WEBVTT - How To Take on Credit Card Debt

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, hey, ba fam, it is time. It is time.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey a ba fam, what's up? It's your girl Mandy Money.

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<v Speaker 1>Happy Friday, Happy b a qa Friday. Shell. I should

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<v Speaker 1>we just get this over with, since the legacy that

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<v Speaker 1>Tiffany has left me with is that I must sing

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<v Speaker 1>it's time for the b a qa a, the b

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<v Speaker 1>a q a. What you say the b a q

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<v Speaker 1>a with Manda, the b a q a the v

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<v Speaker 1>a q a a can y'all even if you're on

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<v Speaker 1>YouTube right now, if you're watching on YouTube, I did.

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<v Speaker 1>This is not a boa. This is just the closest

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<v Speaker 1>blanket I could find that my children. Even though Mommy

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<v Speaker 1>gets the nice blankets from home Goods, my children always

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<v Speaker 1>steal them because they need to build forts. And so

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<v Speaker 1>don't tell me why this really nice home Goods blinky

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<v Speaker 1>is down here in the playroom. But here's where we're at.

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<v Speaker 1>So I put on a red lip because it's freezing.

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<v Speaker 1>We are in the winter. We are in the winter

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<v Speaker 1>of all winters. This is the time of year when

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<v Speaker 1>my little Georgia's southern peach heart starts to wither and

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<v Speaker 1>shribble up. You guys can't see it, but I actually

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<v Speaker 1>finally listened to my therapist and I got one of

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<v Speaker 1>those daylight therapeutic light things and it is useful. I

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<v Speaker 1>recommend it. I can't say for sure if it's like

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<v Speaker 1>had a huge impact because for me, December, I mean

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<v Speaker 1>my body is like, okay, fine, it's cold and dark,

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<v Speaker 1>it's December. It's the holidays when you really need to

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<v Speaker 1>check on me, check on your girl, check on your

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<v Speaker 1>seasonal effective disorder. Girlies is the end of February and March,

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<v Speaker 1>because March has no business being as miserable as it

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<v Speaker 1>is up here in the North. Okay, but I am

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<v Speaker 1>really excited for today's episode. Y'all be AQA. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>in the past, we would do one week career, one

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<v Speaker 1>week money, but now there's no rules because I'm rewriting

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<v Speaker 1>all the things for Brown Ambition, and I'm going to

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<v Speaker 1>do one career in one money question every week. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>going to do whichever questions I think are really representative

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<v Speaker 1>or universal problems that can That's just my approach to

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<v Speaker 1>choosing questions. I'm like, oh, do I think this question

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<v Speaker 1>could appeal or pertain to like a lot of people?

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<v Speaker 1>So please keep sending your questions and you can send

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<v Speaker 1>them to me directly at Brand Ambition Podcast on ig.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also email us Brand Ambition Podcast at gmail

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. You can send a voice note, you can

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<v Speaker 1>type it out whatever you feel. Okay, And you know what,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't even really do a lot of prep for

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<v Speaker 1>my answers, so they're going to be really off the cuff.

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<v Speaker 1>So let's dive on in. Now, get your salt shakers out,

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<v Speaker 1>because y'all ain't going to sue me, not today, because

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<v Speaker 1>the disclaimer is going to do the work. Okay, disclaimer,

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<v Speaker 1>this is for entertainment purposes only. I am not a

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<v Speaker 1>registered financial advisor. I am not a fiduciary. I am

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<v Speaker 1>not your financial advisor. I ain't nobody's financial advisor. Okay.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm just someone who's got a lot of years under

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<v Speaker 1>her belt in the business and finance space and has

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<v Speaker 1>been doing Brown ambition for nearly a decade, so there's

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<v Speaker 1>not much that I haven't seen. I'm also a career coach.

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<v Speaker 1>I have a thriving career coaching community called the Mandy Moneymakers.

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<v Speaker 1>Check it out if you haven't Mandymneymakers dot com, Mandimney

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. And let's dive in, because why wait and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to do my best not to sing the

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<v Speaker 1>soundtrack to Wicked during this little moment, because listen, I

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<v Speaker 1>have a microphone in front of me. I got a

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<v Speaker 1>red lip on and I saw Wicked, and it is everything.

