October 11, 2024 • 60 mins
A women’s pitch competition with all women judges will be held in honor of October’s National Women’s Small Business Month on October 16. $5,000 in cash prizes will be awarded. The event is presented by the Polk Institute Foundation Women-owned businesses. Los Angeles, CA… As a Transactional Attorney @ Polk Institute and business executive, William L. Stricklandsuccessfully represented professional athletes for over 35 years; primarily in the National Basketball Association and the National Football League. In this capacity, he negotiated contracts for personal playing services, endorsements, appearances, events, promotions and a broad array of other contracts which resulted in close to $2 billion in gross compensation paid to his clientele. His experience includes operating, budgetary & management responsibilities for staff and agents across the five major league sports of baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer. The Polk Institute Foundation is a 501(C)(3). It's an innovative online enterprise offering a tuition-free Master Practitioner Training Incubator and Accelerator and Capital Funding. There is an 11-month Incubator Program for startups and pre-revenue companies and an 11-month Accelerator Program for existing businesses with the focus of graduating fundable CEOs. At the Polk Institute, social entrepreneurship companies are endeavors that are purpose-driven and represent the passion of the founder.These endeavors focus on People, Planet and Profit (Triple Bottom Line) and the belief that behaving ethically and generating profits are not conflicting concepts. https://polkinstitute.org.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's hey.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Okay, well it's me mother, doctor, mother love. Okay, okay, that.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Would be no.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I gotta sing you the link again.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Keep just kicks.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Okay, we're not the less. We have technical difficulties, ugly
and well, what can we say? This is is what
we do, hand it down, doing five.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
You know.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Well there's all the techniques, all the technology, and they
tell me all the time, don't touch the buttons.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
You know.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I'm right there with you. Okay, you're right.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
I'm not the youngest at this stuff.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
But uh oh you know what, and the I can't
even figure how to turn the TV on, so I
can't touch none of any of the buttons. I forget
to go. Okay, Kennedy, I was just okay, point to
point the uh remote at the TV and I'm like
swinging it around. Okay. And so well he is coming
(01:05):
on the program today. We gonna do it. Come hell
or how walk That's what we're gonna do it. That's
real strengthening. It wasn't for him to come in well
like can you hear me? Oh, he don't know. It's
the way he don't walk away from the comput Nonetheless, Hi, babies,
it's mother love. We're working on and working on it,
work on it, and when we do it finally, now
(01:27):
you would you would have started since we've been doing this,
but you know, every day, every day we would have
you know you, often times you can not depend on technology.
That's why you've got to look at mother dove. You
got to I've got to watch you. You need to
watch me. I see you and oftentimes you know, all
this technology can just get you so uh discombobulated. Okay,
(01:51):
well maybe not you, maybe not the five year olds
up until what the twenty five year olds or whatever,
but we don't when out Oh my goodness, and okay,
so we'll we're working on okay, I'll tell him. Man
is hey, I want to give me. I'm doing all
(02:14):
I can and the easy one tries. My dear, how
are you?
Speaker 3 (02:18):
I'm doing well.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
I love it, I love it. I love you know.
I'm so glad I started a trend and you're with
the trends. You have embraced the brain and it's really
not great like I love silver like I love you know,
the will does and if if not, we can make
it work any kind of way. So hey, everybody, this
(02:40):
is Bill Strickland. He is that he has done so
many major things. I mean, okay, this little Stitzt we're
talking about the profstitute. There's one of the coal hurts.
What do you call it? A horse? Uh yeah, cool hort.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
The students and the entrepreneurs that joined our institute.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
For guys, let's let's talk about that because you have
some First, let's talk about the fact that you just
helped make the enough of a lot of people in
the NBA, in the NFL pretty well pretty you know,
pretty all pretty pretty well off because of you. You know,
and I had never heard of that before. But as
soon as they started trans turns actual attorney tell us
(03:24):
about it being a transactional attorney. It just sound really fancy.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Well, you know, you can play on words as an attorney, don't.
You're the one that supers off the rim I was
I was a high school athlete, attended college on a
four athletic scholarship.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Where'd you go to college?
Speaker 3 (03:47):
I went to Yo Marymount University in that way?
Speaker 2 (03:51):
But okay, for the ONLI were you who might not
know that's up there in the high rent disertip cause
the students, I'm just like, you know, and.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Then uh suffered a knee injury. I had been drafted
by the Dodgers. In the whole bit, really, I aspired
to play, but I was unable to do so because
of the knee injury. So I went to UCLA and
got my MBA in finance. Still didn't know what I
wanted to do. So I went to law schoolt Georgetown
and passed the bar. But when I got back, yeah
(04:24):
too bar okay. So when I was thinking about what
I wanted to do, I thought, well, you play ball.
Why don't you try to make that into your advocation
rather than I mean, your vocation better than advocation. So
I did that, and then I made a judgment. I said,
at UCLA, I learned how to evaluate capital markets. So
(04:48):
at the SEC the Securities and Exchange Commission, I learned
how to regulate capital markets. And it was a nice
little nexus. And I was there about four or four
and a half years, and then I decided to start
representing professional athletes. So I joined the company interestingly called
proser that was founded on the representation.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Of Arthur Ashe god Rest is so one of the
greatest tennis players, like Ava yes and.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
A fine person, and he was. He was the intellectual sorts.
People don't know, but he wrote a long history of
of the black jockeys and figures in sports. But I
had the pleasure of meeting him, and so from thirty
eight years later I continued to represent athletes and just
recently pulled back from doing that.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
That had was that nerve wracking with all those egos
and tourneys and the people and the hangers on and
trying to keep everything together to make sure because people
have to understand, these are businesses. We are in the
we are in show business. It is a business. You're
an athlete, that is a business, and it can be
(06:03):
extremely lucrative. So what do you, I mean, how do
you just go from the NFL Wall Street in the
SEC is. I think I'm gonna go represent them.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
You know.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
That's that's because they need that, and they do need that.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
They need that. And I was aware of my experience,
and I happened to have grown up playing with some
guys who are now in the Hall of Baseball Hall
of Fame, a couple of basketball Hall of Fame. But
it was through my familiarity with these young men, I said,
let me try to do this. It took me two
years to get hired because I was the first black
attorney hired at the particular company I was working at.
(06:39):
So it worked out well. And like I said, I
spent about eight or nine years.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Wait because you are black. I didn't know you were black.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Well, But see it was the interesting thing though the
young men. I used to play weekend basketball with a
bunch of guys, including Eric Holder of all people, and
I realized that they were aspiring to get in and
I had a different tax to get in. So I
(07:10):
was successful after the New Years and started representing players.
And like I mentioned, I worked with Michael Jordan's first
eight years of Patrick Ewing from where we lost last
week through was a tremendous man to Kimby mccoma just
about fourteen now Hall of Fame basketball players.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I had the president and the honor of meeting him
and spending actually spending time with him. What he was
just such a pleasant soul. He you know, he would
he would distill the radiation from you know, around him,
and as he liked me anyway, you know what, And
(07:52):
he liked me anyway, and he was so kind to me,
and so I mean, he didn't have to do any
of that. He wasn't even have to do any that.
I met him on a top shelf. We were done morning,
a morning show. I can't even remember what city was acause,
you know, man like saying that. I asked him how
many eleven teams peaked?
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Tall?
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Are you? I couldn't even get him to stop laugh
and I'm like, you are going a goofball? He just
stopped West and soul because he was a good guy,
Bill and you knew that.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
What people don't know though, and those of us that
were close to the situation, Uh, he wanted to be
He wanted to pursue pre med and John Thompson, who
was his coach at George, said, no, son, you're gonna
play basketball, and you're gonna use that money that you
could earn to do the kinds of things you wanted
(08:46):
to do. And Lord and behold, he goes he's a
Hall of Fame basketball player, and he builds one hundred
and seventy five bed hospital in the Congo that reflected
his personal interests even before he played basketball.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Tremendous young man. And I I reflected on that last week.
But I was fortunate to represent and get involved to
people like that. And I notice I said people people
like that, people like that fortunate and.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
That's that's really a good thing. And to know that
you had not just a hand, a big giant double
hands you know where where you were, you know, changing
these changing these young men's lines when you were doing
all that, what was your growth process? Because you know,
talking to you and you know, having experienced some time
(09:37):
with it before even on any force, so he already
know me said, don't any y'all star tripping like O,
y y'all get that high. That's what we do. And
and and the fact that you have been around these
these these high paid athletes you know who are making
I mean, as you said, making history in the in
(09:58):
the Hall of Thames and both call the Fames. What
was that process like that from me Walt to Wall
Street to saying I'm gonna represent these guys and this
is how it's gonna be. And what was your hardest contract?
Telling me? Look, you know, I do want to know
off the air pulled some of the people, and how
(10:19):
deep did you have to go in to negotiate with
that contract? So you said, the long when they started
making this basketball and poor up player start making millions
of dollars. Remember when they were playing the Peanuts? Shut up?
Oh oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Well, there there were a number of negotiations that I
was in the middle of that was difficult. I recall
walking in with one general manager and he picked up
the bat in the room and start hitting it in
his hand. He said, you know you're asking for this
kind of money.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
You need to go home.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
And I said, okay, fine, and so I packed up
my computer and started walking out and said where are.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
You going to go?
Speaker 3 (10:56):
I said, you said to go home in your hands,
so I'm leaving it. And then he said, I'll come
back here. We're going to make this deal I've had.
I've had the misfortune of working with a particular owner
who the first thing he said to me, and at
that time, I had a full beard in my a
bro He said, you know, I don't like working with
people who have beers. So I said to myself, is
(11:18):
he positioning me for this negotiation.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Or is he a racist?
Speaker 3 (11:23):
So I took the races route and I said, whatever,
people in this business don't like my color either, but
I'm gonna be in it. And so we worked that
deal out and I had another guy who was just
basically was just arrogant, and I represented a player that
he considered to be a minor type guy. And so
with that club, I said, did you hear about this
(11:44):
player that went number one overall in the NBA draft,
which was supposed to be high cottage And I said,
he didn't make it, so nothing is certain. And I said,
do you know who.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
I'm talking about?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
And he was quiet, and then he said.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Michael Joy he is No, I know who he is.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
I drafted it and the guy was a complete failure. So,
needless to say, he and I didn't work that deal out,
and my guy ended up going to Greet his first year.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
So you have those balances.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
But I have felt good about the fact that I've
been fortunate enough to represent some young men and a
few ladies who were appreciative of the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Now what the all athletes?
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Yeah, I've represented a couple entertainers on the side, but
I was focused on the NBA and the NFL. That's
where my ettie, Well.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
We how okay, Now can you hear me?
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Oh, I can hear you? Okay, because it just stopped
moving on. Man, I'm like, wait a minute, I know
we own it there.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
And right now you're not moving.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
But I hear you. Well, okay, you know, as I said,
technology is not always cracked up to be. This is
still stripling everybody. He is is just an amazing You
are just an amazing person, you really are. And that's
just a humble hasn't how has been in this part
of the business, Because is this completely different with you
(13:27):
and the cohorts and the Pope Institute and what you do.
