Michael Mathews: Investing for success and investing in life

Editor @ Global Man April 16, 2018 No Comments

Michael Mathews:

Investing for success and investing in life

Michael Mathews is the co-founder of “The Mathews Entrepreneur Group” (TMEG). He is dedicated and committed to providing Personal Financial Literacy education programs and one-on-one financial literacy guidance using books, workshops, online programs and one-on-one personal results coaching. Michael also provides his clients with entertaining and exciting books for pleasure reading. His wealth building portfolio also includes property investing and land banking.

By Gulia Lucci

How do you remember your life as a young boy, growing up in Chicago?

I grew up on the Southside of Chicago during the 1960’s and 70’s. Being in the baby boomer generation, I experienced my friends being drafted into the Vietnam War, the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy (when I was 8 years old), the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X (When I was 10 years old) and the 1968 assassination of Martin L. King Jr. (When I was 13 years old). Chicago was a racially-filled melting pot within the inner city. Segregation and racial tension ran rampant. I was the youngest of three children, having my older brother and sister as buffers while navigating the streets to and from home. My father and mother both worked, and I came from a loving working-class family, living in a working class neighbourhood, where our entire community was the village that raised me.

You have a passion for financial literacy education. Was it difficult to get into this industry?

The initial difficulty first came from me not knowing how money worked in terms of wealth building strategies. I did not come from generational wealth. I had to learn how money worked. How to save it, how to invest it, how to grow and maintain multiple streams of passive income. I made the decision to read financial books, listen to financial tapes, attend financial seminars, and associate with successful people whom I could learn financial literacy and wealth building principles from.

Fast forward to my marriage to Robbie, we believed that financially speaking, the best Improvement starts with Self-Improvement. We decided to be co-founders of the “Blessed to Invest Investment Club” along with several family members and friends. This is where we learned how to invest in the stock market using dollar cost averaging during both the ‘Bull’ and ‘Bear’ markets.

We took advantage of our employee sponsored investment options to begin our wealth building process. Next, we invested in income producing real estate, land banking in Palmdale-Lancaster California, commercial real estate development and mobile home investments along with a group of like-minded investors to further maximise our financial growth.

The ‘Mathews Entrepreneur Group (TMEG)’ was founded in 2007 by you and your wife. What can you tell us about your Company? What is the mission?

The Mathews Entrepreneur Group (TMEG) was initially founded as a self-publishing company. TMEG has evolved into a brand that’s committed to empowering people to both “hone” and “own” their personal and small business finances.

TMEG’s mission is to raise the awareness level of consciousness about the need for personal financial literacy education on a global scale. We can all agree that debt is a global problem. Bad money habits are destroying the dreams and futures of individuals and families across the globe. It doesn’t matter what country you live in or currency you use – US Dollar, South African Rand, Euro, or the British Pound, debt is the same in any language. We expanded our reach by speaking publicly in the United States and internationally about ‘Financial Literacy Education’ because “It’s not a priority in our educational systems. It’s important that the issue be addressed by all of us and at all levels of society.”

We are committed to giving our clients a comprehensive, easy to use, set of tools providing them with the knowledge, skills and support system needed to take control of their personal finances. In addition to speaking we provide one on one coaching, workshops, seminars, books and online programs.

What made you decide to start your own company?

Early in life we experienced financial struggles long before we knew one another. We did not know or understand how to build wealth. We were taught, or at least told, that we should get a good education, get a good job and work the 40-40-40 plan, work for 40 hours per week, for 40 years of our lives, only to retire and live off of 40 percent of our income. That was not the American dream that we had in mind.

We decided to start TMEG because we learned how to make our money work for us on the passive income stream side of the spectrum. We saw first-hand the benefits of helping others improve their lives which inspired us to take up the mantle of financial education.

While my wife was on a business trip in London, I wrote our first book; “Financially speaking: The Best Improvement Starts with Self Improvement-Create Your Own Economic Stimulus Plan” in 2007, and the revised edition in 2016. Financially Speaking along with our 7 LIVE W.E.A.L.T.H.Y. principles became the cornerstone that formed our company’s financial education wings.

