You know what it is. That's right. It's time to talk money with your money
nerd and financial coach. Now, tighten those purse strings
and open those ears. It's the money talk with Tiff
podcast. Hey,
everyone. I am so excited because I have Shello Dicollier on the
line, and she is the founder of Black Women Invest. And so
you already know what we're going to be talking about. But how are you doing
today, Shello? I'm doing great, and I'm so happy to be here.
Yes. Thank you so much for coming. So let's just hop right in for the
audience. Black women invest. Let's start at the origin
story. Why did you decide that you wanted
to start this initiative in this company, and why is it important for
people to pay attention to? So black women invest
started after I had an interesting
experience at work. I actually got
laid off at my dream job, and it
was a big wake up call for me. I realized that one, I was very
dependent on the income, and I also realized that I never
wanted to be in that position again, where someone basically
told me where my money was going to come from. And it was
tough because at the time, I was working in a
position where I got to help people learn
about real estate investing and help them to build their portfolio. So it
was an exciting career, and I was very happy about it. I got to travel
with the company, but it was tough because despite
me understanding all these things and being in the field, I
myself was still very much dependent on this company
providing me with a paycheck, and I wasn't yet
free financially. So after that whole
experience happened, that same week is when I decided to
look for other people who were in a similar space. I wanted to
find other people who were in the investing
space, who were seeking more, and just,
yeah, I was just looking for it, and that's what inspired me to start it.
It's funny, because when I started looking online for different
groups, I kept finding a lot of groups that were focused
on saving and budgeting. But my question was,
well, what about the rest of us who are past that
stage or who want to learn how to multiply their money? And
so that's where this whole thing kind of started. It started
from, I guess some would say, a tragedy or whatever,
but it was an opportunity for me, nevertheless.
Gotcha. Gotcha. So it came out of necessity, pretty much.
It sounds like, where you were laid off from your dream job, and
you're like, well, I never didn't have a paycheck
before. Like, what does this look like? And so you decided
to start black women invest because you saw that, you know, it was just
saving and budgeting resources out there and nothing for
investing. So with that being said, so now that we've caught up on
your story, when
you thought about investing, what made you decide
that black women were going to be your target market?
I decided that because I am a black woman.
And, you know, during my time, at my
previous role, I got a chance to travel and see a
lot of people that were in the rooms were not
anyone who really looked like me. Right. So a majority of people
who were seeking that investment, education were just
for really, as we know, you know, white men, older people,
people who had just a completely different story than me. And
I found myself kind of helping those type of people and
wondering at the same time, where are my people? Where are the people who
look like me? Where are the black women who share this interest? So
it was a no brainer for me to target
this. And in all honesty, when it started,
this community was really formed so that I can create,
so I can make friends. Basically, I was just looking
for friends, and it ended up developing into where it is now,
into a full out business. That is awesome. And, yes, we are always
looking for community. And especially as black people,
it doesn't matter where you go. If we see another person
that looks like us, we're like, we gravitate over to them.
So I can definitely see that. And I know in my journey as
well, I was reading the Kiplinger personal Finance Money
magazine, all these blogs and podcasts, and nothing was really
aimed at people that look like me. You can tell
from the different conversations and the pictures in the magazine who
it was really aimed at. And so I'm glad that you saw that gap and
decided to step into that, because it's very much needed.
Now, when we think about black women invest, what are some things that
you go over, or what are some topics that you cover with your
community? Yeah. So we talk about
investing as a whole. So
stock market investing, real estate investing,
retirement planning is a big one. I do believe
that that's something that us as a community needs to speak about a little bit
more often, because, unfortunately, people just aren't retiring,
and black women specifically are retiring at an even
lower rate than others. Right. So we talk about
retirement planning and what that looks like. We have different
programs that are set up so that people can jump right in
and basically learn and develop their
skills at any stage that they're in. Gotcha. Gotcha. Okay.
So when I go visit the black woman invest website, which I'll
do after this, when I go
visit the website, what is it that you
want me to take away from all of this? So, like, let's say somebody's
listening and they're like, you know, I'm right there with you, Shello.
I already know budgeting, already know savings. I have savings. I'm ready to step
into investing. What is the first thing that you recommend people
do? Well? Okay, so I recommend two things, right. But the very first
thing was probably become a member. So we have
in person, we have in person chapter meetings that happen all the
time in different cities, and then we also have an
online membership so that people can take advantage of the resources
that are available there. So I would recommend that people join
the community. And that's particularly important because
you don't want to just learn on your own. It's easy to
fall behind or, you know, just, like, start a course,
and then you just kind of be like, okay, I'm going to get to it.
And then you never get to it. Like, life gets in the way, essentially. And
so a way to avoid that from happening is becoming a
member of the community and actually making friends and
connecting. So we have some really great, thriving
chapters throughout the country. So I would say that's the first thing.
And then the second thing I would say is
to seek some investment knowledge. So
really assessing, where are you right now? What do you want to learn? Where do
you want to be? And kind of asking yourself these types of questions
and then hopefully deciding from there which route makes the
most sense. So that is what I would say is the second step for you.
