship with money to build financial confidence and independence.
Today's topic: How your money scripts affect your entrepreneur journey
When you started your business, you probably thought you were flying solo. You built the website, you shaped the offers, and you (likely) make all the decisions. Or at least, that's how it feels.
But there is someone else in the room.
They sit in every strategy session. They weigh in on every pricing decision. They often veto necessary investments before you can even open your wallet.
This silent partner is your Money Script.
As a money psychologist, I see this dynamic play out constantly with entrepreneurs. You may believe you are making logical, data-driven business decisions. But neuroscience tells us that up to 90% of our decisions are emotional, guided by mental "scripts" written before we turned seven.
Which means your business is often a reflection of your internal financial landscape.
If that landscape is shaped by scarcity, fear, or avoidance, your strategy will unconsciously bend to match it.
Here’s how that “Silent Co-Founder” might already be showing up in your P&L—without you realizing it. Once you know what to look for, the patterns become impossible to unsee.
The 4 Money Archetypes of Entrepreneurship
Psychologist Dr. Brad Klontz identified four primary "Money Scripts" or archetypes. While they’re often discussed in the context of personal finance, they also tend to surface in very specific—and often destructive—ways when you become a solopreneur.
Which one of the following resonates?
1. The Under-Earner (Money Avoidance)
The Script: "Money is bad," "Rich people are greedy," or "I don't care about the money; I just want to help."
How it shows up: You are terrified to charge market rates because, deep down, you equate asking for money with "being a bad person." You may also avoid looking at your bank account, putting off tax prep until the last possible moment.
The cost: Burnout, and a business that feels more like an expensive volunteer role.
2. The Hustler (Money Worship)
The Script: "Money will solve all my problems," "I’ll be happy when I hit six figures," or "More is always better."
How it shows up: You are on a treadmill that never stops. You believe the next milestone—$10k months, $100k years—will finally bring peace, but it never does because the goalpost just moves. You’re also susceptible to “magic bullet” spending: expensive courses or coaches that promise safety through speed.
The cost: A profitable business driven by anxiety instead of purpose.
3. The Image-Maker (Money Status)
The Script: “My net worth equals my self-worth.”
How it shows up: You over-invest in "optics" before you have the cash flow—custom websites, luxury branding, premium office space, etc. Revenue becomes the headline, and profit the afterthought. Financial strain gets hidden because it threatens your identity as a “successful entrepreneur.”
The cost: A business that looks beautiful online but leaks cash behind the scenes.
4. The Hoarder (Money Vigilance)
The Script: "Save for a rainy day," "Don't talk about money," "Safety first."
How it shows up: You are the queen of "DIY." Even with healthy reserves, you resist hiring help or upgrading systems because watching the balance dip feels unsafe. So you spend ten hours on a task you could outsource for $50—effectively valuing your own time at $5 an hour.
The cost: Stagnation. Your business hits a ceiling you unknowingly built.
The Pivot: Editing the Story
If you saw yourself in one (or several) of these, pause for a moment.
You are not bad at business. What you’re experiencing is a biological survival response.
Your brain’s limbic system—the emotional center of your brain—stored early money experiences as instructions for safety.
- If your child-brain learned "money causes fights" (Avoidance), your adult-brain perceives "sending a high-ticket proposal" as a literal threat to your relationships.
- If your child-brain learned "we might lose everything" (Vigilance), your adult-brain perceives "hiring a bookkeeper" as a threat to your safety.
The goal isn't to "fix" you because you aren't broken. The work involved is simply to bring that Silent Co-Founder into awareness—so you can start negotiating with it instead of letting it run the show.
Here is how: this week, set aside 20 minutes for a CEO check-in. Grab a journal and reflect on these three prompts:
- The first memory: What is your earliest memory of money—losing some, receiving some, hearing an argument, getting a gift? What emotion is attached to it?
- The family motto: If your family had an unspoken slogan about money, what would it be? (“We have to work hard for everything.” “Money causes problems.” “We’re not those kinds of people.”)
- The business bridge: How is that message making a decision in your business right now?
The Bottom Line
Your business growth is capped by your personal growth. When you heal your money story, you don't just feel better—your bottom line grows.
In the next four weeks, we'll explore each Money Script in depth and the healthier approach to your solopreneur journey if you are affected by this script. Meanwhile, let me know which money script resonates the most with you. I will write about them in the order of most resonance. Scroll down to vote below.
Until then, keep an eye on that Silent Co-Founder.
| Which money script feels most like you? |
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p.s. If you are a long-time reader of Mind over Money, first, I want to say a big THANK YOU for your support. Second, you may have noticed a slight shift in the topic of today's newsletter compared to what you read last year. Yes, it's intentional.
I launched this newsletter in May 2025 with the intention to share insights about how psychology impacts our money decisions. Through the feedback I've received, I've decided to niche down even further to help women solopreneurs in particular make better financial decisions through psychology. I hope you enjoy the read, and if you do, please share it with your friends!