Overcoming Money Mindset Blocks with Stacey Marie Keba
In part 1 I introduced you to actor Stacey Marie Keba as she shared her journey of Self-Discovery, Confidence & Branding. We talked about the coaching we did together but in part 2 you can listen in as I coach her through her limiting beliefs around money. Stacey opens up about her struggles with feeling undeserving of payment and the fear of charging for her graphic design, acting and producing services.
https://www.staceymariekeba.com/
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Interested in coaching with me? Visit https://dianefoy.com/coaching
Transcript:
[00:00:00.660] – Diane Foy
Artists and creatives, you have the power to heal, transform, and elevate lives. Are you ready to step into your power? Welcome to Superfan Attraction. Hello. In part one, I introduced you to actor Stacey Marie Keba. As she shared her journey of self-discovery, confidence, and branding as an actor. We talked about the coaching we did together, but part two, you can listen in as I coach her through her limiting beliefs around money. She opens up about her struggles with feeling undeserving of payment and the fear of charging for her graphic design, acting and producing services. So let’s just get right into the coaching. So is there anything that you want to have some support on today?
[00:00:59.080] – Stacey Marie Keba
So I talk a lot about how helpful you are with confidence and the value that one brings. And I’ve spoken a lot about that. And that’s definitely, I think, where I’m at because I just I want a little boost of, I think, just remembering who I am and what I bring to the table, because day to day, it’s so easy to forget. And now that I haven’t revisited that part of the training for a while, and I’m just curious to know if I’ve discovered anything else about me or what I can learn today, especially when it comes to making money. I think that would be a good thing, my money makers, because I was talking to my fiancé Vincent, and we’re at a point where it’s like, we’re trying to build a very profitable career. We want to get married, we want to buy a house. We want to have kids at some point, not right now, but at some point. And we’re like, okay, the time for not making money has passed. That was 10 years of us messing around and trying to be artistic and whatever. Now it’s like, okay, this is a business.
[00:02:27.750] – Stacey Marie Keba
We can’t be afraid to invoice people. We need to make money. And so what do we bring to the table? And that is where my confidence is like, do I deserve to get paid? And so I think that’s definitely what I’m struggling with the most right now.
[00:02:46.250] – Diane Foy
Okay. And what things are you thinking of that you would offer as a service or what are you working on right now that?
[00:02:57.740] – Stacey Marie Keba
Sure. So we just finished a couple of movies. One was a boxing movie. And so I was an associate producer for that and just like supervised managed it. And then I also helped out on set, which was really fun. And then I’ve been making a lot of pitch decks recently, so that could be a thing. And then historically, my survival job was and still is making websites for actors or creatives and also logos for that. So I’ve realized that I have a bit of a limit when it comes to making websites for actors, because how much I can charge them, they might not…
If you’re a new actor, you might not have the amount that I would want to charge. And so I was like, okay, I need to find… I need to tweak it a bit so I can still use those skills, but in a different form. And that’s when I was like, let me switch into doing some producing. And that’s the new thing that I haven’t started charging anyone for it yet, but I’m like, oh, there’s definitely a skill here that I can definitely get paid for. So that’s where I’m at.
[00:04:36.050] – Diane Foy
Yeah. A lot of the projects that you’re working on that you’re hoping to get picked up, that you don’t necessarily have as much control over. But if you’re thinking like money making while you’re working on that, what were you saying that you don’t feel comfortable all the time asking for payment? Or is it the website stuff?
[00:05:02.270] – Stacey Marie Keba
Well, it’s any time unless I make money through acting. And it is agreed upon. There’s a contract. You fill out the W-2 or whatever that form is. It’s like, okay, I know I’m getting paid. They know it, everything. When it comes to me doing creative work, it could be website, making pitch decks, whatever. I just had this conversation with Vincent. I was like, my client literally knows my right. They know it. There is no secret.
And they said yes, I want to hire you. But then they’re still, I think it’s like, what I need help with is like, I don’t feel like I deserve it sometimes. And it’s not that I’m charging astronomical rates and I don’t do any work. I think I’m literally just afraid to hit the Send button on the invoice because I’m like, oh, well, what if they’re having a hard financial time or they’re my friends, stuff like that. And then I almost feel guilty for having done a good job. And then it’s like, hi, pay me, because for so long and I still do this, it’s a really bad habit is like, I’m just learning. Like, you don’t need to pay me or you pay me a cheap rate.
