May 5, 2025 • 27 mins
Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Tim Mercer.
He is also the CFO of Cadence Ventures, Inc. It is a boutique private equity firm that invest in private mortgage notes and offers "nontraditional" financing to real estate investors, builders, and developers.
As a direct private lender, they provide flexible debt financing to real estate entrepreneurs; while offering safe and opportunistic investments for accredited and institutional investors.
With 25 years experience in the private capital markets, they aim to become trusted advisors, supporting you every step of the way with expert guidance and unwavering support.
Their commitment is to share insights and proven strategies from our own experiences to help propel the growth of your real estate portfolio.
Talking Points/Questions
1) Phases of entrepreneurship (i.e. solopreneurs, intrapreneurs, business owner, investor)
2) The importance of financial literacy and how to level up your financial knowledge
3) How government contracts can help scale your business
4) Advice to small businesses seeking to get into government contracting
5) Why real estate is the safest and most profitable investment 6) How to invest passively into real estate
With over 2 decades of experience in finance, real estate, and government contracting, Mercer is currently the CFO of Cadence Ventures, INC and IBOX Global, LLC, which was ranked #357 on Inc. 500’s list of the Fastest Growing Companies.
As a private lender with discretionary capital, we've become a reliable capital partner for real estate professionals needing certainly of execution and timely closings.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to the show. I am Rashwan McDonald, the host
of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to
stop reading other people's success stories and start planning their own.
Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from around the country,
talk to celebrities and ask them how they are running
their companies, and speak with dog profits who are making
(00:25):
a difference in their local communities. Now, sit back and
listen as we unlock the secrets to their success on
Money Making Conversations Masterclass.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
It's Tuesday, well Tuesday, maybe Wednesday, maybe Thursday, depending on
when you're hearing this show. But today is my day
because it's Money Making Conversations Masterclass. I am your host,
ra Sean McDonald, And you know these interviews and information
that this show provides are for you and everyone else
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my podcast, share my radio show, share my links, share
(00:57):
my information. That's what money Making Conversations Glasses all about.
It's time to stop reading other people's success stories and
start living your own. I'm here to help you reach
your American dream.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Now.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
If you want to be a guest on my show,
just go to Money Making conversation or visit Moneymaking Conversations
dot com. Click the be a Guest button and you
can submit your information. When you submit the information, it'll
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(01:29):
contact you and invite you on the show to be
a guest on my show. That's how I get a
lot of my guests. I personally handle all bookings on
the show. Now, let's get this show started. My guest
is the author of a very popular book called Bootstrap Millionaire.
He's also the CFO of Cadence Venture's, Inc. It's a
boutique private equity firm that invests in private mortgage notes
(01:51):
and offers non traditional financing to real estate investors, builders,
and developers. Please welcome to the Money Making Conversations Masterclass.
Tim Mercer.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
How you doing, Tim, I'm doing quite well.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Rashard, how you doing brother well?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
First of all, I know you're busy, Tim, Okay, lotly
No Bootstrapped Millionaire. Okay, that book is This is not
the first time I've interviewed a young man. So I
know this book. We're gonna talk about this book. We're
also gonna talk about his career. How did he get
to this point to be able to share this information
with us? Give us some backstory about you, Tim before
we get into the interview.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
All right, Well, first of all, I want to thank
you for the opportunity to be on today's show. Thank
and a huge fan of what you're doing, so so
it's certainly an honor. A little bit about myself. Originally
from a small town in South Carolina called Mullins, South Carolina,
grew up in some very humbled beginnings, didn't didn't grow
(02:45):
up with a lot financially anyway. Obviously, you know, one
of the greatest gifts that my mother really gave to
me was the gift of faith, right in believing in God,
which has carried me a very long way. But mother
South Carolina grew up in mothera South Carolina was fortunate
enough to go into military after graduating from from high school,
(03:07):
and the military really is what opened my mind up
to to to to what the possibilities in life was
and was able to go into the military and then
eventually found a way back into college, right because I
didn't go to college initially coming out of high school,
ended up going to military first, and then ultimately got
(03:28):
involved at early age of entrepreneurship, which is which was
a journey in itself, but it led me to some
great opportunities that have put me where I am today.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
First of all, thank you for serving us and protecting
us and allowing us to have the freedom that we
have in this country. I will not understate the value
of your contribution to protecting this country.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
So thank you. Thank you. There, Tim, Why the military?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
You know, you know, like I said, a lot of
people don't see that as an outlet, don't see that
as an opportunity. What did you see in the military
that made you make that your first step as a
career choice.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Well, for me, when I graduated from high school, I
I didn't really see myself going to college. I didn't
I didn't have the grades, I wasn't certainly didn't have
the money, you know, my parents didn't have the money
to send me to college. The military really was kind
of my last resort, right or it was my only option.
I had a cousin that was in the military, and
(04:27):
I was fortunate enough to see him in the military,
and I saw that there was you know, he traveled
the world. He lived in Germany, and and and and
and it was just intriguing to me. And so with
me not having many options, I saw the military as
a way to get out of all in South Carolina
and just see the world in a different light. And
(04:47):
and it truly was that I was able to go
to Germany, live in Germany for several years, and travel
the world and see meet a lot of different people
that I probably would have never met if I hadn't
gone in. So for me, the military was a safe,
my saving grace.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
I think, you know, there's really a lot of travel
does that for me? I always tell people I am
who I am based on my journeys and based on
my opening experiences because basically, you from other than South
Carolina's no different from me. And being in a small
community in Houston, Texas, which was fifth Ward where I
was born, a very low income uh not, you know,
(05:24):
your stereotyped when you come out of communities like that.
But it's up to you and the journeys that you
achieved when giving it opportunity, The military gave you the opportunity.
