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Entrepreneurship is the greatest self-discovery adventure you could ever embark on. But even when you know so many things and are an expert on a subject, there are money insights only someone who has been there can tell you about, and financial growth’s key aspects are one of them.
When I started my financial education platform to teach women entrepreneurs about money, few entrepreneurs looked like me, and that limited my opportunity to examine and follow more than they did on social media. As a finance professional, I thought I could figure it out as I “had everything” I needed to grow financially without any hiccups on the way; after all, I went to university and have been involved with the finance world since high school, but I couldn’t be further from reality.
When you are a Black, brown or female entrepreneur of color, your financial journey is directly correlated to different factors like your identity, your and your family’s beliefs around entrepreneurship and money, and the way that you fit in all of those subconscious habits with money, including your relationship with money. But that is something no one is talking about, and it costs us years of trial and error that hinder our ability to grow a business and our confidence and create a strong basis as an entrepreneur.
Here are the five key insights I wish fellow entrepreneurs had shared about navigating the financial landscape as a Black founder.
Related: She Launched Her Black-Owned Beauty Brand with $1,500 in Her Pockets — Now Her Products Are on Sephora’s Shelves.
My relationship with money impacts financial growth
How we relate to money — the meanings, beliefs, interpretations and ways of doing that create what we call a relationship with money — are essential in your journey to grow financially as a Black female entrepreneur. Early in my entrepreneurial journey, I didn’t fully grasp how my beliefs, perspective, and financial identity would influence my business decisions that were directly connected to money, like pricing, or those that indirectly had to do with money, such as showing up to promote my programs.
Take a moment to analyze: Are you one of those who go on automatic pilot, executing every strategy in the market, but have a hard time talking about money, looking for a proper way of pricing, seeing your bank account and doing money planning? Then, it’s time to look at your relationship with money.
Family’s beliefs around money and entrepreneurship need to be filtered
Your relationship with money, how you think about opportunities in entrepreneurship, how you manage money and many other skills you need when growing a business have been in the making since you were too little to remember. From the way you feel about money to the way you face risk, setbacks and other mental and emotional rollercoasters with money, you’ll need to become your best advocate when it comes to filtering the opinions or advice that comes from your close social circle that isn’t in alignment or doesn’t support where you want to go.
The best way to filter those views out is to assess, according to your vision and financial goal, what advice, beliefs, behaviors and opinions are useful to listen to (and will most likely support you in advancing toward your goal). If they are not applicable, then they will not have space for you to consider them.
For instance, what use can you find in “You have to give us family prices?” I haven’t seen any use for this opinion in my career. Instead, it is quite the opposite. It brings a lot of guilt and shame. Thus, it has been filtered out since year one of business.
Related: 5 Trailblazing Black Women Entrepreneurs Share How They’re Breaking Barriers — And How You Can Too
Having a community that supports is key
As an entrepreneur, you’re doing what most of the people we know are not, and to grow financially, you need to start having the proper discussions with the right people.
The matters that preoccupy your mind and the insights you may need to find a better, more cost-effective system or to get out of your head are found in a community.
Surround yourself with like-minded entrepreneurs and mentors who understand your challenges and can offer guidance, but most importantly, as a Black entrepreneur, a community that understands your unique challenges that go across putting yourself together and feeling the reality of paying the bills simultaneously. Join networking groups, listen to podcasts and join their community, attend industry events and participate in online forums that reflect what you want to become financially and where you want to take your business.
Financial planning is non-negotiable for financial growth
One thing I knew from school that this path only reconfirmed was that financial planning is not negotiable from the get-go if you want to grow. With your desire and motivation to grow your business, much of that emotional side of money gets triggered. It could be to buy that next course, subscribe to a platform, buy the next piece of equipment or spend on advertising when it wasn’t the right timing; for all of these cases and the ones, your money planning will be your best ally. It is essential to have a base where you can come to and ground yourself when those urges to make the extra purchase or the extra investment mean faster financial growth.
Don’t be overcomplicated. Just shift the focus from “I just need to make money” to assigning and tracking your numbers.
Related: ‘I’m Black. I’m a Woman. Let’s Talk About Raising Venture Capital.’
Your management goals are as important as your revenue goals
One of the habits I work the most on shifting with my community is to change the focus from a revenue-oriented way of thinking to amplify the spectrum and consider how you manage what you earn. As an entrepreneur, you get a lot of marketing, information and sometimes standards stressing revenue as the way to measure growth; however, learning how to manage that revenue that is not pocket money, a one-time off lucky shot or an “I’ll never have this amount of money again” becomes your financial key.
Balance your drive for revenue with a solid plan for managing and growing your business sustainably.
