00:00Hello, Essence and GU Entrepreneur Summit. I'm communications consultant and Essence
00:13money and careers writer, Jasmine Browley. I'm here today to help kick off a discussion that
00:18touches on a key goal for so many entrepreneurs in our community, generational wealth. Joining
00:23me today to take a deep dive into how you as entrepreneurs can leverage your journey to
00:28build generational wealth is finance coach, Raya Reeves. Hello. Hello. Serial entrepreneur and
00:37restaurateur, Michelle Snoop Dillard. Hey, hey. And creative entrepreneur, Lady Phoenix. Thank you
00:47all for being here with us today. So let's go ahead and get started. So to begin with, you know, many
00:54times when we think about generational wealth, we think more about monetary wealth than anything
00:59else. But it's also true that the road to true wealth is paved with more than just money. So to
01:06start, I'd like to ask each of you, how do you define wealth as a successful entrepreneur? Raya,
01:13I'll start with you. What do you think? Yeah. So to me, I think about wealth in two very specific
01:20ways. And the first one is my health. Health is wealth. If I am not taking care of my mind,
01:26my body, my spirit, I'm not going to be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor. So making sure that
01:32I stay healthy is definitely a key for building wealth for me. And then the second one is time.
01:38I think time freedom is one of the best things that an entrepreneur or anyone can give to themselves.
01:44And the more money you have, the more time you can buy. But time is that resource that we can never
01:49get back. So if we can do the things we want with our time, I think that's the ultimate definition
01:54of wealth. Absolutely. I agree with all of that, Raya. Snoop, did you have any thoughts?
02:00Yes, I totally agree with Raya. I was going to speak on time just a little more. I think at this
02:06point in my life, and I think a lot of entrepreneurs are realizing this, that we are not interested in
02:12in exchanging time for money. So once you have accumulated a certain amount of wealth,
02:18you should be in the place where you aren't having to do that. And you're able to, you know,
02:23spend more time, you know, with friends, family, loved ones, you know, I feel like
02:27wealth and finances are just a vehicle to be able to enjoy the things that truly matter more.
02:33Absolutely. Lady Phoenix, did you want to add your thoughts?
02:36Yeah, I totally agree with the other panelists. And I would add impact as a form of wealth.
02:44You know, when you're able to make a difference in someone's life, you sort of become immortal.
02:49That person thinks of you, they might name their child or their business after you or their first
02:53product. They may send you a big thank you letter upon their first launch. I think that the way you're
02:59able to impact other people's lives through your wisdom, through your availability, right? Not just
03:06being their first investor, but being the first person to actually really hit them to the game,
03:11right? That sort of eternal, that internal wisdom that keeps growing lifetime after lifetime
03:16after lifetime. For me, that's ultimate wealth.
03:19Absolutely. I agree with all of that. Snoop, you know, when we start thinking about our businesses
03:24as vehicles to generate enough wealth to pass on to our families, it can sometimes be overwhelming,
03:30you know? So what are some key first steps that entrepreneurs can take to begin setting attainable
03:37financial goals to get them started? I think number one, and just first and foremost, is just having
03:44a level of knowledge on financial literacy. That way, any amount of wealth or finances, you know,
03:53that you attain, you can actually keep those and know what it is, what you should do with those
03:58things. So first, starting off with some of the things that we weren't taught growing up, but have
04:04just become so big. But number one, knowing how to save. Two, knowing about credit, you know, and
04:13what your FICO score is actually compromised of, you know, how you can have good credit and keep good
04:20credit because that's going to help you keep more money in your pocket, more money in your businesses
04:26and be able to even get, you know, funding, you know, to grow your business and to actually be able
04:33to increase your cash flow so that you do have more that you can leave to, you know, future generations
04:40in terms of generational wealth. I think third, you know, is having that knowledge about business credit
04:46so that, you know, going forward, those generations don't have to use, you know, their own money,
04:53you know, they can get funding, you know, in their business names and utilize that. So I think that
05:00before we start looking at goals of how much money we want to make and how much we want to pass on,
05:05I think it's good to have that foundation, you know, and those basic financial literacy skills
05:13so that we know what to do, you know, with that wealth as we start receiving it.
05:19Absolutely. Thank you so much for that. I want to shift a little bit and talk about investing.
05:24A hot topic right now in that space is NFTs. And Lady Phoenix, can you break down exactly what NFTs
05:32are and what role they play in building generational wealth?
05:35Absolutely. I'm glad that you asked. I have the nickname of being mother of the metaverse.
05:43So this is a topic that I love to talk about with people. People often see NFTs and think,
05:49oh my God, this is unapproachable. There's no way I can do this. This is some weird like internet stuff.
