Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Faith and Business: A faith-driven entrepreneur, and how she works with nonprofits to inspire and educate.

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Faith and Business: A faith-driven entrepreneur, and how she works with nonprofits to inspire and educate. · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

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  Speaker 1: Hi. I'm Rashan McDonald hosts this weekly Money Making Conversation
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this show provides
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  Speaker 1: are for everyone. It's time to stop reading other people's
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: success stories and start living you on. If you want
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: to be a guest on my show, Money Making Conversation Masterclass,
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  Speaker 1: please visit our website, Moneymakingconversation dot com and click the
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: b a guest button. If you're a small business owner, entrepreneur,
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  Speaker 1: motivational speaker, influencer, or nonprofit now let's get this interview started.
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  Speaker 1: My guest is the founding CEO of the nonprofit Guru LLC.
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  Speaker 1: She partners was small to mid sized nonprofits to strengthen fundraising,
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  Speaker 1: board development, and entrepreneur organizational strategy. Over the last decade,
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  Speaker 1: she trained coaches and set up and equipped through workshops,
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  Speaker 1: courses and tailor consulting and helping to transform their ideas
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  Speaker 1: into sustainable impact. Please welcome the Money Making Conversation Masterclass.
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  Speaker 1: Erica Gwynn, How are you doing?
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  Speaker 2: I'm wonderful.
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  Speaker 1: How are you where you based at? Erica?
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  Speaker 3: I have a Montessori school in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and then
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  Speaker 3: our nonprofit Guru.
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  Speaker 1: I do that virtually the nonprofit gurul Let's talk about
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  Speaker 1: that first nonprofit GURULLC.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, why that? Well, I had a cousin that told me.
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  Speaker 3: He gave me that nickname the nonprofit Guru, because I
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  Speaker 3: knew nonprofits in my sleep. It's what I've done professional right,
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  Speaker 3: It can be tedious. It's like being a lawyer reading
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  Speaker 3: a lot of contracts, think grant writing. It's about I
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  Speaker 3: have a big mission, and it is about the mission,
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  Speaker 3: but you have to be able to document it and
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  Speaker 3: show so that it can be fundable. So I did
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  Speaker 3: that for colleges I worked for. I don't know if
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  Speaker 3: I should say all the names, but I work them.
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  Speaker 3: SPELM in college, I managed a bioinformatics grant where I
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  Speaker 3: recruited students to do federal trainings across the country. I
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  Speaker 3: have worked for after school programs in my local community.
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  Speaker 3: I have been in kind donations consultant for Habitat for Humanity.
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  Speaker 2: So I got to see that.
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  Speaker 1: Should buy it. When you come on money Making Conversation
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  Speaker 1: Massacre Life, I'm exposing you to individuals who may need
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  Speaker 1: your services. Okay, So the more you can tell us
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  Speaker 1: about you, the more credibility we have to what you
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  Speaker 1: say you do, okay, so feel free to drop names.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, people can google you and google your brand
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  Speaker 1: and do their own research, but it's important that we
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  Speaker 1: convey a level of authenticity and honesty to the listeners.
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  Speaker 2: That's helpful, Thank you.
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  Speaker 3: So I've worked at Spelman College as a grants manager.
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  Speaker 3: I banished a two point five million dollar initiative that
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  Speaker 3: helped college students to get placement in their careers as
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  Speaker 3: doctors and veterinarians and physicians future doctors. And that experience
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  Speaker 3: allowed me to see that there was a federal pipeline
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  Speaker 3: to funding that could help folks at the local level.
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  Speaker 3: I also have done things with Habitat for Humanity, where
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  Speaker 3: where you build these beautiful houses, would ask for these
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  Speaker 3: donations from corporations to help us build it in partnership.
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  Speaker 1: So here and all these wonderful things you've done, when
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  Speaker 1: someone contacts you, how do you vet them and what
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  Speaker 1: are they asking you for? In general?
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, so, I do expect that at a very basic
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  Speaker 3: level they have at least three hundred thousand in revenue,
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  Speaker 3: because that shows me that at least they have started
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  Speaker 3: the process, They have a brand, they have something that
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  Speaker 3: is giving back to the community. I then also look
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  Speaker 3: to see do they have an existing board of directors
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  Speaker 3: and if that board of directors is in need of
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  Speaker 3: training and compliance because a lot of what we do
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  Speaker 3: in this space is about knowing the law and knowing
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  Speaker 3: what's fundable and what's not. So I use that as
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  Speaker 3: my template to see is there an existing board of
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  Speaker 3: directors and do they have at least three hundred thousand
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  Speaker 3: in revenue that can help them scale.
