Lena Killion | MLK Pre Arrangements | She Took the Power Back From the Funeral Home

Most people avoid this conversation. Lena Killion built a business around it.

After decades crossing industries — construction, aerospace procurement at Bell Helicopter, stay-at-home motherhood, competitive bodybuilding, and a stint inside one of DFW's largest funeral homes — Lena Killion finally found the work she was always meant to do.

And it started with her grandmother.

When her grandmother passed, she left nothing behind but love. No financial burden. No arguments at the funeral home. No family members scrambling to figure out what she would have wanted. She had pre-planned everything — and that quiet, dignified exit changed the way Lena saw the world.

Then a headhunter called about a funeral industry job Lena did not want. She said no. The headhunter called back two months later. Lena heard it as a sign, took the job, immersed herself completely — and watched families come in at their absolute lowest and get turned away because they could not afford the services.

She walked out without a plan. It was the best decision she ever made.

Today Lena runs MLK Pre Arrangements — an independent funeral pre-planning company that works with approximately 40 funeral home locations across Texas and multiple states, giving families options, pricing transparency, and a plan before they ever need one.

In this Becoming Blueprint you will hear:

• How her grandmother's pre-planned death became the blueprint for her business
• What she witnessed inside a large corporate funeral home that made her walk out the door
• How she saved one family $8,300 on a headstone — and delivered it in three weeks
• What it means to be an independent pre-need broker and why it matters
• How a radio segment she recorded months earlier suddenly blew up her phone at 5:40 in the morning — two days in a row
• What she would tell anyone who is burned out, laid off, or sitting in a season of quiet time
• Why she believes networking is not just for business owners — and what she is doing about it

About MLK Pre Arrangements

MLK Pre Arrangements is a funeral pre-planning and pre-need specialist company serving families across Texas and multiple states. Lena works as an independent broker — not tied to any single funeral home or corporate chain — so families get real options at real prices before a crisis forces the decision.

Services include:

• Consultations for Pre-Planning
• Veterans Benefits Specialist
• Funeral Service Packages
• Marker Design and Placement
• Spaces for Cremation and Burial
• Pet Cremation and Burial
• Notary Services
• Medical Power of Attorney and Legal Document Assistance

Pre-need plans have no interest, no down payment, and flexible payment terms of three, five, or ten years. Pricing locks in at today's rates. If a client passes away while still making payments, the remaining balance is waived.

Lena is a Licensed Pre-Need Agent and Commissioned Notary, licensed in Texas, Illinois, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, and additional states.

She does not work with corporate funeral chains. She works for the family.

Connect with Lena Killion:

Website: mlkprearrangements.com Email: lena@mlkprearrangements.com Office: 682-428-3134 x101 Direct / Cell: 682-552-6501 Address: 1617 Park Place Ave, Suite 110-MLK, Fort Worth, TX 76110

If Lena does not answer, she will always call you back. You are important.

Upcoming Event — Speed Networking Fort Worth

Lena is hosting a speed networking event on May 27th at Brooklyn's in Fort Worth, Texas. Up to 50 attendees. Open to founders, job seekers, career pivoters, and anyone trying to figure out their next move. Contact Lena directly for the link and details.

Also mentioned in this episode: 1 Million Cups Fort Worth — weekly Wednesday morning gatherings for entrepreneurs and founders. If you are building something in the DFW area, this is where you need to be.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Are you Miss Lena? How are you today? You want to write up here, bud? Yes. Perfect. Come on in. How are you today? I am great. Well, it's hot out here, isn't it? Yes, just busy, busy, busy. It's good. Where are you headed to, Miss Lena?

SPEAKER_00 0:15

So I am going to be headed to Benbrook just to do a one-to-one with a gentleman that I do business with. Just to sit with him, talk to him about what's been going on business-wise and how he can help me. Business, huh?

