Meet the Ambassador: Mo
Meet Mo Murphy of Aveda Arts and Sciences Minneapolis, our newest MONEY Ambassador. The ambassador program is a community of school leaders who want to make a lasting impact on our industry. These individuals are passionate about financial literacy, believe in the power of education, and want to help shape a new generation of beauty and wellness professionals. We sat down with Mo to ask her a few questions about her new role as a MONEY ambassador.
Why are you passionate about financial literacy?
I always liked economics, even though I never understood a lot of the deeper side of it. But somewhere along the way I discovered that I like nerding out on numbers, doing budgets, etc. I do very well with a to-do list and coming ahead on the money side of the month is such an accomplishment. I really discovered a passion for financial literacy when I owned my own business. I loved the number crunching and the sense of accomplishment when everything got paid. I never got to the point of making money at my salon, but the lessons in budgeting and discipline are still with me and that experience is why I am able to have the quality of life that I have now.
Why do you think financial literacy is important for students?
When you are just starting out, it's so valuable to have knowledge of how money works, how paychecks work, the difference in what you make vs. what you keep. For cosmetology and barber students, and anyone who works on commission or with irregular paychecks, learning how to make the best decisions gives them so much more freedom to take their careers in the direction that they want, as opposed to having to make hard choices just because of money.
Which part of the MONEY program are you most excited about?
Hard to choose just one, but if there is one part that has the most potential to make a difference it would be the Money Mindset piece. If you change a mindset, you can change a life.
Many people identify with having negative or unproductive money stories. What’s your money story?
My family growing up always had enough, not much more. No one ever talked about money except for the occasional "you shouldn't spend your whole allowance at once" conversation. I found out as an adult that my parents really struggled with keeping up with the bills and they were always a little behind, but they never let on to us. I guess I always assumed that I would be the same, and I was for most of my adult life. I had enough, my bills were paid on time, and loans paid off, but I had a "seize the day and worry about it tomorrow" viewpoint that got me into some hefty credit card debt. Opening my business was a move from the gut.
I found out almost immediately that I was in way over my head financially and I had so many sleepless nights, so many tears, it was terrifying. We never really recovered. I closed my business a few years later, going through bankruptcy, foreclosure, and ten pounds of shame in a five-pound bag. I told myself I was a failure with money. A failure in general. It was really hard. But after a few years of healing, I realized that I had learned some valuable lessons about money that would last me forever. I used those lessons in my home budget and made some much better decisions. Then I coached a coworker on opening a checking account with a link to savings, where all the "spare change" from the day's purchases would go into her savings account, and when she followed my advice and started not only saving the change but also making smarter money decisions for herself, she couldn't wait to tell me about her success. Her excitement meant I actually didn't feel like a total fraud for the first time since I closed the business. I have since realized that if you're not on Wall Street, you don't need to know all the deep-dive stuff. Anyone can make their money lives better just by knowing how to make better choices.
Imagine every beauty and wellness student was provided financial literacy education. How do you think this would change our industry?
Our industry tends to hemmorrage stylists after only a couple years in the business. It's always broken my heart to see, because I know money is a big reason why. Not the only reason, but a big one. I think financial literacy education can make a huge difference in getting new stylists to see what the potential for earning can be in this industry, and when creative people can do what they love and make money and fulfill their life goals, there would be so much more longevity of careers.
