Factora, 1 Million Women to 1 Million Net Worth
FACTORA
My name is Allegra Moet Brantly and I'm the founder of Factora. We’re on a mission to lead 1 million women to $1 million in net worth so more women can achieve financial freedom in their lifetime. When women reach financial freedom work as we know it becomes optional and play far less optional! We educate and empower women to build real wealth through our online courses, community and events.
What triggered your passion for helping women develop wealth?
I grew up with a single mom who afforded me every opportunity possible, even while she struggled financially. Because of her efforts, I was able to get a great education (and have lots of fun along the way). But when I moved to New York and started making my living, I eventually realized making money did not equate to having money. Until I turned 30, I was working my ass off and earning a good salary, but I didn’t have much to show for it. Living the New York life meant that I was spending as much as I made, putting me into the all-too-common paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle.
Approaching 30, it hit me: I was without any real savings or investments. So I embarked on a financial journey to revolutionize the way I thought about, earned, spent and invested my money. Factora was born from a desire to make this education and the revolution that inspired it much simpler for other women. And more importantly, they wouldn’t have to do it alone.
I share that personal experience because I know how overwhelming it is to feel responsible for your financial decisions and afraid to make the wrong ones. But personal finance education is the antidote to your money stress. You gain confidence, clarity and control over your financial life and future.
It’s really just a three step process:
1. Get financially educated
2. Creating a plan based on your life goals and newfound financial knowledge
3. Put accountability partners in place to continue taking action towards your goals
I created Factora to help with all three!
Any good advice you received along the way during the process of developing Factora?
I received two significant pieces of advice I can share. One was when I was considering starting Factora and the other when I was considering going full-time with Factora.
When starting, I was fearful that I had to be a financial advisor or certified financial planner before anyone would care what I had to say about money. On a walk with a friend airing these fears, she reminded me that some of the greatest financial influencers are not from a traditional financial background. This was a light bulb moment because she was right! Tony Robbins has written some of my favorite financial books and he was life coach. Marie Forleo, Ramit Sethi and Richard Branson were also big on sharing their journeys, advice and mindsets when it came to finance--and they were all lifestyle entrepreneurs.
These are people I respect, who add significant value to the world and practiced what they preached to build their own wealth. If they could bring a fresh take to finances, so could I. And later I realized, the person least likely to show you their finances is the person with all the letters behind their name. (Just try asking a financial advisor to share their net-worths or portfolios. Not gonna happen.)
The second piece of advice was when I was trying to determine whether to get a new job (because I was over my current one) and continue to build Factora on the side or go all in. This friend said: “If you believe in it, the choice should be simple. The bigger the investment, the bigger the potential ROI.” He was right. I worked until I tripled my emergency fund, which would double as my “startup runway” and quit as soon as I could. I’ve never looked back.
Any time-management tips?
To be perfectly honest, I’m spectacularly poor at time management. I get caught up in creation and perfection and struggle every damn day! But I do have a few pieces of advice that make goal planning easier:
Always get proper sleep so you’re not sluggish throughout the day. For me, that means eight hours. No plans can keep me from getting my full eight!
The best plans are made the day, week or even the year before. Don’t let it scare you. Instead, sit down and take the time to plan your life. Block time on the calendar for this! It’s honestly the most serious and wonderful thing you can do for yourself. And fun! Envision what you want your life to look like in a quarter, six months and a year. Then get writing.
Lastly, utilize your Sundays! I plan for the week ahead and take stock every afternoon to write my to do list for the next day. Then I circle the most important three items.
On Mondays, I look at my quarterly and annual goals to make sure I'm advancing them and course correct if I’m slipping off track. At the end of the quarter, it's fun to go back and see all the progress you’ve made for yourself!
Best trip you’ve taken and why?
Puerto Rico and the island off of it called Vieques. I traveled here over July 4th weekend in 2017 with a man I’d just started dating that April. He was living in Austin and I was living in New York at the time and we had met at SXSW that year. This trip solidified that we were not going to be able to do long distance for much longer. Five months later, I was packing up seven and a half years spent in NYC and boarding a plane for Austin. Two years later, I’m happy to report that things are still going great!
Any tips you have for traveling?
Before I met my boyfriend, I’d never packed a suitcase more than an hour before departure. I’d never arrived at the airport with more than a few minutes to spare. In fact, the amount of times that I should not have been allowed to board a plane because of tardiness still outweigh the times I should. (I’m sure plenty of you are sweating just reading this.)
But my boyfriend changed all of this. We pack the night before trips, arrive with plenty of time to spare, and even try to share a carry on when we can.
I also find planes to be a superb place to focus. I get a ton of work done--including those mundane tasks like cleaning off your desktop when there’s no wifi available. Then I treat myself to a book. I always try to finish a book on my trip with a reward of buying a new book if I manage to complete the task!
How do you wear/style your SUAVS?
I wear my SUAVS pretty casually with workout outfits whenever I'm grabbing coffee and going on walks with friends or the bf. I love to schedule long walks for the weekend centered around a new or favorite coffee spot.
But the best use I get out of my SUAVS is when I'm attending my boyfriend's DJ shows. He's an electronic DJ in Austin (shoutout to @hakaymusic) and my black SUAVS with a rubber soul are perfect for the dance floor. All other footwear gets wrecked or painful but my SAUVS happily take on the night. Even better: I got him into SUAVS and they have become a part of his DJ uniform. At his last show, we definitely got called out for our matching footwear...LOL. #twinning
P.S
Personal note: I first found SUAVS when I was in Austin for the first-time ever for SXSW in 2014. Even though I was a New Yorker at the time and should’ve known better, I didn’t think I’d be walking much. I was obviously a SX newbie and my feet were killing me in an embarrassingly short amount of time. I stopped into a downtown boutique to buy shoes. The store helper told me about SUAVS being local and female founded and, after trying them on, I was sold. It feels very “full circle” to be asked to write a guest blog for them five years later! Women supporting women, amirite?
I enjoyed reading Allegra’s story. It’s similar to mine.
I especially appreciate that a woman is making/offering financial advice. I am of an older generation than her, but still hear of younger women who depend on their husband/BF/male family member or co-worker to guide them financially, sometimes with devastating consequences.
My sister- a very bright, educated businesswoman relied on her husband in all matters financial and when he died she had no idea where they stood or how much they owed. It has taken her several years to get out of that morass.
The best advice I was ever given when I was contemplating taking the plunge into business ownership was: do what you love first-the money will come. Life is too short to be chasing money while being miserable doing it.
Best wishes to Allegra!
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