Empowering Black Wealth: FinTech Innovation with Calvin Williams Jr of Freeman Capital

Ever wondered how FinTech is revolutionizing the way Black communities handle wealth? Join us as special guest Calvin Williams Jr, the enterprising mind behind Freeman Capital, unpacks how his company is leveling the financial playing field. His personal tale of entrepreneurship will not only inspire you but also provide you with the keys to unlock your own financial potential. Through affordable wealth management services, Calvin's mission to bridge the wealth gap is a beacon of hope and possibility, offering actionable steps for anyone eager to grow their net worth.

As we navigate the complexities of raising capital and giving back, our conversation takes a heartfelt turn towards the importance of support systems within the Black entrepreneurial community. Calvin's insights into the power of mentorship and mutual growth shine a light on the collective journey of Black founders. Touching on business ethics, strategies for growth, and the need to uplift every stakeholder, this episode is a tapestry of valuable lessons and commendable practices that can steer Black businesses towards exemplary service and success.

Wrapping up with a sincere look at the balance of personal branding, privacy, and the realities of business success, we explore how entrepreneurs can foster their brands authentically. We also discuss the tailored financial advice Freeman Capital offers, accessible to people at various economic levels, ensuring that the path to wealth management is open to all. Plus, we delve into the nuances of work-life balance, and how a week's 168 hours might be best utilized for maximum productivity and fulfillment. So, tune in for an episode brimming with practical advice, empowering insights, and an unwavering commitment to entrepreneurial excellence within the Black community.

Transcript

Langston Clark: 0:10

Hey everyone, thank you again for your support of Entrepreneurial Appetite. Beginning this season, we are inviting our listeners to support the show through our Patreon website. The founding 55 patrons will get live access to our monthly discussions for only $5 a month. Your support will help us hire an intern or freelancer to help with the production of the show. Of course, you can also support us by giving us five stars, leaving a positive comment or sharing the show with a few friends. Thank you for your continued support. What's up everybody?

Langston Clark: 0:37

Once again, this is Langston Clark, the founder and organizer of Entrepreneur Appetite, a series of events dedicated to building community, promoting intellectualism and supporting Black businesses. And today we have another very special replay from Season 2 of Entrepreneur Appetite, featuring Calvin Williams Jr, ceo and founder of Freeman Capital. Although Calvin is not yet an author, he shares with us the story of how he came to found Freeman Capital, a financial technology company dedicated to closing the wealth gap through affordable wealth planning. Before Calvin, you tell us specifically what Freeman Capital is and what it does, I think that there's a lot of people in black communities who are the last to get the new cool information about technology, about finance, about what's going on with money. So I'm just wondering can you just tell us what FinTech is? What is FinTech?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 1:32

Of course, I'm definitely happy to do that and, langston, I appreciate you inviting me here. As you stated, my name is Calvin Williams, the founder of Freeman Capital, and we are pretty qualified to speak on FinTech, and especially in the black community, because my company, freeman Capital, is the first and only black just a little short way to say it financial technology. So anything can be a form of financial technology. It can be something as simple as a bank app from BOA or Wells Fargo, whomever. That's a version of financial technology all the way through, like payment technology, like Cash App or PayPal or anything like that, or NMO, all the way through investing apps and then all the way to things like Bitcoin. So financial technology is a very broad term, which just is saying what are ways for us to leverage technology in the aspect of finance.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 2:39

Now, in terms of the Black community, unfortunately, like many things in this country, there are disparities in access and information. That is the main reason why we founded our company to make that. This should then lower the cost for you know very services to live, which then means that they roll out to more people. Now the question is are they going to target Black people with their lower cost easier to use software. Target black people with their lower cost easier to use software. So now that it's accessible, the question is who are the users? Who is the who? Who do they want to help serve? But that's probably part two of our topic there.

Langston Clark: 3:35

Thank you. Thank you for sharing that, and I appreciate just laying the foundation for what thin technology is and just giving us some background on your company and what you all do. Can you just share for us your story of how you became an entrepreneur and maybe give us some more insights into the services that Freeman Capital provides?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 3:58

Of course, yeah, definitely. So, for real, my entrepreneurial journey it really starts all the way back with my great grandmother, evelyn and George Freeman. They were able to, you know, their first generation born out of slavery, and they got married in like the 1990s and they were able, in DC, to you know, buy their own home and buy one more house and so like that's like a big deal in the 1990s, like this is before fixing the flip. You know this is segregation, but they were able to take a step forward for their family and that mentality passed down through our lives. So for me, you know, my parents encouraged entrepreneurship at a super young age. I mean I was probably 12 when I when I started my first business, and then probably like 15, when I started my first business, and then probably like 15 when I started my first real technology business where I was building websites for churches, for government contractors, like all of these things getting my feet wet.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 4:56

Then, at our school, north Carolina A&T State University, that's where things really took off. I was recruited by the Department of defense to build top secret computer programs at 17. And although it was very, very cool, you know I wanted to be a bit more social, because you can't talk about what you do. It's all top secret. So there at A&T is when things really took off, because I began to build websites for the university. I mean within months of launching it when I was a junior, we became the preferred vendor for website development across the whole campus and you know that then led to some great things where I bought my first house at 20.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 5:39