What is the one accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Unexpectedly, in July of 2017, I was nominated, and later received, the John H. Johnson “Business Man of the Year” award presented at the “We Dream in Colour” humanitarian celebration by Mr. Quinton de Alexander in Chicago. In October of 2017, still unexpected, my wife was nominated and received a special “Inspirational Global Woman Award” in London.

What motivates you to succeed?

As a former basketball player, I was trained and motivated how to succeed in basketball and in the game of life off of the basketball court. I was taught to understand that with winning, you must also lose some games along the way. With every loss of a basketball game, it’s just like failing to achieve your business goals. In the game of basketball, like in the game of life, losing a few comes with winning the big deals, as long as you don’t keep on making the same business mistakes.

I am highly motivated more than ever because early in my adult life, before I met my wife, I enrolled in the so-called ‘University of Hard Knocks’. I spent my money on my life-style. I went broke, I drained my bank accounts, I maxed out all of my credit cards, I filed for bankruptcy, my car was repossessed, and I moved back in with my parents. I felt frustrated and I felt ashamed.

My financial situation did not change until I took control of how I was thinking about money, feeling about money and acting with money. I was able to move out of my parents’ home as I started to become the responsible man that I was meant to be. I graduated with my PhD from the University of Hard Knocks around the age of 40 because I took my personal financial literacy education seriously.

Both my wife and I are motivated and passionate about giving back to society. While working at the ‘Chicago Transit Authority’, I began giving back to the historically black colleges and universities to help encourage our young leaders not to make the same mistakes that I made. One of our investments ‘Even Stevens-fast casual sandwich shops’ mission is ‘Eat-To-Give’. For every sandwich that is purchased, one sandwich of equally nutritional value is donated back to the community. With 20 sandwich shops operational in the United States, together with our investors, we have donated 2.5 million sandwiches back to local charities who feed the many hungry men, women, children and babies in need of a hand up and not a hand out.

My wife grew up on the West Side of Chicago. She was a single teenage parent living on welfare, raising four children. She was a high school drop-out but she went back to school and received a certificate in ‘Computer Technology’. She also attended night school and received her bachelor’s and Master’s degree. During her corporate career, Robbie donated financially to the ‘United Way’ on a regular basis as well as volunteering her time. She retired as a Vice-President and Technology Manager of that firm. Our story is that any excuse is a reason to fail, and If we can do it so can you.

What are three ways to obtain money for real estate investing?

Personal Funds: You can use your retirement account by rolling over your traditional IRA or 401K, etc., to a self-directed IRA. Then purchase real estate through your self-directed IRA. You have all the risk and all the reward.
Joint Ventures: Enter into joint ventures with other investors. Depending on how the deal is structured, you might not need to put up any money, if so the initial seed capital should be equally divided between all joint venture partners, thus offsetting your investment amount. Make sure your joint venture partners are people that you trust. You share the risk and you share reward.
Lenders: Traditional or Hard money lenders (usually the loan will be backed by the real estate deal). If your credit is good enough use institutional loans. You can invest alone or also have a joint venture opportunity.

How is it in business working together with your life partner, and how do you balance personal and business life?

What matters most to me is that our business and personal relationships are balanced to our satisfaction. When my wife and I travel in the United States or Internationally Speaking, we take a few days off after business and become tourists. We understand that our life together is more about living in the moment because tomorrow is not promised. We are blessed to actually live some of our wildest-bucket list dreams.

Like when we were in the beautiful country of South Africa, on the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town. We also cuddled with some big baby lion cubs. In Dubai, on the 124^th floor at the top of the Burj Kahalifa. Being on the French Riviera in Cannes France or eating dinner in Paris at the Eiffel Tower was another beautiful experience. Add Disneyland, Mickey Mouse, and having good meals with our global friends in California and London are memorable occasions.

I’m proud of the dream team that we make and the work that we do. I’m grateful to the universe that I was able to find my soulmate. Being able to love, work with, speak on the same stage with, travel the world on business and pleasure with, create products and services with, be of service to others with my best friend-my loving Wife-Robbie Mathews is priceless. We share the same goals, dreams and vision. Yes, sometimes we agree to disagree, however, I’ve learned that being in the same vortex with my wife, with our energy frequencies tuned in on the same dial tone, the airways of mutual respect and understanding are always on the same channel.

