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 spend it.
Meisha Amia, originally from Cambridge, Maryland, has changed the game in the healthcare industry. While she has been in the industry for over eight years, she has taken her passion in helping people into multiple streams of income, where she can live the lifestyle she deserves. In 2012, Meisha Amia started blogging to share her journey as a travel nurse. This led to her writing her own self-help book entitled The Bedside Boss: From Scrubs to Six Figures. This book has inspired so many other nurses to step outside of their comfort zones and strive to generate more wealth.
Courtesy of Meisha Amia
In 2016, Meisha Amia created the online platform, Chicks with Cheques. Chicks with Cheques is a full membership based curriculum that teaches hundreds of digital strategies needed to run an online business and grow a profitable brand. This community has grown to more than 30,000 female entrepreneurs and nurses. Meisha Amia is not only passionate about helping nurses create wealth for themselves, but she is adamant about changing the narrative of black women who deserve to have the finer things in life. Meisha does not believe in the idea of cheating ourselves in financial freedom and is determined to teach others how it's done.
In this installment of "Money Talks", xoNecole spoke with Meisha Amia about how she pivoted from dealing with a traumatic loss, the importance of being strategic with money, and how every woman deserves a Chanel bag.
xoNecole: How much money do you make in a year? A month?
Meisha Amia: I am used to having a $20K - 40K monthly income since becoming a travel nurse. Basically, I am contracted independently or through a third party via hospital organizations that are short staffed. I usually negotiate my contracts and before the pandemic, I was making around $20K a month. But during the pandemic, it has been $40K a month.
What do you define as “wealth” and “success”?
Wealth to me is freedom. What I mean by that is having the freedom to say "no" or taking a vacation for a month when you feel like it. Just being able to have the freedom to make choices that doesn't jeopardize your net worth. That is what wealth looks like to me. Now success, success is being able to serve and make an impact on others. It's not really the monetary side in my opinion. I can find success through the amount of people I've helped during this journey or the amount of people I've inspired because of my story.
What’s the lowest you’ve ever felt when it comes to your finances?
Being a contractor can be up and down. So at those low moments, I have definitely felt hopeless and depressed. I went through a traumatic loss two years ago and within those two years, I was not motivated to work. I unfortunately lost a lot of money that eventually got me into debt. What got me through was getting into therapy. Therapy was a game-changer for me and I was able to find my motivation again. Once I gained my motivation, I also became more aggressive in paying off the debt I created within six weeks.
"I unfortunately lost a lot of money that eventually got me into debt. What got me through was getting into therapy. Therapy was a game-changer for me and I was able to find my motivation again. Once I gained my motivation, I also became more aggressive in paying off the debt I created within six weeks."
Courtesy of Meisha Amia
Be honest, what’s been your biggest splurge so far and why did you purchase it?
I have always been a saver. I usually save 20 percent of my earnings a month. But I also live a lavish rich lifestyle. I'm not gonna lie, I am definitely into buying the finest of everything. So I would say my biggest splurge last year was a Chanel bag. I really want the world to normalize women of color, especially black women, having luxury and wealth. It can coexist. Us women just have to learn more about financial literacy and we would be good (laughs).
Never cheat yourself or feel you are not worthy of something nice. If your bills are paid, your savings account is good, and you have your investments, you deserve that bag, girl.
What are some unhealthy habits about money or some unhealthy mindsets about money that you had to let go of to truly prosper?
That 'spend a check and get it right back' attitude (laughs). I say that in the most humble way. Being a nurse, you can get used to having that mindset. But we forget about the physical part of putting in those extra hours and what it does to our bodies. I have taught myself that once I see my account at a certain amount, I am in panic mode. I still have a good amount in there, but it helps me be more intentional about my spending. It's important to be very strategic about how you save, how you invest, and how you splurge.
"I have taught myself that once I see my account at a certain amount, I am in panic mode. I still have a good amount in there, but it helps me be more intentional about my spending. It's important to be very strategic about how you save, how you invest, and how you splurge."