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<v Speaker 1>It is my entire personality now. But I y'all did

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<v Speaker 1>not come here to hear me saying defying gravity. That

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<v Speaker 1>is not why we are here. We are here for

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<v Speaker 1>this question from Tony on ig and I love a

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<v Speaker 1>name ending and why but you make it an ee

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<v Speaker 1>for obvious reasons. Mandy with an eye, Tony with an eye?

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Tony, Tony says, dear brown ambition. I recently

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<v Speaker 1>started a catering company, and I'm currently working on my

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<v Speaker 1>personal credit journey to build good credit so I could

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<v Speaker 1>apply for a business credit card with a low interest rate.

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<v Speaker 1>I cried when my credit score took a one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>point hit. I've taken some steps to pay down all

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<v Speaker 1>three of my credit cards. First, I was paying off

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<v Speaker 1>a charged off card, which I was able to settle

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<v Speaker 1>in full for less than nine hundred dollars in twenty

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<v Speaker 1>twenty three. Okay. Second, I applied the avalanche method to

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<v Speaker 1>paying down the credit card with the highest interest rate.

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<v Speaker 1>I've been able to cut down at least sixty percent

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<v Speaker 1>that card's debt. On my third card, I asked my

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<v Speaker 1>creditor for a lower interest rate so I could afford

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<v Speaker 1>the payments while I was working while I was looking

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<v Speaker 1>for gainful employment, which lowered my rate to nine point

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<v Speaker 1>nine to nine percent. That's amazing. They locked the card

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<v Speaker 1>for a year and I made a minimum of sixty

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<v Speaker 1>dollars payment per month. Now the year is over and

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<v Speaker 1>this card has the highest amount of threeenty eighteen dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>The second card currently has a balance of nineteen hundred dollars. However,

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<v Speaker 1>that card is now restricted, and even if I pay

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<v Speaker 1>off the balance in full, I won't be able to

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<v Speaker 1>use the card again. The credit limit will still show

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<v Speaker 1>on my credit report. So my question to you, ladies

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<v Speaker 1>is would it be best if I close the account

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<v Speaker 1>that is restricted and pay a settlement amount for the

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<v Speaker 1>second card. That way, I can save some of the

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<v Speaker 1>money and put on and put that money toward paying

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<v Speaker 1>the only active card that I have Now with a

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<v Speaker 1>high balance, I don't mind my credit taking another hit

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<v Speaker 1>because I really want to pay off all the debt

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<v Speaker 1>and then start rebuilding from scratch. With a better credit

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<v Speaker 1>history and payment happens from an avid listener hopefully Tony. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>hopefully Tony. Can I just give you some major props

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<v Speaker 1>because what I love about your story is that you

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<v Speaker 1>are not someone who just stuck their head in the

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<v Speaker 1>ground when it came to tackling various credit card debt.

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<v Speaker 1>You actually did something about it, and you use some

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<v Speaker 1>strategies that a lot of people even though maybe we

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<v Speaker 1>know you could call them and ask them for a

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<v Speaker 1>lower rate, or you could call them and ask for this,

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<v Speaker 1>or that, you've actually done it. So I just want

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<v Speaker 1>to point out some of the great things that you've done.

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<v Speaker 1>So you chose to settle a credit card debt, So

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<v Speaker 1>credit card debt settlement, I mean it's going to vary

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<v Speaker 1>by issuer, right, And we have a really cool episode

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<v Speaker 1>coming up with a representative her name's Natalia. She's wonderful

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<v Speaker 1>from the National Debt Relief which is an organization that

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<v Speaker 1>that's all they do is help customers settle their debt.

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<v Speaker 1>So we learn a lot about that in that episode,

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<v Speaker 1>which is going to be coming January. First, stay tuned

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<v Speaker 1>back to your situation. So when you settle credit card debt,

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<v Speaker 1>you're basically saying to the credit card company like, I

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<v Speaker 1>ain't got it okay, and I've been missing my payments.

