January 21, 2022 • 25 mins
Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings are changing the game for the community. Together, they host the tremendously successful financial literacy podcast Earn Your Leisure.
They are more than just podcasters; they are educators, change agents, and legacy builders for our community.
Rashad and Troy share with us the humble beginnings of their relationship and building the Earn Your Leisure brand.
Host IG: @itstanyatime
Guest IG: @earnyourleisure
Guest Website: Earn Your Leisure
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily
podcast determined to give you the keys to the Kingdom
of financial stability, wealth and abundance. Our next guests are
changing the game for our community. They are more than
(00:21):
just podcasters. They are educators, change agents, and legacy builders
for our community. They are part of the Greenwood family,
and we are pretty much cousins if you want to
look at it that way. Money Movers Welcome the Earn
your Leisure folks, Troy Millings and Rashad Balah Earn your
Leisure Welcome to the show. Thank having, Thank you for
(00:42):
having us in appreciated. Thank you so much, gentlemen. Congratulations
on all your success and what you were doing for
our community. Welcome to the Greenwood family. There's so much
that we have to unpack and dive into today, so
it's really a pleasure and actually an honor to have
you here. So we appreciate you taking the time of
your busy schedules to come and speak with us. Thank
(01:02):
you so much, and shout out to the Greenwood Family
with the team for sure. Sure. So, gentlemen, we want
to take it back to the beginning because you've had
some incredible success over the past couple of years. So
before you launched Earnier Leisure, you too, one of you
was a teacher, one of you was in the financial industry.
Can you tell us a little bit about how you
(01:24):
started on this incredibly impactful trajectory. Yeah, I started with
the kids in mind. Like I said, I was teaching
in the city in New York, and UM, I knew
that the curriculum, it wasn't going to be beneficial long
term for the kids. A lot of things that they learned.
I knew that they weren't applying UH in the future.
And so I had a six week summer program at
the time, and I wanted to treat that six weeks
(01:45):
like the ten months of school that the kids didn't get.
One of those components was teaching them about finding financial
literacy because at the end of the program we were
going to pay them and it had been their first
time to be in contact with real money, UM, and
so we wanted to have a positive relationship with it.
Learned how they invested, understand what tax was, and so
financial literacy was the king. And at the time, he
had just started his financial advising career and it was
(02:06):
like perfect, you should come to teach it. And it was.
It was great because two things happened, right, He got
to teach well, I got to show him what it
was to be a teacher and educator, and he got
to teach me about the financial world, right because I
come from education, and so we started in the classroom
for ten years and that spots something in him that
that that changed our lives forever. Really Yeah, and then
(02:29):
from there, you know, it was a matter of just
growing organically on social media. Um. You know, I was
going to different people's radio stations, going to different people's shows,
anything that I could really you know, get my hands
on to you escape content and put in content on
social media. And that just became very very popular on
social media, talking about finances in a way that you know,
(02:49):
a lot not a lot of people was actually speaking
about it, breaking it down and breaking it down. And then, um,
that led to people asking for a podcast. Um, so
that led to us, you know, deciding to start earning
a lesion and the rest of history have been about
almost three years now. Three years. I mean, that's a
pretty amazing trajectory. Talk about some of the numbers you
have on your podcast, Um, plays. Yeah, we we we
(03:14):
go around one point two million plays on our podcasts.
I'm on, we have five hundred and fifty thousand UH
on YouTube, almost nine hundred thousand UM followers on Instagram.
So yeah, it's it's a pretty you say that, so
casually you're just like, it's it's a it's a blessing
(03:38):
that people are actually interested in what we have to
say and the guests that we actually bring on. So
you know, we definitely are humbled by the way that
it has been received and most importantly has been championed
by the people. So you know, um, we are just
ambassadors for the people. I love that. And you know,
one of the things we talked about a lot on
this podcast is this idea of generational wealth. So I
(04:00):
think your story is so interesting because you started with
like the kids, you know, and teaching this message and
realizing like the real loss for our community is like
nobody taught us this stuff. You know, it wasn't in
schools and so here you you had to go out
and create your own curriculum. And then do you find
that trickled down to the parents. You know, kids would
take this home and so was it more of a
(04:21):
full circle impact in our community. Yeah, I mean that's
exactly what happened. I think it trickled up right because
like the kids were learning it, but the parents were like, wait,
how do you know this? So right, it came to
a point it was like we realized that financial reality
doesn't have an age. Right, there's a parent who may
not know something that the sports you know what that
we just taught is understanding. So that concept of like,
(04:42):
all right, there's no age, then we're gonna teach everybody
the same way because everybody we never know where their
starting point at became like the tipping point for us.
Especially when we came to interviews. It was like, we're
gonna ask you at a very intentional level to everybody
can grasp that's great. I love that. I kind of
liken it to my generation. Um smoking, You know, in
schools they hit this huge push first no smoking. You'd
(05:03):
go home and say to your aunties and uncles, why
are you smoking? They who told you this? But look
at how we what we've done for smoking. So look
at let's look at like decades from now, what you
guys are doing is really going to have a lasting
impact on how we can build wealth, how our kids
can start businesses and you know, really changed their lives.
I remember that. Just say no, remember and your parents
(05:25):
would be like, why are you trying to tell me
what to do? Right? Like I learned this in school.
I love that. Okay, So let's go back to how
did you two meet? We met? We grew up together. Um,
so we met. I'm two years younger than him, So
we went to different schools. I was in elementary school
and um, he was in uh junior high school. So
(05:46):
I was in sixth grade, he was in eighth grade.
And it was, I believe a movie that a lot
of kids from our neighborhood. Um, we were extras in
a movie called Eddie, which Whoopie Goldberg. It was that
it was shot at Madison Square Gardens. So when they
brought like it in the neighborhood to be extras in
the movie. And uh, at the time, you know, I
already knew like pretty much most of the kids that
(06:07):
were older than me because I always hung around older kids.
