​Back in February of this year, I had the pleasure to attend a lecture by Martin Atkins titled Punk Rock Entrepreneurship at the 2112 incubator space in the north side of Chicago. At first, I had no idea what the lecture was going to be about except about entrepreneurship and something about punk rock. I didn’t even know who Martin Atkins was, but I attended because I am open to hearing others talk about entrepreneurship and 2112 was hosting the event. Martin Atkins is an English drummer and session musician. He is an entrepreneur, record label owner, and teaches at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois.
 
Martin’s lecture was refreshing, and in this post, I am going to discuss the three things I got from the lecture. The first put a connection to your product. Second, own your content. The third, start more than one business.
 
Martin’s first point in the lecture is to put a connection to your product. Martin was against using fulfillment processes such as Amazon because customers won’t feel a connection to the product. He discussed a story about how he used to deliver his products which would take 6 to 8-week delivery process and was taking up too much of his time. He decided to go through the fulfillment process to free up time. At first, Martin enjoyed that he no longer had to deliver the order, but then customers complained about not getting the personal touch that Martin had on the product delivery. Martin went back to delivering the products himself.
 
The second point is owning your content is highly important especially for artists. Another point Martin makes in this section is differentiated yourself from the crowd. With so many artists out in the world it's important to be different and make sure people notice how different you are as an artist. Martin explained the important nine points that every artist needs to make in their work: sign it, title it, date it, number it, explain it, place in a larger context, fame it, document it, list the ingredients.
 
The last point and this one caused back and forth discussion with the audience is start more than one business. Martin is not just the owner of a record label but also has his own coffee, sells merchandise, teaches, and publishes. Opening up one business is hard enough but opening up multiple companies is a challenge. However, Martin did make sense when saying owning multiple businesses opens up new opportunities and more revenue streams.
 
When deciding on a business Martin said to look at old things and make them new again, write a book, write a course and sell it, and sell merchandise. One business idea he threw out was a travel agency for rock bands. Although there are multiple sites for traveling, does a band have time to set up all the traveling logistics or what happens when the band misses a flight?
 
21st technology has never been greater. An individual with no name today can be a superstar tomorrow with just the click of a button and drive to be better. But starting a business is more than just clicking a button and recording. Martin’s points on punk rock entrepreneurship are valid and need to considered when launching a business: connect to your product, own your content, and start more than one business.

In my latest Vlog I will show you how to properly use google maps to save you money so you don't make the same mistakes I did when I traveled for conferences. 

Over my years of attending conferences throughout the U.S., I learned a few financial lessons some of which cost me big time money and others saved me money. Now I am sharing these lessons that I’ve been using every time I travel to a conference. 
 
Here are highlights that I go over in my vlog. 

• Google map the location of the conference and see all of the hotels/motels near the location.
• I take all measures to consideration such as car distance, walking distance and public transportation from the hotel to the conference venue.  Even if you have a car with you, you still have to consider parking and gas.
• Is a hotel cheaper or Airbnb? Even if the Airbnb is cheaper sometimes the location is too far and not worth it because you'll have to spend on public transportation or taxi (Uber) to get there.
• Share a room with a same gender colleague to save some money. Remember your only in your room to sleep and shower not chill and relax. Remember you're trying to save money.

 
If you can afford it or get it paid just stay at the hotel of the venue, much more convenient, safer, and less hassle. If that’s not in the budget then take the following points I made in the vlog into consideration and if you still don’t like the price than just don’t go you’ll save more money by not going.

When I was a college undergraduate, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter were still in their infancy. (MySpace actually ruled the day!) At that time, I had no idea what it meant to promote myself online—and trying to get a handle on it was difficult.
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I wasn’t much better at promoting myself in person, either. I didn’t attend any networking events until I was on the verge of graduating from college. And that in itself was later than usual because I had already decided to attend graduate school in Oklahoma.

​Read more www.saltmoney.org/content/media/Blog/every-worker-must-promote-expertise/_/R-101-27989

​Let's ring in the new year by improving your savings habit by joining me in the 52-week savings challenge.

All you need to do is start saving $1 week and continue to add a $1 each week for 52 weeks.

If you follow the challenge by the end of the year you should have $1,378 saved. 

Keep up with me and tell me about your journey by using #mrjrealtalk on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 


https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/build-a-52-week-savings-plan-with-the-52-week-money-challenge/#slide=1

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Check out my special guest appearance on the Engineering a Startup podcast. 

The following was taken directly from the Engineering a Startup podcast website. 

Engineering a startup is a podcast that tells the stories of people who build things, people who change things, and people who start things. Learn what it takes to make it from people that eat, sleep, live and breathe startups.

Jose was a university student excited about entrepreneurship when he joined a biotech startup, ready to execute an exit strategy and become a millionaire, until the founder refused to sign his ownership papers and showed him the door. His perspective on entrepreneurship has changed since then, but his passion hasn’t.

