dental-ish by browngirlrdh
The first black dental podcast mixed with a little something extra. Podcast topics range from family, entrepreneurship, education, to working in the dental industry as black professionals. Brought to you by BrownGirl, RDH.
dental-ish by browngirlrdh
How to Guide to Money Mastery
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Ever wondered how financial literacy could transform your life? Learn from Sharice RDH, a veteran dental hygienist turned financial advisor, who shares her inspiring journey from the projects to becoming a financial advocate. In this episode, Sharice reveals how she conquered financial challenges while supporting her family through dental hygiene school and discovered the empowering world of franchising a financial services business for just $349. Her story is a testament to resilience and empowerment, highlighting the importance of understanding money management regardless of one's background.
We also dive into the wide range of financial services available, from consumer credit repair to business credit building. Sharice debunks common misconceptions about business financing and stresses the necessity of establishing solid business credit. She underscores the impact of misinformation on small business owners and emphasizes the critical need for financial education in underserved and minority communities. Sharice's dedication to uplifting her family and empowering others with financial literacy is both motivating and enlightening, offering listeners practical steps to bridge generational financial gaps and foster successful entrepreneurship. Tune in to uncover the transformative power of financial education and gain valuable insights into achieving financial health.
www.browngirlrdh.org/events
www.browngirlrdh.org/join
Financial Literacy and Credit Repair
Speaker 1All right , everybody , welcome to Dentalist Season 3 . I'm here with Sharice RDH . She's a Brown Bear RDH dental hygienist . She's been in dental hygiene practice for about seven years . She also is in the financial advisory aspect of her career . So she's out of the op . She found her side hustle , her first love in finance , and she's helping us get our credit right today . Like if you've seen her , if you've been following her on social media , she's dropping gems credit repair , what to do , what not to do , y'all with them .
Speaker 1523 credit scores . Everybody done been there , I've been there . Okay , there's not , don't be ashamed , but we gonna get you right . And there is a such thing as an 850 credit score . But do you really need that ? That's what I'd be . Like , who cares if it's 850 ? We're only going to get you know . When I went to lease my car , they was like it doesn't matter if you have perfect credit . Like this is the interest rate you know . So people don't understand that too . So , um , I wanted to get some information about what you do as far as the the financial aspect of you know , credit repair and your team . Like I see a lot of your team . They're out here winning . So , like I'm trying to be on the team . What's going on ?
Speaker 2yeah , so I mean we're , you know , nationwide , so we have members in all states . I was lucky to find where this opportunity came to me , actually from a friend that I grew up with . We went to high school together . We both grew up in the same projects which we like .
Speaker 2Now we're like we grew up in the same projects , which we like . Now we're like we grew up , we started it in the same project , but now we're like building a team together , growing together . So it's good just knowing , like the beginning , where we came from and where we are now , where we're headed . The opportunity actually came to me . He had posted about franchising into a company and you know , when you're franchising just like in a Chick-fil-a or something like that they want so much up front , hundred thousand invested you have to show up . And he was like you know it's only like 349 to franchise into a company . I'm like you know , own your own , start your own financial services business . I'm like , no , wait a minute , what it's like that's the lowest is $349 .
Speaker 1I don't even look like you trying to scam me out of $500 . What's Cash App scam ? What's going on ? Okay , go .
Speaker 2No , no , look , I don't even like to operate a Cash App for real . We'll start there because they be having too much going on . And then I mean the great thing about it . Like me , growing up my family , we've been in the suburbs , we've been in the project from the suburbs back to the project . So you know knowing both sides of that spectrum .
Speaker 2But just growing up nobody really talked about money . Like I knew really nothing about money when I got pregnant at 15 , it was like me having my first bank account . My grandma was like okay , you have to have a bank account . And I'm like I've never heard my parents talk about a bank account . My grandma was , like okay , you have to have a bank account . I'm like I've never heard my parents talk about a bank account . My dad rarely even like dealt in debit or credit cards or anything like that . Like growing up in my house , you know that crown royal bag under the mattress . Like that's the bank under the mattress , in the crown , in the crown bag . So it was all like new to me as far as like how to handle and I really didn't even know the difference between different accounts retirement account , different checking and savings accounts until I actually got into the mortgage finance industry In my undergrad .