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  Speaker 1: Let's talk about that. A lot of people are start
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  Speaker 1: a nonprofit that this idea want to help out the community.
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  Speaker 1: Some of the mistakes people make in starting nonprofits because
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  Speaker 1: you already said a shall three hundred thous dollars, A
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  Speaker 1: lot of people just stop listening to this interview.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, prist out, which is.
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  Speaker 1: Right because the fact that you know what your skill
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  Speaker 1: level and what you're trying to do business with people,
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  Speaker 1: you're not trying to do startups, which can be unfortunate.
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  Speaker 1: I'm used to work ahead ache can't create a lot
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  Speaker 1: of drama because there's so many pitfalls that can come
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  Speaker 1: in doing a nonprofit. Even though your heart is in
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  Speaker 1: the right place, is your paoplework in the right place.
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  Speaker 1: So some of the mistakes, Erica.
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  Speaker 3: Some of the mistakes I see is first people have
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  Speaker 3: their family on their board of directors of people that
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  Speaker 3: they didn't vet for the skill set. They did it
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  Speaker 3: because someone said they'll help them. And it's great to
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  Speaker 3: bring a community of people who will help you, but
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  Speaker 3: vet them and make sure that they understand their role
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  Speaker 3: and that they understand their primary job is to be
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  Speaker 3: a fundraiser. A lot of people don't like to fundraise
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  Speaker 3: to get scared and nervous.
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  Speaker 1: So who should you have on your board if you
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  Speaker 1: can't have your family members, Because it's like it's about
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  Speaker 1: people you are on your board that you trust, but
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  Speaker 1: they have to have a certain skill set that you
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  Speaker 1: believe that when you are trying to solicit people for
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  Speaker 1: the board of your nonprofit.
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  Speaker 2: Great question.
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  Speaker 3: I always start with going to organizations that train you
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  Speaker 3: to be on a board. So for example, United Way
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  Speaker 3: of Great Atlanta, they have a VIP program where they
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  Speaker 3: will train people to be on the board and then
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  Speaker 3: you can go to them as a nonprofit to tell
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  Speaker 3: them I'm seeking this type of board member. Legal you
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  Speaker 3: always want someone who's got a legal ego background, someone
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  Speaker 3: who has accounting as the background, someone with the mission
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  Speaker 3: and vision skill, so maybe they have experience working in
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  Speaker 3: domestic violence or homelessness.
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  Speaker 2: They can help you with your program design right.
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  Speaker 3: And then a volunteer coordinator, someone who's experience with working
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  Speaker 3: with volunteers, because your volunteers are your gateway to everything
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  Speaker 3: opening up.
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  Speaker 1: So this is what you do. I'm impressed because of
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  Speaker 1: the fact that you know, I have represented a lot
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  Speaker 1: of celebrities, and I've represented celebrities who've had nonprofits, and
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  Speaker 1: that board was always an issue. What did that board
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  Speaker 1: consist of? And how do I select the members for
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  Speaker 1: the board? And how many members should be.
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  Speaker 2: On the board very key.
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  Speaker 3: I always go with odd numbers five to seven in
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  Speaker 3: a startup because you don't want decisions to get locked
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  Speaker 3: into an even split vote, so an odd number really
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  Speaker 3: helps you with that. I also look for board members
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  Speaker 3: who want to work. I tell them up front you
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  Speaker 3: should be prepared to commit twenty hours a month and
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  Speaker 3: not just on paper. And that sometimes holds back a
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  Speaker 3: great or good to great nonprofit because the board doesn't
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  Speaker 3: really want to put on the work of it. They
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  Speaker 3: just want to, perhaps in their lack of understanding, just
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  Speaker 3: want to go out and meet people.
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  Speaker 1: This resume business resume building look cool. My guess is
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  Speaker 1: the founder and CEO of the nonprofit guru LLC. She
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  Speaker 1: partners was small to mid sized non profits, the strength
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  Speaker 1: and fundraising, board development, and organizational strategy. That's what we're
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  Speaker 1: talking about. Now. We're gonna get back to your schools
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  Speaker 1: in a minute, because I thought it was important that
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  Speaker 1: we separate your skill set and your skill set at
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  Speaker 1: this point is helping people through your nonprofit guru LLC. Now,
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  Speaker 1: grant writing, Lord a mercy. How many people tap me
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  Speaker 1: on the shoulder about grant writing and you have that
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  Speaker 1: skill set at your company, at your nonprofit.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, we get random solicitations all the time, even if
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  Speaker 3: I'm not marketing. Someone knows that this is what I do.
