# Faith and Business: A faith-driven entrepreneur, and how she works with nonprofits to inspire and educate.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 15 Oct 2025, 34 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/55fa81e9-3dd5-44c4-9fcf-b36d00cb3128/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 Erica Gwyn. 🎙️ Interview Summary: Erica Gwyn on Money Making Conversations Masterclass Purpose of the Interview To spotlight Erica Gwyn’s journey as a faith-driven entrepreneur, her work with nonprofits through her company Nonprofit Guru LLC, and her educational initiatives including Seven Oaks Academy Montessori. The interview aims to inspire listeners by sharing Erica’s story of resilience, leadership, and community impact, while offering practical advice for nonprofit founders and small business owners. 🧭 Interview Outline 1. Introduction • Host Rushion McDonald introduces the show and its mission to inspire and educate entrepreneurs. • Erica Gwyn is welcomed as the founder and CEO of Nonprofit Guru LLC and Seven Oaks Academy Montessori. 2. Background & Career Journey • Erica shares her early experiences, including working with Spelman College and Habitat for Humanity. • She discusses her expertise in grant writing and nonprofit management. 3. Nonprofit Guru LLC • Origin of the name “Nonprofit Guru” from her cousin, an attorney. • Focuses on helping nonprofits with fundraising, board development, and strategy. • Works with organizations that have at least \$300,000 in revenue and an existing board. 4. Common Mistakes in Nonprofit Startups • Placing unqualified family members on boards. • Lack of understanding of board responsibilities, especially fundraising. • Over-reliance on grants without diversifying funding sources. 5. Board Development Advice • Ideal board size: 5–7 members to avoid deadlocks. • Seek members with legal, accounting, program design, and volunteer coordination expertise. • Importance of board training programs like United Way’s VIP program. 6. Faith-Driven Entrepreneurship • Erica shares her personal story of becoming a single mother at 19 and losing her child’s father. • Her journey of healing through service and community involvement. 7. Seven Oaks Academy Montessori • Purchased an existing preschool and transformed it into a boutique Montessori school. • Focus on cradle-to-pre-K education with plans to expand after-school and summer programs. • Offers unique features: professional chef, small class sizes, diverse staff, on-site therapy, and classroom cameras for parental viewing. 8. Summer Camp & Educational Expansion • Originated from a math and science summer camp inspired by her son Cameron. • Plans to revive the camp and expand educational offerings. • Emphasis on creating a cradle-to-college pipeline for students. 9. Marketing & Branding • Erica acknowledges the need to improve her visibility and branding. • Encouraged by Rushion to relaunch her website and promote her services more actively. 💡 Key Takeaways • Authenticity & Expertise Matter: Erica’s credibility stems from her hands-on experience and passion for nonprofit work. • Board Composition is Crucial: A well-trained, committed board is essential for nonprofit success. • Diversify Funding Sources: Don’t rely solely on grants—explore individual giving, estate planning, and in-kind donations. • Faith & Purpose Drive Success: Erica’s personal challenges fueled her commitment to community service and entrepreneurship. • Education is Empowerment: Her Montessori school and summer camps aim to provide foundational learning and long-term academic success. • Marketing is Essential: Visibility and branding are key to expanding…

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Hi. I'm Rashan McDonald hosts this weekly Money Making Conversation
[0:03] Speaker 1: Masterclass show. The interviews and information that this show provides
[0:06] Speaker 1: are for everyone. It's time to stop reading other people's
[0:09] Speaker 1: success stories and start living you on. If you want
[0:12] Speaker 1: to be a guest on my show, Money Making Conversation Masterclass,
[0:15] Speaker 1: please visit our website, Moneymakingconversation dot com and click the
[0:19] Speaker 1: b a guest button. If you're a small business owner, entrepreneur,
[0:23] Speaker 1: motivational speaker, influencer, or nonprofit now let's get this interview started.
[0:28] Speaker 1: My guest is the founding CEO of the nonprofit Guru LLC.
[0:33] Speaker 1: She partners was small to mid sized nonprofits to strengthen fundraising,
[0:38] Speaker 1: board development, and entrepreneur organizational strategy. Over the last decade,
[0:44] Speaker 1: she trained coaches and set up and equipped through workshops,
[0:49] Speaker 1: courses and tailor consulting and helping to transform their ideas
[0:54] Speaker 1: into sustainable impact. Please welcome the Money Making Conversation Masterclass.
[0:59] Speaker 1: Erica Gwynn, How are you doing?
[1:00] Speaker 2: I'm wonderful.
[1:01] Speaker 1: How are you where you based at? Erica?
[1:03] Speaker 3: I have a Montessori school in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and then
[1:06] Speaker 3: our nonprofit Guru.
[1:08] Speaker 1: I do that virtually the nonprofit gurul Let's talk about
[1:11] Speaker 1: that first nonprofit GURULLC.
[1:15] Speaker 2: Yes, why that? Well, I had a cousin that told me.
[1:18] Speaker 3: He gave me that nickname the nonprofit Guru, because I
[1:21] Speaker 3: knew nonprofits in my sleep. It's what I've done professional right,
[1:27] Speaker 3: It can be tedious. It's like being a lawyer reading
[1:30] Speaker 3: a lot of contracts, think grant writing. It's about I
[1:34] Speaker 3: have a big mission, and it is about the mission,
[1:37] Speaker 3: but you have to be able to document it and
[1:39] Speaker 3: show so that it can be fundable. So I did
[1:43] Speaker 3: that for colleges I worked for. I don't know if
[1:45] Speaker 3: I should say all the names, but I work them.
[1:47] Speaker 3: SPELM in college, I managed a bioinformatics grant where I
[1:51] Speaker 3: recruited students to do federal trainings across the country. I
[1:55] Speaker 3: have worked for after school programs in my local community.
[1:59] Speaker 3: I have been in kind donations consultant for Habitat for Humanity.
[2:04] Speaker 2: So I got to see that.