Tell people what you do, because what you guys and
you men and women are doing is just phenomenal and
people need to know about this. They really need to
know about this. So what we've done.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
As a institute, and it started by Gary Polk, who
ironically went to the same college I did. I just
went seven or eight years ahead of him. But he
was a professor, a former banker and insurance executive who
decided to try to help young people start businesses. And
(14:05):
it's called it, you know, incubator and for small businesses.
So what he's done is focused on what we do
is focus on black and brown women and military entrepreneurs
in the space we define as social entrepreneurship, where we
(14:25):
kind of as opposed to capitalism that always looks at
the bottom line and like your network and your value
as a person as your bottom line or network. What
we try to do is focus on people, planet and
then the property that bottom line, triple bottom line. There
you go, and so that we can have an impact
(14:46):
in our community and with young people who are trying
to establish some self determination. And what has happened is
just like with some of the athletes, they aspire to
do things, but sometimes they ask they they're lack a
mentor or some guidance or to some basic understanding of
(15:06):
what a balance sheet means, what burn rate means, what
a cash flow means, housing the foul taxes, and that
would be with the athletes. A lot of them just thought, Okay,
I'm making million.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Dollars a year.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Well, no, you ain't taking a million dollars.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
See me again, speak the truth? Can you get say?
Think and this is really true? If if I if
I had half the money that people think I have.
You know, I'm just saying, and it's it's been unfortunate,
but it's getting better. As these athletes, and a lot
of them come from you know, black and brown communities
and where finances are never discussed. You know. You know
(15:46):
people mothers and fathers don't have bank accounts. They're still
putting money up under in between the in between the bed,
the front of the bed, you know that the little thing.
And you know I used to carry a little change pocket,
you know, look at my brod like my grandmama did.
But you always have you know, maybe always keep cap
fit with you. It's it's right here. They came through
(16:06):
it and put it in the bottom of your shoe.
That was the financial h That was our financial a lesson,
you know, pay if you go.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
And you wrote, oh, and I.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Couldn't understand that, you know, because people in our community
were not. No nobody had credit cards. Nobody ever went
to the bank.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
You know.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
We had this little Jewish guy that would come literally
he would come through the projects and he would cast
everybody's Social Security checks and their veterans checks. And he
only charge is twenty dollars on one hundred, you know,
And I was like, what they calls it? Not they
they don't charge for better that you know, and they
don't understand about you know, finances and you know the
(16:48):
aprs and they done. And then when you find it
and when you take somebody who if Robert Peter's pay
Paul come from that environment and it's like going from
zero to like a million dollars, they would be like
no on how to financially handle that. And I used
to say, why do these athletes go growth? Can you
talk about that for a minute, because they're still coming
(17:09):
up in some of them. What's the dudes man the
new guy for the Dodger, old Tony? How does his
why how does his interpreter the access fourteen million dollars
of this man's money out of the bank and he
didn't even miss it?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Well, you know, but you know, unfortunately that occurs. But
what happens a lot of times is this professional athlete
to kick them so consumed by their training, to schedule,
to travel and all the all the peer pressures that
they turn to some people and times to the wrong person,
(17:48):
and then they sign a power of attorneys and the
next thing you know, that person is fipening off their money.
And it's it's not just with athletes, with anybody you
know that's in this spotlight that I can hied by
what they're trying to do. I need to trust I
need to.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Trust somebody somebody.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
And what has happened, though, is in sports, is that
the unions have tried to certify financial advisors, planners and stuff,
and it's been kind of a mixed bag and stuff.
But you have occasions even with families. Even with families,
I've had at least two or three situations, well it's
(18:26):
family members will come in and say I want my money.
I said, wait a minute, put out there playing your money.
How is it your money?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Well he's related to me.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Well that's true, he's related, but.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
It's his money and he has to decide.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
And I've had two situations where I had to go
at two uncles who didn't care about his status. One
young man had just been waved out of the league,
no longer making that money, and his uncle said, I
want what he promised.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Me, and so that kind of sinks you down.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
But you have to be strong enough to say, look,
I represent this young man and I'm gonna protect him
as best I can do. And that means protective period,
and that also means getting involved with prenuptial agreements, lawsuits,
child's custody fights. Like you've seen the stories over time,
and unfortunately there are people.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Like the rest of us.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
They have the same kinds of issues like the rest
of us. It's just there's this magnetas magnified by virtue
of their their popularity and their visibility, and by virtue
of the money that is around them.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
And people been there, done that, And I'm like, okay,
you're talking to me like this. And when you well,
he my cousin, that's my duds. You know, I've been
with you for the whole time. You told me and
what was it. Now, I'm gonna call the child's name
when you talk about family and one Michael Vick, Yeah,
(19:55):
who just knew, you know, and he had no problem
helping his family. Then when he said okay, whoever told
us okay? Back enough? They one of his relatives who
is supposedly close to him let him out about cop
fighting and the guy lost all of this. But I'll
(20:15):
take you down. We see, shut up, mother love.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
But you know, I have come to appreciate him and
learn that.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
It chases me.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
I think special support and special family to appreciate the
pressures that their relative is subjecute and that they don't
need to come to the party with additional pressure. And
there are some players who I could name some names
that you would know where the mother was more important
than they were better known. Uncle right now is better
(20:49):
known than the player is known because of the way
he inserts himself, and the player capitulates to the family
trying to be loving and supporting, not appreciating that it's
impact his image and it's right to earn a living
in pro sports, and there have been players that had
talent that were released and sent home because the family issues. Mainly,
(21:15):
oh yeah, it's not it's not a meritocracy in terms
of talent. There have been talented players who have been
deprived of their opportunities because of the other pressures outside
of you know, sometimes outside of the family and sometimes
inside of the family because the franchises are trying to
protect themselves. They don't have unless he's extraordinarily talented, and
(21:40):
they kind of look the other way. It generally doesn't
happen that way. And when the majority of the owners
are white, you know they're going to have their other
little biases. I've had two players cut because they were
going out with white women at the time. Now this
was in the early nineties and not that it's changed
much sense, but they were clearly they let go because
(22:01):
of who they were dating in the wrong city and
wrong states.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Okay, what they making money for this city in the state,
and you need to be all of them. They kool
aid like that. You're gonna be passed from about who
they're dating.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
If you're gonna protect okay, you're gonna do it. Like
I said, I've done more prenuptials than I care to
talk about. But that's something where when you represent them,
you have to protect them and their money. And of
course you have you have books written by let's say
Laison's talk about different players in the league and all
(22:41):
the relationships they've had and where they've gained some money
and they've become targeted. That's one of the hardest things
I have found to try to educate young men, because
I said, look, if you lay down with a lady
and how whatever happens. I got to do is walk
out that room and say, hey, you abuse me, right.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
And I have heard this first hand. I didn't even
realize because I've been out. You know, I my husband
and I we've been together so long. We date at
the Cosco and at the Walmart. I'm just telling you
that's what that's our dating thing, you know, and we
only go in there. I was so glad when they
came back with those samples of the food in the console,
(23:24):
so I could not I don't understand how no, I
take I you know, I don't understand how people can
get themselves into these high profile positions. And you know,
are the are the limelight, you know, just to start
shining and then you're gonna throw it all the way
because who you want to sleep with us? And you
know what, I'm so tired of people saying, oh, yeah,
(23:45):
I slept with some and so, and you know they
slept nowhere with them and you went to sleep. You
ain't get no number to date. Shut up, you're sleeping
with anybody. You're in the banga boots. And they oh,
I'm gonna get pregnanced, I'm gonna get purgurned. I've got
the eye gotta gold man and in my unius. And
I'm like, I would have never I just I'm I'm
(24:06):
so outdated. So I had some friends when I thought
they were my friends, and you know, and we met
at events and whatever. They came out to l A
and was for the All Star Basketball games, and they
can't I mean, you know, I only told one two
of them make to come and in my house, in
(24:28):
our home, each one in bart friends. So now instead
of having them take care of two other people, now
I got to take care of four other people, right,
and they fusually getting dressed, you know, oh the mother.
That's all he was was us, I can't wait, I
ain't coming back, I ain't taking no time. And this
is what they're talking about.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
And while they're getting ready that their goal was to
sleep with an NBA player or somebody worked in the India.
And this was a plot there.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
I mean, and you know we love men, we do,
but some way some of you guys could be like, so, okay,
flee her hands over wid like that.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
You need to be running, yeah, but they don't run,
you know what, being like skirts.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
So you are from Southway, I just I forgot. I
have to drink water with you. And I have to do
it because you know, I do get go all over
the screen because man don't think with the right head.
But I'm just like, you have to go there. You
did not even have to go there. Come on, Bill
(25:42):
work with the sus come of see like we don't
know what that you was with it and so and
to educate them. And because I have seen this happen.
These kids come out of high school, you know, and
they're like a phenom, and they get them into college
and they give them everything and now and then you
(26:03):
buy my mom my house. Okay, I want you to
get a gravestone from my father. He been dead twenty
five years. He don't have a grade or whatever it is.
And they're used to getting, you know, what they want.
And when you hand them what they want, you know,
and they feel like they're then they start feeling like
they're entitled. And what did that go like? When you
see the cause? Quincy Jones tells us this many years ago.
(26:27):
He said, mother, God like this want you out And
that's when I first came out here. He said, mother,
I want you to know. Money doesn't change people. Money
only makes people more of who they really are. And
did you see that. I'm sure you saw that. And
you know they were like, I could do whatever I want.
You don't just tell me what to do. I'm so
on someone fucking touch and then the sun that goes out,
(26:48):
then the life goes out. Then what do they do?
How can you prepare then? What you've done in the
NFL and the NBA is really applicable to what you're
doing with the pot Institute.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Yet exactly, and with the Coherts getting a lot of
times that young people were trying to establish what I
consider to be through entrepreneurship, self determination, self guide, controlling
their own their own directions. And I respect that because
I've seen so many of us that had an opportunity
(27:23):
to do that and blew the opportunity or got caught
up in other things. And we have a current case
right now where I remember when that gentleman was at
Howard University and you see now where he is, and
it's really really unfortunate because of the reach of his
domain that he established through effort but also through foolishness,
(27:47):
as it's going to be proven in court unfortunately, but
it is. It is tough because a lot of times,
you know, I come up with welfare roles, and I know,
had I not been injured, the first thing I would
have done has bought my mother a home and actually
bought her a car because she never owned the car
at home, just to have some place where she could settle.
(28:07):
So I can understand that motivation and even some of
these young men come out and buy these mansions and
it's just them. But it's part of saying okay, I've arrived.
