Gaby Mendes: How Your Twenties Shape The Rest Of Your Life

This transcript is auto-generated and lightly edited for readability, it may contain errors.

[0:00] Sammie Ellard-King: Yo, welcome back to the Money Gains podcast. This week, my guest is Gaby Mendes, founder of Talk Twenties, which is a wicked podcast and platform helping young people sort out their SHIT. Really needed in this world that we’re living in today. And this chat with Gaby was all about how our school system, our education could change, how she, as an entrepreneur, has been building her business and what it takes to actually build a business in this day and age. I love this conversation from start to finish. It was so interesting talking to another podcaster as well. And I really hope you enjoy this episode. If you’re listening on YouTube, please do whack that subscribe button. And if you’re listening on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, then whack the follow and do share this episode with a friend that you think could benefit from this. But for now, let’s get started on the Money Gains podcast.

[0:55] Gaby Mendes: The Money Gains Podcast, the financial guy, on creating already. Let’s make some bread. So, Gaby, welcome to the Money Gains Podcast. How are you doing? You well? I’m good, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I’m excited to chat to you. I have been following Talk 20s and your movements for some time now. I tune in to every episode. It’s an amazing resource for people. But I want to start slightly different. What do we need to know about Gaby to really understand you? Oh, it’s a great question. Um, what do you need to know about me? I am I never stop. My brain doesn’t stop. I think my team would probably tell you that. Like, I am probably an ideas person, I’m a dreamer, I like to think big, and I think that has ultimately helped me grow a business, obviously, but at the same time, it means that I’m pretty relentless in terms of like always pushing for things and never being satisfied and stuff like that. So, yeah, like I think my early career I started off in something that I wasn’t loving and I didn’t love so very quickly, I think my whole body told me that I had to kind of go and move on and do different things. So I think I’m very like tuned into my like intuition. If something tells me it’s not right, I probably won’t do it, but I will be on to the next thing as quick as possible.

[2:24] Sammie Ellard-King: Following your gut. Yeah, I definitely believe in that for sure. And do you feel like that’s kind of what got you started in business is because you kind of realised actually I need to do something different. Yeah, I think I didn’t think I ever I maybe thought about being an entrepreneur in terms of like I’d come up with ideas all the time, but I don’t think I ever thought, oh, I could do this as a job. Like, especially as I don’t I don’t have anyone entrepreneurial around me at all. Like my parents, like they’ve only ever worked for other people, like they’ve never been business minded at all. Um, and yeah, like my close family, everyone, no one really is a business owner, but it’s funny now because I’m a business owner. Now, my brother, who’s you know, a couple of years younger than me, he’s a business owner. Um, and it wouldn’t be surprised to me, my sister wants to go down that path as well. So for two parents that are not entrepreneurial at all, like a lot of like there’s four of us, and you know, two of them already entrepreneurs, and we’re in our we’re only in our mid-20s. Um, so there must have been something growing up that was like, you know, made us want to kind of do this or do something different. Um, but yeah, like I don’t know what it is, but it’s always kind of, I guess I’ve just ended up here in terms of being an entrepreneur.

[3:41] Sammie Ellard-King: And you studied education, but specifically like how people interact with different forms of studies and the politics behind that. What are we doing wrong with our school system, do you think? The school system is based on such archaic forms of education. So the way that it’s set out is essentially, you know, a lot of us back in back in the olden days, sitting in front of a desk, you know, learning how to do something like the same as everyone else in the classroom. It was because like most people would then leave school and go and work in a factory. So they needed to know the basics in order to be able to work in in a factory. Everyone needed to know the same thing. What we live in a world of right now is that like everyone’s experiences of the world are uniquely different, and ever there are so many career opportunities for people that actually it’s very hard to educate 30 people when they’re all gonna go off and do so many different things and they all have different wants and needs, you know, whether that’s being neurodivergent, whether that’s being more like more of a creative learner, more of a, you know, active learner, more of a reading, like it’s so hard as a teacher to be able to cater to everyone in the classroom. Um, so I think first and foremost, like that is probably the biggest challenge that we face right now is that the world that we live in is no longer the world that we’re producing students for, if that makes sense. So we need to have an education system that is quite varied and has lots of different types of learning opportunities and experiences. And I do think that changed slightly during the pandemic. You know, teachers had to think really differently about how they taught. They had to either, they had to either, you know, convert to kind of teaching online and teaching on on digitally and in in different ways. So I think whilst it is developing because of the school systems and the way it’s set up, like there’s restrictions of what it can change. You know, they’re still Ofsteds, there’s still, they still sit, we still sit exams in the same way. They don’t really change year on year. I mean, they had that big shakeup when they went from giving everyone A’s, B, C’s, and D’s to one like ones to nines, but nothing, the exams stayed the same pretty much. The whole process of doing the exams stayed the same. They just decided to change the number system. But actually, like, should we really even be sitting exams in that kind of way or should we be testing people in different kinds of ways? So it’s just it’s this it’s basically the same but different. Whereas actually, I don’t think that really equips people for the real world.

