Earning $100k!

$100K! I want this! My ego is calling! I’m ready! As a business coach I know the dangers of external motivators like beauty, money, and prestige. I know the horrors of working in a workplace that is focused solely on hitting the numbers by any means necessary. Yes, it’s better to pursue money as an outcome of doing good work. Just the same, I say bring it! If you are the least bit curious about what it takes to make $100k take a peak below to learn how others have done it. And, know…YES YOU CAN!

I asked Cathy Carlson Knight of Vizability LLC how she did it:

“I was the Manager of E-Commerce for a telecommunications company when I first went over the $100k mark. That was a combination of salary, bonuses and stock options. Then I moved to a Director of E-Commerce for a large insurance company and my salary was over $100K starting wage. In the context of my entire career (starting in 1989) it took roughly 16 years to make over $100k. If I had had the courage to leave [company name omitted] sooner I would have made over $100k sooner. That being said, I was very happy with the other perks, projects, and flexibility of my position at [company name omitted]. Once I learned to “talk numbers” to leadership my wages went up. I learned to show what value, in hard dollars, my team and I were contributing to the company. Prior to that, as Graphic/Web Designer, I didn’t “get” that.”

Cathy also noted how it was easier to advocate for her team than for herself. Gee, where have I heard that before? Women are us!

My friend Rosa Lee Harden describes her $100K experience:

“The climb for me [to $100k] was being a serial entrepreneur. Mostly working for my own companies, I was finally successful enough financially to pay myself really well. I could only do that because we were making enough money for me to be completely confident that all the people working for the company were very well paid, too. We had started, bought, run and sold around seven different companies over the previous 15 years before we finally reached that point. Getting there was many years of worrying more about what the people who were helping us were making than what I made. Until then (in the early 2000s) there was never a time when there were not a few employees making more than I was able to pay myself. Right now I make more than $100k by working with two different organizations. One that I am a partner in and the other is a not-for-profit that I work with part-time.”

Michelle Kulp at 6 Figure Woman was not as patient on her $100k journey. In two years she reached that milestone while in her sales position. Wow – that’s fast! She also noted her earnings came through multiple streams of revenue which is very common for entrepreneurs. For corporate employees multiple revenues streams are more like Kathy’s experience above, salary, stock options, and bonuses. Don’t forget to include disability insurance, paid time off, paid medical, and pensions in your $100kl calculations.

Three amazing journeys! Thank you Kathy Carlson Knight, Rosa Lee Harden, and Michelle Kulp for sharing your experience with us.

You can also check out Monster.com for a list of $100k jobs for women. No ties or feigned liking for golf necessary.

Join me September 18th as I moderate a panel of $100k earners at “Your Six Figure Success Stories” in Minneapolis, MN. Open to the publc!