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(01:04):
I am your host ru Sean McDonald, It's important to
understand that every money conferent path, that is because your
brand is different, challenges your life. For Sean McDonald, so
stop reading other people stories and start writing your honest
my Money Making Conversation and if you with your gifts
and never used what he likes playing my next guest.
(01:29):
She's as known for Emmy nominating work in the iconic
role of Nicky Read, a character she's played for forty
years and counting on America's a number one daytime television
drama The Young and the Restless. Her memoir Always Young
and Restless. It's a very motivational book. I read it.
It's very very recommended. It's a compelling book about her life.
We'll be discussing her life, her career, and overcoming the odds.
(01:52):
Please welcome to Money Making Conversations, Melody Thomas Scott. Well, Hello,
Sean Well. Uh well, first of all, thank you for
coming on the show. Thank you for having your people
send a book to me. You know, I read a
lot of books, Melody, and uh. One thing that jumped
out of this book was overcoming that art was one Uh.
(02:13):
And motivation. You you're constantly self motivated. Uh, can you
talk about that a little bit before we were getting
dealt about different things, and that I read about the
book and some of the questions that your your team
asked me to enquire about when we were doing the interview.
It's so funny that you consider me to be a
self motivator. I don't believe that about myself at all,
(02:35):
but I'll take the compliment we are because because you
know the thing about it. I I look at my life,
you know, and people laugh at me because I can
remember things when I was two, three and five very clearly.
I can you know, I'm gonna tell you something I can.
I can remember when my sisters, you know, back in
the day before they had the little pampers where you
could just have a little when they had safety. I
(02:57):
can remember my sister's actually sticking me intentionally because because
because I was the middle child, I was the middle child.
I can remember. And I talked people, they go, you're
not telling the truth. How could you remember that? And
then I read your book and I go, I finally
met somebody, isn't it wonderful? And I only know before
now learning about you, there's only one other person and
(03:19):
that I've found that has the same memory that we do.
So there's three of us anyway, And it's really interesting
because you know, it is so as I'm talking to
starting your book and you you mentioned that, I go, okay,
you know you started, you said, okay, I can relate
to her. Now, you know, we we have a kinship
here because how many people have told me in fact, first,
(03:42):
in fact, when I tell people that they say that
they told me, I've not been telling truth so many
times I don't even tell people anymore. They don't believe you.
I totally understand. And so it's so. But but it's
tied to it's tied to It's not tied to trauma.
It's not. It's just that somehow in my life I
am very you know, there are points in my life
(04:02):
where you know, I'm not as clear, but for some reason,
for some reason, under five, I am very clear about
what happened in my life between first grade from from
under five, I'm very clear. Melody too, is isn't it strange?
I mean, I remember being in my crib, I remember
all these I remember events that happened when I was
(04:24):
one that have been verified by family members. So it
is a freakish umber. Yes, but you know it's a
blessing and occurs. I mean you probably don't remember some
of those things, right, But let's talk about your career.
Why did you write the book? Okay, for like I said,
when I read it, it became a very motivating memoir
(04:47):
to me. Why did you write the book? Well, thank you? Um,
I wrote the book. I've always known for many years
that there was a book in me that needed to be,
you know, out there in the world. And it took
a very long time, I think, um, getting over the
the emotional blocks that one might have in writing about
(05:08):
adversities in childhood, and mine were particularly unique, I would say.
But I mean I was never going to write about
write a book simply about the young and the restless.
I mean that that just would not do it for me.
I mean, yes, it's interesting to the fans, but my
real motivation was to write about my personal life and yes,
(05:31):
things that I have overcome. Um. But when I said
to you earlier, I don't view myself as self motivating. Uh.
It just happened to be that I was able somehow
guardian angels or who knows what to uh break out
of what could have been a very bad road. Uh,
(05:53):
it was not. It was never my uh intent at
the moments of thinking, all right, I'm going to overcome this. No,
it was almost something otherworldly that guided me to a
different path, uh for my government. And I'm so grateful
for that, whatever forces or powers allowed me to do
that and showed me those roads. It's really interesting. Let
(06:15):
me I'm gonna repeat. I don't know if you heard
my intro before I introduced you, and that is why,
and that is why this book is such a natural
to my storytelling about what you're bringing you on the show.
I say it is important to understand that everybody travels
a different path to success. This is her, but when
you read her book, this is her book. That is
(06:37):
because your brand is different. Brand is just a life,
and that's her life. The challenge you're facing your life
are different. That's her. And then what she did was
she stopped reading other people's success story and started writing
her own. I could not have written I said that.
I said that every time I opened my show Melody,
I could have not written a more classic intro that
(07:00):
that mirrors your book. It's amazing and I would like
to believe that what I'm trying to do on my
show and what you've written in that book, trying to
accomplish the same thing. You're telling your story. But I'm
also inviting on the show to let people know what
I'm saying is the truth. Yes, And that is why
I wrote the book. I had to be truthful about everything.
(07:24):
I had to include the dark with the light. You
can't write a whole book all about the light that
that meaningless some ways, so um, I just needed to
let it out there. And since the release on August eight, teints,
I've heard from so many people already that are thanking
(07:45):
me for delving into particularly sensitive areas. That hearing from
so many people, Oh my gosh, Melody. You know, I
had similar things when I was a kid, and they're
still caring them round, you know, as an adult. And
it's so wonderful to be able to release that and
(08:06):
move forward and lead the past in the past. And
it really is important that I know. I'm working on
a book myself, a motivating book, Melody, and the thing
that I found and rightened it. You you start remembering
things that you kind of like, buy you buried. I mean,
there were many times where I'm sitting at my computer
(08:26):
writing a particularly grueling chapter, and I am there, perhaps
due to our early childhood memory abilities when writing at
I am there in the room where things were happening
when I was four. And it's total recall, and it
has to be in order for it to be honest.
And that's what makes the book compelling. And now, now
(08:48):
remember you stay every shot. I don't really see myself
as a self starter. Well I'm gonna point out some
examples of what I thought with a self start. If
you don't mind when you intend to when you intentionally
gain wait for their role. Nobody, nobody told you to
do that, but you saw an opportunity. Okay, even that,
(09:09):
you're giving me too much credit there? Why Why am
I giving you too much credit? Speech speak speech to me?
Because I still can't tell you to this day. Why
When I was thirteen and reading Variety and learned about
this part in this new Clint Eastern movie, I still
cannot tell you what inside is? Me said, that's my part,
(09:33):
and the part is of a chubby girl. Why I'm
not chubby, but I can be very soon. And I
just started eating with no promise of an interview. My
agent had not ever uttered the words of this film. Uh.
And it was just something in me that And it
wasn't like, oh, I'm gonna go get it. I'm gonna
go get that. Get a moment. We're gonna argue positively
(09:56):
on this show, MC because you are fantastic and I
think i'd like to say you kind of under sail
yourself a little bit, but I can't say that because
you're so successful. But what I see is a person
that let's let's point out another example, to shoot this,
to shoot this, the director he worked, He worked with
(10:17):
him twice. Right, you saw an opportunity you called his
lovely assistance. I feel a bit that that was a
bit of a devious move on my part. All Right,
you know some people were getting that. What you would
tell everybody if you don't mind that genius move there,
that actually the role could have went to another blonde starlet.
I won't reveal that little aha moment, but you did
(10:39):
a genius move. Until long after we shot the film,
I did not know who was supposed to play that part.
But it was just kind of a strategic move on
my part because I really did feel like, you know,
my career over should I go back and focus on
my piano. I was a bit at a cross drugs,
(11:00):
but I felt that taking a meeting with Don Seagal
because I had worked with him twice before and I
did know he was going to be doing to shoot this,
but I didn't let on to that in the meeting.
And it was just again one of those you did
when you talk to his assistant. You didn't let on
then either strategic, strategic, strategic. Then when you met with him,
(11:27):
then you made it with him, So you did it twice.
I'm just saying, you're very smart, and that's why I'm
just letting you know that these are the tools that
I took away from the book, that sometimes you have
to make your opportunity. Sometimes you have to be a
self starter. And these are the motivating moments that I
took away from the book, and I have encouraging people
to read because here's a person. Sometimes you don't Sometimes
the opportunity is not presented to you. Sometimes it may
(11:50):
be so far away you might say, I can't achieve that.
That's what happened. When you was eight years old, you
was you were skinny, the roads for a chubby kid
in your mind, your agent didn't saying, ain'ty about it,
but you read it said I'm gonna get this, and
you went and got it. But through effort, through effort,
though well, through a lot of eating, I gained twenty
pounds in two weeks. And I still don't know how
(12:12):
you did that. I still don't know how you did that.
You big time. I was determined without a solid opportunity
at the end of that road, I didn't know. It
was just something in me that thought, well, I'm going
to do this and then and and then then you
achieved it. And so when you achieve these things, you
(12:34):
know I I'll never take it for an example myself.
Mscott is there sometimes I I've accomplished things in life
and then I kind of like, I think it's no
big deal, and I'm understand that, but I'm just in
my person out and I see a lot of things
that that you you've accomplished in your life and that
you're doing your life. Sometimes obviously like saying, Okay, it
(12:55):
happened because guess what was supposed to happen was the
right place at the right time. And I tend to
kill those statements in my life because I realized that
it happened because I made effort. That happened because guess what,
when somebody will give twenty three hours in the day,
I gave twenty four hours. And I got that from
your personality. Like when you went back to the Broadway
store to work, you don't have to go back to
that story work. And when you went back to that store,
(13:16):
that led to another opportunity. I'm just saying, it's just
your your your ability to see opportunities and make opportunities
is what shines in this book when I read it. Well,
you're starting to convince me now that perhaps there is
a bit of that in me. All the goodness, I'm
so sorry I am outside because there's so much activity
(13:38):
in my house right now. Sorry for that. UM goodness, UM,
I'm starting to agree with you. Um. I mean, you
know what you could You could convince the snowman to
buy ice. I'm telling you, I think you're listening to
money making conversations with Rashan McDonald. Will be right back.
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Welcome back to money making conversations. I'm your host, Sean McDonald. Well,
(15:04):
first of all, when when the reality is that That's
why I was so excited when I got the book.
You know, they sent it to me a book and
he said, you know, and I vary familiar with your talents.
You know, A big fan of the show. Uh. I
grew up my mom was a soap opera fan and
so so that's over the sixties. I was, you know, seventies,
I was watching before I went off to college and
my life took a whole new direction and I thought
(15:26):
I was a man of men and things like that
and became the person I am today. But along the way,
it was like even when you even when you had
the opportunity to audition for the iconic role that you
have right now, you know, you had a sitcom opportunity,
a pilot up to time you was on the Waltons.
But yeadn't still but yeahn't still well, But I, as
(15:51):
you read in the book, I didn't. I really wasn't
interested in the role on The Young and the rest Less,
because as you say, I had that other opportunity that
I very much wanted to do. It's only because my
agent convinced me to take wine, aren't. And goodness gracious,
the moral of that is always listened to your agent,
because we see was shut so right, forty one years later,
I'm still on that show. Which is incredible. Wow, I
(16:16):
just love talking to you because you are the incredible one,
young lady. But you see, I have always felt, even
as a child, and to this day, I feel that
I'm very much the statalist and that you know, things
that come to me come to me from other forces,
because wherever I'm at is where I'm supposed to be.
(16:39):
And if another opportunity opens up, I don't feel that
I gun for it. Okay, until you started talking to
Rashaan McDonald. Now, Rashaw mcdowe got you thinking about yourself
a little bit different here you should have maybe Row
I will give him full credit, but he's trying. It's
onto something hit because because you can give your agent
(17:01):
credit if you want to, Rushaw won't. Okay, Rush won't
because you still have to give one effort. And when
you're write in this book, you may have had those
two opportunities, but you wanted this opportunity. Then you when
you went in read you you naturally matching the screen test.
You you the effort and then the fact that you
(17:24):
got it. And then she she gives you, your agent
gives you this half compliment where the other girl was prettier.
You could you could have told me everything. Okay, but
you know the thing, they turned out other girl because
she was actually prettier than you, So thank good. But
they said that she said was prettier than you, but
(17:48):
you were the better actor. There you go, we are
all on the same page. Now, Melody I am. I
think I've gotten you. I think I've gotten the spirit
of Melody on my side. Now let's talk about this
brilliant career. NICKI read come on now, I had to.
I had to. I had to dig deep on this.
And because I said, you know some I'm reading this book,
(18:09):
and this book is so you know, it starts with
a dark side, this childhood, and she's like me, she's
remembering a lot of things that most people say you're
foolish to be able to you're just lying. You're not
telling the two years. You're just acting right now. But
that's part of what the other magic of who you are.