Like and like like you may not know, because we like hang out a lot like that, but you can tell me much of that time man Like I forget started a company like I had bought a house. I thought I was crushing it until I went to go try and find a wealth manager and they basically said that unless you can give me a million bucks, you aren't even worth talking to. And I was like what do you mean? Like I'm doing what you guys say? You were just saying you go to invest, that's what I am, that's what I'm doing, but no one would help me.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 6:07

And that is what led me to build Freeman Capital. You know we are a wealth management as a subscription service, so that means that you know you can get started, get access to some of the most expensive and valuable and experts in this field for a low monthly cost, and we give advice and management over all types of finance, like we focus on helping you figure out what is the next step to help you increase your net worth and build your wealth, because that's what I want. I wanted someone who was like, hey, because of what you're going through, the next thing you should do are these three steps, and that's what we do at Freeman, where every month, we give folks their three steps for them to take that will help them increase their net worth and be more wealthy and live a better life.

Langston Clark: 6:52

Yeah, I think that's great Because, I mean, there's I think there are two major wealth conversations going on in the black community right now, because everyone's aware of disparities, I think, in ways that maybe we hadn't been before, in terms of the economics, even people who we assume are aware but maybe don't have access to that awareness. Sometimes poor people don't know they're poor, right. So I hear two stories that there are two narratives that are both in your story. So there's this financial management piece, like what do I do with my money now that I have it, and then this other piece of like how do we become entrepreneurs? And I think I want you to talk a little bit more about like building that family culture of entrepreneurship and maybe how you see that as a means of building generational wealth or passing down general generational wealth, just through the process of like we're entrepreneurs in this family yeah, that's.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 8:00

That is a great um topic, and the way that I want to frame it is actually on the back of research that someone else has done. There is a book called Black Tax by Sean Rochester, and in this book it's a powerful book he breaks down the cost of being black and like he really goes to, like you know, and like it breaks down, like you know, if you are a lawyer, if you're a doctor, if you're applying for a job same resumes, right, white and black, white name and a black name how people will have prejudice and bias. That will that will literally impact you. Like if you move on in corporate, how that impacts you.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 8:44

I do believe that there are many ways for us to get to our own individual wealthy places, and we need to redefine what what wealth is for us in our generation. It doesn't look the same for everyone, and so I do think that entrepreneurship is a way for us to get there, but it's not for everyone. I want to be very, very clear, like I don't want anyone to feel ashamed because they're not interested in being an entrepreneur. The truth is, though, we all have gifts, and then the question is are those gifts being valued by your employer, or can you do that and do something on the side? Because no one hustles like Black folk do? I mean, there is a reason why we are the number one group that is starting and growing businesses, and so I think it's because we look at, in corporate, we're not being treated equally, we aren't getting an equitable shake, and so we're motivated to do it all on our own. So I do believe that entrepreneurship is a way, but the thing is that we look at it and the way that we do is.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 9:50

You know, if you are in a situation where you have now access because of fintech, you know a bright spot of this technology being deployed in the world of finances is that there are multiple companies being built and targeting to solving problems within the black community, be it in saving, be it in credit or what have you, and so now there are more opportunities.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 10:14

No matter where you are on this income journey, on this wealth journey, there are apps built to help you get the next stop. And the key thing is that a lot of the innovators are people like us who are looking at these barriers to entry and figuring out how can we use technology to overcome these barriers, to let more of our community through, and that's what we're doing at Freeman Capital, is that we're really focused on taking a personal responsibility, because we're the only black one out there, right? So, like you know, by that, we have to and like for us, we want to make sure that our customers get that education, they get the understanding and the specific actions that result in their increased network. And so, with this whole revolution that is going on, there are now companies like my own who are being built to help us grow and build our wealth as a community, and, whether or not we do it through entrepreneurship, through investing or just by becoming more financially literate, we can do it together. As we take these, that's good.

Langston Clark: 11:23

I think about conversations about equity and access and the conversation for Black folk who are middle class or have or are middle class in terms of their education. Like you know, you went to college. I went to college, you got a business. I'm not talking about rich. I'm talking about like average, everyday middle class. Our access to someone like you, to someone who could be a financial planner, is much higher than someone who is just learning how to deal with money. And so how can fintech be leveraged to produce financial liberation in the black communities that are the most marginalized economically?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 12:10

Yeah and right there it's really. You know, the key part right there is because, like, just take Freeman, for example, and then we'll go into some other apps that I know of, the average cost to work with a certified financial planner is $250 an hour and that's like I mean, that's just like you got to have money to make money right. But even at Freeman we're less than 60% of that for the whole month, you know. And so what you are looking at is that even those who are that you are seeing throughout the tranches of finance companies that are coming in to help that way. So a founder that I know of her name is Sheena Allen. She runs a company called Capway and she is focused on helping those who are underbanked because we got to get them into the banking system. Now she is a black, black woman. She was when I first met her down in Mississippi. I think she moved now. But, like you know, there are literally apps that are running out there.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 13:11

