This story appears in the March 2025 issue of Utah Business. Subscribe.
Once a month, Utah Business hosts Founder Friday, a free event that showcases the wisdom of Utah-based founders. In February, Kiln hosted a conversation between Utah Business Editor-in-Chief Melanie Jones and SheMoney founder Jacki Zehner. This event was sponsored by Kiln, Comma Copywriters and Kajae. Here are a few takeaways from the conversation.
1. Address your emotional relationship with money first.
Traditional financial education focuses heavily on tactical skills, but Zehner believes the foundation of financial literacy is built on your money mindset.
“Getting good with your money is getting good with your money here and here first,” she says, pointing to her head and heart. “Your amygdala is hijacked when we think about money because maybe it’s been used as a tool to abuse. Maybe you think you don’t have enough, you have shame, you spent too much, or you don’t know enough.”
Zehner believes the term “financial literacy” itself can be problematic, as it implies someone should already know these skills. She advocates for a more compassionate approach where money is viewed as a resource to help you and your loved ones thrive rather than a source of stress or shame.
2. Normalize financial ambition.
As a small-town girl making minimum wage working the local hockey arena’s concession stand, Zehner resolved to have $1 million by the time she was 30 years old — a goal that encouraged her to pursue a career in finance and eventually become the first woman and youngest person to become a partner at Goldman Sachs as a trader.
Today, a significant part of Zehner’s work centers around pursuing wealth and having financial conversations. She strongly expresses this sentiment: It’s OK to want money.
“It’s OK to want to be wealthy, to make more, to negotiate your salary, to invest, to talk about money,” Zehner says, emphasizing that women in particular often face barriers around money confidence and self-worth. She strives to help women understand that they can pursue wealth, choose high-paying careers, negotiate salaries and invest without apology.
3. Make intentional money moves.
With SheMoney, Zehner created a framework of seven “money moves” that encompass the different actions you can take with your money: spend, invest, give, save, borrow, earn and protect.
“Every day, you’re making moves in one category or another,” Zehner says. To make these concepts more accessible and fun, the SheMoney team even created dance moves to correspond with each category.
4. Have conversations and utilize resources.
Like any other skill, money management must be learned and practiced. Nurturing connections that increase social mobility, having conversations with others and utilizing educational resources like SheMoney can help.
“The place to start getting good with money is right here, right now,” Zehner says. “That, like anything else, is a conscious choice.”
Her vision for democratizing financial education includes several upcoming initiatives and projects, including a book she’s writing about women’s financial engagement and the launch of UP — a new female-forward social platform designed to be “a place for women to share, connect and amplify.