And then then you take all these stories but donn't
affect your everyday life, and you know it doesn't slow
(18:31):
you down, you know, and you just all like you said,
all you wanted was a sense of normalcy in your life.
That's what you're said in the book, and and and
ironically that normal to me was being an actor and
getting I knew that I was not living the life
of a normal little girl at all. But I knew
that if I got a job, I could go to
(18:54):
a studio and play the part of a normal little girl.
And that was everything to me. And that is problem ably,
But what was the very beginnings of my deep desire
to be an actor. It was like, Hey, I'm living
the craziest world ever at home with this nutty family.
But I can feel successful and at peace with my
(19:16):
own self by being an active by jumping into another
character's mind. That and I still feel that way. That
is the joy of acting for me is to take
a character that doesn't exist in reality, that making her real.
I'm speaking to Emmy nominated actress who plays the iconic
role on The Young and the Restless Nicki Read forty
(19:39):
years in County. We're discussing her book Always Young and
Restless is very motivational. Book, is a meanoir. It's about
her life. You know, is um You call her NICKI Read?
And yes, indeed she was. NICKI Read. But everybody today
they all want to say Nicki Newman, Nicki Newman is
that whole Newman thing you know? Uh? Of course she
(20:01):
has been married twelve times, so I'm not going to
fall So so what what do you want me to
do now? Ms Scott Nicky Read or NICKI Newman, You've
been married toll time. See see. I love talking to you.
I love you. But you're probably one of my most
interesting guests because like his book can I, there's a
couple of things in the book. I want to say
(20:23):
that that I agree with you when you said right
place at the right time, like when you went in
and Kirk Douglas braided your hair. M h okay, that's what.
That's that's all. Now here explained this to me, if
you will, okay, cool, thank you. When I was in
that stock room at the Broadway selling shoes, and I
(20:43):
had been told do not answer the phone in the
stock room, and I never so that one day and
again I don't know what what made me go pick
up that receiver and say, you know, well, ladies, shoes,
hath can I help you? Uh? And it turns out
to be my childhood agent, which led to an I
mean as if no time had passed and it has
(21:04):
been years since I had spoken to her. UH. And
then I go to the address she gives me. I
walk in and there's Kirk Dacles behind the desk. And
that led to me getting POSSI, which really led to
me getting back into the business as an adult. Uh
to to work continuously. But explain that to me. What
made me answer that song that that same quality that
(21:25):
I keep saying about you, the overriding desire to win
and to you know, some we're not winning. What I
talked to a lot of successful people, and you truly
are a successful person. And in the end they wind
up being successful because they trust themselves. People tell them
what not to do, they do it anyway because they
trust themselves. They don't do They don't do it because
(21:46):
of the fact that they're trying to break a rule.
If it doesn't make sense to them, then they're going
to break the rule because they go, why can't I
answer this phone? And and and and and that. When
I was read that part of the book, I go,
she's been an incredible actress. All these just where they
were walkswer the phone, and then when I when they
got to that part, and then when you answered the phone,
it all made sense because that's the natural if you
(22:08):
if you read yours, which of course, of course you're
rich story. You wrote it. You were rebellious all the
way up to that point. Okay, very rebell You're very rebellious.
So so when you when somebody telling a very rebellious personality, Look,
don't answer the phone. What do you think it's gonna happen?
You want to answer the phone? And you answered the phone,
(22:28):
and guess what it was somebody that, Wow, this is
so crazy. I'm gonna share a story with you. I'm
gonna tell you we're so interesting, how our lives intertwined,
and not saying you're me and I'm you're I'm you.
When I was in the hospital with my lung collapsed, okay,
and I was I was in I c U that
came out, and I was in hospital, and it was
(22:52):
just I was a stand up comic, I should be
a very popular stand up comic, and a comedy competition
was going on. I knew nothing about it because I
was in the hospital. I longer collapsed and the phone
rung in my hospital room melody. I picked it up.
It was this guy asking me, did I want to
compete in a comedy competition? Now you see, that was
(23:15):
the same kind of moment. We are very much alike,
you understand, And so that moment right there lip got me.
I was I was released from the hospital. Three days later,
I was on stage and I made the finals. It
was a national TV show. It got me back into
the stand up comedy group because I had fallen off
because I was in the hospital. But it's the same scenario.
(23:37):
So when I'm reading your book, I'm like, there are
too many aha moment aha moments with you and I
because we're we're we're self starters, okay, and you know,
in life, people have told us what we cannot do,
and we've accomplished things that most people have considered the extraordinary.
(23:58):
And yet we're nice because you are a nice person. Well,
thank well, you've just met me. Now give me a
little time. You might change mind that I read it
all two and seventy pages. Okay, I could read between
the lines. Now, oh you're wonderful. Let let's talk about
the story. We're a little bit that just being a
(24:20):
star on the show that long and the responsibilities of
being a star on the show that long. Can you
talk about that a little bit? See kind of thinking
doesn't even answer my mind. It's hard for me to
even say I am a star. That makes me so
uncomfortable to say that. Um, you know, we're a company,
We're a repertoire company, and I feel that we are
(24:42):
all stars in our own right. You know. The The
interesting thing about when I when I meet a person
like you, because we've never met before, and you know,
we look and uh, you know what, But I take
after this conversation, I do want to meet you in person.
I think that would be really you're amazing in it.
But when I and then thank you for wanting to
meet with me because of the fact that my whole
(25:04):
thing and doing this interview was first of all, to
meet you and also to share what I view what
my takeaways from a book, because we all have reasons
why we write a book. But I just want to
let you know that some people who read the book,
they are inspired. And you have to have to realize
that's a blessing in my eyes. The fact that you
(25:24):
that you were honest enough to say, look, because I'm
just telling you, when you when you hang up the
phone or during this interview, if you really look at
what you're talking about in your book. You overcame so
many high odds, so many levels of different types of abuse,
so many emotionally challenging physical moments, and you survived it.
(25:44):
And you survived it, uh and and and and it
didn't affect you. And so many people allow things to
to take them off their success, that their path of opportunity,
and you didn't. And that's why I had to say
that you are a self starter. But when a moment
sense itself melody, you take advantage of it. You do not.
You know, when you have to take the larber called dog,
(26:06):
you took the doll. Okay, you know you took the dog,
and so you dog. I don't like dogs, she said, okay,
we'll bring the dog on there. Because you understood relationships,
you know, and all these things have when you look
back in your life, you relive because you have such
a great memory you could. I think you get to
appreciate your life a lot more because you can't remember
(26:26):
so many things I can. And I think that was
very helpful in uh for the readers out there who
think that I am NICKI nem and a lot of people,
you know, it's a fine line. They really think that
that is me and if they read everything I've been
through and everything that I have come out of the
other end it, it gives them hope. And if I
(26:48):
can give them encouragement to you know, stick with it
and and there is light at the end of the tunnel,
then that writing the book is all worth it. If
I can just help those who might be going through
similar things or did as a child and are now
adults still carrying it around with them, they don't need to.
They don't need to dump it and move on, move on,
(27:10):
move on, or share it with somebody so you can
dump it. And that's important too, because sometimes you need
to speak speaking and get it out of your system
and and see how some people who care about you
react to it, and you realize it's no big deal.
And that's the blessing of communication. That and itself has
been very healing for me to have put it all
(27:31):
out there. Hey here it is works and all. And uh,
you know, I'm I'm encouraging others to follow my lead.
I guess you know, Nicki Newman. You know I'm talking
to Nicki Newman here. Okay, the iconic Nikki no more. Now,
I love talking to you. Well in your book, you
(27:52):
met a lot of famous people. Nikki Franklin, huh Ahmad Ali,
Oh my goodness, Yes, that was great, great day. And
so when you meet these famous people, you know kind
I tell you when you said you met I'm just
tell you something. John Wayne, I'm a Western nut. So
John Wayne was I grew up in loving John Wayne.
(28:14):
Kirk Douglas, A man's a man, one of my spotticuts,
one of my all time favorite acts. So you came,
you started writing off names. It's like I was jealous
of you. I would say, I hope she took pictures.
I hope she took pictures and long recall. Oh that
that that I can just see her silhouette. You know,
I'm going, oh my goodness, Carl Reiner, Aretha Franklin. Okay,
(28:37):
I'm telling something. And you want to meet Rashaan McDonald,
I feel even better. It was festive, but you got
a book out and uh. I first of all, I
want to thank you for coming on Money Making Conversation.
I want to thank you for writing a book that
inspired me to realize that I'm living the right life.
I'm all the things that I'm doing my life I
(28:59):
should keep doing. And age has never been an issue
with you. You've been motivated by hard work and success
and the fact that when and I just wanted to
respond to this before we leave, because in the entertainment
business it's always feels with so much uncertainty. You work,
you work, And when you got that three year contract
(29:19):
h for young and the wrestlers, how did that make
you feel? At that point, You're like, because you know
what your your life had been, the experience with your grandmother, Uh,
certain situations that that that people should have been been
put in jail by the way they treated you physically,
it didn't happen. But at that point you have offered
a three year contract. What did that? What did that
(29:42):
do for you emotionally and mentally? And uh, we know
what it did for you financially. I think I was
too young and immature to really appreciate what that meant.
But slowly clearly um it. Of course you know it
does affect of life. All of a sudden, you're making
regular money every week, which for you know, free lance
(30:05):
act or that never happened, and you start making new
friends lifelong friends on the show. You start maybe wearing
nicer clothes and driving a nicer car, and it just
kind of slowly creeps up on you without you realizing, Hey,
I've kind of jumped into a different bracket here of living.
(30:25):
You're living in a house and these things just occur
without you giving them that much credence. But certainly as
time goes on. Uh And and I mean not only
did it affect my life financially, but I met my
husband because of Young and Wrestless. I have my children
because of Young and Wrestles. So it really impacted my
life tremendously, more so than most actors, I think, because
(30:49):
of the personal rewards it gave me. Show that has
been such a blessing and still is that. I mean,
how many shows are even on forty one years and
I've been on it for forty one years. It's it's
truly truly And as they say, still looking good and
still fine. That's you know they say in the street
(31:10):
spot you now you know, still looking good, He's still fine.
How memoir Always Restless is a very motivational book. Nicki
Newman's on my show A k. A. Melody Thomas Scott,
thank you for coming on Money Making Conversation. I really
appreciate you so much for having me. It was a pleasure,
and we will see each other soon one day down
(31:31):
the line, because I know less people stand to see
each other someway somehow, and we live in the start
life that allows blessings to unite. Thank you, my friend,
Be safe out there. We'll be right back with more
from March McDonald and money making conversations don't touch that
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and back to you, know some type of meaningful life.
For more information, visit n M dot org Slash Radio.
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dot Ai. Welcome back to money making Conversations. I'm your
host Sean McDonald, My next guest is an award winning
TV host, slash, celebrity chef, slash best best selling cookbook author,
best known for numerous Food Network and cooking challenge shows.
Every time I see am Motivum Homework. He's the host
a New Soul Kitchen on Cleo TV and his co
(35:03):
host on The Best Things I Ever Ate. I get
mad every time I see him on that show on
the Cooking Channel, The Best Thing. He just be and
he just give the scripture because he had the little
southern drawl and he'd be like, like, you know, when
he talks, it's like it's like the food dripping off
his mouth even though he's not eating anything. He says
one of those things that skilled New Soul Kitchen is
prepared for his second season after winning three National World
(35:26):
Awards and his first season. The show is geared towards
the black millennial woman because of their unique styles of
eating food compared to their parents and older siblings. Despite
all of the show's past success, it is changing this year.
Chef Jernard will be a solo host. This year we
will talk about the show's new direction and be a
more health conscious and the more health conscious manner for
(35:47):
all of us today, especially in COVID and eighteen. Please
welcome to the show the Family Self Chef Jernard Wells. Hello, Hello, man.
So I never finished that man chef, that hetroduct yourself
so good. I was like he talking about me and somebody,
and he's like, okay, it is my whole show. Interview
(36:08):
of the intro? Is it the whole? That's all I
want to know, because I like you keep talking, but
I do have some things I want to say. Let's
let's let's talk about that. What you're saying. We're gonna
jump around a little bit, but I want to start first.
What you just said, by the show is geared towards
the black millennial woman because their unique styles of eating
(36:29):
food compared to their parents and older siblings. I have
a daughter who's twenty four, and she loves the Food Network,
watches it all the time, watches it all the time.