Speaker 2I majored in biology and minored in business finance because I was like , okay , I'm going to go to dental school , have my own practice , so I kind of need to know . You know the front and the back end of things . But life flight after I graduated , I just ended up moving to Atlanta . Me and my best friend and that was the first thing I was able to get into was the mortgage industry . So from there I did that for 12 years , even while I was in hygiene school . That's how I actually paid for hygiene school , working that job , because otherwise I probably wouldn't have made it . I had my undergrad degree , had started my master's , so financial aid was like , nah , you got these advanced degrees , you're trying to get an associate ? Like you're moving backwards , we ain't giving you no money . So I had to pay almost $900 a month for hygiene school on top of my regular bills .
Speaker 1Back to financial literacy . People don't know , just because you have the degree does not mean you will make the money . So when you have to go back and go for an associate's and you're like , yeah , I can make , you know , $75,000 a year , then it's one of those things like why wouldn't I ? But then the financial is like uh-uh , what you doing ? You already had your turn .
Speaker 2Because they're like , nah , we ain't giving you nothing else , even though I would have been able to get it if I was to go get my doctorate or something like that . But they're like you're moving backwards , so , nah , and I kind of was discouraged a little bit because I'm like I ain't no $900 . And then we even had this conversation how they were talking about how dental hygienist , you know , you can't work , you can't do this , can't do that , and I'm like so make it through hygiene school with these kids , a whole family , you know , trying to make this payment . So the coke , like financial literacy .
Speaker 2There was one thing , too , as far as , like , my credit score , just being able to get different things , like even though though my credit wasn't horrible , I had like a 668 , but it was like stuck there , it was just sitting and I'm like , why can't I get a higher score ? What is going on ? And the reason being is because I had all these student loans and all of them were at their max limit , like I hadn't paid them down like to half or below it , to where , um , my credit score would move , and I didn't have a mixture of credit . So all I had was my student loans . My car was paid off . I didn't have , like , any revolving debt , no credit cards or anything like that and this was important about a credit score that people don't understand , like they assume that oh , cause it's good .
Speaker 2Oh , I got , you know everything gets paid on time . Then I'm good , like my credit score . But then they get stuck . They like wondering why . And so when I started to learn how credit works and how the mixture of things works , it's like , okay , credit mix is 10% of your credit score , so you have to have that mixture . If you don't , you are losing 10% of what your score is . So I had to work around like how to start getting credit cards , because even though I had that 668 , I was getting denied for credit cards and I'm like everything is on time . I got a good score , but I didn't have that credit mix that lenders are looking for to approve you for anything . So I had to start off , like with the starter account , secure a credit card to build up my revolving credit , and then my score started going , started moving from there , start learning how to manipulate your credit score . It's all a game really Like when you're dealing with credit . You just have to learn how to play your credit score . It's all a game really Like when you're dealing with credit . You just have to learn how to play the game .
Speaker 2Having those maxed out credit cards keep your score low . You want to keep it . At least 30% or less . 10% is ideal of the credit utilization . Most people think like oh , I don't understand why , when they look at their credit report , why their utilization is still high . When they're like , oh , I don't understand why , when they look at their credit report , why their utilization is still high . When they're like , oh , I paid it down to 10% by my due date , but the due date isn't the actual date that's reporting to your credit report . You need to pay by that statement date or the closing date . That's the date that's reporting to the credit bureaus , not the actual due date . Your due date is to keep it from going delinquent , but the statement date is what's going to report on your utilization .
Speaker 1So your statement date is going to be before your due date .
Speaker 2Sometimes it is yeah , it's all dependent . But look on your credit card statement or either call the bank or a credit card company and they'll give you that statement date , because there's not one that's like readily given to people or if they see it , they don't know to like okay , that's the date that I need to pay by . Like , you could pay your statement by that date to get that utilization down to 10% and then the next day after that statement date close . If you need to run that thing back up and to the next statement date , you can do that because it's gonna report that low utilization and that's gonna help keep your credit score high .
