# Perseverance: Wrote his own parole plan and gained his freedom, now offers service to inmates seeking parole.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 18 Nov 2024, 27 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/54a425c8-5fe7-4aca-8142-b21a0016ed46/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=35a10561-3e1b-4d05-a529-af62012aab6a

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Dominique Leonard. Founder of Jus' Free: 🎙️ Interview Summary Guest: Dominique Leonard Business: Jus' Free – a parole package provider that helps incarcerated individuals present themselves effectively to the Board of Pardons and Paroles. 🧭 Purpose of the Interview To share Dominique Leonard’s powerful journey from incarceration to entrepreneurship, and to highlight how his experience led to the creation of Jus' Free, a business that helps inmates humanize themselves and improve their chances of parole. 🔑 Key Takeaways 1. From Life Sentence to Liberation • Dominique was sentenced to life for a non-aggravated robbery (bank robbery with a note, no weapon). • He discovered that non-aggravated life sentences allow parole eligibility after 5.5 years. • After being denied parole once, he fired his legal team and created his own parole package. 2. Birth of Jus' Free • Dominique’s self-made parole package led to his release after 7.5 years. • He promised God that if released, he would help others—thus founding Just Free. • The business helps inmates understand and prepare for parole through personalized packages. 3. Faith and Family as Pillars • Dominique credits his faith in God and support from his family for his transformation. • He remained trouble-free in prison, focused on personal growth and redemption. 4. Business Model and Impact • He began by contacting inmates via the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) website. • His success rate is 82% for helping clients secure parole. • Offers continued support even if clients are denied parole initially. 5. Reentry and Humility • Upon release, Dominique took a warehouse job paying \$8/hour to reintegrate into society. • He later pursued paralegal certification to strengthen his legal knowledge. 💬 Notable Quotes • “I had to humanize myself in the walls of prison.” • “If I sit there with a life sentence and now I’m free… you can’t tell me God isn’t good.” • “Jus' Free makes sure we humanize every person incarcerated who’s been dehumanized.” • “I made a bad decision. That doesn’t make me a bad person.” • “I knew it wasn’t going to be my end. That was my start.” 📞 Contact Info • Website: JusFree.com • Phone: (713) 306-9620 • Social Media: Dominique Leonard on Instagram and Facebook #STRAW #BEST #SHMS Money Making Conversations Master Class with Rushion McDonald is America's premier entrepreneurship, business leadership, financial literacy, and wealth-building podcast featuring successful entrepreneurs, executives, founders, celebrities, and industry experts sharing actionable insights for professional and financial success. Business Podcast Entrepreneurship Small Business Business Growth Financial Literacy Wealth Building Black Entrepreneurs Minority Business Leadership Executive Leadership Business Funding Marketing Strategies Personal Development Startup Advice Sales Training CEO Interviews Founder Stories Professional Development Economic Empowerment Business Success Networking Brand Building Innovation How to start a business Small business funding Entrepreneur success stories Business leadership podcast Wealth building strategies Black entrepreneur podcast Minority business development Marketing for small businesses Business growth strategies Startup funding opportunities Executive leadership training Financial literacy…

## Transcript

[0:05] Speaker 1: Welcome to the show. I am Rashwan McDonald, the host
[0:08] Speaker 1: of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to
[0:11] Speaker 1: stop reading other people's success stories and start planning their own.
[0:16] Speaker 1: Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from around the country,
[0:19] Speaker 1: talk to celebrities and ask them how they are running
[0:22] Speaker 1: their companies, and speak with nod profits who are making
[0:25] Speaker 1: a difference in their local communities. Now, sit back and
[0:28] Speaker 1: listen as we unlock the secrets to their success on
[0:31] Speaker 1: Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Hi, this is Rushan McDonald. That's right.
[0:38] Speaker 1: Our host is weekly Money Making Conversations Masterclass show. The
[0:41] Speaker 1: interviews and information that that this show provides are for everyone.
[0:45] Speaker 1: It's time to start reading other people's success stories and
[0:48] Speaker 1: start living your own. I'm here to help you reach
[0:51] Speaker 1: your American dream. Let's just keep listening. I say that
[0:53] Speaker 1: every week just to remind people. I've learned that if
[0:56] Speaker 1: you keep saying something saying something, it is going to
[1:00] Speaker 1: validate what I'm trying to say. Somebody's going to eventually
[1:02] Speaker 1: hear what I'm trying to say. Well, Money Making Conversation
[1:06] Speaker 1: has been a success. My podcast so one of the
[1:09] Speaker 1: top padcasts in the country. But more importantly, you're listening.
[1:12] Speaker 1: And more importantly, I have guests. If you want to
[1:14] Speaker 1: be a guest on my show, please visit Moneymakingconversations dot
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[1:21] Speaker 1: that button and you fill out the information. It'll automatically
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[1:28] Speaker 1: you if you've filled out everything correctly and you've shown
[1:31] Speaker 1: and you understand why I who the type of people
[1:34] Speaker 1: I want to interview on this show and you one
[1:36] Speaker 1: of those people, then you can be sitting talking next
[1:38] Speaker 1: to talking to me on Money Making Conversation Masterclass. But
[1:41] Speaker 1: let's get this show rolling. My guess is on the line.