Fortunately I've well also worked with some young men that's
come back and take it. I now don't need that,
you know, I can you know, a Volkswagon can get
(28:27):
me where Rolls Royce is going to. You know, I
can be lonely and imagine but you know our content
and imagine truth when you can contend on one hundred
thousand dollars home with the right fousands. So those are
things and that's part of growing up and maturing and
it's just difficuld it's perfect money. That So with our cohorts,
(28:53):
what is interesting we have people who are aspiring, like
I said, to established businesses. We had a I recall
last year we had a young man fourteen years old
into our pitch competition and he stood up on that
stage at fourteen by himself and he said, as his
little hook, you know, my name is Captain Spinky, known
(29:17):
in my neighborhood is Captain Stinky. I said that. I said, okay,
now what you're going to say? He said, But I've
learned how to correct that because I've gone in my
mother's have to put together some soaps and some motions
that I now sell as my product and I'm not
known as Captain Stinky anymore. And he said, now I'm
(29:39):
working on as the Yodam fourteen years old. That's what
I love to see. And then you see others who
are anything from psychological counseling with music to producing AI
work our artificial intelligence. So we have a broad range
of individuals that come to us. We have what we
(30:01):
call is a incubator, is when they're just getting started
and you're dealing with principles of their triple bottom line,
mental fitness, personal finance, corporate finance, operations, human resources, and
so of these people have never been exposed to that.
Then you get the accelerators, who are generally a little
(30:22):
more advanced in their business and understand some of the
basic principles, and we invite in professionals from the industry.
And then we've got a legacy program where you've been
in business ten years, you have growth sales of five
hundred thousand dollars or more, and they act as mentors
for the younger people coming to And we even had
(30:45):
some people who have the advanced degrees that are coming
in saying I'm thinking about this business, I'm not quite
sure how to do it, so we try to teach
them about it because oh.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
Wait, you just said that were one or so many
times from mtimny deale, I'm a track, We don't track.
You guys are not trying. You guys are doing it.
You are in there in the I mean from the
bottom up, from the top done. You ain't trying to
do none of that, sir. You are doing that. You
know what that word you know it just it's just
(31:15):
get up and it try. You know you're doing it.
You know you took it from here to here to
hear and the fact that you are willing to share
your expertise and your knowledge of how business business is conducted.
We especially in our community, we've seen so many people
say it future want to be future entrepreneurs, but they
(31:38):
don't do something. What is that that gap from the
thought to bringing it out there? And what would you
say to the new entrepreneurs Because I've listened to some
of the Cole Hurts meeting and the presentation and I'm like, oh,
why the people there are so many people that need
your help. What you because you said we just stop
(32:00):
from the bottom and we'll take you where you need
to go. You can start it in the middle, take
you where you need to go. You can start when
again at the top, when you realize you're really at
the top, there's some more blokes and we can grow
and you can always grow stronger and smarter and better.
In business? What do you think is one of the
biggest mistakes or several of the biggest mistakes the entrepreneurs
(32:21):
or I think they're entrepreneurs do and their business and
they really just don't know what to do well. I
think one of.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
The problems is how a position yourself to gain investors
or the white partners in your business. Not doing enough homework.
I see situations where sometimes there's not enough to say
positive positive thinking about stuff. But wom if you're there.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Can you give me I can hear you. I don't
know what happened.
Speaker 3 (32:51):
You know what?
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Well, I just can't up the equipment. What you do?
Give me, give me a chance? And oh no, why
you're doing why you're doing that? We got people on
the line. You don't have to try to get up.
You just get up. That's what seatowns, that's my seat.
Town ain't nothing to it but to do it, and
the baby can you do it? If you put it
(33:15):
up to that's that's that's, that's one of my tut
he's under my Tuteli. He also says nothing comes to
a sleeper for dreams and nightmare is the best way
of your feet is getting off your butt.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
Well, let me let me with you.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
I got it. Well you're breaking up of it?
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Are you here?
Speaker 2 (33:42):
When I got your phone? I don't know where he went.
I'm okay, thing, you're okay, okay, okay, there we go.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
Okay, one of the things we're asking to let's see.
Uh they run again?
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Where right?
Speaker 3 (34:07):
They fill up prostically to a lot of the old
the old turk for your least process with his next
step out the old cure for your proct next, which.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Is rip hold on the second. I'm hearing every other
word from Okay said say it again.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
I'm sorry, I'm saying, behold the turtle.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
I don't know what.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
Process, what is next?
Speaker 2 (34:50):
I don't know what's going on here? Bill?
Speaker 3 (34:53):
All right?
Speaker 2 (34:53):
Can you hear me? Yeah? Okay, I can hear you now.
I can see you're looking over your glasses. Y'all be
rack of me. I you do have a double voice. Yeah,
let me see if I can get rid of this one. No,
(35:15):
we're not getting with the ball of them. No, no, no, Okay,
the engineer is here to help us. Okay, there you go. Okay,
we're back in pocket. All right, okay, because that's I
don't know what happens anyway, We're getting feedback, because that's
(35:38):
what the problem is. We're getting feedback from you. And
I can hear every other word, and I know you're
saying some smart, intelligent stuff that people need to know.
OHNA mean, hold on, you don't be oh. My heads
and got bigger than my body. Now, good Lord Jesus, Okay,
(35:58):
thank you billy much. I when when I first started
losing weight, uh, And I'm like, I lost one hundred
eleven times and I've kept it off for twenty something years.
I'm gonna wait, hold on all wait, hold on on right, Okay,
I don't know what's going on. Can you still hear me?
So anyway, after I lost weight, uh, I couldn't wear anything.
(36:24):
And when you lose weight, I didn't realize when you
lose weight, you lose My head got smaller, my wigs
were too big. My shoes were too big. I mean,
I had to go do a whole other thing. My
husband almost lost his mind cause they're like, dang, this
is like happening two wives, and I ain't got to
cheat on my wife. They get different right here, he's
gonna have nasty after be And and then when I
(36:44):
could go in and I've always been a pretty snaggy
dress or i would say when people are sitting up,
my mama said, baby, look we did make that. Decorate
yourself pretty because they can see you coming, so we
looking you wanna look good for far away, and every
time to get a little closer, they going looked at
right there, and we just didn't go through that. My
(37:05):
brothers and all of them was athletic. You know, we
talk about the sports and high school and everything. I
had to go to school six days a week, not
because I was slow or anything because accelerated. I was
in an incuba. I was in an incubrated class. And
I didn't know what that was when I heard that
way back then. So okay, now we're back. Okay, So
(37:26):
now what are some of the midsteps or miss thoughts
that you see young entrepreneurs stud that can be corrected.
And what do you see is some of their biggest mistakes.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
Sometimes don't drink well and tell tell no when the
party could exclu that whether it's throw people or not.
The asperition in the dream, I think so out to
(38:00):
stay out and be so and so what you got
to do put in work and that's where a lot
of times with the young people they find out it's
not easy and a full patent. There is Gnel Pittsford
a couple of months ago and he said, I'm overnight
(38:23):
success after twenty five years. That's so time when you
think about having to grind and for that period of
time to recollect the use the self success and I've
leave to bleep and yourself at Sometimes you're reinforced it
(38:47):
to where ice goes and I do this forty what
dress pressed.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
Markly, Oh this is work in my nerve when when
you talk about, you know, being this way and being
involved the way that they need to be because it
is work. It is a business.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
You know this.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
We didn't just fall out the sky and you know
and all of a sudden this is in our path. No,
my mother said something to me, God bless her. So
a long time ago. She actually came out here to California.
I'm from Ohio. She came out to California to see
what you know, don't see me and you know, do
the things you know. And she couldn't believe I was
making that much money to talk on the radio. And
(39:30):
she goes and I said, don't never show your mama
name your paycheck. Now, I don't care who's for them,
do not show your mama name the paycheck, dad, the
whole they, she said, And I don't know what. And
I worked that night, and so I can't come up
and me up here every day. I said, Mama, come
a ride with me into La. So she came in
and I went up to give a check and I
came back down. She said, can I see your paycheck?
(39:53):
And my first thought was no, don't do it. And
I world profess some mother and she'll be all right,
And I said. She opened her she said, they tell
you this kind of money to run your mouth. I said, mother,
I'm gonna talk show hold. I keep telling her what
it was that I did. She said, so her words verbal,
So you the time, these white people and there paying
you this kind of money to run your mouth. I
(40:15):
asked one, do they know you can run your mouth anyway?
And you know kind us here to pay you this
kind of money. What happened from that day to the
day she died. She never called me by my name again.
She said, well, heyo, you mother loved me. You know
when your mom call your mother loves And after that,
I said, it's her real name, google it. I'm not
(40:35):
gonna my mama called me mother love And she day
before she died, I would she she was, I would
do on the first Prince of bel Air and she
was calling all her friends and we and her said,
we're talking. Get you. She said, I got to hang up.
I gotta tell everybody you gonnas like when Mama hung
(40:55):
up on me. And to explain that to people, it's
like been kind of like being in the military. You
know when you do what you do. You said, I'm
the transactional A turn it go under. Still, Oh well,
I was I call her what I let even probably
get that so but not prepared to do the work.
(41:15):
And when they find out it's work day back up?
Speaker 3 (41:19):
Yeah, I uh my mother. I grew up father. My
mother had a sixth grade education and she was strong
and straight foundation woman and you heard of that was yeah,
you know it's going up there and said, no this
(41:44):
worked twenty four yeah, three five?
Speaker 2 (41:48):
Now this true?
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Oh Cleveland, I've got laughed down about Crown.
Speaker 2 (42:00):
Shoot women, say that your way? Wait, say it again.
Speaker 3 (42:03):
I have last count the family you feel of course,
I'm your hundred and thirty A.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
D and free. Oh Lord, don't tell me if be
related now, no, no, you you don't need to know.
You don't even know that why we have family reunions
because you don't even know this.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
Who are these people?
Speaker 3 (42:29):
Well? Let me see you do you know where uh
is from?
Speaker 2 (42:36):
Well? Well John Legend, Yeah, the the artist and singer.
Speaker 3 (42:41):
He's from the hill buck Out too, He's from friend Field.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
Old time listen, literally spend a ton of time like
like that. Too many bigs. Well where are you from?
Let you be born?
Speaker 3 (42:56):
Women, they let you be won Say that again, because
I'm saying because Lee and call.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
See you know I don't make them praying like this, y'all.
They come to me like this. You know, I asked somebody,
ask me what they some one of the one of
one of these big big wig women that you know
she's you know, she's just doing all kinds of big things,
Wendy gat me and so they would how you know
where they I can't know her, I can't know you.
(43:36):
You know they after well and you know when you're
out here and come from back east, you know they
think all black people know all the other black people
you know, and you just you oh nod already are you?
We could be related? But you know, uh, genetics say
we are all six degrees separated. We're only six degrees
(43:58):
in separation and in our community, you know what? And
things like that? Did you did you often times? Though?
Did you feel at times that you had to be
a father figure to these young young guys that are
coming into the professional sport because they didn't have that
that male foundation you know from their dads or whatever
(44:19):
or who you know from their dads and this man
and their families. Did you find yourself mentoring them more
like a father ticket at times? Yes?
Speaker 4 (44:28):
Uh, what things you say in the institutes that we
could sure have to be coachful. So it's coachful that
would make follow your advice, but take you serience same
you try to get a pampful silf.