Now the challenge is not just is there a app or financial technology that can solve underbanked or, you know, marginalized banking or those who need a whole piece about how to get their life together, pay off debt or whatever the problem is going to be how do we get the word out and then create a environment of trust, because, really, what we're really talking about here is people at.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 13:39

We have had so much that has happened to us as a community, all the way back to Freedman's Bank, that there is, that the trust is very set, and so what I think that what has to happen the most is, regardless of what income or wealth tranche financial technology is focused on, we as people of color have to try and take a little bit of a step to like trust it which is a little scary, and I get it and the companies have to earn that trust.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 14:09

They need to put in policies and regulation and rules that protect the customers so that, when they reach out to them, people can take that first step with confidence and faith, and then that's how we can help out even the poorest, by building something that's just for them, but also just keeping in mind like I have to say this because we see it, I know doctors who are living check to not check, living off of their credit card. So poor does not have to mean income. I mean it can mean what is your wealth, and so that is why we're so. We're so focused on giving folks the action that they need, because there are folks who make 50K or 200K and their net worth is the same and that we have to change so that we, as a community, can build generational wealth.

Langston Clark: 15:02

Yeah, I think that's interesting. One of the things that is, as so-called millennials, that we want as consumers is our industrialists, our major capitalists of the big tech companies or whatever company, to be altruistic, to show some type of corporate social responsibility. And I'm wondering cause you've mentioned these doctors, right, we, we have wealth in our community and we sometimes complain about you know, the rich black people not doing something for the poor black people, for the uplift. I'm wondering is there a mechanism within Freeman Capital, if you're working with that doctor, if you're working with you know university president, if you're working with entrepreneur that's making a good amount of money to build into their financial plan, give back to you know black communities that don't have as much as they do like. How do you put that in their financial culture?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 16:01

Yeah, so you know, for me personally, I have found that giving back has been something that has been huge to me, whether or not I give back through my church or I give back to A&T because we've got to support the HBCUs. I have found that, you know, as as you give, it does come back, but we as a company don't force that onto everyone because we know that everyone's at different levels. But we are actually in talks with some folks to make it very easy for them to do giving. That's the only thing that I can say now on some of that platform, but I can say that when we look at it I mean even just from a tax code perspective one of the things that we do at Freeman is that we help folk think about not just filling out your tax return but tax plan to put you in the best position.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 16:56

And one thing that can help you in terms of planning out your tax is charitable giving, and so, just as a nature of OK, you just got a higher paying job, you just got a rate, so that means that your taxes are going to go up. Well, how to combat that? Well then, you can't do it through your charitable giving, and so it's not a mandate in the way that we do it, but because we're planning for our people's health and we understand the tax code is that we will help them position themselves in the best way possible by saying can you or do you want to think on how you can support causes that you're passionate about through your charitable giving. It helps that organization and it personally helps you because it can literally help you move from one tax bracket to a lower one. So then now you have given a little bit of money and you get a tax return back. Life is better for everybody, yeah that's good.

Langston Clark: 17:52

That's good and I think you know those are things like if you don't, if you don't grow up with money, with wealth, even if you grow up middle-class, like there's, there's different levels to understanding wealth and the benefit of giving in strategic ways that I think, no matter where you are, what your education level is, that you can benefit from. To capital right, venture capitalists, angel investors. I don't even know if everyone, I don't know if I really understand totally what a venture capital is, venture capitalist is or an angel investor. Are they the same? Are they different? But what maybe has been your experience getting people to support your business so that Freeman Capital can grow to do what it's trying to do in Black community?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 18:40

Yeah, and so I will just break some of the terms so that we're all on the same page, right? So you have friends and family investors. That's just people that you know personally that are investing in you. Then there's a term called angel investors. They are individuals that are what's called high net worth. They either make a quarter of a mil, or they either make a quarter of a mil or higher, or they have a million dollar net worth, excluding their house, like they're doing well.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 19:08

And then you have venture capitalists. A venture capitalist is someone who has a company and it's their company's job to invest. So they go out and they raise money from really wealthy people who give them money to give to a founder, and that founder has between five and 10 years to give them back 10 times what they gave them. So that's how it's set up. Yes, 10 times, and if you don't hit that mark, they can kick the founder out or they could do a whole bunch of things. So that's the three levels friends and family, angels and VCs. We have raised money from all three, and less than 1.8% of all venture capital funding goes to founders of color. So it's very, very small and very, very narrow, and you know, we are based in North Carolina, so we look at the country as a whole. Less than one percent of all the countries Venture capital goes to people in the southeast. That's everywhere, from like Virginia, no, like from Virginia all the way to like Texas. So I'm a black man who raised money in the south. That's like a double entendre. Just it just doesn't happen Right.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 20:23

So the way that I had to do it is that in the beginning no one would write me a check, like no one believed in the idea, because it was just an idea, and I hope that a day comes when black and brown founders get money just from an idea. White boys do, white women, I think, do as well, but I have not seen it happen for us. So I, what I had to do, was take my salary on my day job. I was still working and I literally downgraded my life so that half of my check went to my business every single month, and I had to do that for about two and a half years before I got any money. So I was my own investor. Now what happened was that eventually my wife was like bruh you wild. Right now I need you to stop writing all of our money Because we still at that point we hadn't made a single dime, we had no customers.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 21:18

