ON THE PURSUIT PODCAST (PRST)
On the Pursuit (PRST) Podcast connects with entrepreneurs, movers and shakers that are making a real impact in life & business and we share these stories to motivate and inspire you to take action in your life. Now kickback and enjoy the show whether you are chilling, working out or on-the-move.
ON THE PURSUIT PODCAST (PRST)
From Broke to Unbroken | Joi Hunt
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Leaving a toxic marriage often means losing everything. Hear Joi's story of surviving domestic abuse and building an empire based on helping women build their businesses.
Connect with Joi: https://seeyouatthebank.com/
Instagram: @joihunt_esq (Instagram)
➡️ Work With Me
Tour: https://podcasttocashtour.com/
Community: https://www.skool.com/atc/about
Masterclass: https://speakmoremakemoremasterclass.com
Book a Call: https://brendanboyd.co/gen-bookacall
eBooks & Courses: https://brendanboyd.co/shop
➡️ Podcast Sponsors
Get Funding - https://mediafunding.io/prequalification
LBOW Golf - https://lbowgolf.com?sca_ref=10428202...
High Level - https://www.gohighlevel.com/brendan-b...
➡️ Affiliate Partners
Jet Quest - https://jetquest.net/?ref=BRENDAN0373
LBOW Golf - https://lbowgolf.com?sca_ref=10428202...
Skool: https://www.skool.com/signup?ref=edc7...
Riverside FM: https://riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=ca...
Vibe Board https://vibe.us/referral/share/?perso...
Eleven Labs https://try.elevenlabs.io/eeji6jcd1485
Opus Clip https://agent.opus.pro/?via=brendanboyd
VidIQ https://vidiq.com/itsbrendanboyd
Poppy AI https://start.getpoppy.ai/brendan-0OPlh
➡️ Follow Me
Instagram / itsbrendanboyd
Linkedin / brendan-boyd-20138711
X https://x.com/itsbrendanboyd
Facebook / brendan.boyd.129
TikTok / itsbrendanboyd
I had lost joy a long time ago in that marriage. And so when you are broke, busted, and disgusted, a lot of times you can't see anything more than where you are. So joy of February 2022, I'm trying to pay rent. Went through a real toxic uh marriage that turned abusive and had to leave after my husband tried to kill me. 30 days after I left, he took all the money out of our accounts, like we got out of businesses. And then February of 2000, my mom had to pay my rent. So I didn't know what this was gonna be. All I knew was I couldn't stay here. I couldn't stay broke busting and stuff. So I'm about to go dig my way out. And so you have to go figure it out, fire it out, go put yourself in those circles. What's some of the things you have coming up? I, of course, have my C at the Bank community where you can kind of just come and get, you know, grant tips, marketing tips, business tips, structure tips. I have a five-day mentorship program. It's gonna be I'm gonna transform your life in five days. I'm gonna change you, your mindset, and your business in five days.
SPEAKER_02You can change someone's business and their life in five days?
SPEAKER_03What's up, y'all? Welcome to another episode of the Honor Pursuit Podcast. We connect with entrepreneurs, mover, shakers, those that are really getting to it. And on today's episode, we got a powerhouse attorney, legal strategist, somebody that I've actually worked with to get her on a couple different platforms, but I'm a fan as well. I've been seeing her moving, I've been seeing her shaking, I've been seeing her inspiring a whole campaign of business owners, especially women, to really take their business to the next level and actually take their life to the next level. She has an amazing story. We're gonna learn a little bit about it, but I want to talk to her more so about the strategy. Talk to her about really what she's looking to do going into the next season, right? But before we get into that, I want to let you guys know podcast at castor.com, podcast at castor.com. If you're looking to learn how to monetize a podcast, leverage a podcast, use a podcast for sales, or how to put on your own events to monetize high ticket, head over to podcast at podcast at castor.com and grab a ticket in the city near you. Joy, welcome to the podcast. I'm doing great. What's going on? I feel like I just saw you. Yeah, I just saw you. You're something different.
SPEAKER_00I was, what's the guy? Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Um, so there's definitely a few things I want to talk about. Your story, I think, is is is is amazing. And I feel like no matter how many times you tell it, it always feels like the first time for someone. And I know it's like a testimony to so many people. So we'll touch on that in a little bit. Um, but I I I came across um uh Instagram reel yesterday, and I saw that you commented below it. So I want you to to to I want you to watch it, and I want to open up with with uh you know explaining why, you know, you're just your thoughts, why it's right, wrong, you know. Um, so it's from my guy, uh Tony Rome. I'm gonna just give it to you. I know he was out of mastermind um not too long ago, so check it out and then let the people know.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so this is absolutely false.
SPEAKER_03All right, break it down.
SPEAKER_01So, and the guy is saying on the video that an uh an LLC doesn't give you separation, that only a corporation gives you separation, meaning you have you and your assets and then the business. An LLC is a business entity, it gives you separation. You have the LLC and you have you. So what he was doing was he was misinterpreting or maybe not understanding what a disregarded entity is. A disregarded entity doesn't mean that the entity doesn't a disregarded entity means that the IRS does not see an entity or tax purposes. So you are forming an entity, an LLC or a corporation at the state level. You're taxed at the federal level. So you can only form or you can form an LLC or a corporation known as a C Corp. But your LLC or C Corp can be taxed either as an LLC, it can be taxed as an S-corp, it can be taxed as a C Corp. So on the federal level, you can choose how you want your entity to be taxed by filing a form. So your LLC can be taxed as an S-corp, your LLC can be taxed as a C Corp. It's just a tax election. So the disregarded entity doesn't mean there is no LLC, there is no separation, it just means that it for tax purposes, an LLC doesn't pay taxes, and the S-corp doesn't pay taxes. They are a pass-through entity or a disregarded entity, meaning the income of the business flows through to the owner. The expenses of the business flow through to the owner, and the owner pays the taxes on their 1040 at their personal level. So that was totally false. And LLC does give you legal separation and all this from the conception of time that has nothing to do with anything.
SPEAKER_03Right, right, right.
