# Financial Tips: Financial Advisor and Diversity and Inclusive Specialist discuss how Black Entrepreneurship bridges racial wealth gap.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 18 Sep 2024, 28 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/43b11238-3eb7-4f18-b6c3-b1ee014dbd51/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 Travis May, a financial advisor, and Alair Castro, a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) specialist at Northwestern Mutual, about how Black entrepreneurship can help bridge the racial wealth gap. The discussion explores wealth creation, financial planning, entrepreneurship, generational wealth, community investment, and the importance of equitable opportunities for underserved communities. Purpose of the Interview The primary purpose of the conversation was to: • Discuss the racial wealth gap and its impact on Black communities. • Highlight entrepreneurship as a pathway to wealth creation and economic mobility. • Explain the role of financial planning in building and preserving wealth. • Showcase Northwestern Mutual's efforts to support racial equity, entrepreneurship, mentoring, and community engagement. • Defend the value of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives during a period of increasing public criticism. • Encourage listeners to become proactive about financial education, business ownership, and long-term wealth-building strategies. Key Takeaways 1. Black Entrepreneurship Creates Opportunities for Generational Wealth Travis May emphasized that entrepreneurship offers a unique opportunity to transfer assets and wealth from one generation to another. Unlike traditional employment, a business can be inherited and continue benefiting future family members. Key Point: Business ownership allows families to pass down economic assets and create lasting financial stability. 2. The Racial Wealth Gap Is About Access May described the racial wealth gap as more than income differences. It is connected to disparities in: • Financial resources • Educational opportunities • Access to capital • Mentorship • Wealth-building tools He argued that while the gap may never completely disappear, significant progress can be made when Black communities gain greater access to these resources. 3. Financial Planning Is Essential at Every Stage A major theme throughout the interview was that wealth creation requires intentional planning. May explained that many people have investments, retirement accounts, or insurance but lack a comprehensive strategy that ties everything together. Effective financial planning includes: • Saving for retirement • Funding children's education • Building generational wealth • Tax-efficient strategies • Risk management • Estate planning • Protecting income and assets 4. Education Is the Foundation of Wealth Building May stressed that financial literacy and education are critical components of long-term success. He noted that better education leads to better financial decisions and that communities must prioritize learning and understanding wealth-building strategies. 5. DEI Is About Human Dignity and Opportunity Alair Castro challenged the negative perceptions around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts. She explained that DEI is fundamentally about: • Human rights • Respect • Fair access • Representation • Supporting disadvantaged communities Rather than focusing on labels or political debates, Castro encouraged people to focus on the real impact these initiatives have on individuals and communities. 6. Representation Matters Castro explained that businesses should reflect and serve the communities in which they operate. She believes organizations benefit when diverse voices are…

## Transcript

[0:05] Speaker 1: Welcome to the show. I am Rashan 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 god 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, I am Rashan McDonald. I
[0:36] Speaker 1: host this weekly Money Making Conversation Master Class show. The
[0:39] Speaker 1: interviews and information that this show provides are for everyone.
[0:42] Speaker 1: It's time to start reading other people's success stories and
[0:45] Speaker 1: start living your own. I'm here to help you reach
[0:48] Speaker 1: your American dream. My guests today are discussing how black
[0:52] Speaker 1: entrepreneurship is a solution to bridging the racial wealth gap.
[0:57] Speaker 1: One is a financial advisor and the others are Diversity
[1:00] Speaker 1: an inclusion specialist for Northwestern Mutual. The racial wealth gap
[1:04] Speaker 1: refers to the disparity and assets of typical households across
[1:08] Speaker 1: race and ethnicity. Please welcome to the show from north
[1:12] Speaker 1: Western Mutual. Alel Castro and Travis May Senior. Welcome to
[1:16] Speaker 1: Money Making Conversation Team. Thanks Travis, you are the financial advisor. Yes, sir, okay,
[1:24] Speaker 1: out of the box. I'm gonna tell you explain to
[1:26] Speaker 1: my audience what is the racial gap? I mentioned it
[1:29] Speaker 1: in a defined tone, but I'm sure when you're talking
[1:32] Speaker 1: to everyday people, it's not as a dictionary field.
