In this episode, we dive into financial empowerment with Jasper Smith, who shares his insights on transforming personal finance and breaking generational poverty. Known as Mr. #BuildWealth, Jasper brings over fifteen years of financial services experience to discuss the importance of financial literacy in overcoming psychological barriers to savvy investing. We debunk common investment myths, highlight the constraints of traditional saving methods in an inflationary economy, and explore the stock market's role in expanding financial strategies. Jasper introduces the pillars of the Build Wealth Challenge—fun, honesty, and transparency in money management—and emphasizes building a 'money team' for comprehensive financial planning.
📺 You can watch this episode on Moses The Mentor's YouTube page and don't forget to subscribe: https://youtu.be/IWyUZyVZ9lo
🎯Connect with Jasper Smith @mr_buildwealth on Instagram and visit his website thebuildwealthmovement.com
🎯Connect with Moses The Mentor: https://mtr.bio/moses-the-mentor
☕If you value my content consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mosesthementor
📢Support Money Focused Podcast for as low as $3 a month: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2261865/support
🔔Subscribe to my channel for Real Estate & Personal Finance tips https://www.youtube.com/@mosesthementor?sub_confirmation=1
In this episode, we dive into financial empowerment with Jasper Smith, who shares his insights on transforming personal finance and breaking generational poverty. Known as Mr. #BuildWealth, Jasper brings over fifteen years of financial services experience to discuss the importance of financial literacy in overcoming psychological barriers to savvy investing. We debunk common investment myths, highlight the constraints of traditional saving methods in an inflationary economy, and explore the stock market's role in expanding financial strategies. Jasper introduces the pillars of the Build Wealth Challenge—fun, honesty, and transparency in money management—and emphasizes building a 'money team' for comprehensive financial planning.
📺 You can watch this episode on Moses The Mentor's YouTube page and don't forget to subscribe: https://youtu.be/IWyUZyVZ9lo
🎯Connect with Jasper Smith @mr_buildwealth on Instagram and visit his website thebuildwealthmovement.com
🎯Connect with Moses The Mentor: https://mtr.bio/moses-the-mentor
☕If you value my content consider buying me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mosesthementor
📢Support Money Focused Podcast for as low as $3 a month: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2261865/support
🔔Subscribe to my channel for Real Estate & Personal Finance tips https://www.youtube.com/@mosesthementor?sub_confirmation=1
Welcome to the Money Focus Podcast. I'm your host, moses the Mentor, and in this episode I'm bringing you guys Jasper Smith. He's the visionary behind the Build Wealth Movement, which is an initiative that's transforming lives by disrupting generational poverty. By disrupting generational poverty, jasper, also known as Mr Bill Wealth, has dedicated over 15 years to the financial services industry, helping countless people with financial freedom. So let's dive into Jasper's journey and his innovative approach towards personal finance, how he's making a dream of living a life of privilege a reality for so many people. Let's go All right. Thank you, jasper, for taking the time out and joining Money Focus Podcast. Really appreciate it. The first thing I always ask my guests to do is to walk us through your career journey, your professional journey and, ultimately, how you started your business. So the floor is yours.
Speaker 2:Ooh, that is a loaded intro. So it all started back in 2007. So, literally 2007,.
Speaker 2:Graduated from our North Carolina A&T shout out to Optalda HBC alums and grads acne pride all day and just had this curiosity for the money business and didn't know what that meant. You know, understood a little bit of the stock market but really was like I want to get busy and figure this thing out. Why is there this obsession with the Dow Jones being reported on every newscast radio? They throw this stuff at us every day. And I was just curious. And so I'd hopped into financial services right out of college and quickly found, like quickly, within like maybe a year or two, that I wanted to be a financial planner.
Speaker 2:Just, I love the, the lifestyle that I could potentially live, but also realizing that as a person of color, we're a lot of advisors who look like me, and when you start thinking about the issues that play Black and brown community all across the country, it was like they're not coming to my neighborhood.
Speaker 2:They're not, you know, they're not going to do it.
Speaker 2:So if not them, then who?