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<v Speaker 1>I do want to get this debt taken care of,

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<v Speaker 1>but what can we do? Can I settle it for less?

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<v Speaker 1>And if you are pretty the thing is you need

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<v Speaker 1>to you technically need to be pretty delinquent on that debt.

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<v Speaker 1>You probably need to have been missing payments for a

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<v Speaker 1>few months or more and then like and unfortunately, that

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<v Speaker 1>means your credit will be taking a hit because you've

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<v Speaker 1>got to be so behind that they're like, oh, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>this person's clearly, you know, not going to be paying

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<v Speaker 1>this back. So it's in our best it's in our

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<v Speaker 1>best interest as a bank to at least get something

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<v Speaker 1>from them. So yeah, we'll let them settle the debt.

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<v Speaker 1>So I love that you took advantage of that, even though,

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<v Speaker 1>like you said, it's brought your credit score down one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred points. I mean, at this point, your credit score

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<v Speaker 1>is probably in the poor to fair category and you

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<v Speaker 1>can that back up. But I'm glad that you're kind

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<v Speaker 1>of like trying to attack it all at one time,

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<v Speaker 1>because if you have this this period of poor credit behavior,

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<v Speaker 1>the good news is that it will eventually fall off

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<v Speaker 1>and you can you know, get some positive credit behavior

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<v Speaker 1>to improve your score over time. So but you're just

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<v Speaker 1>in a tough period. Okay, all right, so we have

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<v Speaker 1>you've settled that card for less than nine hundred dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>That was in twenty twenty three. Now you're you know,

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<v Speaker 1>organizing the rest of your credit cards by highest interest rate,

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<v Speaker 1>and you've tackled sixty percent of your highest interest rate

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<v Speaker 1>credit card debt. That's amazing. And so and then you've

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<v Speaker 1>asked your creditor for a lower interest rate so you

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<v Speaker 1>could afford your payments while you were unemployed. So you

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<v Speaker 1>got your rate down to nine point nine to nine percent.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, that's extraordinary. The average interest rate these days

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<v Speaker 1>is definitely like, is it almost twenty percent or close

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<v Speaker 1>to like, it's somewhere around there, you know. And it's

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<v Speaker 1>interesting to hear that because you've lowered, they've agreed to

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<v Speaker 1>lower that rate. They said, okay, sure, but we're going

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<v Speaker 1>to lock the car card so you can't actually make

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<v Speaker 1>any more payments on it. You can't actually sorry, charge

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<v Speaker 1>anything else to it. So I kind of like that

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<v Speaker 1>because it stops you from using that credit card as

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<v Speaker 1>a crutch or using it in times where you maybe

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<v Speaker 1>would have when you maybe couldn't technically afford something. So

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<v Speaker 1>that but that's a repercussion. So if you're thinking about

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<v Speaker 1>using this strategy to call your credit card and ask

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<v Speaker 1>for a lower rate, just based on Tony's story, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>learning that they may say, okay, cool, we'll give you

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<v Speaker 1>the lower rate, but you ain't gonna be able to

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<v Speaker 1>use this card anymore. So that's a give and take,

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<v Speaker 1>all right. So that's great. Now your payments on that

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<v Speaker 1>card are only sixty dollars. But now the year is over,

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<v Speaker 1>and going back to that high interest credit card, it's

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<v Speaker 1>got a balance of about three thousand dollars, all right,

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<v Speaker 1>So now you're wondering, should I try to settle that

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<v Speaker 1>credit card balance, that three thousand dollars with a higher

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<v Speaker 1>interest rate? Should I try to settle it so I

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<v Speaker 1>can say some of that money and put it on

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<v Speaker 1>the active card that you have. Now, now this is

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<v Speaker 1>the thing. It's another settlement. And because you've been on

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<v Speaker 1>a payment you've basically been on a payment plan, like

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<v Speaker 1>you've been paying sixty bucks a month, and they've locked

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<v Speaker 1>in your interest rate. I'm wondering if they would be

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<v Speaker 1>open to settling that debt with you because you've been

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<v Speaker 1>current on your payments, and like in my experience, lenders

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<v Speaker 1>creditors will settle, but they tend to be more willing

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<v Speaker 1>to settle if you're like severely delinquent. So unfortunately, that

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<v Speaker 1>could be a situation where you may need to stop

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<v Speaker 1>making payments to qualify for that. But I think before

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<v Speaker 1>you do any of that, just call them and ask.

