We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Haley Kowalewski. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Haley below.
Alright, Haley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I founded Femme Financial Coaching in 2020 after working as a headhunter in Los Angeles for most of my 20s. In my corporate job I was starting to make good money, but I had no idea what to do with it or how to invest and no one around me seemed to know anything either. I started teaching myself all about personal finance and investing and then coaching my colleagues and friends around money. When covid hit and I had more time on my hands I decided to post to educate others as a side business offering coaching services, not knowing it would get to the point where it would become my full time job. I was moving up in my corporate career eventually landing a recruiting role in Big Tech while building my business nights and weekends. Eventually, it go to the point where it was too much to manage both and I made the decision to go into Femme Financial full time in 2022. I knew if I had more time to put into it I could really make money with it to support myself fully. I knew it was a worthwhile endeavor by how much I loved doing it, the amount of money I was making, the demand for my services, and the brand deal requests. In the finance space, I feel like I also got in at a good time as there were less pages than there are now so I was able to grow quickly. I was solving a problem that others are also working to solve, however the way I solve it I really believe in. I believe in a holistic approach to money management and I have a system I have my clients follow called my Aligned Money Method that helps them get to the point where they are confidently managing their money on their own. I love making finance approachable and giving my clients the tools they need to be successful.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am 31 years old and live in Los Angeles. I worked professionally as a headhunter for most of my 20s before pivoting into social media and finance. I offer a handful of products/services including a Budget Planner tool for people to track their expenses and get a good handle on their money, a self-guided course, Private Finance Coaching, and my 3 month hybrid private group/private coaching program Rich Woman Academy. All of my programs give clients a roadmap to learn about money and implement lasting changes that will help them build wealth a lot faster. I am a hands-on coach and this helps set me apart as all of my paid offers have a 1-1 component to them. I feel this is important as finance is so personal so I really want to give as many people tailored coaching support that I can. I am proud that what I teach is what I personally implement as well and I am on track to become work optional in my 40s. I am also proud that I run a very balanced business that also allows me to travel abroad regularly and teach yoga part time. It’s important to me to lead by example of what can happen when you take your finances seriously.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
Yes Femme Financial Coaching started off as a side hustle. I loved running it because it was a topic I am incredibly passionate about and gave me a creative outlet. What really helped me build it to the point it is at today was hiring business coaches along the way. I’ve had amazing coaches who have helped push me to build out programs, get organized, find my voice in the market, and scale. I highly recommend new business owners to seek out coaches who are where you want to be or who have helped people like you. Entrepreneurship can be lonely, having a coach or someone in your corner pushing you and supporting you can be extremely helpful. I appreciated having a 9-5 when I started my side hustle and when I started to think about taking it full time some things that helped were 1) building a business emergency fund up so when I make the pivot I wasn’t so focused on making money asap as I had a safety net as I adjusted 2) understanding what my lifestyle cost me so I knew what to aim for income-wise in the business. I have done multi six-figures in business every year since pivoting into my business full time which is a big milestone for me to exceed the income I was making in my 9-5.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Consistency is my biggest tip. Show up every day (or as often as you can!) especially if you are new. And also be intentional about what the goal is for the posts you are making: are you trying to sell? To get followers? To get people on your email list? I grew via TikTok and Reels mainly a few videos can really take off, you never know!
Also, engage with your audience, get feedback, be someone worth following! Solve their problems.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.femmefinancialcoaching.com
- Instagram: @femmefinancialcoaching
- Other: TikTok @femme_financial
