Our Conversation with an Entrepreneur Helping Women Master Their Finances
One topic that has been in the news is how financial topics can be seen as unapproachable by certain members of the population. Key studies have recently emerged detailing how many women struggle to feel that they have a seat at the table when it comes to important financial conversations such as investing and eliminating debt. According to a recent financial wellness survey, nearly half of women (49%) feel financial stress has taken a toll on their mental and emotional health, 46% say they have lost sleep over it, and 40% believe it has damaged their physical health. In addition, 36% of women worry about their financial health on a daily basis! We wanted to learn more about this topic so Mentoro can continue to equip women take control of their financial situations so that it does not control them. To address this issue, we sat down with entrepreneur and consultant, Ashley Bennington, founder of Her Seven Figure Story.
Ashley is a true multidisciplinary entrepreneur who knows the complexities of running multiple brands and scaling businesses in the online space. Previously working in the corporate space at companies like Disney, Target, Amazon, and Paycom, she knows first-hand what it takes to create a brand that leaves a lasting impression. In 2021, Ashley launched Her Seven Figure Story – a financial coaching and education consulting business designed to support women in their journey to mastering their finances.
One of the most intriguing parts of this interview was discovering when Ashley started her financial journey. At the age of 12, many are having a hard time thinking more than a few days into the future. Not Ashley! She started babysitting and took other jobs that helped her build up her savings. She used this money to pay for college – she graduated debt free – and began investing. This money grew and she was able to buy her first house while in college!
This brings up an important question – When is the right time to start thinking about finances? After speaking with such a hardworking and diligent inspiration like Ashley, we learned that it is never too early to start thinking about your future.
Having so much success with her own financial journey, other women began asking her advice as well. Throughout these conversations, Ashley heard a recurring theme from many women who felt that they didn’t have a place to learn about their finances in a personalized way that empowered them. Ashley saw the need to address this issue in the personal finance community, and her mission is based around an idea that is not acceptable when half the population feels out of place in key conversations about personal finance.
Mentoro shares her mission and is striving to remove the stigma around financial conversations so everyone can feel welcome to discuss and not feel trepidation in doing so.
It was so inspiring to hear the way Ashley encourages others to first come up with a financial game plan and how she echoed many of the lessons that Mentoro teaches by saying, “When you have a plan and you are taking financial actions with purpose, everything changes.”
Ashley noted how COVID has changed how women view finances. Life is so unknown and when the pandemic hit, some women were put in different situations and had to take on new responsibilities. Ashley pointed out that at the end of the day, we never know what will happen and finances are about being prepared for the unknown impact of life.
Ashley feels the first action anyone should take when getting started is to build an emergency fund. Ideally, this fund should be able to cover 3-6 months of living expenses. This will not only give options but also create a sense of calmness if and when financial disaster strikes. To further elaborate, Ashley feels that “Money isn’t usually the important part of the equation, it’s the situation at hand that you have to deal with.” Having savings can help deal with the various situations life can (and will) throw at us.
In helping others, Ashley realized she was getting asked the same questions by other women. She designed this course so women can learn from each other. This course covers the following topics:
- Master Your Mindset
- The 4 Buckets of Financial Plan
- Debt
- Investing
- Budgeting
- Building A Legacy
To conclude this interview, Ashley highlighted a point that is truly vital. In order to make progress on your goals, it is so important to determine a vision for where you want to be. Knowing where you want to be is so motivating in accomplishing your goals. She summed this up nicely by stating, “When you know what you want, the action plan to get there becomes so much clearer.”
No matter where you are on your financial journey, we are here to help. As a Mentoro member, you have access to numerous tools, calculators, and resources that can make your financial dreams become reality. Visit mymentoro.com today to set up your account.