Speaker 2:And so I felt compelled to kind of stay in this industry, just so I could learn more, not only for my old self and my family, but to really start to try to leave that that lasting legacy of like here's, here's how the game should be played from from a wealth standpoint, trying to learn more on how I can improve you know things in my own life with my family, but also just trying to encourage and engage our communities of hey you all.
Speaker 2:If we get a little bit more comfortable talking about money, I think a lot of our communities would change drastically. But because there's still a lot of fear and trauma and anxiety around financial topics in general anxiety around financial topics in general we've got a long way to go, and so my whole career has been spent inside of financial institutions, working in nonprofit sectors, launching my own business, and it was just okay. If I can always keep those three things in mind, I think I'll be okay because I'll have the connection to the inside, like being in the business, you know, having that foot in the community, but also exploring entrepreneurship and having something that's my own.
Speaker 1:Nice, nice. So with with your background in, you know financial services, like working in the industry, working for corporate, working for nonprofits was it solely that you just wasn't seeing, you know, black and brown people being represented? Enough that kind of started you to really focus on disrupting you know, generational poverty. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes, you know that was it.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. It's still a problem to this day. It is still an issue that you know. We talk about diversity and inclusion and belonging, and it's I want us to be included in all facets of financial services. So there's insurers, there's investments, there's banking, there's credit, there's lending. I mean you go down the list of financial services as an industry and it's it's not as colorful as it needs to be to service the number of people who needs, who need things, and so I I can't give up this fight Like I can't.
Speaker 2:I've I've tried, like I've tried, to quit, so I'm going to go make my money, do my thing, just forget y'all. I'm going to take care of mine, I'm going to look after my crew and my family. Forget everybody else. And there are people who do that and I don't. I don't even judge them for doing that, because this work is hard. I mean, moses, honestly, man, some days I'm like, why do I keep doing it?
Speaker 2:And I think for me it was having a daughter, like you know, if you have a kid, like you just think about, like how can I change the world so that little person can have it a little bit different than I did? And knowing all the societal issues and things that my daughter is going to have to deal with as she gets older. I was like I'm doing that for her, like I got to make sure she's going to be OK If I got something to do with it. Or my wife, like we got to make sure that that little girl is going to be OK and I'm not going to allow society to dictate what she will and won't be able to do versus let's do the work necessary to ensure that she has options.
Speaker 1:Well, it is definitely a good fight and, you know, unfortunately unfortunately, you know it's it's not as as popular to talk about these type of things, because you know it is a language. Like you know, the money is a language, so you have the language that's widely spread, spread out as how to spend money. You know, like well, I want to buy this, I want to do that, and then you have how to spend money. You know, like, well, I want to buy this, I want to do that, and then you have how to make money.
Speaker 1:People traditionally just talk about a job and, again, there's no shame in a job, but it's also understanding entrepreneurship, it's also how to manage your money, even if you have a job. Those are the things that's not easily shared or easily, you know, consumed by people in our community, unfortunately, and you kind of you know it gives you the points where you you struggle and say, hey, maybe I should give up or something like that. But we need you, we need more jaspers, you know, out there fighting the fight. Um, so, stay strong and hopefully, with a platform like mine, you know we'll just continue to share the message and make it cool to really understand, you know, your money, and that's the reason why it's called the Money Focus Podcast.
Speaker 2:Yes, you just said a word that I know that I am working on is you've got to make it cool, like we're talking about. You can look at social media nowadays with tunes popping as an influencer like they just made it exciting. The game has not changed. Budgeting is still budgeting, however you want to call it, frame it, present it. It's boring, but if you can make this stuff fun and sexy and exciting, that will, you know, kind of pull people in to want to try, not saying they're going to be perfect.
Speaker 2:But we're not looking for perfection. Like as a practitioner, like with all my clients, I'm looking for progress, whether that's like minimal progress or like crazy big maximum. Like I just want us to be progressing. And I think I get frustrated, like other experts is like technology has enabled us to do a lot more with less. So, no matter where you are, most people have a smartphone or they can go tap into somebody else's wifi at a cafe. Like you, you got the internet in your hand, in your pocket, but how many of us are leveraging these tools to really improve our situation?