[1:44] Speaker 1: My guests found it just free. That's JUS Free, a
[1:49] Speaker 1: parole package provider that educates inmates who are unaware of
[1:54] Speaker 1: what is presented about them to the Board of Pardons
[1:57] Speaker 1: and Parole. I please, he's welcome to Money Making Conversation Masterclass.
[2:02] Speaker 1: Dominique Leonard. How you doing, Dominique?
[2:05] Speaker 2: I'm doing good. How you doing? Thank you for.
[2:07] Speaker 1: Having me appreciate you. I met you and at a
[2:10] Speaker 1: black Man's Wellness event in Houston, Texas. Correct, yes, sir, okay? Cool?
[2:14] Speaker 1: And while are we there?
[2:18] Speaker 2: We was there because my wife's company was there, you know,
[2:22] Speaker 2: for the work Hellness and awsome to get our own
[2:25] Speaker 2: little stuff done and our procedure is done. And I'm
[2:28] Speaker 2: also to support, you know, to support the community and
[2:31] Speaker 2: come out and see what was going on as well.
[2:33] Speaker 1: Right right, And that's when we met. We connected and
[2:35] Speaker 1: he said, hey, you started telling me about his program
[2:39] Speaker 1: just Just Free. Now, howly just Free start because obviously
[2:44] Speaker 1: you know it's tied to people who are who are
[2:47] Speaker 1: being incarcerated. Are incarcerated? Have you been incarcerated, Dominique Lennard, Yes.
[2:53] Speaker 2: Sir, so I was incarcerated and that's how Just Free
[2:55] Speaker 2: was born through my incarceration. I was actually given a
[3:00] Speaker 2: life sentence on my incarceration and we actually hire low help.
[3:04] Speaker 1: Holdo, holo, I'm doin now. You know, life sentence. Now
[3:07] Speaker 1: you just blue past that man. Somebody gonna tell you you're
[3:10] Speaker 1: gonna go to jail for life, and you act like
[3:12] Speaker 1: that was a comma in a sentence. Okay, now, somebody
[3:16] Speaker 1: tell me now now, because there are certain moments in
[3:19] Speaker 1: my life that things have happened to me, and everything
[3:21] Speaker 1: moves in slow motion when I hear and I told
[3:24] Speaker 1: when I when somebody told me, when the doctor told
[3:26] Speaker 1: me I had he had diagnosed me with cancer, my
[3:30] Speaker 1: life slow man, I was like, wow, did he say cancer?
[3:34] Speaker 1: And I kept repeating that word to myself and so
[3:37] Speaker 1: so in a court, you were standing there and they
[3:42] Speaker 1: said you going to jail for life?
[3:47] Speaker 2: Yes? Yeah, So the jury stood there and told me
[3:52] Speaker 2: I'd be going to prison for life. And actually you
[3:55] Speaker 2: said that. It was like a slow motion, non surreal moment.
[4:00] Speaker 2: It was like a heart of body experience. And I'm
[4:02] Speaker 2: standing there like, okay, they just say life. Am I
[4:04] Speaker 2: going to prison for life? And at the time I
[4:07] Speaker 2: didn't understand what life meant. So again, through that process
[4:13] Speaker 2: of prison, it's word just free was created.
[4:16] Speaker 1: Okay, cool, let's let's let's educate the people. So you know,
[4:20] Speaker 1: you know, when people hear the word life, they feel,
[4:22] Speaker 1: you know, if something super does you did something super super, well,
[4:25] Speaker 1: I'm teasing going to jails and somebody arresting you. You've
[4:28] Speaker 1: done something wrong. Let's admit that what exactly did you do?
[4:32] Speaker 1: They put you in a position to receive this sentence.
[4:35] Speaker 2: I had a non aggravated robbery charge and that was
[4:39] Speaker 2: my That was my charge. It was walking into a
[4:41] Speaker 2: bank with a note. I only took it to charge
[4:43] Speaker 2: because they were trying to put more cases on me
[4:46] Speaker 2: that had nothing to do with me. But it ma's
[4:47] Speaker 2: the same BMO. And that goes with any kind of
[4:50] Speaker 2: time you get any kind of crime that'sh you know,
[4:53] Speaker 2: for any kind of violent crime or crime that that
[4:55] Speaker 2: has a certain MO and it's unsolved, they're going to
[4:58] Speaker 2: try to put them all on you. And and so
[5:00] Speaker 2: I wanted to trial, but they would offer me seven
[5:02] Speaker 2: years if I didn't go to trial. Uh, but I
[5:05] Speaker 2: petitioned the court to go to charge to fight the charges.
[5:08] Speaker 1: Okay, Now, so you went in a bank with a note,
[5:12] Speaker 1: gave it to a taller, Yes, sir, Taylor gave you money,
[5:16] Speaker 1: and you walked out. I walked out, Yes, sir, you
[5:19] Speaker 1: got away?
[5:21] Speaker 2: Yes, sir?
[5:22] Speaker 1: How long did you get were you out free? And
[5:25] Speaker 1: how did you get caught?