SPEAKER_01And so my and the reason why I commented on that, on that real normally I don't comment, right? But we are leading people astray. We are leading people wrong. There are pros and cons to every entity. And if you have everyone going to get a C Corp and they don't understand double taxation and how to run a C Corp, how you have to have a board of directors and all these. There's there's way more corporate formalities that a C Corp has to follow to keep that legal separation. Because you can go form your go form the C Corp, but you don't keep your annual minutes, you don't elect your board, and now you can hit with the law, so you don't have those things, and now you've lost your asset protection. So I just chimed on there, just saying this is come, this is like it's completely false what you're saying. And when you are talking about setting up entities and protecting assets, you you you need to know what you're talking about. And so there are some lanes that you don't need to be in the lane, like your level of education, your level of of what you understand of things, and you're reading things, not understanding what they're mean, you are leading people astray.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_01So everything in that video was false. That's why I made that comment up.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. I seen that. I was like, I gotta ask her about that. Because I I I feel the same way. Like, um, I'm not as um, I would say, versed in what he was talking about in particular. Like, I like I understand LOCs, but I'm like, I felt like there was like a level of um a little a little level of arrogance because of you know the he was using swear words to kind of like um really bring it home like you guys should know this, this is wrong. Um so so I did see your comment. I was like, I definitely want to ask you about it to kind of like really get your take on it. Um because again, I believe you. Like if you're if you're someone that is um, you know, mentoring, coaching, speaking, you know, making content, and you got people following you, watching you, commenting, you know, you want to obviously help them sell things, um, but you're not giving the proper information, or maybe you're not fully versed, you're right. Because most people aren't going to do correct. They're just gonna trust you if they know like and trust you, they're gonna go through your guidance. So I like how you how you you know you put that in, basically start a conversation. So, so what are you finding mostly um with the um people that you're working with in terms of like business structure? Are people even setting up businesses properly? Um, like like what are some of the things that entry-level business owners are running into?
SPEAKER_01Number one, either we are not thinking that we're a real business.
SPEAKER_02Okay, break break break that down.
SPEAKER_01So I'm just I'm just trying to, I'm just trying to, I just want to sell some earrings. I want to just, I'm I'm just doing cupcakes. I'm just gonna do some, I'm gonna sell a digital product. Um, I'm not making that much money. So I'm just gonna be a sole proprietor or DBA, and then once I start making money, then I'll get my LLC. They feel that they have to have some kind of level of business acumen or revenue before I get the LLC. And you want to get the LLC before you even get the email address. Like that's the first thing because when you are walking into these business streets, it's grimy. People are our lawsuit happy, people have disputes, and if you get caught in a lawsuit, you're not protected, you are now putting your house, your car, the money in your bank account at risk. So if you just open up a business and you're a sole proprietor DBA that has no protection, if you were to get sued, you're going to lose everything.
SPEAKER_06Okay.
SPEAKER_01On the flip side, if you're starting a business, normally you're going to be sacrificing money, resources, and time. Don't you want to protect that business and that business name? So forget entry-level business owners. I've had 15, 20 year business owners never have an LLC.
SPEAKER_03They're just operating?
SPEAKER_01Just operating as a soul priority. They're just in the ocean all this time. Just making money.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_01Making money, no entity.
SPEAKER_03No setup.
SPEAKER_01Because most business owners are experts in their arena. I'm the best mechanic. I'm the best, um, I'm the best baker, I'm the best whatever. They don't know the legal side, right? So I think I have my EIN, I'm good. And then 15 years later, they hear a reel or a YouTube and they, oh God, I need to have protection. When they now go to get their LLC, guess what? Their names already take. So now 15 years of business, aka 15 years of goodwill, people knowing that you are podcasted cash, and now you got to change that name and start all the way over from scratch, branding, scrap everything.
SPEAKER_03So let me ask you this there's people out there right now who have a business or they're actively looking for business owners that don't have their T's crossed and their and their I's dotted. And like that's the way that they're able to like, I guess, monetize from that business owner or steal their IP? There's people that are actively doing that.
SPEAKER_01So it can go one of two ways. One, forget people out there. Let's just say you and your girlfriend are together and you start podcasting. Then you break up with her. You got you a new one. And she knows because she's been with you that you don't have all your stuff together.
SPEAKER_06Right, right, right.
SPEAKER_01She would go trademark your name and then go send you a C Cm checkmate one way. Or someone else who doesn't even know who Brendan is just likes to name Podcast to Cash. And they just start their own business not knowing it was had anything to do with you.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_01And then when it's time now for you to go form your LLC, you go into your secondary state, oh, that that name's no longer available. Or on the bigger spectrum, because an LLC protects your name in the state that the LLC was formed in. So if you form if you form an LLC Podcast to Cash in Florida, no one in Florida can use podcast to cash. But if I'm in Texas, I can use podcasting. If you trademark the name, no one in the US of A.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_01So I may see Podcast to Cash. Let me go check the trademark. He LLC that he didn't trademark it, bet. And they go trademark another tenderism. How the guy? Right, yeah, yeah. Exactly. So some people will try to profit off of you. Some people just on accident, just like the same name. But they've had 15 years, 20 years in business, and they think I have this EIN, which is nothing if you don't have it connected to an LLC or a corporation. And then now they have to rebrand their entire business.
SPEAKER_03So what are the four elements that uh a business owner just starting out or even 10, 15, 20 years in the game, they got to make sure that they have anything.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so number one is gonna be either an LLC or a corporation known as a C Corp.
SPEAKER_03LLC or C Corp. Correct.
SPEAKER_01Uh, depending on how much income your business makes, there is something called an S Corp, which is gonna be a tax election. It's not an entity, meaning it's a way that the IRS tax you. Once your business makes about 60 grand in profit for the year, meaning after you pay all your business bills, you can put 60 grand in your pocket. You want to have the IRS tax you as an S-corp. So starting out knowing, am I gonna make 60 grand this year to make that S Corp of a tax election, or I don't need to make that S Corp tax election quite yet? Number two, you want to have what I call is the business structure for a pack. Your EIN, your operating agreement, your LLC, and your business bank account. So your EIN is gonna be your tax ID. You got to use that for like opening up bank accounts, um, sales tax payroll. Your operating agreement will be the contract that governs how your business is ran. Are we 50-50 partners? Are we 70-30? Um, if you were married and you died, is your wife gonna come be my business partner? Is she gonna come have like voting shares?
