Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Travis May, Sr. and Alair Castro from Northwestern Mutal, one is a financial advisor and the other is a Diversity & Inclusion Specialist discuss how Black Entrepreneurship bridges racial wealth gap. The racial wealth gap refers to the disparity in assets of typical households across race and ethnicity. The gap in assets is far wider than disparities in wages across races. Income inequality, housing policies, limited educational opportunities, and a lack of support structures contribute to the racial wealth gap.
Talking Points
- Can you provide an overview of the Community Conversations initiative and its purpose?
- This is the third Community Conversation you’re hosting—what impact have the previous two events had so far?
- Travis joined the firm as a result of the first conversation. How did that connection come about, and how has his journey exemplified the goals of these conversations?
- In what ways do you feel these events are making an intentional and impactful difference in the Black community?
- How does Community Conversations help identify individuals who align with the firm’s vision and goals?
- What makes these events unique in fostering relationships and opportunities within the Black community?
- Northwestern Mutual is a financial partner that offers personalized plans, top-rated services and life insurance.
- What inspired Northwestern Mutual’s Callaway Black office to focus this year’s panel series on Black entrepreneurship as a solution to bridging the racial wealth gap?
- Why do you believe entrepreneurship plays a pivotal role in narrowing the racial wealth gap, specifically for Black communities?
- What unique challenges do Black entrepreneurs face in starting and scaling businesses compared to other demographics?
- How have historical barriers, such as limited access to capital and systemic racism, impacted Black entrepreneurship, and what changes are being seen today?
- How important are mentorship and financial literacy in supporting Black entrepreneurs and future generations of business owners?
- What resources or programs do you believe are most effective in helping Black entrepreneurs succeed in today's business landscape?
- How can financial institutions, such as Northwestern Mutual, support Black entrepreneurs in accessing the funding and resources they need to grow?
- What role do community-based organizations and initiatives play in empowering Black entrepreneurs and addressing wealth disparities?
- Can you share any success stories of Black entrepreneurs who have directly benefited from your efforts or the broader financial ecosystem in Atlanta?
- How can the success of Black-owned businesses help inspire and empower younger generations in closing the wealth gap?
- In your view, what are the most effective strategies for ensuring that Black entrepreneurship leads to long-term wealth building within families and communities?
- Looking forward, what do you hope to see in terms of Black entrepreneurship and wealth-building in the next decade?
- How can the community come together to support Black entrepreneurs and ensure that their efforts are sustainable and impactful?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome to the show. I am Rashan McDonald, the host
of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to
stop reading other people's success stories and start planning their own.
Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from around the country,
talk to celebrities and ask them how they are running
their companies, and speak with god profits who are making
(00:25):
a difference in their local communities. Now, sit back and
listen as we unlock the secrets to their success on
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Hi, I am Rashan McDonald. I
host this weekly Money Making Conversation Master Class show. The
interviews and information that this show provides are for everyone.
It's time to start reading other people's success stories and
(00:45):
start living your own. I'm here to help you reach
your American dream. My guests today are discussing how black
entrepreneurship is a solution to bridging the racial wealth gap.
One is a financial advisor and the others are Diversity
an inclusion specialist for Northwestern Mutual. The racial wealth gap
refers to the disparity and assets of typical households across
(01:08):
race and ethnicity. Please welcome to the show from north
Western Mutual. Alel Castro and Travis May Senior. Welcome to
Money Making Conversation Team. Thanks Travis, you are the financial advisor. Yes, sir, okay,
out of the box. I'm gonna tell you explain to
my audience what is the racial gap? I mentioned it
(01:29):
in a defined tone, but I'm sure when you're talking
to everyday people, it's not as a dictionary field.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Yeah. So the racial wealth gap is the difference between
the financial difference between where Black people are today and
where other communities of majority exist and operating today when
(01:59):
it comes to racial disparity or wealth disparity. To be honest, Rashan,
we use that term racial wealth gap. I don't necessarily
think that the racial wealth gap can be closed. That
would mean that those who are in the majority and
who have the wealth are going to stop doing what
(02:20):
they're doing to obtain the wealth. I do think, Rashon,
that in the Black community and African American community, that
we can make strides in closing that racial wealth gap disparity,
and basically what it is is, uh the lack of
resources that are available to us as African Americans. Financial resources,
(02:45):
educational resources, all of these things play a major role
in our ability to move up the ladder and when
it when it comes to finances and you know, pass
generational weve down from one generation to the next, you.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Know, because you know, thank you for that update. Because
there are a lot of bug buzzwords generational wealth. I
hear that a lot on this show, the racial wealth gap.
The head on the show now three words, I hear
a lot on this show, Miss Castro. Diversity Equity and
Inclusion DEI, which has been under a tremendous amount of
political attacks, community attacks. It made it very racial when
(03:28):
it comes to even the vice president has been called
adi placement and her role as vice president? What is
your role? You are specialists? Explain to us. Maybe I'm
not asking you to tell us why it's under attack,
but what are the necessary needs of having your role
or having a specialist at a company for DEI?
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Absolutely so, diversity, equity and inclusion is very important for
businesses to match the communities for which they sit in
and which they serve. So that is the core focus
of the work that I do. The great thing about
Northwestern Mutual is we have doubled down on DEI in
(04:13):
a time where a lot of companies are pulling back
out of fear of cancel culture, out of fear of
any sort of negative connotation with doing work that includes
people who may not look like the people who sit
at the tops of these boards or who run these businesses.