Speaker 1I paid off a mortgage and my credit score dropped a seven point . I was like you know what they can have this Pay off a car , you pay off a mortgage , you pay off your credit cards , your score is going to drop and it's all a game . So they want you to be in debt , they want you to have those credit cards , those student loans . And the credit mix , like you said , is really important because when I had the mortgage on there , my credit score was about like 700 , 720 , 780 . You already hit the 720 to get a business loan . You don't need no 850 . They don't care about the 850 . I know some people really really be over here dying over perfect credit scores . It is not , they do . Debt is a good thing , having debt is a good thing . I don't know why , generationally we run from debt , from credit cards . My mom told me don't get no credit cards when I was growing up , so I didn't . Obviously you need them and that's that wealth gap that we keep talking about . So what
Financial Services and Credit Education
Speaker 1is it ? What does your company do ?
Speaker 2So we're ? We're pretty much a credit and money company , so financial services across the board pretty much anything consumer need or business need , we have a solution for it . So as far as like the consumer side , we offer credit repair . We offer personal debt relief program . We offer like auto refinancing , student loan refinancing . We have a program for like will and trust . And as far as like the business side , we also we help with building business credit , providing funding . We have a program for that to help you build your business credit and within that program you're guaranteed at least $50,000 in funding by the time we're done and that's like the least amount . Most people get more than that , but you at least have that $50,000 in funding when you get started .
Speaker 2We offer business funding for companies that's already fully established but they are have been like using their own personal funds trying to run their business . And we all I mean we all don't know because I realized that how much of a mess that can be when you're trying to run a business from your personal funds . I didn't even realize , like how bad it was until I actually got into the industry . How people you know , everybody wants to own a business . That's all you see . Entrepreneurship . I want to do this and they just automatically assume okay , I've got my LLC , ein , I'm about to walk into this bank , get this $100,000 and boom like no , it don't work like that , it's not that easy .
Speaker 2Social media got them thinking it's that easy . Like it's it's really . You have to have so much in place in order to get that funding . And then , if you're a new business starting off , they're not only gonna worry about your business score , they want to start looking at your personal score too , because what else do they have to go on if you're a new business with no business credit established ? And so these new companies , they're not fully congruent to go into a bank to get the approval that they're looking for . And they're wondering why , like I got my eie , I got my llc . That's what it make it seem . That's all I need to get this hundred thousand dollar loan . It's like you ain't even proved to them you could pay back $1,000 .
Speaker 1No trade lines . You ain't got no trade lines . They finna give you $100,000 . You ain't do the basics . You don't got no GAF cards . You know , in 2020 , covid happened . It was so many people on there trying to . This is how you do a business , and let me teach you how to . And go to Navy Federal and run it up and blah , blah , blah , that people got so much misinformation that they just really think oh , all I got to do is get a bank account at Navy Federal and I can just go .
Speaker 1You need at least two .
Speaker 2And then get this G-Wagon financing my business name . It's like what . You don't even have 10 good trade lines , no revenue , but you want them to give you a G-Wagon in your business name . So want them to give you a G-Wag and then your business name . So it yeah , and it's a lot of like misinformation . So you know we're here to educate . We focus on the underserved and minority community . Most of the partners in the company are minorities for the most part , with the Black and Brown community and the owners . His main goal is to reach back and give . Based out of georgia , he even has his own day in mcdonough , georgia , where he gives back yearly to the community . So it's about trying to just uplift our community and bridge that generational gap , break those curses that you know a lot of us can relate to and that we grew up on , to help people in their personal life as far as how credit and financing go , and to properly run a business and be successful doing it .
Speaker 1I heard of the dunes and Bradstreet for your business credit , but you got to pay for that . I was like , oh , wow . But I think so many people were on those , you know on their social media , and do this , do that . They were like , oh , what's going on ? So they charged they , they started charging for it , and we always say , once they get to facebook and social media , it's the , it's the wrap , hang it up like it's over they're .
Speaker 2They're definitely making it harder for small businesses to open and they're gonna want to start seeing more paperwork as far as , like you know , the stuff that you're reporting , the taxes , this revenue , how you doing I mean it's , it's . It's not as easy as it used to be , that's for sure , because probably any people doing it and running it up and doing it the wrong way and for the wrong reasons , it's like what ?