But I didn't know him because he had just moved
to the neighborhood. So we just we met there and actually,
you know, it's a funny story. I always remember, like
you know, I always more introverted. He's a lot more
outgoing than me, so but I was always really popular,
so like everybody always knew who I was, and he
like just set my nickname like they're call him shoddy.
(06:28):
And I always remember, like I was looking at him,
like why is he speaking to me? I don't even
know him, but like you know what I mean. But
that's just that's his personality is very outgoing and he
you know, he's speaking to me like he knew me
before he actually even knew who I was, and I
didn't know who he was. And um, from there we
just know rocking ever since and it's just been a
lifelong friendship. Um. So yeah, it's it's a real organic situation.
(06:49):
That's why I think our chemistry on Ernie Lesia is
is so different because it's not like we just met
each other, yeah goo or two years agoing, Like you know,
we was friends and family before we actually decided to
do this, and we had a lot of other businesses
that we started before we started this business. So it's
natural with fat do you speak every day anyway? So
now we just speak about business as a post and
just speaking about other stuff. I tell people like we
(07:12):
had twenty five years of conversations that now we're not
in the world here. Um so it's like, where's the chemistry.
It's twenty five years of every day tell them to
the same person. That's how you feel it. You feel
like I get that. So where did the name Earn
Your Leisure come from? Yeah? So at the time, and
he was on social media like killing the stories, like
people were really grasping him, like the way he was
(07:33):
delivering him. He was like, at the time, hashtags were
a big thing. And he came to myself and our
partner Mike, and he was like I need a hashtag,
Like I need one, and um it too like a
day and I was like I got one for you.
And I was like earn your Leisure and he was like, nah, man,
that's why. And I had explained to him why I
came up with it. I was like, look, man, you know,
a lot of people see the things that we've accumulated, right,
(07:54):
We've we've got nice cars, and we throw these pretty
good parties and we traveled. They don't realize how hard
we work. They never Still you get up at five
in the morning and decided to go to the gym
because basketball was your passion. They never saw you go
to school and and graduate and get education. They never
saw me wake up and uh go teach and then
go to the after school program and go to school
that night and full sleep and commnesiology class. They stuff. Yes, Yeah,
(08:18):
for years we were doing those things. They never They
weren't with us in the in the classroom. Yeah, they
were't shoot us shooting with us in the gym. Literally
we were in a band room. We weren't even the classroom,
like using capital. They didn't see any of those things.
And I was like, they don't realize that we worked
hard for these things, Like we've earned some of these freedoms.
So I was like, Earn Alisia has to be it
has to be it. And then after a little bit
(08:39):
of convincing, he started using the hashtag. And so when
we had to come up with a name, we throught
up two different names. Um and and I won't say
him because I think Puff will probably like put it
in a lawsuit, but they had to. They were they
were related around him and the music he was. But now,
but Ernianlisia was kind of a passiact that he was
using and We're like, that's ours and let's go with it.
(09:00):
I love that. I love that. That's great. Okay, So
let's talk about because you know, this is one of
the things that I think a lot in our community.
People think there's these get rich quick schemes you can
just work a couple of days, and entrepreneurs are like these,
like lavish bosses where you see all the fruits of
your labor, but people don't understand the work behind it.
One of the things I love about listening to you
(09:20):
guys and the people that you bring on is they
don't you, guys show the long haul. You're not just
showing these shortcut get rich squeams. You're showing a whole
variety of different entrepreneurs and stuff that can inspire your listeners.
Can you talk about some of your milestone episodes or
entrepreneurs that you've had on. Yeah, it's been a few, actually,
(09:46):
I think you guys read up about a hundred. I
feel like I listened to the hundred and fiftieth episode
the other day. Okay, Yeah, yeah, we behind behind one. Okay,
then I gotta catch up. I gotta catch up. I
was traveling, I was traveling, but now definitely as far
as Episode eleven was an episode that really changed the
trajective of Earning Legion. That was a restaurant owner from
(10:08):
Baltimore and Third Falcon and he was the first person
that came and really kind of just broke down his
business model when we was talking about the revenue and
all of that. That was extremely transparent episode and that
came kind of like the blueprint of where Earning Legion
was built on and far at the transparency and providing
solutions and information and kind of really you know, giving
(10:28):
a blueprint. Before that, it was more so case studies
like that was really what we were doing, Like we
was examining case studies and looking at stuff that has
happened in pop culture and business and kind of breaking
it down. That was very educational also, but people really
gravitated towards UM that. So episode eleven was definitely a
game changing for us. UM. You know, Mark Cuban, that
(10:50):
was definitely you know somebody that you know, obviously a billionaire,
the first time we've had a billionaire on the platform,
and he was extremely transparent as well, explaining you know,
his stories, his failures, his success stories, how you know
he made his money, a lot of different things that
you know, a lot of people wasn't aware of. So
that was a big one for us as well. Um,
(11:11):
so those are two that stick out for me. I'm
sure Troy might have. Yeah, yeah, I always talk about
episode left. Episode twelve was huge as well. Mr Draft. Yeah,
he uh, he broke down the real estate market in
the game, and he gave some strategies. Is his four
three to one wherever you you know, sometimes you gotta
make sacrifices in life, and you might have to live
(11:33):
in a multi family home and you rent out three
of the units and you live in one and you're
the tenant and people are paying you and they have
no idea. And then when you get enough money, you
go down from to a three family, then a two family,
and by the time you've raised so much income from
the other three, now you have money to buy your
dream home. Because most people go into these situations buying
what they can afford. They never buy what their dream is.
(11:54):
And so I was he was sitting in my diving
room telling me the strategy, and I'm like, damn, I
wish I would. You're like, I'm about to wrench out
this bedroom like this is crazy. I mean, but that's
the thing, Like he's opened our eyes to so many
different ways of you know, accumulating wealth and just strategies
to do it. That was important for us. UM are
(12:14):
stock episodes shout out to our brother being done that.
