Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - Adrienne Bailon-Houghton on Her Biggest Money Mistakes, Wins and Everything In Between

Episode Date: June 14, 2024

Adrienne Bailon-Houghton is more than just a triple threat— she’s a singer, dancer, actor, host, mother, wife, producer and entrepreneur. Adrienne joined Nely Galan on MNN's Money Maker for a conversation packed with advice and lessons. Adrienne shares how she turned around bad credit, what the Kardashians taught her about hard work, how she started creating entrepreneurial opportunities from her everyday life and much more.  Money Maker is on hiatus but to binge Season 1, click here: https://link.chtbl.com/_9U0OQh1?sid=MM Transcripción del episodio con Adrienne en español: https://moneynewsnetwork.com/podcast/money-maker/adrienne-bailon-houghton-is-a-money-maker/ 

I love hosting on Airbnb. It's a great way to bring in some extra cash. But I totally get it that it might sound overwhelming to start, or even too complicated, if, say, you want to put your summer home in Maine on Airbnb, but you live full-time in San Francisco and you can't go to Maine every time you need to change sheets for your guests or something like that. If thoughts like these have been holding you back, I have great news for you. Airbnb has launched a co-host network, which is a network of high quality local co-hosts with Airbnb experience that can take care of your home and your guests. Co-hosts can do what you don't have time for, like managing your reservations, messaging your guests, giving support at the property, or even create your listing for you.

I always want to line up a reservation for my house when I'm traveling for work, but sometimes I just don't get around to it because getting ready to travel always feels like a scramble, so I don't end up making time to make my house look guest-friendly. I guess that's the best way to put it. But I'm matching with a co-host so I can still make that extra cash while also making it easy on myself. Find a co-host at airbnb.com slash host. One of the most stressful periods of my life was when I was in credit card debt. I got to a point where I just knew that I had to get it under control for my financial future and also for my mental health. We've all hit a point where we've realized it was time to make some serious money moves. So take control of your finances by using a Chime checking account with features like no

maintenance fees, fee-free overdraft up to $200, or getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. Learn more at Chime.com slash MNN. When you check out Chime, you'll see that you can overdraft up to $200 with no fees. If you're an OG listener, you know about my infamous $35 overdraft fee that I got from buying a $7 latte and how I am still very fired up about it. If I had Chime back then, that wouldn't even be a story. Make your fall finances a little greener by working toward your financial goals with Chime. Open your account in just two minutes at Chime.com slash MNN. That's Chime.com slash MNN. Chime feels like progress. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank N.A. Members FDIC. SpotMe eligibility requirements and overdraft limits

apply. Boosts are available to eligible Chime members enrolled in SpotMe and are subject to monthly limits. Terms and conditions apply. Go to Chime.com slash disclosures for details. I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. It's time for some money rehab. Honestly, when they say stars are just like us, it's often BS. But when it comes to money rehab, stars are just like us. Adrienne Bailon-Houghton is having a moment. She is a superstar, an entrepreneur, a singer, dancer, actress, and the host of E's new nightly show. And she was recently on MNN's Moneymaker or Mi Mundo Rico show. It's in English and in Spanish, hosted by Arnelli Galan. And she talked really

openly and honestly about the time she had bad credit and what she did to turn it around. So if you're dealing with improving your own credit, I wanted to drop this in the feed to remind you that you are not alone and it will get better. Here she is. Welcome to Moneymaker, the podcast that gives you the tools to enrich your life in every sense of the word. I'm your host, Nelly Galan. Let's get started. So, Adrienne Bailón. I love even pronouncing it the way we pronounce it. Bailón, and then you say it right. I love it, love it, love it, which also reminds me of bailar and dance, right?

It's such a great name. People used to sing my name like bailamos, like the Enrique Iglesias songs, but bailón. I was like, yes, you get it. And for the English-speaking people that can never pronounce my last name, when I would go on shows or even now- Bailon. They would say Bailon and I would tell them, you buy it, you loan it. Buy, loan.

Literally. That is so- Which actually fits into this whole moneymaker situation, but you buy it, you loan it. I love it. I love it. But it's such a beautiful name. Thank you. It is such a beautiful name. You are someone to admire. You've done so loan it. I love it. I love it. It's such a beautiful name. Thank you. It is such a beautiful name.

You are someone to admire. You've done so much. We all love you. We all watch the Cheetah Girls. You're a singer. You're an actress. You're a host. I mean, you've been a first in so many ways.

So we're going to start with a little lightning round just so people get to know you. I love this. I want to ask you in three words, how would you describe your personal brand? Oh, wow. Okay. I would describe it as relatable, fun, and aspirational. I love that. I would say relatable because I think that, you know, with humble upbringing, I think that there's so many people that can relate to how I grew up, my story, my situation. But at the same time, I don't take myself very seriously. So I like to keep it fun.

And then I would say aspirational because I think I have been able to do so many really cool things. But that I hope that it's always an inspiration that people feel like, okay, I can aspire. If she could do it, I could do it. She came from the projects in New York City and the Lower East Side. And if she can do it and have the things and live the life that she's living, then there's a chance that I could too. So you've done so many things that what would you say is the hardest job you've ever had? Hardest job I've ever had, honestly, was being on The Real for almost 10 years. I think that while it was so much fun and probably one of the best jobs I've ever had, I had the greatest time doing it.

