Meet Brielle Bryant-Erales | Financial Coach & Founder of The Healthy Wallet

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brielle Bryant-Erales and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brielle, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process behind starting my own business came from me learning about personal finances in 2018 and wanting to share with people what I’ve learned. When I graduated from college in 2018, I accumulated around $45,000 of debt and no one told me what to with it or how to pay it off. Shortly after graduating, I moved to Boston, MA and took a financial literacy class where I learned how to budget, shift my money mindset, build an emergency fund, pay off debt, and invest. While taking that class I started to think, is it too late? Why didn’t I learn about this before getting into debt? And I also thought, I am sure I am not the only one who doesn’t know this information. So, I started to implement the things that I’ve learned from that class for myself and realized that the methods worked. And two years later, I was thinking “should I be a financial coach”, but I debated with myself whether I should work for someone else or if I should I start my own business. Being an entrepreneur was never my plan until I realized that most organizations don’t focus on people of color. And that’s something that’s been on my heart, to help people who look like me. So that’s when I decide to start my own financial coaching business October 2020, where I offer one-on-one and group coaching session for women of color and partner with schools, nonprofits and corporate companies to teach people about money mindset, budgeting, debt elimination, setting financial goals, credit, introduction to investing, entrepreneurship and more. And I love it and feel so fulfilled!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets me apart from other financial professionals is that it’s rare to financial coach that is a Christian Black woman who is debt free. I was able to pay off $55,000 (including my car that I had to unexpectedly buy in the middle of my debt-free journey) in 3.5 years making under $60,000 a year. Business-wise, I am full-time entrepreneur because I paid off my debt, created systems for my clients to follow and learned how to reach out and find new clients. Financially, I got to where I am today by the grace of God and by shifting my money mindset and creating a realistic plan and sticking with it. Entrepreneurship might look easy but it was not. I had to learn how to delay gratification, have self-control and wait for things in a world that trains us to emotionally spend money on unnecessary things. I also had to learn how to be more future focused rather than always being present focused and impulsive.

It was not easy for me to go full-time as an entrepreneur because I was used to having consistent income and what I thought was “security”. I wasn’t bold enough to quit my job even though God told me to, so I was fired after not listening to Him which I’m grateful for because I needed that extra push. So, that’s when I decided to go full-time as an entrepreneur. It’s been a journey to trust God wholeheartedly and put my security in Him versus in money, but I’ve learned so much and that God is faithful and that He will provide.

I want the world to know that if God tells you do something no matter how crazy it sounds, trust Him. You can either look at it as scary or adventurous.

What motivated me was seeing that statistics show that women of color have the most amount of debt and lowest net worth. My goal is to solve this problem by helping women of color decrease their debt and increase their income, savings and investments. I want them to see my life and believe that the same is possible for them, but it all starts from shifting the mindset. In my sessions, I provide tools and strategies for them to use to help them shift their money mindset and have a financial plan for their money.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Some great places to visit in Atlanta is the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the High Museum of Art, Roller skating at Cascade and Top Golf. I would eat at two good seafood places, The Atlanta Fish Market and Pappadeaux.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to give all glory to God for supporting me on my journey and putting this passion on my heart to serve His people. He gave me a gift and tools so I can help others with their relationship with money. One scripture that convicts me is 1 Peter 4:10 where it says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” I’m grateful that God has been patient with me and guiding me on my entrepreneurial journey. I also want to be a good steward with my gifts. When I die, I want to hear God say “well done my good and faithful servant” because I decided to live my life the way He originally planned.

I also want to thank my Mom and Dad for consistently loving, supporting and giving me advice. I grateful for parents who saw something in me when I couldn’t see it in myself and always encouraging me throughout my journey.

Website: https://thehealthywallet.co

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourhealthywallet

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briellebryant-erales/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDrK83UO5SWFg4tV7HNYyuw