Interview with the Citizen
Beauty is only skin deep, sages through the ages have said. But a beauty with brains is the real deal. Having proven herself the complete package that is beauty and brains, Happiness Watimanywa — who at the age of 19 was crowned “Redd’s Miss Tanzania 2013”- has used her financial skills to cement herself in the hearts and minds of her clients as a financial guru and money whisperer.
The 27 year old is a finance coach who teaches individuals and companies alike on all things finance. She obtained her accounting degree from the Oxford Brookes University in the UK. She is also a Certified Chartered Account and member of the ACCA
Happiness has worked in multiple public and private organizations including the global accounting giant KPMG. She is now a self-employed finance professional who dedicates her time to empowering others. The Citizen recently sat down with her to learn more about her journey.
What drew you to this profession, you could have been a million other things?
What I love about numbers is that they can have a wonderful simplicity. But I am also a lover of the arts which are characterized by complex elements. What I have come to find is that numbers especially when you look at them through the lens of formal finance tell captivating stories. So that is a complexity allowing them to also be viewed as art. The fun happens in cutting through the complexities.
Specific to my own journey, I’ve always enjoyed accounting. In 2011 I was the top global student for the Cambridge IGCSE’s in the subject. I then I became Miss Tanzania while interning at the finance department of a multinational in the agricultural sector. After earning my degree in Accounting I wanted to become a chartered accountant but with a diverse knowledge and understanding of numerous industries and I found that a career in audit was the best route to take to get there.
So finance has been part of my life for a very long time and I think it’s only natural that I gravitated toward it.
When did you decide to leave employment and go into coaching and what pushed you to this decision?
I have been coaching and guiding friends with their finances for a number of years. Various people would always approach me for my thoughts and opinion before making big financial decisions. In December of 2019 I came across the concept of financial coaching and realized that there was a name for what I have been doing. Flash forward to 2020 (a huge financial wake up call to a lot of people) which allowed me to really grasp the magnitude of the unfulfilled need within the sphere of financial capability and literacy.
So in the middle of the pandemic I resolved to leave my job and coach full time because the best time to take risks is when you are young and don’t yet have responsibilities like a family, mortgage etc. I’m one of the lucky few that was presented with a great opportunity as a result of Covid.
I will say though, you need to be very realistic about self-employment. It is tough and savings do deplete, so have a plan to sustain yourself financially. In my case, I still offer outsourced accounting services for a base income while I build and expand the coaching.
From Miss Tanzania to a finance expert, would you say you have self-actualized?
Back when I was Miss Tanzania, I became acquainted with a 25 year old individual who declared that they wanted to become a billionaire by 30. This was the first interaction I had ever had with a person who had a distinctive clarity on their goals financial and otherwise whilst deliberately pursuing them. And it really inspired me to, whenever I can, set bold goals. But one thing that has become clear as I’ve grown is that once you reach a goal and subside from the high that comes with it, you have to set another in order to maintain a sense of purpose in your life. It’s always a continual journey and at this point, I’ve barely scratched the surface in achieving my full potential.
What bad finance/spending behaviors perhaps have you observed and think are predominant Tanzanian?
Before we can even look at the negative patterns, it’s more important to understand that there is a fundamental gap in financial literacy. Tanzania has a huge chunk of the population that is characterized by low levels of financial capability.
There is an absence of knowledge and understanding of financial services, products and even providers. On top of that you have poor risk management and long term planning skills. In some cases there are adults whose basic numeracy skills are weak. These are some of the limitations that constrain people from being effective with their personal finances.
According to the National Financial Education Framework, 52 percent of adults indicate that they sometimes or always run short of money for necessary expenses. So any bad or negative behavior you identify in a person with relation to their finances is a direct result of these factors.
What are your thoughts on the whole notion of “enough money?” Is there such a thing as enough money?
The concept of “enough” is relative. You can have enough regardless of your circumstances. That’s why you find people who live with nothing more than the bare necessities resting easy with no fear of tomorrow. I think rather than seeking to be rich, we should be in pursuit of a richer life. Because even when you consider wealth at its core, it is originally derived from abundance and well being. Shifting your perspective in this way allows “Enough” to become much easier to attain.
Tell me about Happiness’s unique 3 level coaching style
The method I use for my coaching incorporates three elements which I believe offer the most value to my clients. These are to Inform, Reform, and Transform. It is set that way because I aim to offer truly a transformative result.
