Nicole Ayub of Manhattan on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Nicole Ayub. Check out our conversation below.

Nicole, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do you think is misunderstood about your business? 
People often assume that, as a wealth or money coach, my business must resemble every other coach in the personal finance space and that I’m here to preach budgets, strict rules, and the traditional “do more with less” mindset. But the truth is, my work has very little in common with conventional personal finance teachings.

Traditional personal finance focuses on rigid tactics: budget every dollar, live below your means, avoid debt at all costs, restrict, shrink, tighten. These principles were born in a different era, and most of them are infused with fear, scarcity, and the belief that safety comes only through limitation. And while those teachings may work for some, they don’t create lasting empowerment or a deeper sense of wealth.

My approach is entirely different.

I look at money through the lens of alignment, expansion, and emotional and energetic truth. My work is built on a powerful trinity:
the numbers and financial strategy, the emotional and nervous system component, and aligned action that actually reflects who you are becoming.

Because money isn’t just math…it’s relationship, identity, and energy.

I created this business to help people transform that relationship. Not through shame. Not through restriction. Not through outdated rules that keep you in survival mode. But through a grounded, holistic, modern approach to wealth, one that rewires your internal experience with money so you can make decisions from clarity, confidence, and possibility.

This work goes far beyond “here’s how to pay down your debt.”
It’s about helping you build a healthy, empowered relationship with money, one that supports the life you desire to live, not the life you’re told you should settle for.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’ve been working in the finance industry and on Wall Street since 2013, and from the very beginning, I saw something the industry wasn’t addressing. Traditional finance caters almost exclusively to individuals who already have wealth—yet it offers little guidance to those who are still trying to build it, break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, or understand where to even begin.

I created Wall Street Girl Next Door to fill those gaps.
To offer the support, education, and mindset work that the industry has overlooked for far too long.

We are never taught how to have a healthy, empowered relationship with money. But your beliefs shape how you behave with money, and your emotional relationship with it influences every financial decision you make. Money is deeply personal… it’s identity, safety, possibility, and emotion all woven together.

My mission is to help women transform that relationship.
To shift from fear, confusion, or avoidance into clarity, confidence, and choice.

I empower women to take control of their finances so they can build real options, create stability, and live life on their own terms…with freedom, confidence, and undeniable self-trust.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
In 2011, I backpacked through Southeast Asia, and that journey completely shifted the way I see the world. Experiencing how different cultures and communities live—especially outside the lens of Western privilege—gave me a level of perspective I didn’t even realize I needed. Growing up in Southern California can feel like living in a bubble, and witnessing life in other parts of the world was deeply humbling and eye-opening.

That trip sparked my passion for traveling to developing countries and exploring places far off the beaten path. I love discovering new corners of the world, learning from the people who live there, and expanding my understanding of what resilience and resourcefulness truly look like.

It also planted a long-term vision in me:
to one day teach women in developing countries how to manage money, build confidence, and create financial stability for themselves and their families.

That experience didn’t just change how I view the world,,, it helped shape the woman, coach, and mission-driven leader I am today.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
In 2019, I got sober and it changed everything. Before sobriety, I had spent years suppressing a lifetime of pain, anger, and sadness. When I removed the things that kept me numb, I finally had to face the weight I’d been carrying. That healing journey became one of the hardest and most beautiful experiences of my life, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

When you’re willing to go into the deepest parts of your soul and confront your demons head-on, you come out the other side with a profound sense of strength. You realize: If I can survive that, I can survive anything.

I carry that emotional depth, resilience, and inner work into my business. My healing taught me that true freedom comes from within, and that includes financial freedom. Now, I help others access that same sense of liberation with their money, so they can build lives rooted in alignment, joy, empowerment, and self-trust.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely. I take pride in showing up as my most authentic self, because that’s ultimately what draws the right people to my brand and my philosophy. If I were to hide who I am or dilute my core beliefs, I wouldn’t attract aligned clients and that’s not the kind of business I want to build.

I’ll be honest, embracing authenticity has been a journey, and it hasn’t always been easy. But the more I lean into who I truly am, the more liberating it becomes. Each day I feel myself stepping deeper into the real me—and allowing that version to be fully seen in my work is both empowering and exciting.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
Most people believe that once they make more money, everything will finally “click” and that their relationship with money will magically become healthy, peaceful, and effortless. But more money on its own does *”not*” fix your relationship with money. It doesn’t dissolve scarcity. It doesn’t stop overspending. It doesn’t create safety in your nervous system. And it certainly doesn’t bring you peace.

I’ve seen people earn millions of dollars a year and still feel broke, panicked, and out of control. They overspend, they chase more, and they constantly feel behind because their internal relationship with money was never healed.

This is why the work has to happen at a core level.

If you’re wired for scarcity, no amount of income will ever feel like enough.
If your beliefs around money are rooted in fear, shame, or chaos, you’ll carry that same energy into every dollar you touch.
And if you don’t heal the emotional and mental layers of your money story, then “making more” becomes a temporary high, not a lasting solution.

This is the same reason most lottery winners end up broke within a few years. They received more money, but their mindset, patterns, and relationship with money never changed.

If you want a relationship with money that feels healthy, expansive, and truly liberating, then you must transform the internal experience—not just the external numbers.

You must learn to feel safe with money.
You must rewire your beliefs, your patterns, and your emotional responses.
You must shift from survival mode into self-trust, alignment, and empowerment.

Because when your inner relationship with money changes, everything else changes with it. And that’s the work I’m here to help you do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wallstreetgirlnextdoor.com
• Instagram: wallstreetgirlnextdoor
• Other: TikTok @wallstreetgirlnextdoor