It's a talk show. It's so great. Yes. But like, you don't realize how much of yourself you have to give on a show like that. And it's actually what I loved most about our show that I think really separated us from the other talk shows was the fact that one, that we were women of color. I was going to say, it's the only time you saw women of color talking from that vantage point. Yeah. And that I would, and I think also that it wasn't just like a gossip show we would use the headlines to really talk about our own personal lives so if it was like okay so we heard

in the news that this person is currently fighting with their ex-spouse because they had a prenup and then they'd be like well ladies do we believe in prenups and now looking back there's so many things I said because I started the show at 29 years old and finished it at almost 39 so that's almost a decade of my life and I feel like I changed so much throughout those years and some of the moments are cringy I'm like pero nana why did you have to say that I'm like what was I thinking um and then there's other moments that I was really vulnerable and just honest and open. And those kinds of conversations can be really hard. I get it. Okay. Another quick question. Is there one thing on your bucket list that you really want to do and you haven't done?

I still would love to do like a pop reggaeton album. yeah that would be like my ultimate dream would be like a reggaeton like a spanish album that's just like salsa mixed with reggaeton mixed with pop music that would be my dream and a little r&b so who's your favorite artist in that space right now on i'm a big rosalia fan i love obviously bad bunny i love becky g i think is awesome i just think all those girls are just killing it carol g, like I just am a huge fan. Nati Natasha, like I love that music. So just to be able to do something fun. Well, you're going to have to do it now.

I know. Fingers crossed. That would be my ultimate dream. Okay, so in a successful person's life, there's highs and lows. What would you say is one of your biggest lows? Biggest low would be the fact that I had a solo record deal at Def Jam and I never put out a solo album that it like never came to fruition. I think it was half a timing thing. I think I also have a lot of faith in God and I do believe that like

his timing is perfect. And I think that things go exactly the way they're supposed to, but I was definitely disappointed when LA Reid signed me to Def Jam and then like I never ended up putting out a solo album. And I kind of think I also was in a relationship. I had fallen in love and I was like not quite focused as I would have liked to have been and I regret that. Wow. Yeah.

What is the best investment you've made in yourself that's really paid off? Best investment I've made in myself would be starting my own businesses. I think there's nothing smarter than actually investing your money in yourself. And then the second would be real estate. Real estate changed my life as someone who had such terrible credit that I had to have my sister co-sign for me when I moved into the Palazzo across from the Grove when I first got the reel. I was like, I have the money. And they were like, yeah, but you have terrible credit. And I literally had to have my sister, who was a nurse at the time, like steady, normal job.

She had great credit. I was like the superstar on Instagram looking all luxurious. And I could not get the apartment. So real estate for me has changed the game and having great credit, obviously. You know, it's funny because I say to women, don't buy shoes by buildings. And you know when all of us watch Sex and the City and Carrie couldn't pay for the apartment because she had so many shoes. Yes.

I think that's a big lesson for all of us, right? Absolutely. I mean, there's so much to learn there. I think even the fact that I started a, you know, a luxury vegan bag line, that has saved me so much money because I'm like, you know, voy a comprar Louis Vuitton. I'm like, yo tengo mi propio, my own company. I'm going to walk around with my bags. Like, why would I, like, and I think it sounds silly, but there's certain things that really have changed the way I think and the way I live. And it has really helped me in a major way on a financial level.

and it has really helped me in a major way on a financial level. So let's go back in time now to the beginning. Yeah. I mean, I was just blown away that you were like this girl, like singing in a choir and singing. And then someone very famous kind of gave you your first break. Can you talk about it? Yeah. I grew up in church.

I grew up singing church i grew up singing in a church choir in the lower east side in new york city i grew up asamblea de dios which is like assemblies of god super pentecostal old school and um there actually was a a conference a christian conference going on at madison square garden the same week that ricky martin was going to be doing his tour it was going to be the next tour the next stop on his tour was going to be doing his tour. It was going to be the next tour. The next stop on his tour was going to be MSG. And we were there the night before. And I guess someone from his team was there in Madison Square Garden the night before.

And we came out and sang at this conference, this Christian conference, my church. And they saw the choir and they were like, oh my gosh, for this show, we should have like a choir come out. Obviously, our choir at the time was the Mass Choir from our church. It had like maybe 150 people. And they're like, we want to do an ensemble version of that, which maybe had like 30. And they pretty much called my choir director and was like, Carmen Quintero, shout out to Carmen. And they were like, come have them audition and we'll pick the best 30 of those voices. And they're going to perform on the last song of the concert, which was Vuelve.

Do you remember? Vuelve. Oh, I love that. Okay. So literally, I was 14 years old. I was the youngest in the choir and the shortest, of course. I'm still 4'11". Hello.

