Today we’d like to introduce you to Bola Sokunbi.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started Clever Girl Finance because I want to help women take charge of their financial situations and equip them with the tools and resources needed to help them achieve financial success.
The idea for Clever Girl Finance came up shortly after I had my twins, I wanted to spend more time with my children and at the time I was working too far away from home which was taking hours away from the time I could have been spending at home with my children.
I decided to start brainstorming and writing down every idea that came to mind in regards to what I could do. I wanted to do something that I was passionate about, that would truly matter to me and also have an impact on other women.
Several years back, I had a personal lifestyle blog where amongst other things, I talked about my journey with saving money and learning how to invest. And as I achieved various milestones with my finances (despite many mistakes) other women would ask me about how I was doing things. So as I brainstormed, it made sense that the ideas I had revolved around personal finance and women.
So after building a website and getting some traction with the content I was sharing, I decided to create a plan to transition into Clever Girl Finance full time.
In the last four years since I founded Clever Girl Finance, we’ve had incredible growth as a result of the content we create and from creating a safe and comfortable space for women to talk about money without being shamed or judged for what they don’t know. Today we are one of the largest personal finance platforms for women in the United States.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has definitely not been smooth sailing but that’s the beauty of business. It’s a learning and growth experience and the challenges are part of the process.
One of the biggest struggles I had especially in the early days was removing myself as the bottleneck so as not to hinder the growth of the business.
This meant developing systems and processes, hiring the right people and trusting my team to execute the vision I was creating.
For me personally, as Clever Girl Finance grew, there were certain aspects of the business that were hard for me to let go of but looking back, I think it was because everything about my business was so personal that I was worried that no one else could execute things as well as I could but I was wrong. It’s all about having the right people in place to support growth.
Other major struggles were around learning marketing and understanding how to attract our core audience especially in a world where there are a lot of things vying for peoples’ attention. We are constantly thinking through how to make ourselves stand out while continuing to provide immense value.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Clever Girl Finance is an online financial education platform aimed at providing women with financial guidance through easy to digest courses, one-on-one mentorship, and an incredibly supportive community.
Our goal is to inspire women to pursue and achieve their dreams of financial independence in order to live life on their own terms. Our team is focused on helping women to become accountable, ditch debt, save money and build real wealth.
As a company, we are most proud of the impact we have on the day-to-day lives of women from all backgrounds as they work on improving their finances and their lives. The stories and feedback we get from our audience about how they are paying off debt, saving money, recovering from difficult situations and even teaching their children financial responsibility as a result of our content, community, and support makes us proud to do what we do.
We operate from a basis of no-shame and no-judgment. Everyone has made mistakes in life and with their finances and that’s ok. Our mission is to empower you to take the lessons and leverage them for success. We also believe in having a blast while at it. Our platform is fun and engaging!
Having access to one-on-one mentorships on demand is also a feature that our members of our find invaluable because sometimes you just need that extra guidance, support, and encouragement from another person.
What were you like growing up?
I grew up between and Nigeria and Austria. I attended preschool and then started primary school briefly in Austria and then my family moved back to Nigeria, where I continued my primary education and then went on to high school. I went back to Austria for college and then moved to the states where I graduated. Growing up, I loved reading and having fun generally. Personality-wise, I was a little bit silly, a little bit serious and definitely not quiet in school.
Pricing:
- Personal finance courses start at $20
Contact Info:
- Website: https://clevergirlfinance.com
- Email: hello@clevergirlfinance.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/clevergirlfinance
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/clevergirlfinance
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/clevergirlcgf
Image Credit:
Clever Girl Finance
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