[6:12] Sammie Ellard-King: Completely. I mean, it’s a big hot topic of conversation, and uh obviously with your background, I wanted to ask you that question because I feel like it’s you’ve got experience in this that perhaps other people can’t necessarily talk about. Um and for me, like there’s hundreds of subjects. Well, I mean, there’s some subjects that probably could be cut back on, like portions within those subjects are archaic, their curriculum is outdated, it does need more focus. You know, but I know we both talk about this on our websites, like Pythagoras’ theorem springs to mind. Like, you know, what what are we doing in these subjects like mathematics? Of course, we need to understand mathematics, but within that, then if there’s parts of that curriculum which could be altered to perhaps give us a more of a focus on things that we’re actually going to use in the in a day-to-day basis. If you were given carte blanche and a magic wand here, like what would you do?

[7:09] Gaby Mendes: Oh my gosh. Um there’s so much that that would that you’d need to do. I don’t I think it’s it it you can’t really say change one thing and it would affect the whole the whole system. But I think it’s even looking at the simplest things, like even if you take the highest form of education, like pretty much going to university, if you look at a marketing degree, right? Most of the time students will graduate from a marketing degree, but they won’t even know how to use TikTok. Like that’s the one of the fastest growing ways to market yourself right now. But like probably not many courses are even speaking about that. And I think when we kind of that that needs to then filter down. So that’s like you’re really specifically going into something in the world and and you’re not even learning about the biggest thing that’s out there right now. But if that kind of filters down to the other ages, so you know, whether you’re doing a maths lesson, whether you’re doing an English lesson, how can we bring the real world and what’s going on outside into that lesson so that people understand things as they are? Because I think when we kind of all always looking back to history, how things were, that’s not really setting people up for success. Um, so I think, you know, when it comes to managing, like if you’re talking about, like if you are gonna do a finance lesson with kids, um, don’t teach them in coins. Like, because actually, like, is that really what we’re looking at nowadays? Mostly mum and dad are gonna pay with a card that looks like this. So, yes, you can teach them in coins, but like, are we also teaching them what like an app looks like? And there’s amazing resources like GoHenry and stuff like that that can teach them all about money. So, like, I think it’s about bringing those things in and like technology and not being afraid of it. I think the biggest problem in in the in the world of teaching is that there is so much pressure on teachers. So, for them to actually have that eye on like what’s going on in the real world and having and like bringing it in, like, are they not that I definitely felt as a teacher that I wasn’t perhaps maybe skilled enough or new enough to be able to bring that in. So you just stick to what you know in terms of what you teach. And I think I think that’s the biggest challenge of thing. So I think I would empower the teachers to bring as much of what’s going on in the real world into the classroom and give them the space to do that and not like you know, test them quite so much because Ofsted and all those kind of regulations, teachers should be trusted way more than they actually are. I think.

[9:24] Sammie Ellard-King: I completely agree because it’s that’s where it comes from, you know, they’re they’re on the ground, and if you it’s always that kind of bottom-up approach, even when you’re running a business, if you look after your team and it starts with your team and not the company or the people above you, then actually you get the results that you want. And that can be said the same there with the school system. I think that giving the teachers a little bit more leeway where they’re not necessarily like if that kid doesn’t hit his GCSE grades, but he walks out with a ton of life lessons and goes on to create a fantastic business, job done, man. Like at the end of the day. But unfortunately, that they’ve got a school system, and you know, if that school does badly, then they’re they’re not given enough funding, and suddenly they become the worst school in the area, and the area goes to shit.

