Page 47 - Investment Advisor April/May 2022

It really reinforced a lot of the most business about money and finances? us a small grant because they wanted
negative messages that women receive Yes. I’m not a financial advisor or finan- to support what we were doing. That
about money. It was a financially irre- cial planner. We work with a lot of them, empowered Lauren and me to leave our
sponsible view of womanhood, what it though. I don’t pretend to be a certified jobs and start working full time on The
means to be a woman and what makes expert in any capacity. For specific proj- Financial Diet.
a woman’s life successful, especially ects or events, we consult with people
in how it handled financial questions. who have either their Series 7 or are You studied international relations and
There was a very strong implication certified financial planners. affairs at Anne Arundel Community
that the protagonist’s financial irre- College [in Maryland] from 2008 to
sponsibility [should be] considered Why did you write a blog about money 2010. So where did you get the know-
aspirational. This was viewed through on Tumblr? how to run a business?
a very positive lens. It was learning through
‘I started The Financial growth. When we started, it
You’ve said that you used was just my co-founder and
to be “bad with money.” In Diet in the summer of 2014 I. In the early stages, I had to
what way? do quite a lot myself. But in
I had a terrible relationship as a way to hold myself the past few years, it’s been a
with money. I didn’t pay my matter of finding good people
bills. I was in credit card accountable [financially]. It who can lead the parts of the
debt. I defaulted on loans. business that I’m not really
Ultimately, I was arrested for was intended to be a public qualified to lead.
driving on a suspended license personal journal; it was never We have a staff of 12. I don’t
and suspended registration, manage a lot of the logisti-
both of which stemmed from intended to be my business.’ cal aspects of running the
financial problems. business. We have a head of
finance and operations who
You’ve had your own business for eight I started The Financial Diet in the sum- does quite a lot of the administrative
years. I assume that nowadays you’re mer of 2014 as a way to hold myself aspects. And we have a head of sales.
good with money. If so, what brought accountable [financially]. It was intend-
about the change? ed to be a public personal journal; it What’s the secret to your success?
When I sold my first book in 2012, for was never intended to be my business. For any small business, it usually
the first time in my life I had a decent- [I wrote about] changes I was making involves a lot of luck and timing. So
sized windfall of cash. I realized that I’d in my spending or observances about when we entered this space, it was a
be able to pay off my credit card debt, improving my relationship with money very small space. We didn’t have a lot
which was the thing that was primarily — what I was doing with money. At the of competition. [In regard to how] we
damaging my finances. So I did that, and time, I was working at Thought Catalog run the business, the executives are paid
the feeling of getting rid of all that debt as creative director of branded content well above average; but those at the top,
was empowering and made me want to writing, and creating ad campaigns. including me, aren’t paid much more
make more positive financial choices. than [many of] the entry-level people.
What prompted you to turn the blog into My salary is pretty much in the middle
Does it strike you as ironic that someone your business? of what we pay everyone. So not having
who had such trouble with their finances Shortly after I started that page, my co- those very expensive executive salaries
now has a business educating women on founder Lauren Ver Hage, then an ad puts a lot less financial pressure on
how to handle their money? agency art director, reached out and said the company and allows us to be com-
Not at all. Because ultimately, people she was looking for side projects and petitive in hiring — and therefore very
generally take an interest in things when would love to redesign my blog so that selective about who we hire. That allows
they’re forced to. it looked more appealing. So she did. our employee retention to be extremely
Very shortly thereafter, a foundation high, which, in the long term, costs us a
At age 24, did you take any courses or that works with educational projects lot less in turnover. That’s been a huge
consult with people on how to start a on the internet reached out and gave driver of our sustainability.

APRIL/MAY 2022 INVESTMENT ADVISOR 45