And now we're talking about an author of a book,
popular book called Bootstrap Millionaire. Now the word bootstrap, how's
the word bootstrap which which really means a.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Lot of hard work?
Speaker 6 (05:44):
You know, you put through straps on that boot you're
about to go to work. And the word millionaire, millionaire
you're supposed to be like in the money, you're supposed
to be enjoying life. So you putting a hard working
adjective description next.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
To the word millionaires.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Please please explain to us why that title is so
important that you put it on a book.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Well, again, I think the most important word in that
title is bootstrap. And my hope was when we title
that book, my hope was that it would let readers
know that number one, if you do work hard and
you have faith, they're great things that can come from it. Right.
It doesn't happen overnight. Right, it takes time, it takes
(06:26):
hard work, it takes patience. And that's what bootstrap meant
for me. I mean, it's coming out of the mud, right,
doing the things that most people wouldn't do. I remember
a phrase I learned years ago was from the great
Less Brown. He said that if you want to have
the things tomorrow that other people won't have. Then you
got to be willing to do the things today that
(06:47):
other people won't do. And I took that to heart
and I start and I would do those things. So bootstrapping,
to me is just really grinding, working hard, making the sacrifice,
is going against the status quo and putting yourself in
the position where you could and defy the odds. Right
(07:07):
and fortunate enough for me, I think I was able
to do that in business. We was able to defy
the odds that were against me. A lot of things
were against me growing up the way I grew up
and coming from my background, but through through, through the
help of God and the faith that I had, I
was able to defy those odds. So that's why the
term boostrap was. It means so much to me.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Right because a lot of people, you know, I have
nothing wrong playing the lottery trying to get there that way.
Put a lot of faith in that lottery. But it's
always about a plan, a plan of action. You're a CFO,
so you're numbers man, and a numbers man understands the
logic two plus two is four, Okay, four plus four
is eight. That usually start adding up the right numbers,
then you can win. But the bottom line is that
(07:51):
business plan. You got to you have faith. But please
explain to my audience the importance of a business plan
because you in the investment business, private mortgage notes and
dealing with non traditional financing, and when someone comes to you,
they just can't come to you with a good idea.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Correct him, as you're absolutely right, I think, I mean
a business plan, which you see so many people don't
do it right. To your point, a lot of people
will coming they want financing for the business, they want
financing for real estate projects and things of that nation
they really don't have a plan. But you got to
have a plan, right. You got to have a vision
(08:28):
for what you are trying to achieve, and you got
to write it down. Right. A business plan to me
is just really your vision being written down. And of
course if you tie it in with some projections and
numbers to give yourself and others maybe investors, bankers, or
people that you want to want who you're looking to
help you establish or grow your business or grow the idea,
(08:54):
you have to give them a plan of action. You
have to show them some projection and numbers as to
what you anticipate that venture or that business in doing.
And if you can't, if you can't articulate that, then
it's gonna be hard for anyone to buy into the
vision or to buy into the idea that you have.
So I think that having a sound business plan, write
(09:17):
me down, making it plane and something doesn't have to
be anything elaborate, but you have to be able to
put it on paper so that others can see the
vision and and and therefore you can be able to
track others that may want to help you in that vision.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
I give you a quick example a business plan. When
people come borrow I want to borrow money from me,
I'd mean less asked for a business plan. I mean
that would that would make you you turn, You turn
so fast they're like they wouldn't even stand.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
In front of you.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
And I give you example Tim, guy who does my
lawn service. About three years ago. Uh, he came to me.
He said that, hey, Rasean, I need some help. All
my lawn and garden stuff was stolen. You know, remember
it was a big thing in Atlanta, That's where I'm
based in Atlanta, and and people parked the truck. People
(10:05):
just steal your stuff, and they stole all this stuff.
And I came, and he came. He said, couldn't helped
me out. I said, his repayment was just going to
be he wouldn't charge me for any lawn care you know,
that year, and that was my ru Fine, that's fine.
So then he came to me a couple of weeks ago,
he said, well, Jean, he used to. He said the
wrong thing. He came into the wrong thing. He said, Look,
(10:25):
I want to start my business and I want you
to see me some money. I said, Okay, where's your
business playing? Right there?
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Quiet? Quiet? He kind of like, I got you. I
got you.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
And then he texted me like three hours later, well
how about just giving me half of that?
Speaker 3 (10:45):
And I went, wow, where is your business plan? Crickets.
I have not heard from him.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Since then, because right there, I gotta you know, it
really does a mount to something when you trying to
find out what are you going to do with that money?
You know how you're going to outline that. It's not
so much about the payment plan. I'm just trying to
help him out. And understand, you got to have a plan,
no matter how where you get the money from.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
And you and this is something you should do with
your relatives. No matter what.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Everything got to be put in paper, Everything has to
be put in writing, Everything has to have a payment plan.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
But it has to be more importantly, why are you
giving them the money?
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (11:28):
Am I right?
Speaker 6 (11:28):
Tim?
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Talk to them?
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Absolutely? Absolutely? And you see so many unfortunately, so many
entrepreneurs today that don't do that. I see it all
the time that the same example that you just gave
with people would want to I want to buy some
real estate and I want to do a fix and
flip on a home, have no plan, have no budget
for it, don't understand how they're gonna exit out of
(11:53):
the deal. That's what the business plan does, right. It
puts together all the tasks that's involved, what you plan
on doing when you plan on exiting and out of
the deal, how much is it going to cost, how
are you spending the money? Is those things and it's
more important for you than anyone else because it gives you,
It gives the entrepreneur road map on how they want
(12:14):
to accomplish that particular thing. But it's so unfortunately because
we a lot of business owners today just don't do that.