We have, like, a conference coming up, for example. We have international
real estate tours that we offer. We also have courses and
programs. So it can feel a little bit, you
know, like, overwhelming potentially. But I think when you do that
reflection, you'll figure out, you know, what's the best next step. And that
next step should be education focused. Gotcha.
Gotcha. So you have different chapters all over the country.
If someone's listening and they're like, well, I want to see if there's a chapter
close to me. Do you have an option for that on the website? Yeah.
Yeah. So you can go to blackwomaninvest.com chapters, but
on the homepage, you'll also see an option where it says, become a member.
And we list out where the current locations are so you
can take a look there. And then even if someone is listening and
they want to join, but there is nothing nearby. You can
still join the online membership and get the same benefits. The only
difference is that you're not meeting in person, but you still have,
you know, you still have access to different resources. You'll still
be able to meet virtually a few times a month and
still be able to make connections and make friends. It's just that you're not
physically meeting. Yeah. And that makes complete sense. You know,
it's so crazy how just having that extra layer of support
and accountability can make a huge difference. You know, we see it with the Weight
Watchers groups and other types of groups that pop up
where once you have that group, that team,
that sisterhood with you, you're able to stick to your goals
a little better. So I just wanna ask another
question really quick. Cause my brain is going as talking through
this. If we have people at different
investing levels, would there be room for them as
well? So, like, let's say, for instance, somebody's listening and they're like, okay,
I know the basics of investing. Is this just going to be
beginner level or is there an advanced option? I just want to make sure
that we're clear on who we're talking to. Yeah.
So within our chapters, we have people of all stages
that join, and so all of our chapter meetings are
really catered to accommodate just about everyone.
So, for example, when we meet with the chapters, we have different
professionals that come in and we have a specific topic every single
month. And amongst those conversations, you'll
find that these financial professionals that speak, they'll have
a variety of resources available for basically
any level that you're at. So we make sure that within our
conversations, we are addressing everyone in the room.
And even within the programs that we have within
BWI online, you'll see that we have different
programs in place and you'll be able to kind of see where
you are based on.
Yeah, basically, you'll be able to go onto the site and see where you are
and make a decision as to which one really fits you.
So there are a lot of people who join and they have that
foundation. And so maybe the first level of training
is not for you, but at the end of the day, you can take the
next thing. Right. You can join the conference or you can
participate in our upcoming mastermind, and then you can also,
of course, join the chapters. So there's really a place for everyone. Yes,
and I love all these different touch points. I mean, you've mentioned the
communities, you've mentioned the online and in person
mentioned the masterminds. Like all of these different things are
awesome for people that are just starting off and investing and those that are already
seasoned just to have some community around them. So I love this
initiative and what you're doing now. Let's get into the business
side just for a little bit, because there might be someone listening.
Like, I really have this cool idea that I need to
put out there, and I know there will be a community for this. So
I want to just briefly hit on how you started
this community. What did that process look like? Were you on
Facebook just, like, searching for the different things,
or did you already have a community of like minded individuals like
you? How did that start when you first built the community?
Yeah. So when I first built it, I was searching
on Facebook. At the time, Facebook groups were
pretty popular, and so I really sought
after. Like, I really use that platform to seek
after people who are in the same space. So that's
where I started it as well. So I started off as a Facebook community,
and it was free. It is still free, and we still run it. That's
where our primary touch point is with a lot of the members and,
you know, transitioning from. So one of the things that we're working on right now
is we're transitioning from Facebook into a different
platform to help accommodate people who are not on Facebook
and to really help people to focus and also be
able to keep track of everything that's happening in one place.
So initially, like, on the business side, I always tell people, you
don't need any fancy tech. You don't need to pay for anything just yet until
you start making money. So I was the person who
used everything that was free, that was available.
So for any of the entrepreneurs on here, thinking about how do they start
their community, targeting people on Facebook would probably be the
very best thing, because it is a free community that you can start, and then
you can, you know, grab all the extra free tools to cultivate
it. I love that. I love that. So thank you so much,
Shella, for coming on the podcast today and talking about black
women invest, because I believe that is something that's important, and I'm sure
the audience does, too. Now, if people were interested, I know you said
it before, but let's go ahead and say it again. If people were
interested in finding out more about this initiative
or about you, where could they find you? Yeah, you can find
us on blackwomaninvest.com, or you can join
our Facebook group, and it is black women invest
on Facebook. And you can also follow us on Instagram
blackwomen invest and that would be
the primary ways to get connected. That is so awesome. So I will
make sure I have all of those links in the show notes for you. If
you are listening and doing something else, don't worry, just hit those show notes
and I'll have those for you. So thank you so much Shello again for coming
on and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. All right, thank
you. Thanks for having me. Bye. Thank you
for listening, joining and being a part of the Money Talk with TIFF podcast this
week. You can check TiFf out every Thursday for a new Money talk
podcast, but if you just can't wait until next week, you can listen to
previous podcast
episodes@moneytalkwitht.com or
follow Tiffany on all social media platforms at Moneytalk
with t. Until next time, spend wise by
spending less than you make. A word to the money wise is always
sufficient.