SPEAKER_01 0:29

So you must be an entrepreneur or leader or a founder. Tell me about your.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

I would say that I'm an entrepreneur for sure. It's just by nature. I just have these great thoughts and I want to see them in action. Don't always have the money for that, but I want to see them in action. I am an owner, business owner. I own MLK Pre-arrangements. It's a funeral preparation company. Okay. To prepare us before we get to that point. Yeah. So it's more affordable. And you can go to several different funeral homes, not just one. That's the beauty of what I do. And I do it for the people. So tell me, Lena, who who did you used to be? What what was Lena like before? So before I got into funeral work, I worked in aerospace. Oh wow. Which meant I was um purchasing from Bell Helicopter, Lockheeds. Had lots of suppliers that I was working with. And before that, even my life was in construction. So I've always had a lot of personality. I'm a theater major. Okay. But um I worked in construction and did really well in construction because there's not a lot of females, first of all. Second of all, not a lot of black females for sure. So I did that for a while, and then I got into aerospace. And I think COVID changed the way I looked at things, and then my grandmother passed away while I was working in aerospace. So um, but when she did it, she didn't leave a burden to the family. Um, she had her life insurance, which goes, I believe, to the living. Yes. And she also had a pre-need, and that pre-need meant that no one in her family would have to argue over the funeral home. Wow. Um, or argue over the headstone because she had already paid for that, or for the spaces that you all have to pay for now. So my grandma was a beautiful example of how we should all live our lives, and that is what I'm doing for my children. And so the business that I'm in helps us prepare for that. Okay. So we're leaving a legacy to our children, not debt, um, not arguing in those rooms, which I've been a huge part of at funeral homes. Um, my business takes the power away from the funeral home, I feel, because I'm able to introduce you to 40 different locations and say which one fits your your budget. I love it. And um usually what they do is they catch us in those rooms at our worst, at our lowest, and they charge you what they think that you're going to pay for, and you're gonna pay for as much as you can. Yes, and so um I'm happy to be here, and I think my grandma was a big part of that. I think truly for her, she's proud of me where she's looking down. But I've had a really big life, really big life. Um, ballroom dancing, bodybuilding. Wow. Um, I was in Glamour magazine, very shocking for the time. I was 28, I'm 52 now, so that was a while back. Oh, you look amazing. But um, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

So, yeah, tell me about your bodybuilding and your so you're very competitive, I'm guessing.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

I am, and everything I do, I'm competitive. I might not speak on that, but I'm definitely competitive. You're competitive. Um, the biggest part of the bodybuilding for me was I was a stay-at-home mom, and I was a stay-at-home mom for 11 years, so it was a blessing to raise my oldest and get him out to college and then be able to raise the middle one for a little bit before I got divorced. But during that time, my boys were in school, so it was like I'm gonna bodybuild, but I've been working out for 32 years now.

SPEAKER_02 3:55

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Um, I've always worked out, but finally I was like, I want to see if I can get on stage and win. Yeah. So I didn't go to get third place or fourth place. Or just get A place. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The first time I went out there. The first time I got over there, I did. I'm not playing around with it. Yeah, because it's expensive. I love that. It's expensive to get those suits made. It's expensive just to be on the stage to make up the hair. Yeah. But then the, you know, I I never want to go out there looking like every other female either. Yeah. Um, so I wore really, really, my hair is really long at the time, and I had it sewed up and did like a tiny, tiny short wig just to make sure I wasn't looking like any of the and I got on stage and just smiled and was just so happy that there was no way they couldn't deny me a place. Yeah. So I got second place my first time on stage. And I was like, if I can get second place, I can definitely get first. Yeah. And so about a year later, I got on stage again and had a fro. It was so awesome. I did, I had a full-blown, beautiful, curly fro come up there and hit those poses and just looked amazing in my costume, custom made. Yes. Um, to fit me. And it was so funny going in that room. I was like, but all of this, but can you fit a suit on this butt? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, I don't think that fits right. She was like, girl, there's a process. We'll carry it down here, we're ready. But I got on stage and I won first place in my age. Congratulations. And then I won first place in another category, and the girl was 28 years old. So I was 35 at the time on stage. It was hilarious, but it is something in me to where I'm always going to be on to uh no, I don't just I'm gonna I'm gonna win. Um and in life, I've taken that away and said, you know, I'm doing this whole funeral thing because I love what I do. Yes, who loves the funeral? Yeah. I mean, no, nobody does, but I would rather be on this side talking to everyone so we can have laughter. Yeah, we can get in those rooms and laugh and say we want cremation, we want this, we want that. But when death occurs, you have a plan. That's right. And that is important to me. Um, I don't want to leave the burden that I see people leaving um with their children. Yeah, or with their husbands or their wives. I don't want to see that. So that's why I do what I do.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

What would you say the turning point was? Was it your grandmother's passing that was what was that?