I was investing to kind of get it going. Then we raised friends and family money and we raised three hundred and fifty grand from friends and family money and that in that is a achievement for black founders as well, because historically we don't have access to friends and family who can write checks. Aha, there is a trick and I can cover that in Q&A or at a later time. But I was able to help folks tap into their retirement and invest in Freemans through their jobs retirement. It's a nice story. Then I use that money to get a little bit farther along and at that point I got got grants and loans, but mostly grants from Google for startups, for other organizations, and then now we have raised venture capital money and so at each stage of the process there is a certain amount of success that the investor wants to see before they're putting money.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 22:20

So for the family, they want to see you have something for real, but they're really just believing in you Angels. They want to see that your product is real and that you could make some money, you know, or that you are making money. Vc's, venture capitalists. They want to see that you're making money and that as soon as you take their money, it's going to begin to turn into tent. That's the three stages of growth capital. That's the three stages of growth capital. There are others out there too, which I can speak to, that are not in these three buckets, but like those would be three most most commonly heard buckets.

Langston Clark: 22:53

So, calvin, I'm going to say this. So normally we meet as a book club and if you write a book, you got to put that in there, because I think like, yeah, I know, people don't know that I got to run into the book.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 23:03

I know I'm going to write it down. I promise, because the way that I raised $350,000, every time that I tell my founder friends they're like I want to do it and it's super easy. But I promise that I will put it down on paper.

Langston Clark: 23:20

But I think, even thinking about because I have a little boy here who, who is into real estate and we have conversations back and forth all the time about using your old salary has to be your old venture capital. And I think even I'm not going to tell you how to write the book, but I think, even starting with that, like I lived on half of my salary and funded my own company and like for us, like some of us, that's just what it's going to take. You know what I mean and we need to hear story like it is. It's related to the financial management, because if you're going to do that, like you got to know how to manage all your finances. You got to know how to get the best out of your taxes, you know. So I think what you just laid out is probably one of the most powerful stories we've heard from somebody that has spoken, you know, in this platform.

Langston Clark: 24:06

I know that you mentioned that you had a friend who started her own company. That's a fintech company. I want you maybe to talk a little bit about the support that you get from other Black founders. Like, what is that community like? And I actually asked a question about venture capital because, like I follow Arlen Hamilton and I followed you and I saw that, like Backstage Capital was one of the venture capitalist firms or whatever that invested in you. So can you talk about how, at this stage, like your ability to community support of people that look like us or maybe even don't look like us?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 24:47

Yeah. So I think, when I frame it in a way that I am going to frame it, that you instantly get it. Like I went to predominantly white high schools, right. But then when you get to an HBCU, you're surrounded by this black excellence that is motivating and inspiring. And you might find it in like a black orb, like a NABBA or a NSBE or whatever, but like you're surrounded by it. It helps motivate you through all of the crap that you have to get through to be successful.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 25:19

So my first three years I was just solo, like I wasn't in any ecosystems. I was all by myself. When things were hard, I just was talking to myself, about you know, I'm talking and praying. That's about it, you know. But then I began to reach out and join some black ecosystems in first Charlotte, then Atlanta, and like they helped to create a environment to where I felt comfortable to keep going, I was like oh, I'm not the only one. Like, I'm not crazy. Like, like, like. Really that is the best part of having an ecosystem of founders that are like you, because you think, are they doing this to me because I'm black? Is this because I'm a black woman? Like, whatever the reason. And so you see someone like, oh, this happened to you too. And then you see someone and it's like, oh, this happened to you too, okay.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 26:04

And then when you see people in the beautiful part about these ecosystems is that you find people who are ahead of you and those who are behind you.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 26:13

And so to those who are ahead of you like some of my best mentors are found in these groups, because I see that they did it I was like, oh, and then I asked like, how did you get through this type of a problem? And then they break it down. They was like, oh, and then I asked like, how did you get through this type of a problem? And then they break it down and they're like your mind's blown, and then folk are coming behind you and so you pull them behind. And so really, I mean it is important to be in diverse ecosystems like that are inclusive, but it's especially important to be in a ecosystem directly related to your profession, be it founder, being a nurse, be it whatever, because we will have experiences and and it will feel like it's crazy. But then when you see it's other people like, oh, okay, they can do it, I can do it, we can do this and then you go on from there.