[1:37] Speaker 2: Yeah. So the racial wealth gap is the difference between
[1:46] Speaker 2: the financial difference between where Black people are today and
[1:50] Speaker 2: where other communities of majority exist and operating today when
[1:59] Speaker 2: it comes to racial disparity or wealth disparity. To be honest, Rashan,
[2:04] Speaker 2: we use that term racial wealth gap. I don't necessarily
[2:09] Speaker 2: think that the racial wealth gap can be closed. That
[2:14] Speaker 2: would mean that those who are in the majority and
[2:17] Speaker 2: who have the wealth are going to stop doing what
[2:20] Speaker 2: they're doing to obtain the wealth. I do think, Rashon,
[2:25] Speaker 2: that in the Black community and African American community, that
[2:29] Speaker 2: we can make strides in closing that racial wealth gap disparity,
[2:35] Speaker 2: and basically what it is is, uh the lack of
[2:39] Speaker 2: resources that are available to us as African Americans. Financial resources,
[2:45] Speaker 2: educational resources, all of these things play a major role
[2:51] Speaker 2: in our ability to move up the ladder and when
[2:56] Speaker 2: it when it comes to finances and you know, pass
[3:00] Speaker 2: generational weve down from one generation to the next, you.
[3:03] Speaker 1: Know, because you know, thank you for that update. Because
[3:06] Speaker 1: there are a lot of bug buzzwords generational wealth. I
[3:08] Speaker 1: hear that a lot on this show, the racial wealth gap,
[3:11] Speaker 1: the headlo on the show now three words, I hear
[3:13] Speaker 1: a lot on this show, Miss Castro. Diversity Equity and
[3:17] Speaker 1: Inclusion DEI, which has been under a tremendous amount of
[3:22] Speaker 1: political attacks, community attacks. It made it very racial when
[3:28] Speaker 1: it comes to even the vice president has been called
[3:32] Speaker 1: adi placement and her role as vice president? What is
[3:37] Speaker 1: your role? You are specialists? Explain to us. Maybe I'm
[3:41] Speaker 1: not asking you to tell us why it's under attack,
[3:44] Speaker 1: but what are the necessary needs of having your role
[3:48] Speaker 1: or having a specialist at a company? For DEI?
[3:51] Speaker 3: Absolutely so, diversity, equity and inclusion is very important for
[3:58] Speaker 3: businesses to match the communities for which they sit in
[4:02] Speaker 3: and which they serve. So that is the core focus
[4:05] Speaker 3: of the work that I do. The great thing about
[4:08] Speaker 3: Northwestern Mutual is we have doubled down on DEI in
[4:13] Speaker 3: a time where a lot of companies are pulling back
[4:16] Speaker 3: out of fear of cancel culture, out of fear of
[4:21] Speaker 3: any sort of negative connotation with doing work that includes
[4:27] Speaker 3: people who may not look like the people who sit
[4:29] Speaker 3: at the tops of these boards or who run these businesses.
[4:33] Speaker 3: So I'm just blessed to be at a company that
[4:37] Speaker 3: has supported DEI efforts and has really doubled down at
[4:42] Speaker 3: a time where we were where we have started going backwards.
[4:46] Speaker 1: We really have And that's why I thought it was
[4:48] Speaker 1: important to have both of you guys, because basically in
[4:50] Speaker 1: this battle, it does involve you know, the Financial Advisor
[4:55] Speaker 1: brand awareness. Because you made an under statement traverse their
[4:58] Speaker 1: racial wealth gain, it's not going to close. Why would
[5:01] Speaker 1: I stop making money? Why would I just okay? And
[5:03] Speaker 1: I'm gonna give you opportunity to catch me. My goal
[5:05] Speaker 1: is to keep making money. I always tell people Bill
[5:07] Speaker 1: Gates is trying to get more billions. You know, Elon
[5:10] Speaker 1: Munks wants to be He wants to retain that title
[5:13] Speaker 1: of being the richest man in the world, which I
[5:15] Speaker 1: would like to have that title too. That means I
[5:17] Speaker 1: got a lot of work to do, and that means
[5:19] Speaker 1: I'm not gonna close that racial gap. Winning the lottery
[5:22] Speaker 1: and with that being said, entrepreneurship is not to me,
[5:27] Speaker 1: it's the laying. It's the lane of trying to change
[5:30] Speaker 1: generational lifestyles. Because you can't pass your job to your son.
