Money Talks is an xoNecole series where we talk candidly to real women about how they spend money, their relationship with money, and how they get it.
Ladies, I don't know about you, but when I see other women making their coin and a name for themselves through their passions, it just makes me feel all fuzzy inside. Especially when those women spread the wealth of knowledge to help other women earn extra income and secure all of the bags in the process. Contrary to popular belief, there is enough to eat sis, so we can all have a seat at the table. Lyn Allure, founder of Good Girls Gone Boss, is someone who believes that it pays to pay it forward.
The Toronto-based entrepreneur took advantage of the power of the internet and has been able to create multiple streams of income by changing her mindset around money and educating other women on how it's done. With a background in finance, Lyn used her experience in corporate and her bachelor's in Business Administration to jump-start her journey into entrepreneurship. Since leaving her corporate job seven years ago, Lyn has been able to harness the power of the internet to spearhead successful online businesses, including a successful YouTube channel.
Courtesy of Lyn Allure
In July 2020, Lyn launched her online platform Good Girls Gone Boss. She explained its inception, "I started Good Girls Gone Boss as a solution for other entrepreneurial-minded women to connect and share gems along this business journey. When I first started making money on social media and growing my brand, it was a very isolating process. I was in my own little world most of the time. None of my friends were into social media at the time, but I knew I had an interest in YouTube and I saw the potential there."
Lyn continued, "I thought to myself, 'If I can turn a fun hobby into more money, then why not?' So I had to learn how to do things on my own, like how to inquire about brand deals, tips for Google AdSense, affiliate links, etc. After I started to see the money coming in, I thought it would be helpful to really make this community with Good Girls Gone Boss because I figured other women felt isolated as well."
As a solution and a resource, Good Girls Gone Boss offers weekly YouTube videos surrounding personal finance tips, an exclusive community that includes hands-on support and trainings, and financial resources such as a budget workbook. The platform is a space for a community of unapologetically, ambitious bosses who are looking to design, plan, and execute their dream life.
In this installment of "Money Talks", xoNecole spoke with Lyn Allure about how normalizing financial literacy, staying humble, and making your money work for you are the keys to creating financial freedom.
On the definitions of wealth and success:
"With wealth, I believe that aligns with being financially free. To be able to live a quality of life without worrying about if you can afford it or not. I also consider someone being wealthy by the company they keep. You are only as wealthy as the people around you; whether that means helping your friends to get to your level if they are struggling, or passing down wealth for future generations.
"Now, with success, to me, is simply happiness. Not just being content, but being proud of yourself for where you are in life and in a state of bliss. We know success can be different for different people. Success can mean making six figures for some people and for others, it has nothing to do with money at all. Whatever success may mean to you, it should definitely include happiness."
On unhealthy mindsets about money she had to let go of:
"One thing for me was, the idea [that you have] to spend money to make money. You know that saying, 'scared money, don't make money'? That is absolutely true (laughs). I grew up in the hood, so I thought the best mindset about money was to make a lot of it and then save a lot of it. But the reality is, it is not just about how much money you make. It's about how much money you make and how much you invest in order to make more. When you invest, now you have equity and assets that produce income for you. I had to really change my mentality with money early on, in order to get to where I am right now."
"The reality is, it is not just about how much money you make. It's about how much money you make and how much you invest in order to make more. When you invest, now you have equity and assets that produce income for you."
Courtesy of Lyn Allure
On her investments:
"Right now, I have two main investments. My first investment is a single-family home investment property with tenants. I currently reside in a condo because I have no desire to live in a single-family home for myself. I am not going to be mowing the lawn or doing those other things (laughs). But with my property, I am thinking about renovating the basement and renting that out as well. My second investment is stocks. I try to invest in stocks on a regular basis with buying index funds and stocks in companies I truly believe in."
On her biggest tip to beginner investors:
"Something that people often think, is that we need to be involved in the finance field 24/7 in order to be a successful investor. That's honestly not the case. If you put money away periodically or every month into an index fund or an ETF, it appreciates. You will be able to see a 7-10% return on that every year. This way is low effort and it's definitely better than just putting your money away into a savings account."
On the worst money-related advice she has ever received:
"That scarcity mindset around 'don't spend your money because you don't know when you are going to get it back' needs to be thrown out the window (laughs). There is an abundance of money out there and it's really about reframing your mindset around it. A phrase I like to follow is 'a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow.' So for example, if I am holding on to $10,000 in my savings without putting [it] into an investment opportunity, in 10 years that $10,000 will be worth around $9,000. The money loses its value. You have to treat your money like an employee and let it work for you."
"There is an abundance of money out there and it's really about reframing your mindset around it. A phrase I like to follow is 'a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow.' You have to treat your money like an employee and let it work for you."
Courtesy of Lyn Allure
On the money mantra she swears by:
"I would say my mantra is 'what doesn't get measured, doesn't get managed.' What I mean by that is, a lot of people do not know what their financial standing is. It can bring up so much anxiety for people because they don't want to face those hard facts of their spending habits. But I find that once you get over that hurdle and really know what your hard-earned numbers are, you realize what steps you need to take to improve it. It's important to manage your money no matter what financial state you might be in. But remember you can't manage it if you aren't measuring it."
On the early challenges that came with starting her business:
"The inconsistency of cash flow when you first start out is real (laughs). I remember one month I made five figures and then the next month I made three figures. I was like ummm, what's going on here? (Laughs) I definitely wasn't prepared for it at the time. But luckily, I referred back to what I preach to my Good Girls Gone Boss community. Do not rely on one stream of income. Think of it as a table. Every single leg is a stream of income. If you only have one leg, then if it collapses, you collapse too."
"Do not rely on one stream of income. Think of it as a table. Every single leg is a stream of income. If you only have one leg, then if it collapses, you collapse too."
On the most important lesson she's learned about creating wealth:
"I have always had this hustler mindset where I had multiple side hustles in college. So I have always been thinking to myself, 'Where's the next job and where's the next check?' (Laughs) But what I have learned is that, I do not need to have multiple jobs in order to make all this money. It is not the key to creating wealth or financial freedom.
"There are only 24 hours in a day. Finding a way to make those passive streams of income with a business has definitely been an eye-opener for me. You also do not need to make a certain amount of money in order to make passive streams of income for yourself. Whatever your salary is, you can still make things happen, especially on the internet."
Read more money mindset conversations in xoNecole's "Money Talks" series here.
For more about Lyn Allure, follow her on Instagram @lyn.allure. You can also subscribe to her YouTube channel here.
Featured image courtesy of Lyn Allure
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"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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