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Black Rise
Welcome to Black Rise podcast, your gateway to inspiring conversations with the crème de la crème of Black talent, leaders of 7-figure and above businesses across a spectrum of industries. Your host is Flavilla Fongang, an award-winning serial entrepreneur and she will be your guide on this journey.
Black Rise isn't just a podcast; it's an extension of the first business platform dedicated to connecting the business world to talented, skilled and experienced Black talent. Our aim is to create connections, foster collaboration, and fuel growth by bringing together Black professionals, visionary entrepreneurs, and groundbreaking businesses. We're here to bridge the networking gap, facilitating collaborative growth not only within the Black community but also far-reaching into the broader world.
In each episode, we dive deep into the stories and experiences of our remarkable guests. They share their insights, challenges, and strategies that have propelled them to the pinnacle of success. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned professional, or simply hungry for knowledge and inspiration, Black Rise provides you with the tools and motivation you need to reach your own pinnacles of achievement.
But we're more than just a podcast. We're a dynamic community where excellence knows no bounds. When you subscribe to 'Black Rise,' you're not just gaining access to incredible stories—you're also opening doors to exclusive opportunities within our thriving ecosystem.
Join us on this journey of elevation, motivation, and empowerment. Let's rise together, break barriers, and create lasting change. Subscribe now to stay updated with our latest episodes and visit www.theblackrise.com to connect, collaborate, and embark on a transformative path to success.
This is Black Rise, where excellence and impact converge to redefine the future.
Black Rise
How To Shape A Legacy Of Wealth - With Jerran Whyte
Sometimes, the realisation hits you: time is more valuable than money. That epiphany became a cornerstone of our latest conversation on the Black Rise podcast, as we welcomed Jerran Whyte from Belvedere Wealth Management to share his insights on building wealth and financial independence. Together, we unpacked the importance of a robust asset portfolio and financial literacy, especially when starting without the advantage of inherited wealth. This episode is more than just about numbers; it's a beacon of motivation for those striving to secure a sustainable lifestyle and reshape the narrative of Black success in business.
Jerran Whyte's story, rooted in his Jamaican heritage and a household brimming with ambition, is a testament to the transformative power of family values. This episode peels back the layers of Jerran's upbringing, from the influence of his mother's financial wisdom to his father's entrepreneurial zest, to reveal the driving forces behind his business acumen. We delve into how a solid Christian foundation and the competitive spirit nurtured among three brothers have sculpted Jerran into the change-maker he is today—a narrative that serves as a blueprint for cultivating a determined and successful mindset.
Wrapping up our empowering dialogue, we address the elephant in the room—why wealth management is often misunderstood as a service reserved for the elite. By shedding light on the legacies of cultural icons like Jay-Z and Beyoncé, we underscore the shift from wealth accumulation to legacy building. We close the chapter with a discussion on the critical role of financial literacy and the responsibility of creating a legacy that extends beyond personal wealth to encompass community upliftment and generational empowerment. Join us on this enlightening journey and witness how personal experiences interweave with the mission of transforming taxpayers into wealth creators, one powerful episode at a time.
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Black Rise is not just a podcast but an extension of our Business platform. We are on a mission to bridge the gap between businesses and the immense potential of Black talent. We provide a dynamic platform where businesses and individuals can connect, collaborate, and prosper with Black professionals, entrepreneurs, and black-owned companies. We strive to showcase the value, creativity, and innovation that Black talent brings to the table, fostering partnerships that drive economic growth, diversity, and mutual success.
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give up. What does that mean? You can still draw it back, you can get a draw, you can claw the game back, you can claw the quarterback, whatever. You give your all to the last minute. That's full stop. There's no middle ground. Even now, for example, somebody said what keeps you going? And I said I can't afford to stop. I don't have the luxury, I don't have the choice. I've got kids to feed. I don't have that choice. I don't have the luxury Welcome feed.
Speaker 2:I don't have that choice. I don't have the luxury. Welcome to the Black Rise podcast, your gateway to inspiring conversation with la crème de la crème of Black talent, who are leaders of seven figure and above businesses across a spectrum of industries. I'm your host, flavilla Fong-Gang, an award-winning serial entrepreneur, who will guide you on his journey. Black Rise isn't just a podcast. It's an extension of our business platform, allowing the business world to connect with skilled, talented and experienced Black talent. Our mission is to serve as a bridge, connecting businesses with vast opportunities that lie in working with Black professionals, entrepreneurs and enterprise. We strive to showcase the value, creativity and innovation. We strive to showcase the value, creativity and innovation that Black talent brings to the table, fostering partnerships that drive economic growth, diversity and mutual success. Visit theblackrisecom to find out more.
Speaker 2:Hello everybody, welcome back to another episode on the black rice podcast and, as usual, it's me, your guest and also always another guest with me to talk about all the great things happening within the black community, the leaders, the change makers, and one thing I love to talk about and also makes people very uncomfortable sometimes talk about, and I'll tell you a story actually a couple of days ago, well, depending on when you listen to this podcast, I was offered to speak for 5 000000 euros in Copenhagen. If somebody asked me this or gave me that offer about maybe three or four actually four or five years ago, I would have said yes. But now I'm at the point where I'm so precious with my time I realized that 5,000 euros is not enough, because when you get to a point and you achieve such a great success, you understand the value of your time and the reason why I'm telling you that, because we're going to talk about money, we're going to talk about someone who also understand the importance of building your assets and building your portfolio, and I think sometimes we don't think enough about the future, or we think about the future but we don't really think in terms of how I'm going to make sure that I still have the same life, not not the same lifestyle, but a lifestyle that supports me without having to worry. And you know, I think also when we're not born in a family that has created for us a trust, we don't necessarily understand how to build that. Oh, we're not somebody who should tap on our shoulders. Have you done it or have you thought about this? And this is also the reason why I wanted to bring to this podcast episode Jerron White.
