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This is the G podcast where we focus on family, friends, finances, freedom in our future and everything else.

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This is the podcast tonight.

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We are live and we are featuring Lawrence Watkins.

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We're getting right to it.

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Y'all already know what it is.

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This is the G podcast where we focus on family, friends, finances, freedom in our future and everything else.

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This is the podcast and we got Lawrence Watkins in the building.

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Give it up one more time.

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Appreciate you joining big homie.

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Hey, I'm very happy to be here.

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Appreciate I love that introduction and that model that you have opened up your show.

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That's a good model to live by.

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I appreciate that.

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I appreciate that.

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We're going to get right into this discussion.

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I value this gentleman's time.

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We actually cross paths once randomly.

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And this is also just a power.

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I think of what we're going to continue to talk about to just networking, meeting people,

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because I was living in Amsterdam, my wife and I, and all of a sudden we had a gathering on that night.

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And she mentioned that this guy named Lawrence will be coming through with his wife and they were in town from Amsterdam.

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Right. I'm just curious, Lawrence, just from your point of view for everybody listening,

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like how did you end up at my house that night in Amsterdam, if you even remember?

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I don't fully remember, but I do know that it was during the year that me and my wife, it was at that time,

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this is, I guess must have been like 2016 or so.

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Me and my wife had only been married for about a year or so, or it may have been 2017.

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She had quit her corporate job, actually, government job as an engineer.

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And we decided to just put everything in storage and travel throughout Europe and South America for one year.

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And we were at like the tours, the end of that particular trip.

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And I just remember maybe posting on Facebook, maybe some funny story about my wife or about myself

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in terms of being in Amsterdam, you know, loving life.

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And then your wife hit me up.

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I don't know if you say her name on the podcast or not, but yeah, she hit me up.

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She's going to be on next week. Spoiler alert.

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She's going to be on live next week.

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So Carmiga hit me up.

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Yeah, so she hit me up.

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It was like, hey, well, you know, me and my husband live here in Amsterdam.

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I was like, what?

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And I was like, all right, well, let's definitely link up.

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And that was definitely a memorable experience.

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I remember your home being very beautiful in Amsterdam and a lot of beautiful people,

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beautiful friends that surrounded you at the same time.

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Yeah, most definitely, most definitely.

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And that was that was my first time getting introduced to you.

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So I'm looking forward just to learning a little bit more about like your background,

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how you were brought up, especially given, you know, what you do today and having that entrepreneurial background.

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I really am curious, like from a from a household perspective,

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where both parents in the household and how would you describe, like, where you were born and raised?

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You know, I was born into a solidly middle class black family, suburban in Louisville, Kentucky.

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All right. I think a lot of times people just make assumptions in regards to how one was brought up,

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what their background was like, that type of thing.

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But I grew up with two loving parents.

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They love me to death. My dad was a high ranking police official in Louisville.

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My mom was a high school counselor.

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And just through those experiences and just the love that they showed me between, I guess, my parents and myself,

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but then also just the extended family to my grandparents, my cousins, I have a lot of cousins as well.

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Grew up in a very loving, caring environment that supported one another.

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And that's something that, as I think about the next generation, is a thing that I want to provide for my children as well.

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OK, OK. You say you were born in Louisville.

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Did you like were you born and raised there through your high school years or like how much time did you spend growing up in Louisville?

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Yeah, the first 22 years of my life are spent in Louisville.

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So after college, I realized even before that, of course, when I was growing up, people knew that I was good in math and science.

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And kind of funneled me towards that track.

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And after high school, I decided to attend engineering school at the University of Louisville.

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It's called the school of engineering. Got my degree in electrical engineering.

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But throughout the course of getting my degree, I realized that electrical engineering wasn't for me.

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So I did a couple of internships, actually three, at Ford Motor Company.

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And I remember. So there's this big Ford plant in Kentucky called the Kentucky Truck Plant.

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It's miles and miles long, miles and miles deep.

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At the time, it was one of the largest manufacturing facilities in the nation.

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Definitely car manufacturing facilities in the nation.

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And however grateful I was for the opportunity, I hated smelling paint fumes every day because I worked two semesters in the paint department.

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I had to wear these overalls like, you know, I was working at the Jiffy Lube up the street or whatever it might have been.

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And then one semester I was actually in the body shop making F-250, F-350 trucks.

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But my job, so two things. One, you would go down to the floor and all these robots, just lines and lines of robots.

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And sparks would just fly all over the place.

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And I remember just always coming home with burn holes in my shirt because of all the sparks actually flying.

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And then as an intern, they gave me like the most boring job ever.

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Basically, for eight hours a day, my job was to go down to the line of color.

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All right. So my job was to look at each robot and double check that that specific robot was making the proper welds on the actual vehicle.

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So it was like very extremely tedious work that I actually had to do.

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And I say to this day that I must have been like the worst employee in the Ford Motor Company history because that was a job that I was not passionate about and I did not want to do.

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But I still thank them to this day for this opportunity.

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And actually, that was a good guidepost and a good point to show me what well, sometimes knowing what you don't want to do with your life, it's just as good as what you do want to do.

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So I can rule that off the list.

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Like I do not want to work in a manufacturing facility making cars.

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So I decided to go, like, I guess, a different path after college.

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So you you you originally pursue, you say electrical engineering?

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I'm double A. So my background is in double A. So I was an electrical engineer.

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Oh, OK, you're you're growing up like what is it about growing up that said, I'm going to go to school and major in electrical engineering?

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Like, I'm even curious, like from from a household perspective, was was college like an expectation?

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Was it something that you were like one of the first to do?

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Like, I'm curious, like, how did you get to just the thought of majoring in electrical engineering?

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So I would say college was an expectation.

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So that's the first thing. So even though I'm I don't I guess I'm technically second generation college.

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But my parents went to community college first and then had a long road to get their actual degree,

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you know, criminal justice and education with my mom.

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But my brother, by this time, was working on his Ph.D.

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Right. And my sister was, I believe, in medical school, you know, when I was on my way to college.

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Right. So college wasn't something that was foreign to our family.

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And then my cousins went and graduated.

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So it wasn't something that just no one even heard about or anything like that.

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I mean, we're struggling to try to try to like succeed in. But it was a well-beaten, well-worn path by this point.

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Also, I had a lot of college prep in high school.

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So when I was in high school, I did a program that really changed my life.

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It was called Math and Science for Minority Students, MS Squared.

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And basically, they sent you for three summers for six weeks each summer to Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts,

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which is the highest ranking or the most prestigious boarding school in the country.

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So for there or every summer there for five hours, every single day, I would study math and science.

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Right. Yeah. So in terms of just like having a leg up when it comes to succeeding in school, I've always kind of had that.

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It was something really preached to us growing up as a family.

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So even though my parents didn't always necessarily know how to do it themselves,

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they were able to provide me the right guideposts and the resources to actually make that happen.

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OK. OK. Very nice. Very nice.

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I guess I got one more question about because what I know about Louisville is Muhammad Ali.

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And I'm not I've never been to Kentucky, but I do enjoy bourbon.

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So, you know, so I got I got just two questions like I'm curious, like just and also to growing up in North Carolina,

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I feel like Kentucky is even way more racist. I don't know if that's just bias.

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I don't know if that's like irrational, but I'm just curious, like,

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how would you just describe your experience growing up in Louisville, especially given like the fact that someone like Muhammad,

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that that's Muhammad Ali's hometown and it has a certain, I think, maybe perception when you grow up outside of that city.

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I think that's always the ambiance or I guess the the spirit of Ali is all around,

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or at least when I was growing up, because Ali wasn't just a figure.

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There are people in our family extended who knew Muhammad Ali was the age difference between

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my grandmother on my mom's side and my mom and Ali is like very, very small.

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So from that perspective, they knew him before he became a mega famous superstar.

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That was the icon, the sports icon around the globe.

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But I think as a city, we take it as a source of pride and strength that someone like Ali came out of Louisville.

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And also just the fact that Ali could come out of Louisville and do something great.

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I know that I can, too. Right. That definitely was the mindset that we had.

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And for black people specifically, he was definitely a cultural icon for the city in general,

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but especially for black people in the city. Ali, of course, is definitely a cultural icon.

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And one thing I always loved about Ali is that no matter how famous he became,

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he always took it back to being from Louisville, Kentucky.

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If you watch his post game or not post game, post fight interviews, like that type of thing,

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when he had his fight against Foreman, George Foreman, the same thing, the first in Zaire,

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he was talking about that in regards to like, I want to thank my hometown, Louisville, Kentucky.

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Louisville is the greatest, all those different types of things.

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And that's always something I've kind of taken with me in terms of me, what I do now,

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and just what I do in general is try to promote Louisville as much as possible because I love the city.

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From a from a bourbon perspective, are you a fan?

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Is it is it just you have to be like, I'm just curious, like, is it or being from there is just kind of like.

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People love their bourbon in Kentucky and Louisville, and they use it as a source of like things to talk about within the city.

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I don't drink alcohol, so. So for me, it's like, yeah, we're known for bourbon.

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I know which friends to point you to if you ever wanted to go deeper on that pathway in terms of doing bourbon tours and that type of stuff in the city.

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But myself, you know, that was never, you know, never something that I got into.

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Although my wife does love no bourbon, she loves whiskey, but I just know I just I don't drink.

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Got it. Got it. I'm curious if you if you go to school for electrical engineering,

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like at what point did the entrepreneur start?