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  Speaker 3: And I get a call and I have a big
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  Speaker 3: heart and a big heart.
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  Speaker 1: But they got to pay for that heart to keep.
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  Speaker 3: Beating, right, I do, I do it, I do and
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  Speaker 3: I've learned that now, thank.
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  Speaker 1: You very much. Yes, Money Making Conversation Master Class Night.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely charge these people because that's a skills set just
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  Speaker 1: like RFP. You know RFPs. You know people can't fill
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  Speaker 1: out RFPs. That's a skill set you've developed. Grad writing especially,
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  Speaker 1: so many especially in this era where you know the
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  Speaker 1: government has cut back on a lot of federal funding
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  Speaker 1: and so a lot of organizations, whether they are HBCUs,
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  Speaker 1: public radio, are looking for grant writers.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, A lot of what I try to do is
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  Speaker 3: teach my clients how to look at what's happening at
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  Speaker 3: a federal level and to pivot their programming, not necessarily
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  Speaker 3: chase the dollar, but make sure it aligns or no
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  Speaker 3: if it doesn't, to have several fundraising strategies so that
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  Speaker 3: you can align with your mission with the right audience.
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  Speaker 3: So that is another area I do see failures that
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  Speaker 3: nonprofits put all of their focus on a grant and
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  Speaker 3: not looking at individual giving, a state, planning in kind donations,
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  Speaker 3: individual giving. Those all matter to make the entire system work.
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  Speaker 1: You've described yourself as a faith driven entrepreneur. What is that?
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  Speaker 3: That is someone who understands that you're walking in your
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  Speaker 3: purpose and that is a gift and don't take it
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  Speaker 3: for granted. I have been in a foster home as
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  Speaker 3: a child, I have experienced a lot of trauma, and
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  Speaker 3: I know my community. We all have our various ways
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  Speaker 3: of experiencing it, but mine turn into a leadership skill
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  Speaker 3: that I muscle. I continue to exercise that muscle so
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  Speaker 3: that I could heal myself, and in doing so, I
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  Speaker 3: was helping others too.
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  Speaker 1: Now you know foster care, You know what exactly is that.
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  Speaker 3: It is a temporary It can be temporary to long
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  Speaker 3: term placement for a child that is displaced from their home,
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  Speaker 3: whether it's with their grandparents. Grandparents can be foster parents,
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  Speaker 3: or it can be with a non relative, someone who's
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  Speaker 3: getting paid as a career to take care of children
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  Speaker 3: who are not with their biological parents.
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  Speaker 1: I'm measure this because see I'm looking at the person
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  Speaker 1: because you when you talk, I just see a happiness
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  Speaker 1: about you. And I say that because it means you're
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  Speaker 1: doing what you want to do. You were, like you said,
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  Speaker 1: your purpose. You are just telling me about your purpose
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  Speaker 1: and it's all tired to helping individuals or nonprofits to
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  Speaker 1: make people's lives or individuals' lives better. That wraps itself
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  Speaker 1: into community. What does community mean to you?
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  Speaker 3: Erica Gwyn, Oh, community, I love these questions, thank you.
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  Speaker 3: Community means to me a system of it varies. Every
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  Speaker 3: community has a personality. So to me, community means accepting
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  Speaker 3: and respecting the people and the organizations, whether that's schools, businesses,
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  Speaker 3: the families, the children, the churches, all of them working
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  Speaker 3: together in an ecosystem for something that will move the
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  Speaker 3: needle forward. Community can look different in College Park to
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  Speaker 3: what the community is in Lilburn. It just is a
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  Speaker 3: matter of connecting dots.
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  Speaker 2: Community.
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  Speaker 3: That's how I envision community is helping everybody not operate
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  Speaker 3: in isolation, but we all working as a partnership to
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  Speaker 3: make something better for a future we won't see.