UM episode seventy came at the perfect time, right before
the pandemic, right, it was you put that episode out
of mar I think ten, and then the world shut down,
and so people were absorbing knowledge at a different rate.
They were like, wait, we're home, how can we make revenus? Right?
(12:35):
A lot of people losing their jobs. They're like, where
we're gonna get money from? And so the time it
was perfect for it. UM. So yeah, wow, okay, so
at what point you've had you know, eisodes now, but
you look back from the very beginning where eleven and
twelve were hits, that you realize you really had something
here and it was going to change from sort of
a hobby to something that could be a really viable business.
(12:56):
I think the first episode, I mean I think early
on people you know, it's one of the things that
just had a cold following it as soon as you started.
It had it had a following before we saw you started,
like that said, because building my own personal Instagram page,
people was already you know, really really engaged and really
in tune for that. So we kind of started with
a head start. And as soon as we started, UM,
(13:17):
it was just going viral, like online and on Instagram,
putting up clips and it was just getting a bunch
of you. So I think as soon as you started,
we realized that we had something specials. I remember looking
at the analytics and I was like, how many people
you think, like you're gonna listen and we're like to
get like five hundred and be great. And then four
days later it was like fourteen hundred people have listened. Man,
It's like whoa. And then the next week it was
(13:39):
like sixteen hundred and the number has never stopped growing
since then. And so I would remember sitting at work.
I was still teaching when we started, and I sat
in um my friend's office. I would talk to her
about like the episodes prior to them coming out. I
tell him like, looking, if we could get to twenty
five thousand people average, I won't be sitting in itself.
It's much longer like to say, I'm gonna be out
(13:59):
of here, that's great, That's exactly what we all want
to hear. Yeah. Yeah, So I was like, that's the number,
that's the number, and she didn't understand why, but I knew,
like what comes with that, that level of a listenership
and following. I was like, yeah, okay, so I want
to hone in on that. You're like, I knew what
comes with that level of listenership and following, which I
hope is going to be some sort of financial return.
(14:20):
So question for you. I'm sure. Now it's three years later,
you guys get a lot of people who are writing
back in saying thank you. Do you have any amazing
success stories of you know, young kids, two older people
who have come back and said I started a business
because of you guys. Yeah. Sure. All the time people
stop us in the street like, you know, I quit
(14:41):
my job and I'm doing airbnb full time now, or
you know, I brought my first house based off of
the information that I learned from your podcast, or you know,
I started a daycare, and woman a couple of years
ago said she started a daycare because she learned about
you know, how to get an f H loan. It's
a multi family house, and she you know house Hag
that started daycare business. So that literally happens like all
(15:01):
the time. People saying the stock market, we got a huge,
huge stock show for market Mondays, So that happens all
the time. People like, yeah, you know short their portfolio,
tell us how they started investing in stocks because they
listened to the show. Tell us how they got into crypto. Um.
So it's just like a bunch of different stories of
people that's actually listening to the information and actually have
(15:22):
taken action and started businesses investing. So it's really encouraging
when people say that for sure. Yeah, well, I mean
we'ven have people I remember early on, I never forget
I was I had a class and there was a
gentleman who wrote onto the post, thank you for this information.
Now I don't have to be on the streets like
I'm not selling drugs anymore, and you'll just take my life.
You don't even understand what this is gonna do for
my generation. Like that happens, and like I tell people
(15:43):
all the time, information is gonna be on us with
the executions on them, and so to see people executing
at that level and seeing that the impact it has,
like that's the fuel, Like that's the fool that says
and even like you know, we take places that you
might not expect it, Like we gotta know big in jails,
like all stories all the time. Well, people that's in jail,
(16:04):
that's that's listening to us, that's learning, telling their friends.
So the stories always come back to me and all
over federal jails, state jails. So you know that's though
too to see people that you know are incrtually a
lot of times they incarcerated because they just didn't know
other ways to make money outside of illegal activity. And
now they're being educated and now you know, called willen
(16:26):
when they come when they come out, and they'll they'll
be quick to actually provide for themselves without having to
risk their life and that without having to risk their freedom.
So that's a big tool. I mean, that's huge. That
is really huge. Yeah, that kind of actually like made
me tear up a little bit and proud of you
guys because it's i mean, it's like not just to
touch you know, one two lives, but all these lives
(16:47):
like across the country is really amazing. Um. So Earnier
Leisure is more than just a podcast now it's involved
into a full scale curriculum and the online um Earnier
Leisure University. Can you talk about that evolution of how
you sort of made a university from this? Yeah, I
mean you build, you build, you build the pyramid, one
break at the time, and you know, our our thing
(17:09):
is always to look forward. You never like a court
in the moment and celebrate the moment. So it's like,
all right, how can we push the envelope? How can
we just keep building? So it was just natural growth
for progressions, just to add different elements to it. So yeah,
it's started as a podcast. Now it's a you know platform,
a community UM which we have a podcast network which
we have seven shows under the podcast network. UM. It
(17:31):
is a like you said, online university. You're just like,
this is so crazy, So tell me the names of
the seven shows because this is huge, Like what you
guys have built out. This is like Divide two point
oh yeah. Sure. So we have Sleepers for Suckers social
podcast with Dave Shance. We have a market Money Days.
We have Rants and Gyms which is a real estate show.
(17:54):
We have ash Cash Inside the Vote, we have the
Inner Wealth podcast, and we also have dree Nation Dream Nation.
