WYL Take Ownership Podcast Ep. 1: Tonya Rapley

  Spearheading our very first episode of The Whose Your Landlord Take Ownership podcast is none other than Tonya Rapley. Tonya Rapley is a coach, entrepreneur, and founder of My Fab Finance. Having been deemed the “New Face of Wealth Building” by Black Enterprise Magazine in 2014, Tonya has also appeared in outlets such as Blavity, Essence, and Huffington Post.   With a commitment, drive, and passion for empowering disenfranchised communities, it is only right that we invited Tonya onto this episode to share her journey through finance. As a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Tonya founded My Fab Finance in January of 2013 to help millennials learn how to become financially free and do more of what they love.   In this episode of our Take Ownership Podcast, Tonya chats with us about her journey going from surviving to thriving, creating equity for others through partnering with larger brands, and her latest book entitled, The Money Manual: A Practical Money Guide to Help You Succeed On Your Financial Journey.  

From Surviving to Thriving...

“Our financial journey and our success as business people are just as much about the self-work as it is about doing the “actual” work that it takes to get there,” says Tonya. “We have all seen someone who might be one of the smartest people we know, but they just keep making the same mistakes and I didn’t want to be that person.” As a result, Tonya continuously challenged herself to assess her mindset and self-correct daily. Now, every morning that Tonya wakes up, she tells herself, “I am on the path to becoming a millionaire.” Since doing this, Tonya already sees a change in her work ethic and her belief in how she feels about what she is doing.  

Partnering with Larger Brands…

With the desire to help those in most need, Tonya leverages partnering with larger brands such as Fidelity, State Farm, and Invisalign to create equity for others through offering her products and services to people who need them at a discounted price. “One of the things that I was very intentional about with My Fab Finance was partnering with larger brands,” says Tonya. “They pay really well. I’m able to charge these brands more so that I can offer my products and services to people who need them at a discounted price without it affecting my bottom line.”   Tonya also mentions that this strategy was by design. She aims to help the people who need help so that she doesn’t feel like she is going to miss a meal or an opportunity by giving someone something for free if they genuinely need it. Ultimately, for Tonya, it’s about putting herself out there and helping people recognize that there is someone who looks like them, shares the same interests as them, and has a less than perfect background like them. Essentially, Tonya aims to equip people with the insight, tools, and resources that would enable them to figure out how to pursue financial freedom on their own terms.  

The Money Manual

“I wanted to create a book after I had been doing this work for a certain amount of time,” says Tonya. “I ended up writing, The Money Manual: A Practical Money Guide to Help You Succeed On Your Financial Journey over the course of the last year. It’s been a labor of love. I never thought that it was going to be this much work. I’m just happy to share it with people because a lot of love was put into it.”  

Owning Our Power…

“For me, owning our power means trusting and following our intuition,” says Tonya. “We all have an intuitive ability. We know what works best for us. In addition, we know what may be the best alternative for us. I don’t think that enough people follow this to build trust in themselves. Trusting in ourselves and knowing our ability to transform outcomes or find solutions is our power. This is the heart of owning our power. A lot of people are scared to take chances. However, the more we take chances, the more we begin to realize how powerful and capable we are.” Be sure to check out the full-episode HERE and CONNECT with us on social!