Today we’d like to introduce you to Aileen Luib.
Hi Aileen, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m Aileen Luib, a creative entrepreneur, storyteller, and strategist helping brands and people move with meaning. I work across many mediums: photography, writing, design, dance, martial arts, as well as the more analytical side: branding, communications, and content strategy. By day, I work in business and economic development, supporting startups and learning how business principles can amplify creative work and community impact.
Many creatives avoid the business side – not because they can’t do it, but because art is often a coping mechanism, and putting a price on it can feel like betrayal. But that’s exactly why the bridge between vision and infrastructure matters. My goal is to connect the creative and the strategic: to use storytelling not just to express, but to build, grow, and reach.
I’m the youngest of four daughters and the only one born in the U.S. My parents immigrated from the Philippines with nothing but the clothes on their backs. We grew up low-income, and I didn’t inherit financial security or even literacy – but I did inherit the trauma, survival, and sacrifice of those who came before me. I’ve spent my life unpacking it.
In my early 20s, I launched a photography business featured in publications like Digital Photographer Magazine and Cosplay World. But the more visibility I gained, the more I felt like a fraud. I was still in survival mode, creating through pain instead of healing.
Like many first-gen kids, I worked whatever jobs I could find – esthetician, realtor, car sales rep – while building my creative hustle on the side. In 2016, I launched The Baller on a Budget, a blog about my financial journey that struck a nerve. It grew to 3.5 million readers and five-figure months, but more importantly, it gave me a platform to speak honestly about class, shame, and self-worth – the emotional side of money no one talks about.
In 2018, I nearly died from lupus. That experience forced me to slow down and rebuild, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. I created The Magic of Soul as part of that healing, and I came to realize that no matter the medium – blog, brand, photo, or voice – I’ve always been telling stories. It’s how I transform pain into purpose.
That’s the foundation of what I’m building now: PowHer Media. It’s more than a business – it’s my life’s purpose. I’m creating a media company and creative consultancy that amplifies historically excluded voices through storytelling, digital strategy, and brand development. My mission is to help creatives stop undervaluing their work and give them a framework to scale their impact, emotionally, culturally, and financially.
Survival taught me how to make art. Business taught me how to make it last. Together, they’ve helped me reclaim my voice, rewrite my story, and build a life that breaks the cycle.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not even close. I wouldn’t trust anyone who says their journey has been smooth.
There were months I couldn’t pay rent, and years when I worked three jobs. I’d post polished captions on Instagram, then cry in my car because I didn’t know how I’d make it through the week. I dealt with chronic illness, burnout, and the isolation of being the first in my family to do something different – along with the guilt of “making it” when others hadn’t.
But the hardest part wasn’t external. It was internal. I had to unlearn survival thinking and the belief that thriving wasn’t possible or too far beyond my reach. That mindset makes you say yes when you mean no, overwork, undercharge, and fear rest because rest feels like failure.
I also had to break free from the chaos and emotional poverty I grew up around. Peace didn’t feel familiar, or even deserved. I spent years in therapy, dove into shadow work and somatic healing, and when words weren’t enough, I turned to my body. After nearly dying from lupus, boxing and martial arts became my way back, helping me reclaim not just strength, but power.
I built a spiritual “medical team” of trusted healers, and through practices like reiki, tarot, and astrology, I uncovered where I was out of alignment. I got radically clear on who I am and what I came here to do.
That clarity changed everything. My work sharpened. My brand voice got louder. My life began aligning with my calling. Every opportunity since has been filtered through one question: does this move me toward my purpose, or pull me away?
It came at a cost: time, energy, ego deaths, and unlearning. But it also came with strength. Real strength. Training at 2AM, hitting the bag after a breakdown – those became metaphors for the discipline it took to rebuild my life.
And it’s what allows me to lead others with integrity now. I’ve walked through the fire. I’ve done the work. And I’m still doing it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a creative director at my core. My background is in photography, branding, communications, and digital storytelling, but what I really do is help people make meaning out of mess. Whether I’m crafting a brand identity or building a content strategy, I approach everything through the lens of emotion. People don’t buy products; they buy stories, feelings, and identity. My job is to help brands own who they are, visually, vocally, and strategically, in a way that resonates without performance.
But at the forefront of my career, I’m also a business strategist and entrepreneur who finds opportunities in every corner. I’ve worked with over 400 brands, consulted for startups and scaleups, and educated hundreds of digital solopreneurs and content creators through workshops, cohorts, and 1:1 consulting. My consultancy focuses on bridging creativity with business development and giving clients not just inspiration, but infrastructure. I help them go from idea to innovation to impact.
Over the past two years, I’ve also stepped into the world of business through my work in economic development, where I’ve had the privilege of supporting hundreds of startups. Seeing how companies get built, funded, and scaled completely changed how I see business – and money. Money isn’t just math – it’s movement. It’s energy. It’s impact. That shift rewired how I see value. I no longer ask, “How do I make money?” I ask, “How do I create value in a way that ripples?”
That mindset is at the heart of my work: whether I’m consulting with a founder, mentoring a creator, or building out PowHer Media. I help people channel their creativity into something lasting. Because real abundance isn’t about hoarding – it’s about circulation. And when you learn how to create from that place, everything changes.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
That healing is strategy. You can’t build something sustainable if you’re falling apart behind the scenes. You can’t make high-level impact if you’re worried about rent or stuck in perpetual mental health crises. Self-care isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity. I had to care for myself emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually, and financially to show up fully and do the work I’m here to do. Growth isn’t optional; as you evolve, so does your impact.
In 2018, I nearly died from lupus. That moment cracked me open and forced me onto a healing path I’d been avoiding. I had to confront the scarcity, survival thinking, and buried trauma I had numbed with work.
In tandem with securing my physical needs like my health and basic income, piece by piece I rebuilt my personhood and shattered spirit through writing, storytelling, and creative expression. I found my voice, stopped performing, and started speaking the truth – clearly and intentionally. That inner work rippled outward: The Baller on a Budget brought in consistent five-figure months. I landed a six-figure job that broke an “intergenerational curse” of poverty. None of that would have happened without the internal repair first.
If you don’t address your wounds – scarcity, people-pleasing, low self-worth – you’ll build a business that mirrors your pain, not your purpose. You’ll burn out and call it ambition. Everything changed when I started leading from a healed place – that’s when I finally built something that looked and truly felt like me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aileenluib.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/aileenluib
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aileen-luib-77903139/