So I'm just blessed to be at a company that
(04:37):
has supported DEI efforts and has really doubled down at
a time where we were where we have started going backwards.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
We really have And that's why I thought it was
important to have both of you guys, because basically in
this battle, it does involve you know, the Financial Advisor
brand awareness. Because you made an understatement traverse their racial
wealth gain, it's not going to close. Why would I
stop making money? Why would I just okay? And I'm
gonna give you opportunity to catch me. My goal is
to keep making money. I always tell people Bill Gates
(05:08):
is trying to get more billions. You know, Elon Munks
wants to be He wants to retain that title of
being the richest man in the world, which I would
like to have that title too. That means I got
a lot of work to do, and that means I'm
not gonna close that racial gap. Winning the lottery and
with that being said, entrepreneurship is not to me, it's
the laying. It's the lane of trying to change generational lifestyles.
(05:32):
Because you can't pass your job to your son. You
can't pass technically, you can't pass your job to your doctor,
your doctor. You can't just make your daughter be a
doctor or your son be a doctor, or your nephew
be a doctor. That's a learned crap. But if you
have a bakery, if you have a business, you can't
pass that business to someone in your family. Talk to
(05:53):
us about that traffsy, because I think that's very important.
We talking about just wealth building. That's what we want
to talk about in the show well building.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Yeah, I think it's important that in our community we
have those those success stories, in those staples to follow
successful black owned businesses service role models. They show the
younger generation that, you know, financial independence is possible, and
(06:22):
so they provide the real examples of wealth creation which
foster that culture of entrepreneurship and empowerment. And so I
think it's really important that first and foremost we got
to read and get educated as a culture. You know
what they say, if you want to hire something from
(06:42):
a black man, you got to put it in a book.
And so the long term wealth building requires a combination
of access to capital. It requires ongoing mentorship and a
prioritization as you say with Sean of financial planning at
every stage in life, not just in one stage or another.
(07:04):
And so that's that's one thing that entrepreneurship helps helps
us accomplish in our community, right is that transition of assets,
That transition of I mean that that that passing down
of businesses and other assets that can help us thrive
in the future.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Well, you know, it's really interesting because I've been involved
in small business uplift I like to call it with
you know, just to do the Neighborhood Awards was Steve Harrier,
where we will promote local business whether you was uh,
you know, car wash owner, or high schools and churches
because all these feed into motivating change in the community.
(07:43):
And that's important when we see changing the community. And
when I talk to you, Ms. Catastrop, community voices because
you are community voice, like you just you really stood
up to reach out. We're not going anywhere. I love that.
I love you had a fire in your voice that
you are the attack. I'm telling those words that you
(08:03):
represent a one hundred percent been on attack. I've seen
the shift in my business. I am a minority owned business.
I've seen companies that had me at the front of
their plate. During the George Floyd I was eating off
that but I was eating big time girl, And then
all of a sudden, I've seen those portions in that
plate get smaller and smaller and smaller the further we've
(08:26):
gotten away from the George Floyd situation.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Masterclass, hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
(08:51):
continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Now you said what you said, You're company Northwestern Mutual.
We're not going anywhere. How do you get that story
to the community.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Absolutely, I think doing events such as community conversations and
really explaining what Northwestern Mutual does from a brand perspective,
but also how we support our diverse advisors and our
diverse communities helps communicate that story right. So that was
born out of a strategic initiative that we call SARE internally,
(09:32):
which stands for Sustained Action for Racial Equity. This is
something that did begin around twenty twenty where our CEO
did make a statement saying that this is something that
we're going to invest in. The difference with our organization
is that he has continued to invest in it even
(09:53):
past the times of media coverage on social unrests and
social injustices. So this event was born out of that initiative,
as well as many others. We have an accelerator program,
we have mentorship programs, and we have strategic initiatives to
really get more involved in the black community and reinvesting
(10:18):
in the black community.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
And you was referencing, and I want to stay on
her for a minute, mister May before I get back
to her, because this is where, you know, if I
get heated in this whole world of trying to make
a change in the Black community, it's in the DEI
because I see it being very racial. I see it
being it demeans us like we're asking for a handout.
(10:41):
And I say us because I'm an African American and
all I want is an equal opportunity to participate. That's
all I want a shot at participating. Now you mentioned
some programs, how does one access those programs at your
company as an individual as well as a corporation or
(11:02):
a small business.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
I would highly suggest reaching out to your local Northwestern
Mutual office. So we operate off of network offices here
in Atlanta. We have two of them. I represent one
of them, called the Callaway Black Group. We sit in Finding, Georgia,
but our reach expands over all of Metro Atlanta. Reaching
(11:27):
out to us, letting us know what your career goals are,
whether you are looking to become an advisor, or you
are an entrepreneur and you're looking to pair with an
advisor to help you create a financial plan for your business.