SPEAKER_00 6:14

What it was was I started seeing signs. I got a headhunter called me. Yeah. And I was like, I didn't put my resume out there for anyone at the time. I don't know how you got my information, but I'm definitely not interested in working at a funeral mom. And um that was a good one.

SPEAKER_01 6:28

And there was no signs of no.

SPEAKER_00 6:30

No, and there was no, I don't know how she got my information. Maybe it was from way back, but yeah, she was like, it's a hundred percent commissioned. Uh-oh, that's not gonna happen because I'm a single mom now for sure, because dad is not in, you know, we're divorced. Uh that's not gonna work. So went all about my business, and then she called me back two months later, and I was like, gosh, my grandma must be giving me a sign.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Must be giving me a sign. So I went in and I interviewed and took the job. Really? And so I was like, bye, aerospace, let's go and death.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

So um so how was your life in aerospace before that? Like, what was very calm and boring.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

Okay, very calm. I mean, very calm and profitable, definitely, right, right, and boring, but I wanted something more, I wanted something of my own. Meaningful. Um, yeah, and I wanted to give back to the community, and um, I saw people asking for GoFundMe's and things like that. I don't want you to have to do that if you don't, but I will be your tool. I will be your tool to say, you want to use this funeral home? I don't work with corporate, and there's a reason why I don't work with corporate. But anyone else, if they will work with me, then I will give you what you want. Right, right. And so that's why I I like to take that. I feel like at the time of death, you are at their beck and call at the funeral home. Yeah, they will take advantage, some are just wonderful and you just can't afford it, but some will really take you for a ride. And I've been a part of that, and I don't want to, I don't want to be like that. Right. You know, this is not sales for me, and I've been in sales for over 30 years, so I can sell you a pin. Yeah, I can sell you a pin with my name on it. So, but that's not the point of death. Death is to work with these people in their space, um, where they're feeling in their lives, and get ahead of it. It's a hard conversation, but we need to have it. I'm not jinxing anybody, yeah. Yeah, I am not God, I don't have that power, but I feel like if we get to have that conversation, even for 30 minutes, just to see do you want cremation, do you want burial? What does that look like? And get you some pricing, then you are better prepared, and we can start pre-planning. And it's not, I don't charge for that, I just charge you what the funeral home requires, and you can pay that off three, five, and ten years. Okay. So there's a reason I'm where I am, and I believe that's grandma had a big part in it. But then I also wanted to take away the power from the funeral home. I worked for a funeral home, one of the largest out here in DFW. And what they would do is when you were in that room, there's no discounts, there are no prepayments, and if you can't afford it, we have you have to leave. Wow. You have to leave, and that hurt me more than anything. Sending a person away to another funeral home. I couldn't tell you what funeral home to go to. Yeah. I couldn't say that once down the block that's probably five or six thousand dollars cheaper than this. Right, right. Because I'd lose my job. Yeah. But that's when I was like, one day I just said, I'm done. I'm out of here. And I just left irresponsibly.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

Yeah, and you saw you saw the pain point, yeah, and you created the solution. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

I love that bigger level, yeah, yeah. Because I can also get headstones and markers for families that have unmarked graves. Yes. Um, I can do that work for them, design exactly what they want for maybe a third of the cr of the of the price. My cousin passed away. My cousin passed away almost four years ago, and his headstone was beautiful red. They wanted a red stone, which you don't see most of the time. Yeah, yeah. And so the meaning alignment you do with the broad beautiful. And the and the redstone. I see the connecting the dots. And so he passed away and I asked the family, can I build his headstone? Because they told him it was gonna be fifteen thousand dollars. Wow. Fifteen thousand dollars, and he hadn't left much to his family. So I take fifteen thousand from what they have into a stone. I got his stone exactly like she wanted it for sixty, seven hundred dollars.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

