The genesis of Kevin’s company “Building Bread” starts from an experience of frustration. Kevin found himself asking the following question “How can I explain investing in a way that is clear and easy to understand to underrepresented communities?” This conversation shares the changes to his business, the amount of time it has taken him to grow his brand Building Brand and some useful tips for those of you wondering “Should I?” build a similar brand?
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Resource
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Qube Money
When I first started my business, my finances were a mess. I was paying off debt and just trying to hustle until my business grew. I tried everything to keep my finances in order ranging from using online money management platforms, spreadsheets and the envelope system. This year I discovered Qube Money which is a digital envelope system paired with a debit card. You deposit your money into an FDIC insured account and then can spend based on dedicated Qubes that you’ve created within the app. If you’re paying for tools such as Flodesk for your emails, Thinkific to host your courses and coaching programs, or Deskpass for your coworking access, Qube keeps you organized and can be one of your dedicated business accounts. I’m a proud affiliate of Qube Money, check out the link that I share in the show notes.
Related Episodes
- Shida’s On the Loose-Creating a brand for Black women needing help with the logistics of taking an adult “Gap Year”
Show Notes
- Kevin L. Matthews II of Building Bread
- One of the Top 100 Most Influential Financial Advisor
- Best Selling Author
- He knew what he wanted to be when he began his brand.
- Kevin started as a teacher and eventually reached out to Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche because he recognized a connection through teaching. They remain friends to this day.
- Did his client avatar understand what he was trying to do in the beginning?
- He talks about being 19 years old talking about trying to save and invest with his audience.
- After college the conversation changed because his audience were being presented the opportunity to invest via their work (first jobs)
- Building trust both with your audience and within yourself.
- He developed social proof over a period of years.
- Kevin saying to people “You can be a millionaire” The audience-“But have you been one yet?” Kevin-“The math works” Working his way through their skepticism
- I ask Kevin how he quantified his “wins” over time. Did he have a GoogleDoc or a folder?
- Experimenting early! He wrote a book in 2012, it wasn’t perfect but it was done.
- Sharing the micro wins with his audience and others to build his credibility
- Explaining news during Brexit live everyday and then taking screen shots each time.
- I notice that he’s quick to take action.
- Kevin gives advice about timing and capitalizing on the moment. Sometimes there’s no time to be perfect. Don’t miss the opportunity and momentum.
- Put your work out and improve on the backend over time.
- It’s not about perfection, it’s more about improvement. Everything is a progression.
- Let’s talk money. I’m curious about how he built out the revenue streams that resonated with him and his brand.
- Business is much more scientific a process than he ever imagined.
- Book writing
- Speaking and a digital summit that brought in around $20,000 in 2020
- On demand course $50,000 in 2020
- He started the course and offered it for $97
- Then $500
- Today it’s $1200
- Some freelance writing
- Quit wasting time on projects that don’t work. Blogging was the project for him.
- His book sold more in two days than he made blogging.
- What platforms does Kevin show up on and why he finds those to be the best places to shine.
- Video platforms in particular
- Instagram-Is one of his highest converting platforms
- Twitter-only converts with quick reacting conversations, other than that very little traffic.
- Email-Does well and converts
- YouTube is somewhere that he’s focusing on now.
- Low-key with the video and doesn’t worry too much about editing.
- His business grew significantly in 2020 because so much was happening in the Market and investing space.
- He repurposed his content.
- I wonder how Kevin is positioning his brand moving forward as we move out of COVID?
- He’s planning on being more aggressive about marketing vs. depending completely on organic search.
- Kevin spent a lot of time focusing on analysis and being a lot more intentional moving forward.
- What does a day in the life look like?
- The Reverse degree process. Working for other companies in order to learn a skill that benefits his business.
- Now he can reinvest into his business for ads, etc.
- Leveraging your 9-5 in order to grow your business (transferrable skills)
- I share that I did leave my recent part-time gig with insight that I should apply for grants.
- He shares 3 pieces of advice that he’d like to share especially for POC entrepreneurs.
- Don’t be concerned about what other people are doing. Our unique stories help us to stand out.
- Kevin is candid and shares that what he talks about in personal finance everyone else talks about. BUT, his unique experience connects him to his avatar.
- He shares his SIP system: Save, Invest and Protect and coining a term unique to him.
- I wonder if he’s going to do content on cryptocurrency
- Kevin shares that he wants to be in the NFT space.
- He shares that he’s cautious about making sure to learn enough information so that he’s speaking from experience. The newness of crypto is part of the risk of sharing content without historical context of trends overtime, etc.
Follow Kevin!
- Instagram: Building Bread
- Twitter: Building Bread
- Youtube: Building Bread
Resources
- From Burning to Blueprint: Rebuilding Black Wall Street after a Century of Silence (About the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre)
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100 Years Later: A Conversation About the Tulsa Race Massacre with Kevin L. Matthews II - #moneyhungry
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