Reaching out to us and seeing how we can partner
together to help you achieve your financial goals. It's really
(11:48):
that simple. I have had people reach out to me
on social media. I've had people reach out to me
out at events, you know, different client events and networking
events and asking me more about what we do. A
lot of times in the black community, when they hear
of Northwestern Mutual, they just think life insurance. They don't
(12:08):
understand that we do holistic financial planning. So we're so
much more than life insurance. We do planning, We do
community engagement and investment right back to the communities that
we sit in. So really just getting in contact with us,
your or your local network office to learn more about
(12:29):
how you can be a part of that.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Now, Travis, she said a key word that you brought
up earlier financial planning, because there's two words that really
in the small business community we forget is financial planning
and budget. We want to start a business, we got
a great idea, We're going to open the doors and
we automatically think the customer is going to come in,
(12:51):
or you go to the flee market and all your
products is going to be sold. There's no budget of
financial planning. Now, going back to you, that's what I'm
about between the two of y'all in this interview, because
each one of you kind of like explains why the
other one exists or the need for the other person.
Because I've contacted her, she's mentioned financial planning. I'm a
(13:11):
small business. Now I'm talking to you, Travis. You're going
to be at the event meeting people personally, but what
exactly is your role and explain in detail from the
financial side what Northwestern Mutual does.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Yeah, So I'll start by saying, when we're first introduced
to people, they tell us that they've done some great
planning already, all right, they have saved in retirement accounts,
they've invested money, they might even purchase some insurance at
some point. But even having done all of these things,
(13:46):
they will still look me in my eye and tell me, Travis,
I'm not really sure how these things are supposed to
tie together within a plan, or I'm not sure if
what I'm doing is enough. And what we find ra Sean,
is that it's most often because of time. Okay, most
people are working full time in their careers or their businesses.
I'm sure you can attest to that. And then they
(14:07):
also have families to grow and spend time with, and
so it's easy to understand how financial planning falls to
the bottom of the to do list and so and
seeing that so frequently, it's become the mission of my
practice to help people take a step off that treadmill
of life and to help them make active and conscious
(14:28):
and meaningful decisions around whatever they tell me is important
to them. And I like to use sports analogies with
Shaun when I'm describing how we do that, and so
we help people with their offensive and their defensive financial
planning strategies. The offensive planning Rashan is saving for whatever
(14:50):
people say is important to them. A lot of people
say retirement, or their children's education, or to pass along
future wealth to generations, whatever the case may be. I personally,
I can't speak for anyone else, but I personally take
an educational approach. I make sure that my clients are
educated about how things work and ultimately what the opportunities
(15:13):
and possibilities are, because I think in any aspect, when
we're more educated, or the better educated we are, the
better decisions will make. When you know better, you'll do better.
The second focus re Shaun is on tax efficiency. I
have clients cutting five, six, seven figure checks to the
IRS every year, and the way that they describe that
is painful. So we help with strategies to minimize taxes,
(15:38):
not just on today's dollars like your CPA would do,
but on dollars that they may not see or touch
for the next twenty, thirty or forty years. And then
on the defensive side of the ball, that involves talking
about things that we don't necessarily like to talk about,
or that aren't as fun to talk about, but it's
crucial to discuss and address plan for if we're talking
(16:01):
about doing true financial planning. And so this is evaluating
the what ifs of our client's lives. What if someone
passes away unexpectedly? Right, what if I get sick or
you get sick and can't work and earn an income,
or what if someone close to you needs some type
of extended care for an extended period of time. And
(16:23):
so those are the areas that we try to wrap
people's minds around and get them thinking deeper about when
it comes to financial planning and just crossing all the
t's and dotting all the o's.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
You know, a really interesting thing about this, how do
we get in touch with your side of the table?
You know you not saying you know, I'm putting you
on the spot. She said, the local Northwestern Mutual. You
know that seems so that seems so unattainable. I'm trying
to personalize this conversation because I think that that's what
goes wrong because I do a lot of these interviews
(16:57):
on my show Money Making Conversation master Class, and I
know there are a lot of opportunities, from the SBA
to the National Minority Supply to Development Council, But it
still seems like it's unattainable, It's unreachable, and it always
feels like it should be a line out the door
at the door for this conversational event, it's the third
one that you're having. But then I go there, It'll
(17:19):
be well attended, but I should be like more people
should know. How do we How do we get there? Travis?
How do we get there? You know? I know this helps,
but this is only one small stage of helping. How
do we get there? Brother?
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Yeah, Well, we can only do so much from our seat. Right,
we put on events like community conversations, an individual advisor.
I know for myself, we do speaking engagements, right. We
partner with organizations like the Urban League. We're out in
the community, We're out at events that are being hosted
(17:57):
around the city and national and the lead for that matter.
But when you talk about how to connect with a
specific or given advisor, you first have to take A
person has to take an initiative. Most of the people
that I connect with are introductions that are made right,
So very seldom are people wanting or desiring to do
(18:22):
financial planning because they met me at an event. That's
just been my experience. Most of the people that I
connect with are introductions, very warm introductions. I work with
their mom, their dad, their coworker, their colleague, their brother,
their sister, and they say, Hey, this is the advisor
I'm working with. We've been having some great conversations doing
(18:44):
some great work. I think you should have a conversation
with them. And what we find is that when we're
introduced to people that way, it's a bit more sticky.