[5:28] Speaker 2: I was? I was. I was free for about seven
[5:31] Speaker 2: eight months. I got turned in by my cousin who
[5:34] Speaker 2: turned me in over a dispute that we had over money.
[5:39] Speaker 2: And he called the the too tip line they have
[5:43] Speaker 2: in Houston, Texas. And that's how they pulled me over.
[5:46] Speaker 2: That's how I got put in custody.
[5:47] Speaker 1: Crab in the bar, grabs in the bar. Yes, cool,
[5:51] Speaker 1: So that's that's you're done wrong. You you got called.
[5:55] Speaker 1: Now you're in jail, and they they put all these
[5:59] Speaker 1: these cases on you. You tried to fight it, and
[6:02] Speaker 1: you still went to jail anyway. And then your how
[6:06] Speaker 1: did you find out that there was a loop, that
[6:09] Speaker 1: there are different versions of a life sentence? How did
[6:12] Speaker 1: you get educated about that?
[6:14] Speaker 2: Well? It was actually when I was incarcerated. I had
[6:17] Speaker 2: made a phone call home to my cousin and he.
[6:19] Speaker 1: Was like, hey, bro, not the cousin who turned you in.
[6:21] Speaker 2: Not that girl, right, No, No, I haven't seen that
[6:24] Speaker 2: cousins that I've been free. But I called home to
[6:29] Speaker 2: my cousin. He said, hey, man, you have a life insurance,
[6:32] Speaker 2: but you have to do five and a half six
[6:34] Speaker 2: years be where you come up a parole. So you
[6:36] Speaker 2: have a non aggravated licensest non aggravated licenses mean that
[6:39] Speaker 2: when nobody tell somebody got hurt with the weapon involved.
[6:42] Speaker 2: If I had an aggravated life centers, it means somebody
[6:45] Speaker 2: got hurt, it was a weapon involved or something to
[6:47] Speaker 2: that caliber. So it was a non aggravated life entest,
[6:51] Speaker 2: and so I knew I had to do five and
[6:53] Speaker 2: a half six years before I see parole. So in
[6:55] Speaker 2: that process, that's when my family hired a parole attorney
[6:58] Speaker 2: at the time while I'm doing my time to help
[7:01] Speaker 2: me get home on my phone and yes sir, and
[7:05] Speaker 2: so that didn't happen. So my first part, after doing
[7:08] Speaker 2: six and a half years, I came up for parole.
[7:11] Speaker 2: Then I got denied my parole. And so at that
[7:14] Speaker 2: point I called home to my mom, spoke to her,
[7:18] Speaker 2: we got ahold of my dad, and he gave me
[7:20] Speaker 2: a hardship or harsh where they get you moved closer
[7:22] Speaker 2: to home if your family can't travel so far to
[7:25] Speaker 2: see you. So I got a hardship to get moved
[7:27] Speaker 2: closer to home. And in that hardship, I got closer
[7:31] Speaker 2: to home. And the whole time walking and incarcerated, God
[7:35] Speaker 2: was staying elevating my life. Even in the walls of
[7:38] Speaker 2: prison I was. I didn't get any trouble, I didn't
[7:41] Speaker 2: have any fights. I mean, like again, I was protected
[7:42] Speaker 2: by God and doing the whole process. But in this transfer,
[7:46] Speaker 2: it's when I told my family, hey, listen, I'm not
[7:49] Speaker 2: sure what the parole attorney did on my behalf. But
[7:52] Speaker 2: I think I know what parole wants to see because
[7:54] Speaker 2: before my incarceration, and still I was known as a
[7:57] Speaker 2: celebrity barber, I had a lot of clientele that I
[7:59] Speaker 2: was cut and traveling with doing this process. And I
[8:02] Speaker 2: don't think prole knew what that is, what I was.
[8:04] Speaker 2: I just knew the tatum. It's a black guy, committal crime.
[8:06] Speaker 2: It's all over the place. Oh my god. But so
[8:09] Speaker 2: I want to put a faith and I want to
[8:10] Speaker 2: put life to my prone package. So I have my family,
[8:13] Speaker 2: fire my proole attorney and fire her whole team. And
[8:17] Speaker 2: they thought I was crazy, but I said, man, just
[8:19] Speaker 2: like you pray, I pray, and I feel I have
[8:20] Speaker 2: a vision of what they want to see. Right. Together,
[8:23] Speaker 2: we worked together, we worked, and.
[8:26] Speaker 1: So you became your own jail house lawyer.
[8:29] Speaker 2: Yes, sir, Yes, sir. And then you know what that
[8:31] Speaker 2: is a good saying, because that's likely what happens. A
[8:33] Speaker 2: lot of guys get in there, they learn cases, they
[8:36] Speaker 2: learn things and start fighting for yourself because every person
[8:39] Speaker 2: incarcerated only wants one thing, that's to be free. Right.
