It's time full the ba keep a a, the ba qp a. What you say the bay keep a.
If you have questions, we have some answers. Now, we're not your mama, we're not your cousin. We probably no more than her, but we're certainly not your attorney or your financial advisor.
But we're two smart brown girls who have a.
Little knowledge in this whole personal finance career business thing, and we're here to assist however possible. So if you want to ask us a question, go to briannabischonpodcast dot com, click ask us anything or any of our social media's. You can just DM us questions about business, career and personal finance and we got you.
We got y'all. I am so excited about today's questions. I feel like Tiffany is like rolling her shoulders back and she is ready to tackle one in particular. Scan guys, yes as to have said brandambisionpodcast dot com or hit us up at brand Ambition Podcasts and IG with your questions. But let's get on into it. Let's not waste another second. Our first question comes from IG from listener Corinne, who says, hey, ba fam, I am currently in a challenge with some
financial influencers. They are dropping all kinds of knowledge and it's exciting while also overwhelming. I want to soak up all the knowledge. They're talking about a mentorship that sounds like it will be tens of thousands of dollars. My first question is our mentorship's worth the price? And number two?
Like I said, they're giving so much info again on how to gain new revenue streams, multiply your money, etc. But much of what they're talking about is taking out a loan or a credit card to fund another loan or credit card and create this snowball effect. My credit is fair because of previously living off of credit cards when I was first starting out in late payments from my husband being laid off during COVID. Do I focus on just repairing my credits or before I start to
follow their strategies. Thanks?
I love your show.
I just started listening in the last few months, and I've gone back through the older podcast because you guys are great. Thanks Karen. I never heard of an opposite debt snowball. This is this is more like a debt shovel. You just take the shovel and you scoop out the snow and you bury yourself in it.
Here's the thin, Karn.
This makes me a little uncomfortable because I know some folks who participate in this, and you're right, they are gearing up to a mentorship program that's tens of thousands of dollars.
Now here's the thing, here's the thing we started off friends.
Okay, here's the thing, karm Our mentionorship program's worth the price some of them are.
Y'all know.
I got my mentor Tiffany dot com. It's ten bucks a month. Honestly, I just pour in whenever I feel like pouring in. And you know, it's for people who are in business. Certainly, it's probably not as intense as this one because it's ten bucks a month. But the thing is, there is a shift happy happening in black and brown finance that makes me a little uncomfortable. So I follow, and I suggest, you know, anyone who's like
interested to follow this YouTube channel called coffee Zilla. It's this young guy and he tracks and follows scam artists, digital scam artists, you know like these, and exposes them. And so for like the last I would say at least five or six years, I've just been watching his videos and just watching and then what I started to notice a few years ago is because he most because he's a white man himself, many of the people that he tracks, almost all of them are white as well,
you know, because affinity. But what I started to notice is some of the tricks that I would watch that were happening in that community to start it to filter over to the black and brown community.
It's almost like we were getting it delayed.
It's like if you're down south and you get like, you know, hip hop late, you know, because this is back in the day before all streaming and everything else, but you know, like New York, it's the first because it's produced here.
So I started to notice that and.
I realized, uh huh, that it's like a lot of the and I'm not going to say scam, but a lot of the unreputable ways to do business, you know, because it is profitable for the person to do business in that way. Now here's what I will say, because I'm not going to speak on you know, whether or not this is a scam or not, but I will say this is that a lot of people teach folks how to have a business, but the only way they're making money is teaching you how to have a business.
Does that make sense?