Langston Clark: 26:57

That's good. I appreciate that. I think sometimes we we, we, we, we, we understand that we need community and don't always know where to find it, and so, even in my own experience, having a community of people who are supportive of what I'm doing is is crucial. Um, and having grown up like you did, like I went to mostly white high schools, you know and and having the experience at A&T kind of helped shape the way I move forward in terms of, like, really seeking out community of Black folk for support, and so I think that's crucial and I think, for people who grew up around other Black folk but in communities that were a bit more economically distressed, understanding that, like you, can go find Black people who have more wealth experiences than you do or professional experiences than what maybe you come up around, is beneficial. I want to ask what sort of just basic invites do you have for somebody who wants to be a black founder of a tech company? Or maybe is this even working in a new black tech company that might be founded by somebody else?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 28:05

even working in a new black tech company that might be founded by somebody else. Yeah, so that's a that's a tough question, and and it shouldn't be. But here's why Because I want to give a really encouraging and uplifting message in response to that, but then I also want to give like a real response, and so I'm going to try and balance both of those things Right. So I think that in this climate right now, it is. It's also great because there are more funds, there are more support being focused on our community. I hope that this lasts. I do firmly believe that this was a that this is a bit of a reaction to the, to everything that happened when Trump was president. So now that Biden is president, I hope that things will just calm down. We just go back to how they. You know they were, but you know I would take advantage of all of these opportunities that have founders and companies. If you even go on Twitter, there are founders like white founders men, women, whatever who like are saying like, hey, I want to help out a black founder. So if you want me to look at your pitch, deck like people are doing those things, take advantage of all of those things Right.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 29:25

But above that, you have to have a solid business, because it's nothing worse than us being invited to the party and we look foolish, right. And so the thing is that because, because these people are opening up these new channels for us and they can have a bias, they could have limited exposure. You know what we have to do. It's not just for us, it's for that next founder who comes behind us as well. So we have to be thorough, we have to know our business, we have to know our numbers and then begin to understand where you are in the founder journey. If you are at the beginning, trying to get your idea together, that's not the time to talk to any investors, because then you're going to look foolish, like there's no point even you, and ruining your own name.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 30:12

And so the biggest thing that I would say is a take advantage of all these opportunities, but be really double down on trying to understand your business at, at you know, a level that no one else can. And then the last thing that I would just say on this topic is there are going to be some moments where you may have to deal with some racism or some prejudice, but the reality is that we deal with it anyways, just in life. So that same mentality and energy that we bring to the rest of our life, you got to bring it here and that's up. So that's it. Yeah, I think that's good, um.

Langston Clark: 30:50

So I kind of kind of want to piggyback off that and say, um, I have this idea and it's about like the ethic that we bring to our work. The best black business that I have consistently ever experienced or been involved with. This is a sound a little morbid, is like the black funeral home. You know what I mean and I'm not wishing death on them, I'm not trying to go super morbid or anything like that, but just think about it. Like when my dad died, the people that worked in a funeral home were on point with everything from you know, caring for my mother, being sensitive. When we were driving to put him in his burial place, there were these teenagers who weren't stopping to do roll down his window was like don't you know this is a funeral. I mean, they were on point like the level of care, the attention to detail, the understanding of getting it right.

Langston Clark: 31:48

And I thought about that and I was like, listen, the black funeral home director, the black morticians or whatever the case may be, they honor black people in their work. And I'm just and I wanted like that's kind of like what you're saying, even when you're going to the venture capitalist Right, and that venture capitalist may be white, maybe Asian, but you're thinking about the person behind you. The service that you're providing is for black people. Right, the culture of I'm honoring black people in my work. I think it's beneficial to us, and sometimes we, unfairly, are extra critical of black businesses. So I'm wondering if you could talk about how, maybe a culture and ethic of honoring your community is embedded in your work beyond, just like I'm providing a service to you.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 32:33

Yeah, no, that that, and I am happy that you picked up on that too, because that's the reality. Like we take and everyone should take their business with this level of seriousness. Right, because whenever anyone gives you their hard earned money or team members work for you for free, you can get fined from the SEC. A whole bunch of companies do that. We don't want to be in that group but they do. But what I am worried about is Black Twitter, because Black Twitter will trash me much harder than any registration thing do, because Black Book we don't play with our money and so with that it's kind of a bit of a motivation harder than any registration thing do. Right, because Black Book we don't play with our money and so with that it's kind of a bit of a motivation.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 33:33

And like we look at other industries and I never looked at the funeral home, but you know we looked at Chick-fil-A and we saw their level of service, like their manager out there changing tires, and so we wanted to, even at our expense, make sure that we do what is right and in the best interest of our customers, because we know that if we can do that, everything else will work out, and it has, and so I just encourage folks because I have wanted to spend, you know, 20 grand a month in marketing.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 34:01

I wouldn't do that for a long time and I'm still waiting to pull the trigger. I'm probably going to pull it very soon, but my team is like Calvin, like when we go it has to be right, and so we have a culture of it's better to do things right than rush and apologize. And so I think that the more that we do that, the less that the stigma of oh, it's a black business and it's bad will happen, because we'll take each customer, each investor, each team member and just treat them that much more serious and knowing that, if this is the only one that we can get, let's value them like they are the world.