Speaker 2:Now, yes, I understand we need a release from like our real life and social and a lot of ratchet stuff that I love to view as well, but it doesn't consume my life.
Speaker 2:So I look at it at night, you know, if I'm commuting, or there are certain times of the day. You know in my, in my text, there with the homies, like it's then that I can enjoy some of that stuff. But we have access to so much information and we don't take advantage of that. That also hurts me because I've done a lot of free community things and the turnout has been abysmal and it's crazy to me to think you all will tell me what you can't afford and how you need help and I've listened and then I will show up as a doing this free event, this church at the community center, at this nonprofit, like just come through. Oh man, I can't make it all. Something came up. You know it was cloudy outside today and I'm like y'all will make up any old excuse to not come Get what you said for fridge, you offered it for free and they still didn't come up.
Speaker 1:So yeah, that's, that's telling, because even if it was a low cost, you know, because again, everything that you're doing for free is still a cost to you, you know, and that support that is needed from you know, our community, because we're coming and giving back, a lot of times it's not reciprocated, so just it's unfortunate. But again, we got to keep pushing and, you know, making sure that we, you know, connect with the people. That's ready for us. Some people are just not going to be ready for the type of education that we're trying to impart, and that's just the truth, you know. Yeah.
Speaker 2:They will come. They will come when they're ready. And I think for me it's continue to push, like how can I just keep pushing forward with my, you know, build wealth movement with my, with my book, my book, with?
Speaker 2:all the stuff that I'm doing. Like, how do I keep pushing that forward in hopes that people will gravitate towards it at some point, so at least they can say, well, when they're ready, I know somebody. And that's the thing for me is that we'll tend to say, well, I don't know anybody who does X, and I'm like Raul, they're playing you, you know me and I'm connected to this expansive network and a lot of the stuff that we're needing is literally within a couple degrees of separation. It's a text message or wave. You say, hey, I need some help with X, help will come. If you just ask, it will come. And it was wild, as people don't believe that, and I'm like, oh, keep asking for stuff, it will show up on your door, in your inbox, you will get that phone call you've been waiting for. You will get it at some point.
Speaker 2:But a lot of us have this unfortunate mindset of you know, we've just been losing, we can't get out of this cycle. So when I talk about disrupting generational poverty, my goal for any engagement is I need to change the way you think and feel about money, because those are the two things that are holding us back. It's not the dollars and cents. It's not all the products and solutions that are in the marketplace, it's just the way you think about those products. It's the way you feel about you know some of those financial topics and I tend to ask some of those feeling type of questions when I, when I work with clients, is just tell me where we're left, tell me how we got here. So tell me how we got here.
Speaker 2:And then what you find in Moses is people that have never, like, unpacked some of that baggage. Well, my mom or dad or granny, whomever didn't do this they always say we're bad with money. I mean, you've internalized those thoughts and so now you don't even believe it because you've been kind of conditioned to believe you can't make it. You've been conditioned to believe you can't be an investor. I mean I find people who have, you know, retirement plans through their jobs, which means you have an investment account, and they'll say, well, jasper, I don't really have any investments. I'm like, oh, you're an investor and you didn't even know it and it's just those small things. Like you've been putting money Well, it's been automatic money, well, it's been automatic. You've been putting money away every pay cycle. So you, technically, are an investor, but they don't even believe that they are.
Speaker 2:Because it's like we're always trying to compare ourselves to somebody else. And I've, I've, I try to get people to say you can just focus on you, like what is it that you need, what is it that your family needs, your kids, your, your community? Focus, like, get a little more focus and granular, and then at that point you can expand outward. And so I find a lot of people are in our communities trying to do everything for everybody else and never like working on what they need, and it's a weird dynamic. But I'm like, if you take care of yourself first, you'll be a better service to everybody else. That's true.
Speaker 1:And then another thing I run into you know you have the people that are, you know, very safe. You know they're very safe because they might've grew up in inner city, they might've grew up with, you know, parents that really didn't do well with money and they become kind of like, hey, I know what not to be Right. So they're, they're safe and that's just like you said, someone has a 401k. I mean, that's a good thing to be proud of, but they never learn how to be active investors. They never learn how to really grow wealth exponentially. You know, it's just more of a hey, I just need to make sure I work, need to make sure I take care of the house, and those things again are safe.