SPEAKER_03That's all in an operating agreement.
SPEAKER_01Operating agreement.
SPEAKER_03Can I be amended?
SPEAKER_01Yes. And then fourth, you want to have your business bank account. A lot of people have a business and they're still having money going to their personal. And so what happens is if I can't tell a difference between you and your business, there is no business, and then we're all one. Which means if something happens, I can now get your house, your car, the money, the bank. The third thing you want to make sure is that you're running your business like it's Walmart, meaning that you're following the corporate formality. So a lot of people think I form my LLC, I'm good. No, you're not. You form your LLC, is your LLC active? Certain states require you to file a report every single year. So in Florida, you got to file your report every single year on the anniversary of your LLC. If you don't file that report, your LLC is gonna be called inactive, which means you ain't got an LLC. So if something happens, you're now personally responsible for all that business liability. Right. Um next would be running it like Walmart. Are we commingling personal and business expenses or income? So are you taking that business card and we're at Fashion Nova, getting our lashes done, paying our home mortgage? If we're running, if we're using our business bank account like a piggy bank, then once again there is no separation. You're one and you can lose all of your personal assets. On the, on the, as we're growing and as we're growing income with our business, do you have one LLC and a whole bunch of DBAs under them? So it's number four. Number four is some people think I just need to have one entity and just run five, six businesses underneath it. No, because if something happens at business number two, you don't want to affect the income of business number one. But when you have one LLC, if any of those businesses get sued, they can take everything. So each separate business, no matter how small it is, needs to be its own separate LLC for asset protection reasons. If you have multiple locations, each location needs to be its own LLC. If I have a live and follow location one, I don't want it to take the profits of location five. So each one needs to be its own separate LLC. Now, when it comes to having assets, number five for sake would be not understanding you got to protect those assets. If you have trademarks, you have cars, you have homes. So once you start making money, you now become a liability. And people are now gonna be actively coming to get you and your stuff. So is your house in your name? Are your cars in your name? Someone can go online and see, ooh, Brendan got this and that. I'm about to come after Brendan. People do that. So there's things like holding companies and trusts that will mask the ownership. So on paper, Brendan don't look like he got anything.
SPEAKER_03What's going on? This is Brendan Boyd, and I want to tell you something. What you guys need to do is get in the room. Whether you want to learn how to leverage podcasting to take your business to that next level, or you want to learn how to structure and scale your offers, you need to get in the room and get in front of more people. The podcast at Cast Tour is where you need to be, and we're gonna be heading to 14 cities. So I know there's one near you: Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, Boston, New York, Toronto, LA, San Diego, Oakland, Austin, Houston, Dallas. Pull up to the tour. Bring a friend. This is the number one media and business monetization tour out there. Podcast the cast tour. Click the link below, grab a ticket, cannot wait to see you in the room. I want to meet you. I want to help you grow your business through media. I'll see you on the other side. Where can I get this information from? I feel like you just broke the whole thing down. You made it real, you made a real crystal. You know, and I'm thinking back to um when I started one of my very first businesses, which was um a basketball league in my city, and I ran it for six years. It was probably one of the most popping things culturally where I'm from in Boston. And I I did pretty much everything, but I didn't do nothing of what you talking about. You know what I'm saying? I got like I did have an LLC and I did have a business bank account, but that was it. Like I wasn't doing, you know what I'm saying? Right. Um, I was definitely calling, 100%. Cole Megland was going down, right? Um, but I didn't know what I didn't know. And I feel like there's a lot of entrepreneurs that don't know what they don't know. Correct. Right. So they're watching this or they're seeing you, they follow you, they're gonna understand that that four-pack, right?
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_03But if someone doesn't, like, how can they get this information? Because obviously, you know, the other, let's say the other people, right, you know, they know what they're doing, right? They're gonna borrow money, they're gonna launch a business, they're gonna buy a business. They, you know, this information is passed down. But but how how do we get access to some of this information? Where if someone, if they don't find a joint hunt, like where, like, where would they go? I mean, you do a great job marketing and promoting, so they're gonna find you. But if they didn't find you yet, like where should they go to start learning some of these things?
SPEAKER_01They should go to see you athebank.com where I have courses, challenges, mentorship programs, or you want to find a credible source. So if someone's talking about business structure, number one, there needs to be a degree behind their name. Because you're talking about asset protection, you're talking about set losing your house, losing your car. That there needs to be some kind of degree, some kind of business acumen behind that person's name. So you could, I would first go to YouTube. Okay. I wouldn't be on TikTok, I wouldn't be on Instagram, I would go on YouTube who has a in and you want to look at the professionalism of the page, right? So is it just someone, and I'm not trying to I'm not trying to throw shade.
SPEAKER_02You can throw some shade, it's cool.
SPEAKER_01If it's just someone like I'm just talking to my car and every video, that person probably, or I would let me not, let me not Burf is a nice car. Let me retrack it. I don't I don't want to say the wrong thing. I would say when you're talking about your business structure, you're talking about starting your business, it needs to be an attorney, it needs to be someone, um, sometimes a CPA will know these things, but they need to have gone to school to learn about asset protection and how to structure a business. Period, point blank. Now, there may be other people who are gurus, blah, blah, blah, cool. But how, if you're asking me to tell a lay person, how can they distinguish between what lay person really knows it and really doesn't? So just to keep it clean, I will go to YouTube, because that's where a lot of grown people and people who are trying to teach are going to be. And I will look to have either a CPA or an attorney breaking these things down.
SPEAKER_03Got you. How did you get here? Like I know you came down. You know what I'm saying? But but but how did you become the woman that you are now?
