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- [00:00]
Tamina Stoll
Foreign.
- [00:04]
Courtney Johnson
Welcome to Slay the Gatekeeper. I'm your host, Courtney Johnson and I.
- [00:08]
Am here to un gatekeep the gatekeep.
- [00:10]
Thank you so much for being here. Enjoy.
- [00:15]
Well, hello. Welcome. Tamina. Wow, you have been such an incredible friend and incredible supporter of me for the last few months since I got to know you. And you're also just like doing the damn thing fearlessly. Like you are putting yourself out there, you're posting, you're reaching for opportunities. You have a audaciousness about you that I really admire and I'm really excited for this conversation.
- [00:41]
Tamina Stoll
Oh, you're, you're so kind, Courtney. And like right back at you. Like, I just admire how unhinged you are and how you're all about providing access to, to information and knowledge that is usually not as accessible. So yeah, it's been a joy getting to know you better over the last couple of months and I and always will be a huge supporter of your work.
- [01:02]
Courtney Johnson
Thank you. Thank you. Well, okay. I would love for you to talk a little bit more about what you do. And by the way, just gotta say your headline is so good. You help young high achieving women turn six figure salaries into seven figure portfolios. That is so good. Tell me more about it.
- [01:18]
Tamina Stoll
Thank you so much. Yeah, I, I'm quite proud of that for sure. Although I feel like I'm evolving a little bit. But long story short, I've been in the corporate world for like almost seven years at this point, working in big tech on B2B sales specifically, but have developed this passion for helping young high achieving women achieve financial independence and unlock freedom of time and freedom of choice through radical money and career self efficacy. And so I am working with a lot of women in the corporate space, a lot of people in mainly big tech, some people in the finance space, some people in, in consulting to really help them understand how to make the most out of, you know, their corporate benefits. Investing in the stock market here and they're talking a little bit about angel investing, venture capital opportunities. Because I really want women to get to a place where they can make decisions that are in full alignment with, you know, their true passions in life. Where they can, you know, say yes to people, environments, institutions, opportunities that are a hell yes for them, but then also because of their financial independence, say no to people, environments, jobs, opportunities that no longer serve them.
- [02:39]
Courtney Johnson
Yeah, that's so beautiful and that is so important. I think like the distilling that message down, it's just like power of choice. Like you are helping women have power of choice that's so important, not just in their career, but in their life. When you have strong financials, even when you just have the education, more choices, you have more choices available for you. And that's a really beautiful thing that you're creating.
- [03:06]
Tamina Stoll
Thank you so much. Yeah, I always like to say a wealthy woman can walk out of almost every room she feels uncomfortable in and create opportunities for other women along the way. And that's really the core at all.
- [03:16]
Courtney Johnson
Wow. Okay. Say that again. A wealthy woman can walk out of any doors she feels uncomfortable in or wants to leave. Yes.
- [03:24]
Tamina Stoll
And, and yeah, basically, like she can walk out of almost any room she feels uncomfortable in. So like all the rooms and people and, you know, toxic bosses and jobs that no longer serve her.
- [03:35]
Courtney Johnson
That's amazing. Wait, as far as angel investing, do you know Ruffin from bridge club?
- [03:42]
Tamina Stoll
I do know Rough and I was just texting with her last week.
- [03:45]
Courtney Johnson
I was just texting with her today. Are you in her, like, Slack group?
- [03:49]
Tamina Stoll
No, not yet. I'm. See, here's the thing, Courtney. I'm a member of so many incredible, like, online communities. There's another one that is really great called Girl Math Capital. Love the name, by the way. And so they have also like a cohort based program. So it's just like I want to be part of all of them. And honestly, if I could do that full time, literally just like put a bunch of money and like support, support like just female founders and join all of these communities and do workshops. If I could do that full time, that would be the dream.
- [04:17]
Courtney Johnson
Oh, maybe you could like be in all of them. And what you're selling is the curation of the best parts of all of them. So you're making like a meta mastermind or something. I thought maybe there's something there for you.
- [04:30]
Tamina Stoll
Your, your, your mind is always doing that thing, like already jumping to a solution. How could she monetize that? Like, how could she package that up into like a co working session or something? And I love that about such a great eye for like spotting these opportunities.