But yet we complain about the fact that we can't
get finance and we can't get funding and all those
types of things. And that's probably one of the most
important reasons why you can't get funding.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Absolutely because I funded him the first time on a
sad story. You know that his equipment was stolen. I said,
I understand that, I'm gonna help you out. But when
you're coming back to me, I see equipment, equipment has
not been stolen, and you're talking about starting any business.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
I need to see.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
A business plan. I don't care if you're selling chicken.
I don't care if you've got a car wash service,
I don't care if whatever.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
How are you going to do? What is your plan?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
What if a hurricane comes through that, What if a
thunderstorter pole goes out? What if you get in a
car accident, what happens? All these things have to be
put into your business plan. It has to be part
of that model, because it can't be you open your
doors and everything you offer is being sold out. That's
not going to happen.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
That's not gonna happen. Absolutely not not going to happen.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Before we go to the break, I'm talking to the
author of Bootstraped Millionaire's name is Tim Mercer. Tim, tell
them how they can get in contact with you before
we go to break, because when he comes back, he's
going to be talking about One of the things I
wanted him to talk about was government contracts because I
hear so many people talking about government trap. You get
these emails government contract pay me a thousand dollars, pay
me all this, all this, And I'm not saying they scams.
(13:40):
But when you listen to Tim, he's going to tell
you how to get in the game the right way.
But Tim, before we go to break, please tell them
how to get in touched you the author of bootstraped Millionaire.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
Yeah, so my social handle on Facebook and IG is
Tim T Mercer, so you can always find me there.
That's my social hand though our website, our company website
is cadence V. That's c A D E n CE
than the letter v dot com. And you can also
reach me via email at t Mercer at cadencev dot com.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Two were right back for more money making conversations, Master class,
don't go in the world. We'll be talking about government
contracts here here so many people talking about the opportunities
in the government. How you should be applying for government contracts.
They have these classes, these virtual registrations where if you
sign up for them you'll get unlimited our RFPs and
all these things for government contracts. Tim will walk us
(14:37):
through the process. He walked me through the process, opened
my eyes. I want him to open your eyes too.
Don't go thewhere, Do not go anywhere.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the money Making
Conversations Masterclass. Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass continues online
at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making Conversations Masterclass
(15:10):
on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
So I'm talking to Tim Mercer. He's the author of
a very popular book called Bootstrap Millionaire. He's also the
CFO of Cadence Ventures Ventures, Inc. Is a boutique private
equity firm that invest in private mortgage notes and offers
non traditional financing to real estate investors, builders, and developers.
Please explain this to us exactly what that is Cadence
(15:33):
Ventures and how do you what role you play in it?
When I mentioned all those things about non traditional financing,
real estate investors, builders, and developers.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Tim Mercer.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Yeah, so you got to look Caden's ventures is pretty
much we're in private banking, right, That's the best way
to look at it. No more different. If you wanted
to go and get a loan for your personal home,
you typically go to a bank and and the bank
will lend you money for it. Now, we we don't
(16:04):
do loans for for homes that people live in. We
we focus mostly on investment properties property single family homes
or small apartment builders. And we're mostly in the small
in the small space. So we we work we helped
builders and developers and just investments in generals who are
(16:25):
wanted to get financing for investment property. And a lot
of times they can't go to the bank and get
financing right either either the either they don't have the
maybe they got too much debt right, personal debt right,
that that may be preventing them from doing it. And
that not to say that they don't have the money.
They just may have a debt to income racial issue.
(16:46):
Whereas when we when we finance those properties, we finance
the properties based strictly off of the property itself. Particularly
Yeah that as the collab right, Yeah, so we we
do private financing for those loans, will fund those deals,
and we work with a lot of large insurance companies
that will basically buy the private notes from us, so
(17:08):
we will fund the deal and then within you know,
thirty to forty five period day period of time, will
end up selling the mortgage notes to institutional investor like
an insurance company. So in that'sence, we do the exact
same things that banks do, but we just do it
on a private level.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Wow, that's important to understand how that exactly works. That
you're doing business here, but that business can be down
the line with somebody else and getting this entry points
in doing business and doing big business. Now, government contracts,
I'm gonna tell you I got an opportunity to have
a win a government contract to participate. I never won one,
but I participated in the government contract and it's a.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Lot of work.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
It's a lot of work, a lot of paperwork. So
tell us about the actually the misreads. I should say
that people hear about government contracts and tell us, is
there a role math to becoming a person who can
benefit from government contract floor is yours?
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Tim?
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Yeah? I mean, so you know I got started in
government contracting back in twenty twelve. So government contracting was
the first company that really whereas where I started doing
well for myself was then of course able to venture
into me and my life, starting Cadence Ventures. But government
contracting to me, I feel that if you are a
(18:30):
small business, particularly a minority owned small business, and you're
not doing business with the government, you're doing yourself, doing
yourself a disservice. Right now, I'm not saying government the
government is perfect in this regards, but the government tries
to provide business opportunities to small businesses, and in fact
(18:52):
that according to the Federal Acquisition Regulations, the government is
supposed to put out bids to small businesses first before
those contracts ever go large. The problem is that there
isn't enough small businesses that are raising their hand and
saying that they can actually do the work. So for me,
(19:13):
I got started in the government contract. It is a
lot of work, it's a lot of paperwork, it's a
lot of compliance that you have to adhere to. It's
not a get rich quick scheme by no means. You
have to have your business. You have to do real
business right, it's not a hustler game. Right. You have
to have your books set up correctly. But if you
(19:37):
but if you're a small business owner that are looking
to do real business and the government is it should
be your customer, because the government, for me, was the
only way in which I was able to scale my
business to me is in revenue.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Right.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
A good friend mine used to always say, if you
want to make means, then you have to do business
with a customer that's business millions, right, because you can
only make as much as the customer that you have.