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  Speaker 1: It is an interesting question. You know there are people
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  Speaker 1: between the ages of eighteen and twenty two. You know,
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  Speaker 1: that's when you really are a dreamer. You're fascinating. You
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  Speaker 1: may think different than your parents' vision or your friend's vision,
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  Speaker 1: and somehow that twenty two you can get off track,
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  Speaker 1: get married, have kids, or you follow the path people
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  Speaker 1: tell you you should go. And when did you find
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  Speaker 1: out your dream and then you locked into it?
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  Speaker 3: When I was nineteen, I was a single mom and college.
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  Speaker 3: I had my oldest son, Cameron, and that next summer
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  Speaker 3: his father passed away. Wow, and I had a big
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  Speaker 3: decision to make. Was I gonna keep staying in school.
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  Speaker 3: I had no parents, My parents were deceased by then,
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  Speaker 3: and I had to look inward for some type of
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  Speaker 3: fuel and passion for bigger than me. And that really
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  Speaker 3: happened when I was nineteen years old. I just decided
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  Speaker 3: that I wasn't going backwards, and I was gonna pull
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  Speaker 3: myself up by my bootstraps. And I started giving back.
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  Speaker 3: I just I didn't know what else to do. I
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  Speaker 3: was hurting myself, and I just said, this doesn't feel
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  Speaker 3: good to just sit here and wallow in my own tears, right,
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  Speaker 3: And I just started giving back to others. And I
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  Speaker 3: loved it. And I just have never known how to
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  Speaker 3: turn it off.
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  Speaker 1: And this was happening all at the University of Georgia.
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  Speaker 3: It happened while I was at the University of Georgia.
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  Speaker 3: I actually did all of the good things that I
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: did at Georgia after I had my son. Prior to
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  Speaker 3: I was definitely living a fashion a fast freshman life.
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  Speaker 1: Don't feel bad. It took me seven years to graduate
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  Speaker 1: from college. There was a lot of fans in those
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  Speaker 1: four years before I got it right. Okay, so you
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: you you snapped in place cler than your boy. Okay,
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  Speaker 1: so don't feel bad. Year.
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  Speaker 2: My son is the reason I did faster than.
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  Speaker 1: A blessed, blessing, some stabilized. She changed my life. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: you know when we talk about giving back, because like
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  Speaker 1: I said, I'm talking Erica Gwyn you know, non prophet,
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  Speaker 1: the non profitt guru. She said, her brother called you
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  Speaker 1: the non profit gurul. Why did he say that, I
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: want to go back to that because something you were
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: doing that he just went girl, And then you took
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  Speaker 1: it to your business name.
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  Speaker 3: Well, my cousin is an attorney, was known in Atlanta,
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  Speaker 3: and I.
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: Was Miss Phillips.
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  Speaker 1: He is he a billboard.
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  Speaker 3: Harrington and Phillips and South Fulton, Okay. And I was
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  Speaker 3: clerking as a summer intern. And I thought I wanted
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  Speaker 3: to follow in his footsteps as an attorney. And he
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  Speaker 3: knew that I had been doing this nonprofit thing, and
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  Speaker 3: he just one day told me, like, you're the nonprofit guru.
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  Speaker 2: You're not going to be a lawyer.
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  Speaker 3: And he didn't say it quite that way, but he
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  Speaker 3: definitely told me I was the nonprofit guru. So when
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  Speaker 3: it was time, after doing this a while helping my community,
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  Speaker 3: I said, I think I should ll.
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  Speaker 2: S that there you go and the rest is history.
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  Speaker 1: Rest. So with that being said, before we transition transition
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  Speaker 1: to the schools all your school? How were we get
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: in touch in regard to the nonprofit.
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  Speaker 3: Gurul Absolutely, you can email me at I have two
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  Speaker 3: Hello at the nonprofit guru dot com or the nonprofit
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  Speaker 3: guru at gmail dot com.
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  Speaker 1: What's the first one?
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: Hello at the nonprofit guru dot com.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: Okay, cool, let's stick with that. Okay, I know, don't
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: you ever say? Okay? You know, let's talk about what
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: really brought you in? You heard my show. My show
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: airs every Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia, Well syndicates to twenty
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: HB to use nationwide, and my podcast what what invited
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: you or encouraged you to contact to be a guest
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  Speaker 1: on my show?
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  Speaker 3: Yes, sir, I listened to it for my own inspiration.
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: I'm a business owner, so I always like to hear
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: real stories. I don't watch TV.
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  Speaker 2: I can't. I just can't. It bores me.