[5:35] Speaker 1: You can't pass technically, you can't pass your job to
[5:38] Speaker 1: your doctor, your doctor. You can't just make your daughter
[5:41] Speaker 1: be a doctor or your son be a doctor, or
[5:43] Speaker 1: your nephew be a doctor. That's a learned crap. But
[5:45] Speaker 1: if you have a bakery, if you have a business,
[5:49] Speaker 1: you can pass that business to someone in your family.
[5:53] Speaker 1: Talk to us about that, TRAFFS, because I think that's
[5:55] Speaker 1: very important. We talking about just wealth building. That's what
[5:58] Speaker 1: we want to talk about in this show. Well building.
[6:02] Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's important that in our community we
[6:05] Speaker 2: have those those success stories, in those staples to follow
[6:13] Speaker 2: successful black owned businesses, service role models. They show the
[6:17] Speaker 2: younger generation that, you know, financial independence is possible, and
[6:22] Speaker 2: so they provide the real examples of wealth creation which
[6:26] Speaker 2: foster that culture of entrepreneurship and empowerment. And so I
[6:32] Speaker 2: think it's really important that first and foremost we got
[6:37] Speaker 2: to read and get educated as a culture. You know
[6:41] Speaker 2: what they say, if you want to hire something from
[6:42] Speaker 2: a black man, you got to put it in a book.
[6:44] Speaker 2: And so the long term wealth building requires a combination
[6:49] Speaker 2: of access to capital. It requires ongoing mentorship and the prioritization,
[6:55] Speaker 2: as you say with Sean of financial planning at every
[6:58] Speaker 2: stage in life, not just in one stage or another.
[7:04] Speaker 2: And so that's that's one thing that entrepreneurship helps helps
[7:10] Speaker 2: us accomplish in our community, right is that transition of assets,
[7:14] Speaker 2: That transition of I mean that that that passing down
[7:17] Speaker 2: of businesses and other assets that can help us thrive
[7:21] Speaker 2: in the future.
[7:22] Speaker 1: Well, you know, it's really interesting because I've been involved
[7:25] Speaker 1: in small business uplift I like to call it with
[7:28] Speaker 1: you know, just to do the Neighborhood Awards was Steve Harrier,
[7:30] Speaker 1: where we will promote local business whether you was uh,
[7:34] Speaker 1: you know, car wash owner, or high schools and churches
[7:38] Speaker 1: because all these feed into motivating change in the community.
[7:43] Speaker 1: And that's important when we see changing the community. And
[7:45] Speaker 1: when I talk to you, Ms. Catastrop, community voices because
[7:50] Speaker 1: you are community voice, like you just you really stood
[7:53] Speaker 1: up to reach out. We're not going anywhere. I love that.
[7:56] Speaker 1: I love you had a fire in your voice, that
[8:00] Speaker 1: you are the attack. I'm telling those words that you
[8:03] Speaker 1: represent a one hundred percent been on attack. I've seen
[8:07] Speaker 1: the shift in my business. I am a minority owned business.
[8:11] Speaker 1: I've seen companies that had me at the front of
[8:14] Speaker 1: their plate. During the George Floyd I was eating off
[8:17] Speaker 1: that but I was eating big time girl, And then
[8:19] Speaker 1: all of a sudden, I've seen those portions in that
[8:22] Speaker 1: plate get smaller and smaller and smaller the further we've
[8:26] Speaker 1: gotten away from the George Floyd situation.
[8:29] Speaker 4: Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
[8:33] Speaker 4: money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
[8:45] Speaker 4: Conversations Masterclass, hosted by Rashaan McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
[8:51] Speaker 4: continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
[8:56] Speaker 4: Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
[9:01] Speaker 1: Now you said what you said, You're company Northwestern Mutual.
[9:04] Speaker 1: We're not going anywhere. How do you get that story
[9:07] Speaker 1: to the community.
[9:09] Speaker 3: Absolutely, I think doing events such as community conversations and
[9:14] Speaker 3: really explaining what Northwestern Mutual does from a brand perspective,
[9:19] Speaker 3: but also how we support our diverse advisors and our
[9:23] Speaker 3: diverse communities helps communicate that story right. So that was
[9:28] Speaker 3: born out of a strategic initiative that we call SARE internally,
[9:32] Speaker 3: which stands for Sustained Action for Racial Equity. This is
[9:37] Speaker 3: something that did begin around twenty twenty where our CEO
[9:42] Speaker 3: did make a statement saying that this is something that
[9:44] Speaker 3: we're going to invest in. The difference with our organization
[9:48] Speaker 3: is that he has continued to invest in it even
[9:53] Speaker 3: past the times of media coverage on social unrests and
[9:57] Speaker 3: social injustices. So this event was born out of that initiative,
[10:04] Speaker 3: as well as many others. We have an accelerator program,
[10:07] Speaker 3: we have mentorship programs, and we have strategic initiatives to
[10:12] Speaker 3: really get more involved in the black community and reinvesting
[10:18] Speaker 3: in the black community.