SPEAKER_01Ooh, life, a lot of life lessons, um, a lot of wins, a lot of losses, a lot of getting back up. Um this go round, I feel like I'm on my second, like my second win in life. Like God just tell me to give you a second chance. So um pre-second chance, I was Joy, attorney, turned serial entrepreneur. I felt like one income was too close to none. So I've always been an attorney and sold hair and had a salon, and I've always had, you know, my my hand a couple of fires at one time. And started a lot of brick and mortar businesses, car dealerships, car rental companies, collision shops. I've always had a brick and mortar. Went through a real toxic uh marriage that turned abusive and had to leave after my husband tried to kill me. And 30 days after I left, he took all the money out of our accounts, locking out of our businesses, and then February of 2022, my mom had to pay my rent. I was like, So, what can I sell to generate some income?
SPEAKER_03How long ago was that?
SPEAKER_01That was when February of 2022.
SPEAKER_03Okay, that was not long ago. That was a couple years ago. That was like four years ago, pretty much.
SPEAKER_01Correct.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So a lot can happen in four years.
SPEAKER_01A lot can happen.
SPEAKER_03Did you see the version of you four years ago? Like, like do you do you did you cast a vision?
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_03Or you just so you just started driving, you just started moving.
SPEAKER_01No. See, depending on where you are. See, I was coming from a toxic, abusive relationship. Um, I had lost joy a long time ago in that marriage. And so when you are broke, busted, and disgusted, a lot of times you can't see anything more than where you are. So, joy of February 2022, I'm trying to pay rent. God, I'm asking I'm asking God for rent. Now, how am I gonna ask God, a God of abundance, for rent? Like that's just so God has so much more for you than just rent.
SPEAKER_05Right, right.
SPEAKER_01But when you are just drained and tired and exhausted and you're just existing and you're not dreaming, you start asking for the bare minimum. So I was just asking God, what can I do to pay my rent? And I hadn't, I had, I've never been on social media for real, for real. And all my business, I've never been in the face, I've I've been behind the scenes. So I was like, I don't know how I was gonna be taken on social media. You know, I'm real straightforward. I didn't know, you know, I'm I'm like wine, I'm an acquired taste. So either you love me or you hate me. So I didn't know what this was gonna be. All I knew was I couldn't stay here, I couldn't stay here. Broke bust and discuss. So I'm about to go dig my way out. So I got to go sell something. So I started talking about LLCs, but I started talking about business, like real stuff, not by the course and be a millionaire. And no, that's not real, right? I'm talking about if you've never thought about filing bankruptcy before, you haven't really been in business. Like the ups and downs of business. And just showed up on social media every single day. I went live every single night for an entire year. So I'm a I'm I'm gonna show up when people won't show up to try to get their customers.
SPEAKER_03So so um part of the story, you're talking about how your um your husband tried to kill you. What did that feel like in that moment?
SPEAKER_01In that moment, I was like, bitch, how did I get here?
SPEAKER_03Was that post? Is that during? You know what I'm saying? So like when he he shot at you? So when he shot, what what did you feel like when he actually shot at you?
SPEAKER_01Bitch, how did you get here? Because I met my soon-to-be ex-husband when he had nothing. He had two failing visits. I brought him in. He um I I made more money than him. I had the credibility as an attorney, you know, very I was very popular in Houston. And I allowed him to ride my coat jacket, you know, and bring him into my circle. And we built a lot of businesses together. When I was leaving, I left clean. I found out he was having affairs with our employees. I just moved to the next subdivision. I ain't called no one, I ain't throw no bleach on nothing, I didn't slash no, I didn't do anything. I'm keeping it classy because my son will never be able to be like he saw his mom come on glue. I went to work the next day. I'm not cussing and fussing at work. We're still handling if we talk about I'm being so clean and classy. I have moved out. I'm gone. I'm not like what are we arguing about? So I never thought that he would do any of this to me because I'm being so grown about how I'm leaving, because the average woman would have cut up. The average woman would have brought that drama to the business and messed up the money. The average woman would have slashed all four tires on the con it. The average woman would have gone all the way, but I'm keeping it so cute because I'm not gonna mess up the money. And so I'm thinking, okay, I'm moving on, you have your mission, you're good. So at this point, I'm also starting to heal from not being appreciated, not being respected, always carrying the financial load. So when you have the goal to pull a gun up on me, after all that I've known I've done and how I've carried this family, bitch, how did you get here? How did you allow yourself to stay with someone who thought so little of you? And you gave and gave and gave. So I was mad at myself. I wasn't like, oh my God, I was like, I'm tripping. I'm tripping. Like you're here.
SPEAKER_03So there's if there's someone that may be experiencing that now or maybe in a similar situation, what are some what are some of the things that you may notice now that maybe you didn't notice before?
SPEAKER_01Number one, you want to see a man when he's angry. How a man treats angry, mad, everything. If he gets to busting holes in walls, that's not the man you need to be with. If he gets to breaking stuff, that's not the man you need to be with. Because see, in my mind, well, he hit the wall, he didn't hit me. Like he's just mad. He's but the anger over time goes from the hotel wall to the house wall to just throwing stuff to now you're throwing stuff at me. It the the the anger and the violence never stops. It's gonna get worse and worse and worse. Because he's gonna be like, whatever you allow, you're saying is okay. So, okay, I was able to scream, bet. Okay, I was able to throw, bet. Okay, I was able to slap, bet. It's just gonna get worse and worse and worse. Number one, you want to see how does a man treat you, whether it's physical or verbal, if he's mean, if he's calling you out your name, um, if he goes on the freeway and he's mad and goes a hundred miles down the hundred miles an hour on the freeway, that's not healthy. That's not normal. Don't say, Oh, he's no, bitch, you need to leave. Um, number two, if you are not valued, if you are not put on a pedestal, if you're not given princess treatment, if you're allowing someone to talk down to you, mistreat you, and it's a whole bunch of ups and downs, highs, lows, good, bad, all that inconsistency is not going to get any better. See, as women, a lot of for me, it was so good in the beginning. And you hold on to if we can just get back to how we were, right? Not realizing maybe the person you met in the beginning isn't even real. They were just pretending to be all these things to come get you. And now that they got you, the real person is showing up. And they put the mask on for a little bit, but it doesn't come all the way on. And so that's where you're you're you're you're getting a shorter version all the time, and it's never going to get better.