- [04:46]
Courtney Johnson
Thank you. I actually think that content curation, resource curation is like the next frontier of wealth. Right now it's content creation. But there's going to be so much content. We're going to have overwhelming amounts of content. Especially like, you know, you're not going to be able to differentiate this conversation from an AI conversation, even down to the mistakes and down to the, the, the broken frame in the back and this like Whole Foods water bottle. Right? Like it's going to be so detailed that we're going to need people that are pulling out the best parts of this. So it probably does exist. But for those listening, I want to share this because I was talking to Roughan yesterday and she made a request of me to, to put it out there is that she has a really great slack group where every Wednesday. Not every Wednesday, every other Wednesday. I think we, we have companies come in and pitch this group of women for angel investing with like pretty small checks, like starting with a thousand dollars, $2,000, $5,000. And if you want to apply, you can go to B R Y d g e club.com that's not sponsored. Again, I was just chatting with her today and I'm like, can I shout you out anyways? And then what's the one that you were talking about, Tamina?
- [05:56]
Tamina Stoll
Girl Math Capital.
- [05:57]
Courtney Johnson
Girl Math Capital. Okay. Google Girl Math Capital 2. I think either of those would be a great, a great start. Okay, so this brings us to our first cheat code, which is that saving is not enough. You cannot save your way to wealth. Why can't you save your way to wealth?
- [06:13]
Tamina Stoll
Yeah, long, long answer made very short. Like, because of inflation. Inflation is just going to eat up your money's purchasing power, right? Like, especially over the course of the pandemic, what we've seen, you know, groceries have become more and more expensive. You know, I jokingly tell sometimes family, yeah, I did recently spend 11 dol on a dozen eggs, which is crazy, right? So we really need to find a way to make our money work for ourselves and take advantage of what Albert Einstein famously referred to as the eighth wonder of the world, which is compound interest. And right now, when you have your money sitting in a regular checking account or even most regular savings accounts that are not high yield savings accounts, your money is going to grow at maybe 0.1% a year, maybe like 1% max. But with inflation sitting at like 2 and a half to 3%, usually in most Western like developed countries. And again, over the pandemic, it was like 5, 6%, right. As a result of that, you're just going to lose money over time. And the only way to combat that is to put your money in investments. The stock market, if it's very diversified, you know, you're investing in a diversified etf, for example, that tracks, let's say the s and P500, which tracks the 500 biggest companies in the United States. That on average yields an annual return of around like 7 to 10%. And so that's why you cannot Save your way to wealth.
- [07:48]
Courtney Johnson
Yeah. I think it's also like, we think that you, we think that you can just be extra frugal and like, of course you can be extra frugal. And that could give you a few hundred dollars more a month, A few thousand dollars more a month. But it's a lot easier to create more income streams than to save more income streams. For, for, for anybody listening to this, that has a skill. You could go and you could charge $500 for an hour consultation of whatever you do, graphic design, consulting, coaching, blah blah, blah. You could charge $500 for an hour. Or to save $500 would probably be a little more than an hour of research and planning and couponing and strategizing. And if we blow that up, like, yeah, $500, maybe that's a little more similar. But if you want to save $5,000 this month, you can't. It's really hard to go and ask for a raise of $5,000 extra every month or an extra $5,000 bonus. But you could pick up two clients on the side, you could pick up a side hustle, you could pick up a side job, you could finally create that thing you want to create that will bring in what I like to call money portals, some people say money windows. Rather than trying to like save, especially in your full time job, even if you are a high earner, even if you're making 100,000, $200,000, there still is like a pretty strong ceiling. And I'm sure that you experience that of working with six figure earners.
- [09:14]
Tamina Stoll
Yeah, 100%. And I love that you're pointing it out, Courtney. Like at the end of the day, it is a mindset thing for the most part. Right. Because let's be real, it's 2025. It has never been easier to create additional income streams for yourself, even when you're working a 9 to 5. Right. Some of you who are listening may know this, but millionaires have an average of 7 income streams. Right? So for people who are really trying to get to that next level in terms of financial wellness and building generational wealth that you may be able to maybe pass on to family members or loved ones down the road, um, your 9 to 5 usually just doesn't cut it. Right. You need to find ways to, to generate extra income. And again, Courtney is, is the best go to resource for thinking about ways on how to monetize your skill set. But you're absolutely right. Oftentimes people completely undervalue their own skill sets and their Knowledge because we're all so stuck in our day to days in our own little bubbles that we oftentimes perceive our own knowledge as like common knowledge, when in reality it really isn't for probably 90, 95% of the. So I love that you're pointing that out.