If you could give one piece of advice to all the women out there who want to start their own business, what would that be?

Begin with your idea, step out on faith and fulfill the vision that the universe has planted within your mind, body, soul, spirit and everyday thoughts. Then become a fearless-tigress, confident woman. Wear your crown! Don’t allow anyone, woman or man to get in your head with “you can’t” and allow them to steal your dream.

But do your due diligence, define your business model, develop your business plan, consult your mastermind group of professionals, develop your product or service, identify your target market and marketing plan, and know your numbers. Seek business coaching from a trusted source to guide you along the way.

In your opinion what are three things that women need to know about finances?

Get out and stay out of debt, unless it’s considered good debt that is making you money in the form of positive cash flow or positive interest payments instead of bad debt that is costing you money.
Achieve, monitor and maintain good personal and business credit, by paying your bills on time and at least pay the required minimum. No need to pay late fees or have your interest rates increase. Keep your personal credit score at 770 or higher. This will stabilise your borrowing power with creditors.
Have an emergency savings account of about 6 to 9 months of your total living expenses. Have a regular savings account that you can have available investment capital ready for investment opportunities. If you’re working, utilise your employer sponsored retirement plans, especially if your company gives you matching contributions at any percentage. Don’t leave free money on the table. Before investing, complete your due diligence. If you are still unsure, seek coaching from someone that you trust, or from someone who is highly recommended.

How do you see the role of women in business and as speakers on the big stages now and in the future?

Because of the historically male dominated glass ceiling way of doing things, the Global Woman is fighting a harder fight than her male counterparts in business, as well as big stage speaking opportunities. As a result, today and in the future, women will not be denied (I did not say it will be easy) their opportunity to shine as business leaders and speakers on the big stages in our global community. I know there are men who oppose my words, and I know there are men who agree with me! Men need not FEAR the rise of the global woman business leader and big stage speaker.

Just as women do when men are speaking, men should also sit down, pay attention, and take notes when the global woman is speaking in the board room or from the stage. Men might learn a thing or two, because women have a thing or two to say!

I’ve met some incredible global woman business leaders who are already speaking on the big stages of the world. Robbie Mathews, Randi Zuckerberg, Bethany Frankel, Christie Brinkley, Lisa Nichols, Dr. Kara Scott Dentley, Francie Baldwin, Joanna Mukoki, Mirela Sula, and other Global Woman Business Leaders. As Les Brown’s say’s “that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”

I wrote the following poem in dedication to my wife Robbie, Mirela Sula and the Global Woman Business Leaders around the world.

THE GLOBAL WOMAN BUSINESS LEADER ROCKS

She is a global woman leader with a new paradigm for changing the world

She helps the business woman, young ladies, and aspiring little girls

She is an empowering global woman leader, operating outside of the box

She is business savvy, and extremely smart like a fox

She is a global woman leader with foresight, because hindsight won’t do

She moves her agenda forward and her vision is true

She is a quick witted global woman leader with blood vessels of steel

She makes hard decision sometimes wearing high heels

She leads with her left, she leads with her right

She’s doubted in the board room, backing down from no fight

She’s in the 15^th round and still stand strong

She has the right leadership skills so she can’t go wrong

She knowns the secret that makes her a global woman leader

She fully understands that the world really needs her

She has patience and understanding but will leave you in the dust

She is a symbol of integrity, and worthy of the worlds trust

She doesn’t sit around waiting for opportunity to knock, because

She is an empowering global woman leader, who definitely ROCKS!

Swedish Wealth Institute: Secrets To Start Up Success

Editor @ Global Man March 7, 2018 No Comments

Swedish Wealth Institute:

Secrets To Start Up Success

By Fati Gorezi

Daniel Wood is an entrepreneur and investor that, together with his wife and business partners, runs three businesses – the ‘Swedish Wealth Institute’, ‘Completed Connections’ and ‘Property Effect’. The mission of each Company is to help individuals to achieve financial independence through investing or entrepreneurship. The ‘Swedish Wealth Institute’ in particular, is an events based Company that brings together potential investors and entrepreneurs to learn from experienced business mentors and coaches from all over the world.

