“I Don’t Earn Enough Yet” – The Wealth-Building Myth Holding Women Back
Why building wealth isn’t about earning more money – and the mindset shifts that can help women start creating financial freedom today.
At our recent COCO Women Founders Online Business Mastermind Hour, Personal Wealth Strategist Cleo Nedd challenged one of the most common beliefs she hears from women in business:
“I don’t earn enough yet to start building wealth.”
It’s a phrase many of us have said at some point, whether we’re earning £35,000 a year or £350,000. But as Cleo explained, the issue is rarely the amount we’re earning. More often, it’s the mindset, habits and patterns we’ve developed around money.
Why Women Often Delay Building Wealth
Cleo shared an important piece of context that many women have never considered.
It has only been around 50 years since women in the UK were able to open a bank account without a male guarantor. Access to investing and wealth-building opportunities is still relatively new in the wider history of women’s financial independence.
Many of us were taught the importance of earning our own money and being financially independent. But the conversation often stopped there.
We weren’t taught how to keep money, grow money or create wealth that works for us.
As a result, many women find themselves trapped in a cycle of believing that wealth-building is something they’ll do “later” when they earn more.
The Three Wealth-Building Patterns
During the session, Cleo introduced three common patterns she sees repeatedly among women.
- The Income Reliance Pattern
This is the belief that security comes entirely from active earning.
In other words:
- If you’re not working, money isn’t coming in.
- Success is linked to constant effort.
- Rest feels risky.
- Wealth feels distant or inaccessible.
For many women, this stems from being taught that hard work, sacrifice and constant effort are the only routes to financial security.
The challenge is that wealth-building requires a different mindset. It means creating systems, assets and structures that continue supporting you, even when you’re not actively working.
- The Invisible Investor
This pattern resonated strongly with many attendees.
The Invisible Investor is often doing all the “right” things:
- Contributing to a pension
- Saving regularly
- Holding investments
- Working with financial advisers
Yet despite this, there is no clear sense of direction or progress.
The pieces exist, but they aren’t connected to a bigger vision. Wealth becomes a collection of financial products rather than a purposeful plan designed around the life you want to create.
- The Decision Delayer
This pattern sounds familiar to many business owners:
- “I’ll do it after this launch.”
- “I’ll look at it next quarter.”
- “Once things settle down, I’ll focus on my finances.”
The problem is that the goalposts keep moving.
There is always another project, another opportunity, another expense or another reason to wait.
The result? Wealth-building remains permanently postponed.
The Real Question: What Is Your Money Building Towards?
One of the most powerful discussions in the session centered around purpose.
When participants were asked what wealth meant to them, common answers included:
- Freedom
- Security
- Time freedom
- Long-term stability
- Opportunity
Yet many admitted that while these were the outcomes they wanted most, wealth-building often slipped to the bottom of the priority list.
As Cleo pointed out, it’s not usually a lack of information holding us back. Most women already know enough to get started.
The real challenge is taking consistent action.
Discovering Your “Income Floor”
One of the biggest breakthroughs for attendees was learning about the concept of an Income Floor.
Your Income Floor is the amount your bank balance naturally seems to return to, regardless of how much money you earn.
You might have a fantastic month in business, land a large contract or enjoy a particularly profitable quarter.
Yet somehow, a few weeks later, your balance has returned to the same familiar number.
According to Cleo, this isn’t necessarily a budgeting issue.
It’s often a psychological safety point.
Your nervous system has unconsciously decided that this figure feels safe, and without realising it, you may be making decisions that bring you back to it.
A Simple Exercise to Identify Your Income Floor
Cleo encouraged attendees to:
- Review the last six months of bank statements.
- Look at the closing balance each month.
- Identify whether the balance consistently returns to a similar figure.
If it does, you’ve likely found your Income Floor.
The next step is simply to become aware of it.
Awareness creates choice.
The 30-Day Challenge
Once you’ve identified your Income Floor, Cleo suggests a simple experiment.
Choose a small buffer above that number and hold it for 30 days.
During that month, notice:
- What urges arise to spend it.
- What stories you tell yourself.
- What unexpected reasons appear for using the money.
- How comfortable or uncomfortable it feels to keep it.
The goal isn’t perfection.
The goal is awareness.
By observing your behaviour, you begin to uncover the deeper patterns that influence your financial decisions.
The First Pound Rule
One practical strategy Cleo shared was what she calls the “First Pound Rule.”
The concept is simple:
When money comes in, decide in advance where a percentage or fixed amount will go.
For example:
- Every invoice paid triggers a £20 transfer into a dedicated wealth account.
- 10% of monthly revenue automatically moves into an ISA.
- A percentage of every payment is transferred within 24 hours.
The amount itself is less important than creating consistency.
Even £1 counts.
The objective is to challenge the belief that there isn’t enough and begin building evidence that wealth-building is available to you right now.
Wealth Is More Psychological Than We Think
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the session was this:
Building wealth isn’t just about numbers. It’s about behaviour.
Financial advisers can provide valuable technical advice and help identify suitable products and strategies.
But only you can decide what freedom, security and success actually mean to you.
Before creating a financial plan, it’s important to understand:
- Your beliefs about money
- Your behavioural patterns
- Your personal definition of wealth
- What you’re ultimately trying to create
Because wealth isn’t just about having more money.
It’s about creating a life that gives you more choice, more freedom and greater peace of mind.
Final Thought
If there was one message Cleo wanted attendees to leave with, it was this:
The gap isn’t usually a lack of information. It’s a lack of integration.
Most women already know enough to begin.
The question isn’t whether you earn enough to start.
The question is whether you’re ready to stop waiting.
Because wealth isn’t built when everything feels perfectly aligned.
It’s built when we take the first step with what we already have.
To learn more about upcoming events and workshops, visit COCO Women Founders Events.
About Cleo Nedd
Women About Finance
I work with high-achieving women to build a financial life that works without them. Not just organised money. A structure that holds their life so they don’t have to hold it constantly themselves.
The work sits at the intersection of behavioural money patterns and practical wealth structure. Because until you understand what’s driving your financial decisions, no amount of strategy will stick.
I bring 15+ years of corporate finance experience translating complex financial decisions into clear action, first for C-suite and business owners, now for high-achieving women building wealth on their own terms as a certified Financial Coach.
If you’re reading this and thinking “this is exactly where I am”, that recognition is where we start.
