Helping Women Prosper
Wall Street executive-turned-entrepreneur Ruchi Pinniger (rhymes with Gucci) discusses her career and her quest to help female business owners redefine success.
What led you to the financial field?
I was born in Denmark and lived in India before my parents moved our family to America in the seventies. My dad died when I was very young, and my mom raised my brother and me while reinventing herself here. She started out as a bank teller and worked her way up to an executive role at a bank, which inspired me as I was growing up.
Unfortunately, she passed away when I was fifteen, so I moved in with my aunt and uncle in New York. When it was time for college, my goal was to major in psychology since I enjoyed helping people work through their problems. But my aunt and uncle said they thought I’d be good at business, based on both my grades and my mom’s influence, and convinced me to get a business degree. I worked on Wall Street for many years until I started my company, Watch Her Prosper®. A lot of clients now call me their “financial therapist”—my original calling has come full circle.
Was there an “aha” moment that made you decide to do something different?
There were a few. One was buying myself a Prada bag as validation of “making it” on Wall Street, only to quickly realize that I still felt empty and yearned for something more. I wanted to help people in a deeper way, and I didn’t feel that at my corporate job. I sought it out in various forms, including becoming a committee cochair of our Women’s Network, joining leadership programs, and being active as both a mentor and a mentee, with no luck. I even tried HR, but that bombed.
I was also constantly hearing stories from incredible, well-educated women who started businesses and loved what they did yet would insist they weren’t good at numbers—to the point that they’d just ignore them. That was my true “aha” moment since I knew I could fill that need. So I left my comfort zone of moving up the corporate ladder and took a total leap of faith in myself.
Why may some women have such money mindset issues, and how can they overcome them to improve their relationship with their finances?
Women have traditionally been taught that it’s not polite to discuss money, with society pushing that it is more of a men’s realm—up until around the time I was born, women even needed a male cosigner just to get credit! Self-criticism is also a big problem: women feel judged, and they judge themselves. As a result, they tend to feel uncomfortable about finances. In fact, in a well-known report, 61 percent of women said they would rather talk about their own death than money.
But if we can let go of all that, it opens up so many possibilities. My company creates a comfortable space for women to share their struggles and feel like they have a numbers partner. Many times, a lot of unexpressed emotion comes out as we work with clients.
How did your experience on Wall Street shape your approach to helping women?
I love that you brought this up. Wall Street is known for having a lot of masculine energy: a nonstop, go-go-go attitude. That creeps in with business owners as well, who feel like we have to do it all and must control everything—and it tends to be heightened in women, who are often pulled in eight different directions between their company and home. But in the work I do, there’s so much feminine energy: learning to pause and assess where we not only need support but also accept it. That’s a key to growing a business, and it’s something we’re not necessarily used to in the corporate world.
To be fair, though, this male/female energy dynamic has certainly changed greatly from when I was growing up. The men of today, like my husband, tend to be more family focused and collaborative.
Your mission statement says that your aim is to help women live their most prosperous lives. Why not have the most prosperous businesses?
We take that approach because prosperity is about more than just money. For many individuals, though, the two are inextricably linked. That’s why when they think about business, they focus on revenue and how many six or seven figures they make. But I want people to look at it holistically. What does it mean to live a prosperous life? And how can we intentionally build that mindset? People always seem to wait for some future thing to happen to feel joy, thinking “When I get x amount of money, I’ll be content” or “When this big event happens in my life, then I’ll be happy.” There’s no reason to wait, though—we can feel prosperous every day.
So our method is different. We work with clients to align their personal goals with their business goals, helping them redefine prosperity by focusing on the life they want first and then building out what number they need to achieve it. Primarily, I love pointing them to emotional objectives. How do you want to feel every day, and what’s stopping you from feeling that way? When you let that vision be your North Star and align your business decisions with it, the money will follow.
You break prosperity down into three pillars. Would you elaborate on them?
Absolutely. The first is well-being. I ask my clients to reflect on what would bring them true joy, especially since women tend to neglect themselves. For me, it’s taking long strolls in Central Park, which whisks me away from all of life’s demands. That’s the thing about joy: it’s available for all budgets. My walks are free except for my time—and my $5 Starbucks coffee. [Laughs]
Spirituality is the second pillar in the sense that we are all connected and what we put into the universe is what we get back. I focus on what I call my RIR Method™: Recognize, Interrupt, and Reframe™. So recognize when you’re having negative, disempowering thoughts, interrupt them, and reframe them with something more positive and prosperous. For example, if you’re convinced that you’re bad at money, face those thoughts and refocus on trusting yourself with it more.
The third pillar is healthy relationships. Are your personal ones built from lifting each other up or doing the opposite? Also, consider how other people’s beliefs about money are impacting yours. Do you feel comfortable talking about your finances with them, or do you lie about how much you make to keep up with them? That’s influenced by your past experience. Someone whose parents fought about money, for instance, will carry that memory with them through life and see it influence their mindset and money habits.
In what ways does your company help business owners become more financially literate?
Our clients are mostly service-based small businesses, such as coaches, consultants, media, and PR agencies, who are the best at what they do but don’t necessarily want to be full-time CFOs. We bridge that gap, creating a safe, judgment-free space where clients can get help with bookkeeping, financial guidance, and even tax-time readiness. We meet with them regularly, walking them through understanding the numbers so they can understand them and develop amazing habits to save money and grow their businesses. That’s why we call ourselves financial guides.
You also help women financially beyond America. Would you talk about B1G1, the charity you sponsor?
We’ve been involved with B1G1’s global giving initiative for about four years. It was founded knowing that a lot of business owners want to give back but will wait for a reason to do so, such as holding off until they’re profitable. B1G1 allows companies to give in small increments, consistently donating so that with every transaction, good happens somewhere in the world. In our case, each time Watch Her Prosper signs a new client or gets a referral that leads to a consultation call, a donation goes toward bookkeeping training for women overseas or microloans for underserved populations in India and Africa. It’s so cool.
How has Watch Her Prosper changed the lives of businesswomen?
Women often feel alone when they’re operating their businesses. We’re here to validate them, support them, and help heal their money wounds so they don’t pass their financial trauma on to their employees or family, which is vital for success. We want them to see what’s possible and have entrepreneurial peace of mind—and that’s the best part about my job.
For more info, visit watchherprosper.com