6 Lessons I learned from Being a Broke Millennial while Building a Business

I’m not going to fake on you all – I’m a broke millennial, or more eloquently stated – I am a millennial working on building my financial portfolio and generational wealth. Either way you look at it, I’m a millennial that has encountered financial challenges, and I don’t make the amount of money I thought I would be making at this point in my life.

I would have to say a major part of this is due to that fact that I am regrettably a Recession millennial. By this I mean the Recession hit while I was in graduate school, and by the time I graduated there were no jobs in the field for my degree. Furthermore, I needed to make a huge move for the full time job I finally found after two and a half years of part-time work and unemployment. I was not supported financially to relocate, and this depleted my savings in a way I never quite earned back while living on my own and starting a career in an underpaid field. I made additional moves to advance in my career, but my earning potential was held back by the Recession, and other life factors such as health issues and growing a small business in my spare time.

I’ve been quite ambivalent about my financial condition over the years, but I’ve lately adapted a growth mindset mixed with a bit of self-compassion. Nonetheless, I still find it quite frustrating to build wealth in the midst of what seems like on-going external obstacles. I know I’m not the only one. I thought I would write this article to share what I feel I’ve learned along the path to financial independence:

Creativity

I find it fascinating how this works, but when you can’t afford the traditional method or resources, then it forces you to come up with something out of the ordinary. A poverty mindset will limit your ability to see possibilities, but a growth mindset will challenge you to think what might you learn or accomplish if you tried something else or created another avenue. I have thus been able to refine my natural creativity, and I can now challenge myself, and even others, to think different in seemingly immutable conditions. This has helped in my 9to5, but creativity has also helped me take action quicker when it comes to starting my business or developing other personal projects.

Resourcefulness

There is a lot of free information and tools out there. When I don’t have what I think that I need at the time then it requires me to be extra vigilant about offers or discounts. Finding a low-cost resource may slow me down, but it sometimes has even saved me money when I had to wait. For example, I took a free business seminar held by a local Chamber of Commerce office to learn how to start a business. Unfortunately, I learned that filing for my LLC was going to cost me almost $500 in Illinois, which I couldn’t afford at the time. Instead, I started to lay the foundation with my social media accounts until I could save the money. Well, I ended up moving to Virginia by this time, and invested some of the money I had saved for the LLC to relocate (yes, again) and the blog website. Low and behold, it cost a little over $100 to file for an LLC in Virginia – a cost savings of $400! Additionally, the social media, website, and services I worked on in the meantime makes the corporation documentation stronger. That’s what I call resourceful!

Pace

It would be sooo nice if I could just take a lump sum and make that down payment on certain things I would like to pay for myself and my business, but I simply can’t. As I described in the previous point, I have to save up for longer periods to afford things, and so it requires me to be more disciplined about what is the most wise thing I can do at any particular moment in time. I think more strategically about when I want to scale or invest. Being forced to slow down also makes me question whether what I really am trying to buy is a want or a need, and then I need to reconsider whether I can be more creative or resourceful to potentially fill the gap. As a result, the moves I finally make are many times more meaningful than if I was able to act impulsively. Additionally, the moves I make fit together much easier. I have more prepared than I did for my original desire or plan, and timing often works in my favor without me having to force or scramble to makes things work. Which leads me to my next point…

Faith

Look, sometimes you’ve given all that you have with gratitude and good character. It’s still not enough – that’s where faith comes in. The only thing that can get you to something that works out is believing that it will. I try to save the money, but then I have to use it for something else. I want to stop using my credit card, but then life happens. I try to work on “this” part for my business, but then I need “that” and don’t have it yet, because of another other thing I needed to buy. Aww, welp! I guess I can’t do it right now, so I shift focus where I do have more control. When I have to wait, what I wanted aligns better with something else I wouldn’t have had access to previously, so it really worked out better than I had expected. I now don’t feel as discouraged or angry when things don’t quite work out the way I envisioned, because I have learned how intelligent the universe is and trusting God with what I can’t really does allow Him to work in my favor instead. I have too many examples to list here, but I give Him the Glory!

Perseverance

If you can only do a little bit by little bit and it doesn’t amount to what you wanted, then it can still feel discouraging after a while. There are times I have wanted to completely give up by being forced to slow down. The thing about gradual progress is that it does make progress. The fact that you keep going can lead you to a person or opportunity that will make up for what you couldn’t put in on your own. I am sure persevering with my social media and getting the website in order helped me to transition to building a client base much quicker. It also made moving less of a hassle from a business standpoint. When I finally accomplish what I want then it means so much more to me. I also feel like a stronger person by my ability to persevere. I can now see the big picture much easier, and I’m able to help others as well.

Support

I’ve learned who I can truly rely on by being broke. There are friends that have fed me when I didn’t have the money. I have friends that I feel more comfortable reaching out to, because I know I don’t have to go out or do things involving money to have a good time with them. These friendships feel more genuine, and I have been reassured that there are people in my life I can really rely on, which I can’t say I was all that clear about when I was doing better financially at different points in my life. The pacing and faith has also strengthened my intuition, and I am more in tune to what I value and what people in my life need from me. I was really focused on success and accomplishment at other points in my life, and I neglected my relationships far more than I care to admit. I now know that achievement and financial security can only go so far in enhancing your happiness. I feel my friends and family relationships are much stronger, and being forced to slow down has made me a healthier, more supportive person.

I see now with all my experiences that financial stability and independence is a long game. Ultimately, I know that building a business on a budget is possible. Despite how frustrating and uncomfortable it can be at times, I know of too many examples where it all works out. However, in this materialistic and social media driven world, it can make it seem like everyone is doing better with their finances than you. Build your financial literacy, make the manageable adjustments, and then let the consistent good habits you’ve put into place work for themselves over time. Life happens and you’ll be forced to make some sacrifices. You haven’t lost. On the road to fostering your purpose, you’re building something better – you. That’s something money can’t buy.