Speaker 1:We're not meant to just, you know, just check a box. You know, and when you understand the language of finance and how to actually build wealth in America, there's so many tools to help you. You know, like you said, the access to information is in the palm of your hands. So it's better ways to actually use your money than a lot of people, even even if their idea of success is hey, I'm going to work, I'm happy, you can still utilize your money a whole lot better, like savings accounts. I can't stand savings accounts. You know what I'm saying. Like why put your money in a bank that's going to use that money and grow it 20, 30 times when you know you're getting no money back? It's not even keeping up with the rate of inflation. But if you've been conditioned to be a saver and you're thinking, hey, I'm doing a great job because my savings account is more than my checking, then you're not really moving forward. You might be doing better than your parents or your siblings, but you're not really moving forward.
Speaker 2:I got to tell you this story so you just said so. So last year, last year, was a pretty good year in the market overall, right. So there are ups and downs in the market throughout any given year, but last year was was was interesting because some people had become very ferocious sabers after like post pandemic and so they were hoarding. Rates were slowly going up. And so once the banks and credit unions were like, oh, we'll give you four or five, maybe even 6% on a high yield money market, people were like, oh, this is great. And I was like, all right, cool, if that is happening at your bank or credit union, what do you think the market might be doing? Let's just take a look. And so I had people last year just, hey, man, what's the best high yield money market? What bank? I'm like, look, if this is outside of like your emergency fund, outside of your emergency fund, meaning you've got the three to six, the four to six, six months, whatever it is you needed for your emergency savings. If you had that and you were still like looking for opportunities, all I said was consider the stock market, consider something else, do something, please. And so I told the story.
Speaker 2:I had a client where she was shopping rates and found some accounts. I said, cool, I also made some of her investments. And so she was like, well, should I put more in? I was like, absolutely, because you don't need this money, I wouldn't let it sit at the bank. But she opted for the money market.
Speaker 2:So January 4th I called her. I said hey, I got a story to tell you. I just happened to be looking at the performance of this one mutual fund, just one. I don't do nothing crazy Moe. I'm not some stock trading machine. I just pick stuff that I know is going to work for my clients so I don't get in trouble and they're not calling me. And so, year over year this is a real story year over year, after like fees and charges from the fund, it did 29% in 2023. Her money market was going to do this 6% for 12 whole months, and she started in the middle of the year, so she still had to wait. And so so when I, when I broke it down to her, I said you know that's 6%, so you get one 12th of that 6%. So in 12 months from now, you will have then been credited 6%. She was like, I know, that's why I got into it. I said so this one fund that I was in just did 29. So let's rule out, if we just looked in the 12-month window, 29% or 6%, that's it.
Speaker 2:And, to your point, that's that cautious, saver mentality where we're so afraid to take a little bit of risk, but you were already willing to put that money at play because you didn't need it. And again, I can't produce 29 percent every year, but it's those small tweaks of Put together. A couple of those 29 percent years even have some bad years, but I've made so much in those up years or up markets that, yeah, the down years aren't as painful. I can take a little hit, but I've made so. And that's the wealthy right. So the wealthy take hits also, but in comparison to their asset levels is not that big of a deal, because every year they have assets that are appreciating a lot more and they're working too. They have incomes. But it's how we play in the game, and so for a lot of people they just don't have a strategy. And that's where somebody like me comes in.
Speaker 2:Tell me what you're trying to do and let's make sure we're doing what's in your best interest. Forget me Just what are you trying to accomplish? And I'm just going to tell you straight up, here's what you should consider doing Now. If you don't do it, I just make my nose motions. I make my nose say did not listen. Circle back at six months. Check in, and I can't guarantee what's going to happen in the future. Check in and it's. I can't guarantee what's going to happen in the future, but my gut tells me. My gut tells me that the way our economy works, if you stay in the market long enough, you're going to be OK.
Speaker 1:Historically, that's been the case. Talk to us, though, about the build wealth challenge.
