We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Taylor Phillip a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Taylor, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a fun one – what’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

In general, I believe that most people disagree that budgeting is not restrictive. Budgeting…it’s the complete opposite. It is empowering. It is meant to put you in a position to be in control of your money, not your money control you. By budgeting, you know exactly where your money is going, and there is freedom in that.

Another thing I believe most people disagree with is that budgeting is an emotional and mental journey. It is not just balancing numbers, but analyzing why you spend the way you do. Are there certain times of the month you tend to spend more? If so, why? One of the first steps to budgeting is figuring out your spending habits, and if they are negative, how you can change them in order to create financial literacy and overall, better habits.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

In Dec 2020, I realized that the one thing in my life that needed to change was my relationship and overall approach with money. I wanted to become financially literate…someone who could break generational curses because I not only knew how to manage my money, but I felt comfortable making significant financial decisions, and could teach my daughter and children to come, how to take control of their money. I was always a saver, but I was not financially mature. In Feb 2021, God laid it on my heart to document my financial journey on YouTube, to hold myself accountable, and hopefully inspire and motivate others to take control over their finances. Although I knew little about budgeting, I was dedicated. My channel, TaylorBudgets, focuses on low-income budgeting, since I work part-time, and I believe that has resonated with a lot of people. Although my channel is no longer solely dedicated to low income earners, my financial journey is still being shown. I believe it brings motivation to a lot of my supporters, that no matter what you earn, budgeting is so important.

I became passionate about changing the stigma of budgeting–that it is limiting, boring, and difficult. Sharing my journey helps me do just that. I truly believe that budgeting is fun! There is a freedom that comes with having control over your finances. Once you realize that you can pay off debt, save, and still live your best life, you have proven to yourself that nothing is impossible…that with dedication and resilience, you can make things happen for yourself and your family.

Today, my journey has led me to become an entrepreneur, where I now conduct one-on-one consultations, create personal finance tools displayed on TaylorBudgets,com, and much more. I have had the opportunity to work with brands to create budgeting courses, and have spoken to future entrepreneurs about how to start their businesses, from a budgeting standpoint.

I am all about “Making Your Money Enough”. Whether you make $20K a year or $100K a year, a solid budget must be in place, where you are consistently learning more about your spending habits and how it affects your life. Remember that comparing what you have to others will only set you back. Write down your financial goals, make a plan, and do your best to make them happen.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When I started my YouTube channel, TaylorBudgets, I had an extremely small following on Instagram made up of family and friends. I decided that I wanted to create an audience organically, and I knew that the first thing I needed to do was start! I did not have the fancy equipment (camera, lighting, etc.), which is something I thought I needed. All I used for the first year was my iPhone, MacBook (which my dad purchased for me), and a phone hook I purchased from Amazon. I started filming my budgeting videos on my bathroom counter, because that’s where the best lighting was in the house. I also filmed standing up, which I do not think most people do.

I decided that although analytics is important, I would not stress myself out with numbers, but focus on making content that people could relate to, understand, and enjoy. I went on YouTube and researched how to make my videos searchable, and did just that! Everything I learned about starting a channel, and making my channel reachable to viewers, I learned from YouTube University. The amount of free resources is amazing.

After that, I stayed CONSISTENT! I knew that once my videos caught onto the YouTube algorithm, my consistency would keep me in the algorithm. One day I looked on my channel, and one of my videos BLEW UP! I did not know how, because I had the same routine for every video (searchable titles, tags, and an eye catching thumbnail), but that one video is what grew my channel from 500-600 subscribers, to 50K subscribers in less than a year.

Soon after, I created my Instagram, and a lot of my supporters on YouTube followed me on Instagram. This helped me to slowly gain a good following on Instagram, which made my page more appealing to others.

All in all, through research and consistency, I am continuously building my social media presence. I also stay true to myself. I’m open, honest, and transparent, and lots of supporters relate to my anecdotes. I’m thankful to God! All of my supporters see value in my content and in my story, and I’m so appreciative!

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

When I started TaylorBudgets.com, I started with apparel, specifically T-Shirts. At first, I purchased over 300 plain t-shirts, a Circuit, and a Circuit Heat Press, in order to make the shirts myself, but I soon realized that I was not good at making shirts. so, I reached out to a graphic designer who made my shirt designs, and I used Printify, a print-on-demand company to produce and ship the shirts to my customers. Printify was easy to merge with my website, which I created on Shopify.

Shortly, I grasped the fact that budgeting shirts would not help my supporters budget, save, or pay off debt. So, I decided to create a savings challenge book. I designed the entire book on Canva, which is a free resource. After designing the book, I purchased the carstock paper, binder rings, a printer, ink, and a book binding machine, to make the books at home. I learned from YouTube videos on how to make the books successfully.

Once my savings challenge books were successful, I looked into other budgeting products I could offer that would motivate others to budget, like wallets and cash envelopes. I knew I needed to find a vendor for my wallets, so I researched for months for the right manufacturer. I finally, with help from other small business owners in the community, found a manufacturer in China, via Alibaba.com. This company eased my stress when it came to purchasing bulk products, that were well-made. It is hard at first to find a manufacturer that you trust, but I urge you to read reviews and go with your gut. It is important to order a sample first, to ensure that the product is exactly what you want and the process of shipping is easy.

For the cash envelopes, I turned to YouTube once again. I had no idea how to make them, but I watched videos for weeks, and finally was comfortable not only making them, but selling them.

The wallets and cash envelopes produced more versatility to my shop, which I am thankful for.

The lessons I have learned along the way are to really think about products that will not only bring attention to your business, but are products that are unique, set you apart, and will make you happy to sell. Also, be patient. You cannot rush greatness. It is important to take your time and create products that have purpose.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://taylorbudgets.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taylorbudgets/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpa64GZuLwfGiTipCtMuHTw
• Other: https://www.theelevatedlifeco.com