[2:04] Speaker 1: Should buy it. When you come on money Making Conversation
[2:07] Speaker 1: Massacre Life, I'm exposing you to individuals who may need
[2:10] Speaker 1: your services. Okay, So the more you can tell us
[2:13] Speaker 1: about you, the more credibility we have to what you
[2:16] Speaker 1: say you do, okay, so feel free to drop names.
[2:19] Speaker 1: Of course, people can google you and google your brand
[2:22] Speaker 1: and do their own research, but it's important that we
[2:25] Speaker 1: convey a level of authenticity and honesty to the listeners.
[2:29] Speaker 2: That's helpful, Thank you.
[2:31] Speaker 3: So I've worked at Spelman College as a grants manager.
[2:34] Speaker 3: I banished a two point five million dollar initiative that
[2:37] Speaker 3: helped college students to get placement in their careers as
[2:41] Speaker 3: doctors and veterinarians and physicians future doctors. And that experience
[2:46] Speaker 3: allowed me to see that there was a federal pipeline
[2:50] Speaker 3: to funding that could help folks at the local level.
[2:54] Speaker 3: I also have done things with Habitat for Humanity, where
[2:57] Speaker 3: where you build these beautiful houses, would ask for these
[3:00] Speaker 3: donations from corporations to help us build it in partnership.
[3:04] Speaker 1: So here and all these wonderful things you've done, when
[3:09] Speaker 1: someone contacts you, how do you vet them and what
[3:13] Speaker 1: are they asking you for? In general?
[3:15] Speaker 3: Absolutely, so, I do expect that at a very basic
[3:19] Speaker 3: level they have at least three hundred thousand in revenue,
[3:22] Speaker 3: because that shows me that at least they have started
[3:24] Speaker 3: the process, They have a brand, they have something that
[3:27] Speaker 3: is giving back to the community. I then also look
[3:31] Speaker 3: to see do they have an existing board of directors
[3:34] Speaker 3: and if that board of directors is in need of
[3:36] Speaker 3: training and compliance because a lot of what we do
[3:39] Speaker 3: in this space is about knowing the law and knowing
[3:42] Speaker 3: what's fundable and what's not. So I use that as
[3:46] Speaker 3: my template to see is there an existing board of
[3:49] Speaker 3: directors and do they have at least three hundred thousand
[3:51] Speaker 3: in revenue that can help them scale.
[3:54] Speaker 1: Let's talk about that. A lot of people are start
[3:56] Speaker 1: a nonprofit that this idea want to help out the community.
[4:00] Speaker 1: Some of the mistakes people make in starting nonprofits because
[4:04] Speaker 1: you already said a shall three hundred thous dollars, A
[4:07] Speaker 1: lot of people just stop listening to this interview.
[4:10] Speaker 2: Yes, prist out, which is.
[4:13] Speaker 1: Right because the fact that you know what your skill
[4:15] Speaker 1: level and what you're trying to do business with people,
[4:17] Speaker 1: you're not trying to do startups, which can be unfortunate.
[4:19] Speaker 1: I'm used to work ahead ache can't create a lot
[4:22] Speaker 1: of drama because there's so many pitfalls that can come
[4:27] Speaker 1: in doing a nonprofit. Even though your heart is in
[4:29] Speaker 1: the right place, is your paoplework in the right place.
[4:32] Speaker 1: So some of the mistakes, Erica.
[4:34] Speaker 3: Some of the mistakes I see is first people have
[4:37] Speaker 3: their family on their board of directors of people that
[4:40] Speaker 3: they didn't vet for the skill set. They did it
[4:43] Speaker 3: because someone said they'll help them. And it's great to
[4:45] Speaker 3: bring a community of people who will help you, but
[4:48] Speaker 3: vet them and make sure that they understand their role
[4:51] Speaker 3: and that they understand their primary job is to be
[4:54] Speaker 3: a fundraiser. A lot of people don't like to fundraise
[4:58] Speaker 3: to get scared and nervous.
[5:00] Speaker 1: So who should you have on your board if you
[5:02] Speaker 1: can't have your family members, Because it's like it's about
[5:05] Speaker 1: people you are on your board that you trust, but
[5:07] Speaker 1: they have to have a certain skill set that you
[5:09] Speaker 1: believe that when you are trying to solicit people for
[5:13] Speaker 1: the board of your nonprofit.
[5:14] Speaker 2: Great question.
[5:15] Speaker 3: I always start with going to organizations that train you
[5:18] Speaker 3: to be on a board. So for example, United Way
[5:21] Speaker 3: of Great Atlanta, they have a VIP program where they
[5:24] Speaker 3: will train people to be on the board and then
[5:26] Speaker 3: you can go to them as a nonprofit to tell
[5:29] Speaker 3: them I'm seeking this type of board member. Legal you
[5:32] Speaker 3: always want someone who's got a legal ego background, someone
[5:35] Speaker 3: who has accounting as the background, someone with the mission
[5:40] Speaker 3: and vision skill, so maybe they have experience working in
[5:43] Speaker 3: domestic violence or homelessness.
[5:45] Speaker 2: They can help you with your program design right.
[5:48] Speaker 3: And then a volunteer coordinator, someone who's experience with working
[5:51] Speaker 3: with volunteers, because your volunteers are your gateway to everything
[5:55] Speaker 3: opening up.
[5:56] Speaker 1: So this is what you do. I'm impressed because of
[5:59] Speaker 1: the fact that you know, I have represented a lot
[6:04] Speaker 1: of celebrities, and I've represented celebrities who've had nonprofits, and
[6:09] Speaker 1: that board was always an issue. What did that board
[6:12] Speaker 1: consist of? And how do I select the members for
[6:17] Speaker 1: the board? And how many members should be.
[6:20] Speaker 2: On the board very key.