Speaker 3 (44:53):
Thirty years thirty years per I was seeing one time,
I'm the points that say, it's a con question of
how I had myself put that respect of parity, that
what he's doing when nobody's watching, he's.
Speaker 2 (45:15):
Got to dance like nobody's watching, because you don't know
who's watching.
Speaker 3 (45:21):
You never know.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
And I used to I used to say, I'm not
I'm not ah, I can't be a mentor. I need
to be mentored, you know. And I'm always a student.
I am always a student. And so we talk about
success because success is different from everybody.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
Do you agree with that without question? Absolutely? And sadly
said about sir, I've scared some cold stories about myself.
This dog about four years old. I had a client
came over. We had had two audio. She had never
(45:59):
seen that life. He fell us freeing that for the
eight and she was breaking up, looking at his stokers
and looking at all that this stuff you know about
foolish place from helping her clean up joke and I
put her baby office. And then I told my client,
(46:25):
I said, you punched my daughter. But I wasn't trying,
just by an observed present.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
To understand.
Speaker 3 (46:34):
Let you look at there off the path and millions
of tears looking through yourself you don't want to do
just said it sad before.
Speaker 2 (46:46):
Unfortunately she was.
Speaker 3 (46:48):
A guy took here, Tod yelling. He hastal Differ put
it here at the end of his career. But he's
still outstanding college and his collig is about graduate power.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
How about that? And you never know who's watching you,
and that's why you have to be you know, you
have to be kind to everybody, even people that you
don't care for. That's when you can really find the
measure of a man or a woman. When it's when
they can love people that are hard to love, when
they could see, uh, see that light and some people
(47:22):
that don't even realize that they have a light. I
mean you hear about uh these all you know, these
horror stories about these young boys and girls being groomed
by the coaches and the doctors, and you know it
happened to navigate through all the be something that they
should even ever have to deal with that, I mean,
what they were doing and how did you how were
(47:43):
you able to keep them, you know, in safe arms,
keep them in a safe environment because it's predators out there.
Kind of plaw airy love that you did.
Speaker 3 (47:55):
And rub the seed in the text bar and the
extreme you have the opportunity to hold ad as how
to rambles of the cond because you can determinating for condo,
(48:15):
like said I had to client years before my quote
treatment where Muccio police came to his home and reschool
or because have blood from tom By a year before
my position, and I had to tell him said, you know,
(48:35):
you take the spade, see all activity to your neighbor
for good, but the league in the team is not.
And uh, well then you try to understand that you
can't take no activity and if.
Speaker 2 (48:54):
Problem and one of his relatives time, you know, just
wig out on him. You know what, if I can't
got this, I'm just gonna go I got a biggerfis
in this.
Speaker 3 (49:04):
Yeah, that's exactly the case. And so uh it's it's
hard some time. I remember a gentleman ah just learning,
but he had her parents around me. But again in
a mistake, like for an example, leaving his home during
(49:25):
the winter on a road trip to play games and
he turned off off water in the house and the
pipe version and his dad had to go back in
and read from the condos.
Speaker 2 (49:41):
Uh, he was enough along with it.
Speaker 3 (49:43):
He just didn't know. He never owned top of me before.
Speaker 2 (49:47):
That's another thing talking about, especially as the young ones
that you know, they go from, as they say, rags
to riches, and when they get the riches, and I
know what that's like. I remember because it then was
something he said, I just I want to tell you this, baby,
I just want you to know that when you blow
through your first million dollars, this is a business for you.
(50:08):
And I'm looking at him like he's gonna do a
third eye in the middle of his fore head. Me,
there's no way in at double hockey six times twelve,
I would blow me it's out. I didn't blow it.
I really didn't blow it. I spend it, and I
spend it on things like art work. I love collecting
(50:31):
art and I've been doing this for a long time.
You know, I'm very uh into you know, especially our
African American and our female artists. You know, I want
And I was like, okay, and I want. With all
the stuff I bought it, I could pon it. I
just want.
Speaker 3 (50:47):
That's why set up how many persons are your.
Speaker 2 (50:54):
Time say, well, don't say that.
Speaker 3 (51:00):
I had a young man his first year in the
league made about six hundred and fifty thousand dollars and
the longest brother's money. Did some other things. You bought
a I think there was a twelve room former seminary
in a cult continent, and just start complaining about trying
(51:21):
to keep say Jeep in the building. At the end
of that year, he came into the office almost timed.
It was while they had a twenty five thousand dollars
and I said, going into bud had twelve group, twelve
bathroom seminary where a bunch of preach this delarity.
Speaker 2 (51:41):
What was that about?
Speaker 3 (51:42):
Well, I was being a conversion. It was going to
be my MANSI well, we had any weight and build
a foundation first. So sometimes you have to let you
make a mistakes, just like a child. And then you
had an educational moment. You said counted. They said you
see you later in division here. I tried to cast you.
I couldn't talk to you. It's your life and your money.
(52:03):
But now you see the results. I was trying to
help you avoid like doing what you were doing. Another hand,
I have another.
Speaker 2 (52:13):
Let me got we gotta wait. Hell on, I'm talking.
I'm having a hard time.
Speaker 3 (52:16):
Hearing you are. Yeah, I'm still getting the double getting Yeah,
that's what I'm trying to say because I have okay, well,
because I'm getting I'm getting a double voice.
Speaker 2 (52:30):
Oh I don't know what Look that that gown twice? Okay, okay, okay,
that's better? Is that better? You're fine? Okay, okay, but
could you just give me the ear wiggle? You know
(52:52):
I know what that is. Okay. So now we're back
to when you're talking talking to a young man who
did not really understand that you leave a house empty
with the water off and and the cold environment and
expect to come back and everything's gonna be fine. Yeah,
you don't want to.
Speaker 3 (53:09):
She was surprised to come back from his father got
up there real fick and just replumbing, and he in fact, all.
Speaker 2 (53:18):
Right, no, come on, you can't no, no, you started it.
You got to. You just can't be a hanging the
sist out like that wasn't see now, y'all just y'all
know we are cool with each other. I want here
and finished it.
Speaker 3 (53:35):
The young man I'm talking about first road trip after
he brought a cownd the mainland Chicago. Just know that
pipe creezy nothing before going to pipe everything.
Speaker 2 (53:51):
Uh, you know you're where they say a hard hair
make a soft hand.
Speaker 3 (53:57):
Well, you know, I didn't know he was gonna turn
under his water off. I would have cautioned him had
I known, But he just his first road trip in
the league. And if you knew Michael and his dad,
I mean, such a whole family, was a loving family.
But it just happened to.
Speaker 2 (54:16):
His dad when any changed in Oh my goodness, and
you could see that. You could see the light come
out of his eyes, you know, because he was he
was just so all he wanted to do was please
his dad, and his father loved him, and guys don't
usually get that. And when that happens, and the viciest way,
(54:36):
the unnecessary death of his father's period and such a
violent in such a violent way, you could just see it.
And it seemed like he payed even harder after his
father passed away.
Speaker 3 (54:49):
Yo, his father, and I'm gonna tell you, listen, Jordan's
I still care about her so much.
Speaker 2 (54:56):
Just good people.
Speaker 3 (54:59):
And that's why in this business, did you know, Hollywood
or in sports, a lot of times those good people
behind the scenes, you can see the character reflected in
their children. But what we're standing behind their children and
support that makes a job like mine a little.
Speaker 2 (55:16):
Bit easier when you know you have that support and
it's gonna always be made.
Speaker 3 (55:21):
Sayers.
Speaker 2 (55:22):
Yeah, I had never gotten fired from the job until
I came to LA I mean I never and I
walked since I was fourteen, and I was like, oh,
this is no longer name that I said. You know,
I gotta pay a contract. I want someone to know that. See,
they don't like it wing you know stuff, they don't
like it when you know I got new stuff and
(55:42):
you know that, oh no, your research and I'm like,
I didn't get the Hollywood Handbook. And a lot of
us did not get that handbook, whether it was going
in front of the camera, behind the camera, on the court,
on the field, we didn't get that. You know, we're
just oh, I could do this for my mom. And
then you just started to start coming out the calls
(56:02):
or start coming out of the wood cause you know
we just play cuzin okay, well I'm gonna give you
some play money. How do you get that Monopoly book?
Speaker 3 (56:13):
I understand.
Speaker 2 (56:14):
And after we after our sons, you know, it's really
cool to say, oh, we have a son. Now you
only got one kid you can send here. You're gonna
pay my rent for the rest of the year, you would, yeah,
And I wasn't supposed to have a sense of humor
when it came to them having their fault, Well, I
don't have. I had a relative called me up, bill ass,
(56:36):
and she said, you know, I'm tired of people tell
me about you much and that much. I know how
you are, I know, I said, well, because it tells
the media, because there's no such thing as bad press,
you know. It was like walking, Well, why do you
want to talk to me? Stupid? Can you make it
so I can make some money off off? They don't
want to do it. I see, you know how a
(56:59):
role and they're gonna still be family. And oftentimes you
have to distance yourself and that can cause especially younger
people to feel, you know, cut off. You know, my
mother and my father, they you know, always got the hand.
You know, where can I find some solid and then here?
This is what you do. And when you with the cohorts,
(57:20):
because there's one coming up, tell me, tell them. Let's
tell them when the next one coming up. Is another
course we're having because we could be talking all day.
Speaker 3 (57:28):
Our cohorts are black and brown and uh women and military.
So we're having an all women's pitch event next Wednesday
at the Women's Club in El Segundo. Uh it's going
to be five women and they try to coach them.
Later today it's about presentations and we're gonna have all
(57:49):
female judges and we're having a Miss Vivian uh Srimaoma,
who is going to be the keynote speak who's started
a company called Breakthrough Unlimited, which talks about cracking me
last Failing. And it's really gratifying to see these young
ladies and stand up there and make the pictures about
(58:11):
the business. They're all in the effort to try to
win a little bit of pitch money, but as I've
told them, it's not about the money. It's about the experience,
about forming relationships with other women who are trying to
start their businesses and so that. And then next November sixteenth,
(58:31):
we're having a gala in Long Beach, a fundraiser casino
night where everybody's invited in. It's one hundred dollars a mission,
get three hundred dollars worth of chips. Of course we're
not handing out money, but it's a fundraiser for the
Pole Institute itself and hopefully it'll be a fun evening
with a silent auction of you know, other kinder prises
(58:53):
and giveaways. So you, as a non propy you got to.
Speaker 2 (58:58):
Understand and to keep it moving. And after they go
through that, go through the program with you, tell them
what the big thing, what the big deal is about
getting involved with the Pop Institute and these co heart sessions.
Speaker 3 (59:13):
I think the big thing is really a matter of
uh tuition free education, you know, mental toughness, operations, human resources,
basic legal concepts. And you'd be surprised some people want
they're in to get in the business and they say,
well what's the burn rate? Well, you know, if you
got a little money, you've got to plan and budget
(59:35):
out in front so you can stay in business. Well
how are you going to do that if all you've
got is a certain amount of money that won't even
cover your operations for a week. You've got to plan
and think. But it's said free of tuition charge.
