Ayesha Selden — who dubs herself “#WealthTwitter’s fav auntie” — is the very definition of both Black excellence and a self-made millionaire.
And as she told the Buy The Hood podcast, the way she did it was actually pretty simple.
“Condition yourself as a saver first,” she said. “There are steps to this game. You can’t go from one end of the process all the way to a disciplined investor and think that everything is going to be gravy. I always say that someone who hasn’t mastered the art of being a saver first…how are you going to be a landlord if you don’t have any money saved? If you can’t figure out how to save reserve money, you are going to lose your house and destroy your credit. Figure out how to be a saver first, then investor, and then a disciplined investor.”
But life wasn’t always easy for Ayesha Selden.
Her mother — a single mother — raised her in what Entrepreneur calls “one of the most under-resourced areas of South Philly,” which is quite the euphemism if ever there was one.
But when Selden was 18-years-old, her family finally was able to afford a nicer house, and moved away from the South Philly neighborhood. She thought — correctly — that her old house would be very valuable one day, and as it turned out, her old house — which her mother sold for $35,000 — is, today, valued between $500,000 to $600,000.
Eventually, Ayesha Selden saved up her money — to the tune of $67,000 — and bought her first foreclosure in the South Philadelphia area. She moved into the house as she rehabbed it, and eventually started investing in equities. From there, she invested in more real estate until she amassed a seven-figure portfolio.
Selden currently works as a private wealth advisor, and has published an affordable e-book on how to replicate her success for yourself.