Meaning like I'm mentoring like I'm doing like like I said, ten bucks a month, But I've had a business for fourteen years that has grossed over thirty million dollars, and so I feel very comfortable mentoring in business. And even then, you know it's light because I'm still in the head in them, in the throes of my business. But I feel comfortable teaching from a place of like, my business is not the mentoring program. That's not where I'm making, like,
not even a quarter of my income. It's from the
actual business. And so I look when I'm looking for if it was me and I'm looking for a mentorship program, I'm wanting to know that prior to this, where was your income coming from in mass Because if it's upselling me, then how can you teach me how to have a business outside of this loop that you've created, Because what I have seen is a lot of folks who are teaching this a mentorship kind of like play, they too, have then paid someone else a lot of money for
mentorship play. So it's it's almost like there's a loop happening. But where's the actual business acumen coming from, you know, in any business that requires you to take out a loan or credit card, especially because there are some businesses that you are going to need funding for, but to lean in to taking out a credit card. And I'm not saying that there are businesses that have done that, but it makes me a little bit nervous that that is the core financial foundation that they're suggesting.
To start a business, if that makes sense. And so I just.
Would be very very very mindful because one, it's going to be thousands of dollars, maybe even tens of thousands. I mean, I've heard of some of these mentorship programs being fifty thousand dollars for the year. So it's going to be I promise you that's what they're gearing up for. So that's one two, on top of the ten, twenty thirty five whatever they're going to ask you for, they're going to have you take at a loan or credit card to fund your business. So you're gonna have debt
on top of debt before you've even started. That makes me really nervous, especially because you have it sounds like you, you know, you have some personal financial things that you
are slowly, but surely I'm working toward. And so I just like I said, I feels uncomfortable because I know some of the folks that are doing this, and I'm just like, I'm not here to drag them or dog them or whatever, but I am here to protect you and say, you know, I want you to use discernment and that I like to see if I can make it work with the free stuff you give me, then
potentially I will potentially be open to investing further. Like if you look at Mandy and what she's done, she gives a lot of free information away and you're like, oh, wow, this was really helpful, and so is it worth you know, potentially will I make my money back if I invest with working you know, with Mandy's money makers. Same thing with me, you know, like is it Will I make my money back if I invest with the Literature Academy, if I invest my money you know, with my mentor Tiffany.
So I just I just say, to be mindful and a business that requires you to take out an extraordinary I'm out of debt, risky debt at that. It's just it just doesn't sit well with me, and I just hate that this trend is coming to our community. But anybody who's wanting go ahead and listen to like watch
coffee Zillow. Like I probably tune it maybe like once a quarter just to see, like what are the new scams, so I can keep my eyes open so I don't partner with folks who are not in alignment with how I want to navigate within this community.
Hope.
Yeah, that's like a fine line between a scam and just something that's not the right fit for someone sometimes or just like the like a program finding the person who maybe wants it to be something that it's not. Yeah, Like, and I'm like, sometimes I think it's on us as influence influencers and educators to really be honest and forthcoming about exactly what people can expect before they spend their money. And so often these these services and products are not refundable,
and I think it takes so much trust. And if you're someone who's who's new to you, like you've found this program or this person's challenge or their webinar or whatnot, and then you've taken it and you enjoyed yourself and they're selling you something at the end, Like there's no knock to that hustle at all. That's how a lot of us make our money. But I would allow yourself as much time as possible to get to know that person and get to know their background, and like Tiffany said,
like ask those questions. You're selling me this strategy or this program, but what have you built and what are your credentials? And or not credentials, but you know, what is the proof of your concept? What is the proof of what it is that you're selling me that this will actually add? Are their testimonials?
You know?
Do they seem like they're legit? Can I find not just how many followers they have? Followers can be bought, but can I find real people? Can you even reach out to folks who've gone through it and get their feedback? You know, did they think it was? That's a lot of money to invest. And I worry too about the
time that we're in. I feel like these programs do better during times of economic uncertainty and especially in like our communities, because I feel like they target this desperation and this need to like get ahead or to you know, quickly make money to make up for a lack And that's where it gets to be I think like can be predatory and like nefarious, and I think we do have to protect yourselves, protect ourselves. And I'm glad that
you wrote us in a question about this. I would say, give like more time before I'm coming out of pocket thousands of dollars. I'm going to know everything about your blood type. You know, I want to Here's the thing.