[00:06:50.970] – Stacey Marie Keba
And I think it comes back to my past with growing up with there’s big money issues like money wasn’t around. And I’m like, if I’m being a successful business owner in any regard, I can’t be afraid of that. And that just comes down to self-worth.
[00:07:10.900] – Diane Foy
Yeah. There’s a few things going on here. Yes. It does come down to your childhood and how you viewed money and how you saw your parents and people around you with money. And how was that? I assume you saw them struggling. And did that just make you start thinking that in order to earn money, it’s a struggle?
[00:07:43.420] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah. Well, I think it was like, my mom was very sick growing up. And so my dad worked night shift at factory over time to be able to pay the bills and everything. And he still couldn’t pay the bills and ended up with bankruptcy over medical bills. And so then me growing up, it was like we were grew up in a trailer park, and it was like, if you had money, it was suddenly like mismanagement of funds of like, okay, I have money right now, and I need to be like the other kids at school or stuff like that. And then transferring translating into adulthood, I only realize this past year that $36,000 a year is like low income.
I thought for a while, I mean, I’m 27 now. So I thought for the past nine years like, oh, I’m middle class. I can’t expect any more than that. Everything, like inflation and everything, and then moving to Los Angeles, things are expensive. And so it’s like having to adjust my rates and realize like, oh, no, the way that I’ve been thinking for the past nine years since I got out of high school, it’s been wrong.
[00:09:27.090] – Stacey Marie Keba
You can earn more than that.
[00:09:28.930] – Diane Foy
And I think you also saw that working hard didn’t necessarily result in money.
[00:09:33.800] – Stacey Marie Keba
Uh-uh. No, I mean, this boxing movie that we just did, I think we dedicated the past three months to it. Like an endless, like an endless… We produced it for free, Vincent directed it for free, edited it for free, went through countless edits. And then it’s like, and I’m like, the amount of hours and the amount of billable time that was given up to do these projects, which I don’t regret that not being paid for it because it was such a great learning experience. And now it’s like, okay, cool, we did one project for free. We don’t need to do that again. But I’m like, oh, this is work that even though it’s creative, you do deserve to get paid for it.
[00:10:28.580] – Diane Foy
And I think that was your own project, too. So it’s a labor of love, but also learning, and it prepares you for the future when you can get paid for that. Did you earn money as a kid? Were you always Did you just rely on parents to give you money, or did you work from a young age?
[00:10:51.670] – Stacey Marie Keba
So I was… My parents opened up a savings account for me when I was a kid, and every single Christmas, birthday, any checks that family members gave us, any cash, whatever, it all went into that savings account. And my parents obviously took me to go buy clothes and buy school products. Like when I was starting school year, we’d get toys. I get toys. We, I don’t have any siblings. They’d give me toys sometimes, like Polly Pockets. Sometimes during Christmas, I was the receiver of the giving tree. I don’t know if you know what that is, but it’s like when families can’t afford to give presents or clothes to their kids. At the elementary school, there’d be a tag on a tree, and it would be like, 12-year-old girl needs the shirts, size small. And then people would take that, go buy it, put it under the tree, and then I’d get it for a Christmas present. I got my first job after I got my driver’s license, and it was at a shoe store. I love shoes. I love them so much. And my first experience was I got a prepaid debit card. All my earnings just went on this debit card through Nine West.
[00:12:28.070] – Stacey Marie Keba
And then it’s like I treated it like a gift card. It was just fun. There was no savings from that job. It was just whatever fast fashion I could get. And then in college, then it was like, okay, cool, you can start paying for your own stuff. And I was like, I don’t need to work. I have this savings account from my childhood that has $10,000 in it. And that lasted not long at all. And my dad’s like, what have you done? So I think that’s definitely always been my experience with money. She was never.
[00:13:10.210] – Diane Foy
Taught how to make money, how to save money, how to spend responsibly.
[00:13:19.190] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah. And then I was also the first one in my family, like between me, my dad, my mom, first one to go to a four-year college, and I didn’t complete it. And so I think my first relearning experience was working at Starbucks and going to school for my real estate license when I was 22-ish. And so that was definitely a learning experience. And I did have a stable job for a bit. And then it was like, okay, cool, I’m doing this acting thing. And then it was like, oh, now the pandemic happened.