Speaker 2:What are some of the core principles of the Build Wealth Challenge? Honesty is one of them. Like honesty, I'll say, and let's say transparency from both sides. So for you as the individual, like if somebody picked up my book and said, what's this challenge? I'm just asking you to be honest with yourself, like stop lying about where you are and you can just answer those questions in my book honestly. That is a great start. And I say honestly from my standpoint of transparency, because I'm very open about how I get compensated, what I can do and what I can't do, and so I never want to leave somebody guessing like, well, what I can do and what I can't do, and so I never want to leave somebody guessing like, well, what does Jasper really do? Can you help? No, no, it's fairly clear. Based on what you tell me, if you're honest, I can tell you how I might be able to be of service. That's one piece.
Speaker 2:The second one I like having fun, moses, like I'm not the stuffy financial guy. I just bring some sense of humor to my interactions, because you got to laugh so you don't cry. You got to laugh at yourself for all that reckless spending, because you are the reason you're in this mess. Let's just laugh it out. Everybody's blown a few dollars doing some stuff they shouldn't have done. Great, that's life. So, as life goes, you still should have some fun. You may have a vice or two or three, but as long as it's not putting stuff in jeopardy, it's okay and that's the like.
Speaker 2:The fun part for me is like getting people to acknowledge some of those, those those negative habits or traits that make them feel bad. And I'm like we all got them and let's just have a nice laugh and talk about how you act in a fool. But then let's move forward and if you act the fool again, that's okay. But you got to laugh because if you don't, you think about well, I'm never going to make it. It's a bad. You can never see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you keep walking through the tunnel the light will get bigger. So let's just laugh it out. Have a good time. Let's be open and honest.
Speaker 2:You know, one of the other things I ask or I ask of people is if you can like is deal with the honesty part. You can tell me everything. I don't know exactly what I can and can't do, and I mean immediately thinking about how do we build what I call the money team around you? So, jasper can't do it all. I'm licensed to do certain things and other parts I can't do it. I'm good at insurance, investments, retirement planning, financial planning. I'm not a realtor, I'm not a banker, I don't do taxes, I don't do estate plans. So how do I help you build this money team? Because every wealthy person I know has a team of people around them that help keep them accountable, keep them on point and, yes, you should probably be investing in these people to support you, because you can do a lot on your own. You can do a lot on your own. However, kamal, you'll be better served making the investment in your money team, which will free up a lot of your time. I love you, too, university, but Jasper does not have to be the expert in everything. I'm cool, moses, you the expert.
Speaker 2:What's this going to cost? Oh wait, and I stopped saying cost, right, gotcha? How much do I need to invest in your services to free up my mind? So, even that little wordplay, and I didn't catch it for years, but I read a book and they were like you got to use certain language to get people to think differently Again. I'm trying to change what we think about it and I said I invest in my CPA, so I'll get in trouble with the IRS. I mean, I like paying that bill. That's a smiley face. But hey, keep me out of trouble. Keep me informed about how I can pay what I owe and not a cent more. How do I get creative like wealthy people do? That's worth the investment. It's worth it. So how much is it going to cost? How much are you willing to invest in your future?
Speaker 1:That's pretty much what it boils down to. I mean, if you want to stay stagnant, then you won't see the growth, whereas myself I invest in a lot of education. I don't sit and say, hey, I know everything, because I don't. And also, you gotta be willing to pay for professional services. So you have to invest in just learning. Like, hey, for me, I'm in real estate, so I have rental properties. I know that like the back of my hand, but I knew residential. I invested in a program so I can learn commercial. So now I have both skills sets running alongside each other and now I can be better served as an investor and also as an instructor, as needed. So you have to take the time to invest in yourself. Yeah, is it going to be a lot of money at times, depending on the program? Yes, but I also look at it as, again, a course of doing business and a tax write-off too. So it was, like you know, understanding the full scope of it is like, hey, this is what Jasper charges, this is my investment into myself and also to Jasper too, because I like and respect what he's doing. So those are all things.
