By Ruchi Pinniger
As we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Mother’s Day this May, I can’t help but reflect on the woman who shaped my understanding of what it means to prosper truly: my mom.
Growing up, the strongest woman I knew was my mother. A dedicated educator, she made a significant impact both in India, her homeland, and in Denmark, where I was born. When our family relocated to America, she started a new chapter as a bank teller. Despite the limited opportunities for minority women in senior corporate roles at that time, she became a respected executive in banking during the 1980s, all while dealing with the loss of my father.
Her resilience and empowerment as an Indian American woman navigating the challenges of corporate America profoundly shaped my worldview and inspired my mission to redefine prosperity for women worldwide.
Redefining Prosperity: More Than Just Wealth
True prosperity is more than financial wealth—or the numbers in your bank account. It’s about your overall well-being, finding spiritual fulfillment, and nurturing healthy, supportive relationships with people and your money. It’s about seeing the big picture, not just the digits on your paycheck. It’s about thinking bigger than paychecks. My approach to prosperity is holistic, involving every aspect of life.
It’s funny how life can surprise you. I never imagined I’d end up in the finance industry—or as an entrepreneur, for that matter. In high school, I wanted to become a therapist when I grew up. After all, I was the go-to advice person for my friends, and I loved it. But after losing both my parents, my aunt and uncle encouraged me to follow in my mother’s footsteps and try my hand at business. So, I got a business degree and eventually found myself on Wall Street, experiencing a journey that taught me what not to do if I wanted a peaceful, prosperous life.
The hectic pace of corporate life offered little room for reflection, nurturing relationships, or envisioning the future—a reality that didn’t sit well with me. I tried my hand at Human Resources for a while, hoping it’d soothe my need to help others, but I quickly realized that wasn’t the answer. The real rollercoaster was my own uncertainty about my future, and I decided to take a sabbatical to figure things out.
I hit an impasse. There wasn’t a role left for me, and I decided not to return to the corporate world. I wasn’t sure where I would land—and that was scary; I needed support. So, I got a coach who encouraged me to “be open to the messages from the universe.” Remembering my mother’s courage in starting over in the U.S., I felt excited to embrace new possibilities. If she could do it, so could I!
And spoiler alert – if you’re reading this, you can too!
A Turning Point: Beyond the Balance Sheet
I’ve always felt there was more to life than money, and as soon as I started to believe it, my business’s client base began to grow and thrive. But there was a theme. I was meeting these incredible entrepreneurs running successful companies, but they were struggling with financial management. Think of basic tasks like bookkeeping and profit and loss statements. During some of our most heartfelt and vulnerable conversations, these successful women expressed feelings of overwhelm, shame, and isolation around their finances. And that’s unfair because a poor relationship with money stems from a lack of access to financial education throughout one’s life.
According to a 2020 report by the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center, personal finance knowledge is generally lower among underrepresented minority women than among their white counterparts.
For instance, on average, African American and Hispanic women answered 38% of financial literacy questions correctly, while white women answered 54% correctly. Some minority women haven’t had enough opportunity to learn about finance – and I’m setting out to change that.
The first thing I want to do is reassure anyone feeling shame or negativity around money that you are not alone, you are not flawed, and your internalized feelings about your finances do not define you as a businesswoman or as an individual.
Building on this empowering approach to mental reframing, I’ve spent years filling my toolbox with strategies to make financial literacy accessible for women from all walks of life. My goal is to equip women with the necessary tools to control their financial destinies—much like my mother did years ago. From mastering the basics of tax-time readiness and bookkeeping to understanding and building a prosperous money mindset, I meet my clients where they are. Together, we tackle challenges to reach a state of financial confidence and awareness while redefining what prosperity means to each of us.
Cultivating Community: The Power of Shared Strength
Through my work with minority entrepreneurs, I have discovered firsthand the transformative power of community. It’s more than just adding colleagues on platforms like LinkedIn; it’s about creating a supportive network where every connection strengthens the entire group. The intentions and energy we invest in building our community directly influence its success. This phenomenon is particularly evident in our immigrant communities, which resonates deeply with me as I work here in New York City.
My commitment to community extends to my role on the Executive Board of Savvy Ladies, a nonprofit organization that offers free financial education to all women. This initiative empowers women to move from financial insecurity to a state of abundance, opportunity, and true prosperity.
The need for such organizations as Savvy Ladies is immense. We’ve found that a startling 90% of women report feeling somewhat or completely financially insecure. Financial instability is a widespread issue that transcends geography, culture, and economic background. Many women grow up believing they need not worry about their finances. However, numerous studies show that a lack of financial awareness leaves women especially vulnerable, regardless of their marital status.
The most important takeaway I can offer today is this: strengthen and nurture your community in whatever form it takes.
This month, as we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage, I’m reminded of not only my mother and her example but our collective strength as women and the unique contributions we each bring to the table. So, I extend an open invitation to every woman, regardless of background, to join me in this movement toward financial empowerment.
Together, let’s redefine what it means to prosper and celebrate the beautiful diversity of the communities we all represent. Each hurdle we overcome adds to our collective success, inspiring and encouraging generations of women to come.
Ruchi Pinniger, Founder and CEO of Watch Her Prosper®, is helping women to redefine prosperity in business and in life. Ruchi’s holistic approach to serving her clients helps her to provide financial guidance, bookkeeping, and tax-time readiness, rooted in heightening her clients’ prosperity mindset. Ruchi connects the business to the person, helping clients through her signature approach, which is free from shame and guilt and gives them the power to create huge results in their profitability and economic growth. She is an Executive Board member for Savvy Ladies, an organization that helps women improve their financial literacy and take control of their money. She also serves on the board for the Pajama Program, a nonprofit organization helping children improve their quality of sleep so they can thrive. Ruchi brings her nearly 20 years of experience on Wall Street and in the corporate world to her responses to her small business advice column, Ask Ruchi. Readers submit questions about money and business related topics such as financial leadership, tax-readiness, budgeting and mental health surrounding personal and business finances. You can follow her on Instagram.