[8:42] Speaker 1: How did that work? How did they work? You know
[8:44] Speaker 1: because it's going to be real here. You know, yeah,
[8:47] Speaker 1: are free. You don't want to open a book. You
[8:51] Speaker 1: know you wanted to get to go through the easy
[8:53] Speaker 1: while you walked in a bank and gave somebody a
[8:55] Speaker 1: note and walk out with somebody else's money. Now you're
[8:58] Speaker 1: in jail, you know you're found odd because your faith
[9:01] Speaker 1: is strong in jail, correct, And then it is strong
[9:05] Speaker 1: because guess what pray mean? Prayer mean something to you
[9:09] Speaker 1: in jail. I know because I had a younger brother
[9:11] Speaker 1: who was in jail. And so now were there other
[9:16] Speaker 1: people who mentored you through this process and told you
[9:20] Speaker 1: this is how you should do it if you're going
[9:22] Speaker 1: to try to find legal ways to uh get yourself
[9:27] Speaker 1: out of prison, the legal ways to understand the parole system.
[9:30] Speaker 1: Who was mentoring you while you were in prison before
[9:33] Speaker 1: we before you launched overall business called just Free, which
[9:37] Speaker 1: is what you're doing now that you're out of prison.
[9:40] Speaker 2: Well, honestly, nobody mentored me doing this process. And I
[9:46] Speaker 2: believe that a lot of people get incarcerated, come on
[9:49] Speaker 2: make bad decisions that don't make them a bad person.
[9:52] Speaker 2: I made a bad decision right to make me a
[9:54] Speaker 2: bad person. I always had God in my life. I
[9:56] Speaker 2: had to turn back around to look at my guard
[9:59] Speaker 2: again while I'm going prison, because you know, I mean
[10:01] Speaker 2: a lot of people get raised with God in their life,
[10:03] Speaker 2: in praying, praying mothers, praying grandmothers, whatever, you know, even
[10:06] Speaker 2: prand fathers one of them people. Again, I just started
[10:09] Speaker 2: to go my own way and I went to foolish.
[10:11] Speaker 2: For so everything I gained the right way, I lost
[10:14] Speaker 2: the wrong with it by that one bad decision. Because
[10:16] Speaker 2: everything I literally had, from barbershops to the cars, whatever,
[10:19] Speaker 2: how I was living, really it was legit. I lived.
[10:22] Speaker 2: I lived right, but I made that one bad decision
[10:24] Speaker 2: to go into the bank, and now we created the
[10:26] Speaker 2: whole downfall. So while I'm in prison now, I just
[10:30] Speaker 2: made a whole u turn to who Dominique really is
[10:33] Speaker 2: and who I am as a person because I went
[10:35] Speaker 2: in again. I went in at thirty four, so I
[10:37] Speaker 2: didn't go in young foolish. I went in as a
[10:39] Speaker 2: grown man who had responsibility before. So I took my
[10:44] Speaker 2: mind that I was already working with a hate me.
[10:46] Speaker 2: Can sit down, slow down, Let's think about what you
[10:49] Speaker 2: want to do. Because you got this parole attorney. I
[10:51] Speaker 2: can't see what they're doing for me, So that's why
[10:53] Speaker 2: we let them go. And that's why I started creating
[10:56] Speaker 2: my own pro bractice, because again I just I prayed
[10:59] Speaker 2: about it, and I just had to feeling that, hey,
[11:01] Speaker 2: parole don't know who I am, and because in this
[11:04] Speaker 2: prison we are dehumanized, and so I had to humanize
[11:07] Speaker 2: myself within the walls of prison. And that's how just
[11:12] Speaker 2: Free got created. And I just kind of start petitioning things,
[11:15] Speaker 2: putting things together. My family called us, some friends, getting
[11:18] Speaker 2: pictures done, getting stuff done, to create this package. And
[11:21] Speaker 2: once they got formatted, I sent them home. My family
[11:24] Speaker 2: made copy, sent them all back to me. I sent
[11:26] Speaker 2: them off to the pro board. So after my two
[11:28] Speaker 2: year set off, I seen parole again. This time I
[11:32] Speaker 2: came prepared because now I got my parole package, and
[11:34] Speaker 2: I made a promise to God, I says, God, if
[11:36] Speaker 2: you give me a chance, if you get me out this,
[11:38] Speaker 2: I promised, when I get home, I create just Free.
[11:43] Speaker 2: And I petitioned the court with my actually the parole board,
[11:47] Speaker 2: with my parole package. It was March twenty sixteen, and
[11:52] Speaker 2: made the other sixteen. The proboard called my mom, said
[11:55] Speaker 2: they wanted to come see me. In person, which don't
[11:58] Speaker 2: happen because you after twenty years to see somebody from
[12:01] Speaker 2: the road, only did seven and a half years. By
[12:03] Speaker 2: this time almost eight and so actually the parole boy
[12:07] Speaker 2: came to see me in person. I've seen parole in March.
[12:10] Speaker 2: They call my mom around May. They didn't come to
[12:12] Speaker 2: see me until almost the end of October twenty sixteen.
[12:15] Speaker 2: So I'm waiting almost six seven eight months for an
[12:18] Speaker 2: answer I'm gonna go home or not. But they told
[12:21] Speaker 2: my mom that wasn't gonna make an answer to the
[12:22] Speaker 2: see me in person. But when they came to see
[12:24] Speaker 2: me in person, that changed the whole dynamic. The first
[12:30] Speaker 2: thing the parole board told me his name is Tony Garcia.
[12:33] Speaker 2: He said, I've been doing this a very long time.