And then now she's like she she was one of
the favorite shows. Is that the worst Cooks? She couldn't
(36:49):
believe I interviewed and morell she couldn't she could damn
you know her, you know her. She she didn't saw
un TC once because Nazi I was interning at my company. Now,
so she just updates all the update all the media kids.
So now she will see your photo. She's gonna go
you know, Chef to know it will due because you
know everybody, and so I know that really caught me
(37:12):
off guard that here's a twenty four year old person
who's watching the Food Challenge and the Cooking Challenge so much.
Talk about that whole generation that is now you know,
more into like the self help, do it myself, do
it yourself, and you guys are supplying that and that
is the whole corner stone of New Soul Kitchen. That
is so true, and that's what's driving a drive with
(37:34):
the band with now and and it's funny you mentioned
Chef and Burrell, which is a good friend of mine.
Chef and Burrell is whom I did my first TV
show with the Food Network about eleven years ago. The
name of the show was Chef wont it was and
Burrell And they brought me to New York City in
and had me to take over the oldest steak house
(37:55):
in in New York City by the name of Old
Homestead and gave me that restaurant for at nite. Amazing experience.
But now, the way, the way, time, the way the
market is point it is we're in the d I
y or do it yourself society. Now where the millennial
woman is driving that. And one of the biggest things
(38:18):
is is they see what They go to restaurants and
they eat great food, but then after they eat it,
they want to go home and recreate it, versus when
the people before as we're going and they go in
the restaurant and they eat great food. What they're saying
is I can't wait to go back to that restaurant.
But the driving force that watching TV now when they
(38:39):
can go to the restaurants, but they see it, they
want to recreate that experience, not just for themselves but
for them for their friends because we're in this more
innovative driving platform. Indeed, you know, even though the pandemic
has been a big downside for a lot of people,
it's been upside for the food industry because people who
(39:01):
were normally eating out and and living for the week
kids just to eat. We were quarantined at home and
they had no choice but to cook or they're gonna
be eating cold cousin Balogne every day. Absolutely. Now, my daughter,
like just yesterday, she uh, she made some cream spinach
for me. I didn't even ask her the cream Spanish
and she I said, what did you learn that. I
(39:23):
saw it on The Worst Cook because she worst I'm
telling say, try his daddy. And here's the thing about
The Worst Cook really is inspiring a lot of people
who can't cook. Could they get to see the progression,
you know, a person who can't cook making all the mistakes.
Suddenly at the end of the show they can cook,
(39:44):
and so they And it's not pre perscating, No, it's not.
It's not. And so I'm just letting you know that
that you know, I'm just I'm talking about that, but
you know, we're talking about So Kitchen. But I'm just
using my daughter as an example. I'm not trying to
get away from the concept of who or what you're
doing with new show Cleto TV. I'm just using an
example that you're talking about millennial. My daughters a millennial.
(40:05):
So she is that person that you're talking about on
Cleo TV, your Clear TV show Knew So Kitchen that
is now driving the digital, driving the social force of
your show. Now, let me ask you this about New
Soul Kitchen. Did it start out like that? Was that
the original concept? Yeah, that was the original concept with
New Soul Kitchen. Um, which is which is as you know,
(40:29):
with Cleo TV. It was a new network when it
when at Lunched two years ago and it really blossom
and took off. It took out fashion and what we
realized it was and and the thing was, we knew
it was a need. The network knew it was a
need for this is why they created it. But what
she realized that the need was gonna take off the
way it did. You know, even with season one of
(40:50):
New so Kitchen, the way it was where it was
initially set up, it was me a Southern chef that
was cooking American cuisine fair and they paired me with
vegan chef because they knew veganism was big and the
millennial culture. So what they did was going into season two,
which will be we season two of the airing in October,
(41:13):
and I'm so happy I would had the ability to
film season two literally days before the pandemic shut down
New York. I was. I was on the first thing
smoking out of there. But the way season two is
gonna be set up is of course me as a
sol host, but I have four amazing young women that
(41:34):
have expertise and different fields that are gonna be joining
me through the sixteen episodes. Um one young lady specialized
in veganism, another one specializes in the African diaspora, another
one specializes in keto, and then another one specialized in
seafood pesctarian. So we touch on all of those areas.
(41:57):
So you get to experience to fear, get to experience
these different cuisines. And what I do is instead of
just cooking how I typically would cook, I step into
their coach in their world, and I create meals that
are comparable to go just alonge with them. So you have,
as we call it, the Yen and the yet you
(42:17):
get the best of both worlds with this new season.
Now the cool thing is rashon New so Kitching being
so well and we won we want several awards, three
Telly Awards, where I also had the benefit now of
having a second show. So I have a second show
(42:38):
that will be airing this coming year, which is New
so Kitching Remix, and that show is geared towards the
millennial woman or a man that wants to create great
meals on the fly. So if you're listening to learn
how to cook a meal in thirty minutes of mass,
I'm your man. So so that so that's what you
(43:00):
do on that show. You're going there and show how
the quickly a quick miller? Now when does that air?
That airs? Win? Then with New Soul Kitchen Remix is
gonna be later on later on this year after New
Soul Kidchen Rise and two Stars with New Soul Kids
and Season two stars in October. So we hadn't had
got the release date for New So Kitchen Remix that yet.
(43:21):
So when would you be shooting that that remix show?
At Well, I'll be shooting that. Richer already shot it.
Why I went to New Powerhouse production that and I
shot twenty eight episodes in eight days. Okay, you did
it like Tyler Perry. You know Tyler Parachute series. You know,
twenty five episodes in a week. You know, So if
(43:43):
Tyler Perry can do it, you know you can do
it for a cooker show. Hey, I said, why not?
I was like Energiz the bunny, just wind me up
and just let me go. Well, you know, think about it. Now,
what period and now let's let's slow it down here
so I can make sure I'm getting all all the
information crack. Now, The New Souls Kitchen show was shot
right before in New York City right before the pandemic shutdown. Right,
(44:05):
that was sixteen episodes, four different female chefs, millennial chefs
are god of coin with four different styles of and
then you're gonna match their cooking styles based on how
you present stuff, right, correct, So which is really smart
not saying that the host that was their last year,
actually she's just all she could do with vegan. So
(44:26):
this year you start with a vegan, but you got
the African diosis. Then you have with the keyno you said,
and then the seafood, so those are fordive. So it
maintains the interests a lot stronger and allows the people
not to think it's the same old, same old, because
guess what, not everybody is into veganism. That's not nothing
that right, but not everybody it's nothing because you don't
(44:50):
have to be in the veganism. The eat veganism. As
I always tell people, anytime you get your plate, you
always don't have your meat and two sides. So you
eat vegan food with even right right right, with a
little that was meat. Like me, that's you know, I'm
gonna have some meat in my college greens. I'm going
I had so I might have some vegan looking green,
(45:12):
but it's some meat dancing in that and that sauce.
That's sauce. There, not another shif. I think we've been
known each other a long time. We came together back
in two seventeen, and I've been fortunate to watch your
journey as an entrepreneur and what you grow, and it
really sow your knowledge into me because you're you're icon
in in this game, and I really just religious thank
(45:35):
you for for you know, all the knowledge that you
take time to show into me, you know, on and
off the camera. Well I appreciate it because you know,
I really called you the family chef. You have a
beautiful wife, you have a large family, and uh so
you could? You could. It gives you an opportunity to practice.
It's my worst critic, absolutely absolutely so. So when you
(45:57):
go away and do a show like Cleo TV, okay,
and uh this is I like to say, because we've
always talked about you doing your own show, and it
kind of feels like the Cleo TV is finally giving
you your leverage to be your own brand. How is
the relationship of building out your brand and time to
a show like New Soul Kitchen happening out your other
(46:18):
entrepreneur opportunities. Because I've seen you on Rachel Ray. You
know you didn't drop you know you can DM and
sliding in on the marias you know you you everywhere now,
which is good? What your little hat on about? Yes? Yes,
Alwa take my hand over. You know it's really opening
up the doors. Cleo has really opened up the doors
(46:39):
to give me a voice and a platform. And what
they did was when when when I when I came
to Cleon, we became a family. Instead of smuggling out
the light that I had from doing these shows a
countless years of Food Network and Cooking Channel, they allowed
me to use that knowledge blossom into who and what
(47:02):
I desired and what I wanted to see. You know
if that was one of the most amazing things that
I really love, especially were dealing with the exect that
Cleo and they the producers with Powerhouse Production is they
gave me a for us and it was chef you
mar what do you envision? What do you see? What
(47:22):
do you want to see with the show, and gave
me more footing so and you know it's something about
when you know you could do show, do you go
you show up and they just give you the dialogue
and tell you, Okay, this is what we won't hear.
Nothing's wrong with that, but it's something about when they
asked you, what do you want to see? What do
you desire? How do you perceive your image? It gives
(47:44):
you an extra of about what you're doing and being
a part of it. And by doing that it really
helped me just truly. These year has truly been a
growing year, growing into who I am. But also it
allows other net words, other shows like rates or Rate
took the channel to see that, hey, this man there,
(48:06):
even though we've had this man only for teen years,
this man really hands something and this man is really
showing us that. Hey, the kids and life has always
say you pre severe regardless of what the circumstances are,
and sometimes it takes other people seeing you blosom to
(48:27):
appreciate the roles you're listening to money making conversations with
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dot Com. Code money. A deductible may apply. Welcome back
to money making conversations. I'm your host, Sean McDonald. Now
here's the interesting thing about it is dead. And I
appreciate the compliments about what you said about me, because
I really just feel that that's my value to individuals
like you. It's not I don't have to manage you
to be able to advise you. I don't have to
(49:51):
manage you to be able to tell you this is
a smart decision, and this is encourage you to move
forward with that decision, because in the end, you know,
if I die with information that can make you better
than that, I've done a disservice to my life. And
more important, i've done it. I've done a disservice to
the person who has asked me for advice. And so
you're gonna always get that advice. Young man and uh
(50:12):
As I call him a a K. The family shelf.
Now here's the thing I want to talk about right here.
You was talking about millennials being health conscious. I'm reading
your bio here about the show New Soul Kitchen, which
is on Cloe Over TV. My my daughter, she's been
making these red velvet UH donuts with UH with white
iceing on them, you know, And I'm trying to figure
(50:35):
out you said millennials are wanting more health conscious food option.
Now I'm trying to figure out it's red velvet doughnuts
with white ice and health conscious. It depended on how many. Well,
I'm gonna just continue this chiffs and on. I've been
eating two a day for five days. Bro oh wow
(51:00):
uh I hope that maybe don'nor unfortunately you know, come on,
if it was many, do I see the rashol eat postal?
I know how you get down. I just gotta I
may have a different millennial like that. I'm have a
different millennial like that. The thing is, like you said,
(51:24):
what's what's the millennial? They truly do believe in Hey,
I can have my cake and eat it too, along
with everything else. But what they do is they have
they have active lifestyles. And also if you notice it,
the typical millennium, when you see them, they don't overindulge
um like the jet gen xs did you You will
(51:46):
see them in donus. Your see them eating, taking advantage
of all their guilty pleasures. And then you cut another
corner you will see them didn't eating eating and kill salad.
You know it is because maybe it's because of of
the way society has started to gear things and the
way they see it. They look at food differently, and
(52:07):
the food that they desire to put in their bodies,
it's different. You see them more and so on, I'm
cooking with the weak flour, I'm using whole grain this,
I'm farm to table. You know their selection of food.
They don't the millennials now, they don't typically gravitate towards
the process food like the generations prior to them. And
(52:31):
that's one of the things which allows them to eat
with it eat. You know, when we think about it, Rashan,
I O grandparents and our great grandparents, they ate what
they want when they wanted it, from from the fat,
back the router to the tutor, you name it. They
ate it and they lived long life. So what's the
difference now? If the difference then is what's being put
(52:53):
in a lot of the food. So when you become
health conscious, on, okay, I can eat this, but let
me figure out what's in it before I eat it,
so I know how much to eat or how or
women eat it, or how to cook it. And they
changed it where we don't cook a lot with with
lard and cooking oils. You'll see you don't see the
millennials gravitating towards avocado or olive or great sea or
(53:18):
and it's those minor renew things that changes their whole
diet and how their body breaks down the food. Now
I'm talking to a chef, Gernard Wells, the family chef.
He shows he's coming back for the second season. He's
the solo chef. I can say he's a solo chef.
But he got four new additional millennial they millennial chefs.