[10:13] Gaby Mendes: So it’s yeah, and it’s it’s a vicious cycle, and and breaking the cycle is really tough. So, yeah, there’s so many things that would have to happen in order to like wave a magic wand and things be fixed. Um, yeah, exactly. And like, you know, our schooling system is better than a lot around the world, so we have to be grateful for that with whilst we sit here and you know, criticize or offer like opportunities for growth. At the same time, we have to appreciate, you know, we live in a western western world, like our education system is amazing. Um, but is there more that we can do to prepare the next generation for life and the world? Absolutely. 100%. And for me, a lot of it comes down to like, you know, yes, there could be different things done in schools, but it’s the way that kids would interact with that. You touched on it briefly there, like, you know, a finance lesson, like this is a mortgage. Uh like I know when I was 14, like I was a bit of a little shit in my class. Like, I would probably just be like, oh, you know, whatever, like, and I wouldn’t be thinking about that. I’m just thinking about like what girls have fancied, and like, do they fancy me? And am I actually cool with my mates? And when can I pick a football again? And like that’s all you really care about back then. But if someone had walked into that lesson and gone, right, today, like, you know, we’re gonna start the the next Amazon. So you guys are in marketing, you guys are in finance, you guys are in sales, we’re gonna come up with a new product, and we’re gonna do it like this. I’d be like, bing, I’m engaged, and then you’re teaching business and finance and and all these different types of things. If you’re doing it like that, like way more interactive, then um these kids will, you know, and there’s some fantastic people like Abby from Elent, who I know you’ve had on the podcast, has done doing some great work in that space, and um yeah, I think there’s a lot to be done. But uh for me, there’s a big information gap around what happens from institution to institution. So you go from uh sixth form or college into a university environment, and then from university environment into the big bad world. And between there, there’s two key moments, but within there, there’s like n there’s nothing seems to happen for people. Like, why do you think that is, and like what what would you do to kind of bridge those gaps, do you think?

[12:20] Gaby Mendes: From six form to university or from university to the big wide world. Well, I suppose for with talk twenties in mind, what would happen from university to the big bad world? To the big bad world, yeah. Um so I’ve so when you step out from university, you well, when you’re in university, you think I get this qualification, and that equals success in the outside world. But there’s a very stark realization that you kind of get to once you graduate and you realise that actually most people are going to university nowadays, and and actually having a degree isn’t really enough to equip you for the outside world. And with everything going on with the cost of living crisis, you can put a lot of pressure onto a lot of young people. Many choose to move back in with parents if they can. So they’ve just spent three years maybe living somewhere else, and then they come back home, and all of a sudden the freedom that they once had is then, you know, you’re back to sleeping in your childhood bedroom and all that kind of stuff. It’s not the case for everyone, but it is the case for many. And there’s some comes this realization that, like, do I actually know how to adult? Like, if if I was flowing, you know, if I was gonna live out, if I wanted to buy my first house, if I want to like actually progress in this career, like, do I actually know what I’m doing? And where can I actually go for this advice? And you you look at there aren’t very many places you can you can Google, you can TikTok, search on TikTok, but like, where can you actually go to kind of find that information? But also to know that it’s perfectly okay to feel that way. Because I think a lot of you know, places you can of course search this up, but a lot of them be like, you should be doing this or you should be doing that. And I think what we try and do at Talk 20s is is say that, like, actually it’s perfectly okay to feel like you haven’t got things figured out because everyone hasn’t got it figured out. There’s always some area that everyone’s trying to sort out in their lives, they might be, you know, good with their finances, but they might be shit with relationships, like you you just don’t know. So it’s completely okay to feel out of your depth, and like there’s areas of your life that you’re like, I don’t know what the heck I’m doing, I need help. Like, so yeah.

[14:26] Sammie Ellard-King: It resonates to in the 30s and 40s, no one’s got their shit figured out, man. But having a resource and a place to go when you feel like that, and having conversations like this and your podcast as well is so important because people feel like they’re not alone when they’re making these types of decisions. You know, I remember it very well. I came, I finished university and I went back home, and I was back home, and I really didn’t want to go back home. And I was there for about a month, and I went and got a job in something that I didn’t really want to do, just so I could like be free because I’d been living on my own for four years with my mates. Like, the last thing I want to do is go back and and live with mum and dad. Like, not that they’re bad people or anything, but like you know, it’s not it’s not no.

[15:11] Gaby Mendes: I felt the same. I was the same, like even when I was just going home for a couple of months, like in between, like I was the same. I I actually ended up moving to move in with my now my fiance, but my boyfriend at the time. Um, but I went home for a couple of months in that summer, and I was like, I cannot live at home, I have to move out. So, like, yeah, it’s difficult. And then that first year, I was doing my teacher training and he was in his first like entry-level job. We had no money, and and jobs, our jobs were stressful. Like, and all of a sudden I felt like I was 40 years old overnight. I was like, is this what adult life is like? Because this is horrible. I was like, I have to mark books on the weekend. I’ve got kids that are like I’m responsible for. Um, and I was, and you know, and I’ve got no money, everything is going to my bills or my trying to pay off my student overdraft. So I have like no fun. Like it was depressing to say the least, the first year of like like life after university. Um, and I think that’s many people’s experience. So yeah.

