My Rags to Riches Story — And 6 Lessons It Can Teach Us All

28/06/2024

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Building wealth isn’t easy, especially when you come from virtually nothing and do everything yourself. But just because it’s sometimes hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

Leah Wise, a trailblazing entrepreneur, attorney, and founder of several businesses — including Leah Wise Law Firm and CrashGal Couture — is proof of that. She became a self-made millionaire by the age of 29, despite the odds being against her growing up.

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Here’s her story and some lessons it can teach us all:

What Life Was Like Growing Up

“I’m born and raised in South Texas, basically on the Texas-Mexico border,” Wise said. “I grew up in a heavily Latino area. For a long time, I thought that as a Latina woman from the border growing up in a low socioeconomic neighborhood I wasn’t good enough or capable enough to do the things that I aspired to.”

Once she got a bit older, Wise left her hometown to pursue a higher education — first in Austin for college, then in San Antonio for law school.

“I moved away from home for close to 10 years, and then I moved back to my hometown area, and that’s when I decided to start my law practice,” she said. “I am the managing partner of my law practice.”

Starting Out With Very Little

Wise didn’t start with much, so she had to get creative and use the free resources she had available to get her practice off the ground.

“When I went to law school, I did not start my law practice with any money at all. I hardly had any savings,” she said. “I leveraged the power of social media to get clients, and the reason why I used social media is because it was free and I couldn’t afford to advertise any other way. I couldn’t afford commercials, billboards, SEO Marketing, Google ads…literally nothing except free social media.”

So, how did she go from having almost nothing to turning things around — and becoming quite successful to boot?

“I was able to get the attention of potential clients,” she said. “And after a few clients took a leap of faith on me, I proved myself and was able to turn [it] into a seven-figure revenue law firm. I then reinvested a lot of that into marketing, purchasing real estate, starting my clothing line… So, that’s how it all happened.”

Lessons Wise’s Story Can Teach Us All

Everyone’s path from “rags to riches” is different, but here are some things Leah Wise’s experiences can teach us all.

Don’t Let Imposter Syndrome Get You Down

Imposter syndrome is all too commonly the reason why people don’t strive for their aspirations, or why they come a little short. Wise had a similar situation at first, but she overcame it to get to where she is today.

“Once I had got past that sort of imposter syndrome and those self-doubts, the more confident I became in myself. I realized that it’s fine to have a lot of different interests. It’s fine to be multifaceted. You don’t have to fall into clean, nice categories or boxes that society wants you to put you in,” she said.

“And so I found that, yes, I can be a professional lawyer, and real estate investor, but I can also be a girly girl and embrace my femininity, through fashion,” she continued. “That’s why I’ve made it my mission to show young girls that you don’t have to be just one thing, you can be a lot of different things.”

Be Authentic, Be Vulnerable

Being authentic really is key to success, and being vulnerable is key if you want to stand out in a good way — and build something you’re proud of.

“I focus on being authentic and vulnerable with my audience,” Wise said. “That’s how I’ve been able to get so many clients. I think a lot of big brands are also trying to be relatable and have fun instead of ‘selling.’ ‘Selling’ on social media or any kind of marketing is the worst way to grow a multimillion-dollar business in my opinion.”

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Keep Costs Low

No matter how much money a person has, it never hurts to be a little frugal. After all, every dollar can — and perhaps should — serve a purpose.

“From a financial perspective, I keep my overhead as low as possible,” Wise said. In her business, for example, she’s gone paperless to save money on office supplies.

Don’t Be Afraid to Get a Little Help

Success is often a joint effort. If you’re trying to build wealth or become successful in your own way, don’t go it alone if you don’t have to.

“I also have a financial advisor, tax advisor, and CPA to make sure my finances are organized and that I’m taking advantage of all their knowledge and advice to keep me growing financially,” Wise said.

Live Below Your Means

“My advice is to live below your means (which is hard to do because you know people want to spend all their money),” Wise said. “[This] is important so that you can build a healthy savings.”

Living below your means can be tough, especially if you start out with very little and start earning more. Resist the urge to overspend and instead focus on using your money wisely.

Save and Reinvest Whenever You Can

As you live below your means and start saving up, you can then use that money to build more financial security through investing.

“With your savings, you should be investing money into your business and yourself rather than spending it,” Wise said. “For example, reinvest back into advertising, branding…all of that stuff so you can grow your business. This will allow you to achieve financial freedom and live more comfortably rather than living paycheck to paycheck.”

One way Wise started investing early on was in real estate. This enabled her to diversify and build a passive income stream.

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