Those people tend to value the work that we do
and the time that we spend together a lot more
than someone coming across me at a at an event
where it might seem quite generic at an event.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
To be honest, we're talking to Part three Community Conversation,
how black entrepreneurship is bridging the racial gap. I'm speaking
to Lay Castro and Travis may Senor. Travis May Senior
is a financial advisor, a little Castro is a diversity
inclusion specialist. A Layer ms Castro. Help me so I
(19:29):
can just start telling people to start kicking rocks when
they start bringing up anti DEI conversations. Help me out
give me give me some marching, or to give me
some statements, says an individual, because I am so tired,
turned on the read the newspaper. Get a little notification
it's a movie right now, that's that's anti DEI. I
(19:53):
want to tell them how to kick rocks. The floor
is yours.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
I mean, this is not anything that's new. Right, Everything
history repeats itself. You know, some of this was happening
after the civil rights movements in the sixties. Right, it's
just backlash to progression. But what I always refer back to,
which is one of my core beliefs, is the work
(20:17):
that I do in diversity, equity and inclusion is about
human rights. Right. It's about respect for humans, love for
human beings, caring about people who are not able to
live their lives and thrive in a healthy or safe way. Period.
I think if you can kind of refer back to
(20:38):
that as a core value, then what it looks like
or what acronyms are associated with it kind of fall
to the wayside and you just get involved and do
the work. That's actually something that I find myself having
conversations about in the corporate environment often is well, what
are we going to call it to make it digestible
(20:58):
for people. I am someone who doesn't care too much
about what names are or what the branding is. I
care about the work that's getting done and the people
that are being helped. So just referring back to the
core value of caring about human beings and human rights,
then you can't go wrong.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Awesome, Awesome, we know when I've been educated on the show,
Northwestern Mutual is more than just a life insurance company.
Financial advice is being given there when I say that, Travis,
being that you are a financial institution such as you
are with north Western Mutual, supporting black entrepreneurship, accessing the
(21:38):
funds and resources they need to grow. Like you said,
people who usually come see you or organized, but they
still are. Some are paying taxes they shouldn't be paying.
Walk us through some steps and establishing a relationship with
Northwestern Mutual.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Yeah, well, I can't speak for establishing a relationship with
Northwestern Mutual, but I could definitely speak on establishing a
relationship with myself as a as.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
A financial advisor and mutual.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
I am. But I guess if I could add some
context to that, we operate similar to like how realtors operate.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Okay, So a realtor will.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Hang their license with a brokerage, so, so to speak,
to simplify it, I chose to partner with a Fortune
one hundred company to build my financial planning practice, become
part of the solution, and give the people that I serve,
which happen to be majority of people who look like me,
access to some of the best resources that are out there.
(22:35):
So from that, that's the perspective on that. But what
does it look like in establishing a relationship generally, what
it looks like for me? I'm just walk you through
what that looks like. I'm on a call with somebody
and at the end of the call, they say, Travis,
you got to meet so and so, you got to
meet x y Z. They give me x y Z
and so and so's contact information, and I reach out
(22:57):
and I simply reach out to introduce myself, share with
them that we have a familiar relationship with X, Y
and Z and that they thought you would find value
in having a conversation. And so I'm simply calling to
introduce myself and see if we could carve out some
time sometime in the next week or two to have
(23:17):
a conversation, and in that first conversation, Rashan, that is
the relationship establishing conversation. I firmly believe that I'm not
in a position to tell anybody about what they should
be doing with their finances, with their money if I
don't know them personally, if I don't know what their
goals are, if I don't know what they're trying to achieve.
(23:38):
And so that first meeting, that first conversation is simply
about understanding what that person is looking to accomplish, understanding
where they are financially, and then where do we align.
Because I be honest, I sit down and have those
conversations with people, and I can't help everybody, right, but
then there are people who I can, And so the
(24:00):
goal of that initial conversation is just to find where
the synergy is, where the opportunity is, and how we
can fill avoid.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Well, it was really important that we're having this conversation,
you know from h you know, people of color, African Americans,
UH dealing with a situation called the racial wealth gap,
which I think is one of those terms it's overused,
you know, like branding, like terminology you hear so much.
You kind of like go what is that? You know,
just we just realized it was announced the other day
(24:29):
that the gender pay gap has widened, you know, over
the years. So that means that there's always going to
be a challenge. There's alway going to be a challenge.
When I walk in the door ms Castro and people
are automatically know I'm a person of color. I can't
hide that fact, which means that I'm always being stereotyped immediately,
whether I want to or not. Whether I got a
(24:50):
suit on, somebody might question where I get this suit,
whether whether I walk or laugh out loud, they might
make it. Does he does? He does? He does? He
know where he's at laughing at loud. So I've been
dealing with that all my life and I've been successful.
But I've been successful with a caveat the color of
(25:11):
my skin. Your role in diversity, in conclusion and inclusion,
being a specialist, what's the end results, what's the ultimate
game for you?
