This is something that I struggled with…feeling like I was selfish. I think there’s a difference between being self-centered vs. self-selfish. I think that it’s ok to be self- and say that something doesn’t serve me.
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Welcome to Michelle is Money Hungry, I’m your host Michelle Jackson and I focus on holding financial conversations that lean into social equity, policy and access with a splash of pop culture. My goal is to lead these conversations with empathy and help both my listeners and myself learn more about money along the way.
For the next week my guests and I focus on when American women decide that they want more in their lives. Interestingly, many of the conversations center around going into entrepreneurship. With that in mind, I do want to say that my guests and I aren’t necessarily encouraging you to go into business.
Instead, this conversation in my mind is a reflection of the policies that aren’t in place here in the United States. Policies such as paid parental leave, generous paid sick leave. Or, just having a degree of flexibility and autonomy over your days so that you can run an errand, schedule a doctor’s appointment or take your kid to ballet or help your parents out when things come up. I often wonder how different American life would be if we had some of these policies in place. Would the choices we make be different?
When I moved into digital entrepreneurship, I found myself collaborating with brands, doing 1099 work and needing to send out invoices and set up systems to keep my business organized.
It has been an ongoing process to find the right tools and systems for me. I’m so excited about a new tool that I now use that allows me to invoice clients, set up tasks, and even track my time as I work on tasks. I also use it as a CRM or client relationship management system. What’s the tool’s name?
I’m so obsessed with Harlow and am so excited that Harlow has partnered with me to bring the conversation around women wanting more personally, financially and professionally to life. Harlow is a woman-owned business, designed by former freelancers who understand the challenges of keeping creative businesses organized. I love how responsive the team is to my questions and emails which is a big deal as they continue to improve and refine this new tool. If you’re looking for a comprehensive system to organize your invoicing, client management and keep yourself organized I encourage you to give Harlow a try. I’m also a proud affiliate. Go to michelleismoneyhungry.com/harlow to check it out.
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Show Notes
Shivawn-I am a storyteller and connecting those stories to people. Anything creative is who Shivawn is, I started off as a counselor and pivoted. It has been an interesting journey.
Michelle-Could you share the financial transition that you went through on becoming a creative?
Shivawn-It was HECTIC. I don’t think that I planned as well as I would have liked to. To decide to take “the leap” to quitting my job and put my business out there and hope that people would buy from me. Definitely a lot of costly learning lessons. I also wish that I’d done a lot more due diligence regarding money and time.
Michelle-I am curious about the financial aspects…did you have student loans before you quit? Or, did you knock everything out.
Shivawn-I absolutely have student loans to this day and had recently gone through a divorce. I did make sure that I no longer had a car note. I had bills, bills from business and student loan debt. I had a lot of financial things going on.
Michelle-In this conversation we’re having we’re talking about nurturing our dreams. What were some of the tensions that debt brought as you tried to design your better life?
Shivawn-The debt made me feel like I had to say “yes” to any client. I felt like I was dealing with a scarcity mindset. I’m on this neverending wheel of saying “yes” to every client. I had to be honest with myself that I’d put myself out there before I was financially ready to. Then I had to eat some humble pie and pick up some counseling clients and had to be ok with that.
Michelle-Do you think those clients impacted your mission?
Shivawn-At the time it felt like it did, but in reality it didn’t.
Michelle-What do you do?
Shivawn- I have an amazing podcast that I produce called “Seated with Strangers” We talk about everything. It has been such an amazing journey. It has evolved to in-person dinner parties of 12-15 people where people get to be vulnerable. It has been really fun and it has been a wonderful experience.
Michelle-Social connection is one of the things that drives people to stay in places that don’t serve them well. What advice would you give to people who are seeking connection? I feel like post 2020 people are nervous to take risks with others.
Shivawn-Be honest with yourself. It’s so easy to get social media blended in with real life. In being vulnerable we can be open with others.
Michelle-If I am a person who is looking to redesign my life, what’s the first step that a person should take?
Shivawn-Be childlike. I have nephews and I look at how they approach life. In the moment, they might be upset but they don’t take bad moments into the next day. Be curious and try (even if you might fail at it) I used to have so many blogs floating out there because I was trying to figure out my voice and figure out things in general. Avoid being rigid. Failure isn’t a permanent thing.
Michelle-For women, especially women of color, are we being selfish for rethinking how our lives should be?
Shivawn-This is something that I struggled with…feeling like I was selfish. I think there’s a difference between being self-centered vs. self-selfish. I think that it’s ok to be self- and say that something doesn’t serve me. There’s nothing wrong with being self-ish because you’ve identified a need. I’m not saying we should be deterred from doing what’s best for us. It’s not a bad thing.
Michelle-You have a podcast and I’m a HUGE fan of podcast. How does having a podcast help you design your best life in addition to connecting to others?
Shivawn-It gives me the ability to navigate the conversations that I think need to be amplified. I think that we often amplify the voices that are loud…but, rude. Or, loud and mean. I still want to be kind.
Michelle-How does community help women in relation to money
Shivawn-I have my own feelings about community. Before we build community you have to BE community. You have to actually care about people. I don’t want people to walk away (from me and my space) wounded. We talked about money and the American dream and ask ourselves what does this look like?
Michelle-How does your mission better your own life personally, financially and professionally?
Shivawn-It makes me a lot more intentional about relationships. I’m very intentional about how I treat people and extend grace to others.
Follow Shivawn
- Seated with Strangers Podcast
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