Speaker 1:You got to change your mindset. You know it's not simply I'm buying something, I am acquiring something about. It could be a tangible, you know item, or it could be something even more important. That is really the education, is the knowledge, the thing that you really need, because that's going to help you multiply your income, multiply your experiences, your network. I mean, it's just huge. So definitely, listeners, listen to what he's saying. I mean it's an investment. It's an investment. It's not just simply a cost. When it comes to money management, though, I did want to ask you, like what are some key things that you teach your clients, some foundational things, when they come across your, your business, to say, hey, you know, we got to clean this up? Is there some principles that you point out initially, or is it truly on a case by case basis, per individual?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is definitely. The lie is definitely case by case, but I think, no matter the case, you've got to take inventory. So, before we can go on a vacation, do you have clean clothes? Do you know how you get to the airport? There's certain things you should have that checklist. And so with financial stuff, it's like let's take inventory.
Speaker 2:Where are we right now, before we talk about any solutions, where is Moses today? That alone scares enough people away from you. They're like I ain't going to do, I just want to talk investments. No, no, no, no. Let's not skip these steps in the process. Like you can invest if I know how much money you got to invest. So wanting to invest and being ready to invest in two different things, but if you take that toll to take the inventory, that usually sets a good toll for the relationship. So I always say just take inventory first. Also, it's nothing new, but getting people to visualize what they want to do.
Speaker 2:So, assuming we were talking a year from now, like what has had to happen for you to feel like we had a good relationship, like, do you like think of? Like you got to think about the future. We got to live in the present. We got to acknowledge the past. But I got to think about like what, what, what do I want this to look like? And or feel like, believe it or not, people think about a lot of that stuff. They just never told anybody what's all up here. That's the problem. Get it out. And that's why, you know, a lot of people have regrets, like, oh, I wish I would have done this when I was younger. Why didn't you do it?
Speaker 2:So everybody has like 20 things they trying to do. Yo give me two, maybe three, three and most, if I can get cracking. Or like two or three good things that are going to help me move the needle, whatever, whatever you're trying to move, that's all you got to do. So people will give me the list and I'll say, cool, is this in the right order? And then they'll say I don't know. You tell me this show playing. So I always want to make sure that I'm getting the affirmative of this is in proper order. I'll give you an example. So anybody they want to get out. So my wife's a realtor, right? So I'm like, all right, cool.
Speaker 2:So people want to get a house. Well, jasper, I need to get this house for whatever Great House is number one. And then they'll say, well, I want to get my credit right, get my savings, investments. I'm like, wait, all right, cool, so getting the house is the easiest part. And they're like what you talking about? You ain't got to have great credit to get a house. There are plenty of programs. But I'm going to say I know this to be for sure, I can guarantee you this you need to look at your credit and have an idea of where you are and you probably need to have some savings.
Speaker 2:And so what will happen is, as I'm talking through that, people will say well, jasper, I think, yeah, credit and savings should be one and two, the house should be number three. And you can see this like light bulb, where it's like oh my God, yeah, if you focus on the first two, getting the house will be even easy. And they're like well, how do you know? Because every time somebody tells me this real story or real truth, anytime somebody tells me they want to get a new car, they don't need any coaching. They will work an extra job, work an extra shift, find a side hustle. They'll start saving their money. They'll fix their credit, call their creditors, work out payment plans, negotiate. I mean they've become the most ferocious negotiator, business minded financier to get that new whip and lo and behold, within let's say, maybe six months to a year, they got the new car.
Speaker 2:And I'm like, if you can turn it all like that to get a car, what that tells me is that you had a target that was important enough for you to change your life. You had a target that was important enough for you to change your life. He was tired of that old, broke down, hoopty and you needed them fresh wheels. And you told yourself I refuse to keep riding around town in that nonsense. I need that kind of energy. I need that kind of energy All the time. Just just have that energy. I need to get this new car in six months, because people get the car every time. I've never not seen somebody that says I need to get a new car. They will move mountains and they have that car within six months to a year off of tops.
Speaker 1:So, looking forward, what are some of the goals that you have for the Build Wealth movement? Talk us through that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm trying to. I am trying my best to collaborate with more organizations who care about financial health. That that's the big play for me. So I've been on this kind of individual helping people, of individual helping people. But it's like I need to like level up and get into organizations and really see having built in like financial wellness, financial health, into your fabric, like of your, your company. And I've done some wellness trainings, I've done some corporate talks, you know, and I I can. I can sense there's a need but we're not there yet and I want to try to push.