If it's if something is good, it's going to be good. People ask me that all the time. Oh, Tiffany, should I do like it's told so real estate fund? And I told everybody I don't know, but I know this. I don't have to rush it. I don't mind being on the B team when it comes to investing in something. And also too, I like Mandy's in business. Now, Mandy, have you paid tens of thousands of dollars for mentorship?
Absolutely not exactly and I have not.
So now I have a business coach now that I certainly paid a lot of money too, But that was after I was thirteen years into the business. And so I say all that to say, too, you don't have to typically spend a ton now. Sometimes spending certainly will help to expedite the process and I'm not saying that this is a scam. What I am saying is that I just want you to know that there are tools and resources out there that you know, might be less expensive you could dip your baby toe in, you know,
and also to sometimes even free. That before I invested a ton of money, I would invest a ton of sweat equity, a ton of time in sweat sweat equity, and as much low cost free things as I could before I invested a ton of money into into like a masterminding or you know, or or or or anything like that, I promise you, just because you know, I wouldn't have been ready. You're one year two in business, you know, to put thirty ten it would have been lost money. And I've lost money like that, you know.
And so I'm just like, yeah, just just be careful and tell everybody be careful because the financial industry for black and brown spaces, it's really making me sad these days, because there are folks who I wouldn't have thought are doing things that are not illegal but not really aligned with how I've normally known them to operate.
And so it just makes me like a little bit sad.
And you're just gonna have to practice more discernment to not get caught up in the hype because a lot of people.
Are being wealthy, are getting wealthy.
Offering advice about the advice, not the thing itself, you know what I mean, Like a business about how to start a business, and I'm like, well, what's your actual business?
What did you do before this?
Did you had tried to be a career coach fifteen years ago?
Literally, but man is a career coach now because she has all of this experience, like you know, so now she can do this, you know, over ten years of experience of like actually doing what she's coaching too.
And so you child, like I said, I'm be no. One half of them, and I'm like, you just started last.
Week, Yetta said him straight.
I know.
I think your gut was telling you to ask a friend. I'm glad that we were your friends that you asked, you know, ask someone. And if your gut is telling you, man, I'm not going trust this enough yet. Just follow your gut until you do have enough trust to then invest
that much money. And if you're asking you for that kind of price tag, I'm saying, they owe you a Q and a phone call, I do free Q and as for all my all my program participants, because I'm like I'm asking you to spend money, at the least I can do is talk to you beforehand. Well, thank you Career for your question, and good luck out there, y'all.
Stay woke. Check out cafe? Was it coffee Zilla? Yes? Coffee Zilla?
M coffee Zilla? All right, let's take a quick break. You break, and we'll be right back with more ba Q and a all right, ba fan, We are back with our last question of the day. We're gonna take it to an anonymous listener from IG who says, Hey, hey, y'all, I'm a big van y'all's podcast. I am an IT lead at my new job, and previously I was an
infrastructure engineer. I'm thinking about taking up a graveyard shift engineer role to earn more as well as to keep my technical skills alive since as a lead I haven't been doing much of that. The issue is, since my resume states my current role as an IT lead, I feel like I'm not getting much traction with recruiters. How would you advise that I state my experience slash work at history on my resume appreciate the help, think and love you guys. Okay, so, as an IT lead, you know,
branding is everything, especially for the OPM. I mean that's some free advice. I'll tell you that for free, no doubts as far as needed. And the way that you brand yourself, especially on your resume but even more on LinkedIn, is super important to be sure, like you said, you're
getting that traction with recruiters. So I would take the fact that it's been crickets on the recruiter front and say, Okay, maybe my title itself is not doing my work product justice and you can add you can you can add more language around your title to show like the technical skills.
That you have.
But I would beef up everything underneath your job title to show your technical skills. Yeah, having especially on a technical resume or on LinkedIn, have a special skills section where you list out whatever software you're you know, your expert in, or whatever tools you you constantly use, because I promise you recruiters are just going to be scanning quickly, like my client works in this software, which want to be sure, you know, or my company works in this software.