[6:22] Speaker 3: I always go with odd numbers five to seven in
[6:25] Speaker 3: a startup because you don't want decisions to get locked
[6:29] Speaker 3: into an even split vote, so an odd number really
[6:32] Speaker 3: helps you with that. I also look for board members
[6:36] Speaker 3: who want to work. I tell them up front you
[6:39] Speaker 3: should be prepared to commit twenty hours a month and
[6:42] Speaker 3: not just on paper. And that sometimes holds back a
[6:45] Speaker 3: great or good to great nonprofit because the board doesn't
[6:50] Speaker 3: really want to put on the work of it. They
[6:52] Speaker 3: just want to, perhaps in their lack of understanding, just
[6:55] Speaker 3: want to go out and meet people.
[6:57] Speaker 1: This resume business resume building look cool. My guess is
[7:00] Speaker 1: the founder and CEO of the nonprofit guru LLC. She
[7:04] Speaker 1: partners was small to mid sized non profits, the strength
[7:07] Speaker 1: and fundraising, board development, and organizational strategy. That's what we're
[7:11] Speaker 1: talking about. Now. We're gonna get back to your schools
[7:14] Speaker 1: in a minute, because I thought it was important that
[7:16] Speaker 1: we separate your skill set and your skill set at
[7:19] Speaker 1: this point is helping people through your nonprofit guru LLC. Now,
[7:27] Speaker 1: grant writing, Lord a mercy. How many people tap me
[7:32] Speaker 1: on the shoulder about grant writing and you have that
[7:34] Speaker 1: skill set at your company, at your nonprofit.
[7:37] Speaker 3: Yes, we get random solicitations all the time, even if
[7:41] Speaker 3: I'm not marketing. Someone knows that this is what I do.
[7:44] Speaker 3: And I get a call and I have a big
[7:46] Speaker 3: heart and a big heart.
[7:48] Speaker 1: But they got to pay for that heart to keep.
[7:50] Speaker 3: Beating, right, I do, I do it, I do and
[7:52] Speaker 3: I've learned that now, thank.
[7:54] Speaker 1: You very much. Yes, Money Making Conversation Master Class Night.
[7:57] Speaker 1: Absolutely charge these people because that's a skills set just
[8:02] Speaker 1: like RFP. You know RFPs. You know people can't fill
[8:05] Speaker 1: out RFPs. That's a skill set you've developed. Grad writing especially,
[8:09] Speaker 1: so many especially in this era where you know the
[8:12] Speaker 1: government has cut back on a lot of federal funding
[8:16] Speaker 1: and so a lot of organizations, whether they are HBCUs,
[8:22] Speaker 1: public radio, are looking for grant writers.
[8:24] Speaker 3: Absolutely, A lot of what I try to do is
[8:28] Speaker 3: teach my clients how to look at what's happening at
[8:30] Speaker 3: a federal level and to pivot their programming, not necessarily
[8:34] Speaker 3: chase the dollar, but make sure it aligns or no
[8:37] Speaker 3: if it doesn't, to have several fundraising strategies so that
[8:41] Speaker 3: you can align with your mission with the right audience.
[8:45] Speaker 3: So that is another area I do see failures that
[8:49] Speaker 3: nonprofits put all of their focus on a grant and
[8:52] Speaker 3: not looking at individual giving, a state, planning in kind donations,
[8:57] Speaker 3: individual giving. Those all matter to make the entire system work.
[9:02] Speaker 1: You've described yourself as a faith driven entrepreneur. What is that?
[9:09] Speaker 3: That is someone who understands that you're walking in your
[9:13] Speaker 3: purpose and that is a gift and don't take it
[9:16] Speaker 3: for granted. I have been in a foster home as
[9:19] Speaker 3: a child, I have experienced a lot of trauma, and
[9:22] Speaker 3: I know my community. We all have our various ways
[9:25] Speaker 3: of experiencing it, but mine turn into a leadership skill
[9:29] Speaker 3: that I muscle. I continue to exercise that muscle so
[9:33] Speaker 3: that I could heal myself, and in doing so, I
[9:36] Speaker 3: was helping others too.
[9:38] Speaker 1: Now you know foster care, You know what exactly is that.
[9:43] Speaker 3: It is a temporary It can be temporary to long
[9:47] Speaker 3: term placement for a child that is displaced from their home,
[9:52] Speaker 3: whether it's with their grandparents. Grandparents can be foster parents,
[9:57] Speaker 3: or it can be with a non relative, someone who's
[10:00] Speaker 3: getting paid as a career to take care of children
[10:03] Speaker 3: who are not with their biological parents.
[10:06] Speaker 1: I'm measure this because see I'm looking at the person
[10:09] Speaker 1: because you when you talk, I just see a happiness
[10:13] Speaker 1: about you. And I say that because it means you're
[10:15] Speaker 1: doing what you want to do. You were, like you said,
[10:18] Speaker 1: your purpose. You are just telling me about your purpose
[10:21] Speaker 1: and it's all tired to helping individuals or nonprofits to
[10:28] Speaker 1: make people's lives or individuals' lives better. That wraps itself
[10:32] Speaker 1: into community. What does community mean to you?
[10:36] Speaker 3: Erica Gwyn, Oh, community, I love these questions, thank you.
[10:41] Speaker 3: Community means to me a system of it varies. Every
[10:47] Speaker 3: community has a personality. So to me, community means accepting
[10:51] Speaker 3: and respecting the people and the organizations, whether that's schools, businesses,
[10:55] Speaker 3: the families, the children, the churches, all of them working
[11:00] Speaker 3: together in an ecosystem for something that will move the
[11:03] Speaker 3: needle forward. Community can look different in College Park to
[11:08] Speaker 3: what the community is in Lilburn. It just is a
[11:11] Speaker 3: matter of connecting dots.
[11:13] Speaker 2: Community.
[11:13] Speaker 3: That's how I envision community is helping everybody not operate
[11:18] Speaker 3: in isolation, but we all working as a partnership to
[11:21] Speaker 3: make something better for a future we won't see.
