EP 295: The BA Q and A: How to Advocate For Yourself

our girl Tiffany as she continues to heal. You know what, why don't y'all go and send Tiffany a DM and just let her know how incredible she is and how much we love her, and let her know that the BA fam is thinking about her always, especially if you have anyone in your life life who is going through a tough time. You know, even though we are moving on and it feels like a lot of time has passed, you never know what kind of journey they are on

through their healing. And I think it's sometimes a little awkward and uncomfortable to reach out, but I think if anything, it can never hurt just to send a little bit of support in a positive note. I do that all the time, so it would be great if BA fan would just centive a little bit of love. But I am here. I am here. I am still rocking with y'all. What's going on outside of Brown Ambition for Mandy these days, Well, my career, coaching and my business have been just I

don't even know how to describe it, y'all. I started this journey last June not really sure of what the next year or multiple years after would look like. But I just had a lot of faith in myself and I'm so glad that I took that risk. Since I launched Mandy my last summer, I have coached close to two hundred women across the country and across the world.

I've had clients in Kenya and Germany and the UK and Canada, and it's been such a wonderful privilege to get to talk to so many incredible people and help them as they're navigating their career crossroads, and it's been a joy. I'm also now y'all can catch me on Yahoo Finance, where I am there bi weekly every other week, chatting with the lovely host there in the afternoon Wednesdays at one between one and two, and I'm covering all

things career and wealth building. I've been featured in publications that I cannot even wrap my head around, like The Economist, The New York Times, CNBC. It has been you know, I think my journey especially is just proof of when it comes to navigating your career, it really isn't a

linear path. You just have to make the best choices with the information that you have at the time, don't be afraid to take risks, and just keep putting one foot in front of the other and just trust in the journey, trust that you may not end up or you may not even know where you're going to end up, but that you're going to end up somewhere phenomenal, and just having a lot of trust in myself and knowing that, you know, there's no such thing as job security. Really,

I think our job security is ourselves. It is our talent, It is our ability to bounce back from whatever challenges we encounter. And if there's one thing that I've learned over the past I don't know ten to fifteen years of my career, is that I'm always going to rise to the top. I'm always going to float. You know what, I mean land on my feet. And it's that faith and trust in myself that has really allowed me to

step out in this way. And I just thank y'all for all of the support and a special shout out to the Mandy Moneymakers, which is my special group coaching cohort that I just launched in January. Oh my goodness, this group of women. I can't even tell you how credible it's been to get to know them and to create create this small, intimate, beautiful community of women helping women,

and it's just a beautiful thing. If you guys want to find out how you can join the waitlist to join the next cohort of Mandy Moneymakers, just head over to mandymoney dot com. That's m A N D I M O n e y dot com and join the waitlist. Alrighty, but now let's get into your questions. Continue to send us questions, y'all. Hit us up at Brand Ambition Podcast on Instagram. You can also email us Brand Ambition Podcast at gmail dot com. That is the best way to

get in touch with us. If you want to check out our brand new, beautiful website, you can also submit a question there. That's brandambispodcast dot com already, so let's do it. So our first question comes from listener Paula. Paula is going through something that Peloton workers right now are all experiencing. Did you guys hear the news about

Peloton laying off twenty eight hundred workers in one fel SWA. Now, this is a really good example of the fact that no job is secure, even if you are the latest unicorn company. You know, Peloton had a phenomenal, phenomenal year in the wake of the pandemic. I mean, and I was one of those people who purchased a Peloton and then also was like, WELLO I need to get them

the stock. You know, this is a good example of why maybe you shouldn't buy individual stocks, or at least not by individual stocks expecting an immediate return, because like a lot of folks, you know, I purchased some Peloton shares and if y'all have been watching, their stock has been just, oh my god, getting annihilated lately. So just

a little you know, personal finance lesson here. When it comes to investing in personal stocks, I do it based on products that I love and companies that I believe in, and I am a long term buy and whole kind of gal. So even though in my opinion, Peloton if not in my opinion, it's just happening, even though they've been struggling lately. I'm not necessarily going to just dump stocks of a company that I still believe in. I'm

in it for the long haul. And it really depends on your investing strategy and how much of your how much risk you think you can assume. I am definitely not using the majority of my you know, my money for retirement for individual stock trading. It's just not what I do. I use a little bit of money on the side, and I mostly invested, yeah, a couple of individual stocks, but also my favorite etf SO exchange traded funds.