Speaker 2:So I look at financial health and wellbeing, kind of like mental health and mental illness. A lot of companies now offer great benefits around taking care of your mental health, having social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, like readily accessible or through employee assistance programs, or they have relationships with the local practitioner. But the way mental health kind of slid in, I want to do that for like financial. So first it was about our physical health, which you got to take care of. We've had this or seen this big push with mental health services. I think financial is like that last one, which will kind of be that trifecta that if a company of any size can handle or take care of all three of those your financial, your physical and mental health you will have lifelong employees. They won't leave.
Speaker 2:Retention will be incredible and I've looked, I've looked at the research. If you could take care of people, I mean you're already paying them. That's not enough because people are still worried about all the other financial concerns in their life, and so part of what I'm trying to do with the Build Wealth Movement is get entrenched, and I've pitched this idea a lot. Give me six months and like 10 people to work with and watch what happens to them, no matter where they are. They can be executives, entry level, somewhere in between. Just give me 10 people who are really trying to make some changes or maybe to make some enhancements to wherever they currently are. But let me work with them just one-on-one for like six months and then let them tell you if it's worth making an additional investment.
Speaker 2:Because I think if we can get to the fabric of some of these companies, then I know I'll make a bigger impact. So I'll have more disruptors who are thinking differently, who have addressed or they're comfortable with where they are, and they've unpacked those emotions with all the financial stuff. So at some point. This is my crazy thinking talking about money won't be so taboo. That's the ultimate right. Can we get to the point where we can talk about money like we talk about sports, like that's sports?
Speaker 1:and or entertainment.
Speaker 2:We can talk about everything in sports and entertainment, no problem with anybody any day. But if you mention something financial, financial, ooh retirement.
Speaker 1:Ooh, I think that's smart and I have noticed more and more companies are bringing financial wellness into the mix, so I think you definitely onto something with that. So it just needs to be more widespread. Number one but also that individual touch too, because the stuff that I've seen has kind of been more of a blanketed hey, you know, take this course or watch this webinar or something like that. But your approach to actually work directly with some of the employees, I think that that can actually help spearhead some of the growth that you're looking for.
Speaker 2:And the key thing is like it is the personal touch. So I love AI, I love all the automated stuff that exists with like financial stuff, but does that talk to Moses? That's the question. That's not being answered. So we're throwing out these blankets. It is great information and there are some companies who are leading the charge but they're still not getting the results they would like and they're investing hundreds of thousands of dollars and I'm like can a brother like me get a? Can I get that contract? Can I get a few crumbs to help out? Because the blanket approach is good as a well. We've offered it. It's up to them to kind of do the rest.
Speaker 2:But there's still just a lot of people who are willingly going to reach out to their employee assistance program that offers free financial coaching. And I've called these providers, I've talked to HR directors. I'm like, how much do y'all spend on these packages and programs? And it's hundreds of thousands. And I'm like, cool, which one of these benefits is actually getting results? And it's minimal. And I said, my God, if I can get in and actually show y'all some results, I'll take a fraction of what y'all pay in them and that's been kind of the approach has been. It's great that you are offering this, but it's like they're not thirsty enough to go drink. It's there.
Speaker 1:It's there, yeah, until until companies because you mentioned something you said the results, you know until companies actually start looking at it and understand some of the success metrics behind it, as opposed to the PR approach just to say, hey, we have financial wellness and you can self-serve as you wish, you know that type of thing versus the true results where, if you interview Moses, if you interview Jasper, if you interview Jeff, you speak to them and say, whoa, this made a difference in my personal life, which in turn made a difference to me and my appreciation to you as an employer and my approach as an employee. You know, that's the thing that they're not measuring, that they're just measuring the offering of the services as success, and that's just a shift that needs to happen at the corporate level, because they do have the money. They put it in play. It's in the budget, you know, and it's sure it's a tax write-off for them, but until they really care about the individual. You know we're going to have some challenges, but you'll get there for sure.