Speaker 1are you talking about ? You don't even need your credit score . You could go and use your EIN to go ahead and get this Tesla and get this G-Wagon . It's like they want your credit score . I don't know who told you . Everybody used to have been doing that , but now it's a big personal Because so many people you know gave misinformation or ran it up and made it hard for everybody else , so that's what happened . So once what happened , so once they catch on to what people are doing , they cut it out right away . Everybody in 2020 was trying to do this and do that , and then the ppp loan stuff didn't help .
Speaker 2right that get people the power to be like , yeah , I'm gonna go ahead and do this . You know they don't want too many people hitting that tax bracket getting those tax write-offs . You get a lot of deductions being a small business owner , that you know the regular w-2 employee you know they're paying more taxes and stuff than somebody that's a business owner . So it's like , hold on , we can't get too many people these tax breaks , so we got to figure out how to put a restriction on this somebody told me there's a new law that they're starting tax entrepreneurs on .
Speaker 1Did you hear about that ? They're starting to tax people who open businesses and I was like , wow , that's interesting , but it's too many people becoming entrepreneurs , Like it's not enough people going into the workforce and people are not just joining college and getting degrees anymore .
Speaker 2You know , when you start tapping into the government money , like hold on , they ain't going to college , they ain't getting these student loans , Like wait a minute . Yeah , yeah , they doing all they can to try to revive that too .
Speaker 1So I saw on TikTok they were saying how to get negative late payments or negative remarks off your credit . You have to do like law something , section DLB , you put it on a credit report and you report it and you claim the dispute . I don't give you permission to use my information and then the creditors , because of that law , have to take it down like any late payments or any hard inquiries or anything that's reported . Have you heard of that law ?
Speaker 2well with that particular law , with some of the verbiage that's in that letter isn't particularly a hundred percent like . When you send a letter like that , you have to be sure like to list any discrepancies , send any proof as to what you're disputing . You can't't just say I ain't give you permission . It's like what , what you mean ? You ain't give me permission . So some of those things come with proof . That's why it's harder sometimes for us , when we are hired as , like , a credit repair specialist , to remove things from people's credit report . Like if they are going trying to dispute certain things , like through credit karma , and they don't have the particular law , the right law , of disputed it the right way , and that creditor has come back and said , nah , this is valid . And we come back behind them and try to say the same things like nah , try to say the same things like nah , we already done , told you that this is valid . So it makes it harder for us to fight for it , like we can get it done , but it ain't gonna happen overnight , and that's what people don't understand too . Like it is a process and especially if you've already started messing with it yourself , like you be , like you know , and then you have some . While you try to dispute , they want to try to do their own thing and it's like okay , these people get too much misinformation . Like just relax and trust the process , because it is a process .
Speaker 2It is some people out here that's doing credit suites which are , in essence , illegal , where and credit suites are pretty much . You may come across somebody like oh , I could sweep off everything in 30 days . They're usually like reporting your accounts as fraud , like everything that's on your credit report is a fraudulent activity and it kind of erases you . They freeze things through lexusNexis , which is a consumer reporting agency . Or either some people have you to go like get a police report and say these accounts , tell them these accounts , you know your identity has been stolen , and that way they sweep everything out . But at the end of the day that's completely fraudulent because you're lying , you know you , these accounts are yours . But some people are doing it because they're looking for that quick fit and I mean I'm dealing with a girl who did that a few years ago and she's trying to get a house and now she going to these lenders and her credit score coming back in a and she's like I don't understand why no credit score coming back , na , and she's like I don't understand why no credit score is pulling . And I'm like , asking her all these questions and found out she did a credit sweep and now she has to contact lexus , nexus , try to prove her identity , because you said this wasn't you so they could wipe yourself clean .
Speaker 2And yeah , so it's a lot of information out there . It's a lot of misinformation . When I'm dealing with people , the first thing they tell me like it seems like 90% of the people that I've dealt with have dealt with somebody fraudulent or have gotten over on them as far as , like , the credit repass . So it's even getting past that step hard . But , like with our services , we even offer 180 day money back guarantee . So it's like you , you don't lose no money if you know , nothing doesn't work out . So you know that gives people reassurance as well . Like you know , it's risk-free at that point social media has damaged everything .