Jose Fulgencio is the founder of LDMS media, and educational media and technology startup. He is deeply entrenched in education, as a student, a teacher, and entrepreneur, and has lots of interesting insights on the future of education, and why he thinks students shouldn’t be paying $300 for textbooks.

Jose’s dream originally was to be a political science professor, until he took a course in entrepreneurship, and has never looked back. He’s been through some of the lowest lows of entrepreneurship, but hasn’t given up, and that’s what really makes him inspiring.

I had the opportunity to attend the 2017 Consumer Federation of America (CFA) annual financial services conference in Washington D.C. The sessions included financial services for lower-income households, the future of payday lending, student loan scandals, credit scoring models, fintech, and fiduciary rule just to name. I will touch on several of the sessions I attended and what you can do in your community to help spread the knowledge. 

Payday Lending
Payday lending has been a hot topic in the financial services field. There are numerous stories of individuals falling into the payday lending trap such as taking a $2500 loan turning into a $50,000 debt. States have started to act against payday lenders, but the problem continues with payday lenders pushing the federal government to protect their business.

However, credit unions have been taking action with offering similar loans without the excessive interest rate and limit on the times a loan can be taken out. Financial institutions such as credit unions can help the general public by offering loans at low interest, limit on amount borrowed, and the number of times a loan can be issued to the individual 

Student Loans
The American consumer is facing a tremendous crisis with student loans. It is not just the typical college graduating with $50,000 in student loan debt now we are including parents and grandparents carrying student loan debt from co-signing on a student loan.

Jeff Herwitz from the Associated Press commented on the crisis by saying, "the U.S. Department is a big pool of loans" and I don't doubt the comment about the U.S. Department of Education.

The current presidential administration is putting restrictions on students loans forgiven who were defrauded by for-profit institutions. 

Credit Scores
An invisible credit person is the person does not have any credit score at any of the three top credit bureaus (e.g., Experian, Equifax, TransUnion). A growing number of millennial students are credit-invisible, and it is becoming a problem because such individuals are finding it difficult to rent an apartment or purchase a vehicle without having a co-signer and even car insurance rates are being based off on credit score.

​To generate a credit score an individual needs to have a minimum of three tradelines which includes installment credit (e.g., student loan), revolving credit (e.g., credit card), and open credit (e.g., home utility bill) and it take a minimum of six months to establish credit. 

Payday lending is bad, student loans are pushing marriages further down, and recent college students are becoming the new credit invisible. The conference had informative information, and now it is the duty of financial institutions, educators, reporters, and community leaders to educate people when it comes to financial issues and financially empowers them for the future. 

How will you become financially empowered? 

​I agree with Amin Rajan’s Nov 6, 2017, opinion piece in the Financial Times that “individuals have to spend less, save more, save early and retire late,” that there need to be real-life case scenarios along with fun-inspired simulations in financial literacy curriculum. However, saving more sounds more like a cliché rather than an actual way of living. In a recent study by the Student Loan Hero, 44.2 million American have student loan debt, and family households have on average $5,000 saved up. How can individuals dealing with student debt or working past retirement save more? Or spend less when the costs of living continue to rise, and wages remain stagnant.
 
Financial literacy curriculum focused on fantasy budget savings tips and saving for family vacations are no longer suffice when college students are graduating with high student loan debts, and elders are working Walmart jobs to make ends meet.
 
I am not here to denigrate financial literacy curriculum but what I am here to say is that financial literacy curriculum needs to match real-life scenarios with individuals just as Amin Rajan suggested. The scenarios have to deal with individuals who are dealing with school loan debt, elders working until they can no longer walk anymore, and households coping with zero net-worth so we can advocate “spend less, save more, save early and retire late.”
 
Does “spend less, save more, save early and retire late” resonate with your financial lifestyle?  

​Last week I had the privilege of attending Chicago Ideas Week for the first time. Chicago Ideas Week held in October where events are held all across Downtown Chicago to bring people together to share ideas and spark innovation in their community. Events included conversations, labs, and talks.  Thanks to an excellent discount from the Chicago Latino Network I was able to attend several events at a discount and even a free lab from a Twitter giveaway. Let me tell you what I learned from my events. 

Financial services for the common good 
The first event I attended was a FinTech conversation titled, "Innovating for good: How can FinTech use technology to change the way that we use financial services?" The event included companies such as TipYourself, Pangea, and MoneyThink. MoneyThink helps the first generation low-income students were instead of email they communicate via text messaging. Tip Yourself was an app used to tip yourself on a goal you are trying to reach such as saving up for a car, vacation, or whatever you desire. All of the companies are making financial services a benefit to society, not a burden. 

Edelman Lab - Cultural Influences Shape on-Demand Brand Positioning 
If you were ever wondering what the growth trends are in society, then look no more than the Google Trends website, (trends.google.com). The Lab had participants engaged in a beauty product case study to determine where resources should focus on for trends in the market. The information was helpful in learning about trends and how agencies help companies identify trends that are beneficial to the companies customers. 
 