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<v Speaker 1>You could say, hey, it's been you know how it's

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<v Speaker 1>been a year since i've and thank you so much

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<v Speaker 1>for working with me on the rate, But now I

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<v Speaker 1>really need to like figure out what to do. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>worried I won't be able to pay the balance in full.

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<v Speaker 1>Is there any opportunity to settle the debt for less

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<v Speaker 1>and then see what happens. Then, at this point, your

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<v Speaker 1>credit score has already taken the hit, so I know

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<v Speaker 1>that this would cause another hit. You're losing. You'd be

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<v Speaker 1>potentially losing the the having that credit limit on your

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<v Speaker 1>credit report. And we know that utilization rate is such

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<v Speaker 1>a big component of your credit score. So utilization rate

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<v Speaker 1>is how much available credit you have compared to how

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<v Speaker 1>much you're actually using. So when you close a credit card,

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<v Speaker 1>it reduces the amount of available credit you have, So

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<v Speaker 1>that can I know it's a little confusing, but stay

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<v Speaker 1>with me. So it reduces how much credit you have.

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<v Speaker 1>And also, credit scores are so goddamn stupid. Have I

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<v Speaker 1>mentioned that. It's like, so, here's all this credit that

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<v Speaker 1>you can use, but we're only going to give you

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<v Speaker 1>a high score if you don't use any of it,

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<v Speaker 1>if you use the least amount possible. So it's it's

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<v Speaker 1>such a trap. It truly, truly, deeply is. And then

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<v Speaker 1>they make it so easy, they make it so incentivizing

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<v Speaker 1>to like use that credit card for the points for

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<v Speaker 1>the airline, for the miles, for the cash back, right,

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<v Speaker 1>And because of that, we'd use it more than we

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<v Speaker 1>maybe necessarily would, because we can justify it by saying, well,

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<v Speaker 1>I should use it because I get more points this way.

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<v Speaker 1>And then you could end up with the high balance

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<v Speaker 1>and then you're just stuck there with a really high

0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:23.480
<v Speaker 1>interest rate. Right, and then it's like, oh, wait, you

0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:25.800
<v Speaker 1>used the card and you didn't pay it off in full, Well,

0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:27.640
<v Speaker 1>then we're going to start knocking points off of your

0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:30.600
<v Speaker 1>credit card debt, I mean your credit score, right, because

0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:34.040
<v Speaker 1>that is increasing how much credit you're using versus how

0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:37.600
<v Speaker 1>much credit we gave you. The magic percentage is usually

0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:40.280
<v Speaker 1>thirty percent or less. So if you've got ten thousand

0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:43.320
<v Speaker 1>dollars worth of credit across like three different cards, you

0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:45.640
<v Speaker 1>never want to be carrying more than like three thousand

0:12:45.679 --> 0:12:49.880
<v Speaker 1>dollars across those cards. So thirty percent is about where

0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:52.840
<v Speaker 1>you want to stay. But of course, ideally we'd be

0:12:52.840 --> 0:12:55.000
<v Speaker 1>paying our credit cards off in full, but like we

0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:57.680
<v Speaker 1>don't live in an imaginary fairy tear land. Okay, sometimes

0:12:57.720 --> 0:12:59.960
<v Speaker 1>you don't listen. I don't pay my cards in full

0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:02.480
<v Speaker 1>all the time. Sometimes you just ain't got it. Sometimes

0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:05.960
<v Speaker 1>there's other priorities, right, But anyway, let me step off

0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:08.800
<v Speaker 1>of that soapbox for a moment, because credit scores are

0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:13.079
<v Speaker 1>trash and it's all rigged and like they're dangerous, so dangerous,

0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:17.760
<v Speaker 1>but I think listen, like if it has worked for you,

0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:19.600
<v Speaker 1>like if you can call and you can settle that

0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:22.719
<v Speaker 1>debt for less, and you know, you may get a

0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:24.839
<v Speaker 1>hit to your credit score, but then you could go

0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:27.800
<v Speaker 1>and you could get a secured card from a credit union.