I wasn't much taller then. And I just remember him handpicking us. He was sitting in on the vocal rehearsals and they had us come in and sing the chorus of the song. And they were like, yes, thank you so much. No, yes. Super sweet. And I ended up getting picked and I was the first one to walk out on the stage because

I was the shortest. I was in the front and they had us walk in and file in like right, left. And I just saw this sea of, funny enough, money green little lights going off. And it was because Heineken was the sponsor for the tour. And they had these little buttons that everyone was wearing with a little light. And it looked like a sea of just green glistening lights. And I remember walking out there and being like, God, like if I could ever get the opportunity to do this and like this be my, my career path. Oh my gosh, what a blessing that would be. And that's really what got my career started. I really was like, oh, I want to be a singer now. But you know, it's so funny because I read so much how, you know, you,

you really have had this very complex music life because you've been in girl bands and then you did your own thing and then you did the cheetah girls and then you you got taken in by disney yeah and you did all this you know kind of musical movies yeah so you know when i you know when we as as outsiders look at that we go wow this girl's doing all this you get rich whatever but we know the music industry is very complex. So can you tell us, give us kind of the viewpoint of that journey and everything you learned good, bad, and indifferent? Okay. Where do we start? So here's the thing. You do not make money from having a record deal, especially if you go through a production company. So I actually personally never had a record deal. I had a production company that had a direct deal with Sony Epic. And when they got the advance for us

to get signed, they received that money and they used that money to make the album. And then recouping is an entire different conversation, which pretty much means that any money you spend from the money they gave you, you have to make back before you actually see any money and get to earn anything, which never happens. Never happens. Oh, it's just like the movie and the TV business. So you go in there as an artist. So you're so happy. And you realize the money is very difficult. It is very difficult. And it does not come from actually ever making an album or even selling albums. You will only make money in the music industry two ways. One, being a songwriter because you'll make money from your publishing deals and from the fact that every time your song plays on the radio and that kind of stuff, you get money.

So writing, producing, and then touring. Right. That's why when we don't understand this as common people, but when you see people that are like 80 years old, still touring as a legacy band, right. It's because you have to make money. Yes. You got to pay your bills. Like you gotta, you have to make money. And I think that people also don't understand that the more money you spend, the more money you have to make. And there's a certain lifestyle that people have to upkeep. So although somebody can say, I'm going to hand you, let's even say a million dollars, which no one is getting a million dollars. You're lucky if you get a $50,000 advance in today's day and age, because

you really don't need record labels at this point. You can go to direct to consumer with all the streaming services that you now have. So even if you got a million dollars, that may sound like a lot of money to someone, but these people live luxury lives and that million dollars is going to run out quickly. You have to buy clothes and buy hair and makeup. Get your nails done. You have to look like something. Absolutely. And it costs money.

You're going to places and you have to take a car. Yes. There's a certain upkeep and an image that you have to uphold and that costs money unless you're smart, which in this case, I feel like I did a pretty good job at faking it till I made it in the sense of anytime I ever got my hair and makeup done by a hairstylist or a makeup artist, I would pay such close attention and I would practice on myself because I knew the reality is that at 14, 15, 16 years old and really not making any money, I couldn't look like the superstar that I truly wanted

to be. And I had to figure it out on my own. Oh, so you figured out how to do it yourself. I would do my own hair. I would do my own makeup. I would style myself. I would, I know you're not supposed to say this. See, I'm too honest.

Buy and return clothes. Like that's the reality of really trying to create this image of like, okay, yes, I'm successful and I've got superstar quality and I've got this thing going on, but it was really hard in the beginning. I did not have money. And crazier is that the transition from my first group 3LW to Disney, I made even less money because the reality is that Disney Channel is a huge opportunity for so many young people that at this point, to some extent, it's like, you should be paying us for the opportunity because it really does set people's careers up. It makes them explode onto the scene.

And you really, it was tough because I think people thought like, oh, we were making so much more money than we actually were. Well, you know, we hear a lot about like the Mickey Mouse Club and the Disney movies and all that, and that they are makers of your career. But again, I think that going back to our show, Money Maker, right? Yes. And we're trying to get to that place. It doesn't happen as quickly as people think.

At all. How many years would you say it took you from that beginning era to feeling a little more masterful and feeling like, okay, now I know the business. Yeah. Now I know the money, the legal. We haven't even talked about the legal. Yeah. I'm so grateful that I had, I'm, I'm, I'm grateful that I had parents that had good hearts,

but it saddens me that I had parents that didn't have the knowledge that we have today. And back then I had a mom who literally was petrified of the idea of me turning 18 and getting credit cards solicited to me at the house. And she'd be like, do not. My mom would be like, ay senor, like you cannot use credit cards. And so because of that, I really did struggle with having credit because I was so afraid of ever having a credit card. I didn't understand how that sort of worked.

So there was that, but I'm grateful I didn't understand how that sort of worked. So there was that. But I'm grateful I didn't have a mom that used me for money. Wow, yeah. So I'm grateful that I had a mom that literally just retired a year and a half ago. She worked throughout my entire career. My mom worked in a hospital at Cornell in New York.

And people would come in and be like, I know you, you're Adrienne Bailon's mom. They'd be like, why are you still working? And she'd be like, because my daughter's money is not my money. Yeah. It's very Latino. You know, we're, we're, we have good parents, but they, they, they, they didn't really get the financial system of the United States.

A hundred percent. And they didn't have the knowledge at all. It was very cash mentality. And so I'm grateful though, that she worked and she helped me save my money. So while I had money, there was a lot of things that I didn't know about what I could do with my money and how I could invest my money, how I could double my money, how I could triple my money. I think there was also a lot of fear based in our community. I think that as Latinos, we're scared of, oh my God, like I would ask my mom, mom, someone's giving you money and she'd

be nervous. I'm like, mom, that's a's giving you money and she'd be nervous. I'm like, mom, that's a good, like, that's a good thing. But it actually would make her anxious at the idea of receiving for me, even like, even till this day, if I want to give my mother something luxury expensive, it like makes her anxious and nervous. And I'm like, we got to get over this. But with that being said, I think for a really long period of time, she didn't know what I should do with my money. And furthermore, I think yet my other friends were like, scared money don't make no money.