Speaker 2:Jerron White and you know, jaron White is a principal partner at Belvedere Wealth Management and he's also the founder and managing director of Belvedere Wealth Management. We can actually summarize as BMW, but you know it's another brand. But this is better than BMW. That we know. It's a UKL4ized and regulated financial advisory, financial planning, investment management company based out of the financial district of Canary Wharf, london, and Belvedere Insurance Brokers BIB, an international wealth management firm based out of I don't know if I can pronounce this Windhoek Tell me if I'm right or wrong Gerard, which is in Namibia and I was looking for him. He's chosen his location very well Africa, and I was looking for him. He's chosen his location very well Africa, so we can get some sun, where we always wonder where the weather is going to turn better. But anyway, jaron, so good to have you. How are you?
Speaker 1:I'm very well, thank you. Thank you very much for having me. It's been a long time coming. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Do you know? I want to say something to people. People may think that, oh my gosh, he must be someone who is 17 years old and something. And I'm looking at your picture right now. It's like this man is young, dynamic. I'm definitely not for sure that you are experienced, but people think that people who start this type of business may be in their seventies you know certain age where they are able to do that. But we're going to learn about your story and everything that you've accomplished, but I almost feel like we need to start from the beginning. So, with the chairman of today is the ambitious individual, is a change maker who's doing things differently. But what kind of child were you? What kind of did you? Did you grow up in a nice big family and what's your heritage?
Speaker 1:yeah, so um family mum was born in jamaica. Um came to the uk when she was eight years old. Dad was born born here, but of Jamaican descent. They both grew up in around South London. I think Dad was Clapham, mum was Brixton. I was born in West Croydon, one of four. So there's four boys, three brothers. And yeah, we were born in West Croydon but Dad moved us out sort of around the age of sort of nine ten to Berkshire, in Maidenhead. So I always said I'm born in London, bred in Maidenhead, you know, because I did spend, you know, sort of my early life in Croydon but sort of definitely sort of the middle part in Maidenhead.
Speaker 2:Are you the youngest or are you the oldest?
Speaker 1:No, I'm the second oldest. I'm the second oldest. I've got an older brother who lives in Germany. I've got two younger brothers. I say they're young. There's a one-year difference between me and the one behind me and then one-year difference between him and behind him. So you know, we're a very close family, very close family in age and in all respects.
Speaker 2:I love that, so you know sisters too bad for you. You would have so much more fun. A family of four girls, one boy, yeah, yeah, so definitely dynamic.
Speaker 1:It was an interesting dynamic at home, to be fair, yeah, it was always. You know, challenges, competitions, you know, whether it be anything from sports to games, to music, to whatever, to dance, competitions there's always. You know it would be anything from sports to games, to music, to whatever, to dance competitions there's always. You know, there's always a competition, there's always a challenge. There's always some somebody you know sort of egging you on or or teasing you or whatever.
Speaker 1:So you had to fight for everything, even like, even go back to memories of you had to fight for your food because, uh, friday nights was my, my dad's night to cook. We all had turned days to cook and friday nights was my dad's night to cook. And, um, he used to buy kfc every friday and, um, I remember our cousin coming over one time and and being at the table and he needed to go toilet and I we said to him look, you know, the rules are of the house. You know, on kfc night, if you don't take your plate with you, it's free for all. And uh, he thought we were joking and when he came back there was about four bites out of his chicken because, uh, it's, it's that that type of household?
Speaker 2:every man for himself. Oh my god, you see what type of values did your parents embedded in you from a young age yeah, it's interesting, you asked, you asked my other brothers, they they would probably say something different.
Speaker 1:So I always talk about what I sort of took away from my childhood. We're very much a christian family. I always say we're pks. You know, pastors, kids, you know, every sunday we were in church, right, I was, I was the one playing the drums in church and everybody had their role in the church. And you know, we saw it build from zero to a sizable amount and so that was, I would say, the first sort of foundation, that sort of Christian moral foundation, a foundation of helping others. And you know the value add. What value are you bringing to this world? You know, that was definitely much a theme, especially for my parents, and trying to make the world a better place.
Speaker 1:My mum was a saver. So actually, when I sit there and think about where my sort of early financial acumen came from, I would say it's from my mum. She was a saver, she always had money. For any dark time she, you know, always turned to my mum. She always had money.
Speaker 1:My dad was the businessman. My mum worked for the NHS, my dad ran his own business. So I would say that was definitely a massive influence. But you know, again, I'll come back to the influence of my mother on me but my dad was a massive influence in terms of, you know, definitely a hero. You know somebody I looked up to, still look up to now. You know it's not easy to raise four boys, um, uh, and and for, for all intents and purposes, all come out alive, well, kicking, you know, doing their own thing, um, so he's a massive hero, um, in that regard, and and he instilled in me a, a discipline of excellence, uh, perfectionist, you could say.
Speaker 1:I think my dad is a perfectionist and I've definitely got that from him. You know, nothing short of excellent, nothing short of excellent. He was also a sportsman as well. So, you know, because of that, I think I inherited that sort of go-getter element from him as well Ambition, ambition, you know, aiming for the stars, sort of from him. But again, you know, uh, my mum was, my mum was a rock, my mum was the rock, uh, I remember my dad talking and talking about that. If it wasn't because of my mum, he would not be the man he is today. Um, because of because of my mum and I, you know, I, I always, I can see that and I can corroborate that. To say that, you know, my mum uh, had been, has been an absolute rock to me. Uh and um, you know unwavering, unwavering support. I think it all started from when we was young, if you always used to whisper in our ears you're the best, you're the best, you know you're the best so important.
Speaker 2:People really underestimate the importance of affirmation and saying to your kids you are beautiful, you are loved. 100. It's something actually that you know. Is it like we, we, we, we grow up with either, with things that we remember? Sometimes it can be trauma and those traumas quite often stays within us. And I always say to people like really, sometimes you know your brain will forget things and you need to understand why you act in such a way. And that's the influence of our parents Twitter, talk to us and so forth right, 100 percent, absolutely massive.
Speaker 1:You know nobody could say to my mother anything but we were the best. You know she wouldn't have it. You know there's this song by I think it's Tamar Braxton Lions, tigers and Bears, and she talks about sort of fighting. You know, anybody and everything or her loved ones, and that's the epitome of my mum. You know, just, nobody could tell her anything but we're the best and she would not have it from anybody. And she told us regularly. There was a stage where I overheard her telling my brother that he was the best and I was like I thought I was the best. So that was a moment I'm not going to lie, that was a moment. I was like okay, but you know I soon realised that. You know it's that unwavering support, that unwavering. You know, biggest fan. You know biggest fan. You know biggest fan, biggest fan.