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Because I think, you know, you know, like I'm hearing you say you grow up in a household like what did your parents have side hustles as entrepreneurs growing up?

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Like at what point did the idea of like, you know what, I need to kind of kind of do something a little different here, really start to creep in.

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You know, I think it was always in me in terms of just who I was temperament wise and just also personality wise and even identity wise when I was very young.

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Right. So I remember this is the mid 90s at the height of Michael Jordan winning championships and that type of thing.

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I remember just always going out and playing ball in the neighborhood with my friends and everybody like, oh, I'm going to be Jordan, I'm going to be this, I want to be that.

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And for some reason, I just always pictured me being the owner of the team.

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I don't know where that came from. I really to this day don't know where that idea came from, where I even learned about what ownership actually was.

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Right. But I had just wanted to be the owner of the team. And I took it very seriously from like an identity standpoint.

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So I also remember in high school, I always had an entrepreneurial spirit, too.

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I remember being the first kid on the bus that had like a CD burner.

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So I would burn CDs for mixtapes for all the kids on the bus and charge whatever the going price was, two, three dollars at the time to be able to burn people's favorite CDs and that type of stuff.

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So although highly illegal nowadays, right.

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Well, not highly, mildly illegal, as I say, but yes, the music industry, highly illegal.

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All right. I'll say what to do that. And that's something I enjoy doing.

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I remember being in 10th grade in biology class, we were allowed to have one cheat sheet note card that was like two sided where you could take into your test to remember, you know, osmosis or whatever,

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phobosynthesis or whatever terminology that we needed for the actual test.

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And I remember mass producing those note cards for all 30 kids in the class and selling them.

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All right. And it's just something that I really enjoyed doing.

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And it was a passion of mine was figuring out different ways to make money and making sure my ideas actually worked.

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It was through that experience that I remember to always get paid in advance, you know, with bad credit.

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Because some of them kids would take my note card and use them then pay me.

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So that was one of the first earlier experiences that I learned in terms of that lesson.

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You know, so not only did you have the entrepreneurial spirit early on, you were still focused on uplifting the community.

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Shout out. We got to shout out to people like you who help people like me get through public school through K-12.

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It's so necessary. It's wow, man. Shout out again, man.

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It's OK. That's that's here.

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OK, so I'm hearing that you always sort of had to you.

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You ended up going back to school and and I guess my question is, like, what made you say go back to school versus do something else at that time?

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And if you had the experience as an intern, you have this natural itch.

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But like, what made you say, you know what, let me go back to grad school.

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And why did you end up going back for for the program you chose?

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Well, you know, there's some time in between that of about, I think, two years or so.

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So during my senior year of college, my last year of college, I actually spent five years in undergrad

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because I did some additional programs, summer programs and other types of things in those internships as well.

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Yeah, I had already made the decision that like my my interest lied somewhere else.

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Right. So me finishing my engineering degree was because, well, by the time I figured that I was already three years in, I was still doing pretty good at it.

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So I might as well just finish getting this degree, this stamp of approval to say I can do this base level work from like an income generating type of standpoint.

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But I had also run for student government president while I was in college, for example,

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just because I wanted to improve my speaking, my public speaking and leadership skills.

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I had already started working with my brother, Dr. Boyce Watkins, who had just started as a professor in Syracuse.

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So I helped him promote his books at the time and doing some media types of type of things very, very broadly at that particular moment.

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And it was him who floated the idea that, you know, I think we were on the call.

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We talked really, really often.

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And he said, hey, man, why don't you just turn down your engineering jobs and kind of move to Syracuse with me and help me out and build my business?

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Right. That's interesting, because I've always known that I want to be an entrepreneur in some form or fashion.

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And my thought process when making that decision was that, well, I'm broke now.

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You know, what's being broke in the other couple of years that things don't work out.

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But if they do work out, this could be something that could drastically benefit my life or the better.

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I took that leap of faith.

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So this is back in 2005, 2006 area. I took that leap of faith.

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And, you know, my parents were extremely mad.

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You know, they weren't just mad at me. They were mildly mad at me.

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They were like really mad at my brother, since he's not 12 years my seniors.

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Like, you're supposed to be the big brother, you know, teaching him to be on the guided path in terms of doing the right things, whatever.

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You got to have ruined his career.

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You know, moving to Syracuse.

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But they have thought Syracuse is like New York City and it's not the opposite.

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All right. You know, you move into this big city. Right.

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And they just didn't really understand.

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And, you know, I had been exposed to more by that period of time.

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So I had known was, you know, was out there a little bit more.

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It was like, well, you know, I can always go back to engineering if things don't work out.

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But when am I ever going to have like this little responsibility in my life?

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And I'm glad I did. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

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Yeah, that's you know, that's that's you know, that's that's great to hear that you had like a sibling that was willing to say,

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reach back and say, like, how about we try this?

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But like, can you talk about that dynamic of having parents who have a certain vision

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and then you going against that grain?

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Like, you know, like, I'm curious, like, did you suffer any consequences,

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like no mac and cheese for Thanksgiving or anything of the sort because you didn't

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because you chose a different path at the beginning?

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Man, I feel very blessed in that regard where we have a tight knit family.

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And even though even though they didn't understand my decision in terms of why I would do something like that,

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they still respected it. Right.

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So there was no grudges held. No less mac and cheese for Thanksgiving.

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Nothing like that. Right. It was more probably me being like really afraid.

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Yeah. So it was really me. Let me start this now.

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Being really afraid of what they were going to say, what they're going to think.

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What if this failed this big business venture that we have?

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What if what if it failed? What are we going to do on that particular front?

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Yeah, but no, they've always been supportive.

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Like, even though they were mad at the time, they got over it.

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They say, you're a man, you make your own decisions.

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And they treated me like their son, like they had always treated me.

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Very nice. You go to Syracuse, is that when you go back to grad school

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after you sort of have a vision of what the next phase will be?

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And then you said grad school is a good compliment or like?

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Yeah, exactly. Right.

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I did a program called Management Leadership for Tomorrow, MLT,

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when after I ended or after I finished undergrad, I did that program

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to get me into help me get into a good business school.

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After that, I had learned about the program.

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Another program I did in college called SVMP,

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so Summer Venture and Management Program,

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where they send you to Harvard Business School for a week,

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you know, teach you the case study method.

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That's how they teach their courses.

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You know, have professors come in and just show you what being

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Harvard Business School student, that type of thing.

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And a lot of those kids there were actually in MLT,

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the undergraduate version of it.

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So it was through that experience that I learned that this next program existed.

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And, you know, looking back on that now, there's definitely a pattern

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that actually happens on that particular front.

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There's this like secret pipeline.

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I don't know if it's secret, but this pipeline, like the power of pipelines.

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All right. So once you get into one pipeline,

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it leads to the next opportunity, which leads to the next opportunity.

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And sooner or later, you have to put in the work, kind of.

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All right. But then a lot of things have already been kind of

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predetermined in terms of your pathway, if you want it to be

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to like the good life.

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If as long as you just kind of do what people tell you to do

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and, you know, finish the program and do the next thing.

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I think we need more of those those types of pipelines out here for like black kids

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who are just doing the right things.

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They just don't know how to get from one step to the next.

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Because I guarantee you, some of these rich white kids

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that I interact with, wealthy white kids and wealthy white people,

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they are up on game with those unofficial pipelines.

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They may not have an official one, but their dinner table serves as the pipeline.

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Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner serves as those types of pipelines.

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It's a good way for us to have those similar types of networks.

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It's and I appreciate you sharing the names of these programs,

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because I've talked on prior episodes just about how that that growing up,

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say, before like the age of 21, a lot of your experience is based off of things

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largely out of your control because of your environment, your your family.

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You don't necessarily get to control the neighborhoods you live in

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and the access to the resources you have.

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Like, I'm curious from from your perspective, like, how do we help people

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get access to those opportunities to get into those pipelines

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that that you're speaking of?

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Like, what do you think is really like a key thing

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preventing us from getting access to those sort of programs and opportunities?

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I think there's two things, maybe three.

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So one is knowing about them.

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All right. You'll be surprised even like working for, you know,

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what I work for now, what I do here.

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We have a lot of just different programs, other things that are out here.

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Some that I know about, some that I just don't know about.

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They have a hard time getting people into the programs

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because they have a hard time marketing the programs.

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They don't know where to go market, where to find these kids,

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where to find these adults to actually take advantage

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of these particular types of opportunities.

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So I would say like, that's the first step.

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This is awareness and making these programs and making these things extremely aware.

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But I think there's another step that's in there.

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I'm going off the fly because I hadn't really thought about this question before.

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I would say the second thing would be once the awareness has been established,

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making people to actually believe that the program is for them,

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because a lot of times we self-select out of stuff. Right.

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So there's things that we might actually qualify for.

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And we may not even actually fully qualify for. Right.

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But we say, ah, that's not for me. I don't know about that.

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When it's better just to apply and let them tell you no.

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You not tell yourself no. Right.

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And I even have to remind myself that, you know, nowadays,

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when I think about my next career, my next career, my next steps, no,

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I'm going to apply for everything that I think I could potentially be a fit for.

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And then let them tell me no on that front.

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And then I think the third piece is developing like a making sure that people

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have like a base level knowledge and skill set to actually be successful

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in those programs and those things once once they actually get in.