Like it was very like. I get it. It is like a really weird. You have to look at it. That's why, you know, I say it is about the psychology of money. Yes. And our psychology sometimes growing up is off. It's fear-based, I think, a lot of the time. And we don't get it until it takes us a while. Yeah.

So when you were doing all these movies and all that, and then the real talk show comes along, is that the first time you really had a steady salary? Yes. Yeah, because I think people don't realize that I did, 3LW started when I was 15 years old. I auditioned when I was 14 and we actually came out with our first album when I was 15. I didn't do the Cheetah Girls until I was 18. So that was three years later.

And then even with the Cheetah Girls, I did it from 18 to almost 23. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. Yeah, like five years we did the Cheetah Girls. And that was pretty consistent because we were touring and that allowed me to see some pretty good money came from the touring side, but definitely the 10 years that I was on the reel, that's when I actually understood how much I was getting paid. When I got paid, I got paid on a weekly basis. I understood, I understood everything about how much I was making and what I could do with the money

I was making. I also wanted to be smart in those almost 10 years of being like, okay, I've got this money. How can I invest it? I became a homeowner. I started- And how did that all come up? How did you start?

Is it that you had mentorship? Is it that you... How did the money that you like, how did the money gene, the mission and money now we have to deal with the money because we, you know, you realize without the money, there's no mission, right? So how did that click in your head or did you have help? I had help and it goes, it's, it's two different people that I think have had the biggest impact on my financial stability at this point in my life. One was the fact that I had that embarrassing moment at my apartment building. When I first moved to LA, I was living in New York for a really long time. Now I'm moving to LA and Warner Brothers at first was paying for the apartment for me. But now that we got the show, they were like, okay, find your own apartment and get your own

place. And now I had to go to the leasing office. And I remember being so mortified because the girl at the leasing office recognized me. And yet when they ran my credit, I was denied the apartment. And I was like, this can't be, I was like, how is this possible? And that's where we got into recognizing that my credit score was terrible from the dumbest thing. When I tell you one, I didn't have enough of a credit line. And two, I in New York had moved out of an apartment and never returned a cable box. Don't get me started. Okay. It is the dumbest thing. That's like taking the book out of the library. That will have you so messed up. You won't even, you'll be like, wait, what? What is it that has my credit so bad? I had a cable box. And I guess when you move out of an apartment, you can't just leave

the cable box in the corner attached to the wall. Like you have to return the cable box. And because of that, they were calling me, I guess I owed money for the return of the, whatever it was. I remember finding that out and being like, I've got to get like, that to me was such an aha moment. Listen, embarrassment for me is the worst thing. My husband always says, he's like, Adrian can handle anything except for embarrassment. Like there are things I won't, I'll go into a store and if I even think you think I'm not going to buy something, I'm gonna buy it just so I don't feel embarrassed. It's actually quite, quite terrible. And I got to get over these things. But for me, that moment was my aha moment to say, girl, you don't know what is going on in your financial

world. You've got to pull it together. So you got to grow up. It was like that moment. I had a whole conversation with my mom at that moment. And I had a, who's the person that's now my best friend. And now my manager, her name is Lana Hawatme. She actually started as a fan of mine and came on as an intern. Funny enough, she actually worked for a mortgage company and she was in finance. A fan. It's actually a bizarre story. It's a great story. A fan of mine was working out of an office in a mortgage company.

Like she literally would tell you if you're going to get the loan or not. And she came on to work with me as an intern, but still working out of the cubicle in her job, but at the same time answering emails for me. And she, I remember her kind of as a fan being shocked at how financially disorganized I was. But see, these are great moments because you have to, like you have an uh-huh about how little we know about these things. Yes, and she, I remember her sitting me down and just being like, okay, let's try to get this

together. What's going on with this? Let's put a budget together. And I was like, budget, budget. Yes. I know this word and I probably should be better at this. And she was the first person ever in my life who actually sat me down and said, I'm a huge fan of yours and I love you too much.

And I, I did not think that this is what your world looked like. Let me help you pull it together. And she went from intern to my assistant, to executive assistant, to brand manager, to now she is my entire, my entire manager and pretty much runs my whole life. But she's also my best friend and I'm grateful for her. But I feel like her and my husband played a huge role in me just having financial literacy in general. So coming up with a budget, what that looked like originally, it was super basic and simple. I had a notepad and I was like, okay, what is my rent? My rent is this. What are the things that are necessary that I have to pay for every month?

How much money do I have to bring in a month just to survive? That was the first question I had to ask. Very important question. And it seems so like, duh, like you should know this, but I did not know what that number was. I didn't know what I was overspending on. Holy crap. When I thought about all the things I spent money on that was so stupid, when we looked

at like what I was pulling, how I was overdrawn most of the time and getting money taken out of my account because I was overdrawn. I wasn't checking. I didn't have the apps on my phone to check my back account. Guys, it's really bad. Well, you can only imagine if that's when you figured it out, how much money was lost before that. Oh, so it was terrible.