Solving customers pains 
The Lean Canvas workshop was helpful in finding the right product for the right market fit. The overall night focused on getting the right customer who has a big problem and willing to pay you to solve the problem. Participants went through several activities to get at who is the specific customer, their pains, and who we plan to address those pains. 

_________________ solve their ____________________ problem
(Potential Segment)                   (Hypothesize Problem)

Producing a commercial via phone
Univision hosted a lab titled, "produce a commercial with your mobile phone," which I found helpful and wish I knew a year ago. The lab provided apps that can help with filming and editing videos. Apps mentioned included iMovie, FilmoraGo, Quik, Viva Video, Splice, InShot. The activity consisted of filming a short commercial for a clock to practice storyboarding, filming, and editing. After the lab, I started to shoot my vlogs using my iPhone and using FilmoraGo as my editing tool, and you can see the difference yourself. 

Radio at it's best 
The last session of the week was titled, "Be the DJ at iHeartMedia." I didn't get to do much except learn what goes on behind the radio scenes and how cutthroat the radio industry can be for radio personalities. Our group did get a live radio shout-out by V103 but other than that not much on hands experience. I was expecting that we could try to be on the radio and announce the upcoming song or make a live conversation. 

Overall, Chicago Ideas Week was a way to get my face out in the market, learn from industry experts, and take ideas that I can use for my business. What did you take away from the 2017 Chicago Ideas Week? 

​Clothes shopping can be a hassle for men especially when not knowing the right way to mix and match suits with ties, blazers with shoes, or knowing what to wear to your friend's wedding. 
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As an avid consumer of clothes, I don’t like to pay the whole price unless I have to because the clothing is necessary. Shopping for clothes does not have to be a hassle and let me give you three places to get deals on clothes

Online Stores
Online stores like Groupon, overstock.com, and Amazon are convenient to get your shopping needs done. Overstock, you can get your suits, shirts, pants, shoes, and accessories all in one site with sales going on all the time.  Groupon can be a hit or miss at times. I bought a pair of suites from Groupon and fitted me well and still are holding strong after three years of wearing them. However, I do warn of getting on the email listserve because you will get tempted to shop all the time. Amazon provides great choices in accessories and suit selection. Before shopping online for a suite make sure you know your measurements and be ready to take your suits to a tailor to get it fitted correctly. 

Discount Stores
There is nothing wrong with shopping at places like T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, Burlington Coat Factory, or Ross. The bulk of my clothes come from such stores, and I am not ashamed of shopping at such stores. I once bought an Express blazer for $50 at T.J. Maxx and a NorthFace sweater for a whole heck lot cheaper than the original price. To get the best stuff from these stores find out when the new shipment of clothes comes in and be one of the first. Name brand clothing doesn't last that long at discount stores. And don’t forget to check out the clearance racks you might find something of value. 

Clearance Racks
Every time I walk into a major department store I go to the sales/discount/clearance rack to find deals. I have been fortunate enough to find amazing brands at cheap low prices by looking at the clearance racks. I will warn to try on the clothes and look for any damages to the clothes because there's a reason why some of the clothes are on the clearance racks. 

When it comes to suits, get your measurements from a tailor before shopping online. Have fun and look for the best deals. 

How do you do your clothes shopping for the best prices? 

​Creating a budget is easy but maintain a budget can be a challenge. A person no longer has to create a budget using an excel spreadsheet because there is an increasing amount of budgeting apps available such as Mint and You Need a Budget. However, creating a budget with no goal, realistic mindset, or picking what works for you is as useless as signing up for a gym membership and not knowing what to do. When creating a budget no matter if it's on an app or excel spreadsheet follow these rules.
 
Set goals
Without setting goals, you cannot achieve anything. You have to set goals or else you’ll lose motivation for maintaining a budget. Goals can range from paying off $10,000 in credit card debt, saving for a down payment on a house, or saving for a vacation trip. Without setting goals in your budget you run the risk of spending what you don't have and not managing correctly, which can be the cause of severe credit card debt. 
 
Be realistic
Saving for a brand new Mercedes Benz in one year when you’re only making $35,000 is not realistic. A realistic budget consists of living within one's means and saving for something that is within purchasing power. When I budgeted my money to pay off my credit card debt I was realistic and knowing that it would not be paid off within one year. I gave my self at the very least three years if not less. I accomplished my goal of paying off $10,000 of debt in 41 months because I was realistic.
 
Pick what works best for you
Everyone has their secret recipe for what works best. You have to decide what works best for you. For me having a budget app and writing things down on paper helps me budget my money. There are hundreds of ways to budget your money and each one may have own benefits. Listen to what others budget methods but use what works best for your needs and wants. it's

Starting a budget is easy but maintaining one can be a challenge. Do not lose sight of your money and be aware of your expenses. Spending $3.45 every day on a cup of coffee can add up without even realizing and affect your budget.
 
So how do you budget your money?