SPEAKER_03How did you become a better person since what are some of the things that you changed?
SPEAKER_01Like I had to put that mirror up and I had to look at because it's easy to point the finger and I can tell you what he did. Right. But if I was still there, the problem is so what did you do to allow someone to be able to?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's powerful.
SPEAKER_01So I had to heal from me not putting my self-respect. Like there has to be a do not pass, do not, if you don't pass go, you don't collect $200. Like you, if you do this, you gotta have a boundary. If someone does this to you, it is that's it. Like you have to walk away, or you have to, you have to not let them be you have to walk away. You have to walk away. So I had to learn what boundaries were. Boundaries are for me to protect me. I had to learn that I have to love myself in spite of what I want. So what my big the big thing for me that that it was so hard for me to leave was I was so gung-ho about this two-parent home. I had a two-parent home and my child was having a two-parent home. So that meant that I had to be not happy and I had to sacrifice what I wanted to have this two-parent home and we look good, you know, on the outside, and we have the house and the cars, and he's good, and we got as long as we got this, I can do this until he's 18, and then I can go live my. That's not normal. You shouldn't have to, you know, live a horrible life because you want your child to have a two-parent home.
SPEAKER_05Right.
SPEAKER_01Especially in the two-parent home is some furniture moving inside. Because as the violence got more, now it's being seen in front of my son. Right. So now he's hollering at me and my son's hopping him. Oh, Daddy, don't do that. I'm never pushing your son. So now once I saw the violence kind of go towards my son, I kind of saw that more than the violence towards me.
SPEAKER_03Right, right, right. Did it put you more into like a protection mode, being like a mom? Like did you want to like get your, I don't know if you already have it, but did you want to get your gun license, take some martial arts?
SPEAKER_01Like, no, so I don't believe in in doing violence or violence. What it what it was was protection mode actually made me weaker. So I don't want him to get angry, so I'm not gonna say so it doesn't escalate. Okay, he's on one, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna ignore what I'm seeing with him doing all because I'm I'm trying to diffuse the situation. But in my mind, I shouldn't be anywhere where I'm having to diffuse anything.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_01If you're a lady, you should never be around a man who is not protecting you. If he's angry and he's verbally abusive or physically abusive, and the abuse doesn't have to be hitting you. I my my soon-to-be ex-husband never laid a hand on me. And that nigga go throw some plates at me like he plays for the Astros, but he never hit me. And so in my mind, I'm like, he never hit me. Right. The night that he shot at me, the police were giving me this pamphlet for domestic uh abused women. I'm like, I'm not, I'm not a victim of domestic abuse. And he was like, um, your husband the bullet meant this time, the next time it may hit you. Because in my mind, a person who's been abused didn't have self-esteem. I had all this thought of and I'm and that's not who I am. Like I I know who I am. Girl, you was in this situation that is toxic. See, we all hold on, and my I'm holding on to this two-parent home, which I should have been let go. So having to really look at me and see who I was, and then go do the work to heal and get over all that I've been through, and then go go thrive afterwards.
SPEAKER_03I want to share a little bit about uh my story with you, and then I want to um kind of make a connection to like how I feel people may be dealing with that. Wanna get your perspective.
SPEAKER_04Okay.
SPEAKER_03Right. So so I grew up without a mom, without a dad. My mom died when I was uh 15. Drugs. Uh dad passed when I was uh 12 AIDS. Great grandmother raised me, she was my guardian, she passed from lung cancer, aunt lung cancer, uncle lung cancer. And then um uh I got siblings on my dad's side. I didn't grow up with them, grow up with my mom's side, but one of my one of my um siblings, he got shot coming from court. You know what I'm saying? And then one of my best friends from high school, EOD on Oxy Cotton. You know what I'm saying? So the reason why I'm sharing all this is I didn't have a male figure growing up. And the male figures I had, I'm like, they were very inconsistent. The ones that I did have, they were more so athletes, you know what I'm saying? Like my basketball coaches, you know what I'm saying? So as I am growing and going to different basketball teams or whatever, I got new male figures. So I I I was just figuring everything out.
SPEAKER_05Gotcha.
SPEAKER_03Right? So so the parallel that I'm that I'm wanting to draw, I don't want to get your opinion, because other people that were probably my age then or even now, when you're having to figure things out, right? Um, and you don't know where to go and and and you're just kind of trusting your, you know, your personal your personal navigation, right? Someone wants to start their business or want to get things going, they may have a hard time creating relationships, or they may have some trauma and things like that. Um, what are some of the the most important things um that people should be working on inside of themselves, how it relates to how they're gonna be um building relationships with people in the number one, I would say you gotta go see what it is that you wanna be.
SPEAKER_01So when your immediate surroundings isn't what you want, you have to go put yourself in places where you can actually so one thing I did when I first started in business, I um my goal was you know, six, I'm making six figures, I'm good. But I met people who made six figures a month. Wait a minute, what's what's this? And I remember going to this networking event, this network marketing event, and people were talking about vision you know, going and getting magazine and put it on your discord or go test drive the car. And so I was like, this stuff is crazy. But if they said to do it and they got what I never even imagined having, I'ma go sound crazy and go do what they do, right? So obviously number one, go go see a different life. So you don't you don't know what it is, go go on a magazine, magazine, YouTube, what is something that you want to aspire to be? And I would go put that on a vision board. And then who is the person that has that life? And what are some of the characteristics that you feel like they need to have to be able to have all of these things? And then what do I need to do to become that person?
SPEAKER_03What do you think about identity? So, someone that may have a certain level of identity of how to see themselves, and how would they work on like changing or evolving that identity to become that person that might be in that magazine or attain that life that uh someone that they see? They have to go see it.
