Growing up, what were some of the earliest lessons you were taught about money? Was money something that was openly discussed at home?

Money was not openly discussed in my house. What I saw was my parents arguing about it, stressing about it, never having enough of it. Nobody had to sit me down and tell me there wasn't enough. I was watching it happen.

Sometimes I'd ask for something and they'd tell me we couldn't afford it. But honestly, I rarely asked. I already knew.

That's the part people miss when they talk about financial literacy. You absorb the message about money long before anyone explains it to you. The wealth gap doesn't only live in bank accounts. It lives in what kids overhear at the kitchen table.

You've built your career as a founder and business coach — what initially drew you to this space, and what has kept you in it?

I went to law school and graduated straight into the Great Recession in 2009. There were no jobs. So I took a risk and started my own practice serving small business owners.

I ran that firm for seven years. And in that time, I learned something I would have never figured out otherwise: I was really good at business. Not just lawyering. Business. I loved marketing. I loved the sales. I loved managing a team and figuring out how to make the whole thing work. The strategy of it lit me up.

What happened next was kind of accidental. My clients kept asking me for business advice, and a mentor finally pulled me aside and told me, "You should be selling that, not giving it away." So I started coaching on the side. Some of those first clients had wild results. That's when I knew this was a real business, not a side hustle. That's when Hello Seven started.

I've stayed because I love it. I love helping people realize they can make more money. That they can be entrepreneurs. That they can be the authors of their own lives instead of waiting on gatekeepers. Our mission is to help women and historically excluded people build wealth, and that's what keeps me showing up.

What pep talk would you give a friend who's struggling to negotiate confidently — whether it's a job offer or raising capital for a business?

Feel the fear and do it anyway. We don't get what we don't ask for.

Practice the ask. Practice asking for the sale. Practice asking for the raise. Practice asking for whatever it is you actually want. You're building a muscle. You'll need it for the rest of your life, so you might as well start now.

Here's the other thing I'd tell you: know your BATNA. That stands for "best alternative to a negotiated agreement." Translation: if this doesn't go your way, what's your next move? What's your Plan B? When you know you've got options, the pressure comes off. The negotiation doesn't have to go perfectly because you already know what you'll do if it doesn't.