And how many people do we know that are in the entertainment business that everybody thinks they're rich. Yeah. And then you find out they're bankrupt. Exactly. You know, or, or, or athletes, a hundred percent, the amount of money that comes in, but it doesn't matter because it's not about the money that comes in. Right. It is what you keep. It's what you keep. And I think I had no idea how much I was spending on, whether it was luxury items, handbags, purses, shoes, clothing that I couldn't even tell you where it was. I couldn't even pinpoint it in my closet. Some of the things I had lost along. I'm like, where is that?

Those pair of shoes. Did I leave them in a hotel? Like it was tragic. All that to say. But let me ask you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. No.

Finish all that. But all that to say, that was my moment. And I was like, I'm going to get it together. And I'm never looking back. Hold on. Moneymaker will be right back. I love hosting on Airbnb. It's a great way to bring in some extra cash.

But I totally get it that it might sound overwhelming to start or even too complicated if, say, you want to put your summer home in Maine on Airbnb, but you live full time in San Francisco and you can't go to Maine every time you need to change sheets for your guests or something like that. If thoughts like these have been holding you back, I have great news for you. Airbnb has launched a co-host network, which is a network of high quality local co-hosts with Airbnb experience that can take care of your home and your guests. Co-hosts can do what you don't have time for, like managing your reservations, messaging your guests, giving support at the property, or even create your listing for you. I always want to line up a reservation for my house when I'm traveling for work.

But sometimes I just don't get around to it because getting ready to travel always feels like a scramble, so I don't end up making time to make my house look guest-friendly. I guess that's the best way to put it. But I'm matching with a co-host so I can still make that extra cash while also making it easy on myself. Find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host. One of the most stressful periods of my life was when I was in credit card debt. I got to a point where I just knew that I had to get it under control for my financial future and also for my mental health. We've all hit a point where we've realized it was time to make some serious money moves. So take control of your finances by using a Chime checking account with features like no maintenance fees, fee-free overdraft up to $200, or getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. Learn more at Chime.com slash MNN.

When you check out Chime, you'll see that you can overdraft up to $200 with no fees. If you're an OG listener, you know about my infamous $35 overdraft fee that I got from buying a $7 latte and how I am still very fired up about it. If I had Chime back then, that wouldn't even be a story. Make your fall finances a little greener by working toward your financial goals with Chime. Open your account in just two minutes at Chime.com slash MNN. That's Chime.com slash MNN. Chime feels like progress. Banking services and debit card provided by the Bancorp Bank N.A. or Stride Bank N.A., members FDIC. SpotMe eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Boosts are available to eligible Chime members enrolled in SpotMe and are subject to monthly

limits. Terms and conditions apply. Go to chime.com slash disclosures for details. Let's get back to the show. So question for you. I don't know at which point of all this you were on the Kardashians. Yeah. So did you learn a lot from them in terms of how they monetize, like how they went, like timing, right place, right time. And then from, like, what did you, because we all, we don't get the inside scoop of the Kardashians like you did. What do you think is what they know that the rest of us don't 100% get?

They're brilliant. They are so brilliant in so many different ways. I think one of the major things I feel like I learned from Chris was also striking while the iron's hot and being, they are really hard workers. I don't think people recognize how much work it takes to do a show like the show that they do. And at the time when they were on E!, this was literally filming from like seven o'clock in the morning until 11 o'clock at night. Like they were on camera all day long. Like it was, it was a hard work schedule. But with that being said, I think a lot of people

look at them and go, oh my God, but they're privileged. That's why they have these opportunities. Yet we know tons of rich kids that don't work because they're privileged. And I actually think it's the complete opposite in their case. They didn't have to work very hard, but they choose to. And I think that that was like the huge double and triple whammy was having someone where Kim will tell you, yes, I had these great opportunities, but I didn't just let them fall by the wayside. I went hard. And so I think one of the things I learned was working extremely hard, taking opportunities, but even simple things.

Like I remember going with Kim to nightclub appearances. I didn't know you could get paid to go to clubs. Like I didn't even know about that at that time. And I remember appearances was a really big way of how they started making their money. It was like, how can I use what I have to bring money in to then use that money to support the image that I'm upkeeping? So let's say I create this smoke and mirrors image of I'm this hot girl. I'm going to go do these club events, look like the hot girl and use that money to then

buy the next hottest clothes. And they actually did it in a smart way. There's also, you know, five girls where like, we wear each other's clothes. It's like five wardrobes to work with. But I think they're so smart in the way that they're always thinking ahead and they're always thinking in a very business-like way. And I think that's incredible. So for people like us, we're Latinas, and we didn't grow up in this world of Hollywood or whatever. So to see people think very big, to see people kind of be aspirational, as you said,

to see people also think about constantly how to monetize everything, which is not how we were raised, right? Not at all. Como una japana. Yeah. So is learning from all, it was like going to school, right? All these different experiences and all these different people from different places.

Is this when you decided to start in this kind of era? I'm going to try to get my own lines of, like, how did you turn all of this into a parallel track of businesses? Absolutely. I think the biggest thing I noticed was that you could monetize on once you recognize what your audience and the people that love you, what they're interested in about you. So I think even the Kardashians definitely played in that, in that sense as well of being like, okay, what is it they like?