Speaker 1:So what final thoughts or advice do you have for the audience? And also, before we go, just make sure to shout out your website how Can we Buy your Book? And also your social media as well.
Speaker 2:I'll keep it kind of short, man. I know we've had kind of a really robust discussion, but I'm trying to keep stuff simple because that's how my brain works and I know that if I can keep it simple enough, then I can just kind of move forward, and so I'll leave. I'll leave your audience with two things Work hard until expensive becomes cheap. Let's let that be your rallying cry, and it's all of these shirts that I wear Right? So work hard, work hard until expensive becomes cheap.
Speaker 2:And so what that says is it doesn't matter what you want to do in this life, where you want to go, how you want to live. Just there's certain things right now that you're like I can't afford it. So keep working until you can. That's your incentive, that's your motivation. Whatever that is, you keep working until it becomes cheap. The second thing is and I love that, I've heard it over the years all these financial people are like millionaires make money, others make excuses. I wrote with that If you were a millionaire, how have you made your millions? You didn't make those excuses about why you couldn't make them, you just did what was necessary, hopefully, legal, hopefully legal, so let me say that I'm not scaring people.
Speaker 2:If you became a millionaire and sometimes we know people inherit millions that's fine. But for those people who really built it and grew it and worked hard, I want people to again let's not make the excuses. Let's just do what it takes and we'll get the results. Maybe it's not becoming a millionaire, maybe it's just living a little bit more comfortable, but you can get this done. And then folks can find me at thebuildwealthmovementcom and spend a few minutes on there just reading some of my blog articles. So then you'll get a sense of how I approach it. I'm just one guy who's got 15 years in the game, but you'll see how I talk about financial wellness planning, insurance, investments things my wife and I are doing for my daughter, wellness planning, insurance, investments things my wife and I are doing for my daughter. If people want to get in touch with me, there's a contact us button at the bottom or section at the bottom. If you want a free half hour just to chop it up, hit me up, just reach out. I'm not going to bite, I will just listen. If I can help, I will say so. If I can't, I will say so. If I know you're in need of another expert, not me I am going to say hey, moses, you mean to get in touch, or do you have somebody in your network who, because I'm trying to get people to see that you've got to build this team around you so you can have a lot less stress in your life? So the buildwealthmove movement dot com is where you can find me. You can find the book on there. I have a merch store with you know various various items there, but everything is housed at the bill wealth movement dot com.
Speaker 2:I try to focus social media wise. Instagram, mr Mr Underscore, build wealth. You can find me there. And I also have people just connect with me on LinkedIn, like I have actually a LinkedIn learning course, so that's a free offering. If somebody is like I just need like something to jumpstart, okay, connect with me on LinkedIn, jasper Smith, or you can search Mr Bill wealth. I will share the course with you. It's free, just watch it, it's free, it's free.
Speaker 2:I just want to emphasize it's just connect with me, I will share it with you and if that's all that we do, I have done my part. So, moses, I appreciate you, man, for just allowing me to build your platform, to share a little bit about my background and how I'm working to disrupt generational poverty, because I want your kids, kids, kids to live a life of privilege, and I don't say that lightly. There are things you can do right now to begin to set that up. I don't care where you are in life, let's just make a decision to that's what you want to do to ensure that your kids, kids, kids going to be eating good. We got a little bit of work to do and, if I can help more than happy and willing to be of service.
Speaker 1:Well, I appreciate you, so no problem at all for you to be on the show and definitely welcome to come back. Your mission is absolutely on point. I'll support it. I hope the audience supports it. So just keep doing the great work. So appreciate your time and we out. So thanks again, jasper, for coming on and sharing your story, your history with finance and, ultimately, just your strong passion and desire to disrupt generational poverty. I think it's a fantastic initiative and I wish you all the best with everything that you're doing. The sky's the limit. So I appreciate you and listeners. Before you go, make sure to tap into my website, mosesdementorcom, and also make sure that you subscribe to Moses the mentor on YouTube and make sure you just listen in and support the show. I really appreciate it. Have a great day, we out, peace you.