Speaker 2:You know it's so funny because I think about that, because when you think about who always likes all your posts if it's not your mom, it's so important, right? So I think about you, think about it's so good you know to, to learn about how, how you also associate. You know how the, the sportsmanship help you in your business, acumen and what you've done as well, and that behavior, that discipline, the importance I mean the importance of also providing, being helpful to people. This is what your business is about. This is very much a translation of what you've achieved in business, which is very beautiful. So when I think about your education, did you go into straight away financial services or did you study something completely different? Or you decided, oh no, oh, did you?
Speaker 1:oh, oh, no, yeah, no, no, no, no. I I came about this in a roundabout way, or I say, for the back door. Um, my love of sport still is my love of sports, you know. Um, uh, sportsman through and through, I like think, even though I can't play anymore. But you know, I studied sports science, actually, at university. I wanted to go into well before university I did all my FA qualifications and I was looking at coaching and then was thinking about physiotherapy and going into that. So that's actually what I studied at university sports science. And I'll be honest, I actually fell into finance. So came out of university and realised that actually, yeah, there's not much money in this.
Speaker 1:I've always been in sales. I've been in sales since 16. And since I could work, I've always been working and in some sort of customer facing sales type of role and I always knew I was very good at that. I was always making money throughout university. As an example, I never really used to live the standard student lifestyle and we used to say that they you know there are times where they used to wait for their student loan to land because they had money. That never would be the case for me, because I was always making about a thousand pounds a month. Wow, because I was in a sales role so I used to work in phones. So back then we used to get paid per phone you'd sold. So you know, I used to work for Vodafone Phones, for you T-Mobile when I was at university. So you know, know, I've always been, I've always been a sort of a grinder.
Speaker 2:I've always sort of worked and paid my way. Yeah, do you know? One thing that we don't talk about is that one of the skills that will always help you thrive is sales. If you know how to sell, you will always fall back on your feet, and that's what you. But how did you realize that you were good? Because you know, when I think about you as a young age, you were, as you start making money for you. You know, you know when you were still at university, where, again, you know, we have a story of students right now who are crying because they can't pay. You know the student accommodation, you know everything is hitting, so maybe young people listen to you, to you right now. What advice would you give them to be able to be financially while you're studying, which is always hard, can also still make the money, you know, on the side.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a very good question and I remember having a discussion with a client about the same thing because she was talking about um, you know, wanting her child to focus on education and studies and so on and so forth, whereas I'm, my school of thought is very different on that. I'm saying, yes, of course that's super important, 100%. But what I find is is that a lot of people now are coming out of university with no skills. They've got the degree but they've got no skills. They've got no real life skills to be able to add to the workplace. Yes, they know the theory of everything and that's brilliant, but theory and practice are two different things and I would be encouraging my kids 110 percent to to be working throughout university, because you're not just coming out now with a degree, but you're also coming out with that experience of paying for you, paying your way, that experience of working and juggling. You know sort of a real life effectively, the experience of working in an environment that then could be able to. You know you've now got transferable skills that you're adding to the workplace. So you're not now just coming out with a degree, but you're also coming out with transferable skills. That, for me, is invaluable and that helped me be where I am today.
Speaker 1:Facts because I didn't do a degree in finance. I fell into finance because of my sales ability. Um, because the reality is that when I went to the interview in in mayfair they asked they said you don't have the finance experience, but you've got the sales experience. We can teach you the finance side. Yeah, I love that. Sorry to drop you.
Speaker 2:I wanted to experience but you've got the sales experience, we can teach you the finance side. Yeah, I love that. Sorry to drop you. I wanted to say that what you've realized and I think this is Mr Davmin I remember coming out of university and having all these degrees and masters and I was useless. I was literally useless because I didn't do the internship.
Speaker 2:Because in France, when you come from France, they say, well, don't worry, just focus on your studies. They say, well, don't worry, just focus on your studies. And nobody tells you enough about the importance of getting as soon as possible, applying what you've learned while you're still studying. And the reality is, you know and this is also the reason why I always make an effort to take you know a few interests, because you know, if you don't have that practical skills, whatever, the learning at university is very different from your life. It's like what did you study? Like this is what we do here, this is how we use technology here, this is what we do. Like oh okay, there's another school. It's a completely different school of life. It's so, so important. When you think about the transferable skills, what do you believe are the key transferable skills to make it when you are a young person. Obviously, when you are older, you know more mature.
Speaker 1:I say older when you remember, but when you're a young person, whatever kids are, so able skills do you think are important? That really helped you, yeah, I mean, uh, I think I think for myself, the ability of turning up. You know turning up, I think that for me was super key. Discipline, um, you know, discipline about turning for turning up, so you know you go out the night before you turn up. You, you make sure you're there in the morning, you know, ready to work.
Speaker 1:Um, the ability to stand on your own two feet because in, you know, in sales, um, the sales that I was doing was that you know we had targets to hit, we had targets to meet. We had to achieve certain things, um, in order to get bonuses and so on and so forth, in order to get store bonuses and etc. In order to, you know, effectively keep my job. Um, so know, you had to turn up. You had to make sure that you, you know you were hitting your target. You know you had to make sure you was planning how you was going to achieve that, how he was going to do that, and in some cases, you know it helped, probably without realizing it, helped me form sort of a small part of you know my business acumen now in terms of how I go about structuring, planning, organizing my day, because I had to. You know I had to do that. I had to make sure work was done in time, because I had to go to work Friday, saturday, sunday, you know. So I couldn't have that time that everybody else had over the weekends to do their work, and whatever I, you know, I had to get it done during the week.