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How do you continue to increase skill development

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to make sure that people, once they are provided with opportunity,

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once they believe they have opportunity, actually have the skill set necessary

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to actually achieve in that particular opportunity as well.

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OK, got it. Got it.

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Like, I appreciate you because these programs to me, at least growing up,

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like I like a lot of stuff was in my backyard and I didn't even know what it was.

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You know, I grew up in Durham, but didn't really understand

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what Research Triangle Park was, even though people outside of North Carolina

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know what Research Triangle Park is.

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There's people growing up here who don't even realize

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what's right in their backyard.

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And so I appreciate you sharing your point of view on that.

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You're you're you're in that Syracuse area.

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You're going through your program.

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You're starting to get into these different networks

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that's opening up these opportunities.

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Like as an entrepreneur, like what for you, like what do you feel like

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was the toughest thing to figure out early that if you could go back

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and tell yourself now, like it would have really helped get you to the next level.

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Man, that's a hard question because my mindset

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today is very different than my mindset back in 2007

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when I started my first company. Right.

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So the first company that I actually started was called Great Black Speakers.

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And it was a direct outgrowth of the work that I did with my brother,

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helping him to get on national media in terms of national media appearances

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and to help him get speaking engagements at universities. Right.

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So I did that very, very well. Right.

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And I remember because I didn't know very much about business up until this point,

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especially how to be an entrepreneur or run a business.

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I had a lot of like self-study to do.

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So I remember waking up in the morning, testing something,

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reviewing in the afternoon and the evening time, breathing at night,

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thinking through what I was going to test tomorrow and doing the exact same thing

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over and over and over again.

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So I became really good at helping boys to get speaking engagements,

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basically, in new media.

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After getting him like 12 or 13 of these things, he said,

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man, you're doing really good at this.

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Well, have you ever thought about like starting something on your own,

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like maybe call it even like Great Black Speakers or something like that. Right.

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I don't think he said the name at the point,

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but he was like doing something for like black speakers in the college market.

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And I think blackspeakers.com was taken.

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So we were great black speakers.

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And it was through that particular experience,

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he was right that I started my first company in 2007 where we helped African-Americans.

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So what we did was help African-Americans,

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organizations to find African-American public speakers for their work.

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For their particular events.

365
00:24:41,120 --> 00:24:43,840
Excuse me. I haven't pitched it in quite a while.

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I was getting my pitches fixed up.

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Like, no, that's not the right one.

368
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Entrepreneurial problems.

369
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Exactly. Exactly.

370
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I had to go back into the vault for the Great Black Speakers.

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But I remember running it as a business to serve me and my potential,

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my particular needs.

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It was at the time that a really popular book came out called The Four Hour Work Week

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by Tim Ferriss. So for our work,

375
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we basically talked to you how to create a lifestyle business to serve you.

376
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And that book came out maybe like two months after I started,

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full time, running Great Black Speakers.

378
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So it was like my Bible on that particular front in terms of how I live my life,

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in terms of outsourcing everything, trying to do as little work as possible.

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So I have as much as free time as possible.

381
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Don't necessarily stretch yourself out too much.

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Go out and live life, that type of stuff.

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And I'm glad I did it that way because I got to do a lot of things.

384
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I traveled the world. I didn't have to work very much.

385
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You know, I had this income generating machine,

386
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even though it wasn't a lot of income, I didn't have to really work too hard

387
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to actually achieve that level of income.

388
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And I'm getting back to your question in terms of what I would tell myself

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in the past or tell myself from the past.

390
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I probably should have worked harder during my 20s than I actually did.

391
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Actually, being someone who's 39, about to be 40 this year with two kids now,

392
00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:04,360
I wish I would have worked harder in my 20s and been more disciplined

393
00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:08,200
day in and day out with my work because all the stuff that was fun.

394
00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:09,400
I'm glad that I did it.

395
00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:11,960
I'm glad I got to live in different countries and travel, you know,

396
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do all this cool stuff.

397
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And I wouldn't trade that, but I would have worked harder on my business

398
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to have something even more, you know, sustainable.

399
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,000
Yeah, even more sustainable, like long term.

400
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:23,400
I wish I would have done that.

401
00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:25,960
You know, I think that's a I appreciate you sharing that

402
00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:32,280
because I think that's a pretty common theme when when we look back,

403
00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:37,200
say because I'm 36 when I look back at what I'm doing currently

404
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:41,480
versus what I did in my 20s, like, man, I left a lot of meat on the bone,

405
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if you will.

406
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:49,640
And it was just young, naive, unexposed, ignorant, hard headed,

407
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stubborn to a large degree.

408
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:56,600
And I had to get out of my own way in my in my opinion.

409
00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:00,600
And looking back was once I got out of my own way, life started really to

410
00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:02,320
to change differently for me.

411
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:04,600
You know, I appreciate you talking about like if you could go back,

412
00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,200
you would you would you would work harder because there are people listening

413
00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:12,520
who who potentially like the difference is, is that you're not putting in

414
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:14,560
what you need to put in at a given moment.

415
00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:18,480
And and people who who who reach certain levels of success,

416
00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,240
like you don't know how many hours they spend obsessing over

417
00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:26,080
getting to that point and the commitment that went in, you know, behind closed doors.

418
00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:28,000
I appreciate you sharing that thought.

419
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:32,760
When we talk about this idea of entrepreneurship, given what you do now,

420
00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:36,760
working, you know, to find certain entrepreneurs, I guess you

421
00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:39,080
you were doing an entrepreneur thing.

422
00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:43,680
I'm curious, like, what have you found to be the most like personally

423
00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,120
the most challenging piece of, say, working for yourself

424
00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:49,200
versus working for someone else?

425
00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:53,360
The most challenging piece with working for yourself,

426
00:27:53,360 --> 00:27:56,360
I'm going to say is making sure that you work for yourself

427
00:27:56,360 --> 00:27:58,160
harder than you work for other people.

428
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:01,240
Yeah, because you don't have anyone breathing down your neck

429
00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:02,920
telling you to get this thing done.

430
00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:04,920
You got to do that yourself. Right.

431
00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:09,680
And I think a lot of times if when we're when we are our own boss,

432
00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:15,400
we don't work nearly as hard causes us to not have the same level of impact

433
00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:19,600
and same outcomes as others when it comes when it comes to, you know,

434
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:22,520
growing successful, large, large scale types of companies.

435
00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:24,200
So that was that was the hardest.

436
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:27,560
That's the hardest thing waking up every day and working for myself.

437
00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:29,480
Just as hard as I work for someone else or harder.

438
00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:34,960
OK, let me ask you this, too, because at some point you met someone who you marry.

439
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:37,880
When you when you when you met your your wife,

440
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:42,360
how did that change how you pursued your entrepreneurial efforts?

441
00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:44,800
I don't know if it changed it too much.

442
00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:48,880
I found myself explaining what an entrepreneur does way more.

443
00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:52,560
So I had to consider like that and consider.

444
00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:56,760
Yeah, I don't know if getting married and meeting my wife is what changed things.

445
00:28:57,040 --> 00:28:59,720
It was probably the kids piece.

446
00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:04,880
Yeah, the kids pieces went really changed things like getting married.

447
00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:08,320
Because after we were married, we traveled to Europe and South America

448
00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:12,880
for a year, right, with me as an entrepreneur and her running her own business, too.

449
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:14,840
Right. So we still did a lot.

450
00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:18,760
So I kind of me and my family recruited her to the entrepreneurial space

451
00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:20,920
and converted her on that particular front.

452
00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:24,160
All right. So I don't know if much change

453
00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:26,520
change from my perspective in terms of that.

454
00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:30,000
But doing time management and thinking about what changes when you have children

455
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:33,000
and this other priority that's even higher

456
00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:36,560
than like fulfilling your goal as an entrepreneur in terms of what you want

457
00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:37,840
to accomplish in this world.

458
00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:40,560
You know, that was the real game changer in life.

459
00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:43,800
How long were you and your wife married before you had your first child?

460
00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:45,800
Let's see. Three years, three and a half.

461
00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:47,960
What was like the biggest sort of like?

462
00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:51,280
Because I've talked to a couple of parents on the podcast

463
00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:54,200
and I always like to tease parents for certain

464
00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:58,360
just because like the reality is you have these kids.

465
00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:02,920
And I and I know when you as a couple have kids, nothing is the same.

466
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:06,840
I'm curious, like what really say for you as a husband

467
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:11,880
change that you maybe didn't like really think or or or anticipate

468
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,240
once the kid arrived? How much you love them.

469
00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,880
Yeah, like that that was a big thing for me

470
00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:20,680
is not having experienced that type of love before

471
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,440
that that raw sense of emotion on that level.

472
00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:27,840
Right. Because romantic love, some form of fashion

473
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:32,200
you've experienced that you're in your your life starting age 12.

474
00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,680
I don't know. With some some younger age, you had a crush on somebody

475
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,040
or whatever. Right. Now, the intensity of it varies

476
00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:40,320
in terms of what it actually looks like.

477
00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:42,560
But you've kind of been experiencing that, you know,

478
00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:45,160
throughout throughout life. But when you have a child,

479
00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:48,840
that's something that's an emotion that you've never really experienced before.

480
00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:54,240
And when you think about like this idea of like creation, right,

481
00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:57,280
of an actual person, this like being that you created.

482
00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:00,840
And then this woman that helped create this this being

483
00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:03,480
and did all the basic most of the work in terms of caring and,

484
00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:07,040
you know, getting it to this world that, you know, a lot of times looks like you.