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: But when I hear real life people make an impact.
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: I mean I'm a I'm a nerve for learning. So
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: I learned from your show, and then I told myself
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: this year this was my year of Yes.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: I know, I have a lot of.
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: Talent, and I hear you git it, and I decided
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: that I can't keep doing that, not in this administration.
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: Don't go anywhere. We will be right back with more
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: insights from Money Making Conversations master Class. Welcome back to
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: Money Making Conversation master Class with me Rashaun McDonald.
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: Somebody needs what I offer.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: I would just stop you right there. You are going
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: to tell you a lot of people sit in this
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: chair still, people on the big screen, talk to a
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: lot of people on the phone. You have a glow
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: about you, an excitement about you that you should like.
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: You said whatever, whatever hits you on the head and
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: put you out that door and say it's time. But
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: don't feel bad. I didn't realize who I was. I
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: was in my forties. I was just going through life
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: doing very exceptional things and just taking it for granted.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: What make it? Whatdn't make it new? Unique? My wife
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: she gets mad at me. All you know, you were special,
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: you know, but it still confuses me why people don't
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: get what I get. You know, And same thing with you,
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: and I have to remind you give right, that's a
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: special gift, okay. The fact that you are have the
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: patience and the for a tedious community. The way you
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: rattle off for board positioning was so comfortable that individuals
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: need to understand the value of it.
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: Do you have a websit so you're gonna beat me up?
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: I had a website for the nonprofit girl, and I
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: pulled it down so you can find me on LinkedIn.
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  Speaker 1: Why I'm just as we're talking about more people to understand.
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: Why did you make that decision?
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  Speaker 3: I didn't feel that people were ready to do the work.
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: I'm gonna make sure that I hold you accountable. And
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: if you want to meet goals, you need someone that's
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: going to be a coach that's not a yes man.
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: And I got tired of begging people to let me
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: show them the right way, because people can do it
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: their own way and then later come back and want
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: you to clean it up. And that's a lot more work,
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: and are not the best use of my time or
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: the money you need to spend for me to correct it.
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: So I paused and I pivoted to another skill that
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: I had, which was children talk about that. Yes, I
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: started a after school and a summer camp for math
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: and science. You know I have that son I told
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: you about that I had in college. I saw that
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: he wasn't being challenged with the out of school time
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: with some of the areas. And I started a math
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: and science summer camp really in his honor.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: About the Greece of mathematics. So I feel good about this, okay.
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: And I wanted Cameron to be able to continue to
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: thrive because he's got a natural he's a brilliant mind.
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: He does media now for himself, and he also does
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: other things, but particularly at this age, he needed somebody
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: to really just help him understand math and science at
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: a rudimentary, basic level that also respected him as a
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: young black boy and not always just trying to write
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: him up for being in trouble. And some other parents
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: saw that and I put them in. They asked me
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: to do a math and science summer camp, and it
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: grew to three or four locations, and after a while
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: in the Atlanta.
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: Area, I just casually said, it grew, you missed a
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: lot of steps, grew park, you know that, right.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: I did it just a parents, and then it grew,
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: it grew.
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: I had a demand that we bring it to other
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: parts of metro Atlanta, so we went to Grant Park
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: College Park and and then I got I had to
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: slow down because I started having more children with my husband.
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: Okay, okay, so you producer.
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: I did. I started making my own camp work.
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: And they actually were another model for me to see like, wow,
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: this world is continually evolved, and some of the evolution
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: was I needed a year round.
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: Initiative, okay, from the summer camp. From the summer camp.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: And when you say the summer camp, do they still exist?
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: No? Because I then went to year round model with
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: the school.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: Okay, Well you know you're interested, Okay, you got the
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: nonprofit guru, then you have to because I think there's
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: a need for the summer camp separately because a lot
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: of a lot of people can't do the you know,
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: the the year round. You know, I'm looking at the
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: business model because you said that you are a faith
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: driven entrepreneur. I have to remind you what I read
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: about you. Okay, So, and it's about business models and
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: if you're I always tell people if you're if you
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: are doing something you love era and you can generate
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: revenue based on it, then it's a blessing, yes, okay.
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: And so the blessing we're talking about is understanding all
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: the opportunities that you may be frustrated by or saying
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: I don't need to do that right now. Okay, we
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: know there's a profit opportunity. And because you already said
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: in this era and it's time, that means in your mind,
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: you know Grant writing.
