Six Lessons from Ayesha Ofori for How Black Women Can Build Real Wealth Beyond Their Salary

At BYP Network’s Careers Fest 2025, award-winning wealth advisor and Propelle founder Ayesha Ofori delivered a masterclass in financial empowerment, especially for Black women navigating corporate spaces that weren’t built with us in mind. Her message was clear: you don’t build wealth from your salary, you build wealth from what you do with your salary.

Here are her most powerful insights.

1. Stop Thinking Your Salary Will Make You Wealthy

Ayesha reminds us that a high-paying job isn’t the path to wealth.
Your salary can keep you comfortable, but wealth comes from how you use your income, not the income itself.

2. Know Your Value — and Negotiate Strategically

Too many of us low-ball ourselves. Ayesha encourages us to:

Benchmark your salary using trusted peers, Glassdoor, LinkedIn and people who are truly your people.
Consider your total value: contribution, impact, visibility, and the ways you improve your team or organisation beyond your job description.
Increase the number you think you deserve. Most of us underestimate our worth.

Negotiation isn’t about begging. It’s about presenting clear evidence of the value you bring.

3. Corporate Success Requires Strategy, Not Just Hard Work

One of Ayesha’s biggest lessons?
Hard work alone won’t get you promoted.

When she realised others were progressing faster despite doing less, she studied the “rules of the game” and built relationships with senior leaders until she had real sponsorship behind her case for promotion.

Her strategy included:

Mapping the organisation.
Identifying decision-makers.
Building relationships through intentional coffee chats.
Getting a senior mentor to “go to bat” for her in rooms she was not in.

This support changed everything.

4. Prepare for Negotiation Months in Advance

If you only start planning at your performance review, it’s too late.

Ayesha advises:

Start preparing at least six months before you want a raise or promotion.
Track your wins, revenue, client impact, and contributions.
Make it impossible for decision-makers to say no by gathering evidence early.
Power dress, manage nerves, and practice your script. Confidence makes a difference.

And if you hear “no”?
Ask why, ask what’s missing, and email a written summary to create a paper trail for next time.

5. Build Wealth Through Investing — Not Saving

Savings alone won’t carry us through long lives or rising inflation. Ayesha shows how vital it is for women — especially Black women — to invest.

Key points:

Investing is the only way your money grows faster than inflation.
Start early: even £10 a month compounds significantly over time.
Use tax-efficient tools like ISAs, where your gains grow tax-free.
Reduce risk by investing for the long term. The longer you stay invested, the lower your chance of loss.
Find community. Learning and investing together builds confidence and consistency.

Investing isn’t reserved for the wealthy; it’s how they become wealthy.

6. Community Matters — Especially for Black Women

Ayesha founded Propel after noticing her husband had WhatsApp investment groups and his male friends openly discussed money, while women didn’t always have those spaces. She created a platform that lets women invest, learn, and grow together.

For the Network for Black Women Leaders, this reinforces why our network matters:
We rise higher when we share knowledge, support each other, and build confidence collectively.

The Wealth-Building Mindset

Ayesha’s blueprint is powerful:
Know your value. Ask for what you're worth. Invest consistently. Build community.

Wealth-building isn’t about luck or a dream salary; it’s about strategy, intention, and believing that you deserve more.

If you’re ready to take your next step, start talking about money, start investing in yourself, and remember: your salary is just the beginning.

Recommended Reading:

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel*. Behavioural understanding of wealth-building.
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill*. Classic wealth-thinking framework (use with critical lens).
The Balancing Act by Nadia Glover Tawwab*. Financial confidence requires boundaries and clarity.
Prep, Push, Pivot by Octavia Goredema*. Income growth through strategic career moves.
Mindset by Dr Carol Dweck*. Because wealth building is as psychological as it is practical.

Watch Ayesha's keynote presentation.

Stay connected

Follow the Network for Black Women Leaders on LinkedIn and join the NBWL mailing list for more events to help you build wealth and leadership development opportunities.

*Affiliate Links: We’re proud to be part of the Bookshop.org affiliate programme, an online platform that helps support local, independent bookshops with every order. When you buy a book through our links, 10% goes directly to these bookshops, and we receive a small commission to help us continue our work. It’s an easy way to champion community-based bookselling and the joy of reading, even when shopping online.

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