They think our hair and makeup is great. Let's come out with the hair and make like, that is so smart. And here I was on this show called the real, how I launched my first company, which was XIXI, my jewelry company was because I actually was wearing these pieces that I had on all the time. It actually was from Hoyeria Pepe on Delancey street in New York. But, and they were pieces that my grandmother had bought me. And at the time, stuff that we've worn for years, gold pendants with like a saint on it. Very Latino kind of jewelry.

Very Latino jewelry was now being sold at Neiman Marcus for ridiculous amounts of money. And it was very chic and hip at the time. It was called pendant jewelry. Like it was, listen, it was practically like rosaries and saint pendants. What we grew up with. Literally everything we grew up with. And one of my girlfriends one time saw me wearing them and she's like, oh my God, Barneys, right?

And I was like, no, actually this was my grandmother's and she gave it to me and so forth and so on. And in that moment, I was always getting comments on my Instagram saying, oh my God, I love your earrings. Old school bamboo earrings, like door knockers and things like that. And I was like, I should come out with the jewelry. Like there is nothing that Latinas like more than jewelry. Like I said, I was born and before I could leave the hospital, I had my ears pierced. I had an anklet. I had two ID bracelets and a necklace.

Please. I was like, this is in my blood. This is who I am. And I started designing jewelry. And that's what came, like, that's how XIXI got started. And I literally started by recreating those pendants that I loved. And it was my first collection and we called it Faith and Familia. And it was literally replicas.

I had them remake all my signature pieces that I wear all the time and they remade them so that my fans could wear them as well. Wow. So see, connecting the dots, right? Like, oh, I'm literally wearing the exact same necklace that Adrienne wears every day.

And now I'm on this show five days a week where every day they're asking, what earrings does she have on? What necklace does she have on? What? And I'm like, oh, I should pay attention to that. Let's create the things that I want to wear and that now it's accessible to my fans.

Again, it's not crazy price. I wanted it to be something that was realistic before. You have to know your audience. But from there, how did you learn like the back of the house? How did you learn the business part of it? You did. Come on. Let's keep it real. Like I didn't have some guru that I was going to, it's called late night, hard work, coffee, and sitting and Googling everything that you could imagine. At the time there was a partnership. Somebody had approached me and was like, do you want to do,

I, the first entrepreneurial thing that I ever did was trying to have a nail polish line. And I actually went and like Googled like nail polish, like where I could manufacture. At the time I was in New York, it was a place in Amityville, whatever. I did that first. And that company actually, um, literally it was me, my mom and my dad would ship out like the shipments ourselves from my mom's garage. All that to say, I ended up closing down that company and the connections that you can make. It's so weird. From there, a company approached me about doing a subscription box of nail polish. And at the time I was like, eh, not really into nail polishes anymore. Gel had just come out. It was a whole thing. I was like, eh,

whole new line. I was like, I'm not really going to do the nail polish thing anymore. That same company also had a division that created jewelry. And I was like, not interested in the nail polish line. But now that I had this idea, I went back and reached out to them and was like, I'm thinking of starting jewelry. Is that something you'd be interested on collabing with me on and like partnering up with me because I had no clue about where, who's going to make this jewelry? What am I going to be sitting in my kitchen, melting down, you know, gold? Like, how does this work? I had no idea. And so here's the thing, the same way that I took everything I could learn from a makeup artist, I did the same thing in this partnership. In this partnership, I asked all the questions. I said,

okay, where do we manufacture? Okay. Sometimes in Mexico, sometimes in China understood who's who creates the CADs, which are literally, you know, like I literally started asking all the questions and it's because of, pretty much the mentorship program that I had for my jewelry line that I was able to then launch my bag line. I was able to figure out going online and guys. Okay, but let me ask you a question because where a lot of people go wrong. Yeah. Building a business.

Yeah. You go and you say, okay, how can I make this jewelry? Can I make it in China? Can I make it here? Can I do this? But then you buy the stuff and then you sit on it and you might have too much inventory. Don't, do not buy a lot of inventory. You need to figure out how, start small, start small. Not only should you start small,

but also make sure that whatever you paid wholesale for those pieces, that you're absolutely going to make at least three times that amount when you price it. So even start thinking about the quality. And the reality is I started looking at the pieces and recognizing, okay, where, where do I buy little cute jewelry? Forever 21, fashion novas of the world. Like that's just the reality of not just who I am, but who my consumer is. We buy little things. It's trendy today. big hoop earrings tomorrow. This is not something I'm intending to have 20 years from now. So you have to recognize that when I even was making it at first, I was like, I want incredible quality. And that was making my, the cost of my product really high, which then meant, okay, if I am spending $12 to make this three times, that

amount is somebody do the math. Let's say it's $30. Now let's say it's going to be $36, make this. Three times that amount is, somebody do the math. Let's say it's $30 now. Let's say it's going to be $36. $36. Do I want to charge $36 for just a pair of hoops when somebody can go somewhere else and get them for $15? No, I want to get my cost down. So I really started thinking in this, I was micromanaging everything. So you were like having, like almost like you went from not knowing anything. To knowing it all and doing it all.

To like you got obsessed about it. Yes. And thank God because that's where we all have to go. I mean, I love hearing this. But I literally would sit up at night and I'm, I feel like now all of this information is available online. You literally can go on like an Alibaba and find out who the manufacturers of like, who does this?