[10:19] Speaker 1: And you was referencing, and I want to stay on
[10:22] Speaker 1: her for a minute, mister May before I get back
[10:24] Speaker 1: to her, because this is where, you know, if I
[10:28] Speaker 1: get heated in this whole world of trying to make
[10:31] Speaker 1: a change in the Black community, it's in the DEI
[10:34] Speaker 1: because I see it being very racial. I see it
[10:38] Speaker 1: being it demeans us like we're asking for a handout.
[10:41] Speaker 1: And I say us because I'm an African American and
[10:44] Speaker 1: all I want is an equal opportunity to participate that's
[10:49] Speaker 1: all I want a shot at participating. Now you mentioned
[10:53] Speaker 1: some programs, how does one access those programs at your
[10:58] Speaker 1: company as an individual as well as a corporation or
[11:02] Speaker 1: a small business.
[11:05] Speaker 3: I would highly suggest reaching out to your local Northwestern
[11:09] Speaker 3: Mutual office. So we operate off of network offices here
[11:13] Speaker 3: in Atlanta. We have two of them. I represent one
[11:17] Speaker 3: of them, called the Callaway Black Group. We sit in Finding, Georgia,
[11:22] Speaker 3: but our reach expands over all of Metro Atlanta. Reaching
[11:27] Speaker 3: out to us, letting us know what your career goals are,
[11:31] Speaker 3: whether you are looking to become an advisor, or you
[11:35] Speaker 3: are an entrepreneur and you're looking to pair with an
[11:37] Speaker 3: advisor to help you create a financial plan for your business.
[11:41] Speaker 3: Reaching out to us and seeing how we can partner
[11:45] Speaker 3: together to help you achieve your financial goals. It's really
[11:48] Speaker 3: that simple. I have had people reach out to me
[11:51] Speaker 3: on social media. I've had people reach out to me
[11:54] Speaker 3: out at events, you know, different client events and networking
[12:00] Speaker 3: events and asking me more about what we do. A
[12:02] Speaker 3: lot of times in the black community, when they hear
[12:04] Speaker 3: of Northwestern Mutual, they just think life insurance. They don't
[12:08] Speaker 3: understand that we do holistic financial planning. So we're so
[12:13] Speaker 3: much more than life insurance. We do planning, We do
[12:17] Speaker 3: community engagement and investment right back to the communities that
[12:21] Speaker 3: we sit in. So really just getting in contact with us,
[12:25] Speaker 3: your or your local network office to learn more about
[12:29] Speaker 3: how you can be a part of that.
[12:31] Speaker 1: Now, Travis, she said a key word that you brought
[12:34] Speaker 1: up earlier financial planning, because there's two words that really
[12:38] Speaker 1: in the small business community we forget is financial planning
[12:43] Speaker 1: and budget. We want to start a business, we got
[12:46] Speaker 1: a great idea, We're going to open the doors and
[12:48] Speaker 1: we automatically think the customer is going to come in,
[12:51] Speaker 1: or you go to the flee market and all your
[12:53] Speaker 1: products is going to be sold. There's no budget of
[12:56] Speaker 1: financial planning. Now, going back to you, that's what I'm
[12:59] Speaker 1: about between the two of y'all in this interview, because
[13:02] Speaker 1: each one of you kind of like explains why the
[13:04] Speaker 1: other one exists or the need for the other person.
[13:07] Speaker 1: Because I've contacted her, she's mentioned financial planning. I'm a
[13:11] Speaker 1: small business. Now I'm talking to you, Travis. You're going
[13:14] Speaker 1: to be at the event meeting people personally, but what
[13:17] Speaker 1: exactly is your role and explain in detail from the
[13:20] Speaker 1: financial side what Northwestern Mutual does.