SPEAKER_01So if that means I gotta go get on a bus and go drive to the good part of town and go to a restaurant and sit at the bar and just order water and get an appetizer, but I'm looking to see what are the women wearing? How are they carrying themselves? What is the conversation around me? What are the men wearing? Now I'm seeing something different. If that means I gotta save up some money and I can go on a college campus and take a course, I can go buy a course online to go learn some information. I have to go, I have to go put myself there.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_01If that means I have to go to a psychiatrist or a psychologist and say, hey, I'm dealing with some kind of uh family trauma or scars or I gotta go become this person. So you have to go figure it out, fight it out, go put yourself in those circles. Go to the mall the nights for the town. How are people carrying themselves? What are they wearing? What are they doing? What is it? Go test drive a car. How do you feel in that car? What does the leather feel like? See, a lot of times we don't aspire tomorrow because we we don't see it. So go see it. I went to Rose Royce dealership making $10,000 a month because them people said, go see, I'm gonna go see it. I'm gonna go drive it, see it. So now that I see it, I know it's attainable. Now all I gotta do is go get the money to get it. And they print money every single day. I gotta do is figure out how do I go get more money to go get this.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_01Because you can physically put yourself to go see it.
SPEAKER_03So that's one of the reasons why you're always so put together. One of the reasons. I feel like every time I see you, you got it on. You know what I'm saying? Like they're gonna take you seriously. Like you very polished presentations on. Is that were you always like that? Or is that part of like the new version of who you are now?
SPEAKER_01I was I was always I was in charm school as a little girl. I'm old, baby. I'm old. So back in the olden days, they had charm school.
SPEAKER_03It's still charm school?
SPEAKER_01Charm school or ethical school, yes.
SPEAKER_03I wonder if there's someone online that's selling that as a product. We got a mentorship on charm school. That's worth booking up. Maybe I need to that's worth looking up. Yeah, I think I think you can add that for sure. I think that's definitely like like I don't know, the polish program or whatever you want to call it. I think it's necessary. Men and women. Correct. You know what I'm saying? Even down to like how people eat. What was that? Like how you do your kids' school, correct? Yeah, yeah, yeah. The same thing.
SPEAKER_01So how you eat, right? Um, my as a child, my mother, I you you you have to look like something when you walk out the house. You have to be groomed. Yeah. A woman needs a woman, how a woman looks is what she's judged on. And my dad was a big stickler on that. So tell me looks, weight, style. A man is gonna look at you visually, and society's gonna look at you visually. And I was a real militant. I don't need no man, no, no, nothing. I don't just he's like, all that society. I'm telling you what it is. You can't change society. Like this is just how it is.
SPEAKER_03You still feel that way? Yes. So do you need a man or do I need a man?
SPEAKER_01Of course, a woman needs a man, but I don't need a man financially. I need a man for the provider, protector, for the masculine to match my feminine. So I think you have to have a yin to your yang.
SPEAKER_03So when it comes to you choosing uh future partner, what are you looking for? That's that's different.
SPEAKER_01I'm looking for character, I'm looking for integrity, I'm looking for consistency, I'm looking to see um is he gonna be a good role model for my son? I'm looking for princess treatment. I'm looking to see is he financially responsible. And you gotta see how he handles how he handles conflict resolution, baby conflict, stress, all that. So I think that's time. Right, right. Like being with someone for uh a nice period of time.
SPEAKER_03Or maybe y'all just do like an escape room, like a real tough one. A real tough one. A real tough escape room. Like, can we get out of this together? There's a timer, you know what I'm saying? You solve all the problems, I'm gonna sit back and see what you do. Right, right. Or something like that.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Talk to me about this book you got coming out. I know you got this new book coming out. Um, so what is it about? Is it is it more strategy? Is it story? Is it both? Like, is it parables in there, principles? What we got in there?
SPEAKER_01It is story and principles. So it's called From Broken to the Bank. And I kind of share my journey as to what I went through and how I got here, along with the principles, the philosophy, like what I did to get unstuck and to go thrive. So no matter what you're going through, you can take these principles and go take yourself to that next level.
SPEAKER_03Who's the book for?
SPEAKER_01The book is for everyone. So I have I have a mixed following. Although, you know, I'm for my women. I do have, you know, men and women. So I'm in in the story, I use my divorce as like uh the the divorce was my big wake-up call. It may be the bankruptcy, it may be the partnership dispute, it may be the, it may be the loss of a child, whatever is your big thing that just shakes you to your core, and you feel like, dang, I don't have another run in me. This book will help you get to that next level.
SPEAKER_03Gotcha. What what do you feel like this book is gonna help you accomplish? Why the book? And what do you want to do with it?
SPEAKER_01So I feel like I'm really strong as a woman. And when my soon-to-be-ex-husband just took everything from me, that was like a really big like punch in the head. And it was like the divorce was one thing, but all the financial, all the things afterwards, like my story kept getting from worse to worse to worse. And I was like, God, I don't know how I'm gonna get out of this. If you get me out of this one, I promise you, I will tell everyone what you did so that anyone else who stuck, I know what it feels like to get that short end of this. I know what it feels like for someone just to snatch the rug up underneath. I don't want anyone else to feel that way. So I want to use my story to be like, hey, y'all, don't be fooled by this makeup, don't be fooled by these outfits. I was once broke, busted, and disgusted. So I know where you, I know where I know where you are. But if you do this, this, this, this, and this, I guarantee you that you can get out. So I want to use my story as like the sounding board to tell people you can go get your ring because the enemy wants to keep you stuck. There are just me sharing my story. There are so many women who have gone through financial abuse, people trying just to hold them down, people weaponizing the court system to try to drain a woman's resource so that they can't fight for either their share in the divorce or try to weaponize them with the custody. People are always using finances to weaponize people, period point blank. And so if you are financially independent of a person or a job, you will never have to depend on anyone else. On the flip side, if I can tell you, if you just believe a little harder, you can get to that next level. Because a lot of times when you get stuck, people stay stuck.
SPEAKER_03Right. You believe that everyone, men and women should both individually be financially stable. Correct.
SPEAKER_01Especially women. Yes. Yes. Because a man will use that against you. You allow a man to feed you, you allow him to starve you.
SPEAKER_03I like to say that again.