[11:25] Speaker 1: It is an interesting question. You know there are people
[11:27] Speaker 1: between the ages of eighteen and twenty two. You know,
[11:31] Speaker 1: that's when you really are a dreamer. You're fascinating. You
[11:35] Speaker 1: may think different than your parents' vision or your friend's vision,
[11:40] Speaker 1: and somehow that twenty two you can get off track,
[11:43] Speaker 1: get married, have kids, or you follow the path people
[11:46] Speaker 1: tell you you should go. And when did you find
[11:50] Speaker 1: out your dream and then you locked into it?
[11:54] Speaker 3: When I was nineteen, I was a single mom and college.
[12:00] Speaker 3: I had my oldest son, Cameron, and that next summer
[12:04] Speaker 3: his father passed away. Wow, and I had a big
[12:07] Speaker 3: decision to make. Was I gonna keep staying in school.
[12:10] Speaker 3: I had no parents, My parents were deceased by then,
[12:13] Speaker 3: and I had to look inward for some type of
[12:15] Speaker 3: fuel and passion for bigger than me. And that really
[12:19] Speaker 3: happened when I was nineteen years old. I just decided
[12:22] Speaker 3: that I wasn't going backwards, and I was gonna pull
[12:25] Speaker 3: myself up by my bootstraps. And I started giving back.
[12:29] Speaker 3: I just I didn't know what else to do. I
[12:30] Speaker 3: was hurting myself, and I just said, this doesn't feel
[12:33] Speaker 3: good to just sit here and wallow in my own tears, right,
[12:36] Speaker 3: And I just started giving back to others. And I
[12:38] Speaker 3: loved it. And I just have never known how to
[12:41] Speaker 3: turn it off.
[12:42] Speaker 1: And this was happening all at the University of Georgia.
[12:45] Speaker 3: It happened while I was at the University of Georgia.
[12:47] Speaker 3: I actually did all of the good things that I
[12:50] Speaker 3: did at Georgia after I had my son. Prior to
[12:53] Speaker 3: I was definitely living a fashion a fast freshman life.
[12:57] Speaker 1: Don't feel bad. It took me seven years to graduate
[13:00] Speaker 1: from college. There was a lot of fans in those
[13:02] Speaker 1: four years before I got it right. Okay, so you
[13:05] Speaker 1: you you snapped in place cler than your boy. Okay,
[13:09] Speaker 1: so don't feel bad. Year.
[13:11] Speaker 2: My son is the reason I did faster than.
[13:14] Speaker 1: A blessed, blessing, some stabilized. She changed my life. Yes,
[13:20] Speaker 1: you know when we talk about giving back, because like
[13:24] Speaker 1: I said, I'm talking Erica Gwyn you know, non prophet,
[13:27] Speaker 1: the non profitt guru. She said, her brother called you
[13:30] Speaker 1: the non profit gurul. Why did he say that, I
[13:32] Speaker 1: want to go back to that because something you were
[13:34] Speaker 1: doing that he just went girl, And then you took
[13:37] Speaker 1: it to your business name.
[13:39] Speaker 3: Well, my cousin is an attorney, was known in Atlanta,
[13:43] Speaker 3: and I.
[13:43] Speaker 2: Was Miss Phillips.
[13:45] Speaker 1: He is he a billboard.
[13:49] Speaker 3: Harrington and Phillips and South Fulton, Okay. And I was
[13:53] Speaker 3: clerking as a summer intern. And I thought I wanted
[13:56] Speaker 3: to follow in his footsteps as an attorney. And he
[14:00] Speaker 3: knew that I had been doing this nonprofit thing, and
[14:02] Speaker 3: he just one day told me, like, you're the nonprofit guru.
[14:06] Speaker 2: You're not going to be a lawyer.
[14:07] Speaker 3: And he didn't say it quite that way, but he
[14:09] Speaker 3: definitely told me I was the nonprofit guru. So when
[14:12] Speaker 3: it was time, after doing this a while helping my community,
[14:15] Speaker 3: I said, I think I should ll.
[14:16] Speaker 2: S that there you go and the rest is history.
[14:19] Speaker 1: Rest. So with that being said, before we transition transition
[14:22] Speaker 1: to the schools all your school? How were we get
[14:25] Speaker 1: in touch in regard to the nonprofit.
[14:28] Speaker 3: Gurul Absolutely, you can email me at I have two
[14:32] Speaker 3: Hello at the nonprofit guru dot com or the nonprofit
[14:36] Speaker 3: guru at gmail dot com.
[14:39] Speaker 1: What's the first one?
[14:40] Speaker 2: Hello at the nonprofit guru dot com.
[14:43] Speaker 1: Okay, cool, let's stick with that. Okay, I know, don't
[14:47] Speaker 1: you ever say? Okay? You know, let's talk about what
[14:52] Speaker 1: really brought you in? You heard my show. My show
[14:55] Speaker 1: airs every Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia, Well syndicates to twenty
[14:59] Speaker 1: HB to use nationwide, and my podcast what what invited
[15:04] Speaker 1: you or encouraged you to contact to be a guest
[15:07] Speaker 1: on my show?
[15:08] Speaker 3: Yes, sir, I listened to it for my own inspiration.
[15:11] Speaker 3: I'm a business owner, so I always like to hear
[15:14] Speaker 3: real stories. I don't watch TV.
[15:15] Speaker 2: I can't. I just can't. It bores me.
[15:18] Speaker 3: But when I hear real life people make an impact.
[15:22] Speaker 3: I mean I'm a I'm a nerve for learning. So
[15:25] Speaker 3: I learned from your show, and then I told myself
[15:29] Speaker 3: this year this was my year of Yes.
[15:32] Speaker 2: I know, I have a lot of.
[15:33] Speaker 3: Talent, and I hear you git it, and I decided
[15:36] Speaker 3: that I can't keep doing that, not in this administration.
[15:39] Speaker 1: Don't go anywhere. We will be right back with more
[15:42] Speaker 1: insights from Money Making Conversations master Class. Welcome back to
[15:49] Speaker 1: Money Making Conversation master Class with me Rashaun McDonald.