And again, it’s like, and this might sound like bad and stupid of me or whatever. It’s like, I was getting unemployment from the government. And it was like, again, I think there’s always a trust that money will be there somehow. And it never really showed up in my life too long of going to a nine to five job. So then it was like once the pandemic money ran out, then it was like, okay, now I need to start billing my clients. And so it’s just been a terrible learning curve.
[00:14:47.730] – Diane Foy
Yeah. It’s a pattern of you’re just in that struggling artist world.
[00:14:54.960] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah. And you don’t.
[00:14:57.510] – Diane Foy
Feel like what you offer is value.
[00:15:02.340] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah. And that’s the biggest thing is I realize that there is value now, but in my mind, there’s value. In my behavior, years of getting and receiving the money is totally different. It’s like there’s some disconnect there. And I think it’s slowly repairing and making itself known. But it’s like, I don’t want to be a struggling artist. I want to be a successful businesswoman. And I can blame all the circumstances as to why I don’t have these skills, but it’s like, I have to take responsibility and it’s like, teach myself how to do it. And so I think there’s a lot of limiting beliefs.
[00:15:56.760] – Diane Foy
Yeah, but you invest. It’s not… You invest in acting classes, acting coaches. You invested in branding coaching with me. And so…
[00:16:11.970] – Stacey Marie Keba
I’m not a total idiot. Yeah.
[00:16:15.440] – Diane Foy
But why wouldn’t someone invest in you for what you offer?
[00:16:25.260] – Stacey Marie Keba
I want them to. And like, okay, I-.
[00:16:30.830] – Diane Foy
I can see if some things you’re still learning, but like graphic design, website design, you know how to do that.
[00:16:37.030] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah.
[00:16:37.810] – Diane Foy
You’re not still learning. You’ve done it for many people in many companies. So that’s a service that has value. And if someone needs a website, needs a logo, they don’t expect to get it for free. They expect that you’re a professional that they need to invest in themselves to pay for that. And also when you were saying that, oh, but you don’t know, they probably don’t have a lot of money, or I feel bad charging. But you don’t know how much money they have. That’s true. Because they’re an artist, too.
[00:17:21.190] – Stacey Marie Keba
That’s so true. And as you’re saying this, I was just saying like, I feel bad because I don’t know if they have money, because I personally at multiple points in my life did not have money. And so I can’t just think that I can’t copy. It’s like I’m projecting or something. I copy and paste my experience with money on other people.
[00:17:49.240] – Diane Foy
Exactly. And that’s none of your business, right? If they have money or not, that’s their problem. And also, there are plenty of artists that do make money. We just, you might not just have it in your close world yet, but there are. And I think part of it is looking at people who are being successful and getting paid for what they do. I always think if you think of you, if you needed a website, you needed to get a video edited, do you expect to get that for free or cheap?
[00:18:31.450] – Stacey Marie Keba
No. Unless I were to be like, I don’t want to pay, I’ll do it myself. But well, that’s how my business started. But no.
[00:18:42.450] – Diane Foy
I- I’ve learned you and I were resourceful. If we need to figure something out, we’ll figure it out. But not everyone’s like that. And that is a skill in itself that you can figure things out, how to do things. And if you can’t afford to pay someone to build a website, we’re the type that will figure out how to make our own website. But not everyone’s like that.
[00:19:14.660] – Stacey Marie Keba
And that’s mind boggling.
[00:19:16.200] – Diane Foy
Yeah. I don’t think most people are not like that. Most people, they don’t have that quest to learn new things, and it’s like a challenge, and they don’t have that. They would rather pay someone to do it for them. Most people are like that.
[00:19:36.150] – Stacey Marie Keba
I have noticed that with some of my web design clients of like, they just want a site maintained or they’ll sometimes send me updates and stuff. And I’m like, no offense. I don’t tell them this, but I’m like, you’re going to pay me $75 an hour to make those little changes for you? And they’re like, yeah. They gladly pay me. And I’m like, this is great. But then I’m like, what? Because I just think, yeah, I’m the type of person that’ll… It’s like I’m undermining my own business.
But it’s so important because when it comes to acting and where I want my career to go, it’s like whatever this thing, the thing is needs to be dealt with before I can book a series, regular role or lead in a feature film. Because thank God I have Eddie, my agent, because he’d be like, she’s not working for free. You guys got to pay her and stuff. But if I was my own agent, I’d be like, well, you don’t have to. I’ll do it for free. And I think it’s like, because it’s so creative and it’s something you love so much thatI don’t know, some actor like Morgan Freeman or Denzel Washington, someone, I forget who was, they’re like, yeah, that’s what agents are for, because we would literally do this work for free.