SPEAKER_01You allow a man to feed you, you allow him to starve you. And that's what happens. So if a woman, because society says, you know, we are the homemakers and a man is the provider and blah blah. And in a healthy relationship, for the most part, that would be great. But when a woman will either number one stop her career or reduce her career to stay at home with the kids, and the man goes out and provides, but when it comes time for divorce, she wasn't in the court shooting the ball or whatever Drake said. She she didn't earn the money. All of a sudden, you forget all the sacrifices she made to give you the time and the freedom to go make the money. Now all of a sudden, it's your money and you don't want to give it to her, or you're trying to hide the asses, or she doesn't know what's going on because she trusts you with everything. And now it's time for us to divvy this up. And she doesn't even know what to divvy because she's just been the wife, or you know, whatever it is.
SPEAKER_03I think there gotta be a lot of conversations around that beginning. I feel like people don't really have those kind of go off the vibes. You know what I'm saying? Like, oh, she's attractive, he's handsome. Where let's go out. Oh, this was nice. Let's go out again. This was nice too. Let's go out one more time. This was amazing, right? And then and then we're getting together, and as we're getting together, We just rolling. Right? And then as you mentioned, these things may happen. Right? We're not n okay, now I'm not even feeling her no more. Maybe she's not feeling me no more. Maybe you know, I cheat on her, she cheating on me. It's not working no more. So now we're we've been in, you know, entangled, you know, collectively doing business or whatever the case may be. And let's say she's making a bread or he's making a bread, and then there's emotional like disparity, that's where people are fighting. Like, like Mayweather, like what'd he do recently? Uh I I seen online that he ended up getting one of his workers pregnant at the strip club, and then um she's coming after him for like a million, plus he got paid 30k in child support. That was just up there.
SPEAKER_01She's coming after him for a million, or is it is it back child support? No, or I think hold on, hold on, hold on. Because see, you just said she's coming after him.
SPEAKER_03Well, I meant to say, well, I hear I I understand what you're saying. What I meant to say is the court system or the court system has well, I haven't really read the full case, but the court system is saying that.
SPEAKER_01He goes back. He hasn't paid child support.
SPEAKER_03He hasn't paid the child support, and then he has to pay the one million out and then 30k a month.
SPEAKER_01The one million was for the back child support. So she she's not coming after him. This is child support for he never paid child support for the child.
SPEAKER_03100%. I guess what I'm saying, I guess what I'm saying in the beginning is I feel like people would benefit from more conversations. Because how's it going to, if something was to happen, how's it gonna play out? But if we don't have those conversations, then we don't know. And if and if I feel like, you know what, I don't like Joy anymore, so I am gonna hold this back. I'm I'm gonna shit, I'm not gonna let her know about this thing, or I'm gonna be spiteful or feel be bitter about certain things. I feel like sometimes those things happen when people are emotional and it doesn't work out, and we never had a previous conversation, how it may go out. Like people It's not always emotions like business, I guess what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_01That that's true. On the flip side, when you get with someone who isn't healthy, uh, an unhealthy person is going to try to control you. Right, right, right. So I'm purposely not I'm gonna go and put money elsewhere that you don't know where it is.
SPEAKER_06Right.
SPEAKER_01And you wouldn't, she's not thinking of asking because she's not thinking, like, why would my husband be lying to me? But he wants to make sure he can never get up. So I want you to be a homemaker. I'm I'm going to paint the picture of I'm providing, I'm giving you the soft life. What I'm really putting you in is a prison. So now you haven't worked in 10 years, now you have three kids, your resume has a big gap. You haven't done any new skill set. You have these three kids that if I were, if you were to leave, you now have daycare and taking care of the kids. Now she has a uh a big weight on her shoulder that she has now fight through on her own. And then now you have to go make money, and it it's a lot of times it's it's not fair on the woman. And the man will use the money to control her. Or if they do get divorced, now I'm gonna file you with all these frivolous custody things, trying to take the kids from you. So now she has to use her resources to now bounce back, heal, now pay for it, and the cycle never stops. That's how people use finances to cripple you.
SPEAKER_03Think it's important to like have that conversation beginning after what?
SPEAKER_01Or I think it's more than a conversation. Number one, I believe everyone needs to have a prumptial. So that right there will help it. Will help a lot. Number two, as a woman, you gotta always be on your piece and keys. I'm just gonna say, I don't care how sweet he is, baby, at any point in time. I know one thing, you never divorce the person you marry. Whoever you divorce, they're gonna be a whole different person. So you need you need to have your ducks in a row. Every woman needs to be able to make her own money. Not just if he's mean and leaves, but what if the husband got into a coma and couldn't work for three months? Like, can you help with the mortgage? Can you help sustain some things? Like, yes, she'll have a savings and this, but that is only gonna last you for so long. Like, as a Proverbs 31 woman, we are the help meet. She was a CEO, she bought land, like she could do her own thing. You want a woman to help make some moves if the man can't make the move. So I feel like like there's multiple reasons why she should be able to be able to stand on her own.
SPEAKER_03Do you believe in like partnerships, like men and women coming together now and like building up together?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. The right partner. But a partnership or like a marriage, either you hit the jackpot or you don't. Or correct. So you gotta be, you gotta make sure that you can, you know, you have a good yin and yang with your partner. Right. So you guys, you know, trust them and that, you know, sometimes people think a partnership is 50-50. And I always say a partnership is a hundred. Because some seasons you only have 20, I gotta give you 80, and I can't hold that 80 over your head, and vice versa. And so that's what I think a partnership. It's it's hard to have a partnership, but if you get a good one, it's like magic.
SPEAKER_03Something else you got going on is software. So you in tech now?
SPEAKER_01I am a I am a tech founder now.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, what are we talking about? So break that down. How'd you get in there? What does the software do? And how's it gonna help business?
