We were lucky to catch up with Raicheen Blanks recently and have shared our conversation below.
Raicheen , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
What a great question. One of the things that my parents definitely did right was instill in me the value of treating people with respect and having integrity. These two aspects of life have helped me out both personally and professionally. Having respect for people and carrying myself with integrity have been some of the keys to my success. I recall a time where I had found a wallet walking into work. I opened it hoping to identify exactly who it belonged to, unfortunately there wasn’t an ID in the wallet and it had a substantial amount of money in it. So, I walked into work and handed the wallet to the security guard, who was later able to identify the individual the wallet belonged to. The security guard ended up telling the individual that I was the person that turned in his wallet, he came to thank me for turning it in and had informed me that the money that was in there was for him to buy airline tickets for his children that are overseas… A situation like this, is a true test of character and integrity. I knew that there was absolutely nothing good that would come out of me not turning in the wallet. In life our decisions have a direct or indirect impact on others, and I am a firm believer that when you do good to others, it will come back to you tenfold….
Raicheen , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Hello I’m Raicheen Blanks, Founder of The Worthonomics Company, My mission is to normalize women as investors by shifting their mindset from consumers to owners through the power of education, strategy and execution, My goal is to change the narrative around women and money by empowering them to become financially sound, stable, and secure. Traditionally women, have been left out of this conversation, however I feel it is my duty to give to others what someone gave to me, and that is the knowledge of how to make your money work harder for you, than you do it. I started investing at the age of 19, when a co-worker had initially peaked my interest and taught me how to invest, I’ve been investing ever since. I have over 10+ years experience in money management, financial literacy, personal finance, and investing to assist women in meeting their financial goals. I earned my Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Connecticut and went on to receive her MBA from Post University as well as continuing my education at Harvard Business School, obtaining a certification in Alternative Investments.
Over the years I’ve worked with women to teach them the art of investing and along that journey I noticed a gap in the market. The gap was that they really didn’t have a platform where they could manage all of their financial and insurance accounts. Sometimes women are faced with the challenges of leaving the workforce which often leads to them leaving behind their retirement account and not transferring them to their current retirement plan. This often causing them to lose sight of where they stand financially. This particular situation led me to provide a way for women to management their finances. I am currently in the process of creating a fintech app that will empower women to manage all of their financial and insurance accounts on one platform. One app, all access. My fintech app will provide value to my customers by educating them on investing and basic personal finance principles, creating a space for them to upload their financial documents to help keep them organized and informed. Women will now have the capability to track their net worth, investments, value of their real estate, create and manage their spending plan (budget), credit, estate plans and tax information/documents.
The work I do is my purpose, it is both rewarding and fulfilling. I receive feedback from women stating that I changed their perspective when it comes to money management, they often thought they needed a substantial amount of money to invest, but after working with me they realize that it really doesn’t take much to get started. These are some of the things that I am most proud of, positively impacting women’s lives on a daily basis is an amazing experience and also a way to be of service to others.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think what helped me build my reputation within my market is authenticity and consistent messaging. Before I ever started my business, I was always speaking about good money management habits, I was known as “the girl that’s also talking about money.” Therefore when I actually founded my company it was easy to build a reputation and brand because it was essentially continuing the same messaging I had already established. When you are authentic and consistent, you become a thought leader in your industry. People trust those that are consistent in their messaging, on and off social media platforms. In terms of authenticity, I make sure I speak on my successes as well as my failures which I often refer to as learning moments. Authenticity also creates a sense of trust and accountability, which are important factors in my industry.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
My initial capital came from my savings as well as my 9-5. I used funds that I had coming in from my day job to help get my business up and running. There is a misconception that people must either be a full time entrepreneur or full time employee, my thoughts are you can do both, and in the beginning that’s exactly what I did. I utilized the funds from my day job to invest into my business, so essentially my job became my first investor. I did what made sense for me, everyone’s situation will be different and it’s important to evaluate your current and future needs to determine how to fund your business.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.worthonomics.com
- Instagram: the_worthonomics_company
- Facebook: the_worthonomics_company
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/raicheenbmba
- Twitter: @TheWorthonomics