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: Yes, I'm locked in.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: You're locked in. Okay, Cool, We're not gonna use Gmail
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: no more.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: I don't use it.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: Kickstart that website back up.
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: Yes, today I'm calling my people.
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: There you go and uh, And I'm not talking to
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: a crazy person. I'm talking a person who's been frustrated.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: But in making I would tell you. I would tell
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: people you're always gonna be frustrated making money. As you
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: can ask elon Musk, you can hassle the owner of Oracle.
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: All the folks are frustrating because they want to make money.
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: But money is never easy to be made, and it's
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: never easy to hold on to. Yes, okay, so know
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: that frustration that any levels are going to exist. Now,
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: let's talk about this summer school. Explain to me exactly
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: what that was.
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: Math and science summer camp.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: Eight weeks, eight weeks, eight weeks, eight.
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: Weeks, and you stopped, and I stopped.
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: I mean, as a woman business owner, there's many hats
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: I wear and I also chose to spend time to
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: nurture my marriage, my children. That's my first job myself. Okay, right,
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: but the summer camp put.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: You're a good multitasker though, I am.
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: Okay, I'm a great multitasker.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: Eight weeks though, eight.
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: Weeks and every week a different thing.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: And so that means that you have to broad your staff,
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: broad the people you charge, and also budget, yes, so
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: that you can pay them, pay yourself and keep the
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: program open. That's the business model.
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: Yes, and the irs.
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: They're all come from. Yes, that's why you have the
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: the ADPs like the paycheck so they can take the
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: money out pay them so you state of jail.
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: So these are all business models that we're talking about.
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: So I'm just wanted in this interview, which is about you,
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: but it's also a discussion of scaling and also not
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: limited in your future because of the fact that your
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: son cameeron. Then you made some more camera and so
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: what is that legacy? Yes, and you're building a legacy
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: that they can walk into if you do it right. Okay,
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: Now I know you're building your brand and COVID hit. Yes,
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: what happened?
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: Well, I came in as the own.
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: I bought a preschool that was already existing, had been
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: there for thirty years in Gwennett County called Seven Oaks Academy.
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: And the school I saw was a diamond in a rough.
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: I know a diamond in a rough one I see
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: one because I seen them all the time, whether it
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: was my own school experiences. But I came to the
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: school and I knew that it needed something more that
• 23:03
  Speaker 3: summer camp model that I had. I saw twelve year
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: olds at a daycare with a six week old, and
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: I said, this is not right. These twelve year olds
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: need to be engaged differently. So one of the first
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: things I did is I really scaled down to what
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: were we known for, and that was preschool. So I
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: got rid of the older kids model and focused on
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: cradle to pre k Okay to me, if our school
• 23:28
  Speaker 3: was known for that, then we need to make sure
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: we make sure that these kids are ready for kindergarten
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: when they met my campus.
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: And that has been our model since then, since twenty nineteen,
• 23:38
  Speaker 3: and now I'm in a season of bringing back those
• 23:41
  Speaker 3: bigger kids after school.
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: Is what we're starting with.
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: And I think someone is telling me that I need
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: to revisit that summer camp and bring it back as well.
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: You got to, You got to because of the one
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: thing is that that summertime is always a dangerous time
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: for camps. You know. I remember when I was growing up,
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: I had all those programs that they do the wrong
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: way and got rid of to see the program all
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: up with bound program, all these programs that kept me
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: out of game. You know, put a lawnmower in my
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: hand or something kept me busy, and then it kept
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: me structured and so. But also I didn't have academia
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: opportunities like you, because that's what there's a lot of.
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: It's a lot of our major companies around this business.
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: I remember my daughter when she damaged to her knee and
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: couldn't play professional tennis, she had to go to these
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: little tutoring locations. I won't mention their name, but I
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: don't need to mention their name. They make a lot
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: of money. And that's what you could be doing with
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: your with your camps. You know, these summer camps where
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: it become prep camps for SATs or acts or just
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: kids advancing the knowledge. I see nothing because see my
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: whole purpose, I always tell people, if I give you
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: an idea and you made a million dollars, then I've
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: done my dog because it's it's not my idea, it's
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: not my blessing. I can't do what you can do
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: your skills set that have been nurtured. It is within
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: you the ability to grow to the next level. Now
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: you have your students that what is the size of
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: a school and how many students are you nurturing right
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: now in your program?