(53:40):
That's that's coming. I have four amazing ladies that only
show with me and we're kicking some bud and having
some fun. Look, I can tell you this. Other shows
them eating every they got me eat everything for mackerel
eyes all the way, all the way down the garlic
(54:02):
making it happen. But here say, it's the funny thing
because every If you know anything about Rihand, I'm a baker,
been fortunate to win awards as a baker. If you
follow my social media poach, you will know on Tuesdays
and Friday, recognized bakers throughout the America called the Baker Spotlight. Now,
the one thing about baking, you make a mistake in bacon, man,
you might would just throw it away because you can't
(54:24):
there you cannot fix it. That's for a friend of mine.
He emailed me last night. He said, do you listen
to jazz. When you bake, I go, man, listen to nothing.
You can't. You can't be out of your mind, not
focused when you're baking. When it says a tea spoon
or smitch or peach, it does not be more than
what it said is supposed to be. Oh, it's done.
And so my wife, she was making gumbo yesterday, just
(54:49):
making you know, the crab me to dip stuff the
o creak. I got a little orgain a garden now
in the backyard. So my tomatoes came fresh out of
the backyard. You know. She was child that up putting
it in there. And then she came and tapped me
on the show. He had sausage and all that stuff,
and she had the sausage in there with her route
and she said, I don't think the rule is right.
(55:10):
So I went over and taste it. I'm gonna tell
you something, chefs, you know, it was not right. Okay,
what's not right? What's not right? What's not right? What's
not right? So so I said, she said, what should
I do? I said, okay, this is what you do.
Drain all your stuff out of the root. Just drain
it all out. Find you some some of some just
some some some chicken um chicken broth in the back.
(55:33):
You know, I keep that in the container. And I said,
give me what I said, Now, give me chef your
nord season right here, give me this, give me that,
and give me tony Tony season, that little green bell
green container. I said, that's all we need right now,
I said, I said, I said, she said, can I
put a couple of corn stock? I said, ye, you
(55:53):
can bring her argo. Get all going here, get all
going here, I said. I said, put that that that
that stock in there, that chicken stock. And then I said,
put it half water, put everything back in there, put
a dash of chef to know its season, and there
put me some tony in now, and brother, it was outstanding.
So you can save food, but you can't save a
(56:17):
bad messed up cake. You can do with the do
with the cake. If you got the kid with your
own when it comes to it, you're in trouble. Now.
One of the things that you know you mentioned about
bacon that's scaled, that you got is something else that
you used the perfect bait h with the mess. Now
(56:38):
they seemed like they will keep you fo That's almost
like food. It's almost like fool pool. But you still
gotta you know, because dings if you missed the Dean
because you listen to just some music okay because it
jo that grooming and missing when they said okay, because
that's when it lets you know that it's hit that
correct measurement, right white weight, uh, feeling in that up
(57:00):
and so that's how it goes like that. But when
I when I just say this to this transition to
the fact that I use your season, how has that
all going the season? And you you had the hand
salitizer working doing covid A team. You're entrepreneur at hard.
How are your other entrepreneurial things besides the fact that
you physically are cooking on shows. You physically are doing
(57:21):
appearances on Rachel Ray, on your Instagram Crown, you're doing
paid virtual appearances. How's the entrepreneurial side of you? And
how did you pivot doing the pandemic? Oh Man? During
the pandemic, you know, at first I was I was
a little worried when it when it first kicked out,
But I tell you I've been nothing but blessed. The
manufacturing business truly just took off, you know from all
(57:45):
my seat and products because a lot of people didn't
get't and still don't want to leave the home as much.
You don't want to go to a lot of grocery stores.
So with the products that I create, what hope was
in they are, you know, all natural products, lower sodium,
no m s gs, no fruit toost concerts. So the
(58:06):
sales did more than quadruple, you know, and and where
we had we had to ramp up production just to
be able to keep up with it and satisfy the demand,
which was most certainly a good problem to have, you know.
During the course of that, I even lunched lunch of
new products in the process, where I have an amazing
lemon pepper ranch that I say, that's that's great on everything.
(58:29):
The kids truly love that. And what I did was
because we are millennial driven, is I started leaning on
my kids, my my my eighteen and nineteen year old
and my younger ones. I started leaning on them on
their taste buds. What are some of the things that
they liked, what are some of the things they friends eat?
And I started creating products based around that that would
(58:53):
meet the need of them. But then steel satisfy our
taste budds and what we like because I always you know,
I earn this years ago, was that having the shows
and having that platform was one thing. But that platform
don't be anything if you don't have some true products
and true things that you can attach to your brain
(59:14):
even when you're not on TV. And that's important because
that's called multiple streams of income. And also some people
calling mailbox money or you're sleeping check comes and because
in the yard, in the end, you can't be up
making money all the time off your physical back, your
effort to wake up and you have to walk out
(59:35):
that door to uh make labor. And that's how everybody
makes their money. They go to the nine five. And
but when you get in there and then guard the
giving is giving you these extra skill sets. You have
to learn how to be how to be smart. And
that's all you're saying right now. You're just you just
start out that multitasking. Like like I said, I got
your I got your your your red and white bottle,
that that hand sanitizer that every time you build up
(59:57):
your shell out on it, I know your fail your amnis.
And that's a family business because I know you put
it all together at your house, right I did I did.
Now we do have a you know, I do have
a commercial kitchen that we produced the vast majoy hard
products in. But when the pandemic first hit and we
(01:00:17):
couldn't go out the house, I had to I had
to converted space in the house and we had to
continue to keep producing here to satisfy the demand because
it was though I'm not the big companies like Crafts
and mccormicks, I still have to satisfy my customers. And
I couldn't put a we're closed down, and a lot
of a lot of these other bigger manufacturers like my
(01:00:39):
bottle suppliers and stuff like that, I was getting. It
came to a point where we were getting outbided on
products because Singer Companies was coming in buying up the products,
and you know, and I had to start really voicing
my opinion from my company's standpoint, like, hey, but I've
been dealing with you guys for ten years. You gotta
(01:01:00):
have to give me some kind of favorite, some kind
of league way, because I gotta survive just as well
as the major company. And that lead into them making
sure that I had the ingredients, making sure that I
had a lot of the packaging attempts that I needed
to continue to get these products shipped out to the people.
Because then also we launched the sirrup. We launched uh
(01:01:24):
no high fruit toast corn sir. Oh. Yes, yes, I
got that, man, I got it more. I put that.
My daughter made some again. My daughter she's watching TV. Okay,
watching Millennial. The Millennial made me some thin waffles, some
thin waffles, and I warmed up that, warmed up that
(01:01:46):
sir brother put it on that man with me some butter.
I'm doing at you know, I forgot to tell you that.
I I apologize, I did try to serve and it's
all gone. All I have to make sure things something
that and as well as in the process, we've lunched
the chopping boards. I have some bamboo chopping boys. I'm
(01:02:09):
gonna I'm gonna make sure you're seeing a bamboo chopping boy.
And I have a new Life knifeline that was just
lunch about two weeks ago. So I have my own
volcanic Deo knives um the Chef Jon artline. Because one
of the things that I always tell people, you know,
I mean food. So whenever I'm lunching or creative products,
(01:02:33):
I try to keep it in that same wheelhouse because
a lot of people said, well, her, are you doing
all this? You're doing TV shows, you you're doing that. Well,
when you keep it all this diversify from that same wheelhouse,
it's easy to maintained. So if I write a cookbook, hey,
I'm a chef on TV, so cook would go to
go hand here up by lunch products. I'm lunching food products.
(01:02:54):
They still times in up I'm lunching nine of them, lunching,
chopping boys, things like that are still in my wheelhouse.
It's not like you know, I'm going out here. I'm
a chef and I'm promoting this and then you you've
seen me pop up and I say, hey, I'm for
the old number car locks. Okay you go, okay, we
(01:03:16):
need to chelf need with the family chef Nian family.
He's the family. My kid now family family, right, he's
a family fan. Hey man, come on here, I feed
you and I drive you. Let you drive away. Yeah,
I'm talking to the family chef. Chef. Guard Well has
(01:03:38):
an exciting new season coming up. New Do Sold Kitchen
bringing on four brand new millennial shelves. Uh also the
new Soul Kitchen we remix, which you both shows have
already been shot, one in sixteen episodes, the other one
you say, twenty eight episodes episode the remix and sixteen
(01:03:58):
episode total of twenty eight. That's why I got that
from you, and so that they'd be dropping later on
in the season. And so with that being said, the
whole pandemic, the taking care of your family, seeing all
these things play out just before we go. I know
I promote this heavily, the New Soul Kitchen show. Tell
me one of your best episodes on the best Thing
(01:04:20):
you ever ate? Please close our bow one of those
so I can just hear how you talk there. Chef
your well, so I can just so you're such a
colorful speaker. Tell me. I'm just giving you time to
get that right episode in your head, the best thing
you ever ate. If we time, I already know the episode.
The name of the restaurant is called Homemade, and home
(01:04:45):
Homemade is an Athens, Georgia. They have to have a
dish that's called the ham and Cheese Salvage, but it's
not like ham and cheese in a traditional sense. What
they do is they take that that pork loin and
they smoke it until its fall apart into little chunks
after they smoke it with their hickory wood. Then they
(01:05:06):
take a pepper jelly, put it in the cash iron
skill it drop those chunks of porch in their salta
whether pepper jelly is glazing all over that loin and
one they're doing it. Then they're gonna make a perimento
cheese from scratch. And once they make the pimento cheese
from scratched in and make these milk rolls, these milk
(01:05:27):
butter rolls that melt in your mouth, almost like how
those Hawaiian eese rolls, except you could tell these right
here made from scratch. And when it comes out on
the plate, you got those salte pepper jelly, slices of
that pork law in ham, that pimento cheese, and those
milk rows, and you build those selatiers out and everybody,
(01:05:48):
I tell you, it's like heaven in your mouth. You
literally get the items that table and want to go
to sleep. When you see it under me, you say
it's ham and cheese, that one. But it's nothing like
the ham and teese selling in the tradition in the
cent man right there, when I opened my new studio.
We're gonna men, You're gonna produce a show called good
(01:06:09):
and I'm yet you just talk about me and you
I am just like that. I swear to you. Chef
Denard Well, it's gonna be a hit. My engineer, he
looked over me just he turned his in and just
looked at me and went, man, he needs to stop
because you got a skilled man. You have a blessed
family and beautiful wife over twenty years of marriage. New
(01:06:31):
Soul Kitchen is coming back this season for the second season,
starring my man the Family, Chef, Chef Denard Well, Chef
de Nor Wells. Thank you for coming on my show,
Money making Conversations. Thank you, It's always a pleasure. Hi everyone,
I'll Rooker here as a guy with his own catchphrase.
I appreciate that Smokey's only said only you can prevent wildfires,
(01:06:51):
but I'm feeling it because there's a lot more to report,
Like when they're a parched or windy conditions out there,
you gotta be extra careful with things like burning yard waist.
After all, wildfires can start anywhere, even in your neck
of the woods. Go to Smokey Bear dot com to
learn more about wildfire prevention, brought to you by the U.
S Forest Service, your State Forrester, and the ad Council.
(01:07:14):
Adoption of teams from foster care is a topic not
enough people know about, and we're here to change that.
I'm April Denuity, host of the new podcast Navigating Adoption,
presented by adopt Us Kids. Each episode brings you compelling,
real life adoption stories told by the families that lived them,
with commentary from experts. Visit adopt us Kids dot org,
slash podcast or subscribe to Navigating Adoption presented by adopt
(01:07:37):
Us Kids, brought to you by the U. S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families
and the ad Council. Look to your children's eyes to
see the true magic of a forest. It's a storybook
world for them. You look and see a tree. They
see the wrinkled face of a wizard with arms outstretched
to the sky. They see treasure and pebbles, They see
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a line dee that could lead to adventure, and they
see you. They're fearless. Guide. Is this fascinating world? Find
the forest near you and start exploring and discover the
forest dot orgon brought to you by the United States
Forest Service and the Council. My next guest is a
thirty three year old artist and skateboarder from Dayton, Ohio.
She has been running Proper Nor since. Proper Nor is
(01:08:21):
the streetwear brand focusing on skateboarding and girl power, black
girl magic that is is your go to stop for
original skate decks, clothes, pants, arts, and hats and more.
All the designs are drawn by her and she sponsored
a small women's skateboarding team. Proper Nor is the only
black woman owned skateboarding company in the market today. The
(01:08:42):
foundering artist, Latasha Stone, channeling her genuine love for skateboarding,
is de creating custom skateboards, clothing, and art prints that
are unlikely seen on any other skateboard. She's on the
show to discuss being the first black woman to own
a skateboard brand. Because she's on the show today discussed
she has on the show today discussed being the first
(01:09:02):
black woman to own a skateboard brand. Because of the pandemic,
she was laid off from her main job. But guess what,
there were bigger things to this story. Please working the
money making conversation. Latasha Stone, Hey, thanks so much for
having me. Well, thank you for coming on the show.