- [10:23]
Courtney Johnson
Yeah. I think of our skills as like an infinite ladder. There's always going to be infinite people above you and below you that know more and that know less than you. And even if it's something like, yo, Tamina, Courtney, I just finished my coding boot camp. I know nothing about coding. I finished two weeks ago. How could I even start a side hustle? You can still start to share. How did you get into a coding bootcamp? How did you decide? How did you study? Is there a study group around it? Did you make a study guide? Like, even though you don't have any experience in the actual field, you can still teach people two runs below you on the ladder. And in this example, it's people that are looking to get into a boot camp. Should they go? Why should they go? Where should they go? How should they succeed in it? So when you look at it like that, there's always ways to make money. There's always ways to teach people that are trying to get to where you are.
- [11:09]
Tamina Stoll
Yeah, 100%. That's really it. And I think it's so important to surround yourself with the type of people that have that mindset. Right?
- [11:16]
Courtney Johnson
Right.
- [11:16]
Tamina Stoll
And again, in your world, you know, you're creating these coworking spaces. You have the daily, you know, content sunrise, content club. Right. So you can literally surround yourself with like minded people who are like, hey, I am working a nine to five, but there are other avenues out there to create additional income streams. And so going back to what you were sharing earlier, like, yes, frugality sometimes has its value. Right. You should, you should be mindful about your spending. I always recommend to people, identify maybe like three to four expense categories that actually add like true value to your life and that looks different for everyone else. To give you a very tangible example, like, I live in New York. I don't really cook. I eat out a lot. I love hopping from one amazing restaurant to the next. But I don't buy a lot of like new clothing, for example. Right. That's a way for me to, to save money. I love nuuly, like I love renting clothing. Right. Or I also don't own a car. Right. But I do love travel, a family abroad. So seeing them two or three times a year is really really important to me. So maybe take a step back and reflect on what are those, like three to four expense categories that actually add value to your life where you're not willing to compromise? And then identify a couple of other expense quad categories that don't necessarily add as much value to your life. And you're just like trying to keep up with the Joneses. Right. And start reducing spending in those categories, you'll find that it'll all feel a lot more aligned. And then when you have the ability to then invest difference, and you do that over time consistently, you'll really start to see the power of compound interest doing its magic over time. And like, once you see that actually, you know, reflected in your investment portfolio and your net worth, all of a sudden you'll be, oh, wow, okay, this is what's happening. And I can tell from personal experience there are very few things in life that make you feel so damn empowered as a woman as seeing your net worth go up, up, up. So highly recommend.
- [13:21]
Courtney Johnson
Yeah, that brings us really nicely into our next cheat code, which is have an abundance mindset. What does an abundance mindset mean to you and how did you work on developing that?
- [13:31]
Tamina Stoll
Yeah, totally. And to be fair, I think having or working on an abundance mindset is probably like a lifelong journey. I want to preface that because in some areas of our lives they're probably more pronounced and others, you know, they may be, you know, more limited. And a lot of it is probably also based on, you know, your upbringing, maybe some childhood trauma, you know, relationships with like key people in your life, family, parents, like partners, whatever. But I actually used to have a pretty bad relationship with money myself. Like, I always like to tell the story. My first job, first full time job out of college, I was living paycheck to paycheck. I was actually not contributing to my 401k or saving anything. Granted, it was a very, very low salary, so there wasn't that much money to play with to begin with. But everything started changing once I really started understanding the power of compound interest. Playing around with a compound interest calculator, playing around with some of the numbers, and really fully grasp how these different numbers would impact me and my life and my potential future children. And so I would, I would recommend to people, when it comes to money, definitely figure out, is there some childhood trauma, Is there anything that happened in the past, some of the narratives that maybe your parents have fed you that have impacted the relationship that you have with money. And then once you've gained that awareness, I think the next Step is to, as I mentioned before, surround yourself with people who already have an abundance mindset. And it doesn't necessarily have to be, you know, your best friends or family members. It can literally be like mentors from afar, Courtney or myself, for example, you start following their work online, listen to what they have to say and be like, oh, there's actually people out there that have a healthier relationship with, let's say money, for example, or people who actually believe that there's so much more possible out there in terms of creating additional income streams, in terms of like investing, diversifying your portfolio. You don't necessarily always need to have all the answers right out right now at this very moment in time. It's more about being willing to be resourceful and trusting in yourself that you can always go out, connect with people and find all the information that is out there. I think that level of resourcefulness and being willing to go the extra mile to acquire knowledge, to gain new skills up level, I think that is a big, big integral part of having an abundance mindset.