I'm kind of going on a tangent right now. I will get back to Paul's question, but I just wanted to first talk about Peloton and the fact that they despite the crazy successful year that it seemed like they were having in the wake of the pandemic, Hey, what goes up will eventually come down, right, And they had this massive reorg. They're laying off twenty eight hundred people. Their CEO is out, and those you know workers are going to be scrambling to find new employment, just like

our lovely listener Paula, who said, here's her question. My organization just announced a reorg that will directly affect me. What advice would you give me to make sure that this change will benefit my career and myself financially? Thanks in advance, Paula. So, a reorg, this happens a lot at companies, whether it's through for example, they get acquired by another company and you've got two companies trying to marry one another, and they've got to like figure out, Okay,

we have one hundred customer service reps over here. Okay, but we've got two hundred over here. Do we need three hundred or should we consolidate? And you know, there's the negative part of that, which is that often it means that some jobs are going to be phased out. But sometimes reorgs can be a lot simpler than that.

They can simply be Well, maybe it sounds like Paula is going through where her company is deciding, Okay, the current org structure, like who we have reporting to who, and the different departments that we have aren't maybe working for us right now? We need to shake things up.

Doesn't always mean that it's going to result in layoffs, but it could result in title changes or like the people that you're reporting to will be different, or even people that are reporting to you may change, and it can be a little stressful, especially if change is not something that you're really excited about, but it is like if you work somewhere long enough, chances are you will go through something like a reorg. So Paula wants to know, how do I make sure this actually benefits me career

wise and financially. So first and foremost, Paula, I think having communication and communicating a lot with your managers is going to be important here. Often though, when it comes to reorgs, it depends on what level you're at at your company. But your managers may not even have all of the information, So have some patience for them and listen really closely to what senior leadership is saying. Submit questions if they're doing any town halls, and just be

the person who ask questions. You know, it be the squeaky wheel, ask for specifics, you know, what will this mean?

Will there be potential for promotion? Will there'd be potential for you know, people who are looking maybe you're looking to pivot into a different department, and as the reorg starts to take shape, as you start to understand what's going to happen with your particular department, I would be completely transparent with your managers, your higher ups, and tell them where you see yourself best fitting into this new organization, and be really cognizant of any opportunities that may crop

up for you. For example, you know, if you're I don't know, you're a mid level right now, and you see that in this new org they're creating more of a senior manager position where you're seeing an opportunity where they've got a hole that they need to fill and you think you could fit in there. You know, I wouldn't wait for your manager to tap you on the shoulder and say, oh, Paula, yes, this is a perfect role for you. We want to move you up and

over here. I would definitely advocate for yourself and keep your eyes and ears open for those types of opportunities and put your name the hat, make sure that they know that you're interested, and remember times of volatility at companies. This is really if you're someone who wants to stick

around at that company. This is where you can really shine and make your personal brand, your professional brand even stronger, because when there are times of like quote unquote crisis or volatile times at a company, those employees who step up and prove that they are going to roll with the punches, that they're going to be reliable, that their managers can count on them through those times of volatility, those are the people who are going to get promoted.

Those are the people that you know, the managers are going to want to see advance and progress and get those year end bonuses. So I would definitely use this as an opportunity. It reminds me of what happened for me when I was managing a team of thirty staff editors and writers at my company with the onset of the pandemic, when I had to and I had a newborn at home right those colleagues on my team and honestly,

everybody stepped up. But I've never been more proud. And there were so many, you know, people on my team through the year who were able to step up and you know, get promotions because they really went to work during that time and they made it possible for me to run that team and transition everyone virtually. So I like that you're seeing this as an opportunity to be strategic. I think ultimately the best things you can do are advocate for yourself, look for opportunities and say you want them.

But then also just be completely bad ass and become the person that your managers can go to during times like this when things are a little dicey, and rely on them and step up and show that you are a team player and all of that, because that, like I said, is going to make them go the extra mile for you down the line. Thank you so much for your question, Paula, and good look. All right, I'm going to take a quick breaking break, get some water because it is kind of you know, it's hard work

talking about myself talking to myself all the time. Now, and we will be right back with more of your questions. All right, ba faan, we are back. Our next question comes from an anonymous IG fan. Again, we're at Brandna Mission podcast on IG, so follow us. You can dem us your questions there. Okay, So this person says, Hey, Mandy, I just saw your TikTok about that Mercedes recruiter. I have a question and I hope it's not too forward or bold of me to ask I want to renegotiate