[12:36] Speaker 2: The time you have with your crime don't match, is overkill,
[12:40] Speaker 2: he said, he said, But once you get home, what
[12:44] Speaker 2: are you gonna do with this time? Before I can
[12:46] Speaker 2: even answer, I already heard what he said. He said,
[12:49] Speaker 2: once you get home, what are you gonna do with
[12:51] Speaker 2: this time? Over your head? So I'm crying now like
[12:54] Speaker 2: a baby because he let me know he's gonna release me.
[12:58] Speaker 2: I've been walking straight. I'm officer walk by my trustee camp.
[13:00] Speaker 2: I haven't been in note trouble because everybody who gets incarcerated,
[13:03] Speaker 2: you have to walk your own walk in prison. You
[13:06] Speaker 2: can't walk next to the next man because see what's
[13:08] Speaker 2: gonna happen. The next man's gonna go home, You're still
[13:10] Speaker 2: gonna be there. You can't really have homeboys up in prison.
[13:12] Speaker 2: And you can, but you have to walk your own walk.
[13:15] Speaker 2: I walked my walk the whole time while I was
[13:16] Speaker 2: in prison. That makes me a big bad man. I
[13:18] Speaker 2: just have my eyes on. I know I'm going home
[13:20] Speaker 2: one day. I know I have to live life after
[13:23] Speaker 2: this life. And so he granted me parole. I got
[13:27] Speaker 2: an if I want. If I wont means you leave
[13:29] Speaker 2: within thirty days of that answer. So he granted me
[13:32] Speaker 2: the highest parole you can get what if I want
[13:35] Speaker 2: and so on. On top of that, I've also was
[13:39] Speaker 2: given the lowest levels of provision, which means that I
[13:42] Speaker 2: report every three to six months versus having to go
[13:46] Speaker 2: every two weeks. I'm a monetary Yeah, so I even
[13:49] Speaker 2: have the lowest levels of provision. And so again that's
[13:52] Speaker 2: how I just free got created.
[13:54] Speaker 1: Wow, you know, thank you for this honest conversation. Allow
[13:59] Speaker 1: me to enter rupt to share statements, because I want
[14:02] Speaker 1: to make sure that you're an entrepreneur. Now you know
[14:05] Speaker 1: you made a mistake. And I tell everybody I made mistakes,
[14:09] Speaker 1: and I know. I remember when I was in college,
[14:11] Speaker 1: before we go to break, I'm just tell everybody this
[14:13] Speaker 1: little story that couldn't put me in jail. I remember
[14:14] Speaker 1: my fraternity brothers had sent me out and told we
[14:17] Speaker 1: don't come back unless I had some plants. I didn't
[14:20] Speaker 1: have no money. They say, we want you come back
[14:23] Speaker 1: in this house without some plants. We're gonna you're gonna
[14:26] Speaker 1: find out something by pleasure that you don't want to
[14:29] Speaker 1: find out. And I always remember it was it was.
[14:31] Speaker 1: It was in Houston, and it was on a bare
[14:34] Speaker 1: left freeway, you know, bare laff freeway, you know what
[14:36] Speaker 1: I'm talking about. And bare left Freeway is like one
[14:38] Speaker 1: of those really white neighborhoods, really white neighborhoods, And they
[14:42] Speaker 1: had this they had this like a floor like like
[14:47] Speaker 1: a garden center. And I had to park my car
[14:52] Speaker 1: and you could and I had to go like I
[14:54] Speaker 1: got some plants, And I kid you not. Somebody could
[14:57] Speaker 1: have just been driving along the freeway saw me getting
[15:00] Speaker 1: these plans because my big brothers told me, if I
[15:03] Speaker 1: don't come back with these plants, you're gonna be in trouble.
[15:07] Speaker 1: And my whole life could have been changed because of
[15:09] Speaker 1: that silly moment, that silly moment of doing that, And
[15:14] Speaker 1: so we all have moments that we can think about,
[15:17] Speaker 1: and that was a regretful moment. That's why I'm sharing
[15:20] Speaker 1: it with I'm not proud of that moment because I
[15:22] Speaker 1: want to share with everyone to understand that Rashean McDonald
[15:26] Speaker 1: did something stupid in his life. He didn't get caught,
[15:28] Speaker 1: but that doesn't mean it wasn't stupid.
[15:30] Speaker 3: Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
[15:33] Speaker 3: money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
[15:49] Speaker 3: Conversations Masterclass, hosted by Rashan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
[15:54] Speaker 3: continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
[15:59] Speaker 3: Conversationation's Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
[16:05] Speaker 1: Just Free is a parole package provider that educates inmates
[16:09] Speaker 1: who are unaware of what is presented to them to
[16:12] Speaker 1: the Board of Pardons and Parole. I apologize for those
[16:17] Speaker 1: for those errors in my speech and my guest is
[16:21] Speaker 1: Dominique Leonard. Dominique Chairter's his story, his journey and how
[16:25] Speaker 1: this whole concept while he was incarcerated just free became
[16:28] Speaker 1: a business model for him. He relied on his faith
[16:32] Speaker 1: and his family and he became a jail host lawyer,
[16:37] Speaker 1: and working on that, he was able to fire all
[16:40] Speaker 1: this legal team, fired his legal team, and relied on
[16:43] Speaker 1: himself and his family, and he achieved parole because he
[16:47] Speaker 1: was given a life sentence. Now the transition. I'm gonna
[16:51] Speaker 1: tell you my brother, my little brother got out of jail.
