When I tell people I make over a million dollars a year, their reaction is usually one of disbelief.

They look at me like, “Whaaat?”

I wear the same clothes I bought five years ago.

I drive a used 2018 Chevy Bolt that’s fully paid off.

I don’t get my nails done, I cut my own hair.

And I use an iPhone 12 mini that I bought secondhand.

This probably isn’t what you picture when you think of someone making seven figures.

But that’s exactly why I’m sharing this story.

The image we have of wealthy people is completely skewed by social media and TV shows.

In reality, making over a million dollars a year with a 30-40% profit margin looks different than what most people imagine.

I want to talk about what it actually looks like, at least for me, to build that kind of success.

And here’s the thing: you might be a lot closer to financial success than you think.

Why Most Millionaires Don’t Look Like the Ones on TV

Before I hit my first million-dollar year in 2020, I never thought I’d get there.

The wealthy people I saw online were nothing like me.

They were usually white, extremely charismatic, had perfect hair, perfect makeup, and always had the latest Apple product.

Meanwhile, I’m an introverted Asian girl who loves making things with her hands, playing video games, cuddling with my dog, and reading fantasy novels.

I struggled with confidence for years, so of course, I thought, “How could someone like me ever reach that level?”

But here’s the truth, according to The Millionaire Next Door about 80% of millionaires are first-generation wealthy.

That means they built their wealth from scratch, through hard work, smart financial decisions, and entrepreneurial endeavors, not through inheritance.

And guess what? Most of them don’t fit that flashy stereotype we see everywhere.

They’re your neighbors in regular homes, driving practical cars that are a few years old, and wearing everyday clothes.

They’re just really good at managing money and saving it.

The Reality of a Million-Dollar Income

Here’s something even more surprising: a million dollars isn’t as much as you might think.

After business expenses, I’m looking at maybe $300-400K.

Then about 30% of that goes to taxes.

You’re left with a lot less, especially with inflation and the high cost of living.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good living, but it’s not enough for a private jet or a mansion.

That’s especially true in places like Los Angeles.

But you know what I can buy? Creature comforts that make life more enjoyable.

Like having a cleaner come twice a month, or being able to DoorDash food when we’re too tired to cook.

I spent $3,000 on my Purple mattress, and I love it.

I can turn on the AC or heat whenever I want.

I remember growing up in Malaysia, and we NEVER had the AC on.

When nights got super hot, we’d treat ourselves to just turning on the AC in one room, and all of us would squeeze in to save money.

I’d sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag.

So having temperature control now? It feels like such a luxury.

Comfort is such a different experience when you’ve learned to live without it.

Strategies That Scaled My Business to Seven Figures

The biggest misconception people have about reaching seven figures is that it requires hustling 24/7 and working yourself to the bone.

You’re made to feel like if you’re not grinding every minute, you’re not trying hard enough.

In my experience, it was actually the opposite.

The LESS I did and the more strategic I got about WHAT I did, the more money I made.

When I first started my polymer clay jewelry business, I was doing EVERYTHING.

Posting on every platform multiple times a day, trying every marketing tactic, blogging, SEO, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest.

I was working every waking hour, but making only some progress.

I took the time to learn each thing, invested in practicing them, and did them well.

But the progress I made wasn’t proportional to the energy I was putting in.

I was stuck in that cycle for years, working full-time hours and making about $2-3 an hour, so obviously, something was wrong.

My business didn’t take off until I analyzed what was actually working and completely changed my approach.

Instead of doing more of the same (which led to burnout and was unsustainable), I 10X’d my results by CHANGING my strategy entirely.

For example, my YouTube channel struggled for years until I completely transformed my approach.

I stopped obsessing over how frequently I posted and started focusing more on the concept of the video itself.

Suddenly, my videos went from less than a thousand views to tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of views.

It wasn’t about working harder; it was about working smarter by focusing on the 80/20, the few things that make the biggest impact.

This is the stuff I geek out over, and it’s exactly why I started the Nerdy Creatives Club.

It’s for shop owners who are making some sales but are tired of hustle culture and want to be smarter about their time and energy.

Every month, I curate ONE thing that will 10x your business over time, something you can do in just a few focused sessions.