0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:30.840
<v Speaker 1>So a secured credit card, it's not really a credit

0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:33.959
<v Speaker 1>card at all. But it basically helps you rebuild your credit.

0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:36.040
<v Speaker 1>You can also get what's call it a credit builder

0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:39.360
<v Speaker 1>loan through a credit union and this is where and

0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:41.920
<v Speaker 1>there are some like private companies that are not banks.

0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:44.959
<v Speaker 1>I believe there's one called self lender, but you get

0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:47.040
<v Speaker 1>to do your own research to find the best ones.

0:13:48.000 --> 0:13:51.520
<v Speaker 1>But basically, they extend you some credit and they give

0:13:51.559 --> 0:13:54.000
<v Speaker 1>you a certain minimum payment to pay each month, and

0:13:55.040 --> 0:13:57.640
<v Speaker 1>you've got to make those payments on time and you

0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:00.000
<v Speaker 1>can't like use the card and charge it at grocery

0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:03.440
<v Speaker 1>restores and stuff like that. And then basically after certain

0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:07.560
<v Speaker 1>and those payments will be counted toward your credit report

0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:12.040
<v Speaker 1>and then hopefully will help you rebuild your score. Like

0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:14.240
<v Speaker 1>I said, I mean, you've got these charge off these

0:14:14.320 --> 0:14:18.080
<v Speaker 1>charged off accounts that's already dinging your score. You don't

0:14:18.080 --> 0:14:20.200
<v Speaker 1>have a lot to lose. I mean, I know that

0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:23.600
<v Speaker 1>you've just started your catering company, and that's what I'm like,

0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:27.760
<v Speaker 1>I'm toying around with this, not toying around, but I'm

0:14:27.840 --> 0:14:30.440
<v Speaker 1>considering that. I mean, your credit score is already on

0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:32.920
<v Speaker 1>the lower side. You said you took one hundred point hit.

0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:35.880
<v Speaker 1>You may already have a hard time qualifying for a

0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:38.680
<v Speaker 1>business credit card or a business line of credit. I

0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:43.960
<v Speaker 1>honestly think that you should pursue for your business, pursue

0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:49.000
<v Speaker 1>some non line of credit financing. If you need some financing,

0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:53.120
<v Speaker 1>you can apply for an SBA loan. You can look

0:14:53.160 --> 0:14:57.920
<v Speaker 1>at what kind of grants or loans are available through

0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:03.120
<v Speaker 1>your state or through your There are programs that not enough,

0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:06.760
<v Speaker 1>especially women of color, that we just are so much

0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:10.400
<v Speaker 1>more likely to dip into our own piggybank to finance

0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:12.720
<v Speaker 1>our businesses. And that is not what the majority of

0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:15.880
<v Speaker 1>successful business owners are doing. They're not using their own money,

0:15:16.120 --> 0:15:20.800
<v Speaker 1>They're leveraging debt, they are leveraging loans or grants. There's

0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:25.360
<v Speaker 1>other options for starting up a business. And I highly

0:15:25.400 --> 0:15:27.800
<v Speaker 1>recommend listening to an episode of our show where we

0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:31.960
<v Speaker 1>interviewed I interviewed Stacy Abrams, who should have been governor

0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:35.200
<v Speaker 1>of Georgia. Bo was whatever, It's fine. So Stacy has

0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:37.440
<v Speaker 1>a book I forget what it's called now where is

0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:40.200
<v Speaker 1>it is? Somewhere around here, but anyway, she tells a

0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:43.800
<v Speaker 1>story of how she founded a couple of companies at

0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:47.680
<v Speaker 1>through her entrepreneurial days and how you know, she learned

0:15:47.760 --> 0:15:49.920
<v Speaker 1>so much about financing and how that was one of

0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:53.600
<v Speaker 1>the reasons why her business is closed, and how access

0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:58.040
<v Speaker 1>to capital is like the biggest hill to overcome as

0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:02.040
<v Speaker 1>a black, black or woman in business. And yes, we

0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:05.800
<v Speaker 1>are the fastest growing entrepreneur in the country, but we

0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:09.640
<v Speaker 1>are also the most underserved when it comes to financing

0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:12.960
<v Speaker 1>and having access to capital, and that's got to effing change.

