The Money Fit Show · Season 2, Episode 28
From Government Assistance to Millionaire
Tiffany Harris describes growing up in poverty, using public assistance, making credit mistakes at a young age, pursuing several different careers, surviving a serious health crisis, and eventually building Kustom Kreationz Wholesale. She joins Todd Christensen to discuss persistence, education, debt, credit, entrepreneurship, and learning to try again when the first plan does not work.
Trying again when the first path does not work
Play Season 2, Episode 28 directly through Spotify without leaving Money Fit.
A financial starting point does not have to determine the ending
Tiffany Harris describes growing up in a low-income neighborhood in Philadelphia without many entrepreneurial role models. Her path eventually included multiple college degrees, nursing, human resources, teaching, side businesses, and entrepreneurship.
Her finances were not a straight line upward. Tiffany says she damaged her credit after getting credit cards while young, later had to learn how credit worked, and spent time rebuilding. She also continued operating a side business after suffering a stroke while working as a teacher.
Kustom Kreationz Wholesale grew from a practical problem. While preparing for her wedding, Tiffany struggled to find customized items at the price and quality she wanted. She began learning how to make them herself, discovered sublimation printing, and eventually developed those skills into a business.
Topics covered in this episode
- How sublimation printing can be used to transfer designs onto apparel and other products.
- Growing up without many examples of entrepreneurship and later learning how to build a business through experience.
- Tiffany's experience working as a teacher until suffering a stroke in the teachers' lounge.
- Beginning to work at age 14 and developing an early expectation that earning money required taking action.
- Tiffany's belief that confidence and persistence helped her continue moving through obstacles.
- Completing five college degrees while continuing to reassess what kind of career she actually wanted.
- An earlier plan to own and operate a hotel and restaurant.
- Earning a nursing degree and later recognizing that nursing was not the profession she wanted to pursue.
- Completing an MBA and a master's degree in human resources before later entering education.
- Continuing to operate a side business during recovery from her stroke, including adapting to typing with one hand.
- Identifying something she wanted, determining what it would cost, and then working backward to determine how she could earn or save the money.
- Comparing an earlier family trip to Disney with later visits as a way of reflecting on how her financial circumstances had changed.
- Getting credit cards at a young age, making mistakes with them, and damaging her credit before fully understanding how borrowing worked.
- Learning more about credit, payment history, borrowing, and what lenders evaluate when deciding whether to extend credit.
- Tiffany's personal approach to prioritizing certain newer debts while rebuilding her finances. The order that makes sense for debt repayment can differ based on balances, interest rates, account status, collection activity, and individual goals.
- Why rebuilding credit generally requires patience and consistent financial habits rather than expecting one quick change to repair everything.
- Starting Kustom Kreationz while preparing for her wedding because she could not find the customized products she wanted at a price she considered reasonable.
- Tiffany's approach of improving an existing idea or process instead of assuming every business needs to invent something completely new.
- Writing The Makings of Me about experiences that included poverty, public assistance, violence, depression, suicidal thoughts, health problems, and other personal hardships.
- Building educational programs intended to help entrepreneurs learn more about business operations and business credit.
- Her recurring message that an unsuccessful attempt can be a reason to change the approach and try again rather than automatically abandoning the goal.
Rebuilding credit is a process, not a shortcut
Start with an accurate picture of what you owe and what appears on your credit reports. Bring current accounts up to date when possible, make future payments on time, reduce revolving balances, address delinquent accounts, and avoid taking on new debt simply to create the appearance of progress. Which debt should receive extra money first depends on the account terms and your overall financial situation.
Debt, credit, and Tiffany's story
Tiffany's book expands on the personal and financial experiences discussed in the episode. Money Fit resources can help consumers work through debt and credit questions using information based on their own accounts and circumstances.
Tiffany Harris
Tiffany Harris joined Todd Christensen as the founder of Kustom Kreationz Wholesale, an entrepreneur, educator, and author of The Makings of Me: My Journey to 7 Figures from My Living Room.
Her professional path has included nursing education, human resources, teaching, customized products, sublimation printing, entrepreneurship, business education, and speaking.
Recent public profiles continue to identify Tiffany as CEO of Kustom Kreationz Wholesale and describe her work helping entrepreneurs develop businesses, systems, and income. Her financial and business results describe her own experience and should not be interpreted as a typical or guaranteed outcome.
