Today we’d like to introduce you to Judy Esber.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Judy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started out as an activist and organizer in college. Once I graduated from college, I immediately started working for the union Unite Here which organizes food service workers and hotel workers. I worked in the foodservice division mostly helping stadium and airport foodservice workers fight for better wages and working conditions. The work was so rewarding and I loved it, doing it for 11 years but it was also stressful and in 2019, I started having health problems which made it hard to keep up with the fast-paced work. At that point, I didn’t know what I would do since I thought I would be a union organizer for the rest of my life. I thought what else do I enjoy doing. The one thing that came to mind was talking about money. As someone who grew up poor, the daughter of an immigrant, I was frustrated by a lack of financial education, especially for the BIPOC community. I decided to start my own money coaching business, Hear Me Finance, to help women and couples learn what it took me years to learn about managing my own finances and building wealth.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I didn’t have any friends who were money coaches which was a challenge in figuring out how to start a business without knowing someone who could guide me on a day to day basis. I feel very lucky though that through social media, I was over-time able to connect with other powerful women. Once I was able to study under other money coaches my business started to flourish and I was able to learn how to be the best coach I can be for my clients.
Please tell us about Hear Me Finance.
Now my main focus is my group coaching program The Confident Money Club. It is a three-month program where I teach my clients how to overcome limiting money beliefs that are holding them back, how to create a budget they can finally stick to and how to be a conscious spender, finally getting a handle on their emotional spending. The other main program I offer that I am very proud of is the mastermind I started for other women of color wanting to start their own money coaching businesses call the WOC Money Coach Academy (MCA). After having other coaches approach me to ask how my business started thriving during Covid times while others were losing money, I realized that other women needed what I needed when I was launching my business, guidance from an experienced money coach. MCA is just that. It also provides a community for WOC which is so much needed in a field dominated by white men. My goal with the MCA is to help train enough money coaches how to attract paying clients that it becomes just as common in communities of color for people to hire a money coach as it is to get a gym membership. Together we can tackle the debt problem in our society.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To me, there are three important things connected to success. First, it is having access to joy and happiness. I know people with a lot of money who are unhappy and people who are poor who are happy. The second is having the freedom of time. Being in control of my time and how much I work allows me to spend time with family and friends, enjoying my life. Lastly, doing what I love in my business. I am constantly pinching myself, just completely shocked that I get paid to do what I do in my business.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hearmefinance.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hearmefinance/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/hearmefinance
Image Credit:
Emily Logan
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