Ahoy!
Privilege doesn’t guarantee success. It might insulate one from failure, but this isn’t true 100 percent of the time. Hard work or talent on their own also offer no guarantees. Chalking up someone's success to one thing just isn’t possible.
We all have our unique blend of skill and luck, privilege and divine timing. It's like a cocktail, shaken up by the universe and poured into the glass that is our lives. Some of us, by virtue of our circumstances, may find that our glass overflows with opportunity; while others must strain to find that last drop of possibility in the bottom of their cup. But the crucial thing to remember is that, if you’re reading this, I bet your glass is never entirely empty.
I recently spoke with Jess Rona about her success in building her dog grooming brand. One of the things I appreciated about this conversation is how open Jess is about any advantage she’s gotten and how they have greased the wheels of her success. Let me be clear: this does not discount how incredibly talented and hardworking she is. Access and advantage don’t diminish her creative genius; they amplify it.
When you’re trying to make money by building a business or getting a job, your talent matters. But so does your luck. These two things can be true at the same time. And while these ideas might feel conflicting, this is the beautiful paradox of the human experience.
It’s important to be willing to acknowledge this in our lives and to talk about it because it’s just a more holistic way to look at success. And for anyone looking to follow in someone’s footsteps, it’s important to see the entire picture.
Tell me about all your luck and all your skills and hard work and how they come together in your life. Don’t be shy; hit reply.
Your favorite finance friend,
|
|
|
|
1. 🐕Building a Dog Grooming Empire with Jess Rona (Weird Finance) In this episode of Weird Finance, Paco talks to business owner, dog groomer, actor, and creative professional Jess Rona (@jessronagrooming) about how she went from bathing dogs at PetSmart to building a burgeoning dog grooming business, becoming a celebrity groomer, taking financial risks, believing in yourself, and the power of an online and in-person social network. This episode also features Loose Change, a short segment with Chris Laughter, where he walks up to random strangers on the street to ask them their thoughts, feelings, and opinions about how we relate to money and one another. This week we’re exploring if it’s taboo to talk about money.2. 📂 “If You’re Getting a W-2, You’re a Sucker (ProPublica)3. 🐶 Fancy Restaurants for Dogs Are Booming Right Now (Bon Appetit)4. 🤓 A Bookkeeping Thing - I spoke to someone who had been in business for almost ten years and they casually asked me what the point of bookkeeping was. I was shook, so here’s this from Ali the CFO: How to Understand Accounting.5. 👩👩👧👧 Their Children Are Their Retirement Plans (The New York Times) The offspring of many East Asian immigrants are raised to support their elders in their later years. That gives a segment of Americans challenges others don’t face.6. 🎲 How to Beat Roulette: One Gambler Figured It Out and Won Big (Bloomberg) For decades, casinos scoffed as mathematicians and physicists devised elaborate systems to take down the house. Then an unassuming Croatian’s winning strategy forever changed the game.7. 📷 The Influencer Industry Is Having an Existential Crisis (The Atlantic) People who make their living by sharing content on giant social-media platforms have tried to strike, organize, and even unionize, but they don’t have much to show for it. “The influencer industry is both a symptom of and a response to the economic precarity and upheaval in social institutions that have characterized the early twenty-first century.”8. 🏦 The Meltdown of a Gay Bank (Intelligencer) “At first glance, the business case for a queer-focused bank has immediate appeal. The LGBTQ+ community has an estimated buying power of $1 trillion, but its members earn just 90 cents on the dollar when compared to the average American. Same-sex couples face mortgage discrimination and higher costs to have children; trans workers often deal with job and income instability as well as potentially higher health-care expenses. A bank that understands those factors and develops customer loyalty by helping them close that wealth gap could be quite valuable — either on its own or as a target for acquisition by a larger financial-services company.”
|
|
|
If you have a question you’d like me to answer on the Weird Finance podcast, you can leave me a voicemail at 833-ASK-PACO. You can also email me your question by replying to this email or emailing us at weirdfinancepod@gmail.com.
|
The Nerdletter is written and curated by Paco de Leon and a tiny editorial support team. Please consider several ways you can contribute to this important mission –
an inclusive conversation about money, finances, and capitalism for Creatives.
We can't do this work without you.
Thanks for being part of the crew and reading this far. Peace. |
|
|
|
Our home office is located in Los Angeles, California, the traditional lands
of the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples. We acknowledge with gratitude the traditional
custodians of this land and pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.
|
|
|
|
You received this email because you subscribed to The Nerdletter, a weekly newsletter.
You can unsubscribe at any time. Or, you can buy some sweet merch here.1920 Hillhurst Ave # 1089, Los Angeles, California, 90027, United States of America ©The Hell Yeah Group 2023
|
|
|
|