[15:54] Speaker 2: Somebody needs what I offer.
[15:55] Speaker 1: I would just stop you right there. You are going
[15:57] Speaker 1: to tell you a lot of people sit in this
[15:58] Speaker 1: chair still, people on the big screen, talk to a
[16:02] Speaker 1: lot of people on the phone. You have a glow
[16:04] Speaker 1: about you, an excitement about you that you should like.
[16:10] Speaker 1: You said whatever, whatever hits you on the head and
[16:13] Speaker 1: put you out that door and say it's time. But
[16:16] Speaker 1: don't feel bad. I didn't realize who I was. I
[16:19] Speaker 1: was in my forties. I was just going through life
[16:23] Speaker 1: doing very exceptional things and just taking it for granted.
[16:28] Speaker 1: What make it? Whatdn't make it new? Unique? My wife
[16:31] Speaker 1: she gets mad at me. All you know, you were special,
[16:34] Speaker 1: you know, but it still confuses me why people don't
[16:38] Speaker 1: get what I get. You know, And same thing with you,
[16:41] Speaker 1: and I have to remind you give right, that's a
[16:44] Speaker 1: special gift, okay. The fact that you are have the
[16:47] Speaker 1: patience and the for a tedious community. The way you
[16:52] Speaker 1: rattle off for board positioning was so comfortable that individuals
[16:57] Speaker 1: need to understand the value of it.
[16:59] Speaker 2: Do you have a websit so you're gonna beat me up?
[17:02] Speaker 3: I had a website for the nonprofit girl, and I
[17:05] Speaker 3: pulled it down so you can find me on LinkedIn.
[17:07] Speaker 1: Why I'm just as we're talking about more people to understand.
[17:10] Speaker 1: Why did you make that decision?
[17:11] Speaker 3: I didn't feel that people were ready to do the work.
[17:14] Speaker 3: I'm gonna make sure that I hold you accountable. And
[17:16] Speaker 3: if you want to meet goals, you need someone that's
[17:18] Speaker 3: going to be a coach that's not a yes man.
[17:21] Speaker 3: And I got tired of begging people to let me
[17:23] Speaker 3: show them the right way, because people can do it
[17:27] Speaker 3: their own way and then later come back and want
[17:29] Speaker 3: you to clean it up. And that's a lot more work,
[17:31] Speaker 3: and are not the best use of my time or
[17:33] Speaker 3: the money you need to spend for me to correct it.
[17:37] Speaker 3: So I paused and I pivoted to another skill that
[17:39] Speaker 3: I had, which was children talk about that. Yes, I
[17:44] Speaker 3: started a after school and a summer camp for math
[17:47] Speaker 3: and science. You know I have that son I told
[17:49] Speaker 3: you about that I had in college. I saw that
[17:52] Speaker 3: he wasn't being challenged with the out of school time
[17:56] Speaker 3: with some of the areas. And I started a math
[17:58] Speaker 3: and science summer camp really in his honor.
[18:00] Speaker 1: About the Greece of mathematics. So I feel good about this, okay.
[18:04] Speaker 3: And I wanted Cameron to be able to continue to
[18:08] Speaker 3: thrive because he's got a natural he's a brilliant mind.
[18:11] Speaker 3: He does media now for himself, and he also does
[18:14] Speaker 3: other things, but particularly at this age, he needed somebody
[18:18] Speaker 3: to really just help him understand math and science at
[18:21] Speaker 3: a rudimentary, basic level that also respected him as a
[18:25] Speaker 3: young black boy and not always just trying to write
[18:27] Speaker 3: him up for being in trouble. And some other parents
[18:31] Speaker 3: saw that and I put them in. They asked me
[18:33] Speaker 3: to do a math and science summer camp, and it
[18:36] Speaker 3: grew to three or four locations, and after a while
[18:39] Speaker 3: in the Atlanta.
[18:41] Speaker 1: Area, I just casually said, it grew, you missed a
[18:45] Speaker 1: lot of steps, grew park, you know that, right.
[18:48] Speaker 2: I did it just a parents, and then it grew,
[18:50] Speaker 2: it grew.
[18:51] Speaker 3: I had a demand that we bring it to other
[18:55] Speaker 3: parts of metro Atlanta, so we went to Grant Park
[18:58] Speaker 3: College Park and and then I got I had to
[19:01] Speaker 3: slow down because I started having more children with my husband.
[19:04] Speaker 1: Okay, okay, so you producer.
[19:07] Speaker 2: I did. I started making my own camp work.
[19:10] Speaker 3: And they actually were another model for me to see like, wow,
[19:14] Speaker 3: this world is continually evolved, and some of the evolution
[19:18] Speaker 3: was I needed a year round.
[19:20] Speaker 2: Initiative, okay, from the summer camp. From the summer camp.
[19:23] Speaker 1: And when you say the summer camp, do they still exist?
[19:25] Speaker 2: No? Because I then went to year round model with
[19:28] Speaker 2: the school.
[19:28] Speaker 1: Okay, Well you know you're interested, Okay, you got the
[19:31] Speaker 1: nonprofit guru, then you have to because I think there's
[19:35] Speaker 1: a need for the summer camp separately because a lot
[19:37] Speaker 1: of a lot of people can't do the you know,
[19:40] Speaker 1: the the year round. You know, I'm looking at the
[19:44] Speaker 1: business model because you said that you are a faith
[19:47] Speaker 1: driven entrepreneur. I have to remind you what I read
[19:51] Speaker 1: about you. Okay, So, and it's about business models and
[19:56] Speaker 1: if you're I always tell people if you're if you
[19:58] Speaker 1: are doing something you love era and you can generate
[20:01] Speaker 1: revenue based on it, then it's a blessing, yes, okay.
[20:05] Speaker 1: And so the blessing we're talking about is understanding all
[20:10] Speaker 1: the opportunities that you may be frustrated by or saying
[20:14] Speaker 1: I don't need to do that right now. Okay, we
[20:17] Speaker 1: know there's a profit opportunity. And because you already said
[20:20] Speaker 1: in this era and it's time, that means in your mind,
[20:23] Speaker 1: you know Grant writing.