Who does that? What's the quantity? It's a great era for all of this. If you want to do something at this point in time in 2023, there is no excuse. Everything is available and at your fingertips on the internet. If you really, really want to find information, there are podcasts like this one. There are YouTubes that like literally you can go on there and be like, how do I start a business? How do I trademark my company's name? Like that is so important. Please do not put out any products without trademarking your company's name. Thank you for saying that. That's true.

Yes. Like there's simple steps that I didn't recognize I had to take. And then I realized, oh my gosh, if you really want to know something, there is so much that you can learn. There is absolutely no excuse. But to be fair, you had an incredible platform because you were on TV. And that's where the Kardashians have done really well. They've used the platform as a commercial for your brand. Absolutely.

But I guess young women could say they could be influencers and they can, they can create that kind of following as well. But even in your community, you could be popular in your church. You could be popular in high school. You can, if right now you're in your high school and let's say people think you have cool style, why are you not sharing that information? Why aren't you literally out of your locker selling cool things? Like I just saw recently, one of my girlfriends had this really cool pendant that was off of her phone, like these like little things that charm bracelets that

they're almost hang off of your cell phones now. And she was saying her daughter started making them and she's selling them out of her locker. And I'm like, come on, young entrepreneur. This is what I like to hear. But she's literally making something with her hands, selling it at work. It's trendy. It's cute. It's cool. And it's the simple things like that, that you can start from the smallest thing and really turn it into something so much bigger. That's why I look at all these young, young people and I go, what's your excuse? Because there's so much to do right now. And it is the easiest time in history to do all this stuff. Okay. So tell me about the bags. How did that go? time in history to do all this stuff. Okay. So tell me about the bags. How did that go?

Okay. So now we're like, oh, we get it. Like I get how this works. We joined Shopify. Don't get me started. I love me some Shopify. I think it's the most genius way to be able to sell stuff. E-commerce is brilliant. So you learned all that too? I learned all that. The first thing I do when I have an idea of something I want to start, like I think the next thing I'm going to go into is I really want to start a candle company. I've never said this anywhere. I'm like, those are hot and it's like, they're, they don't cost that much. And people want candles. That's really, do you know why I want to start a candle company? Because the amount of dinero that I spend on candles, it is so out of control that I'm like, I would just be saving myself money by starting a candle company.

And I was like, this is something that again, quick turnaround. It's something people burn. They need new, they're going to come back. They'll need more of it. And I feel like for such a long period of time, one of the things that my audience has loved is kind of having a look into my home and it's like my home fragrance and how does that work? And you smell so good. You're good into the fragrance thing, girl. So it's those kinds of things that I start thinking about it. I'm like, the first thing I do is get the Instagram account. So I started an Instagram account for my home called Chateau Houghton.

And so I started that Instagram. It like literally so many people started following it. And I was like, okay, like how can I now? I get it. You like looking to see what throw I have on my sofa, what candle I'm, how can I turn? It's like, this is, how can I, how can I do this and make money on this? But I'm doing this right now. Like literally right now, I went online, started looking at candle manufacturers. Where can I go to get something that again will be cost-effective? So this is me currently. I don't know a darn thing about candles right now, but I'm just getting started and I'm doing the research. I'm figuring it out little by little,

but it's things like that. Like how can I use what I know people love or are interested in about me to turn into something that, you know, I can pass down to my son. Hold onto your wallets. Money Rehab will be right back. Hold on to your wallets. Money Rehab will be right back. And now for some more Money Rehab. Your story is so beautiful because you're an artist and you start out in this whole other thing, but you've evolved into this incredible entrepreneur. Thank you. And thank you for sharing it so step-by-step because I want people to feel like exactly what you said, that if you can do it. And I don't know everything you guys like on I just being completely honest

I'm every day learning something new like right now with my jewelry company we're getting ready to like figure out a new way of marketing in the sense of UGC is huge right now if you have a company sending things out to influencers and being like, Hey, now can you imagine? It's literally me on my phone finding young girls that I'm like, Oh, she bought something. She posted it. Now I'm going to start sending her stuff for free and that she'll do that in a partnership with me as an ambassador for my company. Like it's the smallest trade-offs, but you get so much leverage. Like you don't even realize how much promotion you get from the simplest things like that. So again, I'm learning every day and I'm doing it on my own.

If I'm being honest, a lot of people would think like, oh, there's somebody handling that. No, if you get a message from my jewelry company saying, hey, we'd love to do a partnership. We'd love to collab. I'm going to send you these items. We'd really appreciate it. If you post it, it is me sitting there in the wee hours while my son is asleep on my chest, getting it done, doing the work. Like no one is going to care about your company as much as you

do. No one is going to, I literally used to joke. I'm like, you have to manage your managers, agents, your agents, assist your assistants. No one is going to care more than you in this world. And no one's going to work harder than you. And you just have to accept that if you want to be an entrepreneur. And on top of that, you have like four step kids. Listen. A new baby. I mean, do you think getting married and having your child also has even, because I think having a child makes you even make more money. Yeah. I think you want to leave a legacy. I think, and you want, you want, I've had this

conversation with my sister who has two daughters and she had kids before me and she's married to a very successful lawyer, born in Trinidad and Tobago, raised in the Bronx and went to Yale and then like Duke law. And they just, my sister's a nurse. They live a beautiful life. Their kids are homeschooled. They live on like this 22 acre, you know, incredible estate. And we constantly talk about how do we impart in them the drive and the want to work and win and be successful that we had growing up with nothing. And it's scary. It's scary. It is so, I think all the time, my son is never going to go through the hardship that I went through, but what is it that I can instill in him? That's going to make him want to have the drive and the desire to work as hard as

I did, because my desire honestly came from the fact of not having, it came from this desire of wanting to, I saw this quote the other day saying immigrant children that you now may see on Instagram showing their luxury life and showing off the things they have sometimes it's not about them just wanting to show off it's about them celebrating the win that they're having that their parents didn't get to have and that hit me so hard I was like sometimes I want to show that I have something. Not because I'm trying to be like, oh, look at me. But to be like, yo, we could do this. We could do this.