[16:54] Speaker 1: He was annoy it all. Couldn't tell him nothing, couldn't
[16:57] Speaker 1: tell him nothing even though he was in jail. You know,
[17:00] Speaker 1: get money on the books you got, I can tell
[17:02] Speaker 1: him nothing. Now when you got out of jail, sir,
[17:05] Speaker 1: will you will? You all? Couldn't nobody tell you nothing?
[17:08] Speaker 2: Dominique, No, No, actually I wasn't. I wasn't a know
[17:12] Speaker 2: at all. I was in a very humble place for
[17:13] Speaker 2: my got out of prison. I was very humble. I
[17:15] Speaker 2: was very un sincere about life. I was listening, I
[17:17] Speaker 2: was I was willing to take any job that was
[17:20] Speaker 2: going to hire me. So actually, when I got home
[17:22] Speaker 2: say how humble I was. I knew I was hungry
[17:24] Speaker 2: for life. I had kids, I had to feed, stay,
[17:27] Speaker 2: had to live my life. And so I started taking
[17:29] Speaker 2: a little job at warehouse that was paying eight dollars
[17:31] Speaker 2: an hour, nine dollars an hour. But it wasn't the
[17:33] Speaker 2: amount that that mattered to me. What mattered to me
[17:36] Speaker 2: was just get myself back back acquainted again with life
[17:39] Speaker 2: and society, getting back into the working mode, working working style,
[17:43] Speaker 2: to the working hustle. And so you know, I mean,
[17:47] Speaker 2: so those jobs paid eight dollars an hour and I
[17:49] Speaker 2: got paid every single week. For me, that was enough
[17:52] Speaker 2: just to get something in the gas tande, just to
[17:54] Speaker 2: put something on the table. Lets give my kids. He
[17:56] Speaker 2: got twenty bus, he got thirty bus, whatever it may be,
[17:58] Speaker 2: if they need some shoes, whatever. Because I knew it
[18:00] Speaker 2: wasn't going to be my end or that was my start,
[18:02] Speaker 2: but it was going to be my end. And so
[18:04] Speaker 2: I came home very humble.
[18:06] Speaker 1: Now that's great to hear. And because you had a
[18:08] Speaker 1: goal and the fact that you were focused. Now, how
[18:11] Speaker 1: did you start putting just free implement that? How did
[18:14] Speaker 1: you start making a business model for you? And did
[18:17] Speaker 1: you sit down, did you go to SBA, did you
[18:20] Speaker 1: go to score? How did you start realizing this can
[18:22] Speaker 1: be a company and how did that become How did
[18:24] Speaker 1: you implement the steps? Implement the steps?
[18:27] Speaker 2: Well, this is what happened when I got home. When
[18:30] Speaker 2: I got home, I had a vision to start writing
[18:32] Speaker 2: my plays. So I write my players. I was doing
[18:34] Speaker 2: theater and that was going actually really well, and it
[18:39] Speaker 2: was opening from doors for me. And my mom kept
[18:41] Speaker 2: telling me, son, until you give back and give your
[18:44] Speaker 2: testimony and give what you've been through and give how
[18:46] Speaker 2: God released you. If wasn't great deal to open for you.
[18:49] Speaker 2: And it was probably about maybe six seven months off
[18:51] Speaker 2: to being home. I sat down, I went back to
[18:54] Speaker 2: my folder again. I seen my spress of God. Now
[18:56] Speaker 2: it's time to launch this just free. I didn't I
[19:00] Speaker 2: didn't take any kind of classes, but I did kind
[19:03] Speaker 2: of like study certain things that I that I've seen
[19:06] Speaker 2: while I was in prison. I went back and revisited that,
[19:08] Speaker 2: some of the packages, some things I may have seen.
[19:10] Speaker 2: I revisited that. But again I stuck with the same
[19:14] Speaker 2: plan that got me free because I couldn't change it
[19:17] Speaker 2: because it worked. And it's like why change something that works?
[19:19] Speaker 2: And so I went with my own m and now
[19:21] Speaker 2: I did take a para legal course. I took a
[19:23] Speaker 2: para legal course. I did do that, you know, just
[19:26] Speaker 2: to get more knowledge on the legal side of things
[19:28] Speaker 2: and get more knowledge on the parole side and the
[19:30] Speaker 2: laws and when they change and stuff like that. So
[19:33] Speaker 2: that helped me some as well. But as far as
[19:35] Speaker 2: the parole package, that was solely from what God gave me.
[19:40] Speaker 2: You know it was it was. It was twenty five
[19:42] Speaker 2: percent a parole plan and seventy five percent faith.
[19:47] Speaker 1: Right right right right right now. Let me ask you this,
[19:51] Speaker 1: how did you get your customers? How did you get
[19:53] Speaker 1: your clients?
