I was born in Poland and my family immigrated to the USA as refugees when I was 3 years old.  They moved the family to New Jersey in hopes of a better life for themselves and me.

Money was tight when I was growing up.

It was a huge source of stress in my household and I was very aware of that, even at a young age.  As a kid I attached a lot of my self worth and happiness to the amount of money my family had.

I frequently felt stupid and worthless because we were not rich. My “money story” started here and it would be up to me to write a new chapter.

The pinnacle of my self loathing came when I was 13 and developed a hormonal sweat problem under my armpits, which turned out to be a life changing experience.  I came up with my very own solution for my sweat pits… I duct taped my armpits shut.  But more about that Sweaty Armpit Duct Tape Girl later… .

Then at 18 I went to college and received my BBA in Accounting from Virginia’s James Madison University.  After college, I relocated to Los Angeles and began my career in Public Accounting at Deloitte & Touche, one of the Big Four public firms.

It only took one year in corporate America for me to realize I was really an entrepreneur at heart, so I left Deloitte and launched Agatha K, LLC in 2002.  When I started out I had no clients and no money.

I booked my first client from a Craigslist want ad.  They were a small mold removal company in Santa Monica.  From there I got other clients through Craigslist and word of mouth until I looked up two years later and somehow had a business!

After 5 years in LA I decided to head back east to be closer to my family.  I let go of all my LA clients and started with nothing once more in New York City.

This time I went to all the business networking events I could find and that did the trick. Within only 3 months business really began booming.

I booked my largest client then – a $5 billion hedge fund – and saw wealth on a level I had never seen before.

Even though I was a successful entrepreneur, on the inside I still felt lonely, miserable, and worthless.  I had spent many years successfully helping others with their money but I was actually broke and in a lot of debt.

I didn’t know how to help myself.  No one had ever taught me, at home or in school, how to handle my own finances.  I allowed that, among other things, to make me feel stupid, ashamed, and worthless.

But by age 29 I was completely fed up with being broke and sad all the time, so I decided to go out into the world and create the life I always dreamed about.  I moved back to LA and re-built my client base there yet again (yes, that is rebuild #3 LOL).

But this time I wanted to do things in my business that I thought were fun like creating online courses about money, public speaking, and writing a book about Sweaty Armpit Duct Tape Girl (in stores 2012).

Once I did that everything started to fall into place, with both my money and my happiness.  And now I finally have the freedom to do the things I always wanted without having money dictate the choices I make for my life.

So my life’s mission is to inspire college aged and post college people to have fun with their lives and their money.  Remember, money is just a tool.  When used right, it gives you the freedom to do what you want to do, not what you have to do!

How cool is that?!?

Agatha K Bio:

BBA in Accounting, Virginia’s James Madison University.
Accountant at Deloitte & Touche, one of the Big Four public accounting firms.
Entrepreneur, Agatha K, LLC in 2002.
Author, Sweaty Armpit Duct Tape Girl, in 2012.