Can you tell us more about yourself and how you became successful?

My name is Daniel Wood and I was born and raised in Stockholm in Sweden. My father is American and my mother Swedish. This mix has been very important in shaping me into the person I am today. It has given me both American confidence and the Swedish attitude of caring and recognising the importance of having a good support group around you.

My wife Gisela and I originally started investing in property in the UK. As we became more successful in this venture we started to invite friends and others who were interested in property investing to free events where we shared our experience, lessons learned and tips for success. This led us to setting up the ‘Swedish Wealth Institute’ and now we hold events every month with the aim of helping people to become successful property investors and entrepreneurs.

When did you decide to create the ‘Swedish Wealth Institute’ and can you tell us more about it?

We started the Company in January 2016 and we have been busy ever since. There are some world class Companies that have been founded in Sweden like IKEA and Ericsson and yet there is still a huge knowledge gap when it comes to cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit and having the courage to start new a new Company. There seems to a willingness to learn these skills in Sweden and we are here to encourage people to turn their ideas into a business.

Historically most Swedes would tend to travel to the UK or the US to seek out top class business advice and coaching but few business people would come out to Sweden for that sort of advice. We wanted to change that perspective and make Sweden an attractive place for new businesses to flourish. It takes three things to help entrepreneurs and investors reach their goals – knowledge, guidance and passion and that’s what we are here to provide.

We meet passionate and creative people every day and our goal is give them the guidance and knowledge they require to take the next steps to success and to help them find specific expertise or mentors. Through the Swedish Wealth Institute more and more highly regarded international speakers are now coming to Sweden. So when people come to our events they can be sure of hearing wisdom from the very best. All of our speakers have achieved success and are keen to share their stories and tips and lessons that can be applied in the real world.

What makes the difference between an average Company and one you should consider investing in?

All entrepreneurial success stems from the vision of the organisation founder and the core team. If there is a clear vision of the organisational goal, a passion for creating value and a solid revenue model and marketing plan then you have all the right building blocks for success.

I always like to ask would-be entrepreneurs questions like ‘Why do you want to start a Company?’ and ‘If you become a billion dollar business how is this making the world a better place and what positive changes will it bring?’ If these types of questions are answered with honesty and integrity and you and your team believe passionately about what you do then you have the fundamentals for success.

Do you think there is any particular pattern or formula for starting a successful business?

If you have an idea for a product or service that you truly believe will make a difference to people’s lives then you will need a will and a passion to succeed as well as the strength to face and overcome the inevitable obstacles that will get in your way. Persistence to succeed is often as important as the passion to make the business a success. This where a good mentor can help you stay focused and avoid mistakes based on the lessons they learned themselves. A good mentor can also help you to spot opportunities that you otherwise might have missed.

Many successful business people say that before they became successful they had to face many challenges or setbacks. What have been the main challenges you have had to overcome?

Like all new businesses we had many challenges to overcome and we also made mistakes along the way. We didn’t always see the risks and we also lost money when we made bad decisions. You learn a lot from making mistakes and the key is to structure your business and partnerships in such a way that you stay protected even through the tough times. This is why a good mentor is so important.

How do you promote and encourage the women who work for you?

Two thirds of our Board are women and approximately 70% of our clients are women. It is encouraging to see so many women stepping up and having the courage to start their own businesses. The most important thing today is to look beyond any gender limitations because it no longer matters whether a business leader is a man or a woman. It is what they bring to the table that counts.

What are your three top tips for individuals that want to succeed as investors and entrepreneurs?

To succeed you must have passion about what you want to achieve. You also need to acquire knowledge about your profession and you also need a good revenue model. You also need the determination to push through every challenge. It’s also essential that you know about the intricacies and risks of your chosen marketplace. A good mentor can help you to spot potential deals and how to optimally structure your business for success. Most importantly, if your business doesn’t make money then it won’t survive so you need to know how to convert clients into buyers and how to maximise the value you give to your clients and the value you bring to the business.

What are your own personal goals for the next three years and what are you seeking to achieve?