Because I used vendors, yeah, and I circled, I gave it to her, I put it all in the spreadsheet, and I said, one, two, three, which one's best for you? Okay, she circled and she said, Lena, before I circle this and approve it, you recognize it's a 40% difference between the even the most expensive one that you've presented to us. And I was like, Yes, it's right. I did my math three times. So she circled that one and approved it, and we got on it, and they had it on his grave. Wow. In three weeks. Wow. Three weeks. So I'm very proud of what I do, and I I love it. There's a passion behind it. So are you do you work for like a corporation or is it just Lena and no, it's it's Lena Killian. Okay. It's me and I own MLK pre-arrangements. Okay. I work with insurers to make sure that I can insure a family wherever they are. Okay. Um, but in order to do what I do, you have to be appointed by funeral homes to work with them. So I have to ask your hand in marriage, pretty much, in order for you to work with me. And that says a lot about me because I'm all over the state of Texas.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

So the closest that I understand is my we lost my sister back in 2020. Okay. So help me understand that process.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

So what so if she had passed away with a preneed, no one could charge her anything different. Okay. A pre-need locks in today's pricing. So for instance, you want a cremation for whenever you pass away and it's $5,000. This is not a final extent expense policy at all. Final expense, they're just holding it like a bank. Right. Until someone passes away, and then you have to provide a death certificate to receive those funds. Right. Right? For a prepayment, you are prepaying your cremation in three, five, and ten years for five um thousand dollars. Okay, that's paid off. There's no interest. There is no down payment. So if you I'm making it comfortable for you, if you can pay $60 a month and that's all you got, then we got $60 a month, and that's what you're gonna pay monthly until it's paid off. And then when it's paid off, it's pre-planning. It's literally exactly pre-planning. And so um, if if a if a family member passes away even making those payments, say for instance, you're paying that $5,000 off in five years. Yes, you pass away two years into that five years of payments, the next three years of payments are waived. You cannot beat a pre-plan. Yeah, so I always encourage people, get ahead of it and make the lowest amount of payments that you can. If you want to do 10 years, it's up to you. Right. But my veterans usually do five or ten years because they're on a fixed income. Right. But I'm there at your service. Yeah, I'm there trying to find the best funeral home for you, what you're looking for, and saying this is what you're gonna pay based on your age. If you are ill, we don't cover you at a hundred percent until you are um two years and one month into it. But you still have coverage. Yes. Filex Smith is not covering you anywhere. Yeah, yeah. I cover you, and that is by re returning all of your premiums, and then we still pay a percentage of your cremation or burial dependent upon the month and year that you died.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

That's amazing. It is. So you have pretty much, like you said, taken the power of the funeral homes, become somewhat of a broker, if not a full broker, of of the prayer arrangements. That's and and it's like a it's like um a shopping mall or an Amazon. Yes, like an Amazon of services.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

Yes, and I do the medical power of attorney, all those documents. The reason I do this is not because I want to be called a one-stop shop. Right, right. It's because I know when you know what to present to families and what they're gonna need, then you speak on it and you help them obtain it. Yes, and for me, we do medical power of attorney. I feel like a husband and a wife couple both need those documents, each it's your turn. Um, and um, what is it, statutory, durabil, uh durable power of attorney, and you need a HIPAA form for each one of you. Yes, and so attorneys do it, I do it, and then legal shield can do it. And I have that option for each family member that's telling you that I'm not trying to be in your pocket. Yes. So um, if you can do it, then do it. And I'm a notary, so I can make sure you get it all done while we're sitting there for free.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

Do you do any kind of educational classes like or workshops for people for I I do?

