Money Talk with Ronke Lawal, Founder of Ariatu PR

Interviews

25 Jun

In light of COVID-19 and the myriad of financial concerns that come with it, we've made a slight adjustment to our usual Money Talk series. We want to know how the amazing women in our community are coping and what their experience of money management during a pandemic has been like. Today, we speak to Ronke Lawal, Founder of Ariatu PR.

“Dismantling the guilt of enjoying money has taken me time and I think I am there but sometimes it creeps up on me. So now that I am in that “safe zone” with money and technically no longer working class, I find myself treating myself and others more and more and looking at money differently.”

Hi Ronke! Please give us a little background about yourself. What do you do?

I was born in East London, Hackney and now live in South East London, Greenwich so I’m a Londoner through and through. I am also Nigerian as much as I am a Londoner at heart and this is reflected in the work that I do as well as the person that I am.

I am a PR and comms consultant, my business is Ariatu PR and we're based in London. I specialise in PR and Communications for clients in a range of B2C industries; including lifestyle, food, hospitality, travel, luxury FMCG and the creative sector with a particular focus on reaching African and Caribbean diaspora audiences.

What are you most passionate about?

This is a great question because I am passionate about life in and of itself. I am passionate about the way we see each other as people and how we can ensure that how we are seen is honoured and respected at every level. To some extent this is why my work is important, because how messages are communicated can have a long standing impact on how we see each other, how we trust each other and the relationships that we build around us. I am passionate about seeing fairness, equity and equality for all - I am not sure I’ll see it in my lifetime but I am willing to use whatever platforms I have access to in order to shine a spotlight on these issues.

What’s your relationship with money like (be honest)?

I have learnt to love it and use it and understand it more and more as I become older. This hasn’t always been the case. Growing up I was taught that we had to hold onto money because it was lacking so whenever you got some you had to make it stretch further and save. Save so that you wouldn’t be caught too off guard by the inevitability of lack. I can’t tell you how much unlearning I have had to do and still do when it comes to money. This sense that there will never really be enough and that buying nice things or experiences isn’t really for me because money is supposed to be used for needs as opposed to wants - something I learnt from my own working class background growing up.

Then, being placed in environments, like university, where people grew up with opposite experiences where money could literally buy them all the toys in the world - that really opened my eyes but funnily enough made me more resolute in this need to prepare and save for the future. I did not have that privilege of enjoying money in that way. Dismantling the guilt of enjoying money has taken me time and I think I am there but sometimes it creeps up on me. So now that I am in that “safe zone” with money and technically no longer working class, I find myself treating myself and others more and more and looking at money differently. I'm not allowing that fear, guilt or sense of lack to surround me. It’s hard but I am definitely doing the work and interviews like this really help. So thank you for this space to be honest and open. It feels freeing.

What are the biggest financial challenges you've had to face in light of COVID-19?

As yet nothing too much out of the ordinary, but touch wood nothing happens. So far, so stable.

Did you have enough savings to fall back on when this whole thing kicked off?

Yes this comes from what I said earlier - developing a habit of saving helped me a lot. Being a business owner/independent consultant also means that you have to prepare for dry seasons so I already had savings to fall back on.

Have you been eligible to claim government support? If so, what's that experience been like?

Yes and the experience was straightforward, I also have an accountant who was very useful so that helped.

How have you found the experience of navigating your work/business during a crisis?

Challenging and incredibly valuable for growth; being realistic about when to pivot and refine our products and services to best meet our user needs, prioritising what’s mission critical and what can either be delayed or shelved, and being open to opportunities.

Do you feel confident about your financial future?

I feel confident that I have the ability to invest, manage and generate what my family and I need.

How have you found the experience of navigating your work/business during a crisis?

It’s interesting because some of the work I do involves crisis under “normal” circumstance. While I could understand the collective panic (which made perfect sense given everything we’re going through), I was intentional about where I received my messages for example. I have also been able to navigate work and business in a way that hasn’t compounded more of the worry that comes with living through these times. I shared something about this here.

When things settle back to 'normal', what's the first thing you're going to invest in / spend money on?

First of all I hope they don’t go back to normal in the sense of people rushing back and forth to roles that eat up so much time that they can’t truly spend time with themselves or their loved ones. I hope this has shown the world that remote working and flexible working actually work. In terms of investments - I think I have that sorted. I am already a property owner so perhaps an upgrade but not immediately - the economy needs time to settle so maybe I’ll buy myself a car.

Do you feel like you've been saving more during the pandemic? Why or why not?

Absolutely yes because there’s no where to go. I love to eat out (that’s one of the treats I started to allow myself to enjoy more when I started to change my relationship with money), and I love to travel. I’ve never been a huge fashion shopper - although I love shoes, but again there’s nowhere to go. I have been enjoying buying more food and snacks and more plants. Overall, I’ve been saving more money and it’s just ironic how now that I am feeling more secure in how I spend money freely I can’t spend it all. One thing I have been committed to is identifying where I can donate, particularly during the renewed activity around The Black Lives Matter movement - this has been very important to me to at least give what I can or amplify.

Do you feel confident about your financial future?

YES! Yet a younger me is still trying to whisper no. I am excited because I honestly want to get to a place where while I’m not a cash-hoarding capitalist I can live without financial burdens, I can give back and I can just enjoy without thinking about money. I have set the wheels in motion so that I can have the life I deserve and I want more Black women in particular to get to that place. It is not easy but I have confidence that I will have a stable and secure financial future.

Moving away from the 'rona: what do you feel is the biggest obstacle women tend to face when it comes to careers and personal finance?

The biggest obstacles are the barriers and environments that have been set up to uphold patriarchy. Even the idea that women have to be like men in order to get what they want, when really women just need to be honoured, heard and respected. It is not difficult, but the structures that exist are not designed to empower of lift up women and so many of the obstacles include underpayment, lack of visibility, limited safe spaces to share experiences and an unwillingness to allow women, particularly Black women, the opportunities they deserve without immediately infantilising them or patronising them. We can encourage self-belief and confidence but they are not always the same thing, especially when looking at personal finance where our understanding of money is tied and limited to what we have been taught as girls growing up.

What does financial independence really mean to you?

Being able to wake up on a Tuesday and decide that I want to hang out with one of my besties somewhere fabulous by Friday, and just booking it because we deserve to enjoy life. Being able to see where there’s a need in my community and help to donate or support to resolve it financially. Being able to ensure my family and inner circle are not struggling unnecessarily in any economic climate.

What is the best financial decision you have ever made? And your greatest long term investment?

Saving for my first property and living it in has been a great decision and investment. Also makes me feel very proud of myself, all things considered.

If you could travel back in time, what single piece of advice would you give your younger self (relating to money or otherwise)?

That it’s going to be fine and that you can treat yourself more without feeling guilty.

What does Vestpod mean to you?

It’s a space where women can share their honest and open experiences about money. It is a necessary platform not only for encouragement or empowerment but for understanding and compassion in an area of our life that so many of us all too often want to shy away from.