Speaker 1You don't know what's real , what's fake . What look real might be fake and what was fake might look real . And it's just like I don't know how people keep up . I really don't . And it's like I guess people don't do nothing or you just shoot in the dark and they either get scammed then they don't . But you're right . The cash app scam . I was asking a girl . I'm like do you have any buddy passes , you know for the airline thing ? She was like I can do a . She said something a copy card . You pay 50% . I said what's a copy card ? She's like they get somebody's credit card and get the flight for you . I said I shouldn't have known not to ask her because in Atlanta they be . I was like no , ma'am , I'm not gonna end up in jail , right somebody's credit card and buy flights I couldn't believe did you see that post about the girl who stole the um cpn .
Speaker 2Got the cpn for the veneers the cpn .
Speaker 2I don't know what a cpn is , so that's like basically you can , the numbers are somewhat like a social security number , so it's like a consumer private number is what they call them , but it has a nine digit number like a social security number . So basically , somebody has fraudulently taken somebody else's identity and tied it to this number that's had good credit and they are selling this to a consumer so they can get financing under that name . In essence , have taken somebody's identity but it to , you know , make it look like the person that's buying it . And so the girl that tried to get the veneers here at the dental office when they figured out that it wasn't her identity , that's how the police caught up with them and that's why she was like oh , what she said ? Like , oh , I bought this number from somebody .
Speaker 2No , my homeboy said I could use it , and all this Like it's been going on for years but they've been using it like small stuff . Oh , I'm going to go get me an apartment , something that again social media , you know . So now they want to go try to do it big . I want to go buy these teeth , I want to go buy me a mansion , I want to go buy me a car , and it's just like , even it's fraudulent .
Speaker 1But social media mess up like some stuff for you , like even the thing , like I'm not trying to go to jail , like do do people even think , like if I get caught , what's the worst that can happen ?
Speaker 2jail , okay , no I'm good I saw that video . I'm like girl , I'm glad you weren't in the middle of a prep because that would have been hard walking around with some shaved down teeth .
Speaker 1But that's crazy . Well , I mean , this was very informative . So if anyone needs help with financial advising or credit repair or just has questions to reach out to you about you know credit scores and how all of that works and what you guys help with wills and trust and all of that , where can they find you ?
Speaker 2My business number is 470-632-6638 . And I can be found on , like all social media my Facebook , instagram and TikTok . My name , sharice Ferguson S-H-E-R-I-E-S-E-F-E-R-G-U-S-O-N , f-e-r-g-u-s-o-n . And my website , wwwnobaycom . Slash Sharice S-H-E-R-I-E-S-E-F-E-R-G-U , and that's my website and that has all my business information and the programs and services that I offer on that website
Franchise Opportunity and Financial Education
Speaker 2.
Speaker 1For y'all looking to get outside of the op and do something different . Sharice has done it . She is out . She still practices . You still practice part-time or whenever you want to you temp .
Speaker 2Yeah , I'm just temping whenever . Yeah .
Speaker 1But it might be a way to buy into the franchise . So if y'all interested in it , got three hundred forty nine dollars . It is not a scam .
Speaker 2OK , it is not a scam Because , listen , I got my whole family with me , so it ain't a scam . Good , good , I got I brought my mom in . Two of my brothers , my sister-in-law Like I mean it's just been great as a whole because again we didn't grow up like that . I mean it's just been great as a whole because again we didn't grow up like that . Like , even now , just seeing my mom , even though you know she's older , she's learning still , and she's like , oh my God , she even apologized I'm like , oh my God , I'm just so sorry .
Speaker 2Like I didn't teach y'all this stuff and you know she was feeling bad about it at first . And I'm like , mom , you really can't teach what you don't know . Like you know , you try to be like oh , you know , my parents didn't do this , parents didn't do that . But at the same time you kind of have to somewhat give them a little grace because , especially in our community , like they can't teach us certain things which they don't know . But as we're learning , just like I did , I could reach back , grab my mom and be like look , this is what we're doing and this is how we're going to get it done and just educate everybody . And her niche is focusing on people in her age group that you know financial , illiterate and still trying to find a way , and you know better themselves and educate , get the education they need . So it's been good for me and my family as a whole just even seeing everybody's confidence and how confident they are with everything , the knowledge that they're gaining . They just enjoy helping the community .
Speaker 1Cherise . Well , thank you so much . This is season three of Dentalist Bye .