Speaker 3 (25:22):
The ultimate game for me is to give voice to
those that are disadvantage, to reinvest in the communities of
people that are disadvantaged, To create an internal culture that
makes diverse people feel like they can bring their whole
selves to work. A lot of times when we come
to work, we bring part of ourselves, right, You don't
(25:45):
want to expose too much of your self for fear
that you might be retaliated against in your employment. I
want to create a culture that allows you and I
have been able to create a culture that allows you
to fully be yourself at work every day and discuss
things that you may not be able to discuss anywhere else,
(26:06):
such as experiencing microaggressions like you mentioned. But at the
end of the day, it's about the impact on these
communities that we sit in that mean the most to me,
especially within the Black and African American community, which is
why doing community events like Community Conversations is so important,
(26:28):
really supporting black entrepreneurs locally. But also to what Travis
mentioned earlier, our advisors operate as entrepreneurs themselves, so it's
layered and it's an honor to be able to support
and invest in black entrepreneurs here in Atlanta, and I
hope to do so for the foreseeable future.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
I love it. I love it. I want to thank
you guys for coming on my show talking about Part three,
Community Conversations, How Black entrepreneurship is bridging the wealth gap.
This is part three Community conversation, how Black entrepreneurship is
bridget a racial wealth gap. Thank you both for coming
on Money Making Conversation, massacret It was enjoyment, enjoyable to
have it on this conversation with two people who are
(27:13):
trying to make a difference in our community.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
Thank you so much for the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Absolutely man likewise, Thank you for Sean.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
hosted by me Rashaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests
on the show today and thank you listening to audience now.
If you want to listen to any episode I want
to be a guest on the show, visit Moneymakingconversations dot com.
Our social media handle is money Making Conversation. Join us
next week and remember to always leave with your gifts.
(27:43):
Keep winning.
Welcome to the show. I am Rashan McDonald, the host
of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to
stop reading other people's success stories and start planning their own.
Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from around the country,
talk to celebrities and ask them how they are running
their companies, and speak with god profits who are making
(00:25):
a difference in their local communities. Now, sit back and
listen as we unlock the secrets to their success on
Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Hi, I am Rashan McDonald. I
host this weekly Money Making Conversation Master Class show. The
interviews and information that this show provides are for everyone.
It's time to start reading other people's success stories and
(00:45):
start living your own. I'm here to help you reach
your American dream. My guests today are discussing how black
entrepreneurship is a solution to bridging the racial wealth gap.
One is a financial advisor and the others are Diversity
an inclusion specialist for Northwestern Mutual. The racial wealth gap
refers to the disparity and assets of typical households across
(01:08):
race and ethnicity. Please welcome to the show from north
Western Mutual. Alel Castro and Travis May Senior. Welcome to
Money Making Conversation Team. Thanks Travis, you are the financial advisor. Yes, sir, okay,
out of the box. I'm gonna tell you explain to
my audience what is the racial gap? I mentioned it
(01:29):
in a defined tone, but I'm sure when you're talking
to everyday people, it's not as a dictionary field.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Yeah. So the racial wealth gap is the difference between
the financial difference between where Black people are today and
where other communities of majority exist and operating today when
(01:59):
it comes to racial disparity or wealth disparity. To be honest, Rashan,
we use that term racial wealth gap. I don't necessarily
think that the racial wealth gap can be closed. That
would mean that those who are in the majority and
who have the wealth are going to stop doing what
(02:20):
they're doing to obtain the wealth. I do think, Rashon,
that in the Black community and African American community, that
we can make strides in closing that racial wealth gap disparity,
and basically what it is is, uh the lack of
resources that are available to us as African Americans. Financial resources,
(02:45):
educational resources, all of these things play a major role
in our ability to move up the ladder and when
it when it comes to finances and you know, pass
generational weve down from one generation to the next, you.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Know, because you know, thank you for that update. Because
there are a lot of bug buzzwords generational wealth. I
hear that a lot on this show, the racial wealth gap.
The head on the show now three words, I hear
a lot on this show, Miss Castro. Diversity Equity and
Inclusion DEI, which has been under a tremendous amount of
political attacks, community attacks. It made it very racial when
(03:28):
it comes to even the vice president has been called
adi placement and her role as vice president? What is
your role? You are specialists? Explain to us. Maybe I'm
not asking you to tell us why it's under attack,
but what are the necessary needs of having your role
or having a specialist at a company for DEI?
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Absolutely so, diversity, equity and inclusion is very important for
businesses to match the communities for which they sit in
and which they serve. So that is the core focus
of the work that I do. The great thing about
Northwestern Mutual is we have doubled down on DEI in
(04:13):
a time where a lot of companies are pulling back
out of fear of cancel culture, out of fear of
any sort of negative connotation with doing work that includes
people who may not look like the people who sit
at the tops of these boards or who run these businesses.
So I'm just blessed to be at a company that
(04:37):
has supported DEI efforts and has really doubled down at
a time where we were where we have started going backwards.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
We really have And that's why I thought it was
important to have both of you guys, because basically in
this battle, it does involve you know, the Financial Advisor
brand awareness. Because you made an understatement traverse their racial
wealth gain, it's not going to close. Why would I
stop making money? Why would I just okay? And I'm
gonna give you opportunity to catch me. My goal is
to keep making money. I always tell people Bill Gates
(05:08):
is trying to get more billions. You know, Elon Munks
wants to be He wants to retain that title of
being the richest man in the world, which I would
like to have that title too. That means I got
a lot of work to do, and that means I'm
not gonna close that racial gap. Winning the lottery and
with that being said, entrepreneurship is not to me, it's
the laying. It's the lane of trying to change generational lifestyles.
(05:32):
Because you can't pass your job to your son. You
can't pass technically, you can't pass your job to your doctor,
your doctor. You can't just make your daughter be a
doctor or your son be a doctor, or your nephew
be a doctor. That's a learned crap. But if you
have a bakery, if you have a business, you can't
pass that business to someone in your family. Talk to
(05:53):
us about that traffsy, because I think that's very important.