[00:21:11.940] – Diane Foy
Yeah. Because you love it. And also in the arts, we all had to do things for free to learn. You can’t expect to get paid when you haven’t proven yourself yet, and you don’t know what you’re doing. No, no? Yeah. And especially in the arts, a lot of us did a lot of work for free because it gave us the experience. It made us learn things. It gave us credits. It gave us client testimonials and that, or we work for cheap, but you have to keep growing it so that you don’t stay there.
And I think with your web design and graphic design, you’ve proven yourself. So don’t even think about what is in their wallet because they’ll tell you, too. But a lot of times there are people that just ask for discounts just because that’s what they do. I’ve heard, and… I forget who it was, but one of the mentors that I look up to and has a podcast, I forget who it was, that no matter, he doesn’t need the discount, but he always asks for one because it pushes you, for one, it pushes you out of your comfort zone to ask for something, and you might get turned down.
[00:22:41.20] – Diane Foy
And also it helps be comfortable with rejection. But he’s like, I get a lot of discounts, and it’s not because I need it. It’s available.
[00:22:53.840] – Stacey Marie Keba
And.
[00:22:55.830] – Diane Foy
It’s not like you’re trying to weasel someone out of anything. It’s if there is a discount to be had, I’m going to ask for it. And I’m like, that’s good because it forces you to like, you can’t even ask to be paid. Yeah, I know. So if you had to ask for a discount every single time, what can you do for me? I’ll pay you this. There are people that are going to always ask for discounts or always plays the Starving artist card, but you don’t have to give into it.
[00:23:40.380] – Stacey Marie Keba
It’s so funny because Vincent and I were talking and we have the same birthday, different years. We’re very similar. And we are very similar in terms of we might not have a lot of money, but you won’t know that just by looking at us and our generosity. If we have $300 in the bank and someone’s like, I need $250. We’ll be like, here’s $250. We still have $50 in our bank account. What’s there to complain about?
Of course, we’ll help. And so many people might have, we don’t know, they could have $3,000 in their bank account, and they’d be like, I’m too broke. I can’t afford to go out to eat. Can you pay for me? That type of thing. And we just been realizing we are too nice. And that doesn’t translate in business. So yeah, I think that’s so great. I want to be like that guy of just asking for discounts or things or asking to be paid or that my invoice is to filled in a timely manner without getting weird about it.
[00:25:03.710] – Diane Foy
And there’s also an option of, I know we talk about it in the coaching world a lot of like, charging what you want to be paid for most of your clients. And if you get enough clients at that regular rate, you can have a scholarship.
[00:25:27.000] – Stacey Marie Keba
Or.
[00:25:28.230] – Diane Foy
A discounted rate for certain people, but there has to be a qualification, maybe they need to apply. And so it’s more around it. If you’re the type of person that just needs to help, then you need to charge a regular rate for most of your clients, and then you can afford to discount for someone who’s really struggling.
[00:26:02.470] – Stacey Marie Keba
I love that.
[00:26:03.630] – Diane Foy
And then you’re doing it also because you really do want to help this person, you’re invested in them. There’s a different way of going about it than just always being the person that will discount, always being the person that will do it for free or cheap. And don’t even think about what they have in their wallet. This is what I charge for that. That’s what I charge. And then they might come back and go, Oh, I don’t know if I can afford that. But again, that doesn’t mean you discount. It just means that’s what you charge. And if there is wiggle room, I always find like if someone’s saying, I can’t afford this of what you offered to lower the price, try to see where you can lower the service too.
[00:26:57.310] – Stacey Marie Keba
Give.
[00:26:58.540] – Diane Foy
Them less. You can’t afford everything like the most amazing website. Okay, how.
[00:27:05.050] – Stacey Marie Keba
About.
[00:27:05.990] – Diane Foy
I could do just a one page simple website for this, can you afford that? So you’re not discounting yourself. You’re just having other options for more affordable options.