SPEAKER_01Okay, so the first digital product I launched was about business brands, showing business owners how to apply for business brands. And that went phenomenal. But now with all this AI, a lot of them are using AI and it makes their answers sound generic. Number one. Number two, people still have this stigma that I don't know how to write, I don't know what to say. So they just don't apply for business grants. And business grants were so great because it's free money for your business. So you don't have to be strapped with debt when you're starting or scaling. So I made a grant software that does use AI, but number one, it's gonna map out your entire business. It's gonna ask you questions so you can kind of see your business at a larger scale and say, oh my gosh, I'm really gonna be killing it in a year or two. And then from this angle, we now ask for what are the things we need to now scale our business. And does it all super simple for you? And so I want to be an easy way for people because they have the stimulus, I just can't write, I can't do it. So I'm gonna have to soft for it.
SPEAKER_03When is software released?
SPEAKER_01It'll release this next month.
SPEAKER_03Is it uh is it app-based, software-based? Software based.
SPEAKER_01Okay, the whole tech team goes on.
SPEAKER_03Okay, gotcha, gotcha. All right, cool. And you think that um it's gonna be attractive to business owners because it's gonna make the process super easier for them?
SPEAKER_01Correct.
SPEAKER_03Um, no one else is doing this, or is this does what does this already exist?
SPEAKER_01Um the I think well, uh, no one is doing it how I'm doing it. There are a lot of there are some grant software that will help you write the grant, but I need you to map out your business. So that my software doesn't just write the grant. So, like who your target audience is gonna help you develop that, what your mission statement is, what makes you unique as the business owner. All of these things are important when applying for grants to show how your business stands out from the competition. Because grants is a competition. And so when you have these generic blackluster answers, you just blend in with everyone like Cosaw. I need you to stand out. Gotcha.
SPEAKER_03We're gonna have to get you on some tech platforms now and then, huh?
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_03That's gonna be nice. Speak from the stage, hit these black tech conferences, you know what I mean? I think that's gonna be nice. Um, so as we kind of wind down, I know you got some things coming up, right? You got some virtual opportunities, in-person opportunities. If somebody wanted to learn more about what you have going on, that they wanted to experience more of like, you know, your world and how you can really help them out. What's some of the things you have coming up?
SPEAKER_01Okay. Um, I of course have my C at the Bank community where you can kind of just come and get, you know, grant tips, marketing tips, business tips, structural tips. I have a five-day mentorship program, which is gonna be I'm gonna transform your life in five days. I'm gonna change you, your mindset, and your business in five days.
SPEAKER_02You can change someone's business and their life in five days?
SPEAKER_01I can change your business and your life in one day, is with me. That this this is my gift. I see the goodness in people. I'm gonna, I'm gonna map out exactly what it is that that you give me, the whole blueprint.
SPEAKER_03So you really give them a lot, five days now.
SPEAKER_01Correct. So in five days, I'm gonna transfer you. I'm gonna put you in, you're gonna, you're gonna, I'm gonna put you in five days of just excellence. So in the morning, you have my mindset coach, because the change of money you got to change your mind. You have my mindset coach in the morning. At night, I'm breaking down business structure. I'm breaking down how to properly protect your assets, run your business. I'm breaking down how to get free money via business grants. I'm gonna break down how do you get consistent sales, how do you market? How do you take your audience and bring them to your brick and mortar and your website? And I'm gonna teach you how to make money in your sleep with digital products. I'm gonna bring on some other seven, eight-figure business. Best to teach you on commercial real estate and just taxes and blah blah blah. But I'm gonna put you in an environment, give you homework so that when you leave, you're leaving inspired, you're leaving with a better game plan, other business ideas, and a bigger, a bigger mindset for what you really can do. I got, I gotta, I'm gonna trick you into believing in yourself. So I call it, I'm gonna structure for the market visit to the bank. I'm about to change your life, literally. Now, once I change your life, we gotta now implement all these things. So my mentorship program, six months, is gonna be the game changer where I where I hold your hand for six months and walk you through all of those.
SPEAKER_03Gotcha. And who's the right person for that?
SPEAKER_01The right person for that is to be a go-getter, a person who's not afraid of working. And either you can be um, I have, I say three main target audiences. One, you're experienced as an owner, but you either hit an income gap or you're in trouble. So hit a block and you need some experienced help to tell you how to zig and zag out your issue. Number two, you have some motion, but you are either everywhere, you don't have systems, or you don't have consistent sales, you're kind of hit or miss, or you are drowning in debt and you need to get some remote. I'm gonna help you get kind of get all that organized. Then my third person is I want to start, but I'm scared, I don't know how. I want to do it the right way. So I'm waiting to get the exact way of what to do, and then I can get my foot in there. So those are gonna be my three target options.
SPEAKER_03Well, they need to go to register for that, because that sounds pretty awesome.
SPEAKER_01They can go to see you at the bank.com.
SPEAKER_03When is the next one?
SPEAKER_01June 15th.
SPEAKER_03If they happen to miss that one, do they just go to the same same website, correct? Okay, and they can they can register for the next one.
SPEAKER_01Correct.
SPEAKER_03Okay, cool. Um, last question I got for you is um what what does Joy Hunt know about money now that she didn't know before?
SPEAKER_01Joy Hunt now knows that someone can take your money. Someone that I think loves you. You gotta protect yourself from those who you don't know, but more importantly, protect yourself from those who know and call you friend, family, blah.
SPEAKER_03You want to leave the people with anything else before we uh get out of here?
SPEAKER_01Um, I will leave you with this. I don't care what the storm took, whatever the storm took, you didn't need everything the storm left, you can go build with that. Your second run in life will be your best run at the bank.
SPEAKER_03Listen, y'all, been another episode of the Honor Pursuit Podcast, amazing conversation with Joy Hunt. Listen, we want to see you in person, right? Head over to podcast at Castor.com, grab a ticket, a city near you. Amazing opportunity in the room so you can learn how to monetize a podcast, structure podcasts, use a podcast as a sales tool, and also put on your own event so you can still monetize and close more of your hot tickets. Joy, where do they need to go on Instagram if they want to message you?
SPEAKER_01Um, they can go to Joy Hunt underscore E S Q. So J O I H U N T underscore E S Q.
SPEAKER_03All right, guys. See you on another episode. Peace.