So that's it, and then we have one that we're
actually working on it. So we have six six active
right now and then the right Yeah you got six
(18:15):
kids and twins on the way, Okay, so yeah, so
that's that's the podcast network. University is online educational portal
and that's an extension of earning Allegian but more of
a hands on situation, more of a community. So we
do weekly classes, we do financial planning called, we do
(18:35):
movie club, book club. Um So, we modeled it after
traditional university, but we added our twist on it, so
like we have infinity groups inside of it, like we
have a crypto club, stock club. Um So. The structure
is based off of, like you know, what you would
be used to in the traditional school, but with a
(18:56):
new approach as far as the virtual learning, hand on,
um things that actually will make you money as opposed
to a lot of theoretical stuff. So that's things that
will actually make you money. Yeah, that's like eight thousand members,
eight dollars, ten thousand members. Yeah, he's doing that modest
thing again. Come on. And then we just started on.
(19:20):
We just have we have a festival. We have a
festival that we just started calling Best Fest in Atlanta. Yeah,
that was you know, that was a huge success going
We had eight weeks of planning. We have four dollard
people that came to that, So we're looking to grow that.
That's gonna be an annual thing on par with like
Coachella or Made in America where it's an annual festival
(19:40):
every single year Bubble and that just will continue to grow.
So our merch department is something that we're very passionate
about and we're about to have a whole evolution with
the merch to bring into a whole different from merch
to a clothing line um, and that's something that you
know will be coming soon. So that's another uh piece
the wheel. And also we have the live events space,
(20:05):
which the Best Fest is its own entity, but outside
of that, like you know, we are getting back in
the live event space, so you know you'll see us
on tour earn your Leisure or market Mondays and going
to different cities and going international also, so we definitely
a plan on going to Africa. Yes, I just got
back from Ghana. This would just be eating up there, okay,
(20:29):
but we was in Jamaica UM a few months ago.
That was huge. We got a lot of love out there,
so we want to just touch different parts of the world. Um.
So yeah, we got we got a few things. You
like the truck many the truck that's big get. The
truck um is something that we did an episode with
alex An Energy friend of ours, and that's one of
(20:50):
the most popular episodes as far as like eighteen wheelers.
What episode is that so people can check it out.
I know people take notes thirty seven thirty seven. Um.
So yeah, we have a truck um on the road
and that's become very popular because it has our emoji
on it. It has our names orr Lesia University like
all plastered on the side of it. So every time
(21:12):
somebody sees it, they like take a picture and put
it on Instagram, put in their stories. So that's become
very popular. So we're looking you have an eighteen wheeler. Yeah,
are you using it like logistically to ship stuff or
is it more logistics? So that's that's yeah, it's a
whole business. You know, most things in America get moved
by either playing or truck. So yeah, we moved stuff
(21:33):
all over the country and like I said, we have
one right now, but definitely looking to go to fleet
have a fleet of trucks, so they had a logistic company.
Is definitely moving moving along, and we just lost our
vending machine company as well. Okay, but it's so great
about this. It's like remember that old hair club adage,
I'm not just the president, I'm a member to let's
(21:54):
actually take your own advice. You know, you're not just
talking about this stuff. You're like, whoa, that was, Okay,
I'm gonna by a truck. I'm gonna buy a vending
machine business. Like if this is real stuff that people
tangibly can do to make money, that's the interesting part.
Like when we're sitting in the interviews, like I know
the way he's asking the question that he's gonna say,
like we should try this, so we need to do
this later. So the vendoman scenes was one of those
(22:15):
is like okay that, let's do that. And the number
one thing we had to do with that is just
fine location. It just so happens the place that we
were having uh summer program, our old high school had none,
and so we like, what an opportunity we should we
should definitely be in here, and we wanted to put
it there to start the business to help the younger
kids in our community. Um, but more so we wanted
to help our school, old high school. And you know,
(22:36):
we've I've always asked like who's ever giving it back?
You see, like sometimes you see a plaque that came
from a year that graduated, but you haven't see something
that's tangible that lives on. And so our idea was like, look,
let's give of the revenue every month from these vendom
machines back to the senior class to leave your horse right.
So now prom course will be reduced teenior dudes. We
(22:58):
reduced no more bikes sales and trying to sell the
same sweatshirts at the football game that we got every year.
You don't have to do any of those things because
we've created your own ecosystems coming back. So yeah, that's
something that we just watched as well. That's incredible. I
love that. Yes, we had um Kaship Edwards teach us
about vending machines, and that was one of those things
(23:19):
that I just had no idea. And the funniest part
is I laughed so hard because I'm still like this,
you know adult that's putting my quarters in for those gunballs.
And I always felt like I was the only person
that was buying those gunballs left in the world. But
it's a whole business. Yeah, so to conceive that's our
got Yeah yeah, so try and Rashan, thank you so
much for being here and dropping so many wells and
(23:42):
gems of information on our Money Movers audience before we
let you go for today, can you tell our Money
Moves audience where they can find you on social media
and how they can sign up for the Earner Leisure University. Yes,
thank you for having us first and foremost, and you
can follow us on Earni Alesia across all all social
media platform TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, um YouTube. You can
(24:07):
subscribe to our podcast on your leisure on all podcasts outlets,
so we kept it simple. Um yeah, it's pretty consistent
across all social media handles. My Instagram handles with shop
allow money and Troy's is Troy Millings his name, so yeah,
it's it's really easy. But once again, thank you for
having us. We just kind o use from Toronto shout
to Toronto six in the place in the world, so
(24:31):
we definitely all plan on going to Toronto soon. So
if we have any Canadian listeners. We have a strong
support base in Canada and Toronto. Oh I cannot wait
for that. Yeah, we have a very hungry Canadian audience
for anything financial literacy, entrepreneurship, so that will be great.
Definitely gonna be on the stop. Yeah, hey, hey speaking.
