We were lucky to catch up with Anna Genov recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Anna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back at the decisions you made early in your career, particularly whether to join a firm or start your own, do you feel you made the right choice for that stage of your career?

New York is known for its wealth. It’s disheartening that 15% of its population still lives below the poverty line. Unfortunately, the pandemic made these disparities worse. Being a New Yorker, I’ve personally witnessed friends and relatives going through hardships. It’s not about limited resources; there’s also a widespread lack of knowledge when it comes to managing personal finances. Driven by empathy and a desire for change, I took it upon myself to create a program focused on financial literacy for teenagers. With the launch of Money Lessons for Teen I aimed to fill the educational gap on this subject within schools. Money Lessons for Teens is a non-profit organization to help students make smart financial decisions by providing free financial literacy education. I go to schools, community centers, and any other organization where there are students and give lessons on budgeting, investing, and saving. I aim to teach then good financial habits that will help them manage their money in the future and avoid situations such as debt. My goal is to equalize economic opportunities and give everyone the chance to move upward financially.
Now after a year of hard work, the program has successfully mentored over 300 students across 20 schools in NYC through lectures, videos, podcasts, and partnerships with youth organizations. The success of Money Lessons for Teens has motivated me to expand further. New York has a growing migrant population in need of support. Fluent in Spanish and German, I translated the program to reach a broader audience and make financial literacy a universal resource for all.

Anna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Many children in underserved communities haven’t had the chance to cultivate essential skills through financial literacy. Additionally numerous schools do not offer money management classes, so few kids are taught the importance of budgeting and saving. This can hurt them later on in life and lead them to develop financial troubles. My goal is to achieve financial literacy inclusivity for kids who haven’t been given the opportunity to learn about personal finances. I address this issue by giving free financial literacy lessons. I teach students the important steps in making financial decisions and understanding the value of money – and I do this for free. I offers presentations and lessons that explains the process of budgeting, saving, and investing. I go to schools, community centers, and public places to offer kids lessons. I adjust my lessons based on the age and experience of the students/kids. I also have a website with podcasts and videos that offer financial tips such as debt management, saving, and investing. The podcasts and videos are offered in German, English, and Spanish.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

As a 15-year-old young woman, starting a financial literacy non-profit has had its fair share of challenges. Learning about personal finance on my own and creating an educational curriculum for students wasn’t easy, however, the most difficult part of the journey was getting the first invitation to present my prepared materials to a teenage audience. I must have sent over 200 emails and visited around 100 schools, community centers, clubs, churches, after school programs, and non-profit organizations with the offer of my financial literacy course. Everyday, after school, I would have a list of doors to knock on with my presentation in hand, explaining the benefits of my program. The initial reception was lukewarm at best, I got quite a few “We will call you when we have a need for it.” I climbed through a mountain of rejections but I didn’t give up. I was very motivated to persevere as I firmly believed in the significance of my mentorship program. Finally I was offered the opportunity to present at my former elementary school. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive by both the teacher and the students. They excitedly offered the opportunity to refer me to other schools that might have an interest. Slowly but surely, I started getting invitations from various organizations to provide my financial literacy training. Now, almost a year later, I have mentored over 300 students across 20 schools in New York City. One of the local media outlets, AMNY, ran a cover story in their business section recently, outlining the success of my program and its positive impact on the community, here is a link to the article https://www.amny.com/finance/new-york-city-money-lessons-for-teens/

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

My most effective strategy has been to approach as many programs and schools as possible – I’m always trying to hustle. I reach out to schools and organization via email. Many places have websites with email addresses linked. I’ve learned that there is strength is numbers. Everyday I send 5 emails and in the beginning I typically only got 1 or 2 responses a month. I also visited countless schools, programs, and organizations in my free time. Money Lessons for Teens is always in the back of my mind. I always try to spread awareness of the importance of financial literacy wherever I go, never knowing what opportunities/individuals I might run into.

While tedious, this method have been effective. Money Lessons for Teens has been growing tremendously since I first founded in in September 2023. Whenever I go to present at a school or organization, I gently ask for referrals to any other organizations that may be interested in my lessons. Teachers and organization leaders are always happy to introduce me. Slowly but surely my clientele has grow to 300 students across 20 schools.

Throughout my life I have witnessed the power of education. Getting the opportunity to learn and grow is an essential part of life. It instills confidence, opens horizons, creates opportunities, and leads to great outcomes. Through my non-profit I aspire to equalize the economic playfield across all races, genders, and backgrounds, to give everyone the chance to move upward financially. Looking ahead, I aspire to grow the program nationally and internationally in the future, reaching even more individuals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.moneylessonsforteens.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-genov-9002ba27b/

Image Credits
I took all the photos.