And so so the government for me was that customer.
Because if I wanted to scale my business to the
point where I was generating millions and revenue, I needed
(20:14):
to be able to do business with a customer that
was spending millions. And the government was that customer for me.
And then it's been a blessing, you know since since
doing business with the government.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Hey tell me, you know, I get a lot of
emails with these from these I guess the agencies that
tell me if you sign up with me, you know,
you get you get first look on RFPs or you
register over here, I can get you on you know, SAM.
It is the big platform and it's free. By the way,
you should be paying nobody to be a member of SAM,
(20:45):
and sam's where you can go find all the the
government rps and they'll notify you if you fifty the
cold criteria for your company. How can you talk us
about talk tell about audience. How should they react when
they get these type of emails. I'm not saying they're
bad emails. They could be entry points for you if
that's the way you want to go. But you know
(21:06):
you did it the traditional way. You you learned, you
were patient, and you built a business. Talk to them
an audience, Tim.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
Yeah, I agree with you. I think I think you
have a lot of companies or service providers, service providers
that take advantage of the fact that when small businesses
get sign up within SAM and they get registered to
do business with government, they know that those small businesses
don't really know what to do, right, And I think
(21:37):
that a lot of those service dividers take advantage of that.
To your point there, that you don't have to hire
someone to do a lot of these things, right. Signing,
getting registered in SAM is a free service, right, Getting
access to RSPs and RFIs that's that's a free service.
The government has to put those things out to general public.
(21:58):
To to those to those vendors that are registered in SAM,
so you don't have to pay someone to send you
emails because the only thing they're doing is going to
the SAM site, getting those opportunities and just forwarding the
emails to you. So the same website to do that
for you. You just have to be diligent enough to
(22:19):
do the work right. You can't assume that someone's got
the magic bullet and it's just going to make it
easy for you. Just do the work right. I'm here
in Georgia, which is where I got started in government contracting.
There's a service. Georgia Tech has a service that I
think it's called gt PACK, which is called Georgia Tech
(22:40):
Procurement Acquisition Center. They are funded by the government. It's
a service that's offered through Georgia Tech, but it's the
gt PACK is funded by the government and they offer
a free service that will teach you these things. You know.
They have online classes, they have in person classes, and
that's how I started learning. First started learning government contractings
(23:02):
by going to those free gt PAC classes. And of
course there are a lot more advanced things that you
can learn, you know, when you get deeper into government contractor.
But I think a lot of it would just come
through trial and error. A lot of it you would
learn on the job. So I agree with you. I
don't think that you have to pay a lot of
(23:22):
money for those things that a lot of these service
advisers are offering. You just got to be willing to
roll up your sleeves and do the work, and you
will figure it out. Right, the government will even assist
you in figuring things out. Contracting officers and SBA representative.
There's a whole ecosystem that has been put together by
(23:42):
the government to help small businesses in getting the better
understanding how to do business with the government.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Hey, Tim, but that's the bootstrap part of your book title.
That's the bootstrap, that's the hard working part of it.
As we wrap up this interview, you know, and I
just wanted to tell people, like you said, you're gonna
make money on who you do business with. If you
make if you're hanging out with people you're number one
customers delivering hundreds of dollars to you, that's how much
money you're gonna make.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Thousands of dollars, that's how the money you're gonna make.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Millions of dollars. That's how much money you can make.
So don't be angry at the system or the ecosystem
or the financial world. If created, you have to advance
beyond it. And that's my biggest takeaway when I read
the Bootstrap Billionaires is that I wanted to bring a
gentleman on the show to show where he come from,
come South Carolina, and now he's in the position. He
(24:35):
didn't let that stop him. He saw options. He's seen
the world through a military experience. He's now sold government contractors,
been doing this since twenty twelve. He takes when he
dove in, it was a lot of frustration.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
There's a lot of frustration. He didn't get no contracts
up up from jump.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Nobody does, nobody does, nobody does, nobody does. But it's
the part of the conversation is he is a book
out there in that book. If you have to, if
you wouldn't write the book, if you just read the
book yourself, Tim, what would be your takeaway from Bootstrap Millionaire.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
Man? I think the most important thing for me in
the books is I think it's the first chapter in
the book. I think the chapters title to see the glory,
don't know the story. Every successful person out there, whether
they're entrepreneurs or whether they are professionals, they all went
through something to get to achieve that success. No no one,
no one achieved success without sacrifice. So the takeaway from
(25:32):
me would be just that knowing and understanding that there
is a story behind every successful person's situation, the whole
not and so you can see the glory, you can
see all the things they may have achieved. But until
you know the story, and until you were ready to
(25:52):
drink from the cup that they drank from, then then
you have to understand that. You know, that's the most
important thing, right. There's a verse in the Bible that
talked about the brothers they wanted I think the parents
wanted them to sit at the right and left hand
out side of Jesus at one point in time, and
Jesus asked them, are you prepared to drink from the
(26:14):
same cup? Right? Are you prepared to go through what
I'm about to go through? So that's what I would
tell people that when you when you're striving for success,
just understand that there is no success without sacrifice.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Bootstrap Millionaire that's the name of this book. He's the
author he's a visionary, but he's also the CFO of
Cadence Ventures Incorporated. Thank you for coming on my show again, Tim,
I said again, because he's also been on my syndicated
TV show, he's been on my podcast.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
He's a friend of the family. Again. His advice is
always welcome. Tim.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Good luck man, and we will definitely talk soon. Tim Mercer,
the author of Bootstrap Millionaire, thank you for coming on
Money Making Conversation Masterclass.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
When we come back, we got more information, more guests
to turn your life around. Like I said, we're here
to help you create and build your American dream. This
is Rushan McDonald. I am the host of Money Making
Conversations Masterclass. This has been another edition of Money Making
Conversation Masterclass hosted by me Rushan McDonald. Thank you to
(27:16):
our guests on the show today and thank you our
listening to audience now. If you want to listen to
any episode I want to be a guest on the show,
visit Moneymakingconversations dot com. Our social media handle is money
Making Conversation. Join us next week and remember to always
leave with your gifts.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
Keep winning
Welcome to the show. I am Rashwan McDonald, the host
of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to
stop reading other people's success stories and start planning their own.
Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from around the country,
talk to celebrities and ask them how they are running
their companies, and speak with dog profits who are making
(00:25):
a difference in their local communities. Now, sit back and
listen as we unlock the secrets to their success on
Money Making Conversations Masterclass.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
It's Tuesday, well Tuesday, maybe Wednesday, maybe Thursday, depending on
when you're hearing this show. But today is my day
because it's Money Making Conversations Masterclass. I am your host,
ra Sean McDonald, And you know these interviews and information
that this show provides are for you and everyone else
who listens to this show. You can share it, share
my podcast, share my radio show, share my links, share
(00:57):
my information. That's what money Making Conversations Glasses all about.
It's time to stop reading other people's success stories and
start living your own. I'm here to help you reach
your American dream.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Now.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
If you want to be a guest on my show,
just go to Money Making conversation or visit Moneymaking Conversations
dot com. Click the be a Guest button and you
can submit your information. When you submit the information, it'll
come directly to me. I'll review it, and if it
feels like it will be information that you have that
you're doing in your career, that you're doing your small
visits that you want to share my show, I will
(01:29):
contact you and invite you on the show to be
a guest on my show. That's how I get a
lot of my guests. I personally handle all bookings on
the show. Now, let's get this show started. My guest
is the author of a very popular book called Bootstrap Millionaire.
He's also the CFO of Cadence Venture's, Inc. It's a
boutique private equity firm that invests in private mortgage notes
(01:51):
and offers non traditional financing to real estate investors, builders,
and developers. Please welcome to the Money Making Conversations Masterclass.
Tim Mercer.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
How you doing, Tim, I'm doing quite well.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
Rashard, how you doing brother well?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
First of all, I know you're busy, Tim, Okay, lotly
No Bootstrapped Millionaire. Okay, that book is This is not
the first time I've interviewed a young man. So I
know this book. We're gonna talk about this book. We're
also gonna talk about his career. How did he get
to this point to be able to share this information
with us? Give us some backstory about you, Tim before
we get into the interview.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
All right, Well, first of all, I want to thank
you for the opportunity to be on today's show. Thank
and a huge fan of what you're doing, so so
it's certainly an honor. A little bit about myself. Originally
from a small town in South Carolina called Mullins, South Carolina,
grew up in some very humbled beginnings, didn't didn't grow
(02:45):
up with a lot financially anyway. Obviously, you know, one
of the greatest gifts that my mother really gave to
me was the gift of faith, right in believing in God,
which has carried me a very long way. But mother
South Carolina grew up in mothera South Carolina was fortunate
enough to go into military after graduating from from high school,
(03:07):
and the military really is what opened my mind up
to to to to what the possibilities in life was
and was able to go into the military and then
eventually found a way back into college, right because I
didn't go to college initially coming out of high school,
ended up going to military first, and then ultimately got
(03:28):
involved at early age of entrepreneurship, which is which was
a journey in itself, but it led me to some
great opportunities that have put me where I am today.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
First of all, thank you for serving us and protecting
us and allowing us to have the freedom that we
have in this country. I will not understate the value
of your contribution to protecting this country.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
So thank you. Thank you. There, Tim, Why the military?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
You know, you know, like I said, a lot of
people don't see that as an outlet, don't see that
as an opportunity. What did you see in the military
that made you make that your first step as a
career choice.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Well, for me, when I graduated from high school, I
I didn't really see myself going to college. I didn't
I didn't have the grades, I wasn't certainly didn't have
the money, you know, my parents didn't have the money
to send me to college. The military really was kind
of my last resort, right or it was my only option.
I had a cousin that was in the military, and
(04:27):
I was fortunate enough to see him in the military,
and I saw that there was you know, he traveled
the world. He lived in Germany, and and and and
and it was just intriguing to me. And so with
me not having many options, I saw the military as
a way to get out of all in South Carolina
and just see the world in a different light. And
(04:47):
and it truly was that I was able to go
to Germany, live in Germany for several years, and travel
the world and see meet a lot of different people
that I probably would have never met if I hadn't
gone in. So for me, the military was a safe,
my saving grace.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
I think, you know, there's really a lot of travel
does that for me? I always tell people I am
who I am based on my journeys and based on
my opening experiences because basically, you from other than South
Carolina's no different from me. And being in a small
community in Houston, Texas, which was fifth Ward where I
was born, a very low income uh not, you know,
(05:24):
your stereotyped when you come out of communities like that.
But it's up to you and the journeys that you
achieved when giving it opportunity, The military gave you the opportunity.
And now we're talking about an author of a book,
popular book called Bootstrap Millionaire. Now the word bootstrap, how's
the word bootstrap which which really means a.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Lot of hard work?
Speaker 6 (05:44):
You know, you put through straps on that boot you're
about to go to work. And the word millionaire, millionaire
you're supposed to be like in the money, you're supposed
to be enjoying life. So you putting a hard working
adjective description next.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
To the word millionaires.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Please please explain to us why that title is so
important that you put it on a book.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Well, again, I think the most important word in that
title is bootstrap. And my hope was when we title
that book, my hope was that it would let readers
know that number one, if you do work hard and
you have faith, they're great things that can come from it. Right.
