#Influenced: Māori Millionaire.
Social media plays a huge role in the day-to-day of Gen Z. It’s important that we interact with content that lifts us up, and leaves us feeling inspired following a good scrolling session. #Influenced is a series of chats with social media content creators who not only bless our feeds with über cool content, but also make an effort to spread positive messages.
This month, we get advice on following your passion and all things money, finance and growing wealth from Te Kahukura Boynton AKA @maorimillionaire_.
How did @maorimillionaire_ come to be?
I started Maori Millionaire at the start of my second semester at Law School. I was just adapting to being responsible for my bills and thought - so many people struggle to manage their putea, why don’t I start a blog to discuss it? 18 months later, there's a blog, podcast, I’ve been on TV, and spoken at several financial events! It’s clear to me that Maori want to learn about putea, there’s definitely a demand for financial education that is simple and easy to understand.
What do you believe makes you stand out from other money/finance content creators?
I’ve always been interested in finances and so I’ve become familiar with a wide range of finance creators. The one thing that I missed in all of them was indigeneity - there aren’t many financial creators who are indigenous. So, for starters - my culture.
Secondly though, there aren’t many 18 year olds talking about stock exchanges and investments in real estate. It’s definitely a testament to the whanau that raised me and made me who I am today. Special mention to my great grandmother, grandmother, and mum who are 3 of my best inspirations in life.
From your point-of-view, why do you think people follow you?
Growing up, my mum was on the benefit and my dad was absent - I don’t know if there’s anything better than seeing yourself in those doing something you want to do. I think that people love the fact that I am Te Kahukura, an ordinary person wanting better for me and my whanau.
What do you hope to achieve with your content?
My mission is to empower Maori to become financially independent. I want rangatahi to look at my page, parents to listen to the podcast, and the aunties to hit up my blog. Whanau Maori need to be having more korero about putea, and I hope I can start the conversation for them.
What are three tips you have for making engaging and relatable content?
The best advice I’ve ever received was from Sarah Kelsey from The One Up Project, who told me to always be myself.
Another awesome piece of advice I got was from Simran Kaur from Girls That Invest, which was to make yourself appear to be a 6/7 figure business even before becoming one. This means acting like you own a multi-million dollar business, even if you’ve generated $0
My best tip for creating killer content is to understand the topic inside out. You only need to understand your ‘industry’ a tad more than the average person to start, but invest in your own knowledge and grow an understanding of the topic.
What does your average day look like at the moment?
I am a very busy 19 year old!! I work full time for my business, I’m still in Law School, and I work part time for a Law Firm in Tokoroa. Every day is different. Sometimes, (my favourite days), I can work from home. I like to be woken up by the sun, naturally. I’m currently doing a challenge called ‘75 Taumaha’ which is a kaupapa Maori version of the 75 Hard. So, I’ll walk, journal, pray, read, do my skincare, and take a progress photo. After this, I like to eat. The next piece of my day is generally ‘soft work’ which involves admin for my business - reading and responding to emails, creating content, recording podcast episodes, or conducting interviews. I work 2 hours per day, Monday to Friday for the Law firm and this is the time I’ll work on anything coming up there - this can involve meeting with clients, drafting submissions, invoicing (there’s a lot of variety). I’ll stop for a 60 minute lunch break, sometimes I like to catch up with friends for lunch or just eat and be in my thoughts. After lunch, I like to do what I call ‘hard work’ which is when my brain works best. The afternoon is when I’ll do my uni readings, writing for the blog, or finish assignments for uni. I don’t like working past 6pm and so I’ll wrap up and then spend the evening on things that make me happy like night markets, date nights, or tucked up in bed.
How important is your community?
I’m so absolutely proud of the community we have. To me, the Maori Millionaire community symbolises ‘everything gets better’. I started my first business at 14 and have spent the last 5 years learning and growing as a student, understanding markets and how to grow a business and Maori Millionaire is the product of this. It reminds me that if you want to do something, give it a go. If you fail, give it a go again.
How do you stay up-to-date with money, finance, investing?
I’m very involved in the content of other financial creators. Before starting Maori Millionaire, I listened to Westpac Money News, Girls That Invest, The OneUp Project, and a lot of the other NZ finance podcasts/ creators. I still do this today because education is power!
If you could impart one piece of financial wisdom that you think every young woman should follow, what would it be?
Ladies, we need to look after ourselves and our babies. An emergency fund should be your first priority, especially for mums! Emergency funds allow us to leave bad situations, repair broken necessities, or reduce worry about money. An emergency fund solves more problems than one, it’s super important to have.
