Episode 324 - From Criminal Record to CEO: Cheri Garcia's Journey of Redemption and Second Chances

In this powerful episode of the Faith Driven Entrepreneur podcast, host Justin Forman sits down with Cheri Garcia, founder of Cornbread Hustle, a staffing agency that has placed nearly 3,000 people with criminal records into jobs over the past decade.

Cheri shares her remarkable journey from selling drugs (including becoming her father's meth dealer as a teenager) to getting sober, founding a multi-million-dollar company, and helping thousands of formerly incarcerated individuals find meaningful employment and rebuild their lives.

Key Highlights:

• Cheri's early entrepreneurial ventures and her descent into drug addiction and dealing
• How hitting rock bottom (living out of her car, multiple arrests) led to her eventual path to sobriety
• The unexpected pivot during COVID that transformed her business from struggling to multi-million dollar success
• Why achievement and control can be more dangerous addictions than drugs or alcohol
• The transformative impact of employment stability on former inmates' lives
• Practical insights for employers considering second-chance hiring
• How Cheri's painful experiences equipped her to connect authentically with others in their brokenness

Quotable Moments:

• "I was pouring into other people while filling myself back up with alcohol... I was broken."
• "Control is worse than drugs or alcohol because the triggers are more. The triggers are anything from needing to pee while you're in the middle of talking to somebody at a networking event... It's all day, every day."
• "One in four adults have a criminal record. That's over 70 million people... and only 5% of HR managers say they actively choose people with criminal records as part of their talent pool."

Watch the full episode on YouTube or continue to stream audio on your favorite podcast platform.