Langston Clark: 34:44

That's good. That's good. So, because we normally, before we go to, q&a from the audience, because we know they're our book club, could you suggest a book, one, two or three books that you're reading or that you suggest that keep you motivated, grounded, have inspired you, something like?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 35:03

that, yep, I am going to my books right now. Man, I'm going to tell you, for real, what I'm reading. So one book is just a really good read is the Millionaire Next Door, because, yes, I'm in the financial space. So I got to recommend a financial book, because it focuses on the behaviors that build wealth. It gives a foundation and it basically identifies, like this, like the seven common traits that keep popping up and up.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 35:29

The other one, so I'm going to give you two financial books that are super simple. The other one is called the one page financial plan. It focuses on how to be simple, I mean how it's a simple way to be smart about your money. So it's super easy. It's very, very easy to read. And then, for the founders, the thing that I would read is called lovability, which is how to build a business that people love and be happy doing it, and so it focuses more on how to build a lovable product instead of just how to build a technical product, or like a very efficient product. Product instead of just how to build a technical product or like a very efficient product.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 36:08

Um, because, you know, I I wish that I read more like actual books, but I am reading them in like audiobooks. Just the last one that I'll read of that lesson I'll, uh, you know, put out there for those who are people of faith. It's called kingdom men. Uh, it's just a. It's a book about how to be a man of integrity and how to do things right. So the books, one more time, are, um, millionaire next door. It is the one page financial plan, a simple way to be smart about your money. Uh, love ability, how to put a business that people loved. And then, for at least you know the men, uh, kingdom man, ma'am, you know, hey, it just really, it really it smacks me in the face about how I need to be a better man. So, um, that's what I'm recommending.

Langston Clark: 36:51

That's good, I think. Uh, one thing I I I another idea I've been wrestling with is like why does character education start in elementary school, you know, and why is it that, like, when we, when we become older, we become professionals, we have all those professionals about all these other things, but why isn't character education something that's ongoing in businesses and professional spaces? Because we have all this other stuff and we wonder why we get toxic leadership sometimes. So I appreciate that that's something that you, you are intentional about, like managing your character as you as you build your business, like managing your character as you build your business.

Langston Clark: 37:26

So, everyone who's in the audience if this is your first time, what we try to do is give people in the audience an opportunity to ask the question, so you can put that in a Q&A or in the chat. If you want to ask your question out loud, I would ask that you raise your hand. Use the raise your hand function. That will allow me to see you and then I'll make it so that you're unmuted and you can ask your question to Calvin directly. But since we have some people that have types of things in a chat, nicholas Terry asked how important would you say social media is in order to market yourself and any advice that you have about broadening your reach about broadening your reach?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 38:04

Yeah, so this is a good question and I will answer directly as well as provide some underlying context. I think that social media has created a environment of people looking like they are successful and then, when you dig in a little bit deeper, there's nothing there. So the number one way to be successful is the first half something real and valid. Now, if you're not, if you're going to be a, a, um, influencer, that's different, like then you drop out of business and just have to go to that community. And so the question is do you, do you want to build a, a, a influencer community, which will mean that you need to put out content that is growing and there's a whole bunch of growth ways. You can partner with people, you can pay, you can run ads, all of those things. If you're trying to build a business, then it comes down to do you want to be the brand of your business or like the CEO on both, like the headphones I have on? I bet no one can drop the name of the CEO of both in the chat, but he's doing very well.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 39:05

So it depends on what is your personality. One of my boys is crushing it right now. He is a celebrity himself, so he is an influencer and he has real business behind him. So when people are drawn to him, they dig in a little bit. They see there is a real business there. Me, I'm a little bit more low key, so I just want to be a CEO. That is just like. I do stuff like this. But you see me on the street. You might not even know who I am. So it really just all depends on what is your personality. But that means that for me, I use social media as a brand with my companies and then we focus on partnership deals for distribution instead of me being the focal point. But each one of us are different and I don't feel like we all need to be a celebrity to be a great founder. You just have to find out your own lane.

Langston Clark: 39:59

So, but what happens if that's what's needed? Like, how do you manage that? Like what happens when, like I was here from Cowan, you know what I mean. Yeah, people want the CEO now.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 40:12

Like you know, hey, yeah, that's why my page is public and you know I'm out there in them streets. But, like it's just, we all have certain personalities. It's it's just, we all have certain personalities. Now I I accept that my journey might be different because I'm not trying to be a influencer and be a founder, like it's just different. It's just different people in different ways.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 40:34

So I I am focused on how can I draw, how can I reach a audience of millions of people per month, per day, day, without me doing a single post? It just makes me think about my business model differently and that's just mainly because, just personally, I just like to live a chill life, and producing content is a lot of work. It's a lot of work to plan out content, so I have staff doing it for the business, doing it for me. It's just a lot of work. I am more focused on partnering with other people who love being an influencer, who love building communities, us coming up with win-wins, and we work together. That's just how I do it personally. I come and join their audience for a minute and I pop in, but it can't. So it doesn't matter. Either way, it's going to be a challenge. The question is which way feels the best to you and your heart?