Speaker 2 (59:49):
Well this is mister bale Stick when he's COO at
the Polk Institute. The cohorts are at it again, gonna
stay at it, remember baking. Thank you so much for
your us I thank you very very much, and thank
the blame group for us cooking this up together. That's
Bill Strickland and babies. I want to tell you, no
matter how big, a tall, short, and small pick a ban,
(01:00:10):
it matters my ward skin you're in. Everybody needs some mother. No,
no again, he's baby. I'll see next week
It's hey.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Okay, well it's me mother, doctor, mother love. Okay, okay, that.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Would be no.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I gotta sing you the link again.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Keep just kicks.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Okay, we're not the less. We have technical difficulties, ugly
and well, what can we say? This is is what
we do, hand it down, doing five.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
You know.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Well there's all the techniques, all the technology, and they
tell me all the time, don't touch the buttons.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
You know.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I'm right there with you. Okay, you're right.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
I'm not the youngest at this stuff.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
But uh oh you know what, and the I can't
even figure how to turn the TV on, so I
can't touch none of any of the buttons. I forget
to go. Okay, Kennedy, I was just okay, point to
point the uh remote at the TV and I'm like
swinging it around. Okay. And so well he is coming
(01:05):
on the program today. We gonna do it. Come hell
or how walk That's what we're gonna do it. That's
real strengthening. It wasn't for him to come in well
like can you hear me? Oh, he don't know. It's
the way he don't walk away from the comput Nonetheless, Hi, babies,
it's mother love. We're working on and working on it,
work on it, and when we do it finally, now
(01:27):
you would you would have started since we've been doing this,
but you know, every day, every day we would have
you know you, often times you can not depend on technology.
That's why you've got to look at mother dove. You
got to I've got to watch you. You need to
watch me. I see you and oftentimes you know, all
this technology can just get you so uh discombobulated. Okay,
(01:51):
well maybe not you, maybe not the five year olds
up until what the twenty five year olds or whatever,
but we don't when out Oh my goodness, and okay,
so we'll we're working on okay, I'll tell him. Man
is hey, I want to give me. I'm doing all
(02:14):
I can and the easy one tries. My dear, how
are you?
Speaker 3 (02:18):
I'm doing well.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
I love it, I love it. I love you know.
I'm so glad I started a trend and you're with
the trends. You have embraced the brain and it's really
not great like I love silver like I love you know,
the will does and if if not, we can make
it work any kind of way. So hey, everybody, this
(02:40):
is Bill Strickland. He is that he has done so
many major things. I mean, okay, this little Stitzt we're
talking about the profstitute. There's one of the coal hurts.
What do you call it? A horse? Uh yeah, cool hort.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
The students and the entrepreneurs that joined our institute.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
For guys, let's let's talk about that because you have
some First, let's talk about the fact that you just
helped make the enough of a lot of people in
the NBA, in the NFL pretty well pretty you know,
pretty all pretty pretty well off because of you. You know,
and I had never heard of that before. But as
soon as they started trans turns actual attorney tell us
(03:24):
about it being a transactional attorney. It just sound really fancy.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
Well, you know, you can play on words as an attorney, don't.
You're the one that supers off the rim I was
I was a high school athlete, attended college on a
four athletic scholarship.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Where'd you go to college?
Speaker 3 (03:47):
I went to Yo Marymount University in that way?
Speaker 2 (03:51):
But okay, for the ONLI were you who might not
know that's up there in the high rent disertip cause
the students, I'm just like, you know, and.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Then uh suffered a knee injury. I had been drafted
by the Dodgers. In the whole bit, really, I aspired
to play, but I was unable to do so because
of the knee injury. So I went to UCLA and
got my MBA in finance. Still didn't know what I
wanted to do. So I went to law schoolt Georgetown
and passed the bar. But when I got back, yeah
(04:24):
too bar okay. So when I was thinking about what
I wanted to do, I thought, well, you play ball.
Why don't you try to make that into your advocation
rather than I mean, your vocation better than advocation. So
I did that, and then I made a judgment. I said,
at UCLA, I learned how to evaluate capital markets. So
(04:48):
at the SEC the Securities and Exchange Commission, I learned
how to regulate capital markets. And it was a nice
little nexus. And I was there about four or four
and a half years, and then I decided to start
representing professional athletes. So I joined the company interestingly called
proser that was founded on the representation.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Of Arthur Ashe god Rest is so one of the
greatest tennis players, like Ava yes and.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
A fine person, and he was. He was the intellectual sorts.
People don't know, but he wrote a long history of
of the black jockeys and figures in sports. But I
had the pleasure of meeting him, and so from thirty
eight years later I continued to represent athletes and just
recently pulled back from doing that.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
That had was that nerve wracking with all those egos
and tourneys and the people and the hangers on and
trying to keep everything together to make sure because people
have to understand, these are businesses. We are in the
we are in show business. It is a business. You're
an athlete, that is a business, and it can be
(06:03):
extremely lucrative. So what do you, I mean, how do
you just go from the NFL Wall Street in the
SEC is. I think I'm gonna go represent them.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
You know.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
That's that's because they need that, and they do need that.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
They need that. And I was aware of my experience,
and I happened to have grown up playing with some
guys who are now in the Hall of Baseball Hall
of Fame, a couple of basketball Hall of Fame. But
it was through my familiarity with these young men, I said,
let me try to do this. It took me two
years to get hired because I was the first black
attorney hired at the particular company I was working at.
(06:39):
So it worked out well. And like I said, I
spent about eight or nine years.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Wait because you are black. I didn't know you were black.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Well, But see it was the interesting thing though the
young men. I used to play weekend basketball with a
bunch of guys, including Eric Holder of all people, and
I realized that they were aspiring to get in and
I had a different tax to get in. So I
(07:10):
was successful after the New Years and started representing players.
And like I mentioned, I worked with Michael Jordan's first
eight years of Patrick Ewing from where we lost last
week through was a tremendous man to Kimby mccoma just
about fourteen now Hall of Fame basketball players.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
I had the president and the honor of meeting him
and spending actually spending time with him. What he was
just such a pleasant soul. He you know, he would
he would distill the radiation from you know, around him,
and as he liked me anyway, you know what, And
(07:52):
he liked me anyway, and he was so kind to me,
and so I mean, he didn't have to do any
of that. He wasn't even have to do any that.
I met him on a top shelf. We were done morning,
a morning show. I can't even remember what city was acause,
you know, man like saying that. I asked him how
many eleven teams peaked?
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Tall?
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Are you? I couldn't even get him to stop laugh
and I'm like, you are going a goofball? He just
stopped West and soul because he was a good guy,
Bill and you knew that.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
What people don't know though, and those of us that
were close to the situation, Uh, he wanted to be
He wanted to pursue pre med and John Thompson, who
was his coach at George, said, no, son, you're gonna
play basketball, and you're gonna use that money that you
could earn to do the kinds of things you wanted
(08:46):
to do. And Lord and behold, he goes he's a
Hall of Fame basketball player, and he builds one hundred
and seventy five bed hospital in the Congo that reflected
his personal interests even before he played basketball.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Tremendous young man. And I I reflected on that last week.
But I was fortunate to represent and get involved to
people like that. And I notice I said people people
like that, people like that fortunate and.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
That's that's really a good thing. And to know that
you had not just a hand, a big giant double
hands you know where where you were, you know, changing
these changing these young men's lines when you were doing
all that, what was your growth process? Because you know,
talking to you and you know, having experienced some time
(09:37):
with it before even on any force, so he already
know me said, don't any y'all star tripping like O,
y y'all get that high. That's what we do. And
and and the fact that you have been around these
these these high paid athletes you know who are making
I mean, as you said, making history in the in
(09:58):
the Hall of Thames and both call the Fames. What
was that process like that from me Walt to Wall
Street to saying I'm gonna represent these guys and this
is how it's gonna be. And what was your hardest contract?
Telling me? Look, you know, I do want to know
off the air pulled some of the people, and how
(10:19):
deep did you have to go in to negotiate with
that contract? So you said, the long when they started
making this basketball and poor up player start making millions
of dollars. Remember when they were playing the Peanuts? Shut up?
Oh oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Well, there there were a number of negotiations that I
was in the middle of that was difficult. I recall
walking in with one general manager and he picked up
the bat in the room and start hitting it in
his hand. He said, you know you're asking for this
kind of money.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
You need to go home.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
And I said, okay, fine, and so I packed up
my computer and started walking out and said where are.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
You going to go?
Speaker 3 (10:56):
I said, you said to go home in your hands,
so I'm leaving it. And then he said, I'll come
back here. We're going to make this deal I've had.
I've had the misfortune of working with a particular owner
who the first thing he said to me, and at
that time, I had a full beard in my a
bro He said, you know, I don't like working with
people who have beers. So I said to myself, is
(11:18):
he positioning me for this negotiation.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Or is he a racist?
Speaker 3 (11:23):
So I took the races route and I said, whatever,
people in this business don't like my color either, but
I'm gonna be in it. And so we worked that
deal out and I had another guy who was just
basically was just arrogant, and I represented a player that
he considered to be a minor type guy. And so
with that club, I said, did you hear about this
(11:44):
player that went number one overall in the NBA draft,
which was supposed to be high cottage And I said,
he didn't make it, so nothing is certain. And I said,
do you know who.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
I'm talking about?
Speaker 3 (11:56):
And he was quiet, and then he said.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Michael Joy he is No, I know who he is.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
I drafted it and the guy was a complete failure. So,
needless to say, he and I didn't work that deal out,
and my guy ended up going to Greet his first year.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
So you have those balances.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
But I have felt good about the fact that I've
been fortunate enough to represent some young men and a
few ladies who were appreciative of the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Now what the all athletes?
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Yeah, I've represented a couple entertainers on the side, but
I was focused on the NBA and the NFL. That's
where my ettie, Well.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
We how okay, Now can you hear me?
Speaker 3 (12:54):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Oh, I can hear you? Okay, because it just stopped
moving on. Man, I'm like, wait a minute, I know
we own it there.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
And right now you're not moving.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
But I hear you. Well, okay, you know, as I said,
technology is not always cracked up to be. This is
still stripling everybody. He is is just an amazing You
are just an amazing person, you really are. And that's
just a humble hasn't how has been in this part
of the business, Because is this completely different with you
(13:27):
and the cohorts and the Pope Institute and what you do.
Tell people what you do, because what you guys and
you men and women are doing is just phenomenal and
people need to know about this. They really need to
know about this. So what we've done.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
As a institute, and it started by Gary Polk, who
ironically went to the same college I did. I just
went seven or eight years ahead of him. But he
was a professor, a former banker and insurance executive who
decided to try to help young people start businesses. And
(14:05):
it's called it, you know, incubator and for small businesses.