We talking about just wealth building. That's what we want
to talk about in the show well building.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Yeah, I think it's important that in our community we
have those those success stories, in those staples to follow
successful black owned businesses service role models. They show the
younger generation that, you know, financial independence is possible, and
(06:22):
so they provide the real examples of wealth creation which
foster that culture of entrepreneurship and empowerment. And so I
think it's really important that first and foremost we got
to read and get educated as a culture. You know
what they say, if you want to hire something from
(06:42):
a black man, you got to put it in a book.
And so the long term wealth building requires a combination
of access to capital. It requires ongoing mentorship and a
prioritization as you say with Sean of financial planning at
every stage in life, not just in one stage or another.
(07:04):
And so that's that's one thing that entrepreneurship helps helps
us accomplish in our community, right is that transition of assets,
That transition of I mean that that that passing down
of businesses and other assets that can help us thrive
in the future.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Well, you know, it's really interesting because I've been involved
in small business uplift I like to call it with
you know, just to do the Neighborhood Awards was Steve Harrier,
where we will promote local business whether you was uh,
you know, car wash owner, or high schools and churches
because all these feed into motivating change in the community.
(07:43):
And that's important when we see changing the community. And
when I talk to you, Ms. Catastrop, community voices because
you are community voice, like you just you really stood
up to reach out. We're not going anywhere. I love that.
I love you had a fire in your voice that
you are the attack. I'm telling those words that you
(08:03):
represent a one hundred percent been on attack. I've seen
the shift in my business. I am a minority owned business.
I've seen companies that had me at the front of
their plate. During the George Floyd I was eating off
that but I was eating big time girl, And then
all of a sudden, I've seen those portions in that
plate get smaller and smaller and smaller the further we've
(08:26):
gotten away from the George Floyd situation.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
Conversations Masterclass, hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
(08:51):
continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Now you said what you said, You're company Northwestern Mutual.
We're not going anywhere. How do you get that story
to the community.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Absolutely, I think doing events such as community conversations and
really explaining what Northwestern Mutual does from a brand perspective,
but also how we support our diverse advisors and our
diverse communities helps communicate that story right. So that was
born out of a strategic initiative that we call SARE internally,
(09:32):
which stands for Sustained Action for Racial Equity. This is
something that did begin around twenty twenty where our CEO
did make a statement saying that this is something that
we're going to invest in. The difference with our organization
is that he has continued to invest in it even
(09:53):
past the times of media coverage on social unrests and
social injustices. So this event was born out of that initiative,
as well as many others. We have an accelerator program,
we have mentorship programs, and we have strategic initiatives to
really get more involved in the black community and reinvesting
(10:18):
in the black community.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
And you was referencing, and I want to stay on
her for a minute, mister May before I get back
to her, because this is where, you know, if I
get heated in this whole world of trying to make
a change in the Black community, it's in the DEI
because I see it being very racial. I see it
being it demeans us like we're asking for a handout.
(10:41):
And I say us because I'm an African American and
all I want is an equal opportunity to participate. That's
all I want a shot at participating. Now you mentioned
some programs, how does one access those programs at your
company as an individual as well as a corporation or
(11:02):
a small business.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
I would highly suggest reaching out to your local Northwestern
Mutual office. So we operate off of network offices here
in Atlanta. We have two of them. I represent one
of them, called the Callaway Black Group. We sit in Finding, Georgia,
but our reach expands over all of Metro Atlanta. Reaching
(11:27):
out to us, letting us know what your career goals are,
whether you are looking to become an advisor, or you
are an entrepreneur and you're looking to pair with an
advisor to help you create a financial plan for your business.
Reaching out to us and seeing how we can partner
together to help you achieve your financial goals. It's really
(11:48):
that simple. I have had people reach out to me
on social media. I've had people reach out to me
out at events, you know, different client events and networking
events and asking me more about what we do. A
lot of times in the black community, when they hear
of Northwestern Mutual, they just think life insurance. They don't
(12:08):
understand that we do holistic financial planning. So we're so
much more than life insurance. We do planning, We do
community engagement and investment right back to the communities that
we sit in. So really just getting in contact with us,
your or your local network office to learn more about
(12:29):
how you can be a part of that.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Now, Travis, she said a key word that you brought
up earlier financial planning, because there's two words that really
in the small business community we forget is financial planning
and budget. We want to start a business, we got
a great idea, We're going to open the doors and
we automatically think the customer is going to come in,
(12:51):
or you go to the flee market and all your
products is going to be sold. There's no budget of
financial planning. Now, going back to you, that's what I'm
about between the two of y'all in this interview, because
each one of you kind of like explains why the
other one exists or the need for the other person.
Because I've contacted her, she's mentioned financial planning. I'm a
(13:11):
small business. Now I'm talking to you, Travis. You're going
to be at the event meeting people personally, but what
exactly is your role and explain in detail from the
financial side what Northwestern Mutual does.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Yeah, So I'll start by saying, when we're first introduced
to people, they tell us that they've done some great
planning already, all right, they have saved in retirement accounts,
they've invested money, they might even purchase some insurance at
some point. But even having done all of these things,
(13:46):
they will still look me in my eye and tell me, Travis,
I'm not really sure how these things are supposed to
tie together within a plan, or I'm not sure if
what I'm doing is enough. And what we find ra Sean,
is that it's most often because of time. Okay, most
people are working full time in their careers or their businesses.