(24:54):
Oh gosh, well, gentlemen, it was honestly a pleasure to
have you here today. Thank you so much that for
you're doing for in our community in terms of wealth building,
building generational wealth and for the culture. Like what you're
doing has impact that is going to be exponential for
decades and hopefully generations to come. So thank you so
much for your time today and Money Movers, I hope
(25:16):
you took notes because they have set you on the
trajectory to building some real money moves. Thank you so
much for tuning in Money Moves audience. If you want
more or a recap of this episode, please go to
the Bank Greenwood dot com and check out the Money
Moves podcast blog. Money Moves is an I heart radio
(25:39):
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From
Hey, Money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily
podcast determined to give you the keys to the Kingdom
of financial stability, wealth and abundance. Our next guests are
changing the game for our community. They are more than
(00:21):
just podcasters. They are educators, change agents, and legacy builders
for our community. They are part of the Greenwood family,
and we are pretty much cousins if you want to
look at it that way. Money Movers Welcome the Earn
your Leisure folks, Troy Millings and Rashad Balah Earn your
Leisure Welcome to the show. Thank having, Thank you for
(00:42):
having us in appreciated. Thank you so much, gentlemen. Congratulations
on all your success and what you were doing for
our community. Welcome to the Greenwood family. There's so much
that we have to unpack and dive into today, so
it's really a pleasure and actually an honor to have
you here. So we appreciate you taking the time of
your busy schedules to come and speak with us. Thank
(01:02):
you so much, and shout out to the Greenwood Family
with the team for sure. Sure. So, gentlemen, we want
to take it back to the beginning because you've had
some incredible success over the past couple of years. So
before you launched Earnier Leisure, you too, one of you
was a teacher, one of you was in the financial industry.
Can you tell us a little bit about how you
(01:24):
started on this incredibly impactful trajectory. Yeah, I started with
the kids in mind. Like I said, I was teaching
in the city in New York, and UM, I knew
that the curriculum, it wasn't going to be beneficial long
term for the kids. A lot of things that they learned.
I knew that they weren't applying UH in the future.
And so I had a six week summer program at
the time, and I wanted to treat that six weeks
(01:45):
like the ten months of school that the kids didn't get.
One of those components was teaching them about finding financial
literacy because at the end of the program we were
going to pay them and it had been their first
time to be in contact with real money, UM, and
so we wanted to have a positive relationship with it.
Learned how they invested, understand what tax was, and so
financial literacy was the king. And at the time, he
had just started his financial advising career and it was
(02:06):
like perfect, you should come to teach it. And it was.
It was great because two things happened, right, He got
to teach well, I got to show him what it
was to be a teacher and educator, and he got
to teach me about the financial world, right because I
come from education, and so we started in the classroom
for ten years and that spots something in him that
that that changed our lives forever. Really Yeah, and then
(02:29):
from there, you know, it was a matter of just
growing organically on social media. Um. You know, I was
going to different people's radio stations, going to different people's shows,
anything that I could really you know, get my hands
on to you escape content and put in content on
social media. And that just became very very popular on
social media, talking about finances in a way that you know,
(02:49):
a lot not a lot of people was actually speaking
about it, breaking it down and breaking it down. And then, um,
that led to people asking for a podcast. Um, so
that led to us, you know, deciding to start earning
a lesion and the rest of history have been about
almost three years now. Three years. I mean, that's a
pretty amazing trajectory. Talk about some of the numbers you
have on your podcast, Um, plays. Yeah, we we we
(03:14):
go around one point two million plays on our podcasts.
I'm on, we have five hundred and fifty thousand UH
on YouTube, almost nine hundred thousand UM followers on Instagram.
So yeah, it's it's a pretty you say that, so
casually you're just like, it's it's a it's a blessing
(03:38):
that people are actually interested in what we have to
say and the guests that we actually bring on. So
you know, we definitely are humbled by the way that
it has been received and most importantly has been championed
by the people. So you know, um, we are just
ambassadors for the people. I love that. And you know,
one of the things we talked about a lot on
this podcast is this idea of generational wealth. So I
(04:00):
think your story is so interesting because you started with
like the kids, you know, and teaching this message and
realizing like the real loss for our community is like
nobody taught us this stuff. You know, it wasn't in
schools and so here you you had to go out
and create your own curriculum. And then do you find
that trickled down to the parents. You know, kids would
take this home and so was it more of a
(04:21):
full circle impact in our community. Yeah, I mean that's
exactly what happened. I think it trickled up right because
like the kids were learning it, but the parents were like, wait,
how do you know this? So right, it came to
a point it was like we realized that financial reality
doesn't have an age. Right, there's a parent who may
not know something that the sports you know what that
we just taught is understanding. So that concept of like,
(04:42):
all right, there's no age, then we're gonna teach everybody
the same way because everybody we never know where their
starting point at became like the tipping point for us.
Especially when we came to interviews. It was like, we're
gonna ask you at a very intentional level to everybody
can grasp that's great. I love that. I kind of
liken it to my generation. Um smoking, You know, in
schools they hit this huge push first no smoking. You'd
(05:03):
go home and say to your aunties and uncles, why
are you smoking? They who told you this? But look
at how we what we've done for smoking. So look
at let's look at like decades from now, what you
guys are doing is really going to have a lasting
impact on how we can build wealth, how our kids
can start businesses and you know, really changed their lives.
I remember that. Just say no, remember and your parents
(05:25):
would be like, why are you trying to tell me
what to do? Right? Like I learned this in school.
I love that. Okay, So let's go back to how
did you two meet? We met? We grew up together. Um,
so we met. I'm two years younger than him, So
we went to different schools. I was in elementary school
and um, he was in uh junior high school. So
(05:46):
I was in sixth grade, he was in eighth grade.
And it was, I believe a movie that a lot
of kids from our neighborhood. Um, we were extras in
a movie called Eddie, which Whoopie Goldberg. It was that
it was shot at Madison Square Gardens. So when they
brought like it in the neighborhood to be extras in
the movie. And uh, at the time, you know, I
already knew like pretty much most of the kids that
(06:07):
were older than me because I always hung around older kids.
But I didn't know him because he had just moved
to the neighborhood. So we just we met there and actually,
you know, it's a funny story. I always remember, like
you know, I always more introverted. He's a lot more
outgoing than me, so but I was always really popular,
so like everybody always knew who I was, and he
like just set my nickname like they're call him shoddy.
