To all the finance bros at my college this ones for you, the video caption reads.

What are you going to do with a theatre degree?

For a moment, Dunlap looks thrown by the question.

Tori Dunlap laughs while standing between to high rise buildings. She saved $100K by 25 and now she’s empowering women to do the same on TikTok.

Dunlap’s advice for people who want to make money off their TikTok is to watch plenty of videos first. “I understood what worked and what didn’t just because of what I consumed,” she said. “So I didn’t just dive in.” Photo courtesy of Tori Dunlap

Then she drops the act.

She smirks as she points to a list of accomplishments popping onto the screen.

Become the youngest manager at my company.

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Quit my day job and go full-time entrepreneur.

She throws up her two middle fingers instead.

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Within two weeks, she knew the 9-to-5 life wasnt for her.

So, she started aside hustle.

She founded Her First 100K, a website dedicated to helping women become financially independent.

The name reflected her personal goal of saving $100,000 by the time she was 25.

Technically, she reached that goal when she was 25 years and 3 months old.

At the suggestion of her money-conscious dad, she started purchasing candy vending machines.

She had 15 machines by the time she was in high school.

After 11 years, she sold that business to a 10-year-old girl.

Her journey to save $100,000 was her next biggest financial milestone, but a much more complicated one.

She found a new job andnegotiated a salarythat was $20,000 higher.

It seemed less than perfect, but she got more money.

But the extra money turned out not to be worth it.

I had a boss who was not very supportive, Dunlap said.

For the next three months, Dunlap had no idea if shed make her $100,000 goal.

She lived off heremergency fundand wasnt sure how long shed have to stretch it for.

The anxiety was worth it.

She learned that loving life was worth more than a $20,000 raise.

Dunlap eventually found work as a digital marketing manager.

But in November 2019, she left her day job to focus on Her First 100K.

In her first eight months of full-time entrepreneurship, the venture made $250,000 in revenue.

I got a masterclass from my dad, Dunlap said.

I watched him do that and I wanted to feel confident doing that…

I say to my clients that negotiation is a muscle.

So the more that you might do it, the more confident youre going to feel.

One of the best moves she made early on was using the apps live function to answer peoples questions.

That was a simple way, she found, to build trust and credibility through direct communication.

Dunlap also follows TikTokers who arent in the personal finance space and are doing interesting things with trends.

Then, shell kind of do that trend, but with the personal finance spin on it.

Her best advice for anyone interested in making money off their TikTok is to watch plenty of videos first.

I understood what worked and what didnt just because of what I consumed, she said.

So I didnt just dive in.

She recommends researching hashtags and then testing them until something sticks.

Dunlap gets her fair share of haters.

I posted a video that apparently people did not like, she said.

I was just wearing a dress and I didnt have a bra on and people roasted me for it.

So its a constant battle.

But Dunlap knows shes providing value to people.

I know because I get messages literally every day from women saying Im changing their lives, she said.

So thats what I focus on.

Niki Kottmann is a contributor to The Penny Hoarder.

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