- [16:09]
Courtney Johnson
Yeah, I want to call out something and that is just surround yourself with people where your goal is already accomplished. Like, you don't have to go find like multi, multi millionaires to be around. No, no. Just find people around you where it's normalized to. Yeah, to have different income streams, to be investing to whatever, just being around people. So how this works is our bodies and brains are wired for connection and we see disconnection as death. So if we are surrounded by a group of friends, you'll notice yourself adopting their language, their slang, their mannerisms, and it extends to their behavior. So you don't even have to put any extra effort if you're just noticing and changing the people you follow on social media, the people you surround yourself with, you know, join some of these slack groups, join WhatsApp in your area, go to like networking events with people that you want to be like. It will happen by osmosis. Like your mindset will change based on the information that you are taking in. And there's a another cheat code we have here. Cheat code number three is really a mindset cheat code and that is every no is a redirection and you can collect the lessons and not the shame. How did you learn this? Where did this come from? And yeah, how do you think about this?
- [17:26]
Tamina Stoll
Yeah, no, totally. I think everyone can probably remember a situation or certain circumstances in their lives where something, let's say a job, for example, that you wanted and you didn't get it. It didn't work out the way you had hoped or the way you had initially planned for. And in that moment, it kind of just like sucks, right? And like, that's totally fine. Those feelings of disappointment, anger, frustration, sadness are totally valid. But what I found, based on my own personal experience and kind of also observing the people around me, what has happened to them and careers is like, oftentimes there's going to be. When you face rejection, there's likely going to be some sort of silver lining down the road like always. And it's difficult to predict when you're going to realize that there actually was a silver lining. Sometimes it can be days, weeks, months, or even years later. But I can guarantee you that if you take some time to reflect on some of these past experiences, like, oh, wow, it actually ended up working out in my favor. So to give you a very specific example, I was supposed to move to New York much earlier than I was. I was, I actually was moving to New York like three years ago. But I was supposed to move actually at the beginning of the pandemic, had a job offer, was super excited. It didn't work out, unfortunately, and I was really bummed. Like I was. My boyfriend and I were still in a long distance relationship at the time. So like, there was like a lot of emotions, right. And I was so, so, so, so, so devastated. Well, turns out the team that I would have ended up on later on was eventually impacted by layoffs. So I would have lost my job while being on a work visa. But down the road, like a year, year and a half later, I ended up landing a job on a different team at my current company that then relocated me to New York, sponsored my work visa. I'm still on that team right now. And I've survived multiple rounds of layoffs ever since. So looking back, like, wow, what a silver lining. Because I probably would have had to leave the country had I taken on that first initial job. So really just encouraging everyone to take a step back, reflect on some of these past experiences, be like, oh, wow, damn, it actually happened. Everything happened for a reason. And I know that that's kind of like a platitude, right? But I think if you really invest the time to think back, you'll realize like, okay, actually everything turned out pretty well in the end.
- [20:05]
Courtney Johnson
Yeah. And I think it's also important to understand the, the numbers around rejection. Like, you are going to be in whatever you want to do, dating, job applications, sales. You're probably going to get 10 to 20 no's before you Get a yes in anything. I think a lion like tries to kill its prey 40 times before it gets one kill. And if you get tripped up by the one rejection or by 10 rejections, or even by 15 or 20 rejections, it's really hard to keep moving. So I think it's also important just to frame in your mind that that's normal. It is normal to apply for a hundred jobs and get 99 rejections. It is normal to, you know, like try to sell something 100 times and get 99 rejections. Like that is normal. There's way more volume that you need than you think in most things, 100%.
- [21:04]
Tamina Stoll
If we try to draw a parallel again to like money and we talked about angel investing, venture capital, again, shout out to Ruffin there and bridge club. If we try to draw a parallel here, like if you think about some of the most successful companies in the world, a lot of them had to pitch to dozens, if not even like over a hundred investors before they were able to get a check that helped them get off the ground. Right. Like I think Melanie Perkins, who is the co founder and CEO of Canva, is a great example. Nobody wanted to invest in her company. Nobody believed in kind of like the decentralization of graphic design early on. And now it's like I believe one of the, or if not the most valuable startup that has come out of Australia, right. And one of the most successful female run companies out there, which is just so incredible. But she just believed in herself, in the product, in her team and look how far she has come. So going back to the theme of resourcefulness, if you think face rejection. If you get a no once, you have to just get up and try it again. And if you hear no a second or a third time, if you really want to achieve extraordinary things in life, you're just going to have to hear a no and face rejection over and over and over and over again. It's more about okay, how do you recover from that? And then maybe how do you tweak and pivot slightly along the way to ensure you maximize your chance of success down the road?
