Money Stories: Sophie Muir

Sophie started her PR career over in London, working in travel PR for tourism boards such as the Las Vegas Tourism Board and Tourism & Events Queensland. After much fun in London, Sydney was calling her back home. Upon return she joined a boutique PR agency and then moved to a larger agency where she worked on FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) brands and loved it! She’s managed campaigns for household names like Heineken, Cadbury, Coca-Cola and even done crisis management for Malaysia Airlines. In 2018 Sophie was ready to step into her light and founded Sophie Muir PR. True start-up form, the early days of her business involved working from cafes & her living room floor. The hard work paid off and within a year she’d partnered with Bamboo Marketing and rebranded the business to Maven PR! She now has a team of five working for her and impressive client list including brands like Tia Maria, Disaronno, The Dermal Diary, Amici Collective and Peaches Pilates. Last year and just for fun, she and a gal pal, Anna Mace, started Sydney Sweatworking - it’s like networking but with workouts and wine! Sophie joins me to share her real, relatable and inspiring money story.

What’s one of your earliest money memories? 

Probably my earliest memories of money was my mum paying me to clean my brother’s room when I was 5 years old. My brother was 3 and Mum had mastered teaching 5 year old me the importance of a clean room so she used to pay me $5 to clean my own room and my brother’s. I then used to vacuum and ask for a bonus so perhaps I was hustling from a young age?

How would you describe your relationship with money today?

A huge improvement compared to younger me! I think starting my own business really helped me to appreciate my income so much more. Those months where you don’t take a full salary during the early days will always force you to budget more efficiently. This has meant now that the business is in a really strong financial position. Now, I make much more strategic decisions to look at budgets on a more long term basis, rather than attacking things month by month like the early days of the agency when it was just me.

Was there a particular moment or event where you decided to make your financial wellbeing a priority?

I was an impulsive spender and had been for years. I didn’t get my first credit card until I was 24 but when I did it felt like free money and I racked up quite a bit of debt. That credit card debt didn’t really matter to me at first; I would always tell myself: ‘next month’s pay cheque will pay it off’. Things changed when I started running my own business and I managed all the finances for the first year!

What’s your biggest money regret? 

My biggest regret apart from racking up a lot of credit card debt in my early 20s, was being sold the dream of a ‘debt agreement’. Now a debt agreement sounds like a quick, easy fix. These companies tell you, it’s built into government legislation and it’s here to help people like you! But it’s not a quick fix, you pay all your creditors off weekly over 5 years. Whilst that weekly payment does seem easier to manage, it prohibits you from getting a credit card for those 5 years. That includes a credit card for your business, which makes a huge difference to your cash flow. That was a big lesson for me that I wish I could tell my younger self. 

Best piece of financial advice you’ve ever received?

My first boss in PR, back when I was an intern in London, saw that I had started Maven PR and he sent me this book all the way from the UK, saying it helped him a lot when he started his agency! The book is called ‘Profit First’ - it’s changed how I look at my company's finances! The basic concept is quite literally in the title; it’s about allocating profit before you work through your expenses. It forces you to hustle harder and be clever with your spending.

What’s your favourite thing to splurge money on?

Tasty, and often expensive, dinners. I’m an ‘experience’ kind of girl - though I do love shoes too - so going out for a delicious meal at one of Sydney’s hottest restaurants is my favourite way to splurge because you can do it with your friends, enjoy some amazing food and wine and reward yourself after a long week. Obviously counting the days for Sydney restaurants to reopen in full capacity! 

Can you tell me about your proudest money moment?

When my business started to turn a profit. I turned a pretty significant monthly profit after one year into setting up my agency. I was so proud that my hard work was finally starting to pay off, and quite early for a new business too. My first year in business there were months where I didn’t know how I was going to pay my rent! I was freelancing for other agencies just to get by, because clients wouldn’t always convert or budgets for projects would get cut back. I’m sure most business owners would agree that the first month that you make a profit is a huge deal.

Where or who do you go to when you wanna learn about money?

The amazing finance team at Lolly Jar Accountancy guides me through everything when it comes to Maven’s finances. But I’m very lucky that my partner works in finance and is very savvy when it comes to personal finance, super etc. Though he’s even told me I need a financial coach like Betsy!

What would you do if you won $100,000 today?

I would spend $20k on an epic holiday, buy myself a Chanel handbag - something I’ve always said I’ll treat myself to when I feel like I’ve really ‘made it’. Donate $10k to  Crohn’s and Colitis Australia, then invest the rest back into Maven PR.

How do you use your money as a force for good?

I’m a firm believer in supporting small business. Maven PR is a small business, we work with other small businesses and I buy all my clothes, accessories and beauty products from Australian owned businesses. I think this is more important than ever before given the crises Australia has faced this year, from Bushfires to floods to COVID-19. If I can’t use my money then I use my time and my skill set. Earlier this year I felt helpless watching the bushfire crisis unfold so I rallied some clients and colleagues to host a fundraiser for the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal. I truly believe that you can always offer some support, even if it’s not monetary.

You can find out more about Sophie & the talented Maven PR team by checking out their website, www.mavenpr.agency , or do what I do and just stalk her on instagram and lust after all the fabulous events she attends (preCOVID) on instagram @maven.pr & @sophiekmuir.

This article was originally published 10 June 2020