Deemed as the "New Face of Wealth Building" in the Black Enterprise Magazine's October 2014 issue, Tonya Rapley, the founder of My Fab Finance, continues to find new ground breaking ways to inspire others to take charge of their financial future. As a Certified Financial Educator, Rapley's passion is to encourage individuals to stop living paycheck to paycheck and live their best lives through financial freedom. She has striked the match and ignited her passion which has served as a light to her client's pathway to positive monetary behavioral change.
Check out my interview with Millennial Money Coach and take away a few money tips. . .
What are some ways entrepreneurs can fund their business?
There are quite a few ways. Two of the most popular are to get outside funding or raise the money yourself. Most recently crowdfunding has become an option. I like to do things with as little external obligations as possible so I built my company by investing my own money and investing the profits back into it. For individuals who require a large amount of inventory to get started, outside investment might be the best option for them. I recently heard Lisa Price on a panel at an event I spoke at in Dallas and she used both methods to grow her company Carol's Daughter. She started out with a $100 investment and then received funds from outside investors to grow her company.
People have to determine what works best for them based on their long term goals for their company.
What are some financial mistakes most people make when it comes to funding their business?
Most people blindly invest in their company. Meaning they purchase materials and classes without a clear understanding of what needs to be done and their expected return from the investment. OR they invest in courses and resources and fail to implement. If you invest in learning how to do something for your business make sure that you take action and implement otherwise that is wasted money.
What is one major financial planning tip you would give to a someone who's ready to make a transition into full time entrepreneurship?
Make sure that you have multiple revenue streams established before you take the leap. Just one month into working for myself one of my biggest clients suffered a huge technology issue that was not easy to financially bounce back from. Had I not had multiple streams of income I would have been out of business.
Tell us about your book?
My book is called 7 Life Changing Money Tips and it is the book I wish that I had when I began my financial journey. It's a comprehensive guide that covers everything people should think about when they decide to take control of their money and ultimately their life. It is an easy read and avoids the use of "over your head" financial jargon.
Who is Tonya? and what imprint does Tonya want to leave on the world?
I am a woman who has lived a full life up until this point and don't plan on slowing down. I have realized that all the adversity I have experienced was to lead me to this path of changing lives. At my core I am committed to changing as many lives as possible, even if that means changing someone's day by flashing an unsuspecting smile.
I am compassionate, giving, full of love, evolving spiritually, and flawed.
What's next for you and your brand?
My two goals this year for 2016 are to help millennials discover new ways of creating wealth and to bring awareness to economic abuse. I want to be a leading advocate on economic abuse since it is ultimately what brought me to my journey. It is often overshadowed by physical abuse but the wounds of financial abuse can plague a survivor long after they have healed from the physical realities of abuse.
Leave us with one last piece of advice.
No matter how small the task do everything with integrity because when it boils down to it that is all you've got.
You can find out more information about Tonya Rapley and her movement at http://myfabfinance.com/
Congrats to the newlyweds Khomari Flash & Tonya Rapley. 