[00:27:17.360] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah. And I love that because it really does come down to the time that it takes to do these things. It’s not just okay, in one hour, this thing is done. I mean, yeah, you could make a website in an hour, but who wants to look at that? But and I think it’s just, I don’t know. I’m a speechless. That’s a really nice way to to look at it and to adjust my services. Because you’re going to… I can’t assume that… I think I always get in my head of like, okay, how do I justify this to my customer? And it’s not like I try to rip anyone off at all. It’s just like, okay, if you don’t understand web design, how can I explain it to you of realistically how long this takes me? Or when you ask me to do these simple updates, how long that actually takes.
[00:28:33.460] – Diane Foy
And I think a part of it is knowing your value so that you’re not trading time for money, too. Because it might take someone that doesn’t really know how to do it, that’s going to take them way more hours than you. Just because you can do it fast doesn’t mean you charge less. It’s what you charge more because you know how to do it. And people, you know, you’re worth it because, well, they can’t do it themselves.
[00:29:03.690] – Stacey Marie Keba
Or they don’t want to do it themselves. I need to hear that again, because that was also really mind-blowing. And just because… I mean, when you learn anything in the beginning, it takes you so long.
[00:29:18.560] – Diane Foy
To.
[00:29:19.620] – Stacey Marie Keba
Learn how to do it and to do the first several until you get a rhythm. And it’s like I could charge whatever for that. But then now that I can do things more efficiently, it’s like the pricing, sure, it doesn’t take me as long, but I have a lot more expertise. So I never thought of that. But that’s another place where I think the disconnect comes.
[00:29:51.340] – Diane Foy
Yeah. Yeah.
[00:29:55.680] – Stacey Marie Keba
I’m just thinking about that. I’m really intrigued. And I need to think more about that because you’re totally right. And it really is value.
[00:30:06.380] – Diane Foy
It’s that you can do something that I can’t do. I’m an actor. I need to get just a one page website, but I don’t even know where to start. I don’t even want to do it. I’m not tech-savvy. I’d rather just pay someone to do it. And no, maybe I can’t afford this big design agency to do it that’s going to charge thousands and thousands and thousands. But also you can look at what are your peers charging too.
[00:30:41.620] – Stacey Marie Keba
I did that about a year ago, and I changed my rates and I reflected them. So I’m so happy with what my rates are now where it’s like I feel solid in them. I don’t feel like I’m undercharging. I don’t feel like I’m overcharging. It’s just the nice sweet spot. And if you were to go and look at different web designers, their pricing would be similar or in that ballpark.
[00:31:16.120] – Diane Foy
You don’t want people hiring you because you’re the cheap one.
[00:31:19.560] – Stacey Marie Keba
No, definitely not.
[00:31:21.410] – Diane Foy
That’s the only reason I’m hiring you is because it’s cheap.
[00:31:26.610] – Stacey Marie Keba
No, that doesn’t feel good.
[00:31:28.940] – Diane Foy
And also, I find in my many years of business, the less the budget, the more the work. The less the budget, the more headaches. The less the budget, the more the higher the expectations.
[00:31:45.130] – Stacey Marie Keba
I’ve noticed that.
[00:31:46.500] – Diane Foy
So you’re just kicking yourself and setting yourself up for more struggle and frustration by doing that. And people respect when you do charge what you’re worth. And you can be even more expensive than another web designer. But someone might like your style. They like your vibe. They like the websites that you’ve done. It’s like, no, I’d rather pay her more because of what she does.
[00:32:21.720] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah.
[00:32:22.670] – Diane Foy
You have to look at it that way. And if people can’t afford it, well, then that’s not your problem. Yeah.
[00:32:31.010] – Stacey Marie Keba
Actually, I have a potential client who’s also a friend of mine who really does value the work that I do. And they always say to me, they’re like, I can’t hire you yet, but I can’t wait for the day that I can hire you because they respect me enough where they’re not like, oh, hey, you’re my friend. Can you do this for super duper cheap? They’re like, no, I want to give you what you’re worth.
And I’m like, that’s fine. You can be a client for me. And one year, two years, five years. You can never be a client. That’s okay. But at least you have that respect. I have so much respect for business owners when just now being my own business owner of when people are fair and do treat you like what you’re worth. And so that’s why I love working with you and talking with you because in addition to all the branding and PR stuff, it’s like you’re a really great businesswoman and you have more insight there than I do. And you’re always doing all these coaching with like, you have your own coaches. And so you’re always learning with that.