Now what is proper? Na Um? Yeah, proper and now
(01:09:23):
it's um it's started out was like a passion project.
It was just a way to combine, you know, everything
that I loved into one thing. Um. You know, I've
been skating since I was a kid. I've been an
artist since I was a kid as well, and yeah,
I just put all lot together and just turned it
into a business. And really go ahead, no, no, when
(01:09:45):
you say that, because you know when I hear skating
and apologized cutting off because when you said skating, you
say us a kid? So you were born and raised
in Ohio and Ohio yes, I was, yep, UM's here
in my entire life. So we are you here skating?
So you're skating, you always think West Coast, you think Florida,
you think Texas, you think we're just warm. A lot
(01:10:06):
of times. In Ohio, I think cold, cold, cold for
a long period. Yeah, and that's definitely affective as well. Um.
I feel like I would definitely have gotten better faster
skating if I had lived somewhere that was warm, because
you know how you got like, you know, five good
months and then you got rain you got winner. But
(01:10:27):
we do have indoor parks here, so those are fun.
Now when you say indoor parks, what do you could
tell me about exactly what you mean? Because, like I said,
you started skating at what age? Um? And it wasn't
like sixth grades around twelve years old? Who inspired you?
What turned you on to the to the art form
of the athletic form of skateboarding. Uh, It's kind of
(01:10:52):
a mixture of things. Um. Part of it was just
like the neighborhood that grew up in, Like I was
always seeing the little neighbor kids out there doing it.
And that also, UM, I don't know if you know,
like the Tony Hawks skate games had afore when I
was a little kid, and that was one of the
first games that had so I was always playing that
as well. Then it was like, you know, I do
(01:11:12):
it on the game. Let's go try and realize. Well. So,
so he was inspired by Tony Harku's everybody knows it's
a legendary Uh. Probably the probably probably the most well
paid person in the history of skateboarding. I would say
it because he has skateboards, a fashion line and and
became like a star, a true star before social media
was out, And imagine how big he would have been
(01:11:35):
if he had social media when he was breaking all
those barriers and becoming the star he became on skateboarding. Now,
when you when you want to be a skateboard it
was two things in your intro that we talked about.
One was the fact that you are you can't skateboard,
but you also are on artists. So let's talk about
the development of that talent. Because at the age of twelve,
you said, like about the sixth grade you started skateboarding.
(01:11:57):
I found the uh in your neighborhoo, you saw people,
So I like that, I'd like to try that. What
at the arts scale, the artist skills started, don't start
your developer. Um Well, also, when I was a kid,
I had an uncle that loot with me and he
was an oil painter, and so I was always watching
him and I kind of got inspired by that. And
(01:12:17):
then I was always a doing when I was in school,
and I would do like a little portrait drawings of
like all the celebrities and the little boy bands that
I would listen to, and really just went from there
and then, um, I never really quit drawing. I went
to art school and then I went to graphic design school.
So yeah, it's definitely been a big part of my
life as well. So everything, your whole life is the
(01:12:40):
state of Ohio, that's what you're telling me. Yeah, yeah,
So you're born there, did all your are training there,
skateboard enthusiasts in a in a code state, and now
you launched a company called proper Nor. What does nar
mean as g in a are proper Nor? No, it's
(01:13:03):
um short for gnarly. Um. It's just a term that
a lot of skateboarders use. Um. You can use it
in all kinds of different ways. Um. It can be
something that's like a really cool and like really crazy,
like if you do a really big trick or really
like technical trick like oh, that's gnarly. Or also like
you know, if you like hurt yourself and you get
like messed up, like, oh that's what that's a gnarly
(01:13:25):
looking star you out there. It can be used many
different ways. Well that not now get the term gnarly
nor so because that's that's such a TV term, that's
such a California term, and it's really tied to a
fantastic African American female skater in the state of Ohio.
How does that play out in the in the scheme
(01:13:46):
of things. First of all, first of all, affect you
being black, thank you. Yeah. Yeah, it's a lot of
people assume that I'm from California. Like I always get
people like messaging me like, oh wow, like you're you're
in Ohio, Like I thought you were like in l
A or something. But um, yeah, it's definitely accepted me
(01:14:07):
a lot. You know, like when I would go to
the skate park when I was younger. Um, you know,
first of all, being a woman, like people don't really
you know, like the stereotype of skating isn't being a girl.
And then especially like being like a black woman, Like
there's a there's a few you know, professional black men skaters,
but you don't really see women doing that too often.
(01:14:27):
So it's definitely you know, comments that I've gotten while
at the skate park, you know about how I don't
really fit the stereotype and uh but I mean here
lately it's it's worked out to my advantage. But that's
that's a newer thing. Definitely in the past, you know,
people kind of thought it was weird or you know,
they'd be like, oh, can you really skate? Like, oh,
(01:14:49):
are you like a closer? Wow? They asked you can
you really skate? Did you have to prove yourself? What? Yeah? Um,
I don't know. People just uh they they kind of
don't take you seriously. Like you go to the park
and you know, people I watch you to see if
you can really skater. If you're just there, you know,
like skateboarders there, they kind of like the gate keep
(01:15:11):
their culture. Um yeah, yeah, they only try and let
like certain people in, so they make sure you're legit
before they work with you and you know, support you
and stuff like that. Okay, okay, let me just back up.
This is Sean McDonald talking to Tasha Stone. She's creator
of an incredible company called Skateboarding Company. She's black, female,
(01:15:34):
proper nor no you know, like gnarly dude. Since that's
when she founded the company. Now, how do you prove
yourself that you can skateboard that? Because I've seen people,
you know, they hit the bottom of the board, it
pops up and they can grab it in their hand.
I've seen people slide down steps and balance themselves. I've
(01:15:54):
seen people you know, hit it and it rotates three
sixty and it comes down and they can land on
top of it. What are like three major tricks that
you have to show that you can actually, you know,
participate in this game of skateboarding and credibility. I guess
we should say, Um, you know a lot of time
(01:16:14):
you'll be at the skatepark and people like to challenge
you to a game called skate which is where you, uh,
you gotta spell out the letters and like whoever spell
the letters out first, Like every time you land a trick,
it's a letter and you know, whoever gets gets it
first wins. Um. That's one of the way that a
lot of a lot of people are like, oh, do
a kick flip. You gotta like bust it out, like okay,
(01:16:36):
not Natasha can't just throw out these terminology do a
kick flip? You know, I don't know where the kick
flip is, hilphone help the host out here, so you
just can't run out there. You already yeah, I already
had to explain to me where gnarly meant. N Okay,
so when you say a kick flip, we all radio
tells us exactly what that is. Um, a kick flip is, uh,
(01:16:58):
it's it's a honestly one of the tricks, like one
of the more technical tricks that people really learn how
to do them the beginning. But it's just when you
can flip the board uh completely around and just land
on it like like you do it. It's like it
flips like three sixty degrees and you come back and
land on it. Okay, so so you land on it.
(01:17:20):
Now here's my question about skateboarding. Okay, can I ask
you how tall are you? I'm five too, okay, five two?
Is it an advantage to be a smaller in statue
or it is? All right, it doesn't matter if you're tall.
You can be an outstanding skateboard artists. Um. Yeah, it
(01:17:41):
does have an advantage of being shorter, because that's one
thing about like kids with skateboarding, because they're they're closer
to the ground and that helps with your center of gravity.
But anybody of any size and height can really learn
how to do it though. And so now do you
have training sessions? Just talk about your BIS. This is
your business tied to just the the you know, a
(01:18:03):
parrel line the skateboards, and let's talk about that whole process.
And also the pandemic hit and you had a main job,
the main job went away. What ranked your mind right there?
Was it? Like you did you feel like it was
forcing you to commit to your really your your number
one passion, which was skateboarding and being an artist. Or
you just traumatized by the fact that a pandemic hit
(01:18:26):
you have no job. What's next? Move was just moved
number two in your life? Um, honestly, like both of
those are. Yeah. I was definitely really stressed when that happened.
I did photography um before well, I you know, the pandemic,
it's kind of been starting in January, and I've been
uh doing the photography there for a couple of months,
(01:18:48):
and then you know, I started to see other places
closed down, so I was like wondering, you know, what
was I going to be next? And then it did happen,
and you know, school's closed, and it was super stressful.
So it was like, yeah, I definitely got to do
something because that unemployment. I was not uh you know,
it was not kicking in, and I mean I already
(01:19:08):
had the business going, but it was definitely like all right, now,
now I got the time to stay at home and
you know, really put all my time into it, and
I was like, it's now or never. I'm never gonna
get this chance again to have all this time off,
you know and get everything going. So I just put
my whole into it. And when you say all into it,
what do you mean when you say that? Because of
(01:19:29):
the fact that where were you at when you lost
your job with business wife? Where were you at? Um?
It was doing okay, but it wasn't. It definitely wasn't
doing what it is now. Um. You know, I I
couldn't really focus on it fully because you know, I
did have the other job. You know, it's hard to work,
(01:19:50):
you know, four hours a week and then come home
and then also make your art and then also around
the business and do shipping, and you know all the
social media and all that. So you in a way
like getting laid off definitely was a blessing because now
I had the full time to manage everything and you know,
get caught up on everything and come out with all
(01:20:10):
these new designs. You're listening to money making conversations with
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Code money. A deductible may apply. Welcome back to money
making conversations. I'm your host Sean McDonald. Well, you know
(01:21:20):
social media is plays a major role in the business
platform now and uh, you started going viral. And when
you said the word viral, that was that intentional intentional
marketing techniques or it just happened when you started allowing
yourself to see your business blow up based on social media.
It really just happened. Um. It was crazy how it
(01:21:43):
all happened. Um. Back in early June, I got featured
on Beyonce's um Black Parade business list and honestly ever since, okay,
before we're going to further explain to everybody what the
what exactly that is the Black Parade directly or black
owned businesses that To be honest, I think she had
like a hundred and Instagram followers and she created this
(01:22:06):
black business page. Correct, Yeah, yeah, she uh put every
all these businesses on her main web page. So when
you went to Beyonce dot com, it was this list
of all these black owned businesses that she endorsed, and
I was one of those. I woke up and everybody
was telling me about it, and I honestly didn't believe
it at first, and then I went off with myself
(01:22:27):
and I was like, Wow, that's crazy, but yeah, yeah,
she uh, she really helped launch a lot of other businesses,
like I've been hearing from the other people that are
featured on that list as well that they've been having
some pretty good successes since then. And um really, after that,
I just started getting more people reaching out to me. Definitely.
(01:22:53):
It definitely opened up a whole new customer base to me.
And UM I did an interview back in lie with
um Black Enterprise and that was when things really took off.
And I went to sleep and I had like seven
hundred some shares on it and I was like, you know,
that's cool. And then I look at it the next
(01:23:15):
day and it had like two hundred thousands and it
just kept going up and up from there. Now when
you when when you say things have taken off, what
is what is in our world of business? Are inventory?
What exactly does that mean? Um? Really, just like your
show says like making money, you know, I I pretty
(01:23:38):
much made six figures in like one month, and you know,
it was just shocking because I went from these money
making conversations that is why you own this show, Latasha,
six figures and one month from a person who lost
a job during the pandemic. That is truly, truly unders
You know, things happened for a reason, and we we
that's a cliche. That's a cliche. You always say things
(01:24:00):
happened for a reason, and so here you are. You're
a photographer, and then you got laid off from your
job during the pandemic. And the month of June, someone
told Beyonce about your product. Somebodey was impressed. Someone knew
you had value, and she posted you on her website,
posttat you to her Instagram account. I remember when it
came out. You know, Beyonce's an amazing person. I'm from Houston, Texas.
(01:24:23):
She's from Houston, Texas. I know Beyonce. She's a true,
true rebel to the cause, and she is true blackness
and to be featured like that. But more importantly, she's
just not a black artist. She's an international artist. So
I'm sure you're the impact of her. You being on
her website was an international impact. Correct, Yes, definitely. I
(01:24:46):
sold in countries that I've never sold in before. Um,
but yeah, I definitely. I went from you know, not
knowing where my next paychecks was gonna come from to this,
and yeah, it's it's overwhelming. That's definitely a blessing. Now,
what's next step for you? My friend? You know, you know, artists.
We didn't talk a little bit about that because I
went to your website page and you're an incredible artist.