05:55And in fact, it's just, you know, NFT stands for non-fungible token. Non-fungible token is a way
06:01to kind of guarantee or certify unique digital assets, right? Our world is moving more and more
06:08towards digital. We're leaving behind, in a sense, some of the physical or tangible aspects of Web 2
06:16and moving into a digital reality of Web 3. When looking to invest in NFTs, you want to look at the
06:22people behind the project, meaning is the idea valuable or is this just a quick kind of money grab?
06:29Does this actually have longevity? If you sold or didn't sell this, would you be proud to own this
06:36NFT? Does this NFT have utility beyond the one drop? Meaning, you know, uh, like there's this
06:44board ape, right? The board apes are a huge phenomenon. They introduced serum. When they
06:50introduced serum, serum actually mutated the apes into something called board mutant apes, right?
06:55People from future to, uh, little baby to Timbaland all have board apes, right? Because
07:02they're a great investment. So you want to look at the project, you want to look at the community
07:07around it, and you want to look at the future culture of the NFT to determine if it's a worthy
07:12investment. Thank you for that breakdown. I think I understand now. Um, so a big part of seeing
07:21progress as we begin working to build generational wealth is effectively tracking that progress.
07:27Rhea, I'd love for you to actually weigh in on that. What questions should we be asking ourselves
07:33along the way to assess where we are versus where we want to be?
07:37Well, I actually very much resonate with this question. I took the StrengthsFinder test and one
07:43of my top strengths is futuristic. So I am able to get my motivation and my drive from envisioning
07:49the future that I want. But I think that can take away from recognizing where I am right now. And I
07:56think if we want to really just get clear on where we are right now, one of the best things to do is
08:01measure our results. The things that we are doing track that. Are the things that we're doing moving
08:08us in the right direction? Yes or no? Everything should be looked at as an experiment. Are we
08:13getting closer to the end goal? If the answer is no, we need to try new things. And then I think
08:19another thing that we can do that can actually be really inspiring is track our balances, if you will.
08:27So as of right now, what is in savings? What is the total amount of debt you have? Track that at this
08:34point in time. So in a month from now, in a year from now, three years from now, you can look back
08:39and say, wow, I actually did grow over the course of time or I didn't. And I need to shift and adjust
08:47what I'm doing. So definitely measuring your results, looking at everything as an experiment,
08:52but also tracking what is currently happening right now so that you can use that information over time.
08:57Thank you for that. That's really excellent. Well, Snoop, Lady Phoenix, Rhea, thank you all again
09:05so much for joining us today and sharing this valuable information. Before we wrap though,
09:11please let everyone watching know where they can find you on social media to keep up with your journey.
09:15Snoop, did you want to start? Absolutely. I can be found on Instagram at whoissnoop.
09:22And also I have my website, whoissnoop.com, as well as courses at whoissnoop.com.
09:28Excellent. Lady Phoenix, did you want to go next?
09:31Yes, thank you. Really honored to be here with all of you today. Thank you, Essence, as well.
09:36You can follow me on Twitter at yesladyphoenix, P-H-E-O-N-I-X, and on Instagram at my business,
09:43Universe Contemporary. Rhea?
09:45Yes, thank you for having me. You can find me across the internet at City Girl Savings
09:51or citygirlsavings.com. Perfect. For all of you tuning in, keep it locked right here.
09:57More of the Essence and GU Entrepreneur Summit, the Bossed Up Edition, is up next.
10:14You know what? Let me go set up a family meeting so we can get our plan together.
10:19I am loving all the great advice that came out of that combo.
10:25But now before we move on, let's recap with three ways you can take the first steps towards
10:30building generational wealth as an entrepreneur.
10:34Step one, start a family trust fund.
10:38Make detailed plans for how it will be used, who will have access and when,
10:43and don't be afraid to start with small deposits you make at a frequency that you're comfortable with.
10:49You can gradually increase your deposit amount or deposit frequency as your business grows.
10:55The key word is start.
10:57Two, turn your business into a family business.
11:00Identify a person or persons in your family who is serious about learning the skills to help you grow your business.
11:08Sit down with them.
11:09Map out a short-term and long-term plan for how you can bring them into the fold of your business.
11:15Turning your business into a family business will certainly come with its challenges,
11:19so make sure you do the work to determine the right timing, definitely the right family members,
11:25and the expectations and financial terms that everyone is clear on from the very beginning.
11:31Step three, invest in stocks or real estate.
11:35Taking the time to learn about the stock and real estate markets can pay off in major ways in the long run.
11:40You don't need to become an expert, but learn enough information that will allow you to make an informed decision
11:47about how to invest your money in these markets in a way that will consistently generate passive income
11:54for you and for your family.
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