So what he's done is focused on what we do
is focus on black and brown women and military entrepreneurs
in the space we define as social entrepreneurship, where we
(14:25):
kind of as opposed to capitalism that always looks at
the bottom line and like your network and your value
as a person as your bottom line or network. What
we try to do is focus on people, planet and
then the property that bottom line, triple bottom line. There
you go, and so that we can have an impact
(14:46):
in our community and with young people who are trying
to establish some self determination. And what has happened is
just like with some of the athletes, they aspire to
do things, but sometimes they ask they they're lack a
mentor or some guidance or to some basic understanding of
(15:06):
what a balance sheet means, what burn rate means, what
a cash flow means, housing the foul taxes, and that
would be with the athletes. A lot of them just thought, Okay,
I'm making million.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Dollars a year.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Well, no, you ain't taking a million dollars.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
See me again, speak the truth? Can you get say?
Think and this is really true? If if I if
I had half the money that people think I have.
You know, I'm just saying, and it's it's been unfortunate,
but it's getting better. As these athletes, and a lot
of them come from you know, black and brown communities
and where finances are never discussed. You know. You know
(15:46):
people mothers and fathers don't have bank accounts. They're still
putting money up under in between the in between the bed,
the front of the bed, you know that the little thing.
And you know I used to carry a little change pocket,
you know, look at my brod like my grandmama did.
But you always have you know, maybe always keep cap
fit with you. It's it's right here. They came through
(16:06):
it and put it in the bottom of your shoe.
That was the financial h That was our financial a lesson,
you know, pay if you go.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
And you wrote, oh, and I.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Couldn't understand that, you know, because people in our community
were not. No nobody had credit cards. Nobody ever went
to the bank.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
You know.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
We had this little Jewish guy that would come literally
he would come through the projects and he would cast
everybody's Social Security checks and their veterans checks. And he
only charge is twenty dollars on one hundred, you know,
And I was like, what they calls it? Not they
they don't charge for better that you know, and they
don't understand about you know, finances and you know the
(16:48):
aprs and they done. And then when you find it
and when you take somebody who if Robert Peter's pay
Paul come from that environment and it's like going from
zero to like a million dollars, they would be like
no on how to financially handle that. And I used
to say, why do these athletes go growth? Can you
talk about that for a minute, because they're still coming
(17:09):
up in some of them. What's the dudes man the
new guy for the Dodger, old Tony? How does his
why how does his interpreter the access fourteen million dollars
of this man's money out of the bank and he
didn't even miss it?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Well, you know, but you know, unfortunately that occurs. But
what happens a lot of times is this professional athlete
to kick them so consumed by their training, to schedule,
to travel and all the all the peer pressures that
they turn to some people and times to the wrong person,
(17:48):
and then they sign a power of attorneys and the
next thing you know, that person is fipening off their money.
And it's it's not just with athletes, with anybody you
know that's in this spotlight that I can hied by
what they're trying to do. I need to trust I
need to.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Trust somebody somebody.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
And what has happened, though, is in sports, is that
the unions have tried to certify financial advisors, planners and stuff,
and it's been kind of a mixed bag and stuff.
But you have occasions even with families. Even with families,
I've had at least two or three situations, well it's
(18:26):
family members will come in and say I want my money.
I said, wait a minute, put out there playing your money.
How is it your money?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Well he's related to me.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Well that's true, he's related, but.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
It's his money and he has to decide.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
And I've had two situations where I had to go
at two uncles who didn't care about his status. One
young man had just been waved out of the league,
no longer making that money, and his uncle said, I
want what he promised.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Me, and so that kind of sinks you down.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
But you have to be strong enough to say, look,
I represent this young man and I'm gonna protect him
as best I can do. And that means protective period,
and that also means getting involved with prenuptial agreements, lawsuits,
child's custody fights. Like you've seen the stories over time,
and unfortunately there are people.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Like the rest of us.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
They have the same kinds of issues like the rest
of us. It's just there's this magnetas magnified by virtue
of their their popularity and their visibility, and by virtue
of the money that is around them.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
And people been there, done that, And I'm like, okay,
you're talking to me like this. And when you well,
he my cousin, that's my duds. You know, I've been
with you for the whole time. You told me and
what was it. Now, I'm gonna call the child's name
when you talk about family and one Michael Vick, Yeah,
(19:55):
who just knew, you know, and he had no problem
helping his family. Then when he said okay, whoever told
us okay? Back enough? They one of his relatives who
is supposedly close to him let him out about cop
fighting and the guy lost all of this. But I'll
(20:15):
take you down. We see, shut up, mother love.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
But you know, I have come to appreciate him and
learn that.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
It chases me.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
I think special support and special family to appreciate the
pressures that their relative is subjecute and that they don't
need to come to the party with additional pressure. And
there are some players who I could name some names
that you would know where the mother was more important
than they were better known. Uncle right now is better
(20:49):
known than the player is known because of the way
he inserts himself, and the player capitulates to the family
trying to be loving and supporting, not appreciating that it's
impact his image and it's right to earn a living
in pro sports, and there have been players that had
talent that were released and sent home because the family issues. Mainly,
(21:15):
oh yeah, it's not it's not a meritocracy in terms
of talent. There have been talented players who have been
deprived of their opportunities because of the other pressures outside
of you know, sometimes outside of the family and sometimes
inside of the family because the franchises are trying to
protect themselves. They don't have unless he's extraordinarily talented, and
(21:40):
they kind of look the other way. It generally doesn't
happen that way. And when the majority of the owners
are white, you know they're going to have their other
little biases. I've had two players cut because they were
going out with white women at the time. Now this
was in the early nineties and not that it's changed
much sense, but they were clearly they let go because
(22:01):
of who they were dating in the wrong city and
wrong states.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Okay, what they making money for this city in the state,
and you need to be all of them. They kool
aid like that. You're gonna be passed from about who
they're dating.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
If you're gonna protect okay, you're gonna do it. Like
I said, I've done more prenuptials than I care to
talk about. But that's something where when you represent them,
you have to protect them and their money. And of
course you have you have books written by let's say
Laison's talk about different players in the league and all
(22:41):
the relationships they've had and where they've gained some money
and they've become targeted. That's one of the hardest things
I have found to try to educate young men, because
I said, look, if you lay down with a lady
and how whatever happens. I got to do is walk
out that room and say, hey, you abuse me, right.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
And I have heard this first hand. I didn't even
realize because I've been out. You know, I my husband
and I we've been together so long. We date at
the Cosco and at the Walmart. I'm just telling you
that's what that's our dating thing, you know, and we
only go in there. I was so glad when they
came back with those samples of the food in the console,
(23:24):
so I could not I don't understand how no, I
take I you know, I don't understand how people can
get themselves into these high profile positions. And you know,
are the are the limelight, you know, just to start
shining and then you're gonna throw it all the way
because who you want to sleep with us? And you
know what, I'm so tired of people saying, oh, yeah,
(23:45):
I slept with some and so, and you know they
slept nowhere with them and you went to sleep. You
ain't get no number to date. Shut up, you're sleeping
with anybody. You're in the banga boots. And they oh,
I'm gonna get pregnanced, I'm gonna get purgurned. I've got
the eye gotta gold man and in my unius. And
I'm like, I would have never I just I'm I'm
(24:06):
so outdated. So I had some friends when I thought
they were my friends, and you know, and we met
at events and whatever. They came out to l A
and was for the All Star Basketball games, and they
can't I mean, you know, I only told one two
of them make to come and in my house, in
(24:28):
our home, each one in bart friends. So now instead
of having them take care of two other people, now
I got to take care of four other people, right,
and they fusually getting dressed, you know, oh the mother.
That's all he was was us, I can't wait, I
ain't coming back, I ain't taking no time. And this
is what they're talking about.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
And while they're getting ready that their goal was to
sleep with an NBA player or somebody worked in the India.
And this was a plot there.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
I mean, and you know we love men, we do,
but some way some of you guys could be like, so, okay,
flee her hands over wid like that.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
You need to be running, yeah, but they don't run,
you know what, being like skirts.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
So you are from Southway, I just I forgot. I
have to drink water with you. And I have to do
it because you know, I do get go all over
the screen because man don't think with the right head.
But I'm just like, you have to go there. You
did not even have to go there. Come on, Bill
(25:42):
work with the sus come of see like we don't
know what that you was with it and so and
to educate them. And because I have seen this happen.
These kids come out of high school, you know, and
they're like a phenom, and they get them into college
and they give them everything and now and then you
(26:03):
buy my mom my house. Okay, I want you to
get a gravestone from my father. He been dead twenty
five years. He don't have a grade or whatever it is.
And they're used to getting, you know, what they want.
And when you hand them what they want, you know,
and they feel like they're then they start feeling like
they're entitled. And what did that go like? When you
see the cause? Quincy Jones tells us this many years ago.
(26:27):
He said, mother, God like this want you out And
that's when I first came out here. He said, mother,
I want you to know. Money doesn't change people. Money
only makes people more of who they really are. And
did you see that. I'm sure you saw that. And
you know they were like, I could do whatever I want.
You don't just tell me what to do. I'm so
on someone fucking touch and then the sun that goes out,
(26:48):
then the life goes out. Then what do they do?
How can you prepare then? What you've done in the
NFL and the NBA is really applicable to what you're
doing with the pot Institute.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Yet exactly, and with the Coherts getting a lot of
times that young people were trying to establish what I
consider to be through entrepreneurship, self determination, self guide, controlling
their own their own directions. And I respect that because
I've seen so many of us that had an opportunity
(27:23):
to do that and blew the opportunity or got caught
up in other things. And we have a current case
right now where I remember when that gentleman was at
Howard University and you see now where he is, and
it's really really unfortunate because of the reach of his
domain that he established through effort but also through foolishness,
(27:47):
as it's going to be proven in court unfortunately, but
it is. It is tough because a lot of times,
you know, I come up with welfare roles, and I know,
had I not been injured, the first thing I would
have done has bought my mother a home and actually
bought her a car because she never owned the car
at home, just to have some place where she could settle.
(28:07):
So I can understand that motivation and even some of
these young men come out and buy these mansions and
it's just them. But it's part of saying okay, I've arrived.
Fortunately I've well also worked with some young men that's
come back and take it. I now don't need that,
you know, I can you know, a Volkswagon can get
(28:27):
me where Rolls Royce is going to. You know, I
can be lonely and imagine but you know our content
and imagine truth when you can contend on one hundred
thousand dollars home with the right fousands. So those are
things and that's part of growing up and maturing and
it's just difficuld it's perfect money. That So with our cohorts,
(28:53):
what is interesting we have people who are aspiring, like
I said, to established businesses. We had a I recall
last year we had a young man fourteen years old
into our pitch competition and he stood up on that
stage at fourteen by himself and he said, as his
little hook, you know, my name is Captain Spinky, known
(29:17):
in my neighborhood is Captain Stinky. I said that. I said, okay,
now what you're going to say? He said, But I've
learned how to correct that because I've gone in my
mother's have to put together some soaps and some motions
that I now sell as my product and I'm not
known as Captain Stinky anymore. And he said, now I'm
(29:39):
working on as the Yodam fourteen years old. That's what
I love to see. And then you see others who
are anything from psychological counseling with music to producing AI
work our artificial intelligence. So we have a broad range
of individuals that come to us. We have what we
(30:01):
call is a incubator, is when they're just getting started
and you're dealing with principles of their triple bottom line,
mental fitness, personal finance, corporate finance, operations, human resources, and
so of these people have never been exposed to that.