I'm sure you can attest to that. And then they
(14:07):
also have families to grow and spend time with, and
so it's easy to understand how financial planning falls to
the bottom of the to do list and so and
seeing that so frequently, it's become the mission of my
practice to help people take a step off that treadmill
of life and to help them make active and conscious
(14:28):
and meaningful decisions around whatever they tell me is important
to them. And I like to use sports analogies with
Shaun when I'm describing how we do that, and so
we help people with their offensive and their defensive financial
planning strategies. The offensive planning Rashan is saving for whatever
(14:50):
people say is important to them. A lot of people
say retirement, or their children's education, or to pass along
future wealth to generations, whatever the case may be. I personally,
I can't speak for anyone else, but I personally take
an educational approach. I make sure that my clients are
educated about how things work and ultimately what the opportunities
(15:13):
and possibilities are, because I think in any aspect, when
we're more educated, or the better educated we are, the
better decisions will make. When you know better, you'll do better.
The second focus re Shaun is on tax efficiency. I
have clients cutting five, six, seven figure checks to the
IRS every year, and the way that they describe that
is painful. So we help with strategies to minimize taxes,
(15:38):
not just on today's dollars like your CPA would do,
but on dollars that they may not see or touch
for the next twenty, thirty or forty years. And then
on the defensive side of the ball, that involves talking
about things that we don't necessarily like to talk about,
or that aren't as fun to talk about, but it's
crucial to discuss and address plan for if we're talking
(16:01):
about doing true financial planning. And so this is evaluating
the what ifs of our client's lives. What if someone
passes away unexpectedly? Right, what if I get sick or
you get sick and can't work and earn an income,
or what if someone close to you needs some type
of extended care for an extended period of time. And
(16:23):
so those are the areas that we try to wrap
people's minds around and get them thinking deeper about when
it comes to financial planning and just crossing all the
t's and dotting all the o's.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
You know, a really interesting thing about this, how do
we get in touch with your side of the table?
You know you not saying you know, I'm putting you
on the spot. She said, the local Northwestern Mutual. You
know that seems so that seems so unattainable. I'm trying
to personalize this conversation because I think that that's what
goes wrong because I do a lot of these interviews
(16:57):
on my show Money Making Conversation master Class, and I
know there are a lot of opportunities, from the SBA
to the National Minority Supply to Development Council, But it
still seems like it's unattainable, It's unreachable, and it always
feels like it should be a line out the door
at the door for this conversational event, it's the third
one that you're having. But then I go there, It'll
(17:19):
be well attended, but I should be like more people
should know. How do we How do we get there? Travis?
How do we get there? You know? I know this helps,
but this is only one small stage of helping. How
do we get there? Brother?
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Yeah, Well, we can only do so much from our seat. Right,
we put on events like community conversations, an individual advisor.
I know for myself, we do speaking engagements, right. We
partner with organizations like the Urban League. We're out in
the community, We're out at events that are being hosted
(17:57):
around the city and national and the lead for that matter.
But when you talk about how to connect with a
specific or given advisor, you first have to take A
person has to take an initiative. Most of the people
that I connect with are introductions that are made right,
So very seldom are people wanting or desiring to do
(18:22):
financial planning because they met me at an event. That's
just been my experience. Most of the people that I
connect with are introductions, very warm introductions. I work with
their mom, their dad, their coworker, their colleague, their brother,
their sister, and they say, Hey, this is the advisor
I'm working with. We've been having some great conversations doing
(18:44):
some great work. I think you should have a conversation
with them. And what we find is that when we're
introduced to people that way, it's a bit more sticky.
Those people tend to value the work that we do
and the time that we spend together a lot more
than someone coming across me at a at an event
where it might seem quite generic at an event.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
To be honest, we're talking to Part three Community Conversation,
how black entrepreneurship is bridging the racial gap. I'm speaking
to Lay Castro and Travis may Senor. Travis May Senior
is a financial advisor, a little Castro is a diversity
inclusion specialist. A Layer ms Castro. Help me so I
(19:29):
can just start telling people to start kicking rocks when
they start bringing up anti DEI conversations. Help me out
give me give me some marching, or to give me
some statements, says an individual, because I am so tired,
turned on the read the newspaper. Get a little notification
it's a movie right now, that's that's anti DEI. I
(19:53):
want to tell them how to kick rocks. The floor
is yours.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
I mean, this is not anything that's new. Right, Everything
history repeats itself. You know, some of this was happening
after the civil rights movements in the sixties. Right, it's
just backlash to progression. But what I always refer back to,
which is one of my core beliefs, is the work
(20:17):
that I do in diversity, equity and inclusion is about
human rights. Right. It's about respect for humans, love for
human beings, caring about people who are not able to
live their lives and thrive in a healthy or safe way. Period.