485
00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:09,880
In my case, it did. Right. That you just love you hear cry.

486
00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:13,800
You know, that was the most joyful moment of my life was, you know,

487
00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:17,000
when my daughter was born and then subsequently when my son was born.

488
00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:19,680
Those definitely the two happiest moments moments in my life. Right.

489
00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:23,400
So just that level of joy that comes with being like a parent

490
00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:27,280
and like that level of love that you didn't know that you have for someone else.

491
00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:29,440
It's something that I could never explain beforehand.

492
00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:33,360
And I wouldn't even try to explain, you know, in terms of what it feels like,

493
00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:36,440
because I remember having that same feeling like, OK, yeah, I'm a love this.

494
00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:38,800
OK. Yeah. But then like you hear that, you know,

495
00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:41,440
the doctor, you know, you hear them cry for the first time.

496
00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:44,200
And then now just, you know, you got these two being.

497
00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:47,840
I have these two beings here that just love beyond anything, you know, ever.

498
00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:51,600
So that's that's like emotionally the biggest change ever that has ever occurred.

499
00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:56,080
You but you did mention the kids is sort of what made you pivot back or pivot

500
00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:59,920
sort of your your your how you were making money for the household.

501
00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:04,440
You started to think about like big bigger picture maybe or just a different

502
00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:06,520
perspective on life now that you have kids.

503
00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:10,320
You have different responsibilities. How did you fall into this investment

504
00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:14,760
sort of opportunity given that you had the background,

505
00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:17,480
living the entrepreneurial life with the travel?

506
00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:20,680
How did you end up getting to a point where you said, you know,

507
00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:22,480
I think this makes sense for me?

508
00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:27,440
So we were living overseas for even though we traveled for a year,

509
00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:28,720
we settled in many in Colombia.

510
00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:32,520
So we were many for four years and our children were actually born in many.

511
00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:34,240
All right. So they're dual citizens.

512
00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:38,040
Between the United States and Medellin. And I have thought I thought I was going

513
00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:40,840
to be in Medellin for many, many years to come.

514
00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:42,760
But then Covid happened.

515
00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:45,280
And then my dad got sick, too.

516
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:49,200
He was overcoming, you know, he was battling prostate cancer or whatever.

517
00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:52,480
Right. So it was a combination of Covid.

518
00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:56,600
My parents getting older and Carlos, my wife's parents getting older

519
00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:58,280
and then having like these new children.

520
00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:00,080
I wanted my like more.

521
00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:03,960
What I love more than Medellin was the fact that I was in the United States.

522
00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:07,400
It was the idea of my kids knowing their grandparents.

523
00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:12,480
Right. So it was with that that we decided to move from those with that

524
00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:17,080
that we decided to move from what's it called from Medellin back to Texas

525
00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:19,560
to be closer to family. That's happening. Right.

526
00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:23,880
I was also say that in my latest business,

527
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:27,160
my brother called the Black Business School that we started about six years ago.

528
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:30,000
We did. We've done really well with that. We've bootstrapped that.

529
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,480
So what we do is help African-Americans to obtain a culturally relevant,

530
00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:36,760
practical education and all things wealth building at an affordable price.

531
00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:40,800
So we've been really successful in terms of bootstrapping that to many million

532
00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:42,640
millions of dollars of revenue.

533
00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:46,520
One hundred fifty thousand students over the over the last six years or so.

534
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:48,440
And that's great. And I love the impact.

535
00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:52,400
I love, love, love the community impact that we've actually made on that particular front.

536
00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:55,520
But I still wanted to do something a little bit bigger. Right.

537
00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:59,200
So instead of talking about seven figure types of companies,

538
00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:04,960
what would it be like to own and operate a nine figure type of business? Right.

539
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:09,720
And I didn't know how to make companies grow from seven figures to nine figures.

540
00:34:09,720 --> 00:34:12,520
And I didn't know how companies are actually funded to make that happen,

541
00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:15,560
because we bootstrap our business to the point where it is now.

542
00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:19,160
So that's when I decided to make that pivot, to make that that's

543
00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:23,120
that switch from entrepreneurship to investing, to learn how to scale an individual

544
00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:28,280
company beyond seven figures and seeing what type of impact that that can have on the community.

545
00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:31,960
But then also from a personal legacy wealth building type of standpoint as well.

546
00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:35,960
So let's let's talk about some of that a little bit, like because you've built

547
00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:41,240
different businesses, like very difficult to do just and just, you know, once.

548
00:34:41,240 --> 00:34:48,160
And I think one of the most difficult things in business is the art of selling,

549
00:34:48,160 --> 00:34:51,520
having clients, finding who your customer base is.

550
00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:56,840
Like, can we just talk about how important it is to like understand

551
00:34:56,840 --> 00:35:00,920
if you have a demand for what you're offering and how you maybe find the people

552
00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:04,360
who are looking for what it is that you want to bring to the market?

553
00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:07,040
It's the most important thing in business.

554
00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:10,800
Like literally, when I talk to people now after.

555
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:13,520
So this is the first time I've actually ever been an employee.

556
00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:19,680
So I started my you know, I started working at where I do now when I was 38, 38 years old.

557
00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,160
And I see things from a different perspective.

558
00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:24,200
And I get to see a lot of different companies now.

559
00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:29,440
I think for black people, the two most important things that they could do is one,

560
00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:33,640
get ownership and assets that are increasing in value.

561
00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:37,480
And then two, learn how to acquire a customer. Right.

562
00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:41,480
But those are the two biggest and most important skills from like wealth building

563
00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:45,960
standpoint that I think that any black person should really be pursuing.

564
00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:50,320
So customer acquisition is like so key in really understanding your target customer

565
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:54,000
in terms of who your audience is, who your target audience is.

566
00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:57,760
And then going deep in terms of what do they believe, what do they care about?

567
00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:00,160
Who are their role models? What are they thinking?

568
00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:02,760
What are their fears? What are their aspirations?

569
00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:07,520
Just thinking through all of that to the point where you become that individual

570
00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:12,080
and it's through that identification and that discovery, you are able to craft

571
00:36:12,080 --> 00:36:15,840
offers and things that resonate with that particular group.

572
00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:18,040
So you can actually sell them something of value.

573
00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:23,520
And the process of like that discovery is the most important skill, I think, in business.

574
00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:25,480
I don't care what anyone says.

575
00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:30,240
You have to learn how to sell customers and deeply understand their needs to service them

576
00:36:30,240 --> 00:36:33,920
and also to get their money for something of value.

577
00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:40,720
In your personal experience, what are some of the, I guess, character traits that or

578
00:36:40,720 --> 00:36:46,280
just skills that help do that to the best of your like to do that at its highest level,

579
00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:51,840
in your opinion? I would say ask good questions, listen and then learn how to synthesize

580
00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:56,920
what you hear into something that is actionable because that's where the product development

581
00:36:56,920 --> 00:36:58,160
piece actually comes into play.

582
00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:03,840
But listening and asking good questions is the key to like that discovery process and

583
00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:05,320
also observing too, though, right?

584
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:08,120
So you can ask people good questions, but you can also observe their behaviors,

585
00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:09,800
observe their actions as well.

586
00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:11,400
I think I think that's most important.

587
00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:18,320
And the other thing you mentioned outside of customer acquisition was assets.

588
00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:25,360
Like when we talk about assets, I'm curious, different types of assets that we can invest in.

589
00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:31,840
But like what are you know, especially in today's world, we get marketed on crypto and just so

590
00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:34,320
many different ways to invest your money.

591
00:37:34,320 --> 00:37:40,320
Like what do you think are some core assets as you know, that the black community should

592
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:42,520
be focused on, in your opinion?

593
00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:44,960
Yeah, I'm more traditional in that type of way.

594
00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:48,760
All right, so I think about think about a few different things.

595
00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:51,640
So, well, let me take a step back.

596
00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:54,840
I created an entire framework called the Black Family Master Plan.

597
00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:59,440
So it was a framework that I created out of conversations I was having with my wife.

598
00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:02,800
You know, she was asking all these questions about what needed to be done.

599
00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:08,720
And she was also a little upset that I was using like my skills and my, I guess, asset

600
00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:11,560
or my my skill set of creating frameworks.

601
00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:15,760
I was always using that for business, but not necessarily to benefit our personal lives.

602
00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:16,760
Right.

603
00:38:16,760 --> 00:38:19,960
So it's through a lot of that work that I created the Black Family Master Plan.

604
00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:21,960
But it's basically broken down into four quadrants.

605
00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:24,040
Earn, protect, sustain, connect.

606
00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:27,640
So earn is how do you increase your income and income sources?

607
00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:31,000
Protect is how do you go about limiting downside risk in life?

608
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:33,960
Sustain is how do you make life day to day pleasurable and fulfilling?

609
00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:36,680
And the connect is how do you build those relationships with those that you care about

610
00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:37,680
the most?

611
00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:42,440
So in the earn quadrant, I think about a few different things.

612
00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:49,080
So for me personally, entrepreneurship is key to wealth creation, wealth generation.

613
00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:54,520
Some people might say your job in terms of income that you actually have by working for

614
00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:55,520
someone else.

615
00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:59,480
But like my friend Julian Gordon always says, what does he say?

616
00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:02,760
An employee is just an entrepreneur with one client.

617
00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:04,400
So that's how he kind of defines it.

618
00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:05,400
Right.