Langston Clark: 41:37

There's a question from Bryson Davis and he says wanting to know about were you able to find legal counsel who was black. And so I guess, broadening that question, right All the other businesses that you need to, some of your business, how difficult or easy was it to find people who brought that ethic of e-dunnery black people to your business?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 42:04

Yeah, and y'all ask great questions too. So I just thank you all for that. Let's give a shout out to the whole audience. Who's here, like y'all, are fire. So I did have to look for now Initially what I would do, because a lot of our suppliers are black.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 42:20

That's intentional. The way that we want to do group economics are black. That's intentional in the way that we want to do group economics. Initially we would find lawyers at firms that were larger who were black, and then we worked with them directly. So that's how we balanced it. Because the thing is that when you're a startup, you might not have 30 grand a year to pay in legal fees, and so you know. But if you go with a small law firm, they need every customer to pay, so they're going to look at you like where's my check? If you go with a big law firm, they have other big clients who keep them going and they will do law or legal services deferred. So a lot of my founder friends work with law firms who defer legal fees until you reach a certain funding level, and so what we try and do in those times is find black lawyers at larger shops that we can work with.

Langston Clark: 43:20

Oh, this is this. The next question is is very much related to affordability. But from your side as a provider and Lydia Carter is wondering how do you, how do you provide a service for someone even though Freeman Capital is affordable? Like, what do you do with the client who still can't afford it? How do you? How do you still help them? Like, what do you do with the client who still can't afford it?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 43:45

How do you? How do you still help them? Yeah, so the way, the way that we do it is that we have really three tiers plus a free one, so that we build our service in mind of no matter where you are, we want to give you the content to help you get to the next step. So, like, if you can't pay anything, then just you being on the email list, you'll still get free education, like we are still rolling out and we still tell you, like, here are things that you can do. So even on the free level, there's still something that we can help you with. And then, just depending on how much you have to invest in yourself, well then, let us go faster. That is the only question.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 44:25

How much personalized recommendations and advice do you want? If you don't want to spend any money, just come to freemancapitalco. Be on the email list Every week. You will get smarter, because we put out content every week just for you. Then, if you want to invest in yourself, be it. You know, 10, 20 bucks a month on, up to hundreds. We will. We have plans to help you take the next steps, for it just depends on where you are, because we built our service in mind, which is about who. How can we build our model so that, no matter where folk are on this income scale, we have something, something that can help?

Langston Clark: 45:03

Yeah, slight pivot here from, I think, from side hustle to startup Right. A lot of black people, as you said, not really want to deal with the rat race in corporate America. And Brandy is asking Brandy Clark, that's my wife, we just got married. And Brandy is asking Brandy Clark, that's my wife, we just got married. I got to go to her question.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 45:34

And Brandy is asking how do you balance full time work, startup life and family obligations? Yeah, so the way that I do it is through time management. So I am very focused on time management. I don't play games at all. So you know there are 168 hours in a week and I manage those to a T. So, like it's a simple exercise that I do is I start off with 168 hours, I then subtract time for sleeping, for work, whatever, and, like you, figure out how to make your time fit, and then it comes down to to make your your time fit, and then it comes down to how are you spending your time. So there are a bunch of apps, like one that's called rescue time. That's for Android I think it's for a computer too and it tracks my time to let me know how I'm doing. Like I used to spend hours on social media just with the scroll, like they say. Like that, like the average person scrolls five football fields per day, yeah, and so when you see how much time you spend in places that are getting you no return, you find you that fine time to do that. So then when you become more efficient, then I build a team of folk. And at this point now. Now I'm delegated, so that now my organization is doing more than I ever could and the process just continually repeats on and on.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 46:51

It is a challenge because at different stages of the business it kind of ebbs and flow and with life, like I have a five-year-old, you know, and like you know, he's five years old, so he still wants to spend time with me. So I want to spend time with him as much as I can before he becomes a teenager. And I don't know if he wants to spend time with me, he might want to play with his friends or whatever, and so it is a balancing act. But what I try and do is weave my life together. So my son will come in and sit at my feet and play while I'm working. So for me it's just all about how can I merge my, my worlds together. Like my dad, like my son would sit on calls with me. I just try to find ways to weave it in um, because there's no manual to this thing. We're all just just trying to figure it out.

Langston Clark: 47:37

Yeah, I once had a mentor say, um, in a fireside chat that there is no balance, there's only integration, and so you just got to find ways to like integrate your life, and that was like one of the most profound mic drops I ever heard. We're going to go with two more questions. So I'm going to ask James Salone's question or James Salone, hope I got your name right and then I'm going to allow Jason Bailey to talk and ask this question in person. So, jason, make sure you're ready for that. After James's question. So James is asking how does someone become a client of Freeman Capital, like, how do we get, how to use your services?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 48:18

Yeah, all right. So it's super simple. The way that it works is you go to Freeman Capital dot co. You then can schedule a free consultation with a member of our team and we have just as a side note, there are very few people of color advisors in this space and our whole team is either someone who's Black or brown. So you schedule a call, we have an intro call to figure out what your needs are. Then you sign up for a monthly plan and as soon as that happens, you begin to work with your financial planner one-on-one, and it's all month to months. We cover everything from budgeting to investments, to savings, to retirement, to buying a house. We go about with everything. You can literally think about it as you having access to a team of financial planners in your pocket just for a little monthly cost. Thank you, jason.