[13:25] Speaker 2: Yeah, So I'll start by saying, when we're first introduced
[13:30] Speaker 2: to people, they tell us that they've done some great
[13:34] Speaker 2: planning already, all right. They have saved in retirement accounts,
[13:38] Speaker 2: they've invested money, they might even purchase some insurance at
[13:42] Speaker 2: some point. But even having done all of these things,
[13:46] Speaker 2: they will still look me in my eye and tell me, Travis,
[13:49] Speaker 2: I'm not really sure how these things are supposed to
[13:52] Speaker 2: tie together within a plan, or I'm not sure if
[13:56] Speaker 2: what I'm doing is enough. And what we find ra Sean,
[13:59] Speaker 2: is that it's most often because of time. Okay, most
[14:02] Speaker 2: people are working full time in their careers or their businesses.
[14:05] Speaker 2: I'm sure you can attest to that. And then they
[14:07] Speaker 2: also have families to grow and spend time with, and
[14:11] Speaker 2: so it's easy to understand how financial planning falls to
[14:15] Speaker 2: the bottom of the to do list and so and
[14:18] Speaker 2: seeing that so frequently, it's become the mission of my
[14:21] Speaker 2: practice to help people take a step off that treadmill
[14:24] Speaker 2: of life and to help them make active and conscious
[14:28] Speaker 2: and meaningful decisions around whatever they tell me is important
[14:33] Speaker 2: to them. And I like to use sports analogies with
[14:35] Speaker 2: Shaun when I'm describing how we do that, and so
[14:40] Speaker 2: we help people with their offensive and their defensive financial
[14:44] Speaker 2: planning strategies. The offensive planning Rashan is saving for whatever
[14:50] Speaker 2: people say is important to them. A lot of people
[14:52] Speaker 2: say retirement, or their children's education, or to pass along
[14:57] Speaker 2: future wealth to generations, whatever the case may be. I personally,
[15:02] Speaker 2: I can't speak for anyone else, but I personally take
[15:04] Speaker 2: an educational approach. I make sure that my clients are
[15:08] Speaker 2: educated about how things work and ultimately what the opportunities
[15:13] Speaker 2: and possibilities are because I think in any aspect, when
[15:17] Speaker 2: we're more educated, or the better educated we are, the
[15:20] Speaker 2: better decisions will make. When you know better, you'll do best.
[15:23] Speaker 2: The second focus reshign is on tax efficiency. I have
[15:27] Speaker 2: clients cutting five, six, seven figure checks to the irs
[15:30] Speaker 2: every year, and the way that they describe that is painful.
[15:34] Speaker 2: So we help with strategies to minimize taxes, not just
[15:38] Speaker 2: on today's dollars like your CPA would do, but on
[15:42] Speaker 2: dollars that they may not see or touch for the
[15:44] Speaker 2: next twenty, thirty or forty years. And then on the
[15:47] Speaker 2: defensive side of the ball, that involves talking about things
[15:51] Speaker 2: that we don't necessarily like to talk about, or that
[15:54] Speaker 2: aren't as fun to talk about, but it's crucial to
[15:58] Speaker 2: discuss and address plan for if we're talking about doing
[16:01] Speaker 2: true financial planning. And so this is evaluating the what
[16:05] Speaker 2: ifs of our client's lives. What if someone passes away unexpectedly? Right,
[16:12] Speaker 2: what if I get sick or you get sick and
[16:14] Speaker 2: can't work and earn an income, or what if someone
[16:18] Speaker 2: close to you needs some type of extended care for
[16:22] Speaker 2: an extended period of time. And so those are the
[16:24] Speaker 2: areas that we try to wrap people's minds around and
[16:28] Speaker 2: get them thinking deeper about when it comes to financial
[16:31] Speaker 2: planning and just crossing all the t's and dotting all
[16:34] Speaker 2: the o's.
[16:35] Speaker 1: You know a really interesting thing about this, how do
[16:37] Speaker 1: we get in touch with your side of the table?
[16:40] Speaker 1: You know you not saying you know, I'm putting you
[16:44] Speaker 1: on the spot. She said, the local Northwestern Mutual. You
[16:47] Speaker 1: know that seems so that seems so unattainable. I'm trying
[16:51] Speaker 1: to personalize this conversation because I think that that's what
[16:54] Speaker 1: goes wrong. Because I do a lot of these interviews
[16:57] Speaker 1: on my show Money Making Conversation master Class, and I
[17:01] Speaker 1: know there are a lot of opportunities, from the SBA
[17:04] Speaker 1: to the National Minority Supply to Development Council, but it
[17:07] Speaker 1: still seems like it's unattainable, it's unreachable, and it always
[17:10] Speaker 1: feels like it should be a line out the door
[17:13] Speaker 1: at the door for this conversational event, it's the third
[17:16] Speaker 1: one that you're having. But then I go there, It'll
[17:19] Speaker 1: be well attended, but I should be like more people
[17:22] Speaker 1: should know. How do we How do we get there? Travis?
