Move from a place of comfort to a place of courage
The fourth episode of the #UnlockWomen Podcasts, titled “Money Talks,” presented by the Mail & Guardian in partnership with African Bank, explored the concept of monetisation. To make money, one must have a clear plan, stick to it and know what your money mindset is.
These insights came from Hetty Boachie-Yiadom, aka Hetty the Entrepreneur — a Business and Monetisation Guru who guides entrepreneurs to achieve their goals through results-based mentorship — who was in conversation with Radio Broadcaster Khanya Sosibo and Communications Consultant Doric Sithole.
To watch the other Unlock Women podcasts, click on @africanbanktv
The episode kicked off with Sithole asking Hetty what phrases she grew up with concerning money and its acquisition, to which she replied that she was told that “money doesn’t grow on trees”. She said that she recently read that our “money story” is mostly formulated between the ages of four and seven. If you feel that money is a scarcity, then you hold onto it tightly or spend it quickly, depending on what message you received as a young child.
Hetty said most of us believe that you must get a job and earn money. She did that, but then she realised that she was spending too much time working or commuting. She started asking herself why she had only one revenue stream, and why was her life so linear? She started reading up and wondering, how is that “the rich get richer”? “We all have a money mindset, said Hetty, “and if you are not aware of it, then you are on ‘autopilot’. We need to ask what opportunities are out there, how we can access money, and then it is no longer scary, and we can engage with it.”
How does the phrase “the audacity to believe” resonate with you, asked Sithole? Hetty said that she loves this tagline, and that you need this to achieve anything in life. “You have to move out of your comfort zone into your courage zone, which is where the magic happens.” To do this is extremely uncomfortable, because this zone is where you are most afraid. It means doing what you are afraid of but doing it anyway. “You do this because you know that you are rooted in greatness.”
To know your value, you must acknowledge that you do have value: this is your starting point. This is not easy, because most of us are not given this value; we are just told to go and work, and our unique talents and abilities are not recognised. Without these examples to fall back on, we just don’t appreciate or realise the value that we bring.
Sosibo asked how we can move these concepts into the digital space? Hetty said the digital space is “wildly exciting”, but also, “we have now become our own media houses”. In the past what we saw was dictated to us, for instance in TV guides. With the advent of social media, we can now all create our own content, and build a community of like-minded individuals. Recent studies reveal that viewership on social media has surpassed on-demand platforms. “We are spearheading the conversations that matter to us and saying that we have agency; we have voices,” said Hetty.
Sosibo pointed out that we must all be our own brand on social media. Hetty said in this regard, we must understand what we want to be in the digital space. One must work out what it is that makes you unique, and then amplify that. You must be real, honest, and transparent with your audience, and if you can do that, you will build a strong loyalty base. This may involve going online without make-up and being able to connect with your own and others’ humanity.
What you do with your money is extremely important, said Hetty: who you bank with, where you put your money, what kind of account you open. You must be able to talk to your bank and ask them what suits you and your needs. My relationship with African Bank is a partnership, and it has the lowest fees, she said.
Hetty said she doesn’t have a million followers, but what she does have is a concentrated number of entrepreneurs, and she understands what their needs are, and what research she needs to do for them.
It’s essential to start with a digital plan, otherwise, if you start haphazardly, you get haphazard results, she said. You have to be consistent and know what Point A is and the fastest way to get to Point B is. If you don’t have a clear plan, you get demoralised. You also need a monetisation plan — what is your plan to make money? You need short, medium, and long-term plans, and then access them, one at a time.
Hetty’s book Monetise with Hetty The Entrepreneur, a 21-day foundational guide to digital monetisation, is a “gift to her audience”. She said she is passionate about the African people and wanted to provide some information to Africans who cannot access her. It’s a 21-day guide, short and simple, to help people learn the psychology behind monetisation and the strategies to attain the results. There are several case studies in the book to personalise her message.
The book was self-published and is available on Hetty’s social media pages. You can click and get it delivered to you on https://www.subscribepage.com/hettybookorder.
Sithole concluded by saying that Hetty is a great example of an African woman who represents wealth for the girls who live on this continent.