Speaker 1:So you know, I always say that, and this was, I think, this, this, this started at university. I always said that the weekday is for work, the weekends is for play, you could say, and that's because I think that mindset came from during the week I had to be in the library, I had to get stuff done, because I didn't have the time over the weekend to get stuff done because I was working. So that organization, that structure, which is super important, I'm a stickler for structure. Um, you know, if you, if you wanted to assassinate me, you could easily do that, because I'm so, I'm so like, I'm so structured, I'm so structured. I do the same things every day, go to the same places every day, because I'm just wired that way. I'm wired that way.
Speaker 2:Do you know? It reminds me of a topic. I was dating this guy who ate exactly the same foods Like, oh my God, can you not buy something else? And I'm a creative person. I'm like, let me not go over the list.
Speaker 1:Let me just see, explore, try something new. You know, that's me, that's me. I go, I'll eat at the same places every morning. I'll go and have lunch at the same place, because I'm just like you know, choices, too many choices, just like. Yeah, I don't want to think about that. I've got so many other things to think about. That's not one thing I want to be thinking about where I'm eating.
Speaker 2:Just simple, keep it simple that's not one thing I want to be thinking about. Where I'm eating. Just simple, keep it simple. I love that. So you went from going to sports realizing that. Obviously you at university, when you were still studying, you realize the importance of also working and developing those skills where you know whether it's sometime out of choices. And you've done it, and you never were the struggling child. So what was your first entry into the business world? How did it look like?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so, as I said, I went through the back door, so I tried to go through the front door, and that was, you know, when I was looking for a career change you could say early years I tried to go through the front door, I tried to, you know, go to wealth management firms and I got interviews. But you know, again, again, it was either that I didn't go to a russell group university, I didn't go to an I, you know, an ivy league university, I didn't have the network, you know, that was needed to. You know that they wanted to see, because they deemed that that was, you know, to be able to tap into that network, to then to be able to bring them on as clients. And I didn't have that because obviously I didn't come from a wealthy background and and so, yeah, so I had to, I had to go abroad. So I, I took a commission only role Yep, you heard it, commission only and I moved to Germany.
Speaker 2:Sorry, how old were you when you moved to Germany?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I moved to Frankfurt, Germany. Yeah, I moved to Frankfurt. So I moved to Frankfurt in 2010. How old were you? Uh, 23?
Speaker 2:24 at that time. That's all right by yourself. To be honest, I did that as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah by myself. Yeah to um to pursue this finance role, because they said, look, we've got you know you haven't got the the finance experience, but you got the sales experience. We can give you a shot, but it's going to be commission only and it's in a different country.
Speaker 1:So I said OK, why not? So yeah, a week after the interview, I was on a plane to Germany, to Frankfurt. That was tough. That was probably the toughest time I've ever experienced, because you're lonely, you're alone, you can't speak the language, you're not making any money, you're hungry, literally hungry. There was many nights I went to bed hungry, and that's no sob story, it is what it is. I remember times I used to stay, I used to be in the office seven days a week, and that's not. Yes, I was a workaholic, because, obviously, if I didn't sell I didn't eat, but also because there was heat, and that sounds weird to say, but there was heat, there was electricity, there was wi-fi was it coffee and biscuits as well I'd porridge, porridge, and that's what, that's what.
Speaker 1:Interesting enough, that's what university taught me as well how to live. Basically, you know how to live basic. So you know, yeah, you know you buy bread, you buy porridge, you buy, you buy eggs, and you know you buy rice and you got loads of meals there, right, you know, um, and that's what you know, that's what. That's what I survived on for for months. You know, nearly nearly a year in germany oh, do you know?
Speaker 2:it's funny, geron, because I remember when I had some situation where I was eating just pasta and tomato and I could not imagine myself going to any Italian restaurant and ask for pasta, because I had, you know, something with trauma. I was like I've eaten so much pasta and tomato, I can't go back and go. Let's go to a restaurant. We're doing anything but Italian.
Speaker 1:Yeah, mine was rice and egg. Rice and egg. Yeah, rice and egg, yeah. So I moved to Germany, did five years there. Then I moved to Spain, did two and a half years in Spain before coming back to the UK.
Speaker 2:With the same company or different company.
Speaker 1:Same company, it's the same company. Or different company same company, it's the same company. Um, um, I was, uh, one of the few I I remember a time when somebody looked at my cv and said you've been there that long? And they were surprised, because, not, people don't last that long. And when I say I probably saw one person leave for every quarter, I was in the company and I was there for seven years, that's no word of a lie.
Speaker 1:I saw so many people come and go, their dreams shatter and they've wasted all their money, burnt all their cash, their relationships, trying to get here and leaving broke, you know, um, because they couldn't afford the flight home, because they couldn't even afford that, you know, hungry.
Speaker 1:So there was one stage where and this goes back to sort of the self-reliance being really, really quite, you know, even though I'm quite a, I can be quite extrovert. I actually became quite an introvert at that point at that point, uh, rely on yourself, because you meet so many people, you start to to make friends and then they don't survive and they get sent home, you know, and um, so I got to a stage where, um, I didn't make any friends. If you lasted six months, then I'll get to know you if you didn't. In the first six months of your tenure in the office I had zero interest in you because in my head I was like there's no point. I didn't want to go through that emotional journey of learning, of meeting somebody, for them to then just be sent home and then just start back from square one and your friend's now gone and whatever. And I had lots of friends that didn't survive and didn't make it.
Speaker 2:As we continue this engaging conversation, remember that Black Rise is more than just a podcast. We're a dynamic platform where businesses can connect, collaborate and prosper with Black professionals, entrepreneurs and Black-owned companies. Our commitment to diversity, inclusion and empowerment reshapes industries and builds a future where Black excellence thrives globally. So don't forget to subscribe and give us a five-star review on iTunes. Yeah, your story is sad. Can I ask you a question? Why did you stay so long? Did you stay still on commission for that long?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I haven't had a salary since 2009. Are you serious? Yeah, even now, I haven't had a salary since 2009. I don't even know what. I don't even I don't know what it even looks like now. I don't know how salaries work. I'll be honest. Yeah, well, I do for, obviously, my work perspective, but I don't know. You know, for my own, for self, I just I don't even know how to pay myself.
