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A complicated back surgery when she was 14-years-old dramatically shifted the career trajectory of Taylor Price. The would-be doctor instead turned to financial advice, and now, barely old enough to legally buy a beer, Price has become something of a pioneer in dispensing financial counsel to an underserved but potentially mammoth market: Gen Z.
The under-30 investing crowd, not to mention the millions who don’t invest but need savvy money management guidelines and principles, is the new Holy Grail for brokerage houses and wealth management firms. From Goldman Sachs to Bank of America, industry giants are investing big in gaining market share among this demographic, for which Price says financial illiteracy is like a “silent pandemic.”
A part-time Naples resident, Price discovered her secret sauce through a straight-talk, common sense approach to finances from someone going through it, akin to Suze Orman. The difference maker? Price is 21 and she reaches her coveted audience through social media. She has 1.2 million followers on TikTok; 25,300 YouTube subscribers and 92,000 Instagram followers. (Price points out that her content isn't officially considered financial advice as she's currently not a certified financial planners.)
And these aren’t just pat-your-back social media stats. Her sites and accounts generated at least $30,000 a month in income in 2020, according to an April Business Insider profile on Price, a figure she confirms in a Business Observer interview. And, through the spring, Price had booked at least an additional $200,000 in contracts.
Most of the revenue stems from ads sold off her social media sites, with some from sponsorships and partnerships. She has several other brands and business ideas, all under the entities Taylor Price LLC and Fifecta. (The latter, which stands for finance and three, has 30,000 Instagram followers.)
“At first I thought it was a side hustle,” Price says. “Now it’s a career for helping people. I’m motivated to help people live their best financial life. My goal is to help people, especially Generation Z, grow their financial tree.”
Price grew up north of New York City. Fascinated by the brain, she intended to become a neurosurgeon. Yet that plan was derailed after she had major spinal fusion surgery just before ninth grade. The surgery led to other complications, to the point where Price had to re-learn how to walk. She couldn’t attend gym class, couldn’t sit without a special desk and had to have people carry her books. Later, in college, standing for hours in biology classes caused major pain.
So Price shifted. At the State University of New York at Albany, she majored in finance and management. While studying P&L statements, Price had an epiphany: she knew little about managing her own money — for the now or the future. “My North Star was taken from me,” says Price, of giving up on med school, “so I thought I would try this finance thing.”
First Price read everything she could about personal finance. Coupled with her degree from SUNY Albany — she earned it in less than three years — Price started with some blog posts. While visiting Los Angeles in 2019, some friends suggested she try videos with her content. “On my 10th video, boom,” Price says, “it went viral.”
Price admits she knew little about video production at first. She watched a lot of videos from Graham Stephen, a 30-year old real estate investor and entrepreneur she dubbed the Godfather of the genre of quick-hit investing videos. Next: Price says she “practiced, practiced, practiced,” using the mantra “time on a task, overtime, eventually beats talent every time.”
‘I’m motivated to help people live their best financial life. My goal is to help people, especially Generation Z, grow their financial tree.’ Taylor Price
Her career has since been something of a whirlwind. Price utilizes a content trumps everything strategy, spending at least one day a week, usually Tuesdays, churning out videos. She then posts on her various sites three to five times a day. Others in her field do one post a day, she says, if that. “I’m putting in a lot more content than the competition.”
Price is also studying for her Certified Financial Planners (CFP) designation, taking classes through NYU. Other upcoming projects she’s working on include a podcast, an investing app and a series of non-fungible tokens (NFTs.)
Price, who chuckles when confirming her last name is real, not a Hollywood stage moniker to boost followers, loves her current career path — even with giving up on her first dream. “I feel like I was born to do this,” Price says. “I really put myself out there. When I’m all in with something, I’m in it to win it.”
(This story was updated to reflect that Price doesn't provide official financial advice because as of 2021, she's not a Certified Financial Planner. )
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