Participants: Ryan Mack (Host), Yvonne Lewis (Host)
Series Code: DAS
Program Code: DAS000002A
|
00:26 Hello, and welcome to Dollars and Sense.
00:29 My name is Yvonne Lewis, and I'll be the 00:31 co-host for this program. 00:33 Our primary host is Ryan Mack, Financial Literacy expert. 00:37 Ryan, it's a... Great day today. 00:39 Hey, you know what? 00:41 It's such a great blessing to be able to co-host 00:44 this program with you. Always! 00:45 Yes, yes, yes. Do you have a Scripture for us? 00:48 Yes. Well, the theme of the day is Death to the Hookup. 00:50 You know how it is when somebody goes into a friend's store 00:53 and all of a sudden they say, You know what? I think that 00:55 I would like a discount on this product or services. 00:58 Well, the Scripture actually speaks to Death to the Hookups, 01:02 so let's hear what it says here. Okay. 01:04 Jeremiah 22:13 says: 01:20 Um! Okay? And then 1Timothy 5:18 says: 01:36 And I think these Scriptures really outline when someone 01:41 walks into an establishment, and they walk into a store, 01:43 and they want to automatically ask for a discount. 01:47 There's so many things that goes into someone 01:49 starting a business. 01:51 And I am a huge advocate of our small business. 01:53 There's nothing more important for the economic viability, 01:56 outside of God, than the success of our small 01:59 businesses in our community. 02:00 And as soon as you want to give them free services, 02:04 and without at least asking for a, providing a barter or an even 02:08 exchange, what you're doing is you're taking the lifeblood 02:11 right off the table of our small businesses. 02:12 You know, it's so funny you'd say that, because there's just 02:16 this automatic assumption, like if you start a business, 02:20 and I know you, and I go into your business, my first thing is 02:25 like, like, we're like... We're here like, you