Speaker 2:I just don't know how it works. Yeah, wow, wow. That is. You know, it's probably one of the toughest story I've heard of someone making the entry into the business Having, honestly, I've heard a lot of entry points, but yours is definitely one of the toughest, not just, not just financially, but also mentally, you know. And the fact that we didn't address, you know, germany being black, was it something that you also had to deal with?
Speaker 1:That was tough, that was tough. Yeah, that was tough, that was tough. Yeah, that was tough, yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard it all, the n-word. I've heard all of those you know. I've heard it all you know. Yeah, I've heard it all you know. But again, I've no doubt my journey or my story is no different from anybody else who's been successful you're so humble.
Speaker 2:You're so humble. Honestly, this is definitely the toughest entry to the market I've ever heard, because you know, as you say yourself, if you manage to survive working with this company for seven years and most people did not go after, didn't stay until three months it says a lot about your character and, again, something being having those values from the young age of resilience and consistency. People forget all the time. It's like you don't have to be the best in the market, but if you consistently grind, you will do it. Yeah, if you make 20 calls every day, you know and you do the average, you know you're. It's a math exercise, it's a numbers game. Yeah, you know, and you have the time 20.
Speaker 1:Yes, 20 is a lot. 20 is a lottery. I mean, we had to do 100 dollars a day, that was. That's a lottery. No 20. I know the 20 is.
Speaker 2:Is is definitely not sufficient, especially at that point. This story sounds very familiar to you. Know that story that the movie um pursuit of happiness with will smith.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that I resonate with that. I 100 resonate with that, yeah yeah 100.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's um, because it was, it was. You know, we got um half. Just to put it into perspective, we got half board so we got paid. We got 300 euros per month towards our bed and board. That paid for less than half of your board. So, yeah, um, that, just to put in perspective. So I came out with what? A thousand pounds in my pocket there or thereabouts, about three months worth of rent, and yeah, that was that was yeah. That you know, I couldn't, I think. I think I think from my perspective, I remember on the phone to my dad and, and you know, I broke down, you know it was sort of, you know, I was lonely, I was sort of, you know, and he just, you know, he just know he just he shook me, just reminded me. Look, you know, nothing comes easy, right, if you want it and you got to get it, you got to grab it.
Speaker 2:What made you? What did?
Speaker 1:you not give up. I don't know what that means. I don't know what give up means. I'll be honest and maybe because I'm a sports person, I just don't. I just don't. I don't understand. You know, we used to yeah, used to. Basketball is one of my loves. Give up, what does that mean? You can still draw it back, you can get a draw, you can claw the game back, you can claw the quarterback, whatever you know. You give your all to the last minute. That's full stop. There's no middle. What keeps you going? And I said I can't afford to stop. I don't have the luxury. I don't have the choice. I've got kids to feed. I don't have that choice. I don't have the luxury I had myself to feed. I don't those. Those are not luxuries I have.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Do you know what's so funny? I think we shared this a lot in the sense that what's the other option? I just have to. You know you have to. It's like, what else is a, b? But I think we're working on that. You can have a plan A, but you might have some variation to that plan A, but you don't need a plan B, a plan B for me, I think that means that I failed. If you think about plan B, you already think that you're going to fail and I have no option. And I try as well.
Speaker 2:What I do with the team is bringing that mindset. I was like, oh, it's not working. It's like wait a minute, wasn't? Let's go back a little bit. What can we change? Yeah, that, that and so on, because I don't want them, them to give up like, oh, no, no, we're going to this new market, because we're going to germany, and so it's like when I was like, oh, I don't think it's not gonna always, don't let this be in your mind, because you're gonna think about all the reason why this is going to fail. So I love that mindset. So what happened? You now left this horrible company, which is no longer there.
Speaker 2:I think one thing that is difficult is that, as well, this system get people, you know, rule people out straight away if you don't come from such background whatsoever and if you're black, and they wonder why there's not that many black people or whatever, in different countries. And it's time you know black and and they wonder why there's not that many black people or whatever, in different countries. And it's, and it's time you know, and we see that, thank god, this new generation is, you know, awake and realize that something needs to happen, something maybe to change, but it's really hard, you know, those establishments are here for a long time because the entry, the entry bar, the bar is so high, the bar is so high.
Speaker 1:You know we're directly authorized by the fca, um, that you know that bar is. That bar was high when I got it and I was very fortunate to get it. That bar's even higher now oh well, is it higher?
Speaker 2:I've already.
Speaker 1:It's not easier it's not easy, not easy at all, easy at all. You know the regulatory hoops you have to jump through, the setups you need to have. It's a reason why, you know, I was told by a firm and I'm not going to tell you the name of the firm, but I was told. When they were trying to poach, when they were trying to bring Belvedere over into their group, I was told that I'm one of the youngest directly authorised firms in the country Because, to your point, the average age of directly authorised is around the 50 mark. They probably didn't realise that that was just more fuel for my fire. For me, the entry was absolutely high, extremely high, and arguably there's very few people, you know, connected. You know, I always say if you're connected or you've got wealth, then you'll probably be able to get into it. If you don't have that, then the bar is so high.
Speaker 2:Is it because of the different crashes that happened in the past and how you know some of those financial organizations when? That's okay. So that's the reason why.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, I can see Well, well, I think it's two parts to it, right.
Speaker 1:I think, um, I think, yeah, historically, um, you know the financial crash and so on and so forth, and that they're making they're now they wanted to make sure that, you know, the right type of firms and the right type of people are getting regulated and so on and so forth there. But I think, um, I think there's also and part of the reason why I came to London because I had offers for New York, I had offers for Ghana and I decided to come back to London is because they want to make sure that the UK remains a gold standard in terms of the financial services. And that's why, you know, regardless of how we feel about the UK in itself, the financial services sector in the UK is one of the gold standard around the world. And it is that because, you know, arguably the regulatory landscape is quite robust, is quite difficult to get entry into. Because of that, they can keep that sort of closed door, private club sort of membership thing going on there we did it, we did it yeah, blessed, blessed, yeah.
Speaker 1:Uh, I'm undeserved, but I'm gonna take the season.
Speaker 2:As I keep saying, I'll take the season, I'll take it definitely because now what we want to descend is our journey to creating, uh, everyday wealth management. What happened take us through that journey and we want to descend as well. Why?
