You asked for more content around business finances, so we’re delivering. Welcome to Money Matters where we give you an inside look at the pocketbooks of CEOs and entrepreneurs. In this series, you’ll learn what successful women in business spend on office spaces and employee salaries, how they knew it was time to hire someone to manage their finances, and their best advice for talking about money.

In honor of Black Equal Pay Day, we're shining a spotlight on Black female founders by taking a closer look inside their successful businesses and how they funded them from the ground up.

Kenyata Gant tells me she was “operating on faith” when she bootstrapped her business, Pink Lipps Cosmetics. Turns out the universe was listening because after sending a tweet that she needed an investor, a philanthropic follower gifted her $10,000 to get the company off the ground. “ I had no idea what to spend that money on except that I needed inventory,” she tells Create & Cultivate. “The process was hard because I knew that I would make a lot of mistakes and I did, but I was ready to because I know that mistakes are lessons.”

Once the $10,000 ran out, Gant self-funded the business using money from her full-time corporate job. If she could go back to the beginning, Gant says she would have saved more money before launching the business. “I was always broke trying to fund my business,” she reflects. “I would recommend saving money and building on it because it is the smart thing to do. Being broke is not fun!” 

And as for the kind investor? “We are still friends to this day,” reveals Gant. “He congratulates me from time to time and I still thank him for giving me that chance! “ Read on to learn more money advice from Gant, mistakes made along the way, and why she believes all founders should pay themselves 30%.

On raising money…

Three crucial elements to include when pitching to raise money are:

• Things that set you apart from your competition

• A clear vision of why the world needs your business

• A solid plan to achieve your vision 

On paying herself…

I think business owners should pay themselves 30% or a minimum of $50 a month. I didn’t do that for five years into my business. 

On working full-time while building the brand…

I worked another job for five years before solely going self-employed. I funded my business with the leftovers of my check. My advice would be to save and raise as much money as you can before starting a business. 

On the most important area for business owners to focus their financial energy…

Branding and marketing! I chose those two because you can market literally anything and make millions if marketed the right way and to the right customer.

On her first big expense as a business owner…

My first big expense was inventory but I could handle selling that so then it was hiring a social media manager. I would say prepare for that by learning all that you can so you can run social media yourself until it becomes overwhelming, then hire someone to take it up a notch. 

On the top three largest expenses every month?

My PR agency, my social media manager, and my influencer relationship manager.

On knowing when to hire…

I knew I was ready to hire when I made the decision to scale my brand. Scaling my brand wasn’t just about having the money to do so but the mindset to do so. I thought I could do everything by myself but I knew that my business just wasn’t going to get bigger that way.  I am not an expert at everything and I had to learn that the hard way. The preparation was hard because I had to learn to trust someone else with the operation of my business. 

On saving…

Yes, I am able to save revenue and I do that by telling myself that I must practice good business habits to continue to be successful. I spend money on things that are absolutely needed and will give me a good return. 

On hiring an accountant…

I hired an accountant after being in business for five years. It was the smartest thing I could have done. 

On spending wisely and taking it slow…

For small business owners on a budget, stay on that budget. Spend wisely and make sure you will get a nice return on what you purchase. Take your time with spending and don’t rush the process of becoming successful. Success is loving what you do and doing it every day, so run your business at your pace and wisely.

On what she would do differently…

I wish I had saved more money in the beginning. If I did that then I wouldn’t have needed to use my paycheck from my corporate job to fund the business. 

On the importance of talking about money and business…

I think women should be able to talk about whatever they want to talk about as a business owner because we're just as smart as any man in business and we start/run more businesses, too. We also make good money doing it because of our passionate emotional ways.  

On the money mistakes she’s made and learned from along the way…

Spending my business money on unrelated business things and business things that weren’t needed. I spent too quickly and didn’t put the money back into the business, so that was one of the hardest money lessons I had to learn. There was a time when I couldn’t afford to expand.

On the best piece of money advice for new entrepreneurs…

Hire an expert or educate yourself on how to handle your business money. You can’t go wrong with those two things. 

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