[20:26] Speaker 2: Yes, I'm locked in.
[20:27] Speaker 1: You're locked in. Okay, Cool, We're not gonna use Gmail
[20:30] Speaker 1: no more.
[20:31] Speaker 2: I don't use it.
[20:33] Speaker 1: Kickstart that website back up.
[20:35] Speaker 2: Yes, today I'm calling my people.
[20:37] Speaker 1: There you go and uh, And I'm not talking to
[20:42] Speaker 1: a crazy person. I'm talking a person who's been frustrated.
[20:45] Speaker 1: But in making I would tell you. I would tell
[20:47] Speaker 1: people you're always gonna be frustrated making money. As you
[20:51] Speaker 1: can ask elon Musk, you can hassle the owner of Oracle.
[20:56] Speaker 1: All the folks are frustrating because they want to make money.
[20:58] Speaker 1: But money is never easy to be made, and it's
[21:02] Speaker 1: never easy to hold on to. Yes, okay, so know
[21:06] Speaker 1: that frustration that any levels are going to exist. Now,
[21:10] Speaker 1: let's talk about this summer school. Explain to me exactly
[21:14] Speaker 1: what that was.
[21:15] Speaker 2: Math and science summer camp.
[21:17] Speaker 1: Eight weeks, eight weeks, eight weeks, eight.
[21:20] Speaker 2: Weeks, and you stopped, and I stopped.
[21:23] Speaker 3: I mean, as a woman business owner, there's many hats
[21:26] Speaker 3: I wear and I also chose to spend time to
[21:29] Speaker 3: nurture my marriage, my children. That's my first job myself. Okay, right,
[21:35] Speaker 3: but the summer camp put.
[21:36] Speaker 1: You're a good multitasker though, I am.
[21:38] Speaker 2: Okay, I'm a great multitasker.
[21:40] Speaker 1: Eight weeks though, eight.
[21:41] Speaker 2: Weeks and every week a different thing.
[21:43] Speaker 1: And so that means that you have to broad your staff,
[21:47] Speaker 1: broad the people you charge, and also budget, yes, so
[21:51] Speaker 1: that you can pay them, pay yourself and keep the
[21:54] Speaker 1: program open. That's the business model.
[21:56] Speaker 2: Yes, and the irs.
[21:59] Speaker 1: They're all come from. Yes, that's why you have the
[22:02] Speaker 1: the ADPs like the paycheck so they can take the
[22:05] Speaker 1: money out pay them so you state of jail.
[22:09] Speaker 2: Yes.
[22:09] Speaker 1: So these are all business models that we're talking about.
[22:12] Speaker 1: So I'm just wanted in this interview, which is about you,
[22:17] Speaker 1: but it's also a discussion of scaling and also not
[22:20] Speaker 1: limited in your future because of the fact that your
[22:24] Speaker 1: son cameeron. Then you made some more camera and so
[22:28] Speaker 1: what is that legacy? Yes, and you're building a legacy
[22:32] Speaker 1: that they can walk into if you do it right. Okay,
[22:36] Speaker 1: Now I know you're building your brand and COVID hit. Yes,
[22:41] Speaker 1: what happened?
[22:42] Speaker 2: Well, I came in as the own.
[22:44] Speaker 3: I bought a preschool that was already existing, had been
[22:47] Speaker 3: there for thirty years in Gwennett County called Seven Oaks Academy.
[22:51] Speaker 3: And the school I saw was a diamond in a rough.
[22:53] Speaker 3: I know a diamond in a rough one I see
[22:55] Speaker 3: one because I seen them all the time, whether it
[22:57] Speaker 3: was my own school experiences. But I came to the
[23:00] Speaker 3: school and I knew that it needed something more that
[23:03] Speaker 3: summer camp model that I had. I saw twelve year
[23:06] Speaker 3: olds at a daycare with a six week old, and
[23:09] Speaker 3: I said, this is not right. These twelve year olds
[23:11] Speaker 3: need to be engaged differently. So one of the first
[23:14] Speaker 3: things I did is I really scaled down to what
[23:17] Speaker 3: were we known for, and that was preschool. So I
[23:20] Speaker 3: got rid of the older kids model and focused on
[23:24] Speaker 3: cradle to pre k Okay to me, if our school
[23:28] Speaker 3: was known for that, then we need to make sure
[23:30] Speaker 3: we make sure that these kids are ready for kindergarten
[23:33] Speaker 3: when they met my campus.
[23:34] Speaker 1: Wow.
[23:35] Speaker 3: And that has been our model since then, since twenty nineteen,
[23:38] Speaker 3: and now I'm in a season of bringing back those
[23:41] Speaker 3: bigger kids after school.
[23:42] Speaker 2: Is what we're starting with.
[23:44] Speaker 3: And I think someone is telling me that I need
[23:46] Speaker 3: to revisit that summer camp and bring it back as well.
[23:49] Speaker 1: You got to, You got to because of the one
[23:52] Speaker 1: thing is that that summertime is always a dangerous time
[23:56] Speaker 1: for camps. You know. I remember when I was growing up,
[23:59] Speaker 1: I had all those programs that they do the wrong
[24:01] Speaker 1: way and got rid of to see the program all
[24:04] Speaker 1: up with bound program, all these programs that kept me
[24:07] Speaker 1: out of game. You know, put a lawnmower in my
[24:09] Speaker 1: hand or something kept me busy, and then it kept
[24:13] Speaker 1: me structured and so. But also I didn't have academia
[24:17] Speaker 1: opportunities like you, because that's what there's a lot of.
[24:20] Speaker 1: It's a lot of our major companies around this business.