Speaker 1:yeah, the journey started, the journey first. So, obviously, seven, seven and a half years internationally, and then I, I set up belvedere international at that point in 2017, because there was a handful when I mean a handful, literally a handful of clients that wanted to remain with me when I left. And then I came back to the UK, starting working for one of the largest firms, the largest networks in the country, and the reason because of that was I needed to build my reputation, I needed to build my quote unquote brand in the UK. So I knew I had to work with somebody to build that brand. So, yeah, I went direct, I went, uh, uh, ar author as representative of another network and built my brand under them. And then, um, you know, three years, three years, which I I felt was the right time to move. I, I moved away from them to form Belvedere UK and I got direct authorization in October 21 to be able to manage Belvedere as its own entity.
Speaker 1:Why?
Speaker 1:The why? That's the important part. The why was because and I don't want this to sound very cliche because, of course, this has been the theme for a number of years, but I looked around and I didn't see me. But I looked around and I didn't see me. I looked around and I didn't see us as clients. Does that mean we don't have wealth? Of course we do. My parents are an example of that. My uncles and aunties are an example of successful people that have done super well. So why are we not clients? Why are we not clients? Why are we not advisors? Why are there people like us trying to go and attract those type of clients into this world?
Speaker 1:I remember my interview with that network in particular and they said what's your focus? And I gave them the spiel and he sort of looked at me and said that's waffle. What's the real reason why you're here? And I said I want to bring more people like me into this world. There's so much wealth in our community, but we do not have that access because we don't have the understanding. And because we don't have the understanding, we don't believe it's for us, but it is for us. We also have wealth that needs protecting. We also have wealth that needs growing. So that was sort of the reason why I started. The reason why we keep going is because we are making a change. Slowly, but we are making a change.
Speaker 1:When one of my partners came on. Somebody messaged him to say congratulations and he copied in their son. And that partner in question reached out to the person and say thank you very much. You know, if there's anything we can help, you know you copied somebody in. Please, please, let us know. And that person in question said no, I copied in my son because I wanted to show them what we can do when we form together, when we work together.
Speaker 1:That's the why. That's the why what I see a lot of is role models in terms of sports music very fortunate to work with some of these type of people but what I don't see enough of is role models in the business sector. What I don't see enough is role models in terms of the everyday hero, as far as I'm concerned, that is successful in their nine to five or whatever, and doing what they should be doing. And I wanted to make sure that we are doing our part to this whole journey of elevating our people in the community within that and that, for me, is from the financial element, that financial education, the financial planning, financial advisory, investment management and really making sure that everybody's been given the opportunity to better themselves, better their lives and create in their own way their generational wealth, and that, for me, is the why, that's the continuous why.
Speaker 1:Until I'm not, this is not no movement or anything like that, but what I do want is parity. What I do want is an even playing field. That's all I asked for. Yeah, that's all I asked, because I wasn't, I wasn't given that. Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 2:You know. It's so funny because before I met you, um, one of the associates I don't know if you're microsoft, but I don't have a title that he has because obviously the entity allows other financial advisor to join as well, in which, by so many wealth managers, that linkedin, and I would say you know what, forget you. No, no, no, no. And it's the first time. I was like, oh Michael, let me just give him a talk and have a conversation. And he was very knowledgeable, very relatable. I think that was important. I was looking to have somebody I could relate to. And this is what is frustrating, as you say, is that idea that we do not have the capital or the desire to do such like that, and this is why it needs to change, because it's not because stories are not told that they don't exist yeah and that's what is so important.
Speaker 2:You know. You know you are among the individuals that I have the trailblazers. People are changing it and there's so many of them that I'm waiting to be discovered. Not everybody is brilliant at building their personal brand and being visible, and this is why I do this, because I'm calling out all black people out there. We're doing great to not stay in the shadow, because the less visible, the more we can inspire.
Speaker 2:Unfortunately, to visit society, people still want to see their role model, to be inspired. Some people are like me or like you say well, nobody's doing it, I'm going to do it, yeah, but how many people really think like that? Unfortunately not the majority. People just want to be fairly. You know the, the professional out there want to feel okay, I can see, I can do it, because she can do it too, it's obvious I'm gonna be that first person. I have no problem with that and unfortunately as well, you know, jaron, is that a lot of time. We have to be the first in so many different industries and we are so behind and I don't know for you in terms of, maybe, the preconceived ideas people have when it comes to wealth management.
Speaker 2:What do you think people need to stop thinking when it comes to building their portfolio Not just living a portfolio, but, you know, protecting their assets, or you know what are the things? The biggest. I don't want to say misbelief, but the biggest Misconceptions. Yeah, misconceptions, that's what I was looking for. Misconceptions it doesn't have to be one, it could be multiples.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think the first thing is is that it's not for them. I think that's sort of a big misconception that it's not for them. Yes, you know, certain companies, firms, have minimum expectations that they want for the client, for themselves as a firm, and that's not a problem, by the way. But you know, I think the first misconception is that we believe that it's not for us because, you know, maybe we're only earning 50, 60,000 a year or whatever. You know, I believe that if you want to make a difference to your future self, then you know you should be seeing, or you should be getting expert advice and help on that. I think also, you know we're afraid to ask for help. I think there's that as well.
Speaker 2:I think it's afraid of me being. I know I have a situation and I'm being very transparent for everybody. I thought that maybe I'm not wealthy enough to have a wealth manager. I think that's probably the biggest mistake that we make thing, that, yes, way to be wealthy, you're already too late. You know, to be that that 20 million, that you're already too late, exactly the sooner right exactly 100, if we're just talking.
Speaker 1:You know, this is still new for us, right? This is still new for us. And because of that, um, we, we like tangible things, things that we can see when we pay for. You know, what am I paying for? Oh, I can see this, I can see that. Yeah, that makes sense to me. But that services model, sometimes it's still I. I think you know it could be totally wrong, which is my opinion on this, but it's still relatively new and sort of.