(01:25:09):
It almost seems like your work on these skateboards and
your clothing, it's really like stuff. If I don't if
I wasn't a skateboard artist, I could frame your skateboard
and put it on the wall. It's almost like art. Yeah,
and that's my goal with it, because like if you
look at other skateboarding brands, you know, a lot of
them just you know, they'll put their brand name, their
(01:25:29):
logo and that's it. And you know, I didn't really
like that at all. I wanted to do something different
and um, you know, really just just stand out from
the things that these other brands were doing. Um. The
next thing that I want to do, Um, I've got
some collapse coming up. Definitely get some new designs out.
(01:25:50):
I've had a lot of people ask me to do
longboards and cruisers, so, you know, just getting out new
styles and I I'm looking at spaces. I want to
do a retail so because all right now I just
have a small area that I work out of, but
I agree with that within the last month. Definitely needs
(01:26:11):
some more rooms, well, yeah, you know, you know your
six figures. Now we can but let's let's be smart here.
Let's be fart smart here. Okay, you your space is working.
You was able to generate six figures of income out
of that. Okay, your online Okay, that means you don't
have the paper right anywhere, You don't have to pay
an insurance anywhere, you don't have to hire security or
hire some extra staff to sell because they may not
(01:26:33):
sell why they're there, because online is really amazing. So
so how can you maximize or how are you trying
to maximize your online growth growth through sales and exposure? Um, well,
right now, I'm really just getting more content together. Um
(01:26:53):
We're working on a skate video right now, and then
I've got my skate team that I work with, you know,
really just filming new material with all the new designs
and stuff. Um yeah, just working with them on new
content basically, you know, ramping up this marketing, getting that ready,
trying to be more official with my stuff. You know
(01:27:14):
before it was mostly a mixture of like users supended
videos and not really like original content. So you know,
definitely coming out with more of my own original stuff
with the girls that I work with. Well, I'm talking
to Latasha Stone. She's the founder proper Nor. That's like
gnarly Nor. If you know that's a great that's a
(01:27:36):
great move on that board or no, you fell all
off of it? You know has universal tones good and bad.
She's the founding artists Latasha Stone now on twenty third
thing in Ohio. This is the beauty of her, her brain.
She's born and raised in Ohio. She was educating Ohio.
She learned how to skateboard in Ohio. Her brain has
taken off because Beyonce, they put on her on that
(01:27:59):
black parade rectory for black owned business. She woke up
and she realized that she was a social media star.
Now I'm not talking to a one man operation here,
am I talking? Because it's I wonder who else are
helping you right now? I know you you got laid off,
got your job went away. Who are what is part
of your team that's making you successful right now? Um? Well, honestly, like,
(01:28:24):
I've got two people that work with me right now,
and I just hired them here recently. But um I
got my friend that's helping out with social media, and
then um I got my other friend that's helping out
with a customer service and then we all work on
shipping and stuff like that. So yeah, I definitely got,
you know, pretty solid team behind me. You know, people
(01:28:45):
that also skate that I've known forever that I can
actually like afford to pay now to work with me
is key because you know when people when you when
you go viral and they know are you're making money,
it's the handshakes and the high fives go away. What
is the You have the Underground brand new line of colorful, creative,
(01:29:07):
and original skateboards that average fifty five is sixty dollars
each and can be audited on the company's website along
with the artists on unique artwork, prints, accessories, and apparel.
What sets a price for a good quality skateboard? And
you are you? You? Because I don't really see you
as competing with other brands, because I feel I see
you as a as a high profile, niche brand that
(01:29:29):
can only grow as much as you put into it.
Mm hmm. Yeah. I try to set my prices to
where people can still afford them. But also, you know,
my designs are different than everybody else's, so I kind
of have to take that into consideration as well. You know,
being a small business, you know, you have these other
(01:29:50):
companies where they can purchase you know, thousands of units
of inventory and get it at like a lower price
because they're purchasing in such like a huge amount. And
um yeah, so I haven't really been able to do
that until here recently. So that's also reflected in my
price as well. But um, also you know, I I
(01:30:11):
want to get um, different types of people in a
skateboarding I like to work with beginners and also like
you know, people from like less privileged areas, and so
I also want to keep it affordable for people like
that also because you know, if you go to like
a bigger skate shop, you can spend up to like
two to three dollars getting your whole set up together,
(01:30:34):
and you know, if you're just starting out, you may
not want to spend that much because you know what
if you spend all that and then you don't like
it and you just drop like three dollars on this
thing that you're not going to use. So I definitely
take that into consideration when making my prices. Again again, Natasha,
you've used some language that I have to be educated on.
You said the set up. Okay, what exactly is to say?
(01:30:58):
I'm assuming that's pads on your al old pads on
your need to helmet and a skateboard. What what are
you calling a set up? Um? Yeah, some people do
where the paths and the help and all that, but um,
what I was referring to is up. You have the
skate deck, and then you have the trucks, which is
what holds the wheels on. And then you have the wheels,
you got the bearings. Um, your hardware which is like
(01:31:20):
the screws that holds all that on. And then you
have grip tape, which is ah, it's kind of like
a standpapery material that goes on top of the skate
deck and uh that like helps keep your feet like
stuff to it when you're doing your tricks and stuff. Yeah,
so you gotta you can either buy it all separately
(01:31:40):
and put together, or um, I'll have complete in the
shop here next month where you can just pull it
all the box and it's all put together and you
can just hop on it and go wow. Now here's
a little note here. The products you created are created
with teen girls and young women in mine who love
the skate or wo and into alternative of servasive fashion
(01:32:01):
subversis fast fashions. Well, what do you mean when when
you said teen girls and young women who love to skate?
Are your boards smaller or the handlet particular weight? Can
teen boys do it? Wow? Talk to me about that.
Are just the designs on the skateboards just promote teen
girls and young women? It's more so, um, the designs
(01:32:22):
that are more aimed towards women. Um, but yeah, the
sizes can be for anybody. Um, if you're our girl
or a woman, you they usually order the smaller sizes,
So I do tend to stop more of those. But yeah,
it's more like the When I say that, I mean
more towards the designs and the style of things that
(01:32:42):
I designed. It's aimed towards women. Is that way? Absolutely? Absolutely?
And my last question is about your show. Was your
skateboards was featured on an HBO show? Mm hmm, Yeah,
it was featured on Betty Um it's this show that
just came out in May and it was Gonna Spio
And it's a show that follows these teenage girls around
(01:33:03):
New York and you know, they skateboard their skate crew
and uh, you know it was about skateboarding, but also
about their lives and the things that they're going through
right now. So that was in May, so obviously it
shot it before before May. So, so this was almost
like destiny. You had to leave your job, your full
(01:33:26):
time job, to accomplish what we want to come and May.
The HBO show popped up in June. You recognize on
Black in the Black Parade Director or Black Owned Business
by the incredible global phenomenon Call Beyonce and now Black
Enterprise featured you the article Shared Chair Chair. That's how
(01:33:47):
I found out about you. It was through Black Enterprise
and because I'm always I was awesome. I'm just telling
you that it does help, you know, doing my show.
Somebody gonna hear this show or find you, and you
have to just keep marketing. You don't turn down good moment,
you know. And I'm gonna feat you on my on
my I Have a Shopping a Shopper Zone or on
my Money Making Conversation dot com. I'm gonna post you
(01:34:08):
in there. I'm gonna feature you in my newsletter that
goes out to ninety three thousand followers. All these things
are part of why I put together money making conversations
to get brands who are unique, especially young women who
are trying to make a difference. I grew up with
six sisters, my daughter. I have one child. She's a
twenty three year old. Uh, she's twenty three year old,
(01:34:28):
and she's a daughter of mine. And I represent that
that that belief that I gotta support. You know, black
girl Magic. Black girl Magic definitely needs to be more
people like you out there. I appreciate that so much.
Definitely Black girl Magic. That's like one of the foundations
(01:34:49):
of my brand as well. Also, let's tell us how
we can reach you. Give us out your give out
your website, give out your social media information so we
can close this eye and you know it shows your
marketing tools. No, are all right? Yeah? My website is
proper and R dot com, p R O, p E
r G and a dot com and then um, it's
(01:35:10):
the same on everything Twitter proper and our Instagram at
proper and R TikTok at Proper and R. Not much
on the TikTok Um. We're gonna be working on that
and get for a constant up here. Ston. So yeah,
definitely keep an eye out. I'm talking to Latasha Stone
proper Nor as the only black woman owned skating board
company in the market. She's an artist, she's a talent.
(01:35:31):
She's straight out of the Midwest. Steve Harvey, straight out
of the Midwest. There's a lot of great people come
out of the Midwest. My friend, thank you, and what's city?
Before we leave? What's city? And how are you based
in Ohio? They know Hier. That's a great say, that's
been there many times when I was doing stand up comedy.
My friend, thank you for coming on Money Making Conversations.
And again I'm gonna promote you on my shopper zone,
(01:35:53):
which is on money Making Conversation, and I'm promote your
rand so they probably reach out to you, get some
artwork and some links to make sure we're clicking through
the write things when we post you on our social
media platforms and also post you on our newsletter. But
much success, and thank you for doing that Black Enterprise
article because that allowed me to allow me to find you.
Thank you so much, and thanks so much for sharing
(01:36:15):
and letting me talk and have this platform. I appreciate it. Okay,
thank you for coming on Money Making Conversations. Alrighty bye bye,
We'll be right back with more from Marsa McDonald and
money making conversations don't touch that down. Oregan donations save lives,
and some organs can even be donated by a living donor.
August is National Minority Donor Awareness Months. So let's check
in with Dr Denay Simpson, Assistant Professor of surgery at
(01:36:38):
Northwestern Medicine, tell us about the African American Transplant Access Program.
So this is my baby. This is a program that
I have dreamt about creating since I became interested in
transplant as a trainee, and it's a program designed to
address the significant disparities that are African American patients space.
(01:37:00):
The program is designed to educate patients about transplant, let
them know what transplant can provide to them, and to
help them access the resources that they find so scarce
and so challenging to access in order to get them
on the transplant path and back to, you know, some
type of meaningful life. For more information, visit n M
(01:37:22):
dot org Slash Radio Visions. I'm your host, Sean McDonald
and we're live here outside the Perez family home, just
waiting for the and there they go, almost on time.
This morning, Mom is coming out the front door, strong
with a double arm kid carry. Looks like Dad has
the bags, daughter is bringing up the rear. Oh but
the diaper bag wasn't closed. Diapers and toys are everywhere.
(01:37:47):
Oh but mom has just nailed the perfect car seat
buckle for the toddler. And now the eldest daughter, who
looks to be about nine or ten, has secured herself
and the booster seat. Dad zips the bad clothes and
they're off. But looks like Mom doesn't realize her coffee
cup is still on the roof of the car and
there it goes. Oh, that's a shame that mug was
(01:38:10):
a fan favorite. Don't sweat the small stuff, just nail
the big stuff, like making sure your kids are buckled
correctly in the right seat for their agent's eyes. Learn
more n h t s a dot gov slash the
Right Seat. Visits dot gov slash the Right Seat, brought
to you by Nitza and the ad Council. Look to
your children's eyes to see the true magic of a forest.
(01:38:31):
It's a storybook world for them. You look and see
a tree. They see the wrinkled face of a wizard
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Find a forest near you and start exploring and discover
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the forest dot org brought to you by the United
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forest is closer than you think. Find a forest near
you and start exploring. I Discover the Forest dot org.
Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and
the AD Council. My next guest is a real estate
and investor in entrepreneur. He started investing in real estate
when he started watching a YouTube videos, just YouTube videos,
you know, self help videos. You can just turn on
(01:39:37):
the people start talking about how you can make money.
And now he owns over two million dollars in property.
So obviously he learned something from those YouTube videos. So
that's that's part of our story that we're gonna talk
about today. He wants to share his story and he's
written a book, an e book called interest Free Money Guy.
The book was written to educate you on business credit.
This this book was created to provide a step by
(01:39:58):
step guide on how to effectively utilized business credit. His
book will teach you how to access interest free credit
on Twitter fifteen business card to cards. I got a
bunch of so hey, I don't have towar the fifteen,
but I got a lot of credit card And we
will also discussed how he got started in the real
estate at such a young age. Please walking to money
making conversation straight out in Louisiana by way, I'm laughing, yette,
(01:40:20):
Mr O'Neill Parker. Are you doing that? How are you
doing pretty good? Well? You know you're in that real
estate game. And uh, you know they said when the
pandemic hit, did it? You know what type of real
estate are in the commercial real estate? Are in homes?