619
00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:06,840
But anyway, that's one piece of it.

620
00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:11,280
Another piece is real estate in regards to the real estate that you own for your own

621
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:12,280
personal use.

622
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:17,000
I view that as consumption and we kind of do, we both do, but no matter, it appreciates

623
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:18,280
in value most of the time.

624
00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:19,920
So there's that aspect of it.

625
00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:24,080
But then also multifamily or whatever, renting single family homes, some of this cash flowing

626
00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:25,080
on that perspective.

627
00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:28,240
The third piece is stock market investing.

628
00:39:28,240 --> 00:39:30,280
So what types of stocks do you own long term?

629
00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:35,200
But really people forget that owning a stock is really just owning a piece of a large company.

630
00:39:35,200 --> 00:39:36,200
Right.

631
00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:41,880
So it's business ownership investing in large businesses that you own a very, very minuscule

632
00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:45,960
piece of that you don't control majority of the times unless you have a billion dollars

633
00:39:45,960 --> 00:39:47,560
to invest in whatever company.

634
00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:51,400
And then the last piece of it is I call it micro private equity at the time, but now

635
00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:53,400
it's just I'm thinking about private equity.

636
00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:57,520
So are you buying into businesses that you have a smaller companies that you have a more

637
00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:00,040
substantial ownership stake in?

638
00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:03,320
So that's an area that I care a lot about as well.

639
00:40:03,320 --> 00:40:07,240
And I'll be going out, making some acquisitions here, hopefully in the next year or so.

640
00:40:07,240 --> 00:40:08,240
Okay.

641
00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:09,240
Okay.

642
00:40:09,240 --> 00:40:10,240
Word up.

643
00:40:10,240 --> 00:40:13,920
So when we talk about like that framework, can you just say the name?

644
00:40:13,920 --> 00:40:18,120
Is it somewhere for people to access or is it just like in your personal bag of tricks

645
00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:21,560
that's not available for people to learn more about?

646
00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:22,560
Yeah.

647
00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:24,040
So yes and no.

648
00:40:24,040 --> 00:40:27,600
Well, it's on LinkedIn somewhere or Facebook.

649
00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:30,680
I always sit up and get around to it and making it actual asset.

650
00:40:30,680 --> 00:40:31,680
I still I don't know what you think.

651
00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:35,040
I think I should like make that into a community or something around like the Black Family

652
00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:36,600
Master Plan or whatever.

653
00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:40,320
I think it's a conversation where worth having.

654
00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:47,140
And I think the value in frameworks is that it gives the guardrails to have a conversation

655
00:40:47,140 --> 00:40:48,400
in a constructive way.

656
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:53,120
If you've already, you know, put together and it sounds like a relative, it sounds like

657
00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:58,840
a comprehensive framework that that's been thought out with, you know, it's a good discussion

658
00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:02,800
piece at least a reference point to start those discussions.

659
00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:06,200
And then, you know, people are going to have their own point of views, but at least it

660
00:41:06,200 --> 00:41:10,740
gives like a starting point as to what you can consider for your own situation.

661
00:41:10,740 --> 00:41:13,440
So I think it is something worth fleshing out even further.

662
00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:14,440
I know.

663
00:41:14,440 --> 00:41:17,400
And I always say that like then the real work begins of actually fleshing it out.

664
00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:20,480
Like, oh, man, I got to work on this thing.

665
00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:22,720
But I think that actually might be one of the things that I do.

666
00:41:22,720 --> 00:41:25,400
But the answer is no, there's no place really.

667
00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:26,400
I'll share it with you, though.

668
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:27,400
You can share with your community.

669
00:41:27,400 --> 00:41:30,000
So look, man, let's make less.

670
00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:33,200
Let's let's we got to we got to follow it up with listening, saying, yeah, we should

671
00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:34,200
do that.

672
00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:35,200
That's a great idea.

673
00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:40,400
The framework is people, you know, that's one of the things that I think I've really

674
00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:46,520
realized here recently in the past couple of years is that, you know, what may come

675
00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:49,820
natural to me does not come natural to everyone else.

676
00:41:49,820 --> 00:41:54,700
And the way that like I may process ideas or think that something just makes sense.

677
00:41:54,700 --> 00:41:58,400
Other people doesn't even think to think about it that way at all.

678
00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:03,160
To the point earlier about just exposure, letting people know that this is a good route

679
00:42:03,160 --> 00:42:07,520
to take, letting people know that these are opportunities that you can access when we

680
00:42:07,520 --> 00:42:10,520
provide that framework earlier in the conversation.

681
00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:15,240
I think it just helps the whole you know, it helps lift everyone up in a way because

682
00:42:15,240 --> 00:42:20,160
it gives even, you know, people who are struggling, who may want to get to that next level may

683
00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:25,200
not be knowing how to how to literally get from A to B to C, but oh, man, here's a framework

684
00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:26,440
that didn't exist.

685
00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:30,840
And now it gives me some things to really think about that are tangible that I can implement

686
00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:33,040
and slowly build toward the next level.

687
00:42:33,040 --> 00:42:34,040
Yeah.

688
00:42:34,040 --> 00:42:35,040
OK, cool.

689
00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:38,520
Something on my mind, see that little push over, like, you know, give me give me over

690
00:42:38,520 --> 00:42:40,000
over the hump with that.

691
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,400
But yeah, so I didn't answer the question.

692
00:42:42,400 --> 00:42:43,400
I didn't answer the question.

693
00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:44,400
You did.

694
00:42:44,400 --> 00:42:45,400
You did.

695
00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:46,400
You did.

696
00:42:46,400 --> 00:42:48,280
And I appreciate you answering that.

697
00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:53,960
And the other thing I want to talk about, like before we we run out of time is keeping

698
00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:54,960
it business.

699
00:42:54,960 --> 00:43:00,040
The work that you do now is it correct me if I'm if I'm off on this.

700
00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:04,680
But from from what I understand, you have a mission to help diversify supply chains.

701
00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:10,100
I want to just first just especially you talked about COVID, how that sort of impacted your

702
00:43:10,100 --> 00:43:12,260
decision to change some things.

703
00:43:12,260 --> 00:43:17,640
That term supply chain was definitely a hot topic during the COVID time period because

704
00:43:17,640 --> 00:43:22,240
everything was impacted across all industries and it was supply chain, supply chain, supply

705
00:43:22,240 --> 00:43:23,240
chain.

706
00:43:23,240 --> 00:43:24,240
Right.

707
00:43:24,240 --> 00:43:28,140
So before we even talk about like diversifying, like for the listeners, like if we could break

708
00:43:28,140 --> 00:43:32,840
that down as simple as can be like, what is a supply chain when we talk about this concept

709
00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:34,240
of supply chain?

710
00:43:34,240 --> 00:43:35,280
What do we mean by that?

711
00:43:35,280 --> 00:43:39,680
What are the what is the chain or the flow of resources necessary to produce a good or

712
00:43:39,680 --> 00:43:43,000
service that accompanies to produce that good or service?

713
00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:46,920
So you have this podcast and we're on Streamyard right now.

714
00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:50,840
So Streamyard is part of your supply chain to produce this podcast that we're on.

715
00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:51,840
Right.

716
00:43:51,840 --> 00:43:57,320
But no companies of all sizes or every company has some type of supply chain with their product

717
00:43:57,320 --> 00:43:58,320
and service.

718
00:43:58,320 --> 00:44:02,680
And the large companies, your Fortune 500s, your Fortune 100s are spending billions and

719
00:44:02,680 --> 00:44:08,140
billions of dollars to produce the products and services that are making them into those

720
00:44:08,140 --> 00:44:11,320
Fortune 100, Fortune 500 types of companies.

721
00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:17,360
And my thought process and what I advocate for is for more diverse companies, more Black

722
00:44:17,360 --> 00:44:22,920
businesses to be a part of those supply chains, because the more that we can be suppliers

723
00:44:22,920 --> 00:44:27,200
of these large corporations and government agencies, the more wealth that's brought

724
00:44:27,200 --> 00:44:31,720
into our community, because the only way to succeed in the business long term is to create

725
00:44:31,720 --> 00:44:33,520
a customer, to have a customer.

726
00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:37,280
So the more that we can get these large corporations and businesses to be businesses to be our

727
00:44:37,280 --> 00:44:40,820
customers, the better off no Black communities will be nationwide.

728
00:44:40,820 --> 00:44:45,920
Let me just offer some pushback here, because I hear what you're saying from a Black community

729
00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:50,760
standpoint, but if I'm a Fortune 100, why does diversifying the supply chain have any

730
00:44:50,760 --> 00:44:52,400
benefit to my bottom line?

731
00:44:52,400 --> 00:44:54,000
A couple of reasons.

732
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:59,880
So first, especially talking about the Browning and Blacking of the United States, companies

733
00:44:59,880 --> 00:45:05,880
are facing an existential crisis in terms of demographic change.

734
00:45:05,880 --> 00:45:10,020
So having a supply base that doesn't match your demographic change, you're missing a

735
00:45:10,020 --> 00:45:15,640
huge opportunity to actually serve those same suppliers in those communities as actual customers.

