Everything I Wish I Never Had to Learn About Money
November 13, 2023
Pendleton, founder of the clothing company Tunnel Vision, shines in her idiosyncratic debut memoir-cum-finance guide. Raised in a money-strapped household in Fresno, Calif., Pendleton took a series of low-paying jobs before getting hired in the marketing department of a “high-end jewelry brand” where her boss taught her how to negotiate and the basics of personal finance. In 2011, she decided to start her own business redesigning and selling secondhand clothing. Describing her struggle to structure the company equitably, she explains that she initially strived for a cooperative-style arrangement that gave employees far-reaching autonomy over clothing sales, but found that this merely foisted the “stress of business ownership” onto each employee, leading her to reconfigure the business more traditionally while distributing compensation and profit evenly among employees, including herself. Pendleton is a penetrating critic of economic injustice and the shortcomings of traditional personal finance programs, noting that it’s “intrinsically impossible for everyone” to follow such common suggestions as becoming a landlord. Her substantial guidance on “how to run an equitable business” is a refreshing alternative to the lip service found in other manuals (“Be radically transparent about all things financial”; “Pay everyone equally for their labor”). This stands out from the pack. Agents: Caroline Marsiglia and Rick Richter, Aevitas Creative Management.
Starred review from December 15, 2023
A vivid account of the many challenges millennials face while trying to make it in an unforgiving economy. Pendleton opens her illuminating book with a tragedy: the suicide of a boyfriend who was suffering from the torments of money trouble and could see no way out of it. "That day," she writes, "I learned a horrible lesson: capitalism is a matter of life and death. The stakes are high, and if you lose, it might come for you in ways you'd never expect." As the author notes, the economic landscape could be characterized as dog-eat-dog, except that dogs are more cooperative and better socialized than all that. Exhibit A is a photographer the author worked for who effectively bilked her out of a quarter of her paycheck; fortunately, she jumped studios to work for another photographer who was far more honest. This story leads to a sobering observation for the corporation-haters in the crowd: "Businesses are not intrinsically any more ethical just because they are small. If anything, data shows they tend to be less ethical overall." Pendleton, like so many of her generation, trained hard for life in the economic doldrums, growing up poor in Fresno, California ("one of the poorest cities in the country"), and entering the workforce just in time for the Great Recession. A punk rock ethos also helped the author cultivate a mutual-aid, fight-the-power outlook on life, which plays out in both her personal story and in the short chapters of enumerated points of advice on things like what a credit score means and how to navigate workplace relationships ("Remember that your coworkers are not your friends"). All of this is extremely helpful to those who, like Pendleton, would otherwise have to figure it out for themselves. Move on, Jim Cramer. Here's the real deal--smart, undaunted, and eminently wise.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
January 1, 2024
Readers will be drawn to this autobiographical tale of how one woman learned to navigate finances in today's economic climate to build a multimillion-dollar business. Pendleton, founder of L.A.-based clothing company Tunnel Vision, leads readers to reject capitalist ideas and carve out a different path to financial success. Among the many perks of her company are equal shares of profits, a company car, and a four-day work week. Having grown up in poverty, Pendleton uses her experiences to set the backdrop for ultimate success in business and as a TikTok star. Her conversational writing style will draw readers into her story and give them a well-organized guide on how to approach work and money, with chapters like "Making It Out" and "Figuring Out How Hard to Work." Each chapter wraps up with a "capitalism survival skill" covering topics like how to build credit, how to buy a car, and how to feel happy when everything around you feels sad. This book will appeal to those who want to build a brand or business based on social media, especially Gen-Zers and millennials.
COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.