Speaker 1:You know, it's hard to showcase the value add of what we do, because what we do is so it's not tangible, it's not in your hands, you can't feel it. It's very much behind the scenes, it's very much thought process, thinking, you know, in terms of deliverables, but sometimes those deliverables take time to deliver on, and so I think that also plays part to it. And again, exposure, you know, I remember being in Spain and being on the golf course with a client and the client's son was caddying for him, and it was very much the thought process of listen, learn, this is your money, this is your money one day. So, listen, understand what's going on. You know, how many times have we done that? Or are we still shooing away our kids when we're having these sort of conversations? You know, because you know I'm from the era of close the door. This is grown photo.
Speaker 2:So stupid, isn't it? We shouldn't feel like that at all, yeah.
Speaker 1:And that's why I always say to people, and I think you know, a massive misconception is that we can close the wealth gap in one generation, which is wild for me, which is actually laughable.
Speaker 1:You know, that's why they call it generational wealth. You know it's going to take generations to close that wealth gap. I would love to be able to see it at my time, but I won't, you know. I know I won't. But what my job is to do is to set the tone for my kids. So they are 10, 15 meters ahead than what I was in the same 100 meter race. You know, and that's that's what we've got to also work towards. You know, I think sometimes people come in thinking that they're going to change the whole, you know, generation in one go and it's, it's not. And then when you sort of show them that it's not, then you know, they sort of sometimes get a little bit disheartened on that. And actually, no, our job is not to do that. Our job is just to close the gap just a little bit so that kids don't have it just as hard.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you know, one thing that can be quite upsetting Geron is like if you close the die and you have this money and then they end up to do this, that generation will build because they don't know how that they maintain it and don't become frivolous with it absolutely never better.
Speaker 2:You know, it's so funny when you say that I was thinking about a song on the album when jay-z and beauty did an album. Like my grand grand kids are already, you know, billionaires or something like that, you know. And then you think that, far you know, you don't think about my kids, I think about my grand grand kids are only millionaires because you set the rules, you set the trust, you set the thing to make sure that if they don't have a discipline, there's still the elements in place to make sure that that. And I think that's so important that we take the time to have that financial literacy.
Speaker 2:The soonest I was looking at um, I was looking at there's a couple of communities I love to explore and look at how they build wealth successfully and we are saying names, but it's really rely on six pillars and hopefully I remember the six pillars because I always forget one. One of them is financial literacy. The second one is community, so they know where to find each other, they know how to build that and that's something that we need to be able to do as well. And there is entrepreneurship. You know you can have a salary, okay, fine, but that entrepreneurship will always take you further. Education is one of them as well, which is so, so important, and I forgot the other two, but I'm just saying we want that relevant to this conversation it's important.
Speaker 1:I want to add one to that, though, by the way. I want to add that one. I wanted that. I think one of the things that I I see that holds us back is that reliance on the next generation to look after the current generation. So true, how can we push forward if we're forever being held back by the generation that came before us? You know, and and that's why that statement from Jay-Z Beyonce was so important because actually what they're saying is is that the freedom, the line has been cut. That dependency lifeline, that dependency line is cut. You know there is no more reliance on my kids. You know we've already set them up. We've set the kids up. We've set them up. So guess what their mindset is gonna be on setting their grandkids up and their grandkids are gonna be setting mindset or setting their grandkids up.
Speaker 1:And that's where you have. You move away from that generational wealth and you go to legacy. Yes, you know you're going to legacy and you're going into sort of foundations.
Speaker 2:The tradition that you build. You know, like this is what we do. You know you set the rules. I always feel it, because I always have an angle when I watch movies, like why am I supposed to understand from this, and I will be very careful in terms of the movies that I watch? There's a am I supposed to understand from this, and I will be very careful in terms of the movies that I watch. There's one thing on that piece I feel like right now it's called uh, the gentleman, and you see that the father died and you know it's. The thing is supposed to be passing on to the others, but the oldest is an idiot yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1:That's one of my favorite um series right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that but I think it's just the element of like the tradition that you build in terms of what do we do as a community? How do we operate to make sure that we stay wealthy? I think the point is not to be rich, it's to be wealthy to the point that you don't become dependent to anybody else, and that is brilliant.
Speaker 1:There's another takeaway from that, I think as well, is that he passed it. It's interesting he passed it on to the second son rather than the first son, and that's because the second son was a lot more sensible, a lot more, and he knew that if the money was with the first son, the wealth is ruined. The whole money for the life would be dissipated if he passed it to the second son. And that goes back to one of the most important things. You know, we talk about generational wealth and we talk about building generational wealth and we sit there and say, yeah, I've got to do this, I've got to build this, I've got to build that. But actually the most important generational wealth piece that you can give to your children is the education. It's not money. What's the point of giving them money with no understanding? Give them the understanding and they will make money.
Speaker 2:Yes, so true. What about you, Jaron? What is the future looks like? What is the legacy that you?
Speaker 1:want to build. It's interesting because I always say to people that it's not about money with what I'm trying to build, and the reason why I say that is because I work in wealth management. Even if I'm half average, over the next 20 years, you know I I will be able to stop working, retire whatever, um, because even if I'm half average, you know I'll be able to do that. So it's bigger, it's bigger than me, and and and again. That's what's the, that's what drives me. Um, as we were talking before, we've got a second office in namibia, uh, which is in windhook, um, in windhook, which is in namibia, um, for those that don't know where that is, that's a country besides south africa you have to explain why you're opening there uh, it was more of a strategic part, sort of threefold um.
Speaker 1:We wanted somewhere where they had the wealth, that they had a good sort of structure in terms of political structure. That wasn't too, you know, um too too open to corruption. We wanted somewhere that was quite stable in terms of politically because of violence and that that part, um, they had just found oil, um, and we all know that namibia is where the beer do their diamonds or we're doing diamonds at one point, um, so it's quite wealthy as a natural resources, as a country and again, as I said, they just found oil. But also, you know, I was very fortunate to find a great partner over there, um, which I, over the um international, brought the business out and with that we are able to change the setup to to make sure it's sort of very similar to the UK in the way that we do things, the way that we treat our clients, where we carry ourselves, and that's really bringing a different way of doing things to the Namibian market, because they don't work like that. So you know, it's bringing that British way of doing business to Namibia. So it's gone down really well. But in terms of the vision for Belvedere, we want to be in every major hub around the world. That's where we want to be. The beautiful thing that I noticed in my entry role was that they had 80 offices all around the world. They're one of the largest international wealth management firms in the world.