- [22:38]
Courtney Johnson
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- [26:08]
Yeah, that's so, so important. Okay, we have cheat code number four, which is a career cheat code, a live cheat code, a really everything cheat code, and that is to post on LinkedIn. Build your personal brand. Tamina, how have you built your personal brand and how's that impacted your career and your life and your money and everything?
- [26:29]
Tamina Stoll
Totally. And I'm so glad you're bringing that up because building a personal brand was probably the best thing I could have ever done for my career. And it's also been an incredibly rewarding journey. So let me start by saying when you work a corporate job, and we all know it can take years, if not even decades, to climb up the corporate ladder, right. If you build a personal brand, I kind of like to say it's kind of like a, yes, it is a cheat code, but it oftentimes gives you access to people, to events, to opportunities that you otherwise would not have access to just by virtue of your job title and especially your seniority. Like, I'm 30 years old, I'm still an individual contributor at the, at my current company, but because I am pretty visible on LinkedIn, people have agreed to take meetings with me, have invited me to events or other types of opportunities that again, I wouldn't have had access to if I was just, you know, just Tamina in her B2B sales role right now. So if you are someone who is, you know, young, high achieving, kind of like, is really great at spotting opportunities. Start talking about the things you care about online and specifically on LinkedIn, because people are watching. Right? And if you show up consistently over time, you'll really have the opportunity to make some really, really beautiful connections, like meaningful relationships. Some of the biggest supporters out there that I have are people I've actually never met before in real life. Right. So just keep that in mind. And then from a, you know, personal, emotional reward perspective, I receive. And I'm sure it's the same for you, Courtney. Like, I receive countless messages from women all over the world every single week thanking me for my work and thanking me for being so open and transparent on the Internet. Like to give you a couple of examples. I very openly talked about my fertility journey, freezing my eggs after being diagnosed with premature fertility decline at age 28. I talk about that. I've talked about my immigration struggles, about suffering from depression in the past, and a lot of, you know, mental health challenges in general. And oftentimes the messages I receive are then like, hey, Tamina, thank you so much for sharing that. I was considering freezing my eggs, like, for a long time, but never pulled the trigger. But your story now actually encouraged me to make an appointment at the fertility clinic next week. And then someone actually told me, hey, I was diagnosed with fertility decline. So if you hadn't shared about that, I probably would have never found out. Like, things like that that are so rewarding. I always like to say if me sharing my personal story, my struggles online, if that just helps one person, one woman out there feel seen, feel heard, feel validated in her experience, me sharing that is already so, so worth it.
- [29:33]
Courtney Johnson
That's so beautiful. That is so beautiful and so important also for those listening. I have, I have. It's not insider information anymore. It's public because the campaign went live yesterday. But I just did a campaign with LinkedIn. You can go to my TikTok or my LinkedIn or my Instagram and see it. And this campaign is all about pushing for authenticity, like, sharing your struggles, sharing what's real, sharing, like the failures you've had in your business. So not only are you gonna, like, if, if you step into sharing your story, you can change lives, you can impact life. And also go watch my video. Like, LinkedIn is prioritizing connection, which is incredible. So I just want to throw in that not only is this good to help others, this is good for the algorithm too. It really is.
- [30:21]
Tamina Stoll
It really is. And I think to your point just now around authenticity and, like, obviously I'm a little bit biased here, but, you know, both you and I are obviously fans of LinkedIn, but I do think that LinkedIn oftentimes is a more safe space for people, like, especially women. Like, I think both you and I have experienced, like, you know, hate on the Internet, but you don't really find that on LinkedIn to the same extent as you would on, you know, on Instagram or a TikTok or an X. Right. So I think it's one of the safest places for women on the Internet because, you know, it's literally like people's real names attached to what they're writing. So they have to be more careful by virtue of that. And then I do think people are more inclined to show up in a more authentic way. Online. We see more and more C level executives also speaking up in a more authentic, human way. And I think that's, at the end of the day, all that we're really craving people being real people, showcasing their struggles and authenticity and connection. I think Especially with everything that's currently going on. From a sociopolitical perspective, I think community is, is really key right now. And it is totally possible to find and create community online.
- [31:35]
Courtney Johnson
Totally. And I, yeah, I gotta double down on that because, yeah, I have maybe had two trolls ever on LinkedIn, and I get like two trolls an hour on every other platform. Yeah, people, because their name is attached, because it's what people use to get jobs. They're, you know, they're, they're kind. So you're, you're from Germany, right?