[16:58] Sammie Ellard-King: And then it’s kind of like this weird there is this kind of weird year or two because 95% of people that come out of university don’t end up actually doing the course that they studied in, or at least they don’t off the bat. You know, those five percent of lawyers and doctors, etc., which train and get offered jobs in the in right out of uni. Rest of us come out like, wow, life’s happening now. It’s real, real fucking quick. Like, we’ve got bills to pay, we’ve got like a car, we’ve got a petrol suddenly, and mum and dad, and they’re not having any of it because that we’ve just moved back in. They’re like, come on, like, we don’t want you here almost. Like, some obviously, but even so, like, they’re trying to make encourage you to make life decisions, and you really do need to start making that. And the mental period that you go through, like, you just touched on it there, like, it is really, really difficult. Like, I found it so hard first couple of years. You’re like, Who am I? What am I doing? And you can’t get these things figured out, but like what from speaking to all of these people, what’s the kind of undertone there? Like, what are you seeing from all of these people that you’ve interviewed? What’s the kind of uh recurring theme within that period of people’s lives?

[18:14] Gaby Mendes: I think the recurring theme is that like when you step out into your 20s, like it can feel like such an overwhelming time, but there will come a point where things start to click together, like especially if you’re open about the things that you’re kind of struggling with. Um, so for most people that’s come on the podcast, they’ve all admitted to having really difficult moments in their lives, but it’s kind of about finding the strength to kind of like push through and figure it out and look for support because there is support out there. There are platforms like yours and and talk 20s and and and loads of things like that, which you can help figure out your next step. Um, so I think for a lot of people, that early 20s and figuring it out is really tough, but there’s also so much to be learned through going through the pain and like the resilience of it as well. Like, I think this generation and most people in their 20s right now, like incredibly resilient because you know it’s a difficult enough time as it is, but like to go through that period and then go through that period in your 20s, like it then go through that period when it was COVID. Like your 20s are also supposed to be, you get this pressure as well. For it also, it has to be you gotta start earning money and figuring all of that out. But you should also be having the best time of your life because you’re a young adult and you should be doing this and you should be traveling the world. But for a lot of us, our mid-my mid-20s was taken away by COVID. So, like, what did I do in that time? I sat in, I watched every single episode of power on Netflix. I like I was furloughed for my job. I started a I started a company, but like I didn’t get to do the whole traveling and the like living life. So I felt like I grew up really, really quick, like in my 20s. And I think a lot of people who are currently in their 20s right now would probably say the same because you know, we probably didn’t get those experiences of like going out and being young. Like it felt quite serious quite quick. So yeah.

[20:07] Sammie Ellard-King: I’d be really interested to know like what the I mean, I don’t think there’s any studies that have come out about it recently, but like what have the actual effects of COVID were on young people, especially like in their 20s, but equally as well, like going through university, yeah, and actually like not being able to go on campus, but still being having to shadows yeah, like what I know, I know, and a lot of young people that we obviously interview interview now, like in you know, we do loads of street style content, and we’ve got quite a big community and stuff like that. A lot of them were COVID university students, and they literally did it from their bedrooms, and I didn’t even get the whole experience of going to university as it should be. Um, so yeah, I think that’s so tough. And then now they’re mentoring into the workplace, it’s really tricky because whilst there’s loads of opportunities that are like hybrid work and remote work and all of those kinds of things, um, like actually integrating into that, it’s weird because they’ve not they’ve not done it, like they’ve not done much of that for ages. So, like, what does actually the world of work even look like? It’s all changing.

[21:11] Sammie Ellard-King: It’s also their interactions with other people as well. Like those are really key moments in young people’s life where they forge relationships which last a lifetime into the working world and equally as well into you know their their personal life too. You know, some of my closest friends and some of the biggest opportunities that I’ve had in my life have come from opportunities or people that I’ve met during that period of my life. And if you to if you deleted that three years, I don’t think I’d be who I am today. So that’s why I asked that. Because it’s mad. Like if I just took those years and deleted it, like what happens to these kids? Yeah, no, I know it’s crazy. We’ll never know. No, we won’t. Well, well, I I think there’ll probably be some work coming out about it. And I just always because my business started in COVID, your business started in COVID. I think there’s some fantastic things that came out of that period, it did allow a lot of people to reset. And but what did we give up along the way? I don’t know. So it’s it’s just um yeah, super interesting time. But anyway, I want to talk about Talk 20s because I love it. I’ve really resonated with it, and I’m in my early 30s, and I think it’s for me because I get like listening to these people who you you have people of all ages on, but you get these kind of like light bulb moments, and there’s kind of like nostalgic, like, oh yeah, like I remember that. I remember when I felt like that. And for for listening to it, I kind of I know I feel like fuzzy and warm a lot of the time when I’m listening to these people and their experiences. Um, but for someone who doesn’t know, what’s its key message? And the mission of the business.