It doesn't happen overnight. Right, it takes time, it takes
(06:26):
hard work, it takes patience. And that's what bootstrap meant
for me. I mean, it's coming out of the mud, right,
doing the things that most people wouldn't do. I remember
a phrase I learned years ago was from the great
Less Brown. He said that if you want to have
the things tomorrow that other people won't have. Then you
got to be willing to do the things today that
(06:47):
other people won't do. And I took that to heart
and I start and I would do those things. So bootstrapping,
to me is just really grinding, working hard, making the sacrifice,
is going against the status quo and putting yourself in
the position where you could and defy the odds. Right
(07:07):
and fortunate enough for me, I think I was able
to do that in business. We was able to defy
the odds that were against me. A lot of things
were against me growing up the way I grew up
and coming from my background, but through through, through the
help of God and the faith that I had, I
was able to defy those odds. So that's why the
term boostrap was. It means so much to me.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Right because a lot of people, you know, I have
nothing wrong playing the lottery trying to get there that way.
Put a lot of faith in that lottery. But it's
always about a plan, a plan of action. You're a CFO,
so you're numbers man, and a numbers man understands the
logic two plus two is four, Okay, four plus four
is eight. That usually start adding up the right numbers,
then you can win. But the bottom line is that
(07:51):
business plan. You got to you have faith. But please
explain to my audience the importance of a business plan
because you in the investment business, private mortgage notes and
dealing with non traditional financing, and when someone comes to you,
they just can't come to you with a good idea.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Correct him, as you're absolutely right, I think, I mean
a business plan, which you see so many people don't
do it right. To your point, a lot of people
will coming they want financing for the business, they want
financing for real estate projects and things of that nation
they really don't have a plan. But you got to
have a plan, right. You got to have a vision
(08:28):
for what you are trying to achieve, and you got
to write it down. Right. A business plan to me
is just really your vision being written down. And of
course if you tie it in with some projections and
numbers to give yourself and others maybe investors, bankers, or
people that you want to want who you're looking to
help you establish or grow your business or grow the idea,
(08:54):
you have to give them a plan of action. You
have to show them some projection and numbers as to
what you anticipate that venture or that business in doing.
And if you can't, if you can't articulate that, then
it's gonna be hard for anyone to buy into the
vision or to buy into the idea that you have.
So I think that having a sound business plan, write
(09:17):
me down, making it plane and something doesn't have to
be anything elaborate, but you have to be able to
put it on paper so that others can see the
vision and and and therefore you can be able to
track others that may want to help you in that vision.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
I give you a quick example a business plan. When
people come borrow I want to borrow money from me,
I'd mean less asked for a business plan. I mean
that would that would make you you turn, You turn
so fast they're like they wouldn't even stand.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
In front of you.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
And I give you example Tim, guy who does my
lawn service. About three years ago. Uh, he came to me.
He said that, hey, Rasean, I need some help. All
my lawn and garden stuff was stolen. You know, remember
it was a big thing in Atlanta, That's where I'm
based in Atlanta, and and people parked the truck. People
(10:05):
just steal your stuff, and they stole all this stuff.
And I came, and he came. He said, couldn't helped
me out. I said, his repayment was just going to
be he wouldn't charge me for any lawn care you know,
that year, and that was my ru Fine, that's fine.
So then he came to me a couple of weeks ago,
he said, well, Jean, he used to. He said the
wrong thing. He came into the wrong thing. He said, Look,
(10:25):
I want to start my business and I want you
to see me some money. I said, Okay, where's your
business playing? Right there?
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Quiet? Quiet? He kind of like, I got you. I
got you.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
And then he texted me like three hours later, well
how about just giving me half of that?
Speaker 3 (10:45):
And I went, wow, where is your business plan? Crickets.
I have not heard from him.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Since then, because right there, I gotta you know, it
really does a mount to something when you trying to
find out what are you going to do with that money?
You know how you're going to outline that. It's not
so much about the payment plan. I'm just trying to
help him out. And understand, you got to have a plan,
no matter how where you get the money from.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
And you and this is something you should do with
your relatives. No matter what.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Everything got to be put in paper, Everything has to
be put in writing, Everything has to have a payment plan.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
But it has to be more importantly, why are you
giving them the money?
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Absolutely?
Speaker 3 (11:28):
Am I right?
Speaker 6 (11:28):
Tim?
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Talk to them?
Speaker 4 (11:30):
Absolutely? Absolutely? And you see so many unfortunately, so many
entrepreneurs today that don't do that. I see it all
the time that the same example that you just gave
with people would want to I want to buy some
real estate and I want to do a fix and
flip on a home, have no plan, have no budget
for it, don't understand how they're gonna exit out of
(11:53):
the deal. That's what the business plan does, right. It
puts together all the tasks that's involved, what you plan
on doing when you plan on exiting and out of
the deal, how much is it going to cost, how
are you spending the money? Is those things and it's
more important for you than anyone else because it gives you,
It gives the entrepreneur road map on how they want
(12:14):
to accomplish that particular thing. But it's so unfortunately because
we a lot of business owners today just don't do that.
But yet we complain about the fact that we can't
get finance and we can't get funding and all those
types of things. And that's probably one of the most
important reasons why you can't get funding.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Absolutely because I funded him the first time on a
sad story. You know that his equipment was stolen. I said,
I understand that, I'm gonna help you out. But when
you're coming back to me, I see equipment, equipment has
not been stolen, and you're talking about starting any business.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
I need to see.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
A business plan. I don't care if you're selling chicken.