Courtesy of Meisha Amia
What is the money mantra you swear by?
"I don't work hard for money, money works hard for me." For me, that is when I use my earnings and invest it into my other businesses. I am always thinking about if I put an X amount of dollars here, then Y amount should be my return. This is how we should all be thinking when it comes to money.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned through being a business owner and running multiple businesses?
The most important lesson I've learned is having multiple streams of income does not mean you need to have multiple businesses. You should not exhaust yourself being a CEO of multiple things. That is where the burnout will come from. If you are passionate about different things, focus on that. But make sure you are thinking about how to create most of your revenue under one roof.
What’s the best advice that you’ve received about finance during your first year of entrepreneurship?
One thing about being an entrepreneur is that I do not do this alone. I have my mentor and I have invested in multiple coaches to help me reach my goals. The best advice I have received is to set those prices and be firm with them. When you are starting a business, people usually start with low prices. We have this mentality and fear that people are not going to show support if we come off too "expensive". But what I have learned is that we are actually cheating ourselves when we set the bar low. Because when you want to change your price and increase it, the people that were supporting you before are no longer interested. You have already told them your worth.
To be better respected, set those prices at a quality rate and the right people will pay you exactly what you are worth.
To learn more about Meisha Amia, you can follow her on Instagram and check out her business here.
Featured image by Meisha Amia
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I experienced insane insomnia, anxiety attacks, and even nausea on the day of his funeral. I couldn’t even muster up the strength to sit in on the viewing, so my family allowed me to sit in the church lobby until the casket was closed.
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My therapist classified it as trying to escape my grief, but I saw it as a time to process while doing something that genuinely brought me joy. After going back and forth for about a day and a half, I had finalized my itinerary with my flight and hotel confirmed. Exactly a week later, I was on my flight headed to Paris, France.
Once I landed, I felt as though a weight had been lifted. Seeing all the Olympic signs and the overall Parisian aesthetic was an instant breath of fresh air. While it was slated to be a short trip, four days and three nights, I mapped out activities that I knew would make me the most happy while there—shopping, a trip to Disneyland Paris, and of course, an Olympic event.
As a self-proclaimed adult Disney fanatic, spending a day at the French capital’s version of the theme park allowed me to disconnect from real life and tap into my inner child. I rode the teacups, ate ice cream, and even lined up to watch one of the parades, where I excitedly waved at all the characters. I left the park that evening feeling renewed.
The next day, and for my official summer games experience, I headed to my pre-booked women’s 3rd round tennis match in the famous Roland Garros Stadium. The entire time, as I randomly yet passionately cheered on the underdog Chinese competitor of the match, I kept saying to myself, “I'm really at the Olympics in Paris.”
I should preface that with, I’ve technically been before, but it was the winter games while I lived in South Korea in 2018. So it was my first Summer Games.
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With much of my trip bringing a smile to my face and spirit, there was a moment as I was leaving the tennis stadium when tears welled up. Typically, anytime I travel, my grandfather is the person I call once I return. He was always genuinely interested in hearing about where I had been and what I saw.
So, in true grief fashion, I had that moment where I got excited to call him and tell him about what I had just witnessed during my trip, and then reality hit. That was a call I would no longer be able to make. Admittedly, it left a lump in my throat, just as it did when I wrote this.
I began to question if my trip was worth it. If I hadn’t gone, would I still have this same sadness? It almost left me feeling like I should slow down on traveling for a while, or at least until I could handle the potential emotions that may result from not being able to talk to him anymore. Because the wound was still very fresh.
But, I remembered that travel is my personal love language. I also remembered how excited my grandfather and mother were to see me travel this big, beautiful world and experience global cultures. And in that moment, I knew this sadness was simply a temporary reaction to the lifelong cycle that I would go through.
Feeling my feels, as my therapist says, I allowed the emotions to do what they needed to, and then I went on to finish the rest of my trip on a high note. Because in the end, while they may not be here physically, they are certainly with me wherever I go in spirit—and that is what I will rest on as I continue to navigate this never-ending merry-go-round called grief.
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