- [31:53]
Tamina Stoll
Correct? Yes.
- [31:55]
Courtney Johnson
I have a lot of trouble with people that go through my LinkedIn cohort. Germany, Austria, just a lot of Europe and Australia with like, the tall poppy syndrome. Like, I can't stand out because, you know, the tall poppy gets cut. And I feel uncomfortable where Americans are just like, whatever. Like, we're, we're really bold and audacious. So for all of our European, Australian listeners, or anyone that comes from a culture where there's less audacity, less loudness, what would you tell them as far as building a personal brand?
- [32:25]
Tamina Stoll
Yeah, totally. First of all, if you are from any country where, you know, this is maybe not as culturally accepted, you have an early mover advantage here because, you know, as an American showing up the way you and I are showing up, like, we're one of many. Right. But in a place like, I know you mentioned my home country, Germany, but also Austria, Switzerland. Right. Like, where people are a little bit more reserved, let's put it that way. You can actually stand out pretty easily. Like, is everyone going to love and celebrate what you're doing? No. But you also, when you're building a personal brand, you're building it usually, well, first of all for yourself. But then also, eventually, over time, you're going to discover that there is a certain type of group, like a certain type of people, like a subgroup of society that's gonna be able to relate to your content. Right. So if you're trying to speak to everyone, you end up speaking to no one. Right. So really think about who is the person that you want to reach. And oftentimes it's like a past or former version of your of yourself, and you're like one, two, three steps ahead of them. Right. So keep in mind you have that early mover advantage. And then actually, like, I. I was in a similar position when I first moved abroad, like for college. I graduated from, from Duke, and when I first got to Durham, North Carolina, I was obviously a little bit overwhelmed. This was not my first time in The US but still it was, you know, it was a lot. Loved the experience. But something that stood out to me early on was like how, yeah, how audacious, how open minded Americans are and how they're willing to put themselves out there. And at that moment in time I had to make a very conscious decision. I was like, okay, Tamina, are you just going to, you know, stay in your like German cultural bubble, right, and just like go back after a year and just business as usual or are you going to try to learn something from these Americans and fully immerse yourself in the American culture and try to, you know, become a little bit more audacious and take risks and kind of have that abundance mindset. Right. And so I made that decision to, yeah, I do want to fully immerse myself. I do want to learn. And I think ultimately that's what has really helped me be successful in life both personally and professionally. Because it's just something that I think the Americans are doing a fabulous job at just putting themselves out there and taking risk and overcoming cringe mountain as you like to call it, more quickly than maybe people from other cultures.
- [35:07]
Courtney Johnson
I never thought about the early mover advantage, but that is so incredibly smart. Wow, you are so right. Another question I get from especially the European folks is they're like, should I be posting in my first language, my country's language, should I be posting in English? And usually I tell people it depends on what clients you want. But I'm also curious your thoughts about that.
- [35:31]
Tamina Stoll
I do think that we're becoming increasingly global despite of, of what's going on in politics right now. Right. But I do think, you know, again, just because of the virtue of, of the Internet and we talked about communities and you know, bridge club for example, or groom at Capital in theory, like everyone can join because it's like on Slack. Right. So I do, I agree that if you're primarily working with, let's say like German speaking clients, you should probably create your content in Germany. But if you wanna get to a place where you create more options for yourself to also potentially move countries or work for a different country that is maybe based primarily in the APEC region or in North America, then you might want to start posting in English or I actually see a lot of success also with people who are bilingual in English and Spanish. Obviously we know that from a demographic perspective the United States is becoming increasingly, you know, Latino, Latina. Right. So if you want to again, take advantage of having an early mover advantage and if you speak Spanish for Example, create maybe some of the same content that some very successful English speaking content creators are creating, but adopting that for the Latin American market and the Hispanic market, for example, like that could be very. A really good friend of mine is actually like doing that and she has over a million followers at this point because she is really targeting that Hispanic and Latin American community. So it really kind of depends. I think something else to keep in mind is price point. Right. Like obviously Americans are a lot more affluent. So if you are offering high ticket offers then you might want to post primarily in English. But if you have more of a like low ticket but high volume philosophy or like strategy that you want to follow, then maybe you would want to do it in your native language. So it really all depends on whom you're trying to reach at the end of the day. But do keep in mind that the more opportunities you want to have for yourself in terms of future mobility, the more likely it is that you should probably post in English.