736
00:45:15,640 --> 00:45:20,640
So when you think about it from that perspective, a lot of businesses, especially the Latino

737
00:45:20,640 --> 00:45:26,600
communities, they are looking at that wholeheartedly and in full force in regards to how we can

738
00:45:26,600 --> 00:45:33,160
promote Latinx company right here and put that in our marketing campaigns and using

739
00:45:33,160 --> 00:45:38,240
that as a way to say, look, we support your community, buy from us, we're Procter & Gamble

740
00:45:38,240 --> 00:45:41,040
or Johnson & Johnson or whoever that actually may be.

741
00:45:41,040 --> 00:45:44,480
But then also, it comes down to a question of business diversity.

742
00:45:44,480 --> 00:45:48,600
Some of those white suppliers and those other companies that you use for 30 years or whatever,

743
00:45:48,600 --> 00:45:50,400
they kind of suck, right?

744
00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:56,960
And you need to open up the doors and opportunities to other types of businesses and new ways

745
00:45:56,960 --> 00:45:59,720
of doing things and new strategies of doing things.

746
00:45:59,720 --> 00:46:03,440
You need to open that up so you can find the best suppliers, so you can make the best products

747
00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:05,600
possible for your business as well.

748
00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:15,840
Yeah, because and I'm curious, does the term DEI, diversity, equity, inclusion, does the

749
00:46:15,840 --> 00:46:19,840
work that you're speaking about as it relates to supply chains, does that fit under that

750
00:46:19,840 --> 00:46:22,720
umbrella or are we talking something completely different here?

751
00:46:22,720 --> 00:46:26,920
It should fit underneath that umbrella, but it really does.

752
00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:33,120
So when you have specific DEI conversations, a lot of times that falls under in terms of

753
00:46:33,120 --> 00:46:39,200
hiring and employment and what does it mean to, I guess your employees are supplying your

754
00:46:39,200 --> 00:46:43,040
business with the labor necessary for you to produce that product and service.

755
00:46:43,040 --> 00:46:49,260
But that's usually or oftentimes different sector than actual companies that have some

756
00:46:49,260 --> 00:46:56,080
raw good that you actually need to make your particular, make your product or service.

757
00:46:56,080 --> 00:47:00,040
I think the umbrella that it falls underneath more so is ESG, right?

758
00:47:00,040 --> 00:47:07,320
So environmental social governance of an organization and ESG has become controversial in many circles,

759
00:47:07,320 --> 00:47:11,800
but something that is definitely not going away with these corporations moving forward.

760
00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:14,280
A thousand percent, I would agree with that.

761
00:47:14,280 --> 00:47:21,560
So okay, if that's the case, like, okay, how do you bridge, I guess this is what you work

762
00:47:21,560 --> 00:47:28,480
it on, but like, how do you bridge that gap in like helping connect these multi-billion

763
00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:35,560
dollar multinational enterprises to more local, smaller, diverse suppliers who can offer them

764
00:47:35,560 --> 00:47:38,400
something to benefit their bottom line as a business?

765
00:47:38,400 --> 00:47:44,160
Like if I am a local entrepreneur and I produce a good or service that one of these major

766
00:47:44,160 --> 00:47:49,200
companies or the government can benefit from, like, how do I get their attention to get

767
00:47:49,200 --> 00:47:51,200
to take advantage of those opportunities?

768
00:47:51,200 --> 00:47:53,520
And therein lies the question, right?

769
00:47:53,520 --> 00:47:58,440
And I think a big problem in terms of making that happen is many of these small businesses

770
00:47:58,440 --> 00:48:03,120
that you're talking about are too small to do business with these corporations and government

771
00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:04,920
agencies, right?

772
00:48:04,920 --> 00:48:10,480
Because you might be able to service 12 different restaurants, let's say it's a restaurant chain

773
00:48:10,480 --> 00:48:17,200
or something, but McDonald's needs you to supply a thousand restaurants.

774
00:48:17,200 --> 00:48:23,640
So it's building up enough capacity in these companies, in these businesses, these minority,

775
00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:28,600
these black owned businesses where they can have the actual capacity to fulfill a larger

776
00:48:28,600 --> 00:48:29,760
scale contract.

777
00:48:29,760 --> 00:48:35,000
So that is what we've uncovered to be the biggest issue with adding more diverse businesses

778
00:48:35,000 --> 00:48:36,400
to supply chain.

779
00:48:36,400 --> 00:48:40,360
It's not that companies don't want to do business with black owned companies or minority businesses

780
00:48:40,360 --> 00:48:41,760
or however you want to define it.

781
00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:47,520
It's a lot of times the businesses are too small to do business with the Fortune 500s.

782
00:48:47,520 --> 00:48:48,520
Wow.

783
00:48:48,520 --> 00:48:49,520
Interesting.

784
00:48:49,520 --> 00:48:50,520
Interesting.

785
00:48:50,520 --> 00:48:51,520
Too small.

786
00:48:51,520 --> 00:48:55,240
And I think this is so many different examples because when you talk about supply chains,

787
00:48:55,240 --> 00:48:58,440
you talk about verticals, you talk about all the things that go into a business, it's so

788
00:48:58,440 --> 00:49:03,080
many different goods and services that can be a part of a supply chain, especially at

789
00:49:03,080 --> 00:49:05,380
this level of enterprise.

790
00:49:05,380 --> 00:49:12,360
But I guess like with that said, what are maybe some key like pathways that you've seen

791
00:49:12,360 --> 00:49:16,840
maybe have the least amount of friction and you're like getting there to that relationship?

792
00:49:16,840 --> 00:49:23,600
Like if I am an aspiring business person trying to come up with the game plan on what my next

793
00:49:23,600 --> 00:49:30,600
product or service might be and knowing that I'm going after this market of Fortune 100,

794
00:49:30,600 --> 00:49:34,280
500 companies to do business with them long term.

795
00:49:34,280 --> 00:49:38,400
In your experience, what are some of those key goods and services that you think are

796
00:49:38,400 --> 00:49:42,360
going to be really at the forefront here in the near future or currently?

797
00:49:42,360 --> 00:49:49,640
Well, you know, that's a simple yet slightly unexplored question that we are actively talking

798
00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:51,400
about often right now.

799
00:49:51,400 --> 00:49:54,800
I would first say there's a mind shift that needs to be happened to serve.

800
00:49:54,800 --> 00:49:59,920
If you want to be an entrepreneur to serve a Fortune 500 company now, chances are you

801
00:49:59,920 --> 00:50:02,280
won't be starting that company from scratch.

802
00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:07,720
You will be acquiring some existing business and then growing and scaling, growing and

803
00:50:07,720 --> 00:50:08,720
scaling from there.

804
00:50:08,720 --> 00:50:09,720
Not to say it's not possible.

805
00:50:09,720 --> 00:50:14,160
On the federal government side, there are programs like 8A, 8A certification, those

806
00:50:14,160 --> 00:50:18,440
types of things that make it easier to get your foot in the door to do business.

807
00:50:18,440 --> 00:50:24,160
But with like corporations, some have programs to kind of help scale you up if you already

808
00:50:24,160 --> 00:50:27,360
have, let's say, a million dollars in revenue or seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars

809
00:50:27,360 --> 00:50:28,360
of revenue.

810
00:50:28,360 --> 00:50:31,180
But if you're like zero, that's very, very difficult to do.

811
00:50:31,180 --> 00:50:36,980
So we've been focused on, you know, how are we identifying those larger, how are we identifying

812
00:50:36,980 --> 00:50:42,360
the larger small businesses who are out here and putting fuel on the fire to help them

813
00:50:42,360 --> 00:50:44,460
be able to increase their capacity more.

814
00:50:44,460 --> 00:50:49,600
So if you're new to the entire space, I would just really look at, you know, what can you

815
00:50:49,600 --> 00:50:50,860
look at what corporations are buying?

816
00:50:50,860 --> 00:50:53,000
You can, but it's not public information.

817
00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:54,000
Right.

818
00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:55,480
But we're looking to make that more public.

819
00:50:55,480 --> 00:50:59,360
We're looking to do that, you know, that specific type of research to really understand what

820
00:50:59,360 --> 00:51:00,360
is there by.

821
00:51:00,360 --> 00:51:03,600
A lot of times it's in things that have low margin types of businesses.

822
00:51:03,600 --> 00:51:05,720
And that's something that we're really, really trying to change.

823
00:51:05,720 --> 00:51:06,720
Right.

824
00:51:06,720 --> 00:51:09,660
So we're not talking about like construction or janitorial services or whatever.

825
00:51:09,660 --> 00:51:13,860
But the professional and technical types of things that have high margins are still going

826
00:51:13,860 --> 00:51:17,200
to the good old boy network or even good old boy.

827
00:51:17,200 --> 00:51:21,360
But then also the tried and true that they're comfortable with already actually using.

828
00:51:21,360 --> 00:51:22,360
Right.

829
00:51:22,360 --> 00:51:26,420
So it's really breaking into those other things that that is going to be key.

830
00:51:26,420 --> 00:51:32,260
And that really comes down to relationships and being able to navigate and leverage those

831
00:51:32,260 --> 00:51:34,640
relationships for for company growth.

832
00:51:34,640 --> 00:51:35,640
Interesting.

833
00:51:35,640 --> 00:51:40,820
That is, you know, this is this is to me, it's it's it's important work, but it's also

834
00:51:40,820 --> 00:51:46,120
very like just interesting to think about because, you know, like like we've been saying,

835
00:51:46,120 --> 00:51:50,720
these big companies, they they do business with a lot of vendors throughout the different

836
00:51:50,720 --> 00:51:51,800
departments.