my pay. I feel like I'm underpaid as the only billing specialist doing work for two emergency rooms. Any advice on how I can go about that? Okay? So if you guys haven't seen this yet, you've got to check out. You can go to my ig. I'm at Mandy Money on Insta and I'm at Mandy Money with three a's on TikTok. And basically what happened was there was this recruiter. Her name is Mercedes S. Johnson. I'll never forget her

name now. So she posted on LinkedIn a screenshot or she posted on LinkedIn, and she was bragging about having a job candidate except an offer for eighty five K. And she decided to take time out of her day to go on LinkedIn and make fun of this person and say, you know, the budget was actually one hundred and thirty five K. And I don't have time to help people learn how to negotiate. I just want you guys to know it's really important to know your value.

And I think I, like a lot of people, had a visceral reaction to that post from Mercedes, because one it was just dumb. Two it was not helpful at all. I think she thought she was really doing something profound with that post, trying to inspire people to know their value and to negotiate. But I just don't see how she can say she didn't have time to give advice to that job candidate, but yet she did have time

to go on the internet and post about it. You know, I just thought it was really especially for someone in her position as a recruiter. You know, she's in a place of power. And also you know she in her public persona talks about herself being someone who helps people negotiate and you know, fulfill their career ambitions. And I just think it was Oh no, no, it was. It was a bad look for miss Mercedes. But to this questions point, it was a good reminder, and we'll just

try to find a silver lining here. It was a good reminder of why it is so important for us

as job candidates. Advocating for ourselves in the workplace is so important because even the people who think maybe there to help you get what you deserve, ultimately we are always going to have our best interest and we should have our best interest at heart all of the time, and we have to learn to step up for ourselves and to do our own research to find out when we are not being valued the way that we should

be valued. So in your situation, Anonymous, where you say you actually want to renegotiate your pay, you feel like you're being underpaid. It sounds like you're working in the medical field, and honestly, listen, I've got family who work in hospitals and it is grueling work and there is so much turnover as a result of the pandemic that there are people like you who are being left doing more work than ever but not actually getting paid anything

to so renegotiating pay. Listen, I am the person who will who will always push people to just ask the questions, no matter how you know bold they may seem, ask the question, you know, go to your manager and just say, point blank, you know, I've I have been taking on all this additional work. Is there any opportunity to discuss my compensation and to get an increase. You can absolutely do that. You don't have to wait for your annual review cycle. Just go ahead and do it. I can't

promise you they're going to do something about it. I'm not even gonna I don't even know what the odds are that they may do something about it. Your best bet is to get a competing offer from another job that's actually going to pay you more, and then you can actually bring that to your current employer and say, you know, I've got an offer from XYZ and they're offering me double what you're paying me, or fifty percent more,

whatever it is. You have to be ready, you should be ready prepared to take that new offer and walk. But that can be some that can be really good leverage, especially if you're you know, you want to stay, but you just want to be paid what you're worth. Sometimes companies, you know, if you don't give them a reason, like a really good reason to give you a pay raise,

they can like drag their feet. They just don't have that incentive, you know, So the risk of you walking down, like walking away from the job and leaving them in the lurch. Sometimes you just got to like play hardball in that way. You got to say, like, yo, I'm ready to walk, I've got this juicy offer, what are you going to do about it? And then you can see how fast they move to get you that raise. Okay,

so that's my advice to you. You can ask the question, and I would go ahead and ask that now, just to establish the fact that they know, Okay, she's asked for this, she's feeling overworked, and then they can actually then you give them some time to figure out what they're going to do, and then on your own going out and you know, leveraging your network, telling everyone that you're looking for a new opportunity, seeing what else is out there, getting some interviews, you know, and find and

potentially even getting a different offer. Then you can bring that additional lever to them and use that for your negotiation process. All right, thank you very much for that question. Okay, two juicy career ones. Let's go to a more personal finance question. This is third and last question we're gonna take. This comes from also from IG. We're gonna call her Cheryl. Cheryl says, I'm single, no kids. I make one hundred

and thirty five thousand dollars a year. I've got about sixty K and my four oh one K and about ten K saved up for emergencies. But I have sixteen thousand dollars left to pay on my car loan I'm thinking about taking out that amount as a four to one K loan to pay off the car. Do you think that's a good idea. I'm also looking to purchase a townhouse in the future. The bank has preapproved me for four hundred and ninety five K as of now. Would that four oh one K loan hurt my approval