[22:47] Gaby Mendes: Yeah. So Talk 20s is all about bridging that gap between school, university, and the big wide world of adult life. Like you’re not alone in thinking that that’s a scary jump. Like, no, you didn’t miss the lessons on mortgages or how to pay your rent on time, or you know, how to figure out relationships, how to get your first like level level up in the career. You didn’t miss those lessons because they weren’t taught to you. But also, like we’ve just said, like at 14, we probably wouldn’t have been interested. Um, so our podcast is all about, and our platform is all about kind of making you feel like you can be successful in your 20s through all the messiness because we get that it’s messy. Um, so we like to we like to say that our platform is like the greatest form of edutainment because what we talk about is educational, but we also like to think that there’s an element of entertainment, like especially as we have people to come on telling their life stories, we like to keep it things fun and lighthearted, but we also have moments of like, you know, people being really vulnerable and sharing their kind of ins and outs. Um, so yeah, it’s kind of um a like a community of you know, amazing speakers, you have experts, we have celebrities that come onto the podcast, share their either expertise in a certain area or their life story, and we learn so much from the process.

[24:00] Sammie Ellard-King: Yeah, I think podcasts the podcast, like you find that when you when you speak to people, is it you get like under the skin of them and something that they perhaps portray on the surface or on social media, like you really learn about the way that they think and 100% that like changes everything because then it really builds a picture and people can resonate with certain aspects of people’s stories. I love that about podcasting. Me too, me too. I I’ve met I’ve been so fortunate to meet some of the people that I have met on the podcast or via the podcast. Many have become like amazing friends of mine, and I’m very lucky to be surrounded by some fantastic people as a result of doing this. So, yeah, pinch myself every day that that’s what I have to do.

[24:45] Sammie Ellard-King: For me, I would have absolutely loved having this resource in my 20s, but you know, I have I love having it now. But um, you know, in my 20s, I was lost. I was completely lost. I was deep in debt, I was keeping up with the Joneses’ mentality, you know, designer clothes, going out to 24-7 thinking, you know, that I was on on top of the world. But actually, you know, that wasn’t necessarily who I wanted to be. And like having that stark reality of moment and being very alone in that period when that when that moment happened to me. Like, I wouldn’t necessarily have um if I’d have had Talk 20s, I think at that time, I would have kind of leaned into it and actually taken so much from it. But you know, you you have to go and find out these things from different areas. So, you know, I think you’ve done a wonderful, wonderful thing with with it. What’s the plans then?

[25:37] Gaby Mendes: Oh my gosh, what are the plans? Um, well, right now we’re a team. If I say where we are right now, where I hope to be, then maybe that that’ll be like help. But yeah, right now we’re a team of three. So it’s me, um, my creative producer Georgia, who’s incredible, and then Olivia, who’s also amazing. She’s our events and partnerships manager. Um, and very recently we managed to pull off as a three in, and we only did this in 90 days, actually, our very first 20s fest, which is essentially what it says on the tin, is a festival about life in your 20s. So it’s it will help you figure your shit out, basically. So we did talks on like we had talks from like people, we had guests from like married at first sight and relationship experts, and we had like a panel session on work on I find love, um, because many people have all those challenges in their 20s of trying to, you know, find a partner. Um, we had uh talks on how to um progress in your career. We had talks on uh we had a money mindset one, uh, we had a home buying one, so we had loads of different sessions, plus loads of brands with loads of brand activations, so free goodies, competitions, and games, and we had live music as well at the event. So we pulled that off as a three. Um, and I’m very proud of us and the team that we’ve got. Um, but I would of course love to grow the team. Um, we’d love our own creative space where we can record as much content as we like because we have so many plans of content that’s just way more than just the podcast as it is right now, which for many who listen in, it’s me um interviewing amazing young people. But we’ve got so many different variations of different content that we want to produce and put out there. And to just have the creative freedom to do that, you know, we’re restricted in the way that we kind of record our content and and how we work at this moment in time, but we’d love to just have the creative freedom to do that and grow the team and reach more people with our message and help as many people as we can, um, and maybe put on some specific programs to help people. You know, people come often come to us and they say, like, I want to start a business or I want to buy a home or I want to get this far in my career. And whilst we can right now, we can say, Well, listen to this episode of the podcast, that might give you a bit of inspiration, and listen to this episode of the podcast, that might help you. We are thinking about creating specific kind of like programs that might help you get from A to Z without having to sift through all the different podcast episodes in order to kind of do that. Um, so yeah, our podcast will then become like our kind of the top of the top of the where you might find out about us, I guess the top of the funnel, and then we kind of get more into it the more that the more that you love talk twenties, the more that we can help you basically.