[24:23] Speaker 1: I remember my daughter when she damaged to her knee and
[24:27] Speaker 1: couldn't play professional tennis, she had to go to these
[24:29] Speaker 1: little tutoring locations. I won't mention their name, but I
[24:33] Speaker 1: don't need to mention their name. They make a lot
[24:34] Speaker 1: of money. And that's what you could be doing with
[24:37] Speaker 1: your with your camps. You know, these summer camps where
[24:41] Speaker 1: it become prep camps for SATs or acts or just
[24:46] Speaker 1: kids advancing the knowledge. I see nothing because see my
[24:53] Speaker 1: whole purpose, I always tell people, if I give you
[24:55] Speaker 1: an idea and you made a million dollars, then I've
[24:58] Speaker 1: done my dog because it's it's not my idea, it's
[25:01] Speaker 1: not my blessing. I can't do what you can do
[25:04] Speaker 1: your skills set that have been nurtured. It is within
[25:07] Speaker 1: you the ability to grow to the next level. Now
[25:11] Speaker 1: you have your students that what is the size of
[25:15] Speaker 1: a school and how many students are you nurturing right
[25:18] Speaker 1: now in your program?
[25:19] Speaker 3: Yes, so we're licensed for one hundred and twenty three
[25:23] Speaker 3: and I have learned though I have scaled my model
[25:26] Speaker 3: to boutique to go smaller. But it means that it's
[25:29] Speaker 3: more expensive too for your everyday family considering, but their
[25:33] Speaker 3: incentives to that for families that are looking for a
[25:35] Speaker 3: private school education for their little one Montessori right Montessori particularly,
[25:40] Speaker 3: you know, like, let's go back to our federal conversation.
[25:43] Speaker 3: You look at the trends federally, so I'm not necessarily
[25:46] Speaker 3: a fan of what's happening in the world, but I
[25:49] Speaker 3: looked at the big beautiful bill and I saw that
[25:51] Speaker 3: there was an opportunity for families to get a tax
[25:54] Speaker 3: right off when they invest in early learning education.
[25:56] Speaker 1: See, let me tell you something. See, you gonna be
[25:59] Speaker 1: one of my favorite gifts. Because see when she woke
[26:01] Speaker 1: out this building, money made conversations change your life.
[26:04] Speaker 2: Wow. And so we make sure that our family.
[26:09] Speaker 1: She went cussing the big she read.
[26:11] Speaker 3: The build and said, what can this do for my community?
[26:15] Speaker 3: My client that wants what I'm offering. And so our
[26:18] Speaker 3: rates are not what you would find at a daycare,
[26:21] Speaker 3: but it's an investment into your child's future that you
[26:24] Speaker 3: may not have to pay for college if you do
[26:27] Speaker 3: these things on the front end. And then I have
[26:29] Speaker 3: experience on the other side. So we do parent education
[26:32] Speaker 3: to show them how like when I worked at Spelman,
[26:34] Speaker 3: our Bonna scholars had a full ride in college for
[26:38] Speaker 3: a volunteering scholarship. Like when you volunteer in your community,
[26:41] Speaker 3: you turn that into dollars that could pay for your
[26:43] Speaker 3: child's education.
[26:44] Speaker 2: So my families.
[26:45] Speaker 3: Aren't just getting the preschool, they're getting a cradle to
[26:49] Speaker 3: college pipeline if they lock in and can be a
[26:52] Speaker 3: good learner themselves.
[26:53] Speaker 1: Now you have a website for this pro I do. Okay,
[26:56] Speaker 1: what's the name of.
[26:56] Speaker 3: This Sevenoaks Academy dot org. Okay, the words seven spelled.
[27:01] Speaker 1: Out right now. And here's a beautiful thing about on
[27:04] Speaker 1: your website. Yes, we're driving people to your website. We're
[27:09] Speaker 1: asking people to visit your website. What are they getting
[27:12] Speaker 1: when they go to your website?
[27:13] Speaker 3: They are getting well. We have some unique benefits that
[27:16] Speaker 3: we offer. We have an on site professional chef, so
[27:19] Speaker 3: you're getting great nutrition because what you put in is
[27:21] Speaker 3: what you're going to get out. We have a small
[27:24] Speaker 3: class website. Absolutely, you have a small class ratio so
[27:29] Speaker 3: that your child is seen as one of one. You're
[27:31] Speaker 3: going to see diversity in our school from the educators
[27:35] Speaker 3: to the team to the students. You're going to have
[27:37] Speaker 3: three natural, beautiful playgrounds where kids can explore, blossom and sear.
[27:43] Speaker 3: And more importantly, you get an amazing director and owner
[27:47] Speaker 3: who's passionate about children being ready for the next level
[27:50] Speaker 3: when they graduate from my program.
[27:52] Speaker 1: That's Erica Gwyn.
[27:53] Speaker 2: That's Erica Erica.
[27:54] Speaker 1: Okay are you are you are? Is it a waiting list?
[27:59] Speaker 3: We have a for our infant classroom, our toddler classroom
[28:03] Speaker 3: we still have we have a few spaces available, and
[28:06] Speaker 3: then we also just opened our primary classroom, which is
[28:08] Speaker 3: ages three to six, and we hired a reading specialist
[28:12] Speaker 3: for those students that may have dyslexia or learning disabilities,
[28:15] Speaker 3: I like to call them new or divergent, meaning a
[28:17] Speaker 3: diversity of ways that children learn, because there's no disability
[28:21] Speaker 3: that sounds like negative tone. Instead, we find children for
[28:25] Speaker 3: what their abilities are and we are teaching to that standard.
[28:28] Speaker 3: So I have a reading specialist that can also help
[28:30] Speaker 3: if you don't want to enroll or can't enroll full.
[28:33] Speaker 1: Time Seven Oaks Academy, Montresoril. Yes, nonprofit Guru LLLC. Now
[28:41] Speaker 1: I've never said this to a person or who's set
[28:44] Speaker 1: in that chair. What do your takeaway from this interview
[28:47] Speaker 1: where you walk out this store.
[28:49] Speaker 2: I have three takeaways.