We want to be sure that this person is proficient in that, So have a skills box. Make sure that you are not just describing the technical skills that you have, but how you've used them to drive like your business impact and if it Yeah, and just making sure that you're not hiding all that information because it could be that one one recruiter sees IT lead and isn't thinking that they have all the experience that you have because maybe in their experience and IT leader isn't doing all that
technical stuff. So you have to like help them form a really clear picture of what you've done and what the impact has done, and make sure that that brand is strong so they know exactly where to go for their amazing roles.
Hmmm, honestly, where Mandy's at, that's that's great. Like if I was hiring, you're right, sometimes there are certain titles, so I don't know what that means, but listing exactly what skill sets that you have, because I've definitely gotten misled, if you will, because someone's had a title and I'm like, oh, okay, and then oh, I don't know how to use that. I'm like wait what, Oh I don't know how to use that, So it just would have behooved me to
ask those specific things. So having that listed, like, oh, I can use Excel and this and that and CAMPA and and you know, Facebook ads or whatever it is I was looking for at that time. Yeah, having that clearly listed allows the employers to get really clear on these these are the specific skills we need. This person hasn't even if it doesn't typically align with the title the job title of what they had before.
So yeah, good luck to you, Like.
Maybe you were getting more Yeah, I feel like if it was maybe getting more traction when he had engineer in the title of his job description. And I wonder sometimes I've had clients who, like, sometimes at companies that are older or even like academic institutions or government agencies, they have just old, crusty titles and they're not really
keeping up with the title in the marketplace today. So that's something maybe you could even ask for, you know, negotiate going into your next role or the one that you have, is a title change that would better position you, Like it's just maybe people are calling instead of it leads, they're calling it something else, and you can have, you know, a title that would attract the kind of job that
you're wanting right now. But thing really clearly like when I when I I craft my LinkedIn or when I was crafting my resume in my career, I wasn't thinking about the job I had. I was always thinking like what's going to impress my next opportunity? Like what's going to impress the person who has my next opportunity and make them want to, you know, have a conversation with me? And yeah, I think people are not thinking that far ahead. So that's what I will say. Thank you are so smart man.
That's why we'd be leading you to you career coach.
If you have questions, definitely ask us at brandabishopodcast dot com and click ask us anything you know. You can send a message via Insta.
We'd love to.
Answer your business, career, entrepreneurship, finance questions. It's our faith thing. Oh before we go, don't forget July twenty eighth, It is recession Day and we're doing something special to not celebrate,
but to acknowledge recession day. Recession Day is just the day that we will know officially, officially if we have entered into our recession as the United States of America, because that means we'll have two consecutive quarters, so six months of economic downturn basically, And so Mandy and I are committed to being here for you on Recession Day. So on that twenty eighth, we will be going live via our YouTube channel. To just type in Brown and Vision on YouTube. Go follow it now so you don't
miss out. And if you stalk our socials, we're going to tell you exactly what time. If you're on our newsletter, which you ought to be, go to Brannivision podcast dot com to sign up for our newsletter and we'll let you know and give you a direct link. Yeah, you can join us for a Recession Day so we can tell you our rein of recession, what to do if we are, what to do if we're not.
You know what we're doing to prepare, what you can do to prepare.
Like a question mark at the end of that title, like recession Day.
Yeah, ooh, I like that, the Recession Day YouTube life.
I'll tell you whether to cry or to celebrate. We'll see y'all next.
Week, all right, Bye, bye, Hey ba fan.
We could not do this show without your support or the support of our team behind the scenes. The Brown Ambission Podcast is produced by Cumulus podcast Network. It's edited by the wonderful Imani Crosby and produced by Tanya Bustos. Dennis Stimplinsky is our in house tech guru, and I am Bandy Woodard Santos, your co host, and I will see y'all next week