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: Yes, so we're licensed for one hundred and twenty three
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: and I have learned though I have scaled my model
• 25:26
  Speaker 3: to boutique to go smaller. But it means that it's
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: more expensive too for your everyday family considering, but their
• 25:33
  Speaker 3: incentives to that for families that are looking for a
• 25:35
  Speaker 3: private school education for their little one Montessori right Montessori particularly,
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: you know, like, let's go back to our federal conversation.
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: You look at the trends federally, so I'm not necessarily
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: a fan of what's happening in the world, but I
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: looked at the big beautiful bill and I saw that
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: there was an opportunity for families to get a tax
• 25:54
  Speaker 3: right off when they invest in early learning education.
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: See, let me tell you something. See, you gonna be
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: one of my favorite gifts. Because see when she woke
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: out this building, money made conversations change your life.
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: Wow. And so we make sure that our family.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: She went cussing the big she read.
• 26:11
  Speaker 3: The build and said, what can this do for my community?
• 26:15
  Speaker 3: My client that wants what I'm offering. And so our
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: rates are not what you would find at a daycare,
• 26:21
  Speaker 3: but it's an investment into your child's future that you
• 26:24
  Speaker 3: may not have to pay for college if you do
• 26:27
  Speaker 3: these things on the front end. And then I have
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: experience on the other side. So we do parent education
• 26:32
  Speaker 3: to show them how like when I worked at Spelman,
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: our Bonna scholars had a full ride in college for
• 26:38
  Speaker 3: a volunteering scholarship. Like when you volunteer in your community,
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: you turn that into dollars that could pay for your
• 26:43
  Speaker 3: child's education.
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: So my families.
• 26:45
  Speaker 3: Aren't just getting the preschool, they're getting a cradle to
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: college pipeline if they lock in and can be a
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: good learner themselves.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: Now you have a website for this pro I do. Okay,
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: what's the name of.
• 26:56
  Speaker 3: This Sevenoaks Academy dot org. Okay, the words seven spelled.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: Out right now. And here's a beautiful thing about on
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: your website. Yes, we're driving people to your website. We're
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: asking people to visit your website. What are they getting
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: when they go to your website?
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: They are getting well. We have some unique benefits that
• 27:16
  Speaker 3: we offer. We have an on site professional chef, so
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: you're getting great nutrition because what you put in is
• 27:21
  Speaker 3: what you're going to get out. We have a small
• 27:24
  Speaker 3: class website. Absolutely, you have a small class ratio so
• 27:29
  Speaker 3: that your child is seen as one of one. You're
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: going to see diversity in our school from the educators
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: to the team to the students. You're going to have
• 27:37
  Speaker 3: three natural, beautiful playgrounds where kids can explore, blossom and sear.
• 27:43
  Speaker 3: And more importantly, you get an amazing director and owner
• 27:47
  Speaker 3: who's passionate about children being ready for the next level
• 27:50
  Speaker 3: when they graduate from my program.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: That's Erica Gwyn.
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: That's Erica Erica.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Okay are you are you are? Is it a waiting list?
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: We have a for our infant classroom, our toddler classroom
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: we still have we have a few spaces available, and
• 28:06
  Speaker 3: then we also just opened our primary classroom, which is
• 28:08
  Speaker 3: ages three to six, and we hired a reading specialist
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: for those students that may have dyslexia or learning disabilities,
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: I like to call them new or divergent, meaning a
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: diversity of ways that children learn, because there's no disability
• 28:21
  Speaker 3: that sounds like negative tone. Instead, we find children for
• 28:25
  Speaker 3: what their abilities are and we are teaching to that standard.
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: So I have a reading specialist that can also help
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: if you don't want to enroll or can't enroll full.
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: Time Seven Oaks Academy, Montresoril. Yes, nonprofit Guru LLLC. Now
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: I've never said this to a person or who's set
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: in that chair. What do your takeaway from this interview
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: where you walk out this store.
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: I have three takeaways.
• 28:51
  Speaker 3: One is to be an action taker, because if I
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: don't receive the message that's coming to me, then that's
• 28:56
  Speaker 3: shame on me. Two two is that I also am happy.
• 29:05
  Speaker 3: I don't necessarily know that outwardly that I show it,
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: but I am. I'm in a very good place with
• 29:10
  Speaker 3: where I'm in business, where I am in my family,
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: and where I am in my legacy. And then the
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: third thing is I would say making sure that I
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: market and advertise and brand myself accordingly so people can
• 29:24
  Speaker 3: find the things that I offer.
