Closing the Wealth Gap with Star Melancon

BBC: Star we are so excited to interview you today. We love the title of your business SHEbuildingHER. Star, why did you start this amazing platform?

SM: SHEbuildingHER is a financial consulting agency. We help women create strategies to reach their short and long term financial goals through stock investing, budgeting, saving, debt repayment, and planning for retirement. My time in Corporate America as a biopharmaceutical microbiologist, taught me what it meant to build wealth vs simply making a lot of money. I experienced my coworkers engaging in casual money and investment conversations regularly. Most of them were roughly my age, same degree, same area of expertise, however I could only piece together about 30% of their conversations. It made me feel small,

inadequate, and like I didn't belong in the conversation (and sometimes in the room). That's what sparked my passion and perusing of knowledge as it pertained to money and wealth. As I learned my

life began to transform and the women around me noticed. I began helping women invest and build

solid budgeting and debt repayment plans which ultimately turned into SHEbuildingHER.

I realized the wealth gap between women (specially women of color) and everyone else continued to

expand. I found a way to positively contribute to the solution of that problem and it happened to be

through the stock market. I'm not reinventing the wheel, but I've been blessed with the ability to deliver

the information in a way that gets women excited about investing.

BBC: Being in business for so long tell us what challenges have you faced along the way, and what is the biggest lesson you’ve learned in entrepreneurship?

SM: Criticism. My background and degree are in the science space, so initially some of my peers and other didn't necessarily take me seriously. Honestly, that fueled me to check and double check everything I learned which in turn made me a better teacher for the women I serve now. The biggest lesson I've learned is to get over myself. Take the ego out of my business. I'm not going to succeed at everything, every launch will not be successful, I won't like everything I have to do, but it doesn't matter. Just check your ego at the door and keep going. Ultimately, I've been called to serve, and i have women in all walks of life depending on me to keep going so they can change the financial trajectory of their lives and the lives of generations after them.

BBC: That is definitely an important lesson to learn! Reading your bio you have so many wonderful accomplishments, tell us what are you most proud of in your business?

SM: I'm most proud of the women I serve. The ones who tell me they finally opened a brokerage account. Or they purchased their first stock. Just knowing how their actions today will affect them, their children,

grandchildren, etc is an overwhelming thought. Playing a small role in their journey to prosperity is an

honor and very humbling.

BBC: That is a wonderful feeling to have! Congrats to all your success and we cannot wait to see what's next for you and SHEbuildingHER!