(06:28):
And I always remember, like I was looking at him,
like why is he speaking to me? I don't even
know him, but like you know what I mean. But
that's just that's his personality is very outgoing and he
you know, he's speaking to me like he knew me
before he actually even knew who I was, and I
didn't know who he was. And um, from there we
just know rocking ever since and it's just been a
lifelong friendship. Um. So yeah, it's it's a real organic situation.
(06:49):
That's why I think our chemistry on Ernie Lesia is
is so different because it's not like we just met
each other, yeah goo or two years agoing, Like you know,
we was friends and family before we actually decided to
do this, and we had a lot of other businesses
that we started before we started this business. So it's
natural with fat do you speak every day anyway? So
now we just speak about business as a post and
just speaking about other stuff. I tell people like we
(07:12):
had twenty five years of conversations that now we're not
in the world here. Um so it's like, where's the chemistry.
It's twenty five years of every day tell them to
the same person. That's how you feel it. You feel
like I get that. So where did the name Earn
Your Leisure come from? Yeah? So at the time, and
he was on social media like killing the stories, like
people were really grasping him, like the way he was
(07:33):
delivering him. He was like, at the time, hashtags were
a big thing. And he came to myself and our
partner Mike, and he was like I need a hashtag,
Like I need one, and um it too like a
day and I was like I got one for you.
And I was like earn your Leisure and he was like, nah, man,
that's why. And I had explained to him why I
came up with it. I was like, look, man, you know,
a lot of people see the things that we've accumulated, right,
(07:54):
We've we've got nice cars, and we throw these pretty
good parties and we traveled. They don't realize how hard
we work. They never Still you get up at five
in the morning and decided to go to the gym
because basketball was your passion. They never saw you go
to school and and graduate and get education. They never
saw me wake up and uh go teach and then
go to the after school program and go to school
that night and full sleep and commnesiology class. They stuff. Yes, Yeah,
(08:18):
for years we were doing those things. They never They
weren't with us in the in the classroom. Yeah, they
were't shoot us shooting with us in the gym. Literally
we were in a band room. We weren't even the classroom,
like using capital. They didn't see any of those things.
And I was like, they don't realize that we worked
hard for these things, Like we've earned some of these freedoms.
So I was like, Earn Alisia has to be it
has to be it. And then after a little bit
(08:39):
of convincing, he started using the hashtag. And so when
we had to come up with a name, we throught
up two different names. Um and and I won't say
him because I think Puff will probably like put it
in a lawsuit, but they had to. They were they
were related around him and the music he was. But now,
but Ernianlisia was kind of a passiact that he was
using and We're like, that's ours and let's go with it.
(09:00):
I love that. I love that. That's great. Okay, So
let's talk about because you know, this is one of
the things that I think a lot in our community.
People think there's these get rich quick schemes you can
just work a couple of days, and entrepreneurs are like these,
like lavish bosses where you see all the fruits of
your labor, but people don't understand the work behind it.
One of the things I love about listening to you
(09:20):
guys and the people that you bring on is they
don't you, guys show the long haul. You're not just
showing these shortcut get rich squeams. You're showing a whole
variety of different entrepreneurs and stuff that can inspire your listeners.
Can you talk about some of your milestone episodes or
entrepreneurs that you've had on. Yeah, it's been a few, actually,
(09:46):
I think you guys read up about a hundred. I
feel like I listened to the hundred and fiftieth episode
the other day. Okay, Yeah, yeah, we behind behind one. Okay,
then I gotta catch up. I gotta catch up. I
was traveling, I was traveling, but now definitely as far
as Episode eleven was an episode that really changed the
trajective of Earning Legion. That was a restaurant owner from
(10:08):
Baltimore and Third Falcon and he was the first person
that came and really kind of just broke down his
business model when we was talking about the revenue and
all of that. That was extremely transparent episode and that
came kind of like the blueprint of where Earning Legion
was built on and far at the transparency and providing
solutions and information and kind of really you know, giving
(10:28):
a blueprint. Before that, it was more so case studies
like that was really what we were doing, Like we
was examining case studies and looking at stuff that has
happened in pop culture and business and kind of breaking
it down. That was very educational also, but people really
gravitated towards UM that. So episode eleven was definitely a
game changing for us. UM. You know, Mark Cuban, that
(10:50):
was definitely you know somebody that you know, obviously a billionaire,
the first time we've had a billionaire on the platform,
and he was extremely transparent as well, explaining you know,
his stories, his failures, his success stories, how you know
he made his money, a lot of different things that
you know, a lot of people wasn't aware of. So
that was a big one for us as well. Um,
(11:11):
so those are two that stick out for me. I'm
sure Troy might have. Yeah, yeah, I always talk about
episode left. Episode twelve was huge as well. Mr Draft. Yeah,
he uh, he broke down the real estate market in
the game, and he gave some strategies. Is his four
three to one wherever you you know, sometimes you gotta
make sacrifices in life, and you might have to live
(11:33):
in a multi family home and you rent out three
of the units and you live in one and you're
the tenant and people are paying you and they have
no idea. And then when you get enough money, you
go down from to a three family, then a two family,
and by the time you've raised so much income from
the other three, now you have money to buy your
dream home. Because most people go into these situations buying
what they can afford. They never buy what their dream is.
(11:54):
And so I was he was sitting in my diving
room telling me the strategy, and I'm like, damn, I
wish I would. You're like, I'm about to wrench out
this bedroom like this is crazy. I mean, but that's
the thing, Like he's opened our eyes to so many
different ways of you know, accumulating wealth and just strategies
to do it. That was important for us. UM are
(12:14):
stock episodes shout out to our brother being done that.
UM episode seventy came at the perfect time, right before
the pandemic, right, it was you put that episode out
of mar I think ten, and then the world shut down,
and so people were absorbing knowledge at a different rate.