Then you get the accelerators, who are generally a little
(30:22):
more advanced in their business and understand some of the
basic principles, and we invite in professionals from the industry.
And then we've got a legacy program where you've been
in business ten years, you have growth sales of five
hundred thousand dollars or more, and they act as mentors
for the younger people coming to And we even had
(30:45):
some people who have the advanced degrees that are coming
in saying I'm thinking about this business, I'm not quite
sure how to do it, so we try to teach
them about it because oh.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
Wait, you just said that were one or so many
times from mtimny deale, I'm a track, We don't track.
You guys are not trying. You guys are doing it.
You are in there in the I mean from the
bottom up, from the top done. You ain't trying to
do none of that, sir. You are doing that. You
know what that word you know it just it's just
(31:15):
get up and it try. You know you're doing it.
You know you took it from here to here to
hear and the fact that you are willing to share
your expertise and your knowledge of how business business is conducted.
We especially in our community, we've seen so many people
say it future want to be future entrepreneurs, but they
(31:38):
don't do something. What is that that gap from the
thought to bringing it out there? And what would you
say to the new entrepreneurs Because I've listened to some
of the Cole Hurts meeting and the presentation and I'm like, oh,
why the people there are so many people that need
your help. What you because you said we just stop
(32:00):
from the bottom and we'll take you where you need
to go. You can start it in the middle, take
you where you need to go. You can start when
again at the top, when you realize you're really at
the top, there's some more blokes and we can grow
and you can always grow stronger and smarter and better.
In business? What do you think is one of the
biggest mistakes or several of the biggest mistakes the entrepreneurs
(32:21):
or I think they're entrepreneurs do and their business and
they really just don't know what to do well. I
think one of.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
The problems is how a position yourself to gain investors
or the white partners in your business. Not doing enough homework.
I see situations where sometimes there's not enough to say
positive positive thinking about stuff. But wom if you're there.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
Can you give me I can hear you. I don't
know what happened.
Speaker 3 (32:51):
You know what?
Speaker 2 (32:53):
Well, I just can't up the equipment. What you do?
Give me, give me a chance? And oh no, why
you're doing why you're doing that? We got people on
the line. You don't have to try to get up.
You just get up. That's what seatowns, that's my seat.
Town ain't nothing to it but to do it, and
the baby can you do it? If you put it
(33:15):
up to that's that's that's, that's one of my tut
he's under my Tuteli. He also says nothing comes to
a sleeper for dreams and nightmare is the best way
of your feet is getting off your butt.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
Well, let me let me with you.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
I got it. Well you're breaking up of it?
Speaker 3 (33:40):
Are you here?
Speaker 2 (33:42):
When I got your phone? I don't know where he went.
I'm okay, thing, you're okay, okay, okay, there we go.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
Okay, one of the things we're asking to let's see.
Uh they run again?
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Where right?
Speaker 3 (34:07):
They fill up prostically to a lot of the old
the old turk for your least process with his next
step out the old cure for your proct next, which.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
Is rip hold on the second. I'm hearing every other
word from Okay said say it again.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
I'm sorry, I'm saying, behold the turtle.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
I don't know what.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
Process, what is next?
Speaker 2 (34:50):
I don't know what's going on here? Bill?
Speaker 3 (34:53):
All right?
Speaker 2 (34:53):
Can you hear me? Yeah? Okay, I can hear you now.
I can see you're looking over your glasses. Y'all be
rack of me. I you do have a double voice. Yeah,
let me see if I can get rid of this one. No,
(35:15):
we're not getting with the ball of them. No, no, no, Okay,
the engineer is here to help us. Okay, there you go. Okay,
we're back in pocket. All right, okay, because that's I
don't know what happens anyway, We're getting feedback, because that's
(35:38):
what the problem is. We're getting feedback from you. And
I can hear every other word, and I know you're
saying some smart, intelligent stuff that people need to know.
OHNA mean, hold on, you don't be oh. My heads
and got bigger than my body. Now, good Lord Jesus, Okay,
(35:58):
thank you billy much. I when when I first started
losing weight, uh, And I'm like, I lost one hundred
eleven times and I've kept it off for twenty something years.
I'm gonna wait, hold on all wait, hold on on right, Okay,
I don't know what's going on. Can you still hear me?
So anyway, after I lost weight, uh, I couldn't wear anything.
(36:24):
And when you lose weight, I didn't realize when you
lose weight, you lose My head got smaller, my wigs
were too big. My shoes were too big. I mean,
I had to go do a whole other thing. My
husband almost lost his mind cause they're like, dang, this
is like happening two wives, and I ain't got to
cheat on my wife. They get different right here, he's
gonna have nasty after be And and then when I
(36:44):
could go in and I've always been a pretty snaggy
dress or i would say when people are sitting up,
my mama said, baby, look we did make that. Decorate
yourself pretty because they can see you coming, so we
looking you wanna look good for far away, and every
time to get a little closer, they going looked at
right there, and we just didn't go through that. My
(37:05):
brothers and all of them was athletic. You know, we
talk about the sports and high school and everything. I
had to go to school six days a week, not
because I was slow or anything because accelerated. I was
in an incuba. I was in an incubrated class. And
I didn't know what that was when I heard that
way back then. So okay, now we're back. Okay, So
(37:26):
now what are some of the midsteps or miss thoughts
that you see young entrepreneurs stud that can be corrected.
And what do you see is some of their biggest mistakes.
Speaker 3 (37:40):
Sometimes don't drink well and tell tell no when the
party could exclu that whether it's throw people or not.
The asperition in the dream, I think so out to
(38:00):
stay out and be so and so what you got
to do put in work and that's where a lot
of times with the young people they find out it's
not easy and a full patent. There is Gnel Pittsford
a couple of months ago and he said, I'm overnight
(38:23):
success after twenty five years. That's so time when you
think about having to grind and for that period of
time to recollect the use the self success and I've
leave to bleep and yourself at Sometimes you're reinforced it
(38:47):
to where ice goes and I do this forty what
dress pressed.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
Markly, Oh this is work in my nerve when when
you talk about, you know, being this way and being
involved the way that they need to be because it
is work. It is a business.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
You know this.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
We didn't just fall out the sky and you know
and all of a sudden this is in our path. No,
my mother said something to me, God bless her. So
a long time ago. She actually came out here to California.
I'm from Ohio. She came out to California to see
what you know, don't see me and you know, do
the things you know. And she couldn't believe I was
making that much money to talk on the radio. And
(39:30):
she goes and I said, don't never show your mama
name your paycheck. Now, I don't care who's for them,
do not show your mama name the paycheck, dad, the
whole they, she said, And I don't know what. And
I worked that night, and so I can't come up
and me up here every day. I said, Mama, come
a ride with me into La. So she came in
and I went up to give a check and I
came back down. She said, can I see your paycheck?
(39:53):
And my first thought was no, don't do it. And
I world profess some mother and she'll be all right,
And I said. She opened her she said, they tell
you this kind of money to run your mouth. I said, mother,
I'm gonna talk show hold. I keep telling her what
it was that I did. She said, so her words verbal,
So you the time, these white people and there paying
you this kind of money to run your mouth. I
(40:15):
asked one, do they know you can run your mouth anyway?
And you know kind us here to pay you this
kind of money. What happened from that day to the
day she died. She never called me by my name again.
She said, well, heyo, you mother loved me. You know
when your mom call your mother loves And after that,
I said, it's her real name, google it. I'm not
(40:35):
gonna my mama called me mother love And she day
before she died, I would she she was, I would
do on the first Prince of bel Air and she
was calling all her friends and we and her said,
we're talking. Get you. She said, I got to hang up.
I gotta tell everybody you gonnas like when Mama hung
(40:55):
up on me. And to explain that to people, it's
like been kind of like being in the military. You
know when you do what you do. You said, I'm
the transactional A turn it go under. Still, Oh well,
I was I call her what I let even probably
get that so but not prepared to do the work.
(41:15):
And when they find out it's work day back up?
Speaker 3 (41:19):
Yeah, I uh my mother. I grew up father. My
mother had a sixth grade education and she was strong
and straight foundation woman and you heard of that was yeah,
you know it's going up there and said, no this
(41:44):
worked twenty four yeah, three five?
Speaker 2 (41:48):
Now this true?
Speaker 3 (41:50):
Oh Cleveland, I've got laughed down about Crown.
Speaker 2 (42:00):
Shoot women, say that your way? Wait, say it again.
Speaker 3 (42:03):
I have last count the family you feel of course,
I'm your hundred and thirty A.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
D and free. Oh Lord, don't tell me if be
related now, no, no, you you don't need to know.
You don't even know that why we have family reunions
because you don't even know this.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
Who are these people?
Speaker 3 (42:29):
Well? Let me see you do you know where uh
is from?
Speaker 2 (42:36):
Well? Well John Legend, Yeah, the the artist and singer.
Speaker 3 (42:41):
He's from the hill buck Out too, He's from friend Field.
Speaker 2 (42:47):
Old time listen, literally spend a ton of time like
like that. Too many bigs. Well where are you from?
Let you be born?
Speaker 3 (42:56):
Women, they let you be won Say that again, because
I'm saying because Lee and call.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
See you know I don't make them praying like this, y'all.
They come to me like this. You know, I asked somebody,
ask me what they some one of the one of
one of these big big wig women that you know
she's you know, she's just doing all kinds of big things,
Wendy gat me and so they would how you know
where they I can't know her, I can't know you.
(43:36):
You know they after well and you know when you're
out here and come from back east, you know they
think all black people know all the other black people
you know, and you just you oh nod already are you?
We could be related? But you know, uh, genetics say
we are all six degrees separated. We're only six degrees
(43:58):
in separation and in our community, you know what? And
things like that? Did you did you often times? Though?
Did you feel at times that you had to be
a father figure to these young young guys that are
coming into the professional sport because they didn't have that
that male foundation you know from their dads or whatever
(44:19):
or who you know from their dads and this man
and their families. Did you find yourself mentoring them more
like a father ticket at times? Yes?
Speaker 4 (44:28):
Uh, what things you say in the institutes that we
could sure have to be coachful. So it's coachful that
would make follow your advice, but take you serience same
you try to get a pampful silf.
Speaker 3 (44:53):
Thirty years thirty years per I was seeing one time,
I'm the points that say, it's a con question of
how I had myself put that respect of parity, that
what he's doing when nobody's watching, he's.
Speaker 2 (45:15):
Got to dance like nobody's watching, because you don't know
who's watching.
Speaker 3 (45:21):
You never know.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
And I used to I used to say, I'm not
I'm not ah, I can't be a mentor. I need
to be mentored, you know. And I'm always a student.
I am always a student. And so we talk about
success because success is different from everybody.
Speaker 3 (45:39):
Do you agree with that without question? Absolutely? And sadly
said about sir, I've scared some cold stories about myself.