SPEAKER_00 14:16

It's so I'm trying to get into churches now. Okay, and churches are different than they used to be. Churches, my church from home and college station invited me in because we need people to be more educated on this. I'm trying to get into them. It is difficult because these churches now are like if I let you in, everybody else wants to get it. Yeah, they are not me. There is not a me. Yeah, and when there becomes a me, it's still not gonna be me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So um but God gives you a space. It's for me, yeah. And so um, my personality is attached to everything that I do. Absolutely. There are people that are like, what do you do? How do you do it? Yeah, you find your own way, first of all. Second of all, you put your own self into it, and I can promise you there is not a Lena out there. Um, but it's just I want to be a blessing. I do lots of presentations, yeah. Uh the more I can get into buildings, then I can help your business. Absolutely. Or help your. We're doing B2B now. We're going into businesses to say we've got these packages. Can we ride on someone else's pack else's package, or can we just come in and speak to your people? Okay. So um I try to present as much as possible. Um, and with that, I'm on social media like crazy. I get leads from there. Yes. Um, I've been on the radio station, which I didn't know was coming out this year. So I recorded with her, I think October of last year, and she finally came on, and I was getting these calls early in the morning, Susie. I was getting calls at like 5 40, and I was like, oh, somebody must have passed away. And so I'm calling these big, I mean, kid back to back to back to back to back to back to my goodness. And I was like, God, that's a lot of death. And so I was like, oh Lord, let me get on the phone. What it was, people were hearing me on the radio and saying, We want to talk, we want to talk. Yes, yeah, and it felt so good. Yeah, and it happened two days in a row. I was just getting blown up. So when people know better, yeah, they do better or know that they have options. Yeah, so I love that.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

That's my focus. That's what I do. Thank you. Before we put your business out there, um, how are you building this? Like so, somebody is watching the show and they're like, Man, I love her energy and I love her, and I what is she doing, and how can I do that? What would you say to that person?

SPEAKER_00 16:23

I would say if you want to do what I do, once again, you really need to go and do your research. Yeah. Um, and if you want to get the start, you might want the experience. I've had the experience, and that is what molded me, I feel. I went and worked in a funeral home. Okay, not because I went and applied for a job, they called me. Yeah, so everything is gonna be different for you out there than it is for me. But I put I submersed myself in the business. I wanted to know the business. I didn't think I was ever gonna leave and do something for me. I never thought that. I thought I'm gonna ride this and I'm gonna love it because I get to meet so many really wonderful people, and people that you would never think want to spend time with you because of the way that they grew up or whatever it is, you can bring the best out of folks. I remember this one instance. Um, this lady was she's Jewish, her husband was Mexican. Oh my god. And she wanted the Confederate flag on his casket. Oh my god. As the person that offers these services, I don't have a voice. There's one going off. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I don't get to tell you, no, we don't do that. I get to give you what you want, whether I'm the one over your service or not, I get to decide that. That's right. But we would she said, Would you do that? And I was like, We don't have a choice. Yes, we would do that. With a smile on my face. And her daughter hit her with her elbow, and she was like, We're not doing anything like that. But it just tripped me out that she would come in there and be so cantankerous. She would just belittle the people in the office, but they would be like, Lena, your person is here. You have to come out here and talk to her. And when I would come out there, even though I knew where she stood, she would cry on my shoulder. And so that's how I know that some people really come from a place of ignorance and not knowing. And once they get to see certain people, like people like me, then that changes their opinions. Or just it's like, oh my gosh, I never thought that or never saw that. Gives you a different way of looking at life. And so um I feel like if somebody wants to do what I do, you really need to not just be doing it for a check. Yeah, you really need to care about the people, um, and they need to be able to feel the how genuine that is. You can. I mean, I would say your first step would be to walk into a funeral home and say, Can I work for you guys? I don't know how easy that is. But uh from I did it when I was an employee, it didn't go very well. But yes, and so for me, I've taken it a step further because I always push the boundaries, of course. So I'm licensed in different states. Okay, what is that license? What is it's a pre-need license. Okay, pre-need license. And so when you talk to people, they're like, It's an insurance license, it's a pre-need insurance, it's not life insurance. But in certain states, you do need to have a health and life insurance, and so I've gotten that under my my belt as well. So I'm in Pennsylvania, Illinois, California, Florida, helping a family there now. Um that's great. I'm in several different states. I just helped someone in Pennsylvania, so um, it's because of what's in me. I want people by the end of this year, as many people as I can sit with to say you've got your ducks in a row. Yeah. We've just knocked off six or seven of them with a big old red bow on them. It's about being passionate, it's about caring about other people.

SPEAKER_01 19:33

So what if somebody's who's watching the show just got let go from their job and and or it you know might be burnout from the nine to five. I mean, from a founder and entrepreneur standpoint. What are some of your lessons learned from your business and being an entrepreneur and founder?