- [37:47]
Courtney Johnson
Yeah, yeah. That's such great advice. Thank you for that. I'm going to send all of my international folks to this episode and to follow you because I just get these questions so much. Okay, we have our last cheat code and that is to milk the out of your company employer benefits. Okay, first of all, curious what you have done and second, are there like benefits that are hiding or maybe people are afraid to ask for them or they don't know where to look. Because almost every company I've worked at there's been benefit. Oh, we have free gym memberships. I didn't even know that until three months into working. Oh, we have the free therapy. I didn't know that until two years into working. So what have you, what benefits have you used and how can you find these benefits? Because I think a lot of people don't even know.
- [38:37]
Tamina Stoll
Yeah, totally. So there is obviously benefits that are monetary in a more straightforward way, but there's other benefits that can be monetary but maybe not at, you know, in a first glance. Right. Most obvious one I'm going to start with is just like retirement, like 401k match. Right. Because I think most people are familiar with that. But something that a lot of people actually do not keep in mind when they are signing job offers or when they're even thinking about their next job after, you know, after their current job is the tiny little fine print in their job contract. So most of us know that companies, oftentimes, when you work in corporate America, match what you're contributing to your 401k and there's different, you know, different ways of going about it. It's either like a certain percentage of your gross salary, let's say like 3% or 6% or something along those lines. Or I know a lot of tech companies, what they do is like they match like 50 cents for every dollar that you contribute to your 401k for example up to the contribution like the pre tax contribution maximum. What most people do not know is that there oftentimes is something called a vesting period which bas you have to stay with your employer for a certain amount of time. Two years pretty common. And if you leave before that two year mark is up, you're actually forfeiting that company match. And initially that doesn't, that might not really bother you, there's just a couple of thousand dollars. But again if we're thinking about it from a long term compound interest perspective, that company match could, could have potentially compounded to tens and tens of thousands if not even like $100,000 plus. Like even like let's say you contributed to your 401k over the course of like a year and nine months and you got let's say like 10 grand in terms of company match and you leave for another opportunity because it pays like 20% better. Well 10% compounded over the course. 10%, $10,000 compounded over the course of let's say like 2030 easily grow to $100,000 plus. And if I had told you Courtney today like hey, if I could guarantee you that you're going to have an additional $100,000 in 20 years from now if you stay in your current job for another 60 days, would you do it? Would you stay? Exactly. And those are the types of like thought processes that I see a lot of like young people not make because it's just not as, as obvious that long term thinking like even thinking about when you're in your thinking, thinking about retirement. Oh that's so far away. I'm going to start thinking about that in my mid late 30s. But again time and for compound interest purposes is just like so, so important. So that's just number one, number two equity compensation. And this kind of like depends on whether or not you work for a public company. If you work for a public company that is already listed on stock exchange. Most big tech companies are for example like the Googles, the Microsofts, the Apples of the world. You oftentimes get what is called restricted stock units, RSUs in short so they also vest over a certain period of time, usually four years so oftentimes you get the first 25% after year one, and then it usually starts compounding or like being. It starts vesting over on a quarterly basis. Right? RSUs, that's oftentimes something that you can actually negotiate. Oftentimes companies have, they're pretty strict on, like, base salary or total compensation in terms of, you know, like, bonus and base salary. But oftentimes you can actually negotiate a better RSU package. So that's something you should keep in mind. And also if you're with a company for a certain period of time, longer period of time, after four years, for example, if all of your shares vested, you should definitely renegotiate, like getting another RSU package. So that is all pretty straightforward, I would say. But then on top of that, there are oftentimes other benefits that might not be as straightforward. I already talked briefly about my egg freezing journey. My company actually paid for my egg freezing, and I did three rounds of egg freezing. I live in New York. Super expensive here. So what my healthcare provider was charged in total for three rounds of, like, freezing was almost $100,000, which is, like, ridiculous. Yeah, it's. It's really crazy. And my out of pocket ended up being $2,000, as in, like, my deductible. So that is something else. And I'm mentioning this not because I believe every single person, every single menstruator should become a parent or should even want to be a parent, but I'm saying this because I'm such a strong advocate of women putting themselves in a position where they can make, first of all, educated decisions about their own bodies, but then also maximize their options. So even if you think, like, today, like, no, I don't think I want to have children one day, that's perfectly fine. And I wholeheartedly respect your decision. But what I don't want to happen to you is, like, in 10, 15 years from now, all of a sudden you're going to change your mind. But at that point, you might be in your late 30s, early 40s, all of a sudden you want to have children. And from a biological perspective, it's going to be a whole lot more challenging. So if you work for a company that offers some sort of fertility benefits, please, please, please look into it. There's an increasing number of companies that are actually, like, offering it, and oftentimes you can get it for a fraction of the cost because of those benefits. So that's something else I would keep in mind. And then additional ones are, do you have an education stipend right. Can you maybe take some classes? Like inquire about that? I'm currently working with an external career and I have that also as a benefit from my current company. So think about ways to leverage benefits that go far beyond your current stage in life and like almost like always think about, okay, how could me doing this, me taking advantage of this benefit now benefit future me 5, 10, 20 years down the road. So I'm gonna stop there.