We have co-working implementation sessions, high-level conversations, and monthly coaching with me.

It’s such a great group, and I get so excited for it!

The Club may not be open for enrollment right now, but you can join the waitlist. 

We only allow a limited number of people to join at a time, so keep an eye on your inbox when it opens. 

Another thing that helped me reach consistent million-dollar sales years was getting immune to flashy marketing tactics.

You know, the “Instagram is the only way to grow your business!” and “Everyone’s flocking to TikTok because that’s where it’s at” buzz.

There are so many ways to make money online, but the foundations don’t change.

As long as you know business, you can build your own cocktail (or mocktail, in my case) of platforms and channels you want to use.

I built a portfolio of businesses that work perfectly for my personality and energy.

Some people love Instagram, if it works for you, keep doing it!

But as a highly sensitive, introverted creative, I didn’t want to build a business that required me to show up at a specific time every day or week just to make money.

I want the freedom to do what I want, when I want, and for my effort to be highly leveraged.

Every hour I invest in my business should pay me back in big revenue for years to come.

So, I designed my business to fit that lifestyle.

I don’t rely heavily on social media or short-lived marketing tactics.

Instead, I invest a ton into my YouTube channel, paid ads (Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube), PR & publicity, and SEO.

Another major shift was my relationship with money.

I used to be terrified of looking at my numbers.

I’d avoid checking my bank accounts because I was afraid of what I might find.

I’d feel guilty about charging more for my products, thinking my prices were tied to my own self-worth. 

Newsflash: they’re not.

This is a common issue for many business owners, but these fears can cost you a lot of money and kept me struggling for far too long.

The moment I started getting intimate with my finances, tracking where money was coming from, where it was going, what was profitable and what wasn’t, everything changed.

It wasn’t just my finances that improved, but my store analytics as well.

I started making decisions based on data, not emotions.

I let go of team members whose rates didn’t match the value they brought.

I stopped investing in marketing channels that weren’t converting.

And I got comfortable raising my prices to reflect market demand and perceived value.

I used numbers to identify bottlenecks in my business and focused on fixing those, instead of chasing vanity metrics.

You know, the ones that social media loves to glorify: lots of views, viral moments, or huge follower counts that often don’t translate to actual sales.

Focusing on data instead of emotions was a game-changer for me.

Once I embraced it, I stopped making decisions based on what felt good or looked impressive.

I started focusing on what actually moved the needle for my business.

And when you start making decisions based on real data, everything changes.

Shifting Mindset About Money

Here’s something a lot of people don’t realize: money isn’t good or bad, it’s neutral.

It’s what you do with money that really matters.

I’ve met people who have a deep aversion to money because they were raised to believe it’s evil or that only greedy people are rich.

And hey, it’s not entirely your fault.

TV shows and movies often portray villains as the rich ones, while the hero is usually someone from the streets.

The media tends to reflect a lower-income perspective when it comes to wealth, simply because producers are trying to relate to their audience.

And who spends the most time and money on TV shows?

Lower-income folks.

There’s actually a direct link between how much money you make and how much TV you watch.

The more money you make, the less TV you’re watching and vice versa.

The point is, we’ve been brainwashed to view rich people as the root of all evil but that’s just not true.

You get to decide what money and wealth mean to you.

Why not define it in a way that serves you, instead of holding you back?

The people we see as “filthy rich” who don’t seem to do anything good with their money aren’t the norm.

They’re the exception.

The media loves to focus on them, making them seem more common than they really are.

Take MacKenzie Scott, for example.

She’s donated over $19 billion to nonprofits since 2019.

Or Chuck Feeney, a businessman who secretly gave away his entire $8 billion fortune to charity while living frugally.

Then there’s Dolly Parton, she’s given millions to hospitals, literacy programs, and funded medical research.

Michael Sheen? A not-for-profit actor who’s donated millions to help people clear debt.

The list goes on.

I even found research from Boston College’s Center on Wealth and Philanthropy that shows wealthy business owners score significantly higher on measures of empathy and social responsibility than the general population.

The researchers say successful entrepreneurs develop a deeper understanding of other people’s needs and perspectives as they build thriving businesses.

Personally, I know a ton of six- and seven-figure business owners in my network who quietly donate large portions of their income, mentor others for free, and create jobs in their communities.