[17:27] Speaker 1: How do we get there? You know? I know this helps,
[17:30] Speaker 1: but this is only one small stage of helping. How
[17:34] Speaker 1: do we get there? Brother?
[17:36] Speaker 2: Yeah, well, we can only do so much from our seat. Right,
[17:39] Speaker 2: we put on events like community conversations, an individual advisor.
[17:45] Speaker 2: I know for myself, we do speaking engagements, right. We
[17:48] Speaker 2: partner with organizations like the Urban League. We're out in
[17:53] Speaker 2: the community, We're out at events that are being hosted
[17:57] Speaker 2: around the city and national and the lead for that matter.
[18:01] Speaker 2: But when you talk about how to connect with a
[18:04] Speaker 2: specific or given advisor, you first have to take A
[18:07] Speaker 2: person has to take an initiative. Most of the people
[18:11] Speaker 2: that I connect with are introductions that are made right,
[18:17] Speaker 2: So very seldom are people wanting or desiring to do
[18:22] Speaker 2: financial planning because they met me at an event. That's
[18:27] Speaker 2: just been my experience. Most of the people that I
[18:30] Speaker 2: connect with are introductions, very warm introductions. I work with
[18:35] Speaker 2: their mom, their dad, their coworker, their colleague, their brother,
[18:38] Speaker 2: their sister, and they say, Hey, this is the advisor
[18:42] Speaker 2: I'm working with. We've been having some great conversations doing
[18:44] Speaker 2: some great work. I think you should have a conversation
[18:46] Speaker 2: with them. And what we find is that when we're
[18:50] Speaker 2: introduced to people that way, it's a bit more sticky.
[18:55] Speaker 2: Those people tend to value the work that we do
[18:58] Speaker 2: and the time that we spend together a lot more
[19:00] Speaker 2: than someone coming across me at a at an event
[19:04] Speaker 2: where it might seem quite generic at an event.
[19:07] Speaker 1: To be honest, we're talking to Part three Community Conversation,
[19:10] Speaker 1: how black entrepreneurship is bridging the racial gap. I'm speaking
[19:14] Speaker 1: to Lay Castro and Travis may Senor. Travis May Senior
[19:18] Speaker 1: is a financial advisor, a little Castro is a diversity
[19:21] Speaker 1: inclusion specialist. A layer ms Castro. Help me so I
[19:29] Speaker 1: can just start telling people to start kicking rocks when
[19:32] Speaker 1: they start bringing up anti DEI conversations. Help me out,
[19:37] Speaker 1: give me give me some marching, or to give me
[19:38] Speaker 1: some statements, says an individual, because I am so tired,
[19:44] Speaker 1: turned on the read the newspaper. Get a little notification
[19:48] Speaker 1: it's a movie right now, that's that's anti DEI. I
[19:53] Speaker 1: want to tell them how to kick rocks. The floor
[19:55] Speaker 1: is yours.
[19:56] Speaker 3: I mean, this is not anything that's new. Right, Everything
[20:00] Speaker 3: history repeats itself. You know, some of this was happening
[20:04] Speaker 3: after the civil rights movements in the sixties. Right, it's
[20:09] Speaker 3: just backlash to progression. But what I always refer back to,
[20:14] Speaker 3: which is one of my core beliefs, is the work
[20:17] Speaker 3: that I do in diversity, equity and inclusion is about
[20:22] Speaker 3: human rights. Right. It's about respect for humans, love for
[20:25] Speaker 3: human beings, caring about people who are not able to
[20:30] Speaker 3: live their lives and thrive in a healthy or safe way. Period.