- [45:14]
Courtney Johnson
Yeah. Shameless plug for level up on LinkedIn. But a lot of people that go.
- [45:18]
Through level up on LinkedIn, their company.
- [45:20]
Pays for it for them. I love that you're saying career coaches, even like mindset coach, leadership coach, leadership training, conferences, certifications. I've even had like per personal tools paid for, like apps that I wanted to use for my own self development. So you never know unless you ask. It's very helpful just to ask. Yeah, I think fertility, I mean honestly Tamina, between this podcast and the posts that you did around your fertility journey, you probably like created some life from that. Like you actually probably created some baby. Like I'm not kidding, like the people that are like, wait, that's a good idea. I'm gonna do that. Like you actually. Yeah, that's, that's a. Thank you for sharing that because it's like crazy impact. But I think the lesson here is just like you don't know unless you actually ask. Like ask, ask, ask. And get creative with it too. Okay, I have one final question. This is not a cheat code, but I know you were featured in Forbes and Nasdaq and I'm curious how you were able to accomplish that and if you can leave our audience with any advice on that press features.
- [46:25]
Tamina Stoll
Yeah, totally. So this is maybe also a cheat code, but and it's very timely because one of my friends just joined the same community that I'm part of. It's called Dreamers and Doers. So shout out to the founder Geshe, who is also fellow German but also just like phenomenal founder. So Dreamers and Doers is an incredible community for women entrepreneurs and part of their work is to connect you to PR opportunities. That's one of their biggest like selling points. So they have all of these pre established relationships with some of the biggest publishers out there, Nasdaq being one of them. But then also you start getting to know some of the people in the community. Some of them are like Forbes contributors. Right. So that's like how I oftentimes get connected to some of these opportunities. Because either Dreamers and Doers is Providing something focused on a specific topic that I'm either an expert in or that resonates with me or because of the community, I was able to connect with individual Forbes contributors who then reach out to me for comments or quotes for specific feature. So that's another cheat code out right there. Dreamers, Endures.
- [47:36]
Courtney Johnson
Wow.
- [47:36]
Okay. I literally am Googling it. Dreamers, endures dot com. Wow, this is so cool. That's so interesting.
- [47:45]
Tamina Stoll
And for anyone who is interested in applying, I mean, it is like a little bit exclusive. You have to go through an application process, but if you mention my name, that's an automatic referral. And if you get in, I get a little bit of a discount on my annual membership fees. I would appreciate, appreciate it. But yes, it's a fabulous community. I've met so many incredible women who've since become friends because of the community. So highly, highly recommend.
- [48:08]
Courtney Johnson
Okay, so we're all going to dreamersanddoers.com right now. We're filling out an application where it says referral. You're typing in Tamina Stolt. T H A M I N a S T O L L. Okay, I'm gonna do it right after this conversation. Well, beautiful. This was really great. I feel like we got so many good cheat codes. Tamina, how can people find you and, yeah, how can they work with you? Any. Any exciting things that you want to. You want to share?
- [48:32]
Tamina Stoll
Yeah, absolutely. Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me. Courtney, this has been wonderful and you're awesome. Love everything that you do and stand for. But yes, I am on LinkedIn. Tamina Stoll. I'm the only one with my first and last name combined, so it's pretty easy to find me at Tamina Stoll all in one word on Instagram as well. And then I have a bi weekly newsletter called the shekonomist on chiconomist.com where I share a lot of of, you know, the tools and resources and strategies around career and money, self advocacy. So if that resonates, would love for you to subscribe.
- [49:03]
Courtney Johnson
Beautiful. Well, thank you so much. And yeah, we, we definitely have to have you back on because you're just a wealth of cheat codes. So go follow Tamina, connect with her, and we will see you soon.
- [49:15]
Okay, y' all, if you like this episode, you would love, love my Patreon.
- [49:20]
Okay?
- [49:21]
You get exclusive access to me, exclusive content, tons of other resources, and a lot of juicy shit.
- [49:28]
Okay? So I hope to see you on my Patreon.