I don't care if you've got a car wash service,
I don't care if whatever.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
How are you going to do? What is your plan?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
What if a hurricane comes through that, What if a
thunderstorter pole goes out? What if you get in a
car accident, what happens? All these things have to be
put into your business plan. It has to be part
of that model, because it can't be you open your
doors and everything you offer is being sold out. That's
not going to happen.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
That's not gonna happen. Absolutely not not going to happen.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Before we go to the break, I'm talking to the
author of Bootstraped Millionaire's name is Tim Mercer. Tim, tell
them how they can get in contact with you before
we go to break, because when he comes back, he's
going to be talking about One of the things I
wanted him to talk about was government contracts because I
hear so many people talking about government trap. You get
these emails government contract pay me a thousand dollars, pay
me all this, all this, And I'm not saying they scams.
(13:40):
But when you listen to Tim, he's going to tell
you how to get in the game the right way.
But Tim, before we go to break, please tell them
how to get in touched you the author of bootstraped Millionaire.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
Yeah, so my social handle on Facebook and IG is
Tim T Mercer, so you can always find me there.
That's my social hand though our website, our company website
is cadence V. That's c A D E n CE
than the letter v dot com. And you can also
reach me via email at t Mercer at cadencev dot com.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Two were right back for more money making conversations, Master class,
don't go in the world. We'll be talking about government
contracts here here so many people talking about the opportunities
in the government. How you should be applying for government contracts.
They have these classes, these virtual registrations where if you
sign up for them you'll get unlimited our RFPs and
all these things for government contracts. Tim will walk us
(14:37):
through the process. He walked me through the process, opened
my eyes. I want him to open your eyes too.
Don't go thewhere, Do not go anywhere.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the money Making
Conversations Masterclass. Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass continues online
at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making Conversations Masterclass
(15:10):
on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
So I'm talking to Tim Mercer. He's the author of
a very popular book called Bootstrap Millionaire. He's also the
CFO of Cadence Ventures Ventures, Inc. Is a boutique private
equity firm that invest in private mortgage notes and offers
non traditional financing to real estate investors, builders, and developers.
Please explain this to us exactly what that is Cadence
(15:33):
Ventures and how do you what role you play in it?
When I mentioned all those things about non traditional financing,
real estate investors, builders, and developers.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Tim Mercer.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Yeah, so you got to look Caden's ventures is pretty
much we're in private banking, right, That's the best way
to look at it. No more different. If you wanted
to go and get a loan for your personal home,
you typically go to a bank and and the bank
will lend you money for it. Now, we we don't
(16:04):
do loans for for homes that people live in. We
we focus mostly on investment properties property single family homes
or small apartment builders. And we're mostly in the small
in the small space. So we we work we helped
builders and developers and just investments in generals who are
(16:25):
wanted to get financing for investment property. And a lot
of times they can't go to the bank and get
financing right either either the either they don't have the
maybe they got too much debt right, personal debt right,
that that may be preventing them from doing it. And
that not to say that they don't have the money.
They just may have a debt to income racial issue.
(16:46):
Whereas when we when we finance those properties, we finance
the properties based strictly off of the property itself. Particularly
Yeah that as the collab right, Yeah, so we we
do private financing for those loans, will fund those deals,
and we work with a lot of large insurance companies
that will basically buy the private notes from us, so
(17:08):
we will fund the deal and then within you know,
thirty to forty five period day period of time, will
end up selling the mortgage notes to institutional investor like
an insurance company. So in that'sence, we do the exact
same things that banks do, but we just do it
on a private level.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Wow, that's important to understand how that exactly works. That
you're doing business here, but that business can be down
the line with somebody else and getting this entry points
in doing business and doing big business. Now, government contracts,
I'm gonna tell you I got an opportunity to have
a win a government contract to participate. I never won one,
but I participated in the government contract and it's a.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Lot of work.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
It's a lot of work, a lot of paperwork. So
tell us about the actually the misreads. I should say
that people hear about government contracts and tell us, is
there a role math to becoming a person who can
benefit from government contract floor is yours?
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Tim?
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Yeah? I mean, so you know I got started in
government contracting back in twenty twelve. So government contracting was
the first company that really whereas where I started doing
well for myself was then of course able to venture
into me and my life, starting Cadence Ventures. But government
contracting to me, I feel that if you are a
(18:30):
small business, particularly a minority owned small business, and you're
not doing business with the government, you're doing yourself, doing
yourself a disservice. Right now, I'm not saying government the
government is perfect in this regards, but the government tries
to provide business opportunities to small businesses, and in fact
(18:52):
that according to the Federal Acquisition Regulations, the government is
supposed to put out bids to small businesses first before
those contracts ever go large. The problem is that there
isn't enough small businesses that are raising their hand and
saying that they can actually do the work. So for me,
(19:13):
I got started in the government contract. It is a
lot of work, it's a lot of paperwork, it's a
lot of compliance that you have to adhere to. It's
not a get rich quick scheme by no means. You
have to have your business. You have to do real
business right, it's not a hustler game. Right. You have
to have your books set up correctly. But if you
(19:37):
but if you're a small business owner that are looking
to do real business and the government is it should
be your customer, because the government, for me, was the
only way in which I was able to scale my
business to me is in revenue.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Right.
Speaker 4 (19:53):
A good friend mine used to always say, if you
want to make means, then you have to do business
with a customer that's business millions, right, because you can
only make as much as the customer that you have.
And so so the government for me was that customer.
Because if I wanted to scale my business to the
point where I was generating millions and revenue, I needed
(20:14):
to be able to do business with a customer that
was spending millions. And the government was that customer for me.
And then it's been a blessing, you know since since
doing business with the government.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Hey tell me, you know, I get a lot of
emails with these from these I guess the agencies that
tell me if you sign up with me, you know,
you get you get first look on RFPs or you
register over here, I can get you on you know, SAM.