Speaker 3: 49:12

You want to ask your question. Yeah, I can ask. Hey, Calvin, you you kind of touched on it a little bit in this last response the classes that your firm offers as options to customers, Because I know a lot of financial advisors. They focus deep in insurance or mutual funds or stocks, but trying to figure out kind of which path you guys are taking.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 49:35

Yeah, so the thing that we wanted to do is that we wanted to build a company that was focused on however. People like to build wealth, so we have helped folk manage, of course, insurance, because we do that for investments in the stock market. There are some of our clients who are into cryptocurrency or real estate. We are comprehensive and so for us, we're asset class agnostic. It is about what is best for you and your specific situation, and that's how we do that. So we are trained in all that and that's how we do that. So we are training on and all. And I know that we're wrapping up and I saw that there's a whole bunch of more questions, so I just want to say that if folks do have more questions for me, you can find me at freemancapitalco. There's a little chat in like the bottom right. Myself or my team. We can answer more of these of these questions are out or LinkedIn, whatever works best, but I want to help out. You know this community as much as as as I can.

Langston Clark: 50:30

Thanks, jason. I noticed that that was the last question, but I got an order. We haven't had a lot of women get the opportunity to ask the question. Yeah, come on, I white. We thought I could not do it. You may have already answered this question, but Natasha Burns, who is a friend and colleague of mine, just asking about, and you may have answered this what is? What is the minimum investment requirement?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 50:55

for getting. I'm sorry that you said that the minimum investment is zero. Like we have helped folk who have no money to invest begin to figure out how to find money and then, and then you know where to put it, and so you can get started with $1 or 10, whatever you know, if you know you don't want to. If you have a job and you have a retirement on your job I forgot how to manage that We'll help you do that as well, even if you don't put the money with us. So we focus our service on how to help you where you are, regardless of where that is. So the minimum is nothing. We'll get started today and then we'll, and then we will help you find the money to begin to invest, even if you don't think that you have it.

Langston Clark: 51:35

Thank you, listen, I keep, I keep lying, I'm sorry. I got one more question. I got one more question. We still got five minutes. We got five minutes. So sometimes we got issues with us right, and I know you're the founder of Freeman Capital. But let's say there's a group of brothers who are starting their own company and you know brothers get ego sometimes. You know what I'm saying and somebody thought something was something, but it wasn't the other thing in the beginning. When you're having like tensions on your team, disagreements, dealing with people's egos, how do you, how do you get past that?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 52:22

So I think that that is why I focus so much on my own integrity and leadership, because what a leader has to do, or what I believe a leader or CEO has to do, is not be the MVP of the football team or basketball team, but be the head coach and figure out how do I bring together this all-star cast. And so, as the leader, like you will be bringing together people who are good, or at least think they are good, like, and it's my job to give them a platform on how to be their best and then integrate with everyone else. And so, to me, being a founder, being a leader, is less about my own excellence or notoriety and more about creating a culture of inclusivity and attack the problem and not the person. And I literally just said this today on a call where I was saying that we need to focus, or continue to focus on we can focus on the disagreements in the idea, but not as a team.

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 53:38

And so that is what we have to do, because we, as a community, are not used to seeing business conflicts being resolved successfully. We just haven't done it enough. We're just at that early stage, which means that we, as founders, have to work on our own emotional intelligence, patience, understanding, seeing things from different perspectives, to bring together people who may or may not be at that same emotional level, so that the company can succeed. So this whole burden that you're talking about is on the founder to work on themselves so that they can embody it, and then what they embody, what they value, that's what the company then perpetuates. So it's all on us, as founders, to manage.

Langston Clark: 54:27

Man, I think that that was a nugget right there too, because I mean, I'm viewing this thing as levels right. Level number one is learning how to manage your money Like as a community, we got to learn how to do that better. Level number two is being an entrepreneur, like how do I become an entrepreneur? How do I get into the tech space and then within that, I never thought about it that way until you presented it Like part of us becoming founders and entrepreneurs is learning how to deal with the conflict, and if we've not had those experiences in the past, that's part of the learning process. So I'm going to take what you said and say this if you're a founder out there, you're trying to start a business. It could be a tech business, it could be like a direct service type. It could be the least technical business out there.

Langston Clark: 55:16

I think one of the things that we have to do is have empathy for the fact that all of us in some ways, are newer at this in other communities, and it's not something that's just it's your black and it's your blackness is making you wrong. It's like all of us are new with this, and so when you're having conflict with someone else in your organization a co-founder. It's like what you said is profound because you have to look at yourself first. It's like picking the law out of your eye before the other person's eye, because you have impact on the culture of your organization. That was, that was fantastic. I appreciate it. So, calvin, before we transition, do you have any last words that you want to share with the community, any last parting thoughts or anything like that?

Calvin Williams, Jr.: 55:57

Yeah. So the first thing is that whatever I can do to help, I would love to do that. You can find me on LinkedIn, calvin Williams Jr. I'm on Instagram as well. Whatever my company can do at freemancapitalco, we definitely will. We are focused on helping to build Blackwell. If we ain't playing no games with it, we ain't bashful, we ain't shy. That's what we are doing. So if you're about that life or like, if you're just sure it's like, hop on, hop on premium capitalco, set up a free call with a member of our team and just learn about it and just see how it can work for you. It's our goal to make sure that this generation pass on more wealth to the next.

Langston Clark: 56:34

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