837
00:51:51,800 --> 00:51:53,800
They have a lot of different needs.

838
00:51:53,800 --> 00:51:58,760
And you know, going through procurement with some of these companies like negotiate, like

839
00:51:58,760 --> 00:52:02,560
like they are trying to squeeze every bit of value out of every exchange with the vendor

840
00:52:02,560 --> 00:52:03,760
that they possibly can.

841
00:52:03,760 --> 00:52:08,600
So I like to think that if they if they have opportunities to get something that is of

842
00:52:08,600 --> 00:52:12,640
the same quality, if not better for a lower price, then you know, you have a you have

843
00:52:12,640 --> 00:52:13,840
a fighting chance.

844
00:52:13,840 --> 00:52:14,840
Right.

845
00:52:14,840 --> 00:52:20,480
But, you know, like you said, you're looking for bigger companies that that already have

846
00:52:20,480 --> 00:52:24,880
an established footprint but can't get to the next level.

847
00:52:24,880 --> 00:52:28,520
Similar to, you know, I'm sort of tying it up similar to yourself as an entrepreneur.

848
00:52:28,520 --> 00:52:29,520
Right.

849
00:52:29,520 --> 00:52:32,820
You said that you got to a certain level, but it was like, how do you go from a seven

850
00:52:32,820 --> 00:52:35,400
figure to a nine figure that scalability?

851
00:52:35,400 --> 00:52:36,400
Right.

852
00:52:36,400 --> 00:52:44,840
So I guess I guess my question is, like, what do you think is missing typically from a business

853
00:52:44,840 --> 00:52:49,040
prevented from going from seven to nine figures?

854
00:52:49,040 --> 00:52:54,760
Like I know it's not one thing, but could you highlight a couple of just key items that

855
00:52:54,760 --> 00:52:59,280
you really think need to be in place when you have like something really good but you

856
00:52:59,280 --> 00:53:00,280
want to make it?

857
00:53:00,280 --> 00:53:03,000
Really, there's like two things that you that you need.

858
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:05,640
Well, maybe three customers.

859
00:53:05,640 --> 00:53:07,120
That's the number one most important thing.

860
00:53:07,120 --> 00:53:08,120
My for real.

861
00:53:08,120 --> 00:53:09,120
Right.

862
00:53:09,120 --> 00:53:14,080
If you have enough customers out here, you know how to go about getting them and you

863
00:53:14,080 --> 00:53:15,240
can scale.

864
00:53:15,240 --> 00:53:16,240
You can scale yourself.

865
00:53:16,240 --> 00:53:18,680
That's the most important piece of business is like acquiring that customer.

866
00:53:18,680 --> 00:53:24,280
I would say after that access to capital sources and knowing how to structure the deals necessary

867
00:53:24,280 --> 00:53:26,920
to get you the capital to grow your company.

868
00:53:26,920 --> 00:53:27,920
Right.

869
00:53:27,920 --> 00:53:30,760
So you have the bank loans, but you have different types of equity financing.

870
00:53:30,760 --> 00:53:31,960
You have blended types of stuff.

871
00:53:31,960 --> 00:53:35,400
There's just a lot of different ways that you can go out and get and get this money

872
00:53:35,400 --> 00:53:39,760
and being prepared to actually use that capital once you actually get it.

873
00:53:39,760 --> 00:53:45,140
But then that's another thing is once you get the money, you have to use it effectively.

874
00:53:45,140 --> 00:53:47,880
So do you know what you're going to use that capital for?

875
00:53:47,880 --> 00:53:50,600
Is it going to be just straight marketing, customer acquisition?

876
00:53:50,600 --> 00:53:54,400
Is it going to be scaling your operations in terms of production, hiring people, getting

877
00:53:54,400 --> 00:53:56,880
new machinery or whatever it is?

878
00:53:56,880 --> 00:53:57,880
Right.

879
00:53:57,880 --> 00:54:04,240
So that type of know how also limits company because there's mindset shifts that need to

880
00:54:04,240 --> 00:54:07,080
occur when you continue to scale.

881
00:54:07,080 --> 00:54:08,080
That's scaling every stage.

882
00:54:08,080 --> 00:54:12,120
Having a $50,000 company is different than having a million dollar company.

883
00:54:12,120 --> 00:54:14,720
Having a million dollar company is different than having a $10 million company.

884
00:54:14,720 --> 00:54:17,960
Having $10 million companies is different than having a hundred million dollar company.

885
00:54:17,960 --> 00:54:21,000
No stage is harder than the next stage.

886
00:54:21,000 --> 00:54:25,240
But you just have to learn how to navigate and get through each stage of the process.

887
00:54:25,240 --> 00:54:26,240
That is very true.

888
00:54:26,240 --> 00:54:31,840
It's just a different toilet, but it's just a different same nature, but it's just a different

889
00:54:31,840 --> 00:54:33,480
beast that you're sort of dealing with.

890
00:54:33,480 --> 00:54:39,880
And you know, at least from my perspective, when we talk business, the market, like understanding

891
00:54:39,880 --> 00:54:44,200
your customer base, like I understand the importance of that.

892
00:54:44,200 --> 00:54:49,960
Oftentimes as entrepreneurs, the order of operations in which you do things can be like

893
00:54:49,960 --> 00:54:54,400
why you don't get to the next level because you put the cart before the horse, if you

894
00:54:54,400 --> 00:54:55,400
will.

895
00:54:55,400 --> 00:55:01,160
So to your point about like marketing, customer acquisition, in my experience, I've noticed

896
00:55:01,160 --> 00:55:07,340
oftentimes, sometimes entrepreneurs like that there's an imbalance of quality marketing,

897
00:55:07,340 --> 00:55:12,160
but then not being able to meet the needs of what you just marketed to, for example.

898
00:55:12,160 --> 00:55:15,920
So you have like this great marketing campaign and you got everybody's attention, you have

899
00:55:15,920 --> 00:55:19,680
the customers, but then you can't fulfill the needs of those customers and then you

900
00:55:19,680 --> 00:55:21,820
might lose them over time.

901
00:55:21,820 --> 00:55:27,960
From your point of view, when you're trying to go to market and figure out like how to

902
00:55:27,960 --> 00:55:32,360
take full advantage, like what do you think is like from an order of operations standpoint?

903
00:55:32,360 --> 00:55:39,320
Do you feel like it's more important to invest in that marketing acquisition, even if say,

904
00:55:39,320 --> 00:55:42,680
maybe you don't have the full thing ready to deliver?

905
00:55:42,680 --> 00:55:49,280
Like I guess I'm curious, like we see it so often, GoFundMe's crowdfunding for a product

906
00:55:49,280 --> 00:55:54,120
that's under design, still getting developed, all you see is a prototype and then they got

907
00:55:54,120 --> 00:55:58,520
all these orders and then you can't meet the orders because it never gets fulfilled.

908
00:55:58,520 --> 00:56:04,360
From a business standpoint, do you feel like that sort of approach is beneficial or like

909
00:56:04,360 --> 00:56:06,480
a smart thing to do?

910
00:56:06,480 --> 00:56:11,760
Are you better off doing the opposite and really making sure from an operations standpoint,

911
00:56:11,760 --> 00:56:16,880
you have all that locked down and then go try to capture as big a market possible?

912
00:56:16,880 --> 00:56:19,120
How do you balance both of those?

913
00:56:19,120 --> 00:56:23,680
I'm always a fan of getting the customer before you actually have the product.

914
00:56:23,680 --> 00:56:27,560
The reason is if you build a product without the customer, you don't know if customers

915
00:56:27,560 --> 00:56:30,400
are actually going to come and purchase the product.

916
00:56:30,400 --> 00:56:34,640
Then also you lose the opportunity to make your product better because you're not getting

917
00:56:34,640 --> 00:56:40,000
that real life, real time feedback in regards to like, all right, we need to change this,

918
00:56:40,000 --> 00:56:43,480
we need to change that because customers are telling us that that's what they actually

919
00:56:43,480 --> 00:56:44,560
want to see.

920
00:56:44,560 --> 00:56:48,200
You wouldn't know that unless you actually talk to the customers and put something in

921
00:56:48,200 --> 00:56:51,520
front of them that like, this is actually what's going to look like, what's going to

922
00:56:51,520 --> 00:56:52,880
be, what it's going to do.

923
00:56:52,880 --> 00:56:58,480
Then them giving you feedback in regards to what has been offered in front of them.

924
00:56:58,480 --> 00:57:03,400
The worst thing in the world is to build something that nobody actually wants.

925
00:57:03,400 --> 00:57:06,840
You really need to assess demand and make sure that people actually want something and

926
00:57:06,840 --> 00:57:12,280
prototype that and go from there versus actually building something because it's not, what's

927
00:57:12,280 --> 00:57:14,240
that movie, Field of Dreams from 1990?

928
00:57:14,240 --> 00:57:19,280
They build it, it's not necessarily they'll be coming for you and coming to you.

929
00:57:19,280 --> 00:57:20,280
I would say build it.

930
00:57:20,280 --> 00:57:24,680
I would say see if they come and see what people want and then actually build off their

931
00:57:24,680 --> 00:57:25,680
specifications.

932
00:57:25,680 --> 00:57:26,680
Jules, man.

933
00:57:26,680 --> 00:57:32,920
We're going to start to close out, but I'm curious, in doing this sort of work, working

934
00:57:32,920 --> 00:57:38,360
with other entrepreneurs to help them scale, what have been some of the early lessons that

935
00:57:38,360 --> 00:57:41,520
you've picked up in this sort of role?

