Nischa Shah worked as an investment banker for ten years before becoming a full-time content creator.
Nisha Shah
Personal finance YouTuber Nischa Shah quit a six-figure investment banking job to become a full-time content creator, and it’s a gamble that paid off.
After 10 years in banking, Shah became an associate director at French bank Crédit Agricole in 2022, earning well over £200,000 ($256,000). However, the London-based banker is not satisfied with her career, she told CNBC Make It.
“About nine years into the corporate journey, I found that it wasn’t fulfilling for me, it wasn’t really challenging me and it wasn’t intellectually stimulating,” she said. “I wanted to find a way to help other people while at the same time Get paid, and all I do in banking is help businesses and sovereign governments.”
She finally hit her “rock bottom” about two and a half years ago and decided to re-evaluate her life using a Law of Attraction Planner (which involves achieving goals and dreams).
“I wanted to change the course of my life,” she said. “This Law of Attraction Planner has prompts or questions such as ‘What would you do if money was no object?'”
Shah knew she was passionate about personal finance and passionate about making complex information accessible to everyone. She once helped her parents avoid a tax bill of around £40,000 when selling their house because their accountant had missed some key information.
“Just being knowledgeable about personal finance can have a huge impact on the money in your pocket,” she adds.
Shah started dabbling in producing YouTube videos Personal finance and self-development content released in December 2021 and currently has over 1 million subscribers on YouTube.
That success led her to quit her investment banking job in January — despite the fact that she would receive a six-figure bonus two months later.
It’s worth taking the risk. Shah now earns over $1 million from monetizing her YouTube videos, selling courses and products, corporate speaking engagements, and working with brands.
“I make a lot more money than in banking,” she said. “By not chasing money anymore and just chasing what I’m good at, my passion and what I really love, it’s managed to surpass anything I had before.”
Shah told CNBC Make It how she grew her YouTube channel and prepared to quit her investment banking job.
“It took 11 months to get 1,000 subscribers”
Shah’s videos cover topics including “Money habits keep you poor” and “7 Passive Income Ideas” arrive “How to invest your first $1,000her videos have between 100,000 and 9 million views.
Loyal subscribers will be familiar with Shah’s no-nonsense approach, straightforward advice and black turtlenecks. But back in 2021, Shah’s YouTube account was just a side hustle for her, and she didn’t take it seriously.
“In June 2022, everything changed. Shah decided to start posting twice a week, and finally released a video in September— A day in her life as an investment banker – resonates. She gained 50,000 subscribers in one month and earned £3,000.
“So it took me 11 months to get 1,000 subscribers, and then another two months to get 100,000 subscribers, which is crazy,” Shah said. “Simply put, this is the power of compound interest, you never know when good luck will come.”
Shah said her audience includes many young people, women and people who may not have a financial education.
“When I talk to the camera, I think of it as if I’m talking to 22 or 23-year-old me,” she said.
“There are a lot of people who are younger in their careers, they’ve started making money, but they just want to get better. They just want to know, ‘How do I use my savings? How do I increase my wealth?’ How do I adjust myself? Can I quit a job I don’t like?
Because of her banking experience and accounting qualifications, Shah saw an opportunity to become a trusted figure on the subject, especially as misleading financial content proliferates on social media.
“It’s sad that wrong advice is given on TikTok and Instagram because giving wrong advice on shampoo or lip gloss can cost someone £7, but giving wrong advice on finances can Spending someone’s life savings.
Use your day job to fund your side hustle
Shah says a day job that provides a steady income can help accelerate your side hustle’s success.
“If you don’t come from a wealthy family, it’s really important to have a steady income… but also have a job that allows you to study without any consequences,” she explained.
Shah says starting a business is a learning curve, and without backup income, the consequences — such as losing all your savings — can be dire.
“If you’re getting income from your day job but you’re also running a business on the side, then you’re working in a place where creativity thrives rather than working in a place where ‘I need to make sure I pay my bills.’ Bills, I Need to make sure the books balance’,” she said
“It makes you work under pressure, and I think that has a huge impact on whether you’re able to succeed in the entrepreneurial world.”
When Shah first started making YouTube videos, she used her investment banking earnings to invest in a £1,000 camera.
“I recommend continuing to explore a side hustle or side hustle alongside your day job for as long as possible. It gives you security. It gives you freedom or creativity. It can help you build an emergency fund and provide you with extra cash. Then you can add in your side hustle to help it succeed,” she said.
Shah established an emergency fund to support her for at least nine months after her resignation. “It doesn’t have to pay for my wonderful vacation. It doesn’t have to pay for any clothes or bags or anything like that. It just has to pay for my living expenses.”
She admitted that if she had waited until she had made a lot of money from YouTube before quitting, it would have taken her longer to achieve that goal.
“I gave it my all, which is really important, I had an emergency fund as a cushion, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I thought, ‘I’m at a crossroads. I’ve done everything I’ve known for the past nine years and it hasn’t made me any better. I’m happy…so it’s time for me to take my life into my own hands and go for it.
CNBC Make It verified Shah’s salary through her contract and tax returns, but the exact number will not be disclosed for privacy reasons. Her YouTube income from May 2023 to May 2024 was also verified by CNBC Make It through bank statements.
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Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the amount of money Shah helped her parents avoid paying in taxes when they sold their home.
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