[00:34:01.500] – Diane Foy
And even then, other coaches that we’ve become friends, it’s like, I don’t get in their programs for free, and they don’t get into my stuff for free. We still pay each other, right? So it’s maybe having that too. You might do some things because people are friends, like give them a little extra something, but you’re still charging.
[00:34:29.210] – Stacey Marie Keba
I noticed that. So with this movie that we were just working on, it’s not our original idea. One of our friends was like, hey, can you help us? Help me with this? And we’re like, sure. And so in our friend group, we have a nice little community of like, we’re all learning. So it’s like, okay, I scratch your back, you scratch mine.
If I help on your side, you’ll come help on mine, that type of thing. And there’s instances in it where it’s like, okay, if I’m scratching your back and you’re not scratching my back or if you’re not getting paid, the least that you can get is credit for the work that you do. And we’ve had instances where that’s not wanting to happen. And you have to be like, hey, I did boom on your movie. I would like that credit, because even though you’re not getting paid for that, someone could see that movie and be like, oh, cool, that person did sound work. I want to hire them for a project. And if there is a scenario where it feels really unfair, then it’s like, this is the situation where you totally wouldn’t do it for free.
[00:35:56.920] – Stacey Marie Keba
You’d be like, hey, in order to make this fair, you do need to pay me. And so it’s really been like learning. And I realized I would rather, like you were just saying with your coaches, sometimes you always pay each other for your own work. It’s like, I would rather say hire you, Diane, for $75, and then you hire me for $75. And I literally give you $75, and then you give me $75. And there’s- There’s.
[00:36:34.680] – Diane Foy
One thing I’ve learned from my financial business coach. I have money issues, too. And it’s the flow of money. When they talk about abundance and manifesting, and when it comes to money, it’s like flow that money instead of trading services where there’s no money going, actually pay each other. So again, it’s the flow of money.
[00:37:04.630] – Stacey Marie Keba
That’s lovely, because I was like, yeah, that should be happening more. Because even if it’s really like pennies and cents and it’s not really anything, it gets you in that habit. And I also watch a lot of manifesting videos and stuff. And they always say, even if you have $10 in your bank account, if you, I don’t know, can buy a piece of gum or do something where it’s like, as opposed to holding on to something really tight and everything’s frozen, is to just get things circulating. And then it’s also like, even if I hire you and you hire me and for the same amount, and it balances itself out, it’s like, there’s that expectation that you did hire someone, and there’s those boundaries and expectations in place. Yeah.
[00:38:18.110] – Diane Foy
It’s technically money coming in, money going out, and then it sets you up to have that be a comfortable thing. So more money will come in.
[00:38:28.220] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah.
[00:38:29.620] – Diane Foy
Another, I think it was James Woodmore said that another way to look at it is like when you spend any money. This was so great. Now I try to make a point of doing it is that instead of thinking you go to dinner and you’re like, I don’t know if I can afford this dinner, and you’re like, reluctantly, okay, I got to add that. I got to give the tip, and it’s like this whole.
[00:38:59.270] – Stacey Marie Keba
Giving up thing. Think of.
[00:39:01.070] – Diane Foy
It, watch the flow of money. Think of it as me paying for this dinner is helping the server pay their bills, pay rent. It’s helping the restaurant stay in business. It’s helping pay for all the stuff that they have. It’s paying their rent. And it’s that flow of like, my money is going there. Again, it’s that watching the circle. And you start to feel better about spending money when you’re like, I’m contributing to the flow of money.
[00:39:37.470] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah, I love that. And it’s like.
[00:39:43.800] – Diane Foy
Yeah.
[00:39:44.160] – Stacey Marie Keba
That’s just really great one because it gets you out of focusing on such a small thing as opposed to seeing the greater good and the big picture, which I think I often struggle with is like, there’s like, one little thing. But it’s like, hey, there’s a lot more out there. There’s more money out there that’s waiting for you when at some point we’ll come to you or this does have a domino effect of who it can help. And it’s like when you go to the store and it’s like, do you want to round up 76 cents to the nearest dollar? And it’s like, sure, yeah, I’ll go do that.
[00:40:29.450] – Diane Foy
Yeah.
[00:40:29.770] – Stacey Marie Keba
It’s all I know.
[00:40:30.810] – Diane Foy
Yeah. It gets you out of the scarcity mindset of any money I have, I got to hold on to it dear tight because you might it’s that fear that no more is coming. Has any of that given you a new perspective on charging for your services and making money?