What type of real estate are you in? Residential houses? Okay,
okay with brother, Now, how was that when you were
(01:40:41):
well you were able to show your homes? Or how
do people didn't stop completely? Or where are you at
right now with residents? Your home sales? Honestly, everything uh
went pretty well, so we didn't really get affected by
the coronavirus that bad. So all the tenants kept playing.
So the thing what I do is big on rent
to own and sex and eight. So you know, sex
(01:41:03):
has never entertainment since it's been open, and the thing
would rent to owners. UM. The tenants that living those properties,
they put a big down payment and they're committed to
buying a hub. So basically I become the bank on
that property. And I'm not really just a landlord. That's
like you know, you when you buy your house, you
don't call Wells Fargo when the toiler goes out, so
you just you know, that's just the bank coding. Okay, cool.
(01:41:26):
So basically, what do you with that being said, what
exactly is your business model that you put in that
you have in the real est game game? Because I
heard you say section eight and then we get started.
I've heard that term a lot in my life. Sex
and eight. What exactly is a section eight person? Okay,
So I'm gonna start with the sex eight question. Um.
Sex needs basically regular people UM with low income. They
(01:41:50):
use the government to help them out because they're not
making enough money. So the government pitches in and pays
a portion of the rent or the whole rent. That's
all sex NED is just a federal program. Okay, low
income people. And when you said low income people, what
are we talking like under twenty thousand dollars on the
fifty annually or fifteen thousand dollars and you only thirty?
(01:42:11):
What is that the worst they considered a low income number? First,
every market is different. So you know, Louis Gianna pretty poor.
So if you make um like under twenty thousand, you
can apply for sexion, But it really just depends you
can make twenty five tho. Just the people that make
twenty of course they're gonna pay more than read compared
to the people that makes twenty five thou years, so
(01:42:32):
sexually pays lasers cy. You're into eight hundreds of policy
seven fifty and the ten page fifty. But depend on
what your job is and how much money you make.
It just depends on how much they're gonna pay. Okay, cool,
and now I reachally I bring that up and inquiring
because when you when you talk about you watch television,
you talk about it. You you you're doing business with
(01:42:52):
people and they consider to be uh uh slow payers
or no payers. Uh, a dead beach of people who
what your sponges off of the government. That's the negative
that you get when people use the word welfare or
Section eight people. So explain why did you decide to
have that part of your business model. People on the
(01:43:14):
on the indie Section eight platform. Uh, you know what
they say about those people is really just, um, it's
here thing. So you know, you can't get advice from
people that's not really in the business. So the people
that are really in the business, they enjoy sectionate to
what the section vouchers. The thing about Section it is
(01:43:35):
the people that has all those headaches, that all those
people and these landlords that accept the first person. So
it's the same as if you're written into a regular family.
You don't just take the first person. You have to
do all you do diligence. So it's the same with SECTIONIC.
So you put your application out there, you put your
problem out there for rent, and then a lot of
people start calling you, texting your Hey, I'm interested in
this property. Of course you're not gonna accept the first person,
(01:43:56):
so you gotta do your property diligence, do your background check,
check the job check, their credit. Um called their former landlord,
things like that. So if you follow the steps, you
can usually get yourself a good tent. Now you get
you know, you get the person that said they got it.
That's typically a bad tent because you're not doing nothing
your research on that person. I understand what you're saying here.
(01:44:18):
You're saying Rashan, Look, they're bad apples in a batch. Okay,
you don't out there and don't do your like like
you know, like you're trying to hire good employee. You're
any person you call their references and you go on
their social media that he got some crazy pictures on
social media. That might not be the person you want
to hire. So the same thing here, So the same
(01:44:39):
thing here. You have to do the same thing with
these individuals. It's not about a stigma than being in
section age. It's the people out there who are trying
to live a better life, trying to step up, trying
to get into a better environment for their kids, for
their families, and your your situation and enables that. And
it's worked out pretty well for you. And you're based
in Lafayette, Louisiana. Correct, Yes, sir, that's my market. That's
(01:45:03):
your market now, are you looking to expand out of
that market? You're just gonna dominate, laughing, Louis, He's gonna
be the king of Lafayette. That's what you're trying to do. Yeah,
I'm trying to take over a little bit. So it's
currently my market to laft right in the market market.
So if anybody doesn't know where laugh he had left
head is right on I T N E S. And
what he just said is you go just go straight
(01:45:27):
down I ten ees heading from Houston, Texas. Okay, just
going down there, you're gonna hit laughy at first, then
you're gonna have the capital that's baton rouge. Then you're
gonna slide right on end to New Orleans. So he's
he's really going down there. I called him. I'm gonna
call him the gumboat, the gumbo real estate man, right
because he's doing the gumbo. Bro. He controlling all the
gumbo right there, Mr Parker, and that we're good. Well,
(01:45:50):
you know I was. I want to talk about you
getting started this business because there's so many TV shows on,
you know, Flip that, Flip dead by this. Yeah, people
coming to town talking about you can get rich if
you listen to their model and how you can get
into the real estate game. Now you yourself. When I
was reading your bio, he said, you started watching YouTube videos.
(01:46:12):
That's how you got in the real estate game. Correct, yes, sir,
yes sir. And so UM, I started my business back
in two thousands sixteen, is around November, I closed my
first deal. So I started my business with sixty three dollars.
So you know all the YouTube videos that watches like
you can get into real estate with little money or
no credits. So you know, I want to figure it
(01:46:32):
out and see that's true. So um, I ort to
miss some blank signs, so you know the political signe
that you say like both for this guy or whatever,
those type of signs. But I ordered the blink one
and I wrote we buy houses on them. So I
put those signs out within three weeks and made two
thousand dollars and then um hold on the park right,
(01:46:52):
So I got a couple of houses. And because I
live in both cities and different cities, you know, I
always get these these cards people mailing me, calling me
talking about I buy my house, we'll buy your house,
we'll buy your house, you know, and I have to
ignore them because I'm not selling my house. So you
just said you had some signs, like those little political
signs that you see people stick in the yard, and
(01:47:14):
you put we buy houses, and then you jumped to
saying you made two thousand dollars. Now there are some
steps that you missed that we have to say on
Money Making Conversation dot com. So you put the sign out,
you put the sign out, you you put on that
neatly rope we buy home, we buy homes, or we
buy houses. What happened after that? All right? So basically
(01:47:35):
I did my marking. The strategy that I've used to
do that was called hotelling, which hotelling is if you're
advertising to distress sellers. So people that have gone through
the vorce, Um, they have two in the pairs. You
can't fix long grass, covilation. Uh, there's a bunch of
different things. So I'm marking into direct directly to distress sellers.
(01:47:58):
So I put those signs up market and we buy houses.
Started getting phone calls. Um, there was a father and
the son. The house just got flood. That was in
the Bad Bois market at the time. We had a
big flood in two thousand sixteen. So the house was flooded.
They had flood insurance, so they got they checked there
was just ready to settle house. So I went to
the house, offered them seventy thousand. So the a r
(01:48:21):
V at the house was just called after repair you
have to order repairs and done like a brand. House
was about two hundred and thirty thousand. So I got
under contract seventy thousand. And then I saw that pizza
paper to another investors for seventy two thousand, how many
two thousands on the deal? And that's called hostel in
real estate, okay, okay, And so that person gets the house,
(01:48:46):
they pay seventy two thousand four and they can sell
it wherever they want to sell it. That right, right,
So typically they buy it for me for seventy two thousand,
they put all the repairs into it. Let's just say
they all in that one fifty and they sell us
for two twenty and they make a profits. Now you
got all this from a YouTube video, Yes, sir, I
feel not just want to see you. Okay, Now, what
(01:49:08):
motivated you to go to YouTube? Because you hear all
these commercials on TV, you know, buy this or dialoade
this and go to a webinar. Would you recommend people
going to YouTube to learn about how to get in
the real estate business, I would say me and myself,
I'm cheap, so that's the first step for me. Let's
see all the information I can find free first and
(01:49:28):
to see if I'm really interested in because why I
pay money if you don't even know if you're interested
in that type of thing. So that's my that's my idea.
And you know, and uh, YouTube is like a big university,
have pretty much everything anything you need. You know, if
you need a six of cards on there, you want
to buy a house or learn to trying to buy
houses on there. So I always say that's the first step.
You google YouTube, figure out what it is. You know,
(01:49:51):
if you're really interested, then you know, take the next step. Pay.
Somebody has been through it, there's know what to do,
and then you go from there. Well, it's an interesting
thing about it. First of all, I don't want to
you can say because you cheap, that's I'd say you're
smart because of the fact that technology. And I always
tell that too, because my predominant artist is African Americans,
and sometimes we don't take advantage of what technology provides us.
(01:50:14):
You know, and you know, and the research is out
there for free as long as you have WiFi, as
long as you and you can do this on your phone.
If you got your cell phone, you're doing your cell
phone so you can know. You don't have to go
get a laptop or go get a computer or you
go to a tech store. You can do this on
your phone and educate yourself. And these were just YouTube
and you just went on YouTube. Just Google you real
(01:50:36):
estate or what did you do on YouTube that you
was able to get you to to the right videos.
So I'm gonna break down the story. So I was
twenty one, my first house. Nobody told you to do this.
You just decided to do this on your own. Yeah.
So the reason being I was living in last at
(01:50:56):
the time and my job was in bed Rouge and
I'm not I don't like the drive, so I want
to live close to my job. So I went um
straight from my parents house to my own host. I
was just uh looking in the area looking for the
house about I couldn't really find anything, and I've seen
the house that they just pulled a slab. So I
got with a developer. We got together and finished the
house and then that's how I did that. And I
(01:51:17):
purchased that house with f h a loan which is
three and a half percent down. And then a year
after that, I was just on YouTube again searching how
to make more money. And then uh, real estate keep
popping up, and then hotels popped up, and then I
took off from there. And that's how that happens. You
just took off from there, and now you have over
(01:51:39):
two million dollars and real estate property. Yes, yes, and
you you you do. You leave that so many parts
because you talk your fast talker too. I could tell
that to you. You you you talk quick now and
so you're just slowing you down. Because I'm a Texas boy,
I like for people to talk especial when you talk
(01:52:00):
about money. That's when you're talking about money, what you
can't do and say, well, you know, I went from
sevent me to seventy two and now I got two
million dollars. Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. You know
you can't do me like that. You can't do that,
you can't do But listeners like that because they had
to beat some something like some slow down moments. So
oh no, wow, that wasn't a good move there, Wow,
(01:52:22):
because you am I not everything has been a solid success. Nah,
you know, it's a lot more to it all. This
really starts from the beginning, which is what your mindset.
You know, if your mindset is not right, you can't
do none of this stuff I'm talking about. So that's
the first step. What I had to do is I
had to focus on what I want to do, realize,
(01:52:43):
you know, what I want to do with my family. Well,
I realized what I want to do myself, and just
cool off a little bit for like two years. I
stay lost in read books podcast. I'm not really a
clever type of person, so I wasn't really going out
of anything. I wasn't really talking to friends. I was
just spoken on what that to do. And that's how
it really, that's how everything happened. How it to go off. Well,
(01:53:04):
a lot of people don't realize that they have to
sacrifice a lot of things to get what you really wants,
and a lot of people are not ready for that.
That's what I want to talk about. Because everybody wants
that that Ferrari, everybody wants that diamond ring, everybody wants
that fat bank account. But there are sacrifices that you
have to make, and we make those sacrifices, there has
to be a goal in mind as to why you're
(01:53:25):
making those sacrifices. And that's what we're talking about because
you start, you made that that conscious decision at twenty one,
and we all know twenty one mindset is to you know,
to be out the club and party and hanging, and
you decided to know this is, uh, this is an
opportunity to better my life. But you now are you?