I think if you can kind of refer back to
(20:38):
that as a core value, then what it looks like
or what acronyms are associated with it kind of fall
to the wayside and you just get involved and do
the work. That's actually something that I find myself having
conversations about in the corporate environment often is well, what
are we going to call it to make it digestible
(20:58):
for people. I am someone who doesn't care too much
about what names are or what the branding is. I
care about the work that's getting done and the people
that are being helped. So just referring back to the
core value of caring about human beings and human rights,
then you can't go wrong.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
Awesome, Awesome, we know when I've been educated on the show,
Northwestern Mutual is more than just a life insurance company.
Financial advice is being given there when I say that, Travis,
being that you are a financial institution such as you
are with north Western Mutual, supporting black entrepreneurship, accessing the
(21:38):
funds and resources they need to grow. Like you said,
people who usually come see you or organized, but they
still are. Some are paying taxes they shouldn't be paying.
Walk us through some steps and establishing a relationship with
Northwestern Mutual.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Yeah, well, I can't speak for establishing a relationship with
Northwestern Mutual, but I could definitely speak on establishing a
relationship with myself as a as.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
A financial advisor and mutual.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
I am. But I guess if I could add some
context to that, we operate similar to like how realtors operate.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Okay, So a realtor will.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Hang their license with a brokerage, so, so to speak,
to simplify it, I chose to partner with a Fortune
one hundred company to build my financial planning practice, become
part of the solution, and give the people that I serve,
which happen to be majority of people who look like me,
access to some of the best resources that are out there.
(22:35):
So from that, that's the perspective on that. But what
does it look like in establishing a relationship generally, what
it looks like for me? I'm just walk you through
what that looks like. I'm on a call with somebody
and at the end of the call, they say, Travis,
you got to meet so and so, you got to
meet x y Z. They give me x y Z
and so and so's contact information, and I reach out
(22:57):
and I simply reach out to introduce myself, share with
them that we have a familiar relationship with X, Y
and Z and that they thought you would find value
in having a conversation. And so I'm simply calling to
introduce myself and see if we could carve out some
time sometime in the next week or two to have
(23:17):
a conversation, and in that first conversation, Rashan, that is
the relationship establishing conversation. I firmly believe that I'm not
in a position to tell anybody about what they should
be doing with their finances, with their money if I
don't know them personally, if I don't know what their
goals are, if I don't know what they're trying to achieve.
(23:38):
And so that first meeting, that first conversation is simply
about understanding what that person is looking to accomplish, understanding
where they are financially, and then where do we align.
Because I be honest, I sit down and have those
conversations with people, and I can't help everybody, right, but
then there are people who I can, And so the
(24:00):
goal of that initial conversation is just to find where
the synergy is, where the opportunity is, and how we
can fill avoid.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Well, it was really important that we're having this conversation,
you know from h you know, people of color, African Americans,
UH dealing with a situation called the racial wealth gap,
which I think is one of those terms it's overused,
you know, like branding, like terminology you hear so much.
You kind of like go what is that? You know,
just we just realized it was announced the other day
(24:29):
that the gender pay gap has widened, you know, over
the years. So that means that there's always going to
be a challenge. There's alway going to be a challenge.
When I walk in the door ms Castro and people
are automatically know I'm a person of color. I can't
hide that fact, which means that I'm always being stereotyped immediately,
whether I want to or not. Whether I got a
(24:50):
suit on, somebody might question where I get this suit,
whether whether I walk or laugh out loud, they might
make it. Does he does? He does? He does? He
know where he's at laughing at loud. So I've been
dealing with that all my life and I've been successful.
But I've been successful with a caveat the color of
(25:11):
my skin. Your role in diversity, in conclusion and inclusion,
being a specialist, what's the end results, what's the ultimate
game for you?
Speaker 3 (25:22):
The ultimate game for me is to give voice to
those that are disadvantage, to reinvest in the communities of
people that are disadvantaged, To create an internal culture that
makes diverse people feel like they can bring their whole
selves to work. A lot of times when we come
to work, we bring part of ourselves, right, You don't
(25:45):
want to expose too much of your self for fear
that you might be retaliated against in your employment. I
want to create a culture that allows you and I
have been able to create a culture that allows you
to fully be yourself at work every day and discuss
things that you may not be able to discuss anywhere else,
(26:06):
such as experiencing microaggressions like you mentioned. But at the
end of the day, it's about the impact on these
communities that we sit in that mean the most to me,
especially within the Black and African American community, which is
why doing community events like Community Conversations is so important,
(26:28):
really supporting black entrepreneurs locally. But also to what Travis
mentioned earlier, our advisors operate as entrepreneurs themselves, so it's
layered and it's an honor to be able to support
and invest in black entrepreneurs here in Atlanta, and I
hope to do so for the foreseeable future.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
I love it. I love it. I want to thank
you guys for coming on my show talking about Part three,
Community Conversations, How Black entrepreneurship is bridging the wealth gap.
This is part three Community conversation, how Black entrepreneurship is
bridget a racial wealth gap. Thank you both for coming
on Money Making Conversation, massacret It was enjoyment, enjoyable to
have it on this conversation with two people who are
(27:13):
trying to make a difference in our community.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
Thank you so much for the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Absolutely man likewise, Thank you for Sean.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
hosted by me Rashaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests
on the show today and thank you listening to audience now.
If you want to listen to any episode I want
to be a guest on the show, visit Moneymakingconversations dot com.
Our social media handle is money Making Conversation. Join us
next week and remember to always leave with your gifts.
(27:43):
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