Our goal is simply to continue to help more and more people across the world. We want to expand into more markets and help more people become successful entrepreneurs and investors. Our dream is to make one million people become successful. Most people who find success are willing to give something back and many of our investors donate around 10% of their income to charities. If one million successful people gave back ten percent of their annual income to charity it would generate one hundred billion dollars a year that could be used for good causes like ending poverty, improving education for all, provision of better healthcare, improving water quality and even reversing global warming.

What type of marketing strategy would you suggest for a new business owner?

A good marketing strategy should start with answering some specific questions such as:-

What is my passion?
What are my values?
Can I find a way of turning my passion into a business?
Is my idea scalable?
What is my revenue model?
Who are my target customers?
How can I bring my product or service to market?

Once you have answered these questions then find a good mentor or business coach who can guide you and support you on your journey to success.

People Are Capable Of Re-Inventing Themselves at Any Time

Editor @ Global Man January 4, 2018 No Comments

Bernado Moya

People Are Capable Of Re-Inventing Themselves at Any Time

Bernado Moya is a Neuro-Linguistic Programme Practitioner, with a business delivering NLP courses. He is also the founder and creator of The Best You, specialising in personal and professional development. In this interview, Bernado tells us about the importance of family to him and the challenges of balancing that with being a committed entrepreneur. He has learned from experience that business has its ups and downs and the essential value of having resilience and the ability to reinvent yourself. We also learn more about his interests in travel and motorbiking.

What can you tell us about your childhood and upbringing and how that has influenced you?

My parents were Spanish immigrants that met in London and I was born in London. My Dad was a head waiter and my Mum was a chef so I was brought up with food, quality food and working hard, and then also getting together with family and friends on weekends. So it was a very family orientated, Spanish environment that I got brought up in and what it has meant is my love for food and my passion for kind of working hard really, and understanding the importance of family life and the family upbringing.

Who is your family today and what are your personal interests?

Unfortunately, my Dad died when I was 15, but my Mum is around luckily and I have a brother. I also have three great kids. My two sons are working, one has a business and the other one is working in yachts. They both live a great life and they’re great people. My daughter, well she’s amazing too. She’s just finished University so we’ve had a family life where we’ve spent a lot of weekends together surrounded by family but yes in an environment where I suppose where they’ve seen me work hard. I’ve worked very hard and maybe I missed out on some opportunities with them but I think they’ve had a great upbringing and they’re great kids so I’m very proud of them. It’s my legacy.

The world needs inspiration, it needs leaders that can help and inspire the newer generations but also can make the world a better place.

What were your earlier career or business ventures and what did you learn from those experiences?

Well, I have been in real estate off and on doing different things from timeshare to running my own real estate. I had up to 23-25 employees so selling and engaging with clients has been something I’ve done from an early age, since I finished in the army at the age of 19. But I would say that it’s provided me a great life but also challenges. I lost my business twice, once when I was 26 and then again at the age of 38-39 which is where I pretty much re-started all over again. From my experiences, I’ve learnt that I’m very resilient, I’ve learnt that I can re-invent myself as needed and work hard to create something new. I’ve been very passionate about everything that I’ve done, I’ve always had big dreams and I’m still on a journey.

As an entrepreneur, how much is it in the nature, in your genes and how much is it instinct and nurture, do you think?

Well, I think there’s a special type of person that has to have that within them to become an entrepreneur. I understand that not everyone wants to build their own business and I understand that people are happy to live an easier life, less stressful. Becoming an entrepreneur is very challenging, it’s something that you’ve got to be prepared to put more hours than you can imagine, be prepared for failure, be prepared for disappointments with staff and employees, be prepared for people not to buy into your products but also it has amazing rewards. If you understand your business, if you understand your customer, if you really study marketing, sales, and how to build relationships with your customers, if you build something that’s unique, that inspires people, it’s a very rewarding job.

I’ve had three children, but I know that my businesses have always taken a very important part of my life and I’m aware of that, yet it’s something I’m proud of. I’ve always done my best and I would prefer to at least know that I’ve tried than not ever even attempting it. So I’m very happy with being an entrepreneur and the rewards that it has given me in my life.

What attracted you to become involved with NLP?