[20:35] Speaker 3: I think if you can kind of refer back to
[20:38] Speaker 3: that as a core value, then what it looks like
[20:42] Speaker 3: or what acronyms are associated with it kind of fall
[20:45] Speaker 3: to the wayside and you just get involved and do
[20:47] Speaker 3: the work. That's actually something that I find myself having
[20:52] Speaker 3: conversations about in the corporate environment often is well, what
[20:56] Speaker 3: are we going to call it? To make it digestible
[20:58] Speaker 3: for people. I am someone who doesn't care too much
[21:02] Speaker 3: about what names are or what the branding is. I
[21:05] Speaker 3: care about the work that's getting done and the people
[21:08] Speaker 3: that are being helped. So just referring back to the
[21:11] Speaker 3: core value of caring about human beings and human rights,
[21:16] Speaker 3: then you can't go wrong.
[21:18] Speaker 1: Awesome, Awesome, we know when we've been educated on the show,
[21:22] Speaker 1: Northwestern Mutual is more than just a life insurance company.
[21:27] Speaker 1: Financial advice is being given there when I say that, Travis,
[21:31] Speaker 1: being that you are a financial institution such as you
[21:34] Speaker 1: are with north Western Mutual, supporting black entrepreneurship, accessing the
[21:38] Speaker 1: funds and resources they need to grow. Like you said,
[21:42] Speaker 1: people who usually come see you or organized, but they
[21:45] Speaker 1: still are. Some are paying taxes they shouldn't be paying.
[21:49] Speaker 1: Walk us through some steps and establishing a relationship with
[21:53] Speaker 1: Northwestern Mutual.
[21:55] Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I can't speak for establishing a relationship with
[21:57] Speaker 2: Northwestern Mutual, but I could definitely speak on establishing a
[22:00] Speaker 2: relationship with myself as a as.
[22:01] Speaker 1: A financial advisor and a mutual.
[22:07] Speaker 2: I am, But I guess if I could add some
[22:09] Speaker 2: context to that, we operate similar to like how realtors operate.
[22:12] Speaker 1: Okay, So a realtor will.
[22:14] Speaker 2: Hang their license with a brokerage, so, so to speak,
[22:18] Speaker 2: to simplify it, I chose to partner with a Fortune
[22:21] Speaker 2: one hundred company to build my financial planning practice, become
[22:26] Speaker 2: part of the solution, and give the people that I serve,
[22:29] Speaker 2: which happen to be majority of people who look like me,
[22:31] Speaker 2: access to some of the best resources that are out there.
[22:35] Speaker 2: So from that, that's the perspective on that. But what
[22:39] Speaker 2: does it look like in establishing a relationship generally, what
[22:44] Speaker 2: it looks like for me? I'm just walk you through
[22:45] Speaker 2: what that looks like. I'm on a call with somebody
[22:47] Speaker 2: and at the end of the call, they say, Travis,
[22:50] Speaker 2: you got to meet so and so, you got to
[22:51] Speaker 2: meet x y Z. They give me x y Z
[22:54] Speaker 2: and so and so's contact information, and I reach out
[22:57] Speaker 2: and I simply reach out to introduce myself, share with
[23:01] Speaker 2: them that we have a familiar relationship with X, Y
[23:06] Speaker 2: and Z and that they thought you would find value
[23:09] Speaker 2: in having a conversation. And so I'm simply calling to
[23:12] Speaker 2: introduce myself and see if we could carve out some
[23:14] Speaker 2: time sometime in the next week or two to have
[23:17] Speaker 2: a conversation, and in that first conversation, Rashan, that is
[23:21] Speaker 2: the relationship establishing conversation. I firmly believe that I'm not
[23:26] Speaker 2: in a position to tell anybody about what they should
[23:29] Speaker 2: be doing with their finances, with their money if I
[23:32] Speaker 2: don't know them personally, if I don't know what their
[23:35] Speaker 2: goals are, if I don't know what they're trying to achieve.
[23:38] Speaker 2: And so that first meeting, that first conversation is simply
[23:42] Speaker 2: about understanding what that person is looking to accomplish, understanding
[23:47] Speaker 2: where they are financially, and then where do we align.
[23:51] Speaker 2: Because I be honest, I sit down and have those
[23:53] Speaker 2: conversations with people, and I can't help everybody, right, but
[23:57] Speaker 2: then there are people who I can, And so the
[24:00] Speaker 2: goal of that initial conversation is just to find where
[24:02] Speaker 2: the synergy is, where the opportunity is, and how we
[24:05] Speaker 2: can fill avoid.
[24:07] Speaker 1: Well, it was really important that we're having this conversation,
[24:10] Speaker 1: you know from h you know, people of color, African Americans,
[24:14] Speaker 1: UH dealing with a situation called the racial wealth gap,
[24:17] Speaker 1: which I think is one of those terms it's overused,
[24:20] Speaker 1: you know, like branding, like terminology you hear so much.
