Kyle: Mr. Matthews! I’m very excited about this conversation. Let’s go ahead and get started. Can you tell us about yourself?
Mr. Matthews: That’s such an open ended question. Where do I begin? I am a 3 time author, public speaker, real estate developer and just kind of a modern day renaissance man. In a nutshell I kind of grew up knowing the importance of having multiple streams of income and I am equivalently the modern day Renaissance man with interest in several different sectors so you can’t put me in a box.
Kyle: Absolutely, that’s awesome. I definitely want to come back to your real estate background later. For now, can you tell us what your journey as an entrepreneur has been like?
Mr. Matthews: It’s been tough, I won’t lie and sugar coat it. I am the proud product of parents who are entrepreneurs so I witnessed it first hand. I saw the sleepless nights, the agony, the not knowing when the next check was coming but it is also rewarding in the same way. My parents really encouraged me to work for someone else. They wanted me to work for someone else to have that experience when I decided to work for myself. I am so happy that I did that.
My first business is corporate event planning. I would do corporate events for different organizations and companies in the city while working a full time job. My company, called RSVP, focused on the corporate market and did very well. So, all in all, it has been a lot of hard work, but it’s also been rewarding at the same time. It has led to other opportunities which I’m sure we’ll speak on a little bit later.
Kyle: So, you stated that you started with corporate events. You took the time to perfect that one niche before expanding your horizon. Can you kind of talk about why that’s important? A lot of entrepreneurs try to do every single thing right now instead of just focusing on one thing.
Mr. Matthews: Absolutely! I think it’s important for people that are starting out to find your niche. Find your lane and stick to it instead of trying to do everything. I think it is so important for entrepreneurs and people who decide to open up a business to find your audience and market. No one says you have to stick in that lane forever but while you’re starting out it’s so important to kind of stick to that one thing. When I first started, I was working with family and friends. Now, I am working with fortune 500 clients. My advice is for you to stay in your lane, find your audience, perfect that and I promise you that the business, opportunities, and referrals will come.
Kyle: Absolutely! I am definitely learning that you need to be a professional lane stayer as my dad used to say. So, let’s expand on that and get into our main topic of generational wealth. In your own words, can you define generational wealth? Like what’s your thought process on that?
Mr. Matthews: Well my thought process is that it’s needed and is long overdue in the black and brown community. We know that our story, our upbringing, our history is very different from our counterparts. While white people were building wealth, black people and brown people were fighting for equality and rights. We started the game very late, we were already minus 10 when the game hadn’t even started.
I think it’s so important to talk about generational wealth at the kitchen table or even in the car. I think African Americans have done a tremendous job of being very rooted into the church. We have a sense of community and culture which Is great but there are certain discussions that we don’t have at the dinner table. I think that it’s so important to talk about generational wealth in families because it really sets up that next generation where they don’t have to struggle and be as hard as the previous generation.
I am so fortunate that I come from a family where financial literacy and generational wealth was discussed at the dinner table. I am also very fortunate that my heroes and my role models weren’t on televisions, the radio, or in magazines. They walked through my front door every day. My mission in life is to spread the gospel for black and brown people to know that we can break generational curses and that we can prosper and grow.
Kyle: Absolutely! It’s refreshing to talk about generational wealth with someone who understands the responsibility of it. That’s really what it is, it is a responsibility that we have to each other as a culture. To really spread that message of financial responsibility. I don’t want you to give us the whole bag because I understand that you have a whole bag of chips. Can you share a few tips on how we as a culture can improve financial responsibility?
Mr. Matthews: Yes, it’s simple things such as checking your credit, saving money, and living below your means. Budget! I started a budget when I was 26 years old. Those simple things are so easy. There are also many non-profits that are in your area that offer free services to help people. There’s so many things that you can do if you want to make that change. Having an accountability partner is one of the biggest things I believe is a tip that I can share with you. Have that partner, and look at it as the same way of losing weight or gaining weight, whatever your story might be. It didn’t start overnight, so you can’t just fix it overnight. So many people get discouraged when they look at their credit report like “oh my god my credit is horrible and this is just so disgusting,” I always will tell people your credit didn’t get messed up overnight so you can’t fix it overnight. If you put on the quarantine 20 or 30 during this pandemic, it didn’t happen overnight so therefore you can’t lose it overnight, understand? It’s the same thing for whatever type of goal that you are trying to do so you have to be diligent with it, you have to slow cook it as I would say. Everything can’t be put in the microwave, some things are better just slow cooked so that you can enjoy the process afterwards.
Kyle: Absolutely, that’s a whole bar! One of your quotes is that too many people spend money that they earn, to buy things that they don’t want to impress people that they don’t like.
Mr. Matthews: Oh, you’ve done your research okay! You’ve done your research.
Kyle: Absolutely, we research over here.
Mr. Matthews: Yeah, I think so many people are trying to keep up with the Joneses when the Joneses can barely pay their bills. And I talk about this in my financial literacy book that I wrote a few years ago. I always tell people you’ve got to crawl before you walk. When I first purchased my first house it was in an undesirable neighborhood. A lot of my friends looked at me like, “why in the world are you moving into that neighborhood?” Well the answer was easy, because my mortgage was $445 a month.
So while you’re living over there in the cookie cutter neighborhood you’re paying 4x more than what I’m paying. So, I’m paying this mortgage of $445 a month and I’m pocketing the rest of my money in my savings. Then the rest of it I’m taking across the Atlantic going to Europe on vacation. Questions?
Kyle: Wow!
Mr. Matthews: You know?
Kyle: That’s real. I couldn’t agree more. Your bio states that you always dreamed of success as a young boy. How differently do you view success now that you are grown?
Mr. Matthews: Good question, good question. And I think it’s going back to the quote ‘success to me means happiness’. Success will mean different things to different people, I am very clear about that. I believe in standing in my truth so my definition of it might be completely different from yours or the person that you were just on the phone with. I think that it’s really important for everyone to define happiness and success. So success for me is happiness. Being content and pleased with where I am and what I’m doing.
Kyle: Absolutely!. So, you are a bestselling author and you wrote a book called ‘Everything I needed to Know about Corporate America’. Without telling us everything that’s in the book, can you tell us a little about it?
Mr. Matthews: Man, that is a really good question. This is the book that I wished someone would have handed me when I walked across the stage and graduated from college. I hit on the importance of a mentor/mentee relationship, I talk about systematic racism, and I share my own personal stories of things that I have dealt with as it relates to race relations in the office. Also, how to go and request the raise. Essential items that every corporate American man and woman should have in their closet. How to look good on a budget and how to network.
Kyle: Wow, that’s absolutely awesome. Where can our readers purchase this book and find out more about you?
Mr. Matthews: Yes, my website williamsmatthews.com and then that is how you can really find me on all social media channels @williamsmatthews. My books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble as well.
Kyle: Awesome! Please give the people something inspirational before we head out.
Mr. Matthews: Well 2 things, for 1. I have been really big over the past few years of telling people that comfort and growth do not go together. So the moments that you are feeling uncomfortable, know that, that’s growth. Lastly, I just believe in people staying in their lanes and staying in their truth. So be confident in who you are and the rooms you go in. Know that you have a right to be there. Stand comfortable and in pride with who you are. So those are my two quotes for the day as I drop the mic.
Kyle: I love it, I love it. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview!