SPEAKER_00 19:50

What I would say is I got tired of the way people were being treated. Um, I got tired of the way I was being treated because in those businesses, even in the funeral business, there are crazy people in the back behind that curtain, like the wheels of oz. There are crazy people back there. Um, I'd say if you've been laid off and those types of things, just sit with yourself. I know it's hard. It is definitely hard. I've been there. Golly, I'm 52, I've been there for sure. Um, but sit with yourself and say, is there something that I have a passion for? Yes. And is there something that I can create in this life for myself and make it for the betterment of other people? Um, and just don't give up. Yeah. Get up and go do something. And so I feel like um that's the most important thing that I've been through struggles. Um what's been your what's been your strength? I think the the the strength, my my tether is to God. God is my foundation. No matter the church background that I've had is crazy or not, um, I believe. And so a lot of us are faced with hypocrites, and we look at those hypocrites and they direct us. Yes. I don't have that. That's right. What I have is they're crazy people, they are hypocrites, but my foundation is God. I love that. And so I'm able to when I feel like I might be just running out here in the circle somewhere, there's a tether that's always I bounce back. Yeah, because that's what my belief is. And even if some people say God's not real, he's real to me. Yes, and that's all that matters, and that is how I smile, yeah, and that's how I raise my sons, and that is that's that's the real me. Like I believe in God. Am I in church every Sunday? Nope. Yeah, why you need to just go on Sunday and another day? No, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:34

Tell me about what that tether looks like. So a lot of people, you know, like you said, don't know God. Yeah, but I can hear and I can feel in your spirit, you're a woman of faith. Yes, how how did you learn to tether to God?

SPEAKER_00 21:47

Like, what was so as a little girl, I grew up in Bryant College Station, and I was most of us kids are forced into church. You know that you gotta go all these days with your mom, you can't stay by yourself, yeah. You gotta go to choir practice practice, you Sound horrible, but you gotta go to cry practice, and then I became I did have a pretty voice. I did, and I became a part of a gospel group, and they used to send us everywhere to sing. It was a traveling gospel group, it was so amazing, and so that was a part of my life. But my mom, I would say, through her being on us on a constant basis, like I went to church, I went to school, and my friends were at church. So my life has been nothing but God as a child growing up, and I could have easily said this, I'm tired of God, I've been seeing God too much. I took that as something that I can always come back to, that will always, if I'm going on the crazy train over here, I can always get back. And so when you have a belief like that, that that's that's strong, and it's absolute and yeah, then you you can't you can't even see what anybody else is saying. That's right. Um, and some people will say, God is a cult or your church is a cult. Man, call it what you want, but I do know that my salvation is impendent upon my belief or um the situations I've been in. Like I just can sit back and tell you there have been times in my life, even recent, to where I feel like I ask God for these really ridiculous gifts, you know, like I need this many employees to do this. Yeah. And he'll say you're not ready, girl. And how you know how you know how he'll say you're not ready? It's yet they don't come. That's right. But they come from the door. Or doors even open. Yes, yes. And so I'm sitting there, and it's it's if you know me as a as a child or young adult, and just even as now, I'm hilarious. Like I'm gonna push through, I'm gonna do everything that I need, but I can sit back still in my mind and say, Be still God, this is what I want, but then be still. Yeah, be still and wait. And so I I don't know. There's a lot of people that don't believe, like I do, or don't believe at all. Yeah find something. Yes, find something that you believe in, find a higher power, whatever that is, find yoga. Yeah, I don't know, find something and just hold on to it and just say I believe this so much that no one can break what I feel. Like I will go through hell, and you know, some of us be like, God, you are all of that, but I still have that belief, I still have that tether, and I think that's what allows me to move through life. Yeah, yeah. And I just think people just hold on, just hold on, and pay attention to your surroundings. If you know that you're hanging out with people with that low vibration, then you gotta move on. That's right. I mean, it might be painful, but you gotta move on. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

So, um and to move on, you gotta tether because people usually get stuck there, right?

