Making Money Moves: In Conversation With MoneyGirl
After attending a networking event by we are the mainstream, I was lucky enough to sit in on a breakout group focusing on businesses and start-ups. The group was led by Mariam Mohammed, the co-founder of the organisation MoneyGirl. You could sense her passion through the way she held herself. I followed her journey and felt so inspired to share her story.
Mariam Mohammed (left) and Melissa Ma (right) (Image: MoneyGirlAU)
MoneyGirl was founded in 2019 and Mariam and her co-founder Mellisa Ma discovered the need for women to gain financial literacy. From there, they began their journey of creating tailored workshops on a range of topics to help women gain control of their finances and become financially independent.
Mariam was listed as part of the Financial Reviews 100 Women of Influence, and we had the chance to chat to her about her start up!
Tell us what inspired you to start MoneyGirl?
I’m a survivor of gendered violence. What removed me from enduring a lifetime of violence until, what I’m sure would have been, an untimely death - was becoming in control of my resources (including money).
I also worked a lot with women who had survived violence. I saw that that was a common theme for most of us. When we did understand that we were being abused, we were so dependent on someone else - someone who likes to have that control over us - that we feel powerless to leave.
I am driven to make women feel their power so that they have the confidence to be free. MoneyGirl, which I co-founded with Mellisa Ma, is our way of doing that through financial literacy.
What were you doing before MoneyGirl?
I was the President of the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association (SUPRA). I was completing my Masters in Community Development there. My focus was on women’s development. Essentially what I learnt to do - not entirely or necessarily through the degree -was to harness the power of the collective to solve our problems from within.
Describe your experience in managing your own start up?
Lonely. Even with a supportive co-founder, I felt lonely working from home on a vision that may or may not turn into reality, harbouring the fear of failing so publicly, and feeling like an imposter the whole time.
When I was named in the Financial Review’s 100 Women Of Influence, I was convinced that there had been an error. It’s a somewhat lonely journey to be on. But it really solidified my support system - of which I am grateful to have an amazing one.
My journey of being a young business-owner who found quick success really filtered through the best people for me. The naysayers and the haters and the insecure automatically drop off the radar. So that was a nice perk!
Choosing someone I trust as a human as a co-founder turned out to be a very important choice. I heard horror stories of relationships going sour. But I could not have managed the business on my own and I can’t even begin to imagine how lonely it is to be a lone founder!
What is your creative process in designing courses and building the brand?
Speak to your end-consumer
Sell
Create
It looked slightly different for MoneyGirl but having gone through the process once, this is what I would do now.
Building a brand is a simple science:
What’s your why?
Who do you serve?
How do you serve them?
That’s it. Multiple that by time and consistency and there you have it - a well-established brand!
Some of us are just paralysed by too much information - or a lack of confidence - and that’s why I’ll be teaching folks how to implement this science in July! There is more information on www.mariammohammed.com/course.
What have been some lessons you've learnt along the way?
Don’t create a product you haven’t sold yet. Please, don’t work for free. Get paid, then create!
Be precious about ownership in your company. Don’t exchange equity to get a job done. Go and hire someone to do that. Keep the equity.
You are worth more than your work. The earth will turn, the sun will rise, and the world will go on. Your work isn’t THAT important. So, go tf to sleep.
What do you hope viewers or followers will get out of MoneyGirl?
Awareness - about why understanding how your money works is a crucial life skill for long term wellbeing.
Education - on how to lay the foundation and get on top of your money.
Solidarity - with a community who are all on the same journey together, helping each other along.
Who has helped you along the way? And how important is it to have support?
So many people and organisations!
My business advisor who I first pitched the idea to, sitting in the Martin Place Lindt café, on a piece of napkin. My co-founder, who made me feel less alone while we spent many weekends brainstorming together. My partner, who gave me extra support at home to really enable me to unleash my full potential at work.
Organisations like ygap, Foundation for Young Australians, and Bright by Lendlease gave me access to mentors I would not have otherwise been able to access. They connected me with networks of peers which has a huge impact on amplifying your impact.
The simple truth is that without this support, I couldn’t have done it. I would have all the ideas, capacity and potential but it would have been locked away behind all the other responsibilities.
Mariam leading a workshop on financial literacy. (Image: MoneyGirlAU)