[19:55] Speaker 2: Great question. What I did is that I went on
[20:00] Speaker 2: the TDC website and I would just look for guys
[20:04] Speaker 2: on TDC websites who had a parole coming up where
[20:07] Speaker 2: there was two years away, three years away. Three years
[20:09] Speaker 2: is a pretty good time. And I would send them
[20:12] Speaker 2: a package and I would send them a cover sheet
[20:15] Speaker 2: of just Free, and I would send them an intro
[20:17] Speaker 2: what we do for just Free, and I will send
[20:19] Speaker 2: it in Because I knew if I can contact the inmates,
[20:23] Speaker 2: all them want what one thing, just to be free.
[20:26] Speaker 2: So I knew if I can contact them they would
[20:28] Speaker 2: get it home to their families. So that's how it
[20:31] Speaker 2: initially started off. I would contact all the inmates of them.
[20:34] Speaker 2: There's many images as I can, and my family poured
[20:36] Speaker 2: in and start blessing me with stamps and started blessing
[20:38] Speaker 2: me with envelopes and stuff like that to get the
[20:40] Speaker 2: letters in there. So so everybody kind of poured the
[20:42] Speaker 2: seed into me and get that going. And then then
[20:45] Speaker 2: before I know it, family started calling me. Okay, then
[20:49] Speaker 2: when family started calling me, we started creating paro packages.
[20:52] Speaker 2: We started creating more pro practice, more propractices. Thenfore I
[20:55] Speaker 2: know it, these guys are coming home on parole, coming
[20:57] Speaker 2: home on pro, coming home on pro, and right now
[20:59] Speaker 2: today where eighty two percent, you know, on a success
[21:02] Speaker 2: play of bringing guys home on parole, and even if
[21:05] Speaker 2: they don't make their first parole, we stick with them
[21:07] Speaker 2: until they get home. And most of the time they're
[21:08] Speaker 2: making the second parole is coming home on programs, are
[21:10] Speaker 2: coming straight home. I'm going to come home monitoring, but
[21:12] Speaker 2: all according to their case. You know, I'm just I'm
[21:15] Speaker 2: out of controller, but they have to come home home.
[21:17] Speaker 2: I'm just in controller. Try to get them free back
[21:18] Speaker 2: into society, right.
[21:20] Speaker 1: Now, maner, this this is really impressive. Thank you for
[21:23] Speaker 1: sharing your story because you know it's just an idea. Man,
[21:27] Speaker 1: you know, and somehow I don't know. Brother, if you
[21:29] Speaker 1: don't go to jail, there's no just free. If you're
[21:32] Speaker 1: gonna go to jail, there's not a lot of people
[21:35] Speaker 1: out of jail because you've shown them the pathway of
[21:39] Speaker 1: doing it right so they can stay out. And so
[21:42] Speaker 1: I can't say what is happening to you is is
[21:46] Speaker 1: a bad thing because it was a bad thing and
[21:49] Speaker 1: you did a bad thing. But man, the fact that
[21:52] Speaker 1: you've created this business, how do you feel? How do
[21:55] Speaker 1: the people your family feels about what you're doing.
[21:59] Speaker 2: My family feels this is it. They feel, Hey, you
[22:03] Speaker 2: stay right here in this lane. This is it how
[22:05] Speaker 2: I feel about it. For me, every time I get
[22:07] Speaker 2: a phone call, every time I hear about somebody being incarcerated,
[22:10] Speaker 2: whether they become a client or not, just to get
[22:12] Speaker 2: the phone call, it's a humble situation. That reminds me
[22:14] Speaker 2: of where I was and why I don't want to
[22:16] Speaker 2: go back to. That keeps me free, and that keeps
[22:19] Speaker 2: me humble, That keeps me in my place as a
[22:20] Speaker 2: man and the father of the husband, you know, as
[22:23] Speaker 2: a person at a brother. So for me is it's
[22:28] Speaker 2: great to have this surface. But I think the greatest
[22:29] Speaker 2: thing about it is just helping other families who go
[22:32] Speaker 2: through it, who deal with it. Because my mom dealt
[22:35] Speaker 2: with it. She tried her tell a life, trying to
[22:37] Speaker 2: get us free and so so to hear other mothers
[22:40] Speaker 2: crying and want their son's home and stuff like that,
[22:43] Speaker 2: I have more of a solid foundation because I've been
[22:45] Speaker 2: through it. We've been through it. So now this whole
[22:47] Speaker 2: networking system that we have on the team, we all
[22:50] Speaker 2: work together to make sure we get the best of
[22:52] Speaker 2: success rate as possible.
[22:54] Speaker 1: Dominique Lennard just free. Hey, Dominique, Man, I'm telling you something.
[22:58] Speaker 3: Brother.
[22:59] Speaker 1: I didn't know what this interview gonna go, but man,
[23:01] Speaker 1: you're doing some good work. Man. I met this brother
[23:04] Speaker 1: in the parking lot and on the campus of University Houston.
[23:08] Speaker 1: He said, I want to do your show, mister McDonald,
[23:10] Speaker 1: I said, brother, and I was. I was emailing. I
[23:13] Speaker 1: had confirmed him and everybody, but he has an O
[23:15] Speaker 1: in his email address and I didn't know I needed
[23:19] Speaker 1: to put that O at the end of his email address.
[23:22] Speaker 1: And I had confirmed him a long time ago. And
[23:23] Speaker 1: then when he wasn't responding back, I blew him off,
[23:26] Speaker 1: blew him off. I said, what the heck, I'm trying
[23:28] Speaker 1: to book this dude, okay, And then I realized I
[23:32] Speaker 1: made the mistake. I made the mistake, and he I
[23:35] Speaker 1: finally got it to him. We got everything on and
[23:37] Speaker 1: he's here to tell the story. How can people get
[23:39] Speaker 1: in touch with you, my brother before we wrap up
[23:41] Speaker 1: this call?
[23:42] Speaker 2: Yes, sir, people you're gonna touch me on our website
[23:45] Speaker 2: which is just free j u f f r ee
[23:48] Speaker 2: dot com. They can call the work number on the
[23:51] Speaker 2: on the website which just seven one three three oh
[23:54] Speaker 2: six nine six two zero. They could find me on Instagram,
[23:58] Speaker 2: they could find me on Facebook Dominique Lennard and how
[24:01] Speaker 2: to get a hold of me?
[24:02] Speaker 1: Yes, sir, you know, brother, I'm gonna stay in touch
[24:05] Speaker 1: at you.
[24:05] Speaker 2: Man.
[24:06] Speaker 1: It's it's some bigger places for you in life.
[24:09] Speaker 2: Brother.
[24:09] Speaker 1: All right, this show is interesting for me, man, This
[24:12] Speaker 1: show is interesting to me. Man. I keep committing. Every
[24:15] Speaker 1: story gets better, every story gets stronger. I just know
[24:17] Speaker 1: that that my brother's doing good. He came out with
[24:21] Speaker 1: an attitude, came out with and know it all made
[24:23] Speaker 1: a couple of more mistakes. I'm gonna tell you that
[24:25] Speaker 1: Dominigg he wasn't He wasn't as poured in as you,
[24:29] Speaker 1: But he got his He's gotten his life right, and
[24:31] Speaker 1: I'm very happy for him, because everybody deserves a second chance.
[24:34] Speaker 1: Everybody deserves an opportunity to say I was wrong, because
[24:39] Speaker 1: that's what that has to be. One of the most
[24:41] Speaker 1: shameful moments you brought in your life personally, and one
[24:43] Speaker 1: of the most shameful moments you brought on your family.
[24:46] Speaker 1: As we close out this show, what do you want
[24:48] Speaker 1: to say to the general public about you? It's a man,
[24:51] Speaker 1: and then your program just free.
[24:55] Speaker 2: What I want to say first of all is that
[24:57] Speaker 2: me going through what I went through, I had to
[25:00] Speaker 2: stay strong. I have to pay my way through it.
[25:02] Speaker 2: I have to turn back from my old ways to
[25:03] Speaker 2: my new ways. And I would say to anybody who's
[25:07] Speaker 2: going through anything, there's people right around us who are
[25:10] Speaker 2: living witnesses that you can overcome. You will get through
[25:12] Speaker 2: it some way somehow. Just keep living. Because if I
[25:15] Speaker 2: said there with a life sentence and now I'm free
[25:18] Speaker 2: able to live life, you can't tell me God ain't good.
[25:22] Speaker 2: And as far as the program. We make sure we
[25:26] Speaker 2: humanize every person incarcerator who's dehumanized with a custom parole
[25:30] Speaker 2: package just free dot com. Wow, and thank you for
[25:34] Speaker 2: having me as well as a blessing.
[25:36] Speaker 1: You had that number one more time there, Dominate.
[25:38] Speaker 2: Okay, yes sir, Yes, sir, the phone number seven one
[25:41] Speaker 2: three three oh six nine six to zero, the website
[25:45] Speaker 2: just free dot com, jus free dot com.
[25:49] Speaker 1: Amen. I appreciate you, brother, I really really do. And
[25:52] Speaker 1: continue winning as I always tell people who call in
[25:55] Speaker 1: on this show, and we'll talk to you. Okay, thank
[25:58] Speaker 1: you for calling on Money Making Comings Masterclass.
[26:01] Speaker 2: Hey man, bye bye.
[26:03] Speaker 1: Don't go nowhere. We'll be right back with more money
[26:05] Speaker 1: Making Conversation Masterclass and incredible guests is coming up. I'll
[26:09] Speaker 1: tell you, man, this show. I hope y'all listening. I
[26:11] Speaker 1: hope y'all listening. I hope y'all hear the stories we're
[26:13] Speaker 1: trying to tell everybody about what we're trying to do
[26:17] Speaker 1: on this show on a regular basis.
[26:19] Speaker 4: This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
[26:22] Speaker 4: posted by me Rashaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests
[26:25] Speaker 4: on the show today and thank you our listening to
[26:28] Speaker 4: audience now. If you want to listen to any episode
[26:31] Speaker 4: I want to be a guest on the show, visit
[26:33] Speaker 4: Moneymakingconversations dot com. Our social media handle is money Making Conversation.
[26:38] Speaker 4: Join us next week and remember to always leave with
[26:41] Speaker 4: your gifts.
[26:41] Speaker 1: Keep winning.

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