This Formerly Homeless Single Mom Became A Millionaire 400 Times Over
Not all wealth is inherited…
Everyone says that single parents can’t get ahead.
It’s a lie.
There once was a single Mom who had a job working at a radio station.
According to an article by the History Makers, she and her (former) husband had thought it would be a great idea to branch out and buy the radio station outright.
“Why work there when we could own it!” they thought.
They got in a little over their heads, and the stress of it made their marriage crack. Before she knew it, she was divorced with a child and had no place to live. What other option did they have?
They started living in the radio station. It’s not what this Mom had originally planned for her life, but we all have to make do with what’s handed to us, right?
Who is she? You'll have to keep reading to find out.
A teen mom starts out rough
“It was the reason I took my life seriously for the first time as a teenager and made a promise to myself, my son and God that he would not become a black statistic.” — Cathy Hughes
Our main character, Cathy Hughes, was kicked out of the house by her Mom at 16 when she found out that she was pregnant (Huffington Post).
Thankfully, her baby’s dad decided to step up and help support her. It must have been insanely difficult for her.
First, she was pregnant and on her own in a time when women were shamed for that kind of thing. It would be hard for her to find a job or child care, especially with the stigma of being an unwed teen mother in the 60s.
The successes start to stack up
I became an entrepreneur because of [my son]. One day, he had a fever and my employer said “if you walk out that door, don’t come back.” That’s when I decided I needed to be in control of my professional environment so I could be there for my child. — Cathy Hughes
She worked past all these difficulties to raise her son and land a sales manager job at a radio station when she was 26.
Her employers at the radio station realized her worth and she was promoted to general manager of the entire place within two years.
Their trust in Cathy was well-placed. She went on to dig the Station out of a huge financial hole and increase their income from $300,000 yearly to $3.5 million.
After five years at the first job, she left to become VP of a different radio station (History Makers).
When she was 33, she buys the radio station with her second husband (Cathy Hughes). Unfortunately, they divorced within the year.
The stress was too much for a young marriage.
It was a long, hard road to make the radio station profitable enough to make a decent income. She ended up having to give up her apartment and live at the station with her young son. Essentially, they were homeless.
The radio station was a financial disaster for seven years. But I stayed focused on not losing my company, and that’s why I moved into the station and did whatever it took. I was willing to let everything go except my son and my business, in that order. — Cathy Hughes
After that, the rest was history. Once she got past the 7th year of owning the radio station, she was out of debt and had learned a good format for earning money with the shows she played.
She and her son became business partners and grew the business into a multi-million dollar enterprise.
Did she feel resentful through all of this?
Did she face hard times being a woman in a position of authority at her job?
Did she have to deal with workplace bullying or harassment?
It says a lot about Ms. Hughes, that she was not only unwilling to give up her dreams of owning the station, but she also put raising her son as her first priority. She must have been a force to be reckoned with!
It is not enough for you to do your very best. You must do what is required of the situation. — Cathy Hughes
Here’s why all of this is important — it relates directly to you.
You may be pulling out your hair and frowning right now, thinking…
“I can barely stay afloat as it is. I collapse into bed at night hoping that I made enough to pay the bills.”
I get it. I was there, too.
But this is only a season in your life. You won’t be in this hard place forever.
Each day you save a small amount of money, you will start to worry less about financial struggles.
Each day you go to night school, you’re taking a step towards a better career and life for your kids.
With each step, you’re able to breathe a little easier and it grows a little brighter.
Here’s how this can affect you
People like this lady give the rest of us hope. Even if life’s handing out lemons, we really can work our way out of it.
Maybe you’re wondering, “she started off different. That’s not me. I’m dealing with….(fill in your own answer.)
Perhaps the only block standing in your way is yourself.
- Your greatest fear is that you’ll always be swamped and never be able to get out of this hard place
- You want your kids to have it better than you did
- Deep down, you really don’t believe that you have the skills, confidence, or power to do better
That kind of thinking only leads you into a spiral downwards, keeping you locked in the same place.
Do you remember that poem by Robert Frost?
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Imagine yourself six months from now. Which road did you take?
You’ve made one of two decisions:
- You don’t believe you can change your situation so you take the route that feels safe to you. “I’ll keep on doing the same things as I always have.”
- You decide to take one small step towards change every day and seek help from other people instead of trying to shoulder it all yourself.
What kind of person are you in six months?
The person in the first example will be like a toad sitting in a stagnant mud puddle, grumbling that he’s still as dirty as he was yesterday.
The person in the second example will suddenly look up and wonder, How did I get here! My life is so much better!”
I’m a single Mom. What can I do?
- Make sure that you’re surrounding yourself with a community of support. You can’t do it completely alone. It’s not showing weakness to admit your need of other people.
- Make sure you carve out time for your kids as a priority. Make each of them feel, without a doubt, that they are the most important people in your life.
- Get support from your community to train older kids in the skills that you don’t have time to teach (such as budgeting, vocational skills, or technology training). As a single parent, you won’t be able to do it all.
- Slowly grow your career skill sets. Sit down with a pastor or someone who will help you to make a career plan, then start learning the skills you’ll need to get there.
- Read Ken Coleman’s book on how to use your talents and passions to find the best career track.
- Learn financial literacy and how to invest so that you can have more career opportunities as your savings grows.
Believe me, small changes make a monumental difference when time is applied.
Take it from Cathy. She made an incredible life for herself.
Take one tiny step at a time and soon you will be amazed at the new place you are in.