[29:15] Sammie Ellard-King: I love that. I had an amazing saw and listened to an amazing quote from Chris Williamson on modern wisdom. He said, the magic that you’re looking for is in the work that you’re avoiding. Now that really resonated with me. And the reason why I wanted to ask you about your plans first was because I think people underestimate the mental resilience required to start a brand and build a brand like Talk 20s. Like they all it’s very flashy to go and say, hey, you know, yeah, I’m gonna start a side hustle or start myself a small business. But understanding what it takes and getting themselves into it is a different mindset. 100%.

[30:00] Sammie Ellard-King: If you were to start this again, or for someone that’s listening to this and thinking about doing these things, what would you do differently? What would I do differently? Um, I think ultimately I would probably trust myself more because there’s been so many times where, and I think we’re all guilty of it, uh, of letting that seed of doubt go in your head going, Well, what if I said that out loud and then it does end up happening? Like, you know, what if I say, oh, I’m gonna launch a festival and then it then for some reason I have to cancel it or for whatever reason? And you always think of the worst case scenario, but what if you just thought of the best case scenario? What if you just thought of best case scenario? Like you’re putting out a festival and young people are gonna attend and they’re gonna have one of the best days ever. Like, why don’t we think about that? And I think I always try and push myself to like when I think about what if, to not think what if negative spiral, to think about what if positive spiral. Because for me, that’s the way that I kind of stay positive and and kind of keep moving on moving on. So, you know, what if I speak at this event and so-and-so attends and then they intro me to someone some someone else? Or what if I attend this event and it’s a waste of time might have been my old way of thinking. Do you know what I mean? So I try and always think about when I’m doing things, like thinking about the opportunity that might come from something, um, rather than thinking like about the reasons not to do it. And I think so many of us just go into that mindset all the time. I don’t know if you’re guilty of it, but I I constantly try and tell myself, like, think of the what if that could be good, you know.

[31:35] Sammie Ellard-King: 100%. I completely I love that. What a lovely way of looking at it. And I I think a lot of people that are in this position now or perhaps wanting to start something, they get caught up with the fear element of it way more than anything else. And that’s the actually biggest hindrance for them. It’s not there, they you know, there might be a grafter by day in their their job, but it’s that kind of like worry. Starting a business is hard. Like, what would you say to someone who’s perhaps in that period there? It it’s a lot harder than you think it’s gonna be, but it’s worth it’s worth the journey, is what I’d say. It’s it’s so hard. Like they they’re you think that like, oh, just you know, easy, just get up, create, create content, whatever it is you’re doing for your business, you have your own like one of the best things, right, about being a business owner and doing what you do is you are in control of your own time. But one of the worst things about being a business owner is you are in control of your own time. Like, there are good things and there are bad things about that. It’s great because yes, I can decide to go to Sainsbury’s in the middle of the afternoon if I want to and do my food shop. I don’t shop at Sainsbury’s, I don’t know why I said that. Tesco as the like Sainsbury’s is the nearest, but it’s not the cheapest. That’s why I don’t shop there. Um, but you know, I can choose to do that, I can choose to go on holiday or do this, I can do all things, but I’m also the person that like if I don’t do the work, no one gets paid. So, like that is stressful. Um, so I think it’s also about having that kind of commitment to what you’re doing and you know, that resilience to kind of get up and keep loving what you do. Like, you know, there’s been times where things can try and make you fall out of love with your business, you know, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows and all those kinds of things, it’s not always the best, funnest thing that’s going on. But at the same time, that’s you kind of have to push through that in order to be able to get to the really good stuff. So the thing I would say about business is that the highs are immensely high, but the lows are equally as low. And it really is a roller coaster. And so if you’re prepared and you like roller coasters, definitely go for it because that it’s worth it for the amazing views at the top, but be prepared for the windy windiness. Is that a word? That’s great advice.

[33:49] Sammie Ellard-King: Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no, great advice. I’m with you. I’m with you. I I completely agree. Like, what I would say is as well, is that um when as long as you have your why and what you’re doing is like rooted with deep within you. Yeah. So like mine is to help as many people with their finances as I possibly can, so we you know, we can change this generation of lack of financial literacy. That’s my whole mission. If that stays within me, when we get to those lows, those lows aren’t as low as long as you just remind yourself of that reason, and that pushes you back up. And then when you hit those highs, those highs are immensely high. Like for me, uh my hospitality business, sending people pissed home in an Uber versus getting an email saying you’ve changed my life. Uh thank you so much for the advice that you gave on that podcast episode. That’s like I’m suddenly I’m like beaming for days. I can live on that. That’s that’s me going, and yeah, you’re right.