It was Paul McKenna’s book ‘Change your Life in 7 Days’. It was packed with NLP techniques and it was the first time I read about Dr Richard Bandler and Neuro-linguistic Programming. I remember that after reading the book I asked a friend of mine who worked with Paul Hay, I would love to do the course. I did the ‘7 Day Practitioner’ and I remember at the end of the course I knew that I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something with more meaning and I felt that NLP could provide me that, and would provide me with the set of skills that I needed.

Can you tell us more about NLP and how it works?

Neuro-linguistic Programming is the study of excellence. Richard Bandler, the Co-creator, looked into how did successful people do what they do? How do people that have phobias overcome them? How did they leave those phobias and fears behind? So he put those techniques together and he packaged them. Neuro, stands for the head linguistic set of skills, language patterns that we use and the programming set of skills and strategies. Part of NLP is simply allowing you to think. It gives you a set of skills to become a better communicator, more confident, to be able to become more motivated, and to understand how you can change how you feel by simply thinking differently. If you think differently you feel differently, if you feel differently you act and behaviour differently.

Why do you believe that continual personal development is so important for everyone?

I think the older we get the more we understand the importance of investing in ourselves. When we’re at school we take learning, not everyone, but I think generally we take it as a burden, something that we have to do. I think with age we understand how important it is to really be at our peak and how we can become a better version of ourselves; how we can think better, how we can communicate better and that’s what personal development brings you.

You know people are looking for love, they’re looking for ways to increase their self- esteem to become more confident, to become happier. And you do that by learning from the best, from reading books, from attending talks or attending Expos and being surrounded by positive people that can provide you inspiration. If we think of ourselves as a device, as a phone, we’re always looking at the latest version or downloading the latest update and software. But when it comes down to us, we’re always reluctant to upgrade our own software. We need to be permanently pushing ourselves and reading the best, not just because we need to, but additionally the world needs it too. The world needs inspiration, it needs leaders that can help and inspire the newer generations but also can make the world a better place.

You have two Expos in early 2018 in London and Long Beach California – can you tell us more about these and what to expect?

It is our third Expo in London, that’s on the 16th and 17th February and in Long Beach on the 24th and 25th March, which will be our first run in the US. The Expos have grown and doubled in size every year and the reason being is because there wasn’t any personal development experience like this. It’s an opportunity to meet all these fantastic inspirational speakers, brands, companies and organisations that are dedicated to improving people’s lives.

It’s a great format. We have loads of workshops, 8 or 9 seminar rooms with more than 140 speakers. We have a variety of other activities, like the Inspiration Zone, where we teach people how to overcome phobias, learn how to dance Salsa, and walk on glass. We have the Yoga and Meditation Zone, fresh juices, we’re screening some amazing documentaries with some fantastic partners; Netflix, and Sky. There is so much going on at these Expos and we’re very excited about them.

What are your favourite places in the world from your travels and why?

I have travelled and I would like to travel a lot more. I loved Vietnam, it was beautiful. One of the things that I like doing and have done quite a few times, is I’ve gone with friends on motorbike tours, which have always been amazing and very appealing to me. I’ve also been to Madagascar, South Africa, and Canada. I’ve done a few small trips around the US, but I have many future plans. I want to travel the whole of South America. I feel that travelling is a very important part of life and I believe that as The Best US Expo starts licensing around the world, it’s going to be something that’s on my plate and I’m looking forward to it.

What words of wisdom would you give to our readers, either already successful or aspiring to success?

One of the beauties, I think, of personal and professional growth, as we’ve seen it many, many times, is that people are able and capable of re-inventing themselves at any time. I would always say that it’s never, ever too late. I always insist on that, it’s never ever too late to become who you want to become, to become the best you. You’ve just got to take action and start today, start now. And be resilient, just be prepared. Life is going to throw things at you. It’s not what happens, it’s how you deal with what happens that’s the important bit. You can have a bad day, you’ve just got to wake up the next morning, take the dust off, brush yourself and get on with it. So keep going, never give up, never allow anyone to say it’s too late and then again surround yourself by positive people. I love the hash tag ‘no negativity’. I follow that through, I’m not interested in working or being surrounded by any negative people in my life.