936
00:57:41,520 --> 00:57:46,760
That's only one piece of my role right now, eventually it'll be like the largest piece.

937
00:57:46,760 --> 00:57:53,960
Right now I work for a VC fund out of Oklahoma, out of Tulsa.

938
00:57:53,960 --> 00:57:59,160
We are the arm of a large foundation here called the D.A.

939
00:57:59,160 --> 00:58:05,360
And we're deploying a hundred million dollars in basically the state of Oklahoma to recruit

940
00:58:05,360 --> 00:58:11,020
the best talent in terms of founders to the city in hopes that they grow the best companies

941
00:58:11,020 --> 00:58:16,920
possible and provide jobs and employment for the residents here as well and also make us

942
00:58:16,920 --> 00:58:19,520
more money in terms of return on investment type of standpoint.

943
00:58:19,520 --> 00:58:26,000
So what I've learned so far with working with the companies is that there are a lot of passionate

944
00:58:26,000 --> 00:58:29,840
people out here who are willing to put that hustle, willing to put that grind into making

945
00:58:29,840 --> 00:58:30,920
the business work.

946
00:58:30,920 --> 00:58:37,400
I think a lot of founders don't know how to sell and tell their story very well in a deeper

947
00:58:37,400 --> 00:58:38,800
type of format.

948
00:58:38,800 --> 00:58:43,080
So some get to the point where they can do a two or three minute pitch about their business.

949
00:58:43,080 --> 00:58:47,080
But if you ask them like deeper questions in terms of the product market fit and pushback

950
00:58:47,080 --> 00:58:51,040
and all those other types of things, if you really want to have a deep understanding about

951
00:58:51,040 --> 00:58:56,440
a subject, they struggle, they fumble with actually answering those types of questions.

952
00:58:56,440 --> 00:59:01,880
I would say for potential entrepreneurs is to deeply and really understand your business

953
00:59:01,880 --> 00:59:08,340
and also the core value proposition of your company so that you can sell it to potential

954
00:59:08,340 --> 00:59:12,720
customers and also potential employees and investors as well.

955
00:59:12,720 --> 00:59:16,000
And that's missing from a lot of entrepreneurs, especially when they first get started.

956
00:59:16,000 --> 00:59:20,640
When we say core value prop, can you just explain what you mean by that?

957
00:59:20,640 --> 00:59:22,280
So your value proposition.

958
00:59:22,280 --> 00:59:27,800
So why am I going to choose this business to solve my particular product, especially

959
00:59:27,800 --> 00:59:35,120
over competitors or substitutes that could do the same thing and solve my same problem?

960
00:59:35,120 --> 00:59:36,160
It is so key.

961
00:59:36,160 --> 00:59:41,200
It is so key and without, you know, like you said, it all goes back to that, to that access

962
00:59:41,200 --> 00:59:42,720
to information.

963
00:59:42,720 --> 00:59:47,200
You know, you don't know what you don't know when you're out here on the grind and you

964
00:59:47,200 --> 00:59:51,440
have that willingness to put in the work, but you're missing some of that key information,

965
00:59:51,440 --> 00:59:56,160
man, it can, it can really like almost make you resent the work you're doing.

966
00:59:56,160 --> 01:00:01,760
It can sometimes the ignorance that that liability of ignorance that exists when doing business,

967
01:00:01,760 --> 01:00:04,480
like it can cost you in the long run or in the short term.

968
01:00:04,480 --> 01:00:09,640
So having this information, I think is going to be so valuable for entrepreneurs listening.

969
01:00:09,640 --> 01:00:11,880
You know, you got to work on your pitch.

970
01:00:11,880 --> 01:00:13,440
Like everybody's got to know how to sell.

971
01:00:13,440 --> 01:00:16,840
And if you've got a business and you don't understand some of these core elements that

972
01:00:16,840 --> 01:00:20,240
he's speaking about, can they learn this at the black business school?

973
01:00:20,240 --> 01:00:24,760
Like I'm curious, like, is it some of the things that you guys help help the community

974
01:00:24,760 --> 01:00:25,760
learn more about?

975
01:00:25,760 --> 01:00:26,760
Yeah, exactly.

976
01:00:26,760 --> 01:00:30,640
So we have three fundamental pillars of wealth building for us, entrepreneurship, stock market

977
01:00:30,640 --> 01:00:31,640
investing, and real estate investing.

978
01:00:31,640 --> 01:00:37,200
And when it comes to the entrepreneurship piece, that's core and fundamental is learning

979
01:00:37,200 --> 01:00:43,620
how to sell, but selling isn't the thing and the activities that people often associated

980
01:00:43,620 --> 01:00:44,920
with it and think that it is.

981
01:00:44,920 --> 01:00:51,120
A lot of time it is understanding customer problems, the impact of those problems and

982
01:00:51,120 --> 01:00:55,280
figuring out how to explain how your solution fixes those problems that they're having their

983
01:00:55,280 --> 01:00:56,400
own individual lives.

984
01:00:56,400 --> 01:00:57,400
Right.

985
01:00:57,400 --> 01:00:58,400
That's the basis of selling.

986
01:00:58,400 --> 01:01:03,000
So it's going through listening, really understanding what people are going through.

987
01:01:03,000 --> 01:01:08,320
Got to have a, or not say you got to, but when we talk sales, it's definitely more of

988
01:01:08,320 --> 01:01:13,600
a consultative approach, understanding the needs of your audience and making sure you

989
01:01:13,600 --> 01:01:19,720
speak to how you can address those needs and tying and connecting the dots is definitely

990
01:01:19,720 --> 01:01:21,920
the way to go.

991
01:01:21,920 --> 01:01:26,200
We've gone over your background, you shared some of your stories as it relates to your

992
01:01:26,200 --> 01:01:29,720
entrepreneurial efforts, some of what you're doing now with the community.

993
01:01:29,720 --> 01:01:34,920
Are there any last closing words that you want to leave the audience with, whether it

994
01:01:34,920 --> 01:01:39,360
be to, we'll keep them posted on the framework.

995
01:01:39,360 --> 01:01:43,640
We'll have to circle back and figure out how we can work together even to maybe even have

996
01:01:43,640 --> 01:01:46,200
another episode and talk through the framework even more.

997
01:01:46,200 --> 01:01:47,200
Maybe we record it.

998
01:01:47,200 --> 01:01:48,200
That'd be fun.

999
01:01:48,200 --> 01:01:49,200
Yeah.

1000
01:01:49,200 --> 01:01:51,880
Let people kind of hear that, but anything that you want to leave the people with, any

1001
01:01:51,880 --> 01:01:54,560
final words or anything you want to let them know you got going on.

1002
01:01:54,560 --> 01:01:59,040
I really just appreciate the opportunity to speak with you and your audience in regards

1003
01:01:59,040 --> 01:02:02,080
to what we're doing here in Tulsa and around supplier diversity.

1004
01:02:02,080 --> 01:02:03,080
Yeah.

1005
01:02:03,080 --> 01:02:06,760
Really about family and life and your overarching motto and definitely everything else too.

1006
01:02:06,760 --> 01:02:07,760
I appreciate that.

1007
01:02:07,760 --> 01:02:11,400
You got to stay focused, but I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you today.

1008
01:02:11,400 --> 01:02:16,960
Ma'am, I appreciate you joining in case y'all are wondering or wanting to learn more.

1009
01:02:16,960 --> 01:02:22,240
I know Lawrence, do you still do the newsletter on LinkedIn as well?

1010
01:02:22,240 --> 01:02:27,360
Man, with these kids, I had to shut something down in that awesome day.

1011
01:02:27,360 --> 01:02:30,240
I might be doing a Black Business Monthly or something like that.

1012
01:02:30,240 --> 01:02:34,440
We'll see on that particular front, but follow me on LinkedIn.

1013
01:02:34,440 --> 01:02:36,320
Find me on LinkedIn, Lawrence Watkins.

1014
01:02:36,320 --> 01:02:43,360
I think it's, or handle Lawrence, L-A-W-R-E-N-C-E-M as in Matthew Watkins.

1015
01:02:43,360 --> 01:02:47,040
So find me at the Black Business School.

1016
01:02:47,040 --> 01:02:52,120
I'll make sure on the follow-up when we put out the edited episode, I'll put the links

1017
01:02:52,120 --> 01:02:55,880
for the Black Business School, put the links in and make sure that people can connect with

1018
01:02:55,880 --> 01:02:56,880
you.

1019
01:02:56,880 --> 01:03:00,720
For everybody listening, whether you're here on Instagram, here on YouTube, make your way

1020
01:03:00,720 --> 01:03:04,300
over to YouTube, hit that subscribe button if you're listening.

1021
01:03:04,300 --> 01:03:10,520
This is the G-S**t Podcast where we focus on family, friends, finances, freedom, and

1022
01:03:10,520 --> 01:03:13,480
our future and f**k everything else.

1023
01:03:13,480 --> 01:03:15,700
Shout out to Lawrence Watkins for joining us.

1024
01:03:15,700 --> 01:03:16,700
We are out of here.

1025
01:03:16,700 --> 01:03:33,000
Make sure you hit that subscribe button.

1026
01:03:33,000 --> 01:03:34,000
This is the G-S**t Podcast.

1027
01:03:34,000 --> 01:03:47,520
We are out of here.