[34:46] Gaby Mendes: It’s like the one thing I’d say about that, if that if those are the things that are what lights you up. So if someone’s sending you an email like that, my biggest tip is to create uh I call it the hype files, but some people call it other things, but like keep a collection of these things that make you happy and bring you joy because otherwise, you know, if you get that email right, you’ll read it once in the moment, that’s really great. You’ll either folder away or reply or whatever. But like, what if you’re having a really crappy day? Like that email, reading that email again might really remind you of why you actually do it. So I like to take a screenshot of those things, put it in a folder. And if I’m having a rubbish day, I go to that folder and I go, but we’ve helped this person, we’ve helped this person, we’ve helped this person, we’ve helped this person. Um, and it just makes you feel so much better. And it it it reminds you of doing that because often, you know, especially if there is a lull, it will take something like that to pick you back up. But like if you’ve got a ready-built folder that’s there, great, you can get that pickup straight away.

[35:42] Sammie Ellard-King: Good advice, great, love that actually. Uh I don’t do that, and I should do that because I you’re right, like I don’t know where that email is now, and I probably wouldn’t even be able to find it if I went deep. So, like I having a little folder that’s very easy to set up would be a lovely thing to do, actually. Um, as a business owner, obviously, this is a money podcast. We’ve gone quite deep into some other topics today because you know, I I think it was perfect, perfect guest for that. But how do you manage your day-to-day, like your expenses, your money? Because it it’s not easy as a business owner. Yeah, and I’ve definitely learned how I manage my money through speaking to some of the amazing like money influencers and people that I’m surrounded by in order to be able to manage my money in this way. So I would say that like if we look back to when I was younger, I would, you know, I started off paper round, very humble beginnings.

[36:35] Sammie Ellard-King: Oh, nice ditto, love that. Yeah, seven days a week, £13 a week. And no, I did not grow up in the Victorian times. That was genuinely what I got paid. I was £10.40, man. So you got paid more than me. Oh my gosh. For seven days a week, it’s ridiculous, isn’t it? Um, anyway, I did very this maybe shows that I’m entrepreneurial though, because I did very early on outsource the weekends to my brother. Uh, and I paid him, I think, £3 to do the weekend. So I got £10 and he got three pounds. Um so I was already being like a an entrepreneur at a young age and hiring him to do that. So um, yeah. But um, if you look at how I manage my money, I think the way that I like to look at look at it is like money is like it flows through like imagine the money like is water, right? And it flows through a tap. I think if you imagine me in my early 20s, I literally used to just drink from the tap, like as if I was using my hands. I had no kind of nice plumbing system that would put this into you know, this pot and this into that pot. I was literally just like hands to mouth, money would kind of be going everywhere. And you know, I was maybe putting some in savings when I remembered to do that, some in, you know, paying off debt or stuff like this, like, but there was no kind of structure. So if you imagine that money is like water, then you kind of have to work out how it’s gonna go and how you’re gonna get it to different places. So I think what I’ve done throughout my 20s is build those plumbing systems in. So when I get my money, a certain percentage goes to my joint accounts, how I manage my my finances with my partner. Um, so everything that is house related, uh food related in the house, like all comes out of that pot. And obviously, I’m left with a small amount that pays off things like my car, um, going out with my friends, birthday gifts, and all of those kind of things, any kind of health care, beauty, that care needs. Um, and that’s where all the rest of my money goes. And then a percentage of it will go into investments. I’m getting married next year, so we need to get some money to go to the wedding. But yeah, I think what I’ve tried to do is start to get that kind of, you know, every single month, things get plumbed into the right way instead of just going, it’s a free-for-all sort of thing.

[38:44] Sammie Ellard-King: I love that. I’ve never heard of a plumbing one before, and actually that makes a lot more sense than this kind of like build your foundation things because you’re right, like if there’s a crack in the pipe, that money’s gone. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. No, I really like you can have that one for free. Interesting. Thank you. Well, technically, it’s on this podcast, so do not do not um uh what’s the word? Do not uh trademark that. I don’t you heard it here first. No, I’ll give you, I’ll give you, I’ll give you no no, but I love that. That’s really, really interesting way of looking at it because a lot of the the analogies are always like build your bricks and build your pots, and actually the water is a much better one.