They were like, wait, we're home, how can we make revenus? Right?
(12:35):
A lot of people losing their jobs. They're like, where
we're gonna get money from? And so the time it
was perfect for it. UM. So yeah, wow, okay, so
at what point you've had you know, eisodes now, but
you look back from the very beginning where eleven and
twelve were hits, that you realize you really had something
here and it was going to change from sort of
a hobby to something that could be a really viable business.
(12:56):
I think the first episode, I mean I think early
on people you know, it's one of the things that
just had a cold following it as soon as you started.
It had it had a following before we saw you started,
like that said, because building my own personal Instagram page,
people was already you know, really really engaged and really
in tune for that. So we kind of started with
a head start. And as soon as we started, UM,
(13:17):
it was just going viral, like online and on Instagram,
putting up clips and it was just getting a bunch
of you. So I think as soon as you started,
we realized that we had something specials. I remember looking
at the analytics and I was like, how many people
you think, like you're gonna listen and we're like to
get like five hundred and be great. And then four
days later it was like fourteen hundred people have listened. Man,
It's like whoa. And then the next week it was
(13:39):
like sixteen hundred and the number has never stopped growing
since then. And so I would remember sitting at work.
I was still teaching when we started, and I sat
in um my friend's office. I would talk to her
about like the episodes prior to them coming out. I
tell him like, looking, if we could get to twenty
five thousand people average, I won't be sitting in itself.
It's much longer like to say, I'm gonna be out
(13:59):
of here, that's great, That's exactly what we all want
to hear. Yeah. Yeah, So I was like, that's the number,
that's the number, and she didn't understand why, but I knew,
like what comes with that, that level of a listenership
and following. I was like, yeah, okay, so I want
to hone in on that. You're like, I knew what
comes with that level of listenership and following, which I
hope is going to be some sort of financial return.
(14:20):
So question for you. I'm sure. Now it's three years later,
you guys get a lot of people who are writing
back in saying thank you. Do you have any amazing
success stories of you know, young kids, two older people
who have come back and said I started a business
because of you guys. Yeah. Sure. All the time people
stop us in the street like, you know, I quit
(14:41):
my job and I'm doing airbnb full time now, or
you know, I brought my first house based off of
the information that I learned from your podcast, or you know,
I started a daycare, and woman a couple of years
ago said she started a daycare because she learned about
you know, how to get an f H loan. It's
a multi family house, and she you know house Hag
that started daycare business. So that literally happens like all
(15:01):
the time. People saying the stock market, we got a huge,
huge stock show for market Mondays, So that happens all
the time. People like, yeah, you know short their portfolio,
tell us how they started investing in stocks because they
listened to the show. Tell us how they got into crypto. Um.
So it's just like a bunch of different stories of
people that's actually listening to the information and actually have
(15:22):
taken action and started businesses investing. So it's really encouraging
when people say that for sure. Yeah, well, I mean
we'ven have people I remember early on, I never forget
I was I had a class and there was a
gentleman who wrote onto the post, thank you for this information.
Now I don't have to be on the streets like
I'm not selling drugs anymore, and you'll just take my life.
You don't even understand what this is gonna do for
my generation. Like that happens, and like I tell people
(15:43):
all the time, information is gonna be on us with
the executions on them, and so to see people executing
at that level and seeing that the impact it has,
like that's the fuel, Like that's the fool that says
and even like you know, we take places that you
might not expect it, Like we gotta know big in jails,
like all stories all the time. Well, people that's in jail,
(16:04):
that's that's listening to us, that's learning, telling their friends.
So the stories always come back to me and all
over federal jails, state jails. So you know that's though
too to see people that you know are incrtually a
lot of times they incarcerated because they just didn't know
other ways to make money outside of illegal activity. And
now they're being educated and now you know, called willen
(16:26):
when they come when they come out, and they'll they'll
be quick to actually provide for themselves without having to
risk their life and that without having to risk their freedom.
So that's a big tool. I mean, that's huge. That
is really huge. Yeah, that kind of actually like made
me tear up a little bit and proud of you
guys because it's i mean, it's like not just to
touch you know, one two lives, but all these lives
(16:47):
like across the country is really amazing. Um. So Earnier
Leisure is more than just a podcast now it's involved
into a full scale curriculum and the online um Earnier
Leisure University. Can you talk about that evolution of how
you sort of made a university from this? Yeah, I
mean you build, you build, you build the pyramid, one
break at the time, and you know, our our thing
(17:09):
is always to look forward. You never like a court
in the moment and celebrate the moment. So it's like,
all right, how can we push the envelope? How can
we just keep building? So it was just natural growth
for progressions, just to add different elements to it. So yeah,
it's started as a podcast. Now it's a you know platform,
a community UM which we have a podcast network which
we have seven shows under the podcast network. UM. It
(17:31):
is a like you said, online university. You're just like,
this is so crazy, So tell me the names of
the seven shows because this is huge, Like what you
guys have built out. This is like Divide two point
oh yeah. Sure. So we have Sleepers for Suckers social
podcast with Dave Shance. We have a market Money Days.
We have Rants and Gyms which is a real estate show.
(17:54):
We have ash Cash Inside the Vote, we have the
Inner Wealth podcast, and we also have dree Nation Dream Nation.
So that's it, and then we have one that we're
actually working on it. So we have six six active
right now and then the right Yeah you got six
(18:15):
kids and twins on the way, Okay, so yeah, so
that's that's the podcast network. University is online educational portal
and that's an extension of earning Allegian but more of
a hands on situation, more of a community. So we
do weekly classes, we do financial planning called, we do
(18:35):
movie club, book club. Um So, we modeled it after
traditional university, but we added our twist on it, so
like we have infinity groups inside of it, like we
have a crypto club, stock club. Um So. The structure
is based off of, like you know, what you would
be used to in the traditional school, but with a
(18:56):
new approach as far as the virtual learning, hand on,
um things that actually will make you money as opposed
to a lot of theoretical stuff. So that's things that
will actually make you money. Yeah, that's like eight thousand members,
eight dollars, ten thousand members. Yeah, he's doing that modest
thing again. Come on. And then we just started on.