[00:40:52.020] – Stacey Marie Keba
It has. Because it’s like, I’ve been sitting here listening and just thinking that there is a lot of value that I bring. And it’s with your courses, we always talk about limiting and false beliefs and reworking them. And I just feel like a lot… I feel a lot better of just, okay, now I have these tools or these little tips and tricks to think of when I go and work with a client. Or then when I’m moving forward with say, I do want to start charging for producing and all of that stuff is like, I think that’s a really great thing with a friend group, even though they’re my friends, it’s like we need to either sit down and be like, I mean, I really love the idea of us paying each other. I think that’s great. But even.
[00:42:05.730] – Diane Foy
Not just- client. And so the testimonial means that much more, too.
[00:42:10.830] – Stacey Marie Keba
Oh, my God. I didn’t even think about that.
[00:42:13.320] – Diane Foy
Sometimes you do work when you’re starting out again, not now for you. But when you’re learning something new, you might do things for free because it gives you the credit, it gives you a testimonial, whatever. But it’s like, if I actually paid you for this, and so my testimonial, I’m a legit client.
[00:42:32.560] – Stacey Marie Keba
This has been really helpful. I feel like I’m just going to listen in this podcast a bunch whenever I doubt myself because there’s some nice little Nuggets in there.
[00:42:48.230] – Diane Foy
And don’t count the money in other people’s wallets.
[00:42:50.920] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah. I’m not a nosy person, so I don’t know why my mind becomes nosy when it’s like thinking about their bank account and stuff like that. That’s none of my business.
[00:43:07.480] – Diane Foy
Not your problem.
[00:43:08.820] – Stacey Marie Keba
I could make up a billion stories about what is in someone’s account. But I mean, if they’re looking to hire me, then I would have to trust them that they’ve done their research or they’re open having that communicate, that conversation.
[00:43:28.320] – Diane Foy
And now you know of that millionaire that asks for discounts.
[00:43:33.650] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah. So I can I can base myself and just be like, okay, some people are going to ask, and that’s totally fine. But I can always look at it as when I say no is like they asked me that question, so I could say no, and they could practice their dealing with rejection. That’s how I’m going to look at it in the future.
[00:43:58.460] – Diane Foy
The service you’re providing.
[00:44:00.010] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah.
[00:44:00.490] – Diane Foy
You’re helping them push their comfort zone because that guy is saying that made me want to start doing it too, again, just to push my comfort zone. Whether you need the discount or not, it’s like… But then when you’re stuck in, I’ve definitely been where you’re at where you’re not used to having the money to hire people or do these things. So you’re just assuming they don’t either and, Oh, they ask for a discount. Oh, well, okay. So you discount your value, your work, you do all this work. I mean, while you’re struggling, you got to pay your rent, you got to do this. And then what if you find out that guy’s a millionaire? You just discount it. Wouldn’t that annoy you?
[00:44:47.880] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah, it would. Oh, my goodness. I would…
[00:44:54.430] – Diane Foy
See, you’re just assuming everyone’s broke, and that’s why they’re asking for a discount. But I forget that I’m going to find out who that was again. But it’s a good point. It pushes your comfort zone. It sets you up so that it doesn’t hurt to ask.
[00:45:16.200] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah. And plus with this whole career path that I’m on, it’s like this is like starting level. I need to have boundaries and have this business mindset and not be afraid, because in the future, my agent might not always be around, or I might not have a manager or someone to… Or I could have the wrong people around me. And it’s like, I always got to look out for myself and be like, I’m a businesswoman, let me take charge of this. And if I can’t get $75 an hour here and not be afraid to be like, hi, here’s your invoice. Pay me, please. I did this for you. Then it’s like, oh, and say, Steven Spielberg hires me. And it’s like, oh, really? You want to pay me $65,000? I mean, that’s not too much. I could fly myself to New York or put myself up in a hotel. I could do all that stuff. And it’s like, no, let them pay for you.
[00:46:37.540] – Diane Foy
Exactly. Yeah. And I get it. You have to be prepared that they’re going to say no and walk away.
[00:46:46.110] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah. And it’s like if someone says no and they walk away, then it’s like it wasn’t meant to be like, don’t have that expectation that they’re going to hire you. And also don’t be so needy and desperate for that.