It is the big platform and it's free. By the way,
you should be paying nobody to be a member of SAM,
(20:45):
and sam's where you can go find all the the
government rps and they'll notify you if you fifty the
cold criteria for your company. How can you talk us
about talk tell about audience. How should they react when
they get these type of emails. I'm not saying they're
bad emails. They could be entry points for you if
that's the way you want to go. But you know
(21:06):
you did it the traditional way. You you learned, you
were patient, and you built a business. Talk to them
an audience, Tim.
Speaker 4 (21:14):
Yeah, I agree with you. I think I think you
have a lot of companies or service providers, service providers
that take advantage of the fact that when small businesses
get sign up within SAM and they get registered to
do business with government, they know that those small businesses
don't really know what to do, right, And I think
(21:37):
that a lot of those service dividers take advantage of that.
To your point there, that you don't have to hire
someone to do a lot of these things, right. Signing,
getting registered in SAM is a free service, right, Getting
access to RSPs and RFIs that's that's a free service.
The government has to put those things out to general public.
(21:58):
To to those to those vendors that are registered in SAM,
so you don't have to pay someone to send you
emails because the only thing they're doing is going to
the SAM site, getting those opportunities and just forwarding the
emails to you. So the same website to do that
for you. You just have to be diligent enough to
(22:19):
do the work right. You can't assume that someone's got
the magic bullet and it's just going to make it
easy for you. Just do the work right. I'm here
in Georgia, which is where I got started in government contracting.
There's a service. Georgia Tech has a service that I
think it's called gt PACK, which is called Georgia Tech
(22:40):
Procurement Acquisition Center. They are funded by the government. It's
a service that's offered through Georgia Tech, but it's the
gt PACK is funded by the government and they offer
a free service that will teach you these things. You know.
They have online classes, they have in person classes, and
that's how I started learning. First started learning government contractings
(23:02):
by going to those free gt PAC classes. And of
course there are a lot more advanced things that you
can learn, you know, when you get deeper into government contractor.
But I think a lot of it would just come
through trial and error. A lot of it you would
learn on the job. So I agree with you. I
don't think that you have to pay a lot of
(23:22):
money for those things that a lot of these service
advisers are offering. You just got to be willing to
roll up your sleeves and do the work, and you
will figure it out. Right, the government will even assist
you in figuring things out. Contracting officers and SBA representative.
There's a whole ecosystem that has been put together by
(23:42):
the government to help small businesses in getting the better
understanding how to do business with the government.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Hey, Tim, but that's the bootstrap part of your book title.
That's the bootstrap, that's the hard working part of it.
As we wrap up this interview, you know, and I
just wanted to tell people, like you said, you're gonna
make money on who you do business with. If you
make if you're hanging out with people you're number one
customers delivering hundreds of dollars to you, that's how much
money you're gonna make.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Thousands of dollars, that's how the money you're gonna make.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Millions of dollars. That's how much money you can make.
So don't be angry at the system or the ecosystem
or the financial world. If created, you have to advance
beyond it. And that's my biggest takeaway when I read
the Bootstrap Billionaires is that I wanted to bring a
gentleman on the show to show where he come from,
come South Carolina, and now he's in the position. He
(24:35):
didn't let that stop him. He saw options. He's seen
the world through a military experience. He's now sold government contractors,
been doing this since twenty twelve. He takes when he
dove in, it was a lot of frustration.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
There's a lot of frustration. He didn't get no contracts
up up from jump.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Nobody does, nobody does, nobody does, nobody does. But it's
the part of the conversation is he is a book
out there in that book. If you have to, if
you wouldn't write the book, if you just read the
book yourself, Tim, what would be your takeaway from Bootstrap Millionaire.
Speaker 4 (25:08):
Man? I think the most important thing for me in
the books is I think it's the first chapter in
the book. I think the chapters title to see the glory,
don't know the story. Every successful person out there, whether
they're entrepreneurs or whether they are professionals, they all went
through something to get to achieve that success. No no one,
no one achieved success without sacrifice. So the takeaway from
(25:32):
me would be just that knowing and understanding that there
is a story behind every successful person's situation, the whole
not and so you can see the glory, you can
see all the things they may have achieved. But until
you know the story, and until you were ready to
(25:52):
drink from the cup that they drank from, then then
you have to understand that. You know, that's the most
important thing, right. There's a verse in the Bible that
talked about the brothers they wanted I think the parents
wanted them to sit at the right and left hand
out side of Jesus at one point in time, and
Jesus asked them, are you prepared to drink from the
(26:14):
same cup? Right? Are you prepared to go through what
I'm about to go through? So that's what I would
tell people that when you when you're striving for success,
just understand that there is no success without sacrifice.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Bootstrap Millionaire that's the name of this book. He's the
author he's a visionary, but he's also the CFO of
Cadence Ventures Incorporated. Thank you for coming on my show again, Tim,
I said again, because he's also been on my syndicated
TV show, he's been on my podcast.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
He's a friend of the family. Again. His advice is
always welcome. Tim.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Good luck man, and we will definitely talk soon. Tim Mercer,
the author of Bootstrap Millionaire, thank you for coming on
Money Making Conversation Masterclass.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
When we come back, we got more information, more guests
to turn your life around. Like I said, we're here
to help you create and build your American dream. This
is Rushan McDonald. I am the host of Money Making
Conversations Masterclass. This has been another edition of Money Making
Conversation Masterclass hosted by me Rushan McDonald. Thank you to
(27:16):
our guests on the show today and thank you our
listening to audience now. If you want to listen to
any episode I want to be a guest on the show,
visit Moneymakingconversations dot com. Our social media handle is money
Making Conversation. Join us next week and remember to always
leave with your gifts.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
Keep winning
Hosts And Creators
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Shirley Strawberry
Thomas "Nephew Tommy" Miles
Carla Ferrell
Kier "Junior" Spates
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