The first level equips the coachees with Essential Knowledge to understand personal finances, basically educate them so that they are better informed when it comes to money. Level two takes the coachee on a journey to awareness of their inherent perspectives and biases toward money. Introspection is crucial when we want to grow. Finally transformation is achieved by guiding the coachee to develop a personal blueprint for a sustainable relationship with their money. I never offer a one size fits all solution. Instead everyone I have interacted with always walks away with a bespoke outcome for their needs.
As a coach, what is your advice for someone looking for financial stability?
I have had two types of client; 1 on 1, and groups either in corporate entities or those attending my independent workshops. One common factor they have is the notion that money is complicated so they always put off organizing their finances.
I offer many different insights to my clients to help them find financial stability. But the most important advice I can give will always be to JUST START.
Sit down and take the time to track your spending. Read what you can online. Engage in conversations with your friends and colleagues. Map out a plan. These are a few things to do but importantly the point is that you have taken the initiative to do something and started it.
When you coach working class people that think they understand finances, what common misconceptions and challenges do you find?
I’m always struck by the assumption some of my clients and students have had that they have to be in a certain income bracket before they can start to invest or set up proper budgets and save etc. So one of the biggest battles I constantly want to emerge victorious from is getting people to build personal systems for their finances and stick to them. That way when they earn more and acquire assets and invest, it becomes very simple to just scale.
One of my recent workshop attendees put it really well, she said “if you cannot respect one dollar, then you won’t respect a million.”
What key lessons have you taken away from your coaching and mentorship?
I believe that finance is simple. And I am on a mission to help people understand that. The biggest lesson I learned while doing this is to relate information that is familiar to people’s everyday lives. For example a lot of people start saving very late because of a common blind spot called exponential growth bias (which is a tendency to neglect the effects of compound interest, a result of reinvesting interest earned).
So relating a concept like this to the story of The Tortoise and the Hare for instance is very effective. The story’s lesson is slow and steady as opposed to last minute rushing is what gives the best results. The same is true for saving and investing with formal institutions for purposes of earning through interest. So as much as possible I try to help simplify financial concepts in this way.
Knowing what you know now as a financial coach, what would you do differently?
Absolutely nothing. I believe my journey has allowed me to be where I am today. To give you some context, I won the Miss Tanzania pageant at a time when the biggest sponsor in its history had just pulled out. So at nineteen, I had won this title and was expected to move to Dar es Salaam where I had never lived before with cash of 8 million in prize money and a car. Historically the pageant had very few endorsements for the winner. Some quick math made it very clear that I couldn’t realistically sustain myself for a whole year on this.
Because of this I engaged in one of the first important negotiations of my life where I convinced the main sponsor to pay me a monthly salary for my living expenses. I was also very lucky to have my parents offer to top up a small balance to this amount.
I was therefore catapulted into adulthood and responsibility with a very clear sense of living within or below my means; sometimes having to make sacrifices and utilize relationships instead of money to realize my goals. This is one example of many but I am grateful for all of them. All the lessons I learned speak into my coaching so that I can teach from place of experience.
Do you mind sharing some advice on money and the pursuit of it?
I’ll borrow a quote from Simon Sinek that I will paraphrase;
Think of money as fuel and your life as the car. The purpose of a car is not to buy fuel; the purpose of your life should not be to make money. The purpose of a car is to go somewhere, fuel helps you to get there.
Therefore the purpose of your life is to accomplish something, contribute to society and find fulfillment; money will help you get there. Figure out your goals and values and understand that money is there to help you realize and amplify them.
And have you become the woman you wanted to be when you were younger?
My mother is an entrepreneur. As a contractor and owner of various businesses she was willing to sleep on construction sites with her workers or face extreme conditions to deliver for her customers. Growing up, it was rare to see a woman get her hands dirty in this way and put in 110 percent into her business. My mum was an exception and point of fascination for me.
My Dad on the other hand has dedicated his life to employment and being extremely valuable for all the organizations he has worked for. He is the most dedicated and disciplined person I know. So much so that he rarely takes leave and even on holiday is up before 6am!
I wanted to become a woman who emulated the best of both and touch as many lives as I can in a positive way, the way both my parents have done. I look around and have a true appreciation of how lucky I am to be alive in this age where I am not limited to one title and job or opportunity. I have been very blessed to have incredible people in my life. Spreading financial literacy is how I pay it forward.
This Q&A was used as the basis for the Woman Magazine article that appeared in The Citizen on May 8th 2021.
