166 From Teen Mom to Millionaire Entrepreneur - Farrah Abraham, Teen Mom Star & Entrepreneur

To kick off Season 7 of the Mo' Money Podcast, I chat with Teen Mom star & entrepreneur Farrah Abraham about success, overcoming obstacles & balancing work with being a single mom.

Long description:

It’s the first episode in Season 7 (yes, 7!!!) of the Mo’ Money Podcast, and boy do I have a treat for you!

This episode has been a long time coming. If you know me, then you know I’m a huge reality TV junkie. And one of the shows I’ve watched from the beginning is MTV’s 16 & Pregnant and its subsequent spin-off series Teen Mom. I’ve followed the cast members over so many years, I feel like I practically know them. Since I have been such a long-time fan, when I first started this podcast over 3 years ago, I made a list of dream guests. These were guests I hoped to have on the show once I hit a level of popularity that I could realistically get them to come on.

Well, one of those dream guests was Teen Mom‘s Farrah Abraham. If you’re watched the show, or read celebrity news, you may know she’s a bit of a controversial figure. She’s outspoken, she’s worked in the adult industry, and she isn’t your typical Teen Mom reality star. What I mean by that last bit is that most of the cast members on Teen Mom (and Teen Mom 2 for that matter), seem to mainly earn their bread and butter from the show and being a social media influencer. A few of them have started clothing lines, but in general, none of them have shown as much entrepreneurial spirit as Farrah.

There’s a reason for that, which we get into in the episode. Basically, Farrah has always wanted to be an entrepreneur and start her own businesses, even before being on the show. And despite what I thought, in that the show helped her get to where she is today, it actually hindered her in a lot of ways with lots of doors closing on her.

Nonetheless, she sure has more drive than most 27 year-olds. That’s why I wanted to focus on that for this episode, because from all the episodes of Teen Mom and articles I’ve read about her, I kind of felt like no one really asks her about her entrepreneurial journey or how she was able to build up a net worth in the millions at such a young age.

Personally, I don’t really care what’s said about her in the news or that she has businesses within the adult industry. I don’t judge people for how they earn their money. What I do judge people on are how they treat others, how professional they are, and how dependable they are. Farrah ticked all of those boxes, being nothing but pleasant during our interview, and being professional enough to reschedule our interview after our first interview date was cancelled due since it was on the day of the whole Beverly Hills Hotel situation.

Entrepreneur First, Reality Star Second

One of the things I found fascinating when talking to Farrah was that she considers herself above all else an entrepreneur, not a reality star. She’s definitely a reality star, considering she’s been on 16 & Pregnant, Teen Mom, Couples Therapy, Botched, Celebrity Big Brother UK and Million Dollar Matchmaker just to name a few. But, it was actually refreshing to hear that she didn’t choose to do 16 & Pregnant and then Teen Mom as a way to propel her career. Instead, she wanted to prove to young girls that it is possible to finish school and have a successful career, even if you are a teen mom.

More than that, it also shows she doesn’t want to be famous just to be famous. Now, she uses her fame to create new opportunities and build up her portfolio of businesses. This is to help her create a solid financial backing for herself, but also for her daughter when she grows up and wants to join the family business.

I also think it’s super admirable that Farrah didn’t just go down the easy route of being an Instagram star. You can make a ton of money partnering with brand and doing sponsored posts (and I would know), but she decided to not make that her main focus, but instead open three different brick-and-mortar businesses in Texas. That is not easy to do! I run my own business, but it’s completely online and I’m the only employee. I have such respect for people who run physical businesses with staff!

Overcoming Obstacles & Negativity

Farrah has had more than her fair share of obstacles to overcome. Starting with the father of her child passing away suddenly when she was a teen mom, to dealing with family rifts, to having constant negative media attention, to MTV deciding to fire her from the show. Most people wouldn’t be able to handle all that, especially not when in the public eye. I know I couldn’t! My feelings get hurt every time I see a mean comment from someone on my social profiles or blog!

So, I had to ask Farrah how the heck she can overcome, move on and not let all that stuff get her down. She had a few great answers. One, she’s very spiritual. I don’t really talk about this much, but spirituality and believing in a higher power is also very important to me. It grounds me and reminds me that I’m not the centre of the universe. This is what also grounds Farrah, helps her move passed obstacles, and feel like she has a purpose on Earth.

Another answer Farrah gave was that it’s important to surround yourself with people who are supportive and have positive energy. You can be tough as nails and ignore negative people, but it still can chip away at you. Instead, remove all those negative people or situations from your life, so you can focus on the positive. It’s definitely something I’ve done. In my lifetime, I’ve definitely had to quit jobs or remove friends from my circle who weren’t adding to my life, only detracting from it.

What’s Next for Farrah?

She’s got three 2 year-old brick-and-mortar businesses. She’s got a best-selling book. She’s got millions of fans on social media. From the outside looking in, it looks like she’s got a pretty cushy set-up and could easily retire early. But, that’s not what she wants to do. Instead, she hopes to develop her book about her life story into a movie, and become a director and producer in the film & TV industry. She also has plans to write her first business book. And I can’t wait to have her back on the show to talk about it!

For full episode show notes, visit: https://jessicamoorhouse.com/166