Lisa Andrea is a financial and career empowerment coach for women. She is the founder of The Financial Cookbook, a company that teaches “recipes” for success. Lisa has an MBA and has spent her career working for multiple Fortune 500 Organizations.
At The Financial Cookbook, Lisa empowers women to follow their dreams, conquer career goals and achieve financial freedom, all while living a life they love.
Her free “recipes” encompass topics that should have been taught in school. She teaches everything from how to write a resume to the importance of a 401k to buying a first home and everything in between.
Her coaching helps women improve their financial literacy in an easy to understand way while providing money tools and a downloadable financial cookbook to assist in their journeys.
Lisa’s mission is to help women excel in their careers and achieve financial independence to start living their dreams!
What is The Financial Cookbook all about?
The Financial Cookbook is a career and financial empowerment company that teaches everything that should have been taught in school.
Readers will learn how to manage money, land their dream job, negotiate their salaries, get out of debt, buy their first home, and everything in between.
This woman-owned and operated coaching company is on a mission to empower women to achieve financial independence. They offer free money tools, helpful resources, and even a downloadable financial cookbook to assist their readers with their career and financial journeys.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your business?
School is all fun and games, until you graduate. Our worlds change overnight and we are suddenly faced with real-world challenges like getting a job, understanding finances, and doing our own taxes. Navigating the real world isn’t easy and there isn’t exactly a rulebook to follow to gear us up for success.
As a matter of fact, when I graduated from college, I realized that it was actually quite difficult to figure out what financial and career path I was supposed to take.
No one teaches us that in school!
I watched as myself (and all of my friends) had to navigate the hard way.
We spent so much time failing with finding our first job out of college, tanking interviews, not understanding our credit score, not managing our money correctly, not knowing what a 401k is, intimidated by stock trading, unsure of how to buy a house, etc. The list goes on and on.
I found that the barrier to entry in understanding some of these topics is often quite intimidating. Internet searches often use lingo that makes the topics even more complicated!
I remember that whenever I’d set out to learn something new in the financial and business world, I was often left feeling a bit defeated and overwhelmed.
In fact, most of the time, I didn’t know what I didn’t know!
Looking back, this “gap in education” caused me to miss out on opportunities that I NOW realize I would have handled differently.
Through conversations with friends, family, and colleagues over the years, I found that I wasn’t alone. In fact, over the years, they were coming to ME for financial, career, and success in life advice!
If only there was a rulebook we could have followed!
Well, that’s where I come in, with The Financial Cookbook “recipes” for success!
After years of uncovering the secrets to success while achieving a successful career at multiple Fortune 100 companies, paying off $90k in student loans, and reaching financial independence at a young age, I decided to found The Financial Cookbook to empower women in their journey to reaching their dreams.
How has the pandemic affected you or your new business?
I actually founded my business during the pandemic so I’d say it’s affected it in a great way. I had been thinking of starting this company for a year so the extra time on my hands allowed me to jump right in feet first. Once I started, I didn’t let off on the brakes. It’s been extremely rewarding and exciting!
What were the top mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
One of the biggest mistakes I made early on is not asking for help when creating a website. To avoid additional costs, I set out to do it myself with absolutely no experience in web design. After a month of struggling, I bit the bullet for a pre-designed template and was able to have my website up and running within a few days! I still designed it essentially on my own, but had a guide to follow which significantly helped save me time! I wish I had saved myself a month of headaches by doing more research in the beginning.
Another mistake I made is not starting sooner. If you have a dream of starting a business, just go for it. You have to start somewhere and the longer you are running a business, the more opportunity for growth there will be! If you need a sign, this is your sign!
What is one thing that you do daily to grow as an entrepreneur?
To grow as an entrepreneur, I read books daily. I find time in my day to read several chapters of a book. Every book is related to my niche and is based on one of the following categories: A book that will help me learn to manage my business more efficiently, create content for my audience, or personally grow as a female leader. I truly believe successful people learn something new every day. The key is to continue to grow as not only an entrepreneur but as a well-rounded person with life experiences.
What is the one thing you wish you knew before starting your business?
The one thing I wish I knew before starting my business is that an entrepreneur will work more hours than you ever imagined, but that you will love every minute of it and actually look forward to it! I don’t think I’ve slept since I started the company, but I’m so excited to work on my business every single day. I also had no idea that the positive feedback I receive from clients and readers would give me so much positive reassurance and energy. People are so wonderful to take the time to compliment what I’m doing and even thank me for changing their lives. It’s absolutely remarkable and it’s what keeps me going!
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
By far, my most effective marketing strategy has been marketing through Pinterest. I haven’t gotten into paid ads yet so everything has been organic so far. I’m very grateful.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
My best piece of advice is just to start your business. If you have an idea or a dream, go for it. It will never be a convenient time. Since you’ve got to start somewhere, you might as well start now to reap the rewards years from now.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
The best productivity tip is to wake up early! I know this advice probably sounds like a broken record, but waking up early allows one to start their day off on the right foot. I wake up by 5:30a and immediately go to the gym to run and get a workout in. After, I check emails and plan out my day. On the days that I don’t wake up early, the rest of the day becomes “catching up” and I find I’m in a reactive mode instead of a proactive mode. Therefore, waking up early, in my opinion, is the key to success.
What is your favorite quote?
My favorite quote is
“One Life. Once Chance. Go after it.”
This quote applies to anything in life, but it’s basically a reminder that life is short and you only get to do it once. Go after your dreams, take the vacation, eat the pie, enjoy the little things, laugh till you can’t breathe, and start the business you desire. The only thing I’ve ever regretted in life is not doing things I “wanted” to do but never did. You won’t regret starting a business, even if it fails. You’ll learn something through the process and have a life experience to chat about down the road.
How do you personally overcome fear?
I am a very spontaneous person by nature. I overcome fear by “ripping the bandaid”. If I’m fearful of something, I force myself to do it and do it quickly. This allows me to not put so much worry into my fears. Most of the time, the things I’m fearful of end up not being as scary as I anticipated.
How can readers get in touch with you?
The best way to get in touch with me is on the website. We can also connect on Tik Tok and Instagram. I’d love to meet you, answer any questions you have and I offer a Free Community for Women to empower each other on their career and financial journeys. Come join us!
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