This dog about four years old. I had a client
came over. We had had two audio. She had never
(45:59):
seen that life. He fell us freeing that for the
eight and she was breaking up, looking at his stokers
and looking at all that this stuff you know about
foolish place from helping her clean up joke and I
put her baby office. And then I told my client,
(46:25):
I said, you punched my daughter. But I wasn't trying,
just by an observed present.
Speaker 2 (46:33):
To understand.
Speaker 3 (46:34):
Let you look at there off the path and millions
of tears looking through yourself you don't want to do
just said it sad before.
Speaker 2 (46:46):
Unfortunately she was.
Speaker 3 (46:48):
A guy took here, Tod yelling. He hastal Differ put
it here at the end of his career. But he's
still outstanding college and his collig is about graduate power.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
How about that? And you never know who's watching you,
and that's why you have to be you know, you
have to be kind to everybody, even people that you
don't care for. That's when you can really find the
measure of a man or a woman. When it's when
they can love people that are hard to love, when
they could see, uh, see that light and some people
(47:22):
that don't even realize that they have a light. I
mean you hear about uh these all you know, these
horror stories about these young boys and girls being groomed
by the coaches and the doctors, and you know it
happened to navigate through all the be something that they
should even ever have to deal with that, I mean,
what they were doing and how did you how were
(47:43):
you able to keep them, you know, in safe arms,
keep them in a safe environment because it's predators out there.
Kind of plaw airy love that you did.
Speaker 3 (47:55):
And rub the seed in the text bar and the
extreme you have the opportunity to hold ad as how
to rambles of the cond because you can determinating for condo,
(48:15):
like said I had to client years before my quote
treatment where Muccio police came to his home and reschool
or because have blood from tom By a year before
my position, and I had to tell him said, you know,
(48:35):
you take the spade, see all activity to your neighbor
for good, but the league in the team is not.
And uh, well then you try to understand that you
can't take no activity and if.
Speaker 2 (48:54):
Problem and one of his relatives time, you know, just
wig out on him. You know what, if I can't
got this, I'm just gonna go I got a biggerfis
in this.
Speaker 3 (49:04):
Yeah, that's exactly the case. And so uh it's it's
hard some time. I remember a gentleman ah just learning,
but he had her parents around me. But again in
a mistake, like for an example, leaving his home during
(49:25):
the winter on a road trip to play games and
he turned off off water in the house and the
pipe version and his dad had to go back in
and read from the condos.
Speaker 2 (49:41):
Uh, he was enough along with it.
Speaker 3 (49:43):
He just didn't know. He never owned top of me before.
Speaker 2 (49:47):
That's another thing talking about, especially as the young ones
that you know, they go from, as they say, rags
to riches, and when they get the riches, and I
know what that's like. I remember because it then was
something he said, I just I want to tell you this, baby,
I just want you to know that when you blow
through your first million dollars, this is a business for you.
(50:08):
And I'm looking at him like he's gonna do a
third eye in the middle of his fore head. Me,
there's no way in at double hockey six times twelve,
I would blow me it's out. I didn't blow it.
I really didn't blow it. I spend it, and I
spend it on things like art work. I love collecting
(50:31):
art and I've been doing this for a long time.
You know, I'm very uh into you know, especially our
African American and our female artists. You know, I want
And I was like, okay, and I want. With all
the stuff I bought it, I could pon it. I
just want.
Speaker 3 (50:47):
That's why set up how many persons are your.
Speaker 2 (50:54):
Time say, well, don't say that.
Speaker 3 (51:00):
I had a young man his first year in the
league made about six hundred and fifty thousand dollars and
the longest brother's money. Did some other things. You bought
a I think there was a twelve room former seminary
in a cult continent, and just start complaining about trying
(51:21):
to keep say Jeep in the building. At the end
of that year, he came into the office almost timed.
It was while they had a twenty five thousand dollars
and I said, going into bud had twelve group, twelve
bathroom seminary where a bunch of preach this delarity.
Speaker 2 (51:41):
What was that about?
Speaker 3 (51:42):
Well, I was being a conversion. It was going to
be my MANSI well, we had any weight and build
a foundation first. So sometimes you have to let you
make a mistakes, just like a child. And then you
had an educational moment. You said counted. They said you
see you later in division here. I tried to cast you.
I couldn't talk to you. It's your life and your money.
(52:03):
But now you see the results. I was trying to
help you avoid like doing what you were doing. Another hand,
I have another.
Speaker 2 (52:13):
Let me got we gotta wait. Hell on, I'm talking.
I'm having a hard time.
Speaker 3 (52:16):
Hearing you are. Yeah, I'm still getting the double getting Yeah,
that's what I'm trying to say because I have okay, well,
because I'm getting I'm getting a double voice.
Speaker 2 (52:30):
Oh I don't know what Look that that gown twice? Okay, okay, okay,
that's better? Is that better? You're fine? Okay, okay, but
could you just give me the ear wiggle? You know
(52:52):
I know what that is. Okay. So now we're back
to when you're talking talking to a young man who
did not really understand that you leave a house empty
with the water off and and the cold environment and
expect to come back and everything's gonna be fine. Yeah,
you don't want to.
Speaker 3 (53:09):
She was surprised to come back from his father got
up there real fick and just replumbing, and he in fact, all.
Speaker 2 (53:18):
Right, no, come on, you can't no, no, you started it.
You got to. You just can't be a hanging the
sist out like that wasn't see now, y'all just y'all
know we are cool with each other. I want here
and finished it.
Speaker 3 (53:35):
The young man I'm talking about first road trip after
he brought a cownd the mainland Chicago. Just know that
pipe creezy nothing before going to pipe everything.
Speaker 2 (53:51):
Uh, you know you're where they say a hard hair
make a soft hand.
Speaker 3 (53:57):
Well, you know, I didn't know he was gonna turn
under his water off. I would have cautioned him had
I known, But he just his first road trip in
the league. And if you knew Michael and his dad,
I mean, such a whole family, was a loving family.
But it just happened to.
Speaker 2 (54:16):
His dad when any changed in Oh my goodness, and
you could see that. You could see the light come
out of his eyes, you know, because he was he
was just so all he wanted to do was please
his dad, and his father loved him, and guys don't
usually get that. And when that happens, and the viciest way,
(54:36):
the unnecessary death of his father's period and such a
violent in such a violent way, you could just see it.
And it seemed like he payed even harder after his
father passed away.
Speaker 3 (54:49):
Yo, his father, and I'm gonna tell you, listen, Jordan's
I still care about her so much.
Speaker 2 (54:56):
Just good people.
Speaker 3 (54:59):
And that's why in this business, did you know, Hollywood
or in sports, a lot of times those good people
behind the scenes, you can see the character reflected in
their children. But what we're standing behind their children and
support that makes a job like mine a little.
Speaker 2 (55:16):
Bit easier when you know you have that support and
it's gonna always be made.
Speaker 3 (55:21):
Sayers.
Speaker 2 (55:22):
Yeah, I had never gotten fired from the job until
I came to LA I mean I never and I
walked since I was fourteen, and I was like, oh,
this is no longer name that I said. You know,
I gotta pay a contract. I want someone to know that. See,
they don't like it wing you know stuff, they don't
like it when you know I got new stuff and
(55:42):
you know that, oh no, your research and I'm like,
I didn't get the Hollywood Handbook. And a lot of
us did not get that handbook, whether it was going
in front of the camera, behind the camera, on the court,
on the field, we didn't get that. You know, we're
just oh, I could do this for my mom. And
then you just started to start coming out the calls
(56:02):
or start coming out of the wood cause you know
we just play cuzin okay, well I'm gonna give you
some play money. How do you get that Monopoly book?
Speaker 3 (56:13):
I understand.
Speaker 2 (56:14):
And after we after our sons, you know, it's really
cool to say, oh, we have a son. Now you
only got one kid you can send here. You're gonna
pay my rent for the rest of the year, you would, yeah,
And I wasn't supposed to have a sense of humor
when it came to them having their fault, Well, I
don't have. I had a relative called me up, bill ass,
(56:36):
and she said, you know, I'm tired of people tell
me about you much and that much. I know how
you are, I know, I said, well, because it tells
the media, because there's no such thing as bad press,
you know. It was like walking, Well, why do you
want to talk to me? Stupid? Can you make it
so I can make some money off off? They don't
want to do it. I see, you know how a
(56:59):
role and they're gonna still be family. And oftentimes you
have to distance yourself and that can cause especially younger
people to feel, you know, cut off. You know, my
mother and my father, they you know, always got the hand.
You know, where can I find some solid and then here?
This is what you do. And when you with the cohorts,
(57:20):
because there's one coming up, tell me, tell them. Let's
tell them when the next one coming up. Is another
course we're having because we could be talking all day.
Speaker 3 (57:28):
Our cohorts are black and brown and uh women and military.
So we're having an all women's pitch event next Wednesday
at the Women's Club in El Segundo. Uh it's going
to be five women and they try to coach them.
Later today it's about presentations and we're gonna have all
(57:49):
female judges and we're having a Miss Vivian uh Srimaoma,
who is going to be the keynote speak who's started
a company called Breakthrough Unlimited, which talks about cracking me
last Failing. And it's really gratifying to see these young
ladies and stand up there and make the pictures about
(58:11):
the business. They're all in the effort to try to
win a little bit of pitch money, but as I've
told them, it's not about the money. It's about the experience,
about forming relationships with other women who are trying to
start their businesses and so that. And then next November sixteenth,
(58:31):
we're having a gala in Long Beach, a fundraiser casino
night where everybody's invited in. It's one hundred dollars a mission,
get three hundred dollars worth of chips. Of course we're
not handing out money, but it's a fundraiser for the
Pole Institute itself and hopefully it'll be a fun evening
with a silent auction of you know, other kinder prises
(58:53):
and giveaways. So you, as a non propy you got to.
Speaker 2 (58:58):
Understand and to keep it moving. And after they go
through that, go through the program with you, tell them
what the big thing, what the big deal is about
getting involved with the Pop Institute and these co heart sessions.
Speaker 3 (59:13):
I think the big thing is really a matter of
uh tuition free education, you know, mental toughness, operations, human resources,
basic legal concepts. And you'd be surprised some people want
they're in to get in the business and they say,
well what's the burn rate? Well, you know, if you
got a little money, you've got to plan and budget
(59:35):
out in front so you can stay in business. Well
how are you going to do that if all you've
got is a certain amount of money that won't even
cover your operations for a week. You've got to plan
and think. But it's said free of tuition charge.
Speaker 2 (59:49):
Well this is mister bale Stick when he's COO at
the Polk Institute. The cohorts are at it again, gonna
stay at it, remember baking. Thank you so much for
your us I thank you very very much, and thank
the blame group for us cooking this up together. That's
Bill Strickland and babies. I want to tell you, no
matter how big, a tall, short, and small pick a ban,
(01:00:10):
it matters my ward skin you're in. Everybody needs some mother. No,
no again, he's baby. I'll see next week
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