I won’t get all philosophical, but if money makes you uneasy, It’s probably going to feel weird about you, too. 

That weird energy could be why you’re self-sabotaging or avoiding the right actions to grow your business.

But I get it, money’s just an object, but I urge you to take a close look at your relationship with it.

Just like with any relationship, you can be afraid of money, or you can love money.

And how you feel about money determines how you interact with it.

Personally, I’ve always appreciated money. I see it as a means to an end, something to help me get the real things I want.

When I was a kid, I wanted toys and board games.

Now that I’m older, I want beautiful furniture and experiences traveling to other countries.

But it wasn’t always like this.

I wasn’t always comfortable with money.

It wasn’t until I got intimate with my finances, really understanding where money was coming from and where it was going. 

There are different layers to this relationship, and it’s a process.

Scaling Through Helping Others

Now, I’ve built multiple successful businesses.

My polymer clay jewelry business brings in six figures annually.

My vintage map art business (which my husband mostly runs now) has done millions of dollars in revenue.

My coaching business generates hundreds of thousands of dollars every year, teaching artists and makers how to sell their work online.

And even my YouTube channel brings in revenue, too.

So does my acting career and dividends from our investments.

But none of this happened because I got lucky or because I’m special.

In fact, I don’t really consider myself a lucky person.

I can never seem to find good parking at the grocery store or mall.

I used to think luck was just a matter of chance, but now I see it differently.

The more I do things, the more I put myself out there, the higher my chances of getting what I want.

So if it wasn’t luck or some special gift, what was the reason behind my success?

It all came down to identifying problems my target audience had and creating solutions that directly solved them.

That’s it.

I focused on serving others, and the money followed.

That’s the “secret.”

And I learned how business works, how to make my money work for me.

I also understand the desire to be charitable, but the reality is, you can’t help anyone if you’re struggling financially yourself.

Sure, you can try, but you won’t make much of an impact.

The biggest takeaway here is that you don’t have to fit a certain mold to make a lot of money.

You can be awkward.

You can be introverted.

You can work in your pajamas.

You can be a creative person who thinks differently.

You can be big or small, Hispanic or Asian.

You can be just the way you are and still become wealthy.

I was the slowest kid in my class growing up.

I wasn’t a straight-A student.

I dealt with low self-esteem for most of my life.

But I learned the skills to be helpful to other people and it all started from there.

So, if you’ve been thinking you can’t be financially successful because you don’t fit the mold of what a “rich person” looks like, I’m here to tell you, that’s just not true.

The path to wealth isn’t about fitting a stereotype. It’s about solving problems for people and getting paid what you’re worth.

But just a quick disclaimer I want to throw in as a side note.

I do believe there are some basic things you need to even think about starting a business.

Like having access to the internet.

Or having a computer or device that lets you get online.

And more importantly, being in a situation that actually makes it possible to start something.

If you’re just trying to get through the day and survive, starting a business can feel incredibly hard — maybe even totally out of reach.

Depending on where you live and what your life looks like, having a business might not be the right move right now.

And I totally get that.

I know that running a business is a huge privilege — and not everyone gets the chance to spend time building wealth or chasing business goals.

It’s something I’m really lucky to be able to do.

Mastermind

If you’re a creative business owner or a multi-hyphenate with different passions and businesses, and you’re making at least $100K a year, and you want to scale to seven figures, I’m launching something new that might interest you.

I’m starting a high-level mastermind for advanced creative entrepreneurs who want to grow their impact and revenue while building a life they love.

If this sounds like something you’re interested in, click the link her to find our more: https://creativehivemastermind.com

It’ll be a super small group where you get to work with me directly and be part of an inspiring, intimate group of creatives.

I’m in mastermind myself, and they’ve changed my life.

The advice and support from my mastermind friends have pushed me to do things I never would’ve done on my own.

I’ve made hundreds of thousands of dollars directly from their insights.

I want to create that same experience for others because I truly believe in the power of mastermind.

This is for people who are ready to show up, ready to scale, and ready to do the hard work.

If that’s you, let’s make it happen together.

I’m excited to see you take this next step toward the life and business you’ve always dreamed of.

Don’t let anything hold you back, join the Mastermind.