[28:51] Speaker 3: One is to be an action taker, because if I
[28:53] Speaker 3: don't receive the message that's coming to me, then that's
[28:56] Speaker 3: shame on me. Two two is that I also am happy.
[29:05] Speaker 3: I don't necessarily know that outwardly that I show it,
[29:08] Speaker 3: but I am. I'm in a very good place with
[29:10] Speaker 3: where I'm in business, where I am in my family,
[29:13] Speaker 3: and where I am in my legacy. And then the
[29:16] Speaker 3: third thing is I would say making sure that I
[29:20] Speaker 3: market and advertise and brand myself accordingly so people can
[29:24] Speaker 3: find the things that I offer.
[29:26] Speaker 1: Branding is key because what I just saw that speech
[29:30] Speaker 1: you just gave me. If I had a kid, I'm
[29:33] Speaker 1: running them up over there fast because you said all
[29:36] Speaker 1: the things I want and I feared when I dropped
[29:39] Speaker 1: my child off. You know, I don't fear that. That
[29:42] Speaker 1: that's important, and I think that people want to hear that.
[29:46] Speaker 1: The diversity and the fact that you know, I always
[29:49] Speaker 1: tell people there are two sides of every coin. You know,
[29:51] Speaker 1: you can look at the president administration and throw your
[29:55] Speaker 1: fingers up or your one finger up and run out
[29:57] Speaker 1: of the room. All you can say, how can I
[29:58] Speaker 1: work with this?
[29:59] Speaker 2: Yes?
[30:00] Speaker 1: Is there planing for some other for us? They're a
[30:02] Speaker 1: plan for me? Or is there a financial opportunity I
[30:05] Speaker 1: can share with other people so they can see the benefit.
[30:07] Speaker 1: And that's what you did, and you didn't. You know,
[30:10] Speaker 1: we're always going to be frustrated. There's never going to
[30:13] Speaker 1: be a perfect lane for us to enjoy our life
[30:16] Speaker 1: the way we want to. We all have to figure
[30:19] Speaker 1: out how to enjoy life that's being presented to us.
[30:22] Speaker 1: As you wrap this conversation up, what is the future
[30:25] Speaker 1: of child care, especially with AI?
[30:27] Speaker 3: Yes, you know, with AI, I actually do integrate AI.
[30:33] Speaker 3: Montessori has some very high level materials that you have
[30:37] Speaker 3: to have a deep training on. With AI, I said,
[30:40] Speaker 3: I could cut two years of training, take a picture
[30:42] Speaker 3: of a child working with the material and explain it
[30:45] Speaker 3: to a parent so they can continue it at home
[30:47] Speaker 3: and continue that discipline that the child needs for being
[30:50] Speaker 3: a good student. AI also helps me with a lot
[30:53] Speaker 3: of things where I used to hire a lot of staff,
[30:56] Speaker 3: even in the Philippines, instead of hiring team in the Philippines,
[31:00] Speaker 3: I can hire one team member and execute through some
[31:02] Speaker 3: AI employees and a lot of the comments and repeat
[31:05] Speaker 3: deliverables that I think. So I find the technology technology
[31:09] Speaker 3: to be a friend in my business, and I'm not
[31:11] Speaker 3: afraid to keep learning. And I think that's what has
[31:14] Speaker 3: helped me to get to where we are.
[31:17] Speaker 1: Well. I think that you've helped me understand that what
[31:22] Speaker 1: I do has a purpose. You know, I don't know
[31:26] Speaker 1: what I do. Erica impacts anybody. I tell my staff
[31:30] Speaker 1: that I believe that every day we turn on the lights,
[31:34] Speaker 1: we're changing somebody's life to it. There's a certain level
[31:37] Speaker 1: of responsibility that we have to deliver quality, to control, consistency,
[31:43] Speaker 1: honest information, vetted information, as much as we can. I
[31:47] Speaker 1: always encourage anybody who to hear something to vett it
[31:50] Speaker 1: out themselves. But what I do get mostly is what
[31:56] Speaker 1: I'm seeing right here, a person who don't understand how
[32:00] Speaker 1: value but they are to this world. Wow, and you
[32:03] Speaker 1: are a super You are a superpower. Okay, sending the
[32:07] Speaker 1: sending this chair across from me, And don't you ever
[32:10] Speaker 1: forget that? And uh, one more time for that website,
[32:14] Speaker 1: Yes for both locations and how we can get touched.
[32:16] Speaker 3: Yes, for the nonprofit Guru LLC. You can find me
[32:19] Speaker 3: at Hello at the Nonprofitguru dot com. Seven Oaks Academy, Montssory,
[32:24] Speaker 3: you can find me at Sevenoaksacademy dot org. And that's
[32:28] Speaker 3: the word seven spelled out Oaks Academy dot org.
[32:31] Speaker 1: And one more time. When they go to that website,
[32:33] Speaker 1: what they gonna see.
[32:34] Speaker 3: You're gonna see a beautiful small class ratios where your
[32:38] Speaker 3: child is treated one of one. You're gonna have chef
[32:40] Speaker 3: prepared meals. I didn't talk about the therapy we offer
[32:43] Speaker 3: on site therapy, and I have cameras in the classroom
[32:46] Speaker 3: that parents can see in live, real action.
[32:54] Speaker 1: I'm through with you.
[32:55] Speaker 2: I would love this interview.
[32:57] Speaker 1: If you don't start telling the world how great you are,
[33:01] Speaker 1: I won't be mad at you.
[33:02] Speaker 2: You won't be mad. I'm taking action. I'm a fast learner.
[33:06] Speaker 1: Thank you for coming on Money Making Conversations Master Class. Quinn.
[33:10] Speaker 2: Yes, it's been my pleasure. Thank you. I'm sorry, Thank y'all.
[33:17] Speaker 1: This has been Money Making Conversations Masterclass with Rashawn McDonald
[33:22] Speaker 1: thanks to I guess and our audience. Visit Moneymakingconversations dot
[33:26] Speaker 1: com to listen and register to be a guest.

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