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: Branding is key because what I just saw that speech
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: you just gave me. If I had a kid, I'm
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: running them up over there fast because you said all
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: the things I want and I feared when I dropped
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: my child off. You know, I don't fear that. That
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: that's important, and I think that people want to hear that.
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: The diversity and the fact that you know, I always
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: tell people there are two sides of every coin. You know,
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: you can look at the president administration and throw your
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: fingers up or your one finger up and run out
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: of the room. All you can say, how can I
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: work with this?
• 29:59
  Speaker 2: Yes?
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: Is there planing for some other for us? They're a
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: plan for me? Or is there a financial opportunity I
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: can share with other people so they can see the benefit.
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: And that's what you did, and you didn't. You know,
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: we're always going to be frustrated. There's never going to
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: be a perfect lane for us to enjoy our life
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: the way we want to. We all have to figure
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: out how to enjoy life that's being presented to us.
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: As you wrap this conversation up, what is the future
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: of child care, especially with AI?
• 30:27
  Speaker 3: Yes, you know, with AI, I actually do integrate AI.
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: Montessori has some very high level materials that you have
• 30:37
  Speaker 3: to have a deep training on. With AI, I said,
• 30:40
  Speaker 3: I could cut two years of training, take a picture
• 30:42
  Speaker 3: of a child working with the material and explain it
• 30:45
  Speaker 3: to a parent so they can continue it at home
• 30:47
  Speaker 3: and continue that discipline that the child needs for being
• 30:50
  Speaker 3: a good student. AI also helps me with a lot
• 30:53
  Speaker 3: of things where I used to hire a lot of staff,
• 30:56
  Speaker 3: even in the Philippines, instead of hiring team in the Philippines,
• 31:00
  Speaker 3: I can hire one team member and execute through some
• 31:02
  Speaker 3: AI employees and a lot of the comments and repeat
• 31:05
  Speaker 3: deliverables that I think. So I find the technology technology
• 31:09
  Speaker 3: to be a friend in my business, and I'm not
• 31:11
  Speaker 3: afraid to keep learning. And I think that's what has
• 31:14
  Speaker 3: helped me to get to where we are.
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: Well. I think that you've helped me understand that what
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: I do has a purpose. You know, I don't know
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: what I do. Erica impacts anybody. I tell my staff
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: that I believe that every day we turn on the lights,
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: we're changing somebody's life to it. There's a certain level
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: of responsibility that we have to deliver quality, to control, consistency,
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: honest information, vetted information, as much as we can. I
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: always encourage anybody who to hear something to vett it
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: out themselves. But what I do get mostly is what
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: I'm seeing right here, a person who don't understand how
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: value but they are to this world. Wow, and you
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: are a super You are a superpower. Okay, sending the
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: sending this chair across from me, And don't you ever
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: forget that? And uh, one more time for that website,
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: Yes for both locations and how we can get touched.
• 32:16
  Speaker 3: Yes, for the nonprofit Guru LLC. You can find me
• 32:19
  Speaker 3: at Hello at the Nonprofitguru dot com. Seven Oaks Academy, Montssory,
• 32:24
  Speaker 3: you can find me at Sevenoaksacademy dot org. And that's
• 32:28
  Speaker 3: the word seven spelled out Oaks Academy dot org.
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: And one more time. When they go to that website,
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: what they gonna see.
• 32:34
  Speaker 3: You're gonna see a beautiful small class ratios where your
• 32:38
  Speaker 3: child is treated one of one. You're gonna have chef
• 32:40
  Speaker 3: prepared meals. I didn't talk about the therapy we offer
• 32:43
  Speaker 3: on site therapy, and I have cameras in the classroom
• 32:46
  Speaker 3: that parents can see in live, real action.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: I'm through with you.
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: I would love this interview.
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: If you don't start telling the world how great you are,
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: I won't be mad at you.
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: You won't be mad. I'm taking action. I'm a fast learner.
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversations Master Class. Quinn.
• 33:10
  Speaker 2: Yes, it's been my pleasure. Thank you. I'm sorry, Thank y'all.
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: This has been Money Making Conversations Masterclass with Rashawn McDonald
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: thanks to I guess and our audience. Visit Moneymakingconversations dot
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: com to listen and register to be a guest.