Victoria Leandra always felt like she was in her element when surrounded by the media. She competed in beauty pageants growing up in Puerto Rico, so interviews with TV stations and newspaper outlets came natural to her.
“I was exposed to the media quite early,” Leandra, 27, said. “I was very accustomed to it. It felt really comfortable. It felt like my zone of genius – a place where I could thrive and shine.”
Leandra would later use her love for the media to shape her own career path in the industry as an independent journalist. That decision led her to form Leandra Media Group, LLC, a creative agency where she could expand her talents as a writer into other avenues like hosting and producing.
In “Moviendo La Bolsa (Moving the Bag),” a custom editorial series presented by Intuit TurboTax, Remezcla speaks with professionals like Victoria Leandra about their creative outlets and the smart money moves they make when managing their finances and diverse incomes.TurboTax is here to help everyone make their moves count. No matter how many creative endeavors they have or how unique their tax situations may be.
Born and raised in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Leandra moved to New York after graduating from high school when she received a full scholarship to Manhattan College. She earned her degree in communication and media studies in 2018 and was quickly on her way to becoming a journalist.
“It felt like this was what I was supposed to be doing,” Leandra said. “I’m generally someone who’s very curious and always asking questions. I always want to go beyond the surface level in my storytelling.”
During her career, Leandra has written about social justice, politics and entertainment for a number of outlets, including Bloomberg, HuffPost, Refinery29 and VICE. She’s interviewed everyone from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to recording artist J Balvin. She prides herself as a social-media-driven Gen-Z Latina who is different from a traditional journalist.
Currently, Leandra focuses on writing about travel, culture and food, which has taken her all over the world to places like Morocco, Italy, Malta, Portugal and many other destinations.
Her background as a journalist motivated her to become an entrepreneur and open Leandra Media Group, LLC, where she is the executive producer and host of El ADN Podcast and has worked as a social media content creator and influencer for brands like Prada, HBO and Amtrak.
“Leandra Media has always been there for me,” she said. “But it wasn’t something that was structured until about three years ago when I incorporated it and began filing taxes as a business and not as a side hustle.”
With her numerous streams of income, it’s critical for Leandra to track all her projects, so she can file her taxes correctly each year. This is where TurboTax can help. TurboTax gives its customers the opportunity to file their own taxes with confidence. They also have tax experts who can help users maneuver their way through their tax filing in both English and Spanish. TurboTax will guide customers step-by-step and guarantee calculations will be 100% accurate.*
“Every year, I could see my business was growing because I would increase revenue,” she said. “I realized I could actually do this for a living.”
We’re not going to imagine how many 1099 forms Leandra has to file each year, but anyone who finds themselves in the same situation as her should be confident in knowing that TurboTax will make the process as easy as possible and alleviate some of the stress people can feel around tax time.
“I knew I needed help because doing my taxes was giving me a headache as the numbers began to increase,” Leandra said. “Your brain is sort of divided between all these things you do, so you have to be very organized. But I’m always prepared for tax season. I write everything down. It definitely gives me an insight into my workload.”
This year, Leandra predicts her taxes will only become more complicated now that she is getting ready to enter the real estate space. She knows it’s going to be a lot of work, but is certain the numbers will add up – just as long as a partner like TurboTax is leading the effort.
“For me, money is energy,” she said. “From that mindset, I like to think that the more money I put out there, the more I get in return. So, this year I am looking forward to continuing to build my brand and making a name for myself.”
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