SPEAKER_00 24:35

And you gotta be able, you gotta ask God, show me, yeah, show me something.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

Yeah, so I love that. I love that. Miss Lena, so how do we get to find you? First of all, are you hiring for somebody who might be looking for a job? I am not hiring.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

Okay, okay. I hired, you know, it you know, the reason why I'm not hiring is because it's hard to be me. Yes, and it's hard to let go because when you send someone out under the name MLK, you want them to be a mini replica of you. Yeah, that's right. And so that's not how it's gonna be. Yeah, but I have hired um a virtual assistant that I'm very appreciative of. She calls my veterans for me. Um, and there are other things that we're gonna probably keep her involved in. But for me, if you want to reach out to me, um my website, my website is M L K Martin Luther King, but those are my initials too, so I did not steal them. Um MLKprearrangements.com is my uh website. My email address is Lena at M L K Prearrangements.com and it's Lena L E N A. And my business cell phone is 682-552-6501. I love that. You can reach me all the time. If I don't answer, I will always call you back because you are important.

SPEAKER_01 25:43

I love that. I love that. Miss Lena, I've absolutely enjoyed giving you a ride to Bedford. Is there anything else that you want to leave? The person who might be watching this um is in transition, unemployed, or just seeking mentorship for that person. I'll say network. Beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 26:00

Lots of people say networking is just for people that own businesses. Yes. Or people that work for other people that own businesses. Yes. Networking can be for you as an individual trying to figure it out. That's right. Um, when I got into MLK when I started, I didn't know anything about networking, but because of who I am, I just bring a network with, you know, people know me. But get out there, start talking to folks, say, hey, this is what I want to do. Pick up information from other people. There are people, you know what? I have a speed networking event that I am hosting. Okay. And I'm just starting this out of the blue because I don't want to do a networking group where people come weekly. Yeah, I want to do once a month. Let's meet at a restaurant or somewhere and do speed networking. Okay. So May 27th, we're going to Brooklyn's in Fort Worth, Texas. Okay. And we are going to meet in Speed Network. There's up to 50 people that can come. Um, if you put me down. Yeah, I will send you the link. But if you guys want the link, just reach out to me on my cell phone, I can send it to you, or Miss Susie could send it to you. But the point of it is to sit and say, hey, look, I don't have a job, but this is what I'm looking for. You won't find the person in the room that's looking for you. Yes. So um do not do not fear. Something's good is out there. Something's good is out there. Just hold on and just get yourself in the right uh places.

SPEAKER_01 27:19

I will tell you, that's exact that's so true. That's exactly what is happening to me as a founder of Mega Mission Media and going to the One Million Cups, you know, events too, like so much has aspired from there, so much has been birthed from there. Like, well, I came in with an original thought, right, or idea, right, and it has now grown to something different. Right. And I used to be that person. I used to think, oh, networking? No, I don't even have what am I representing? I'm not a company that I'm working for. And I was like, no, but and I would get invited all the time to networking groups. I'm like, uh, what do I no? I don't know anybody. But it has been such, such a you know, I had a spiritual awakening, right? A couple years ago. This is like a founder, founder awakening, you know what I mean? Like, and I love it.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

I love it because you get these people that I have the best group of friends, and they happen to be older than me, and they happen to be so experienced. Yes. Um, and I have built those relationships with being genuine. People can read fake. And do I do fake? I do not. So if you see me not speaking or being around someone, that's there's a reason behind it. So um I say go and sit, just go to somewhere close to your home that they're doing networking at a coffee shop. You know, there's some networking happening at a coffee shop out in Kenya. Yeah, go out there and just be amongst the people, have an idea of what you want to do, and just say, hey, I'm looking, I've this is my experience, I'm looking for work here. Just just do it.

SPEAKER_01 28:49

Well, Miss Lena, I am so, so um encouraged by your words, your your your bodybuilding, your energy, your spirit, you know, and and and a founder, you know, and being a founder. And uh so thank you for letting me be your driver.

SPEAKER_00 29:05

I was so so blessed.

SPEAKER_01 29:06

And so you truly, truly are an inspiration to me. But listen, pleasure to meet you. Pleasure to meet you and have a great day. Enjoy the rest of your day. And I'll talk to you soon. Okay, all right. God bless you. Bye bye.