0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:17.520
<v Speaker 1>So I really encourage you to look and see what

0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:21.760
<v Speaker 1>opportunities you have to raise capital without having to take

0:16:21.800 --> 0:16:24.600
<v Speaker 1>on debt yourself. Because even if you do qualify for

0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:26.920
<v Speaker 1>business credit, like how do you have to buy the

0:16:26.920 --> 0:16:29.640
<v Speaker 1>supplies for your catering company, you may need to, like,

0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:34.000
<v Speaker 1>you know, hire help to expand and grow and with

0:16:34.120 --> 0:16:36.560
<v Speaker 1>the debt problems that you're having. On the personal side,

0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:38.720
<v Speaker 1>I don't I don't tend to feel like you have

0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:41.200
<v Speaker 1>a bunch of money just lying around that you could

0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:44.680
<v Speaker 1>go ahead and like float yourself as through your business,

0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:47.920
<v Speaker 1>and you shouldn't have to. Like if you're a bomb

0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:52.280
<v Speaker 1>ass caterer and you cook amazing food then and you

0:16:52.360 --> 0:16:55.160
<v Speaker 1>have like a client list and you have the potential

0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:58.000
<v Speaker 1>to have a thriving business, there should be opportunities out

0:16:58.040 --> 0:16:59.720
<v Speaker 1>there for you to get the kind of financing that

0:16:59.720 --> 0:17:01.760
<v Speaker 1>you need to get your business off the ground and

0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:05.840
<v Speaker 1>actually open up that opportunity for you. So what is it?

0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:09.359
<v Speaker 1>The SBA, the Small Business Association. There's loan programs. If

0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:12.600
<v Speaker 1>you're a minority owned business, get classified as a minority owned.

0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:14.440
<v Speaker 1>This is something that I'm working on right now too,

0:17:14.960 --> 0:17:17.280
<v Speaker 1>a minority and woman owned business in the state of

0:17:17.280 --> 0:17:19.359
<v Speaker 1>New York. I'm trying to get registered as that because

0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:22.680
<v Speaker 1>that sometimes you're only eligible for these types of programs

0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:26.359
<v Speaker 1>if you are classified in that way. But there is

0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:29.199
<v Speaker 1>all there are opportunities to finance that don't have to

0:17:29.200 --> 0:17:32.159
<v Speaker 1>come out of your own pocket, Okay, And that's definitely

0:17:32.200 --> 0:17:35.280
<v Speaker 1>a topic that I'm passionate about. I've heard other you know,

0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:39.400
<v Speaker 1>incredible black female, brown female entrepreneurs talking about the same thing,

0:17:39.560 --> 0:17:43.960
<v Speaker 1>from Morgan Debonn from Blavity and all the sessions I

0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:47.200
<v Speaker 1>went to when I was at Afro Tech and Rachel Rogers.

0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:52.200
<v Speaker 1>We've had Lgope on the show, and she also talks

0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:54.239
<v Speaker 1>a lot about, you know how a lot of her

0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:57.080
<v Speaker 1>business and helping women is coaching them on where to

0:17:57.200 --> 0:18:01.080
<v Speaker 1>find money that is not out of our own Where

0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:02.800
<v Speaker 1>to find money that is not out of our own

0:18:03.640 --> 0:18:06.280
<v Speaker 1>our own bank accounts, which is rare because I think

0:18:06.320 --> 0:18:08.600
<v Speaker 1>we tend to think, Okay, I'm going to do this.