(19:20):
We just have we have a festival. We have a
festival that we just started calling Best Fest in Atlanta. Yeah,
that was you know, that was a huge success going
We had eight weeks of planning. We have four dollard
people that came to that, So we're looking to grow that.
That's gonna be an annual thing on par with like
Coachella or Made in America where it's an annual festival
(19:40):
every single year Bubble and that just will continue to grow.
So our merch department is something that we're very passionate
about and we're about to have a whole evolution with
the merch to bring into a whole different from merch
to a clothing line um, and that's something that you
know will be coming soon. So that's another uh piece
the wheel. And also we have the live events space,
(20:05):
which the Best Fest is its own entity, but outside
of that, like you know, we are getting back in
the live event space, so you know you'll see us
on tour earn your Leisure or market Mondays and going
to different cities and going international also, so we definitely
a plan on going to Africa. Yes, I just got
back from Ghana. This would just be eating up there, okay,
(20:29):
but we was in Jamaica UM a few months ago.
That was huge. We got a lot of love out there,
so we want to just touch different parts of the world. Um.
So yeah, we got we got a few things. You
like the truck many the truck that's big get. The
truck um is something that we did an episode with
alex An Energy friend of ours, and that's one of
(20:50):
the most popular episodes as far as like eighteen wheelers.
What episode is that so people can check it out.
I know people take notes thirty seven thirty seven. Um.
So yeah, we have a truck um on the road
and that's become very popular because it has our emoji
on it. It has our names orr Lesia University like
all plastered on the side of it. So every time
(21:12):
somebody sees it, they like take a picture and put
it on Instagram, put in their stories. So that's become
very popular. So we're looking you have an eighteen wheeler. Yeah,
are you using it like logistically to ship stuff or
is it more logistics? So that's that's yeah, it's a
whole business. You know, most things in America get moved
by either playing or truck. So yeah, we moved stuff
(21:33):
all over the country and like I said, we have
one right now, but definitely looking to go to fleet
have a fleet of trucks, so they had a logistic company.
Is definitely moving moving along, and we just lost our
vending machine company as well. Okay, but it's so great
about this. It's like remember that old hair club adage,
I'm not just the president, I'm a member to let's
(21:54):
actually take your own advice. You know, you're not just
talking about this stuff. You're like, whoa, that was, Okay,
I'm gonna by a truck. I'm gonna buy a vending
machine business. Like if this is real stuff that people
tangibly can do to make money, that's the interesting part.
Like when we're sitting in the interviews, like I know
the way he's asking the question that he's gonna say,
like we should try this, so we need to do
this later. So the vendoman scenes was one of those
(22:15):
is like okay that, let's do that. And the number
one thing we had to do with that is just
fine location. It just so happens the place that we
were having uh summer program, our old high school had none,
and so we like, what an opportunity we should we
should definitely be in here, and we wanted to put
it there to start the business to help the younger
kids in our community. Um, but more so we wanted
to help our school, old high school. And you know,
(22:36):
we've I've always asked like who's ever giving it back?
You see, like sometimes you see a plaque that came
from a year that graduated, but you haven't see something
that's tangible that lives on. And so our idea was like, look,
let's give of the revenue every month from these vendom
machines back to the senior class to leave your horse right.
So now prom course will be reduced teenior dudes. We
(22:58):
reduced no more bikes sales and trying to sell the
same sweatshirts at the football game that we got every year.
You don't have to do any of those things because
we've created your own ecosystems coming back. So yeah, that's
something that we just watched as well. That's incredible. I
love that. Yes, we had um Kaship Edwards teach us
about vending machines, and that was one of those things
(23:19):
that I just had no idea. And the funniest part
is I laughed so hard because I'm still like this,
you know adult that's putting my quarters in for those gunballs.
And I always felt like I was the only person
that was buying those gunballs left in the world. But
it's a whole business. Yeah, so to conceive that's our
got Yeah yeah, so try and Rashan, thank you so
much for being here and dropping so many wells and
(23:42):
gems of information on our Money Movers audience before we
let you go for today, can you tell our Money
Moves audience where they can find you on social media
and how they can sign up for the Earner Leisure University. Yes,
thank you for having us first and foremost, and you
can follow us on Earni Alesia across all all social
media platform TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, um YouTube. You can
(24:07):
subscribe to our podcast on your leisure on all podcasts outlets,
so we kept it simple. Um yeah, it's pretty consistent
across all social media handles. My Instagram handles with shop
allow money and Troy's is Troy Millings his name, so yeah,
it's it's really easy. But once again, thank you for
having us. We just kind o use from Toronto shout
to Toronto six in the place in the world, so
(24:31):
we definitely all plan on going to Toronto soon. So
if we have any Canadian listeners. We have a strong
support base in Canada and Toronto. Oh I cannot wait
for that. Yeah, we have a very hungry Canadian audience
for anything financial literacy, entrepreneurship, so that will be great.
Definitely gonna be on the stop. Yeah, hey, hey speaking.
(24:54):
Oh gosh, well, gentlemen, it was honestly a pleasure to
have you here today. Thank you so much that for
you're doing for in our community in terms of wealth building,
building generational wealth and for the culture. Like what you're
doing has impact that is going to be exponential for
decades and hopefully generations to come. So thank you so
much for your time today and Money Movers, I hope
(25:16):
you took notes because they have set you on the
trajectory to building some real money moves. Thank you so
much for tuning in Money Moves audience. If you want
more or a recap of this episode, please go to
the Bank Greenwood dot com and check out the Money
Moves podcast blog. Money Moves is an I heart radio
(25:39):
podcast powered by Greenwood Executive produced by Sunwise Media Inc.
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