Am I insane?
This question lived rent free in my mind for the last twenty-four months. It has been two years since quitting my corporate job to pursue the dream in 2021. Since then, my passion for financial education, personal finance and financial wellness continues to grow and dare I say compound. The drive for financial wellness keeps manifesting, through my obsessive eagerness to write insightful blog posts/articles, host engaging radio shows and events, and record episodes about money management on my platforms.
The path has not been easy, especially in a country like Lesotho where white collar workers earned a lot of respect. We were encouraged to go to university, get a degree and find a good corporate job. For many parents, this was a measure of success, a standard many young people aspire and live up to.
Pursuing a career as a financial literacy educator, financial advisor or finance content creator was unheard of, let alone something one can make a living from. To avoid a scandal or the rumour mill, I treated my passion for financial wellness as a side hustle or something I did to while away time if you will. I ignored it and focused on climbing the corporate ladder. Never in my wildest dream did I imagine this would be my career or business, something that I would get paid to do and make a living from.
Well, this was until I made the bold move and resigned from my job.
As discussed in previous blog posts, my fears and insecurities regarding my decision to quit and pursue financial literacy/education in a country like Lesotho were very real. Deciding to take the road less travelled and create opportunities where the average people ask, ‘You want me to pay you to teach me how to manage my money?’ were bleak.
I kept asking myself whether I am making a fatal mistake pursuing this career path?
Though I witnessed growth, made traction and achieved incredible milestones such as working with small medium enterprises (SME) and big corporate organisations, a personal finance book and financial planner published, weekly personal finance column and many more, the last two years were hard.
I say this because every day remains a struggle, where I constantly must explain myself, explain why I quit my job and exactly what it is that I do. At some point, I second guessed everything about myself and what I was supposed to do, but alas kept going. This made no sense!
I am grateful and humbled by the growth, sadly however, I still felt like something was missing – something ‘tangible’, real and something that made sense career wise , to me.
To fill this void, I kept looking, searching and hoping; until I discovered FinCon in 2020, while watching a YouTube video.
What is FinCon?
Launched in 2011 as the Finance Blogger Conference, this annual conference has grown to include digital creators, brands in the personal finance and advisory space. FinCon as it is now called, hosted in the United States of America (USA) connects like-minded personal finance creators such as bloggers, YouTubers, podcast hosts, money coaches, advisors, social media influencers and brands to help them create better content and grow their audience and make money.
How did FinCon help me?
Three years later, I decided to spend money, risk it all, book flights and go to FinCon. Initially, I could not justify spending so much money travelling to the United States (US) to attend a conference. I had to, at best, justify the return on investment (ROI), especially looking at the current USD/ZAR exchange rate. Sadly, I had a very narrow perspective, focusing only on the monetary value or economic rewards I would gain from the conference, instead of looking at the bigger picture. BIG mistake!
What I did not expect or anticipate, was FinCon’s impact and how the experience changed my career, perspective, how it changed me.
Fortunate to be a FinCon scholarship grantee, attending the conference for the first time from 18 -21 October 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana, my journey was off to a great start with other money nerds. Slightly overwhelmed but impressed and inspired, I connected with likeminded creators from different parts of the world, who are passionate about financial literacy, personal finance and financial well-being. I met industry colleagues (new and old) and role models who are shaping the industry. I learnt a lot, from building a thriving business, leveraging social media and artificial intelligence to create impactful content, building a personal and business brand and many more.
More than anything, I discovered myself at FinCon 2023. From the ordinary, ambitious but scared financial wellness advocate from Lesotho (a beautiful, but small country in Southern Africa), who doubted himself, his career, his decision and his dream, FinCon 2023 validated and affirmed me in ways I cannot express in words. The Finance bachelor, who is also a content creator and host of Money Adventures with TKay podcast had a great experience at FinCon. From each creator’s story, breakaway sessions and random conversation at the coffee station, FinCon was exactly what I needed and more.
As I make my way back home, with a cup overflowing with inspiration, new connections and relationships made, new skills acquired; I look forward to implementing and excited to apply the learnings in my business. More importantly, I am humbled and grateful to step into the next phase of my life confidently, proud of who I am and what I contribute.
To my fellow trailblazers, who like me have been feeling like you are crazy/insane or struggling to find your tribe and community, I urge you to keep looking. I believe that fortune favours the brave. So, keep looking, keep showing up and do not stop investing in yourself, like the trailblazer that you are.
For more information about FinCon, visit www.finconexpo.com
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