status in the future? Oh, okay, couple things. So you've got sixty K and your four to one K, you've got ten K saved for emergencies. That's amazing, sixteen K left on your car loan. So car loan. I don't have a crucial piece of information right here, which is your interest rate on your car loan. But let's say you've got you know, good, really good credit, and your car loan rate is like what what's typical now, like

three to four percent? You're thinking about taking out sixteen K from your four one K, sixteen K out of a sixty K four one K. You know, that's a pretty hefty chunk of change. It's a four to one K loan, as you're saying, And so with four one K loans, and just to be candid, I have taken a loan out of my four to one K I took out I think it was ten K out of my four to one K three or four years ago when we were doing something to the house and just wanted a way to borrow money that wasn't going to

cost interest. The beauty of the four to one k loan is you are borrowing from yourself and you're going to pay yourself back. And if they charge quote unquote interest on that four one K loan, you're going to pay yourself that interest right And then because it's through your employer for one K, they will basically set up pay check deductions as you for you to pay that back, so you don't have to remember to pay a bill

on time or anything like that. The risk with the four one k loan is that, let's say you were to want to leave the company, or heaven forbid, you were laid off or fired, you may owe the full balance of that loan back really quickly, like in less than a couple of months. So you have to weigh that risk. The fact that you only have ten K saved well, I don't mean to diminish the fact that

you've got ten k saved up. That's fantastic. I mean, that's about ten percent of your annual income, so it's not shabby at all, but it's ten K and you'd be taking out a sixteen K loan from your four one k. So you know, let's say something happens and you are let go or you leave the company. You know, how would you be able to repay one lump sum for a loan out of your four one k That could potentially be about sixteen K, So you have to

think about that. Typically, like, let's say your car loan is, like I said, you've got a really good interest rate. I'm not mad at you just continuing to pay that that car note off. It may feel really good to be entirely debt free, and like, I love to be debt free too. I paid my car loan off early. But what are your other goals right now? You say you're saving up for a townhouse, so I would actually prefer if you were to continue beefing up your emergency fund.

Ten K is pretty good for emergencies, but as a homeowner, you know, you may actually have some household emergencies that cost even more than that, or you may want to do some work to the house, like moving expenses, are like crazy when it comes to moving into a house. I mean, those first year of home ownership expenses can

really add up. So I would say, instead of taking money out of your four one K loan to pay off your car note, especially like I don't know your interest rates, so this is just, you know, an idea, but I'm assuming it's great. Instead of taking money out of your four one K to pay off that car note, I would just save up even more in that liquid cash, saving these accounts that you're using now for emergencies and just call it your your home emergency fund or your

home fund. It also prepares you. I don't know how much you're looking to put down on your home in the future, but having extra cash in the bank that you can use as a down payment is never a bad thing. So that is That's my story, and I'm sticking to it for now. Your second question is the bank has preapproved you for a loan, but you're wondering would that four one K loan hurt your approval status

in the future. So I did a little bit of research into this because I hadn't really thought about that question before until you asked it, And all my research shows that No, Typically banks do not use a four to one K loan as part of the underwriting process to determine like whether you're going to go approved or not. So typically it would not hurt your odds of getting approved for a loan, which could be comforting to you.

But still, because you're about to buy a house and because you've only got that ten k saved, I would definitely it, especially if you're like, you know, really sure about buying this house and you want to do that

sooner rather than later. You know, get the house, pad up that cash emergency fund because you never know but probably don't need it based on my experience, and then you know, put that, you know, and then once you kind of feel settled in your new home and all of that, then you can start making larger payments towards your car loan and pay that down over time. So that is my advice. I hope that was helpful. Again, I am not a financial planner. I'm not your financial planner.

I'm not an investment advisor. Everything I'm saying is just for educational purposes and because you guys ask and I want to, you know, give you guys my opinion. But again, for like super personal advice for your unique situation. It's always good to reach out to an individual personal financial advisor or planner to get that kind of personalized advice. But in the meantime, if you guys have more questions,

hit us up Brandnabisson podcast dot com. You can submit a question there, go to Instagram at brand Ambisson podcast to send us a DM, or you can email us at Brondambisson Podcast at gmail dot com. Okay, that is the show. I did it. I talked to myself for half an hour. I talk to myself for half an hour. Thank y'all for continuing to support. Don't forget to follow and subscribe brod Ambition And if you haven't yet, could you take a couple of minutes and just leave us

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us know you're listening. Thank you again for all of the support, and I will see you next week.