And for me specifically as a Latina on Instagram, when I try to show the luxury things I have from my Hermes blanket to Versace boots, it's important for me to tag those brands. And for my audience to see that they get to see someone that looks like me enjoy luxury as well. Yes. And that's so important. I remember growing up living in the projects and watching shows like MTV Cribs and Life of the Rich and Famous. And it didn't make me go, I can't stand those people. They're rich. It made me go, how can I be one of those people?

stand those people, they're rich. It made me go, how can I be one of those people? While there's something outside of these four walls of this project building and this little neighborhood, there is something else for me out there. And instead of, I think it's easy to be jealous. I've been jealous before. I've been sitting there one time in my house and been like, why don't I have this or what? Right. We can do that. And that's easy to do. Or you can say, wow, I'm inspired by this. And I'm whatever it is that feeling that I have while looking at what somebody else has, how can I redirect that energy and put that towards putting a plan together and taking action so that I can have the things that I want. And for me, it's just important to represent that. I think a lot of the times we see one look for who brands have endorsing their stuff

or who gets invited to those Valentino dinners and the Hermes and the Dior cruises. And it's important that I show the luxury things that I have so that my audience and my community recognizes that we deserve to enjoy that luxury as well. I agree. I mean, thank you for saying that. I think that for our community, we have to promote wealth luxury as well. I agree. I mean, thank you for saying that. I think that for our community, we have to promote wealth building and wealth in a family and family legacy.

And at the same time, live beneath your means and invest the money. And then when you can, then you have these great things. So it's a combination of both. Or the fact that the people that have the most money are never the flashiest. That's right.

They're the one with a white t-shirt on walking around, nothing that says name brands on it. And just reminding ourselves of that as well, that it's okay to be where you're at and to be in the hustle and maybe not have all the flashy things today so that you can have them tenfold tomorrow. Okay. I can talk to you for three hours straight. I love it. Because I'm so impressed by your

journey and thank you for sharing that journey. But I want to ask you, how do you juggle, do you see this entrepreneurial life? Like you're now at E, which congratulations, what a great to see you at E is beautiful. Do you feel like your artistic life is one track and your entrepreneur track is another, or do you see it all as one thing? Have you merged them all? I see it all as one thing, but they work very differently. And I recognize that as well, but I think, okay, you've got e-news, which again, I think about even the fact that I'm on that show and I'm very intentional about being fashion forward on the show. And even there with jewelry,

one of my chief correspondents, I walk into any show that I'm in and I gift all my co-hosts, all of my jewelry so that that's what they're wearing every day on the shows. I try to think in this way. So right now, uh, he shoots on the same stage as Extra and, uh, Access Hollywood. So I literally have all the girls in there are wearing all the jewelry. But I think, so they do sort of cross promote and everything ultimately ends up being one thing. But they work in different ways.

And it is hard to juggle it all. But ultimately, I think of the fact that I've been given this great opportunity and I never, ever, ever want to take it for granted. Yeah, I get the vibe that you're just very grateful for everything in your life and you try to take advantage of every moment. And I think it is very different than the way we grew up.

So I think you have also been able to witness people that kind of look like us that are doing it and see that it's possible. It is so possible. And that's why it's so important for them to see us. Absolutely. Representation is everything. And I think ultimately the fact that we can take the knowledge that we have and pass it on and encourage and inspire, that's really what it's all about. I literally joke around about the fact that, okay, I've done this, but I expect the next generation to do it that much better than I did. My mom tells me all the

time. She's like, now that you have a son, you're going to see that all you're going to want is for them to be better than we were. All we're asking is that the next generation gets better than the last. We're not asking you to take over the world, you know, just a little bit better in whatever way, whether it's even recognizing that my credit, like something as simple as my son will never be in a leasing office talking about, I need a co-sign. Okay. But it's the simple, small things that I think we take for granted. And it's important that we continue to just pass down that little bit of knowledge, little bit, little, little by little that we just keep getting better.

Well, what I love about your life is that you're rich in every way, because it is also about, for us important familia yes and your your son yeah and you have a full creative life but you didn't just you know rest on your laurels you have not rested on your laurels there is no resting here girl i'm gonna tell you that i'm older than you and i'm gonna tell you that you and you know this because you know how it doesn't get easier in life no you have to keep at it. Look at Kris Jenner in her 60s and she's crushing it. So this is a long distance run, but I'm just so proud of you being such an incredible moneymaker. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Moneymaker is a production of Money News Network. Moneymaker is written and hosted by me, Nelly Galan. Our executive producer is Morgan Lavoie. Thanks for listening. See you next time. you