Are you working a full time job? Now? Is real
(01:53:47):
estate all you do? Yeah, I say my full time
job as well. But the thing about my job is
pretty easily exactly twenty of a week, works like maybe
two hours a day. So found that dead job. I'm
still working real estate as well. That's that's they don't
want to talk about. A lot of people don't like
their jobs or like what they do, but they're not
really maximizing all the time they do have to get
out the job that they don't want to have. So
(01:54:09):
you can't really be at your job complaining. Are they're
not really doing nothing about it? After you get off
of work or doing your lunch break, and um, that's
how I started, so while was that work, wasn't doing anything,
got on my computer and got to work and they
started calling people making deals happen. And then that's how
it all happened for me. And then after work, I'll
go to sleep at like ten o'clock, eleven o'clock, work
(01:54:29):
ab at three or full five in the morning to
do the same thing over and over again. And as
the things I was telling you about, a lot of
people not really sacrifice all their time to learn and developing,
but uh time and working to their business. They rather
um after work goes hang out at the ball, go
play softball, play the video games and things like that. Man,
(01:54:50):
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Welcome back to money making Conversations. I'm your host R
Sean McDonald. Well, wow, and that's all. That's all I
tell people money making conversation is there's a technique to success,
and your technique is saying luke, I can I can
paint you an easy story and tell you that you
(01:56:15):
know that you can do this too. But this is
not cut out for everybody. This is, this is and
that's why you said yourself, you wasn't really cut off
for this, so to speak. That's why you said, Rashan
on the reel, I went this direction because I didn't
want to spend any money. That's why I went to YouTube,
which was really smart because YouTube, like you said, you
can want to learn how to fix your car, you
want to learn to make a cake, you want to
(01:56:35):
learn how to how to make a rocket, you want
to learn how to be a marathon runner, you can
go to YouTube. It's on there. Just type in, just
type in search and a lot of options will pop up.
And so that's what you did. And so now with
that being said, but also I like the fact was
that I always tell people that if you have a
full time job to follow your dream, that doesn't mean
necessarily you should quit your full time job, and in
(01:56:57):
fact you should. You should try to marry the you
and try to realize I'm a statement I said all
the time. But Parker, is this, If you have twenty
four hours in a day, learn to take advantage of
every hour. And that's what you did. And you said, look,
I got a nine five, I get up at three
or four, or my lunch break I called somebody. Since
(01:57:18):
I get a work I called somebody. Now has has
that led to any complications? Because I know you said
your job is unique. It allows as you do that.
But what if somebody was a banker or bank working
at a bank, or or working at a typical ninety
five that tells you that you have to come to work,
you have to do things nine to five, because they
still accomplished what you're trying to make happen on neil
(01:57:40):
of course, So let's say you said nine to five,
So what are you doing between seven eight thirty? You
gotta think you might have to wake up a little earlier,
said with a little later, so you can do a
lot of things. Just how committed all you to do
what you want to do now there's always, of course,
you'd be working nine at least get out of lunch break,
so you know, go Sydney card, don't really tell boy,
don't tell everybody what you're doing, because of course they're
(01:58:02):
gonna gonna go around the office and then that might
be a problem. So you gotta post it in lock
in and then do what you gotta do. Now with
that being said, you've written a book because you need book.
I mentioned it in my opening introduction to you. It's
called Interest Free Money Guide. What exactly is that book
about and why did you write it? So that book
is really about business credit and teaching our communities, the
(01:58:24):
black community about um utilizing and leveraging the credit scores,
because many people have good credit and don't know what
to do with it, or they have good credit don't
own anything. So basically, this book is teaching how to
leverage your credit scores to get interest free moneys from
the banks, to investing yourself, your business or some type
of thing, some type of investment to make you more
(01:58:46):
money by leveraging the bank's money, which is called OPM.
Also reference to other people's money because a lot of
I'm sure a lot of people hear other people's money,
but they really don't understand what it is. Other people's
money is everybody else's money other than your own. So me, myself,
I teach people how to leverage the bank's money and
you can get big lines of credit fifty too, you know,
(01:59:08):
twoift dollars per LLC and it could be a brand
new LLC. A lot of people in our community that
has no knowledge of that. So it was my goal
to write the book to teach people about that because,
like I said earlier, a lot of people don't know
about it and we need to start taking advantage of
it because the other communities have been doing that for
a while, and that's what we're behind because we don't
know any better. Now how do we get there? Now
(01:59:31):
you're on my show, might to make a conversation? Are
like you said, I have a newsletter. If you don't mind,
I'd like to drop this information about you. My news
letter goes out to ninety thousand people. And what what
would you say? Is? So you know, if I had
to write copy about you and dropping in the newsletter,
what would you say will be like three sentences I
shouldn't include in the copy about you in regards to
(01:59:53):
what you're trying to do with your book. Okay, So
I'll say, Um, the reason you need this book is
because is giving you access to thousands of dollars that
you can use to make more money for you, your
family and your kids and generations to come. That's all
it is, basically, And how did you find out about it?
Just just too you know, first of all, look let's
(02:00:15):
look back to you, because you what are you? Am
I wrong? In that age years old, twenty one years
of age, you were trying to find out who you were,
all right, because you want YouTube and you file these
real estate videos. You looked at them. You said, I
can do something. When I got your home in bad
Rouge and did a wholesale deal, made two thousand dollars.
This is now, We're twenty and the middle of a pandemic.
(02:00:39):
You have two million dollars of valued property out there.
You have good unners or some of them are Section
eight people. They're loyal, You do your research. You you
have creed, You have a personality that have said that
I don't want to be a ninety five, but you're
still holding on to your nine. How does how can
one say? How did you figured this out? O'Neil? I
(02:01:04):
got you, got you? So it's really uh, I'm a
learned term thinking, long term planning, so I know my
job uses me, so I do everything I can to
use them. So you've got to realize that banks like
people that have uh, two weeks checks was just considered
a guaranteed check. Banks that were like entrepreneurs because they
don't know where the next check is coming from. The
next check is not guaranteed, so I know, um, I
(02:01:27):
want to buy Reynolds, build my past of income to
of course to place my job, maybe even double my
job income. So when I do quit, I have those
two year tax returns with my business, and I have
my assets to pay for everything that I'm trying to do.
So that's the reason why I kept my job. I
still have my job because it's a lot easier to
get funded from banks and private lenders, hard money lenders
and things that need So it's all about long term
(02:01:50):
thinking and planning for the future, not just for now.
So I see what you're saying as an entrepreneur, Like
you said, people don't know there's no guarantee because you
are what you say, an entrepreneur. But because you have
a four time job, they see a steady check, a
guaranteed check. It means that could be a guaranteed commitment
to making that monthly payment. Exactly, you gotta look good
(02:02:13):
to the banks. You gotta look look exactly how the
people that's letting you the money wants you to look
to get the money that they're trying to live. So
I figured that out and I just kept my job,
so I could have quit my job. So going back
to the beginning of my story, I started to business
sixty two thousand and three weeks I mean fifty thou
and four months. So at that time I was making
(02:02:35):
like sixty sixty sixty five thousand a year. But net
that's really like party to forty five thousand years. I
mean more of my part time jobs than my full
time job. And most people just walk away. But because
see what I think about the long term game, they
think about right now. We're just the downside of being
an entrepreneur. If there is a downside to being an entrepreneur,
(02:02:56):
because as you said, I'm sure dude, you can do
you get help benefits with your four time john, Yes, okay, go,
so you gotta help benefits. You don't have to worry about.
You know that check is gonna be coming to you
on a regular basis. You know it. It's like a clock.
What is the downside of being an entrepreneur compared to
a person who's living both lifestyles? Right now, O'Neil, you're
(02:03:17):
a full time employer and you are basically a full
time entrepreneur, So you get to tell me exactly the
benefits of being a full time person and the benefits
of being a full time entrepreneur, because you clearly have
figured out the twelve hours and giving this and twelve
hours to give to this, and I'm gonna sleep somewhere
in between. Yeah. So the benefits of both is of
(02:03:39):
course what I said earlier, the funding and everything with
the job, uh insurance, you can also leverage your full
one k so I do that as well. Um, so
going towards the fulling kids, like, your job is giving
you whatever the match six percent you put in the thing.
So now you're building uh A saving a cause or
(02:03:59):
something like that with the company. So I did, uh
maybe like a month ago. I took half of it out.
So right now with the coronavirus, you can either depend
on your company. You can take all your going call
not have a penalty. But I only took half of
which is a loan to myself. Put that in real
estate and make more money with it, and then I'm
really just paying myself back with interest. So you can
leverage your job that way. Um. The other benefits of
(02:04:23):
being an entrepreneur is I don't really need the job,
so I don't have to work over time. I don't
want to. I just worked my party I was in Gone,
so I'm not really tied down to having to go
over there. So that's another benefit of it. Uh. And
also just um building my freedom, leveraging my job to
(02:04:43):
make me more money, change my um, you know, change
my lifestyle. So that's the huge benefit. Leverage them. What
it leveraging me in a partnership right now? Absolutely? Absolutely?
And so being an entrepreneur you have to be self motivating,
I'm sure. Oh and do you work with any other
(02:05:03):
people in achieving your success story right now? And from
an entrepreneurship or entrepreneurial side of the table, Yeah, So
you know have kind of ability partments to have friends,
a lot of friends out there. Uh. Just started another
business in Janue. Where are my business partner Mr Tyrn?
So we helped we hold each other kind of book.
Of course we both have to play out partunate the
business sceeed. So that's a big part of uh the growth.
(02:05:26):
And we're start another hostealing business. So I stopped within
those four months that we talked about earlier, we started
one again in January. Reason we started this business because
we're both looking at the future, want to uh the
generational by more properties. So we're starting another holestealing business.
Keep our pipeline full so we can pick out the
best properties to you know, either flip or run out
(02:05:49):
for that long term wealth. Wow. In your book, you
know the book we needs reading us, any book that
you can get, Uh, it's called interest Free Money Guide.
You're saying that in this book, you teach us how
to access interest free credit on twelve or fifteen business
credit cards. Talk to us about that, all right. So
(02:06:09):
the thing about the business credit is you don't need
much to get it. So you just need an LLC
E I E n uh seven hundred credit score. Sometimes
it could be six or eighty. So we just will
tell up seven hundred less than like five harding cards
in the last six or twelve months, and then you're
really good to go. And when one personal credit card
five dollars or more. So, if you meet all those requirements,
(02:06:31):
you can get fifty again fifty to two d fifty
thousand prayer le see interest free twelve to fifty months
or the same as cast. If you don't how to
make money off of a fifty thou interest free money this. Uh,
this really isn't for you, So I don't recommend it
to everybody. Recommended for people that is responsible and has
a plan to buy assets or invest the money and
(02:06:53):
something else has got to make them more money. You know,
if you want to get this to buy a car
or something like that, it's not the book for you.
So you know, if you have a seven hundred credits
for you have a plan you just are defunding, it's
definitely something you need to get. Wow. Talking to O'Neil Parker,
he's based in Laughing at Louisiana. Uh, got that little
(02:07:15):
gumbo runs. He's doing real estate from Lafayette, Baton Rouge
to New Orleans. Um, here's an exciting book, um that
it's an e book. It's called Interest Free Money Guide.
It's an e book is written to educate you on
business credit. And that's what we're talking about on the
call today on money making conversations. UM. So are you
comfortable with me putting your book or link into my
(02:07:36):
newsletter that goes out to ninety thousand people on Wednesday? Yeah,
of course of course. And I can also see the
link before they can before they can buy. You know,
if anybody else's on here. You have any coursetion of
anything I can follow on Instagram or Neil Oh and E. L. J. Parker,
And you got any questions you have to shooting a message? Yeah,
you can definitely put on that. Oh definitely will I'm
(02:07:58):
til I'm and try to give away your book now,
he said, I get a link on so you can
uh you know they can buy it. I'm trying to
sell you. You don't want to make you guy, This
ain't free money making conversation dot com money making comes
say dot com. And I'm just that you know, you know.
I'm old in you, of course, and I'm always interested
in hearing different plans of success. And of course I
(02:08:21):
started at twenty one. I didn't have the technology that
you have today, and you seem to be wise enough
to understand that use the technology because it's free and
it's available, and it can It also can expand your
education because your education and the world of real estate
was self taught. Correct, Yes, sir, of course. Well, my friends,
(02:08:42):
I want to thank you for coming on my show.
Man's a great conversation again. Uh we will. My staff
is gonna reach out to you and get those links
and get some more photos and some some some more
information so we can put it in this week newsletter.
I'm wanna thank you for coming on Money to Make
a Conversation or Neil Parker, Hey man, I appreciate you
some man. You know what I said, I gotta will
(02:09:02):
be here absolutely. And I know you're saying you're starting
your business in September and January again, right, a new
business in January time frame? Right, we started in January
twenty point this year. Okay, great, great, great. I'll tell
you what what we're gonna do in your anniversary. We're
gonna bring you back on the January so we can
talk about how that first year went, went through the pandemic,
coming out of the pandemic, and we're talking about how
(02:09:23):
you looking to January. Is that all right? I'm ready
for that as well as the fans one that I'm
here for us. Man. I appreciate you, my friend, Thank
you for calling my show. If you want to hear
more Money Making Conversation interviews, please go to Money Making
Conversation dot com. I'm ra Sean McDonald. I'm your host
(02:10:06):
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