[39:29] Gaby Mendes: Because you’re always gonna get money, everyone’s gonna start off with a job. It’s just everyone’s gonna get money that flows through, and you’ll have more money at certain times and you’ll have less money at others. But like, actually, like you can start off, even if your plumbing is good in the beginning, you can start off with not earning very much and you can build savings quite quickly, but it’s all about how good your plumbing is, basically. Yeah, I completely agree. So you you mentioned investing there. Um, how’s it going? What are you up to? What are you using? Do you know what? I actually looked at it the other day. I’m very like laid-back investor. Um, I only invest like £100 a month, and I’ve only been doing it for probably, I mean, about two years, maybe. So it’s it’s not it’s not loads, it’s really, it’s not that much money. Um, but I wanted to kind of understand what investing was, partly because I’m a I’m a business owner, like it makes sense to kind of understand more about the world. It wasn’t something I was taught at all when I was younger. It is the is one of the biggest things that has been self-taught for me. Um, that I’ve had to go away, listen to podcasts. Um, and I read a book, um, I’m sure you’re familiar with him. Um, but Ryan King from um Making Money Simple.

[40:37] Sammie Ellard-King: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He’s amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Are you an Arsenal fan? I’m a big Arsenal fan. Oh, okay. So that’s where you guys get on. Yeah. Yeah. He’s currently living like randomly in Australia, but before he went to Australia, he came on the podcast and he talks about his method of investing, and it just seems so simple and so chill. And I was like, I don’t want to have to think, I’m not one of those people where I’m moving stuff, I’m investing in this pot, and like I’m not a trader or anything like that. I’m very much of like consistently, you know, I’ll and I see it just like a bill. I’m seeing it as like, you know, it gets it’s it’s a bill that goes out every single month. But I checked it the other day, and it’s been it’s up nine percent. And I was like, that’s pretty cool. And there’s been times where I’ve checked it before and it’s not been anywhere near that, but it’s up. And I was like, I’m starting to understand, and I think I am certainly just dipping my toe in right now. Like I’m, you know, it’s it’s a it’s obviously a percentage of my my monthly income, but like, you know, I’m still kind of seeing where it goes. But yeah, that’s what I do, and I follow Ryan’s method. He’s got a great book that talks you through, and I’d love to be able to explain it as good as he explains it, but I just won’t do it justice. Um, and yeah, like I I’ve I I keep it quite chill and I check on it very rarely. Um, and I think that’s the best way to be because I don’t plan to take it out anytime soon.

[41:55] Sammie Ellard-King: Well, you’re building a business, and that’s your main focus, and that’s what I tried to say to people, like you know, people that are progressing in their careers, and actually, Ryan’s way, um, very similar to many financial creators out there, because it is such a great way. It’s just to set it and forget it, invest into global index funds and crack on with your lives. Like you’ve got shit to do today. Like last thing you need to be doing is checking the price of Apple and Bitcoin every time. Oh yeah, I don’t want to do that. But I imagine like if I put it into some kind of like forecast of what it will look like, it’d be crazy, crazy what it will eventually end up at, you know. Um, so yeah, I’m glad that I’ve started early and I’ve started small and I’m just figuring it out. I couldn’t say I’m perfect, but and you’re doing the right thing, like £100 a month, whether that’s £100, £50, £20, £350, whatever the amount is, that regular monthly amount is just compounding over time and you’re buying at different points in the market as it goes up and down. And that is so valuable. And that’s actually the best one of the best strategies you could possibly do, rather than a lump sum once a year. Yeah. So you know, you over time you’re probably gonna look at what’s it called?

[43:03] Gaby Mendes: Dollar cost averaging. Is that the word? Yeah, or pound cost averaging, dollar cost averaging. You’ll find them if you Google that, you’ll find exactly that system and read about it because it’s really interesting. You you end up like a couple of basis points uh above what you would have you if you just bought once, basically. So it’s it’s a very, very um good system that you’ve got going there. And it seems like you’ve got the systems down, like you’ve got different pots for different things, your joint accounts, and um managing money with your partner, which is always uh always interesting conversation to have at the beginning, but um yeah, hugely important. Um so I’ve loved this. This has been so much fun. Um, thank you so much for coming on. And where can people find obviously talk 20s? But if they want to come say hello to you or ask you any questions.

[43:48] Gaby Mendes: Well, first of all, thank you very much for having me. I love what you’re building with Up The Gains, and I’m sure there’ll be a Talk 20s collaboration with us in the future. So watch this space, guys. Um, but if you want to hear about talk 20s, if you want to listen to the podcast, we’re on all podcast platforms, wherever you get your podcasts. Um, you can find us on uh Instagram or TikTok or LinkedIn, just search Talk20s. And yeah, if you want to follow me personally, uh my handle is Gaby Mendes because Gaby Menders was taken. So I had to go with the eye. Love it. Thanks so much, Gaby. It’s been a real pleasure. Thank you so much for having me, Sammie. Appreciate it. It’s been lovely to chat.