For this week’s edition of FinanciElle “$tatements”, I had the opportunity to interview Samantha Ealy, Founder and CEO of Generation Wealthy.

Generation Wealthy is a video-based financial literacy platform with the mission of teaching personal finance and starting the money conversation among millennials.

Paolina: What has been your hardest experience dealing with your business and finance and what did you learn?

Samantha:

Fundraising and budgeting have definitely been the hardest parts about dealing with Generation Wealthy as it pertains to business and finance.  We raised money prematurely, without planning for what the money would be used for. The lack of strategy around money was a big hurdle; it’s something I would do differently if I could do it all over again.

Paolina: What advice do you wish you had gotten about finance when you were first starting your business, or really ever?

Samantha:

I wish I had established financial goals for the business as part of my initial strategy.  Because Generation Wealthy is a non-profit, I figured we’d only need money to create content; but, there are so many other elements to the financial side of a non-profit, like advertising to reach scale, that I didn’t think about.  As far as advice goes, I would recommend coming up with some financial goals you want to meet each quarter and stick to that plan.  It can be in the form of a budget, or they can be SMART goals.

Paolina: For a teen or young adult who doesn’t know or think entrepreneurship is an option, what advice do you have for them, what are the first steps they should take with their money?

Samantha:

Entrepreneurship is an option!

I would suggest taking a good look at your finances before starting a business.  In the beginning, most entrepreneurs bootstrap their businesses, meaning they pay for what they need with their own money.  Do some initial research on the different components you need to start your business and see how much other people have paid and get some estimates.  Don’t be intimidated if it looks expensive at first, you can set small goals to bootstrap your business.  The biggest recommendation I have is to avoid going into debt until after you’ve proved you have a good business.  You can prove you have a good business with real sales and repeat customers.

Samantha has a new YouTube talk show about all things money, business, entrepreneurship and lifestyle that’s coming soon so , Subscribe to Full Disclosure with Samantha Ealy.