Speaker 1:And then I came back and worked for one of the largest financial advisory firms in the country and what I realized is that I wanted to be able to do both the best of both worlds to be a known brand, servicing the people that are in need, not just our community, but people also that wanted to make a difference to the future itself. You know, our job, as I always say, is to turn that basic rate taxpayer into an additional rate taxpayer. Additional to a higher sorry, basic to higher, higher to additional, additional to the high net worth and, you know, high net worth to the ultra high net worth. That's our job, that's what we should be doing, that's what we should be focused on. We should be creating high net worth to the ultra high net worth. That's our job, that's what we should be doing, that's what we should be focused on. We should be creating high net worth individuals and ultra high net worth individuals. So with that, there's the future of the business from a UK perspective is a private banking route.
Speaker 1:So in the next five years we will be embarking on a private banking structure to be able to have that sort of multi, that family office, that multifamily office, private banking. Because, again, as I said, our job is to create high net worth and ultra high net worth clients. We need to make sure that we have got the services, the solutions available to them when we've created that wealth. And then our clients are international generally speaking, the majority of them are international so we need to make sure that we also got services and solutions for them when they travel. So that was the purpose of opening up our secondary office in Namibia, so that if somebody wants to travel, they can be serviced by us internationally as well through our international office and advisors out there. And because I've got the experience of doing that, I know how to work that best. But the aim is to be in every major hub around Africa, the Caribbean and, of course, in places like the Americas, europe etc. But to be in every major hub so we can service our community and more worldwide.
Speaker 2:Wow, I'm excited, I can't wait for this to happen and I think that a lot of people will follow. And you know it's funny when I think about just the idea of Black Lives, people say we needed this. And you know what I think about when you translate is that we need this, we need this and I can't wait for this to become a reality. No-transcript and I think there's a lot of great takeaways from this the importance of having great transferable skills. You know the sooner you build them, the easier it will be for life. And sometimes you have yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Sometimes you think about you know what life puts you through. Is that building your strong stamina is so key for all the turbulence of what life is about. And again, consistency and clarity and purpose will take you further. You might not be the best in the market, but if you're consistent with your grind and what you're trying to achieve is so key. And when you have purpose, you bring people on emotions Because as much as we think that we are rational, we are not rational at all.
Speaker 2:But again, beyond that, it's a vision which is different. Don't be afraid to be the first person to do what has never been done. It's not because it hasn't been done, it means it's impossible. Don't be afraid to create a vision that is different from what we have right now. We should not accept a lot of people who are in this space, who are entrepreneurs. The two of us are people who have refused to accept the stratoscope and took a different life, and this is super exciting. I can't wait to see what it's like. As you say, you're still at the beginning of your career. Yeah, you have a lot of things to do. This is super cute 37 gone off 38.
Speaker 1:um, you know a lot of things to do.
Speaker 2:This is a bookie 37 gone off 38. I've got 25 years to do this a quarter I was sent to me.
Speaker 1:Good luck, um, it's happening, it's happening.
Speaker 2:I don't accept anything, but it's gonna happen so people will know more about beveder wealth management and one who are looking to speak to a. I think sometimes the term wealth is capable of a financial advisor.
Speaker 1:Financial advisor is exactly that. Yeah, financial advisor.
Speaker 2:What's the best way to get started? Is it to go to the website?
Speaker 1:go to the website. You know we've got a number of advisors on there, male and female, so go to the website wwwbelvederecom. So, belvederecom, um, please do so. Belvederewmcom. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us any of the advisors there or myself personally and you know we would love to be able to talk to you. It all starts with a conversation. That's what it is. It starts with a conversation, a free conversation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you know, it's the start of a great conversation. You have nothing to lose, just having a conversation.
Speaker 1:Nothing to lose. Yeah, simple yeah, just have a conversation with us and just allow, allow us in for 15 minutes you know, to be honest, if it was a conversation, because it was great.
Speaker 2:but again, sometimes it's good to just give people before they actually buy in, and I think that's always such a great learning. And you know, disclaimer, I didn't invite john because you know, I'm a client of this. I invited because I thought it was just so good to hear about the success and I've come across so many people who recommended me. It's like who is this person? I need to speak to him. And then I realized he's obviously very methodological, so I had to wait two weeks to speak to you, but we managed to do it. No, don't do that.
Speaker 1:Don't do that, don't do that, you're also don't.
Speaker 2:That's not just me.
Speaker 1:Okay, our calendars didn't match exactly exactly.
Speaker 2:Our calendars didn't match, yeah, yeah, all right, this is the end of this amazing podcast. It's been such a delight having you. I hope that you enjoy this time with me for all our amazing listeners. I hope that you enjoy listen. This is a very good podcast to share with people while they were thinking about building legacy.
Speaker 2:Legacy starts with education and then education means money, because if you don't have knowledge, you can never really build wealth. It's so easy to be rich, but it's harder to stay wealthy and, trust me, wealth whisper people are very rich. You never see them. You see me disappearing. You know that. That was just a point where you know I I would put that exists. I'm probably in my bunkers, know the time is just for it to wear. You know I will put you where that exists. I'm probably in my bunker somewhere on the island. But anyway, for the reality of what it is right now, check out Beverly Dell Wealth Management. We're going to share the link of the website in the description, but for us, gerard and I, it's Thank you so much.
Speaker 2:Stay safe, stay blessed, stay well. Yes, bye, everybody. Thank you for joining us on this episode of Black Rise. We hope that you found this conversation as inspiring as we did. Share your takeaways on social media and tag us as we wrap up. Remember that you can always stay connected with us. Join us on this journey of elevation, motivation and empowerment. Let's rise together, break barriers and create lasting change. Subscribe now to stay updated with our latest episodes and visit theblackrisecom to find out more. This is Black Rise, where excellence and impact converge to redefine the future. Until next time, keep rising.