[00:47:02.960] – Diane Foy
Because then you don’t want to devalue your sofa someone else. So if they’re not… You’re just going to feel resentful of the fact that they convinced you to do all this work for a lot less. You’re just going to not feel the confidence you’re going to start… The more you do that, the more it kills your confidence because nobody’s valuing you. Yeah.
[00:47:30.230] – Stacey Marie Keba
And it just traps you there longer. I mean, yeah, you do it long enough. It’s going to be even harder to get out of that confidence hole.
[00:47:42.650] – Diane Foy
Yeah. If you just stand firm of like, okay, but I have this offer for people that are maybe not financially able to spend a huge website, have different layers of service so that you’re not discounting. You’re just saying, oh, this is what I would love to do for your website, and it’ll cost this. And they’re like, whoa, I don’t know if I can do that. Yeah. What is your budget? Or you can always ask what’s your budget? Or you could say, well, I have also the smaller package that might be perfect for you, and it’s this much.
[00:48:24.160] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah, that’s great. I love that. I’m definitely going to… That actually gets me excited to bring on clients again and run my business because it’s always a sticking point. And I don’t want it to be a sticking point anymore.
[00:48:48.830] – Diane Foy
Cool. Well, any final questions, words of wisdom, takeaways?
[00:48:55.700] – Stacey Marie Keba
Well, I mean, there are so many takeaways. But I would say that if you’re listening to this podcast episode and you’re curious about coaching with Diane, you definitely should because she’s the best. And she has the best kitty cats, and she’s just really helpful. Even though I’m not currently coaching with you, it’s definitely something that is on my radar of I do want to coach with you again at some point. And once you know… I’m getting all those invoices coming in.
[00:49:33.800] – Diane Foy
And the money.
[00:49:35.520] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah. And then it’s just… I still have all the worksheets, and I always go over everything. And it’s like, man, I’ve changed so much since we’ve started working together. Everything that you’ve taught me, it still rings true. And there’s always just so much that you get to work on.
[00:49:59.850] – Diane Foy
Thank you so much. This was lovely.
[00:50:02.120] – Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah, it was so much fun. It was a really nice hour.
[00:50:06.730] – Diane Foy
Where could people find you online?
[00:50:08.900] – Stacey Marie Keba
There you go. I have my website, which is staceymarykuba. Com. Stacey. Com. S-t-i-c-e-y-m-a-r-i-e. Kebizimbae. Com. And then my Instagram handle is just @staceymarykuba. Cool.
[00:50:31.810] – Diane Foy
And is your website for acting or do you have a graphic design and website design website as well, or is it all together?
[00:50:40.210] – Stacey Marie Keba
So my website is for acting, but it’s under maintenance right now. So hopefully when this podcast comes out, it’ll be updated. So that way, my web design stuff is on there too. So it’s just one place.
[00:50:58.720] – Diane Foy
Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Well, thank you so much.
Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah, no problem. I had a blast. But yeah, if anyone needs a website and they hear this, you can just reach out to me on Instagram if my website isn’t updated. I’ve been updating other people’s websites, not my own.
Diane Foy
If you want to build a website, that’s a flag right there. So I’ll say get on that.
Stacey Marie Keba
Yeah, definitely.
[00:51:23.850] – Diane Foy
I have a graphic design website and a website design website. And Zoe has joined us.
[00:51:31.430] – Stacey Marie Keba
Hi, Zoe. She had to say goodbye.
[00:51:34.970] – Diane Foy
Yeah, she has to join us. Cool. Confession time. I didn’t know going into our session that we were going to focus on money, money mindset blocks in the session. But for the first half, I was feeling like an imposter because I certainly haven’t mastered my own money mindset. I was 100 % channeling my money mentor, Katie Chen Mazzara. Everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned from her, I highly recommend her if you want to dive deeper into your own money mindset.
She was a guest on the Sing Dance Act Thrive Podcast, Episode 55, if you want to check that out. But I’ll also have her on again near the end of the year when she’s launching her 2024 Financial Freedom for Creatives Club. I want to recommend that to anyone who wants to really dive deeper into their money mindset and also learn all the financial stuff that us creatives try to avoid, me included. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you learned from Stacey’s experience and came away with some inspiration. Thanks for listening to Superfan Attraction. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review so that others can find this show as well.
[00:53:09.770] – Diane Foy
To connect with me, I’m Diane Foy Arts on All Socials and in the Superfan Attraction group on Facebook.