0:18:08.640 --> 0:18:10.680
<v Speaker 1>I got to pull myself up on my bootstraps. Here's

0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:14.159
<v Speaker 1>the gag. Ain't nobody else using their bootstraps but us. Okay,

0:18:14.280 --> 0:18:17.280
<v Speaker 1>everybody else is like catching all cash that check. I'll

0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:20.080
<v Speaker 1>apply for this, I'll get that, you know, venture capital funding,

0:18:20.119 --> 0:18:24.399
<v Speaker 1>and I'll get that loan or whatever. It's a yeah,

0:18:24.560 --> 0:18:27.280
<v Speaker 1>it sucks to feel like, Okay, no one really explained

0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:30.720
<v Speaker 1>this to us, and that's got to change. So hopefully

0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:33.920
<v Speaker 1>this can be the beginning of that conversation. I hope

0:18:33.960 --> 0:18:37.720
<v Speaker 1>that this helped. I think that you're on the right track,

0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:40.760
<v Speaker 1>and you have been so strategic and smart about the

0:18:40.760 --> 0:18:43.560
<v Speaker 1>way that you are managing your debt right now, and

0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:46.760
<v Speaker 1>I just don't want the idea that, Okay, your credit

0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:49.960
<v Speaker 1>is obviously not great right now. That doesn't need to

0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:52.080
<v Speaker 1>stop you from launching your business. You just need to

0:18:52.160 --> 0:18:56.159
<v Speaker 1>be more tactful and strategic about financing your business in

0:18:56.240 --> 0:19:00.159
<v Speaker 1>a smart way and leveraging resources that may not have

0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:03.000
<v Speaker 1>to just be you know, your credit, to take on

0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:05.640
<v Speaker 1>business credit that you may struggle to paid off, as well,

0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:10.000
<v Speaker 1>maybe other forms of financing. Also, this is not going

0:19:10.040 --> 0:19:12.320
<v Speaker 1>to be a quick journey. You know. It takes money

0:19:12.560 --> 0:19:14.960
<v Speaker 1>to pay down debt, It takes time for your credit

0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:18.520
<v Speaker 1>to improve, it takes time to launch a business. And

0:19:18.560 --> 0:19:21.679
<v Speaker 1>I just want to acknowledge and like validate the probably

0:19:21.680 --> 0:19:23.639
<v Speaker 1>the frustration that you may be feeling, like I just

0:19:23.680 --> 0:19:25.119
<v Speaker 1>want to do this as my dream. I want to

0:19:25.119 --> 0:19:27.240
<v Speaker 1>get it going, but I have these other things in

0:19:27.280 --> 0:19:31.159
<v Speaker 1>the way. It may just take more time than you

0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:34.919
<v Speaker 1>would like it too, but it is possible. And I

0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:38.320
<v Speaker 1>think that you have everything you need to get done,

0:19:38.480 --> 0:19:40.160
<v Speaker 1>what you need to get done to make your dreams

0:19:40.200 --> 0:19:42.840
<v Speaker 1>come true and to make this really come alive. But

0:19:43.040 --> 0:19:46.800
<v Speaker 1>it just may take a longer time than you would

0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:50.360
<v Speaker 1>like to and that can be okay, all right. I

0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:52.800
<v Speaker 1>hope that this helped you, Tony. Thank you so much

0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:56.399
<v Speaker 1>for being so vulnerable and transparent with your story. Please,

0:19:56.800 --> 0:19:59.280
<v Speaker 1>you know, send another DM, let us know how it's going,

0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:01.919
<v Speaker 1>Let me know how going, Let me know if this

0:20:02.040 --> 0:20:04.879
<v Speaker 1>was helpful, If there's other questions, b A fam I

0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:07.680
<v Speaker 1>love getting your questions again. Hit us up at Brand

0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:10.760
<v Speaker 1>Ambition podcast on ij on ig. You can slide into

0:20:10.760 --> 0:20:14.040
<v Speaker 1>our d MS or email me at Brand Ambition Podcast

0:20:14.080 --> 0:20:16.120
<v Speaker 1>at gmail dot com. Thank y'all,