[24:24] Speaker 1: You kind of like go what is that? You know,
[24:26] Speaker 1: just we just realized it was announced the other day
[24:29] Speaker 1: that the gender pay gap has widened, you know, over
[24:33] Speaker 1: the years. So that means that there's always going to
[24:36] Speaker 1: be a challenge. There's alway going to be a challenge.
[24:37] Speaker 1: When I walk in the door ms Castro and people
[24:40] Speaker 1: are automatically know I'm a person of color. I can't
[24:42] Speaker 1: hide that fact, which means that I'm always being stereotyped immediately,
[24:48] Speaker 1: whether I want to or not. Whether I got a
[24:50] Speaker 1: suit on, somebody might question where I get this suit,
[24:53] Speaker 1: whether whether I walk or laugh out loud, they might
[24:57] Speaker 1: make it. Does he does? He does? He does? He
[25:00] Speaker 1: know where he's at laughing at loud. So I've been
[25:04] Speaker 1: dealing with that all my life and I've been successful.
[25:07] Speaker 1: But I've been successful with a caveat the color of
[25:11] Speaker 1: my skin. Your role in diversity, in conclusion and inclusion,
[25:17] Speaker 1: being a specialist, what's the end results, what's the ultimate
[25:20] Speaker 1: game for you?
[25:22] Speaker 3: The ultimate game for me is to give voice to
[25:27] Speaker 3: those that are disadvantage, to reinvest in the communities of
[25:32] Speaker 3: people that are disadvantaged, To create an internal culture that
[25:36] Speaker 3: makes diverse people feel like they can bring their whole
[25:40] Speaker 3: selves to work. A lot of times when we come
[25:42] Speaker 3: to work, we bring part of ourselves, right, You don't
[25:45] Speaker 3: want to expose too much of your self for fear
[25:48] Speaker 3: that you might be retaliated against in your employment. I
[25:53] Speaker 3: want to create a culture that allows you and I
[25:55] Speaker 3: have been able to create a culture that allows you
[25:57] Speaker 3: to fully be yourself at work every day and discuss
[26:02] Speaker 3: things that you may not be able to discuss anywhere else,
[26:06] Speaker 3: such as experiencing microaggressions like you mentioned. But at the
[26:11] Speaker 3: end of the day, it's about the impact on these
[26:14] Speaker 3: communities that we sit in that mean the most to me,
[26:19] Speaker 3: especially within the Black and African American community, which is
[26:23] Speaker 3: why doing community events like Community Conversations is so important,
[26:28] Speaker 3: really supporting black entrepreneurs locally. But also to what Travis
[26:34] Speaker 3: mentioned earlier, our advisors operate as entrepreneurs themselves, so it's
[26:39] Speaker 3: layered and it's an honor to be able to support
[26:44] Speaker 3: and invest in black entrepreneurs here in Atlanta, and I
[26:47] Speaker 3: hope to do so for the foreseeable future.
[26:51] Speaker 1: I love it. I love it. I want to thank
[26:52] Speaker 1: you guys for coming on my show talking about Part three,
[26:56] Speaker 1: Community Conversations, How Black entrepreneurship is bridging the wealth gap.
[27:01] Speaker 1: This is part three Community conversation, how Black entrepreneurship is
[27:04] Speaker 1: bridget a racial wealth gap. Thank you both for coming
[27:07] Speaker 1: on Money Making Conversation, massacret It was an enjoyment, enjoyable
[27:10] Speaker 1: to have it on this conversation with two people who
[27:13] Speaker 1: are trying to make a difference in our community.
[27:15] Speaker 3: Thank you so much for the opportunity.
[27:18] Speaker 2: Absolutely man likewise, Thank you for Sean.
[27:21] Speaker 1: This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
[27:24] Speaker 1: hosted by me Rashaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests
[27:27] Speaker 1: on the show today and thank you listening to audience now.
[27:31] Speaker 1: If you want to listen to any episode I want
[27:33] Speaker 1: to be a guest on the show, visit Moneymakingconversations dot com.
[27:36] Speaker 1: Our social media handle is money Making Conversation. Join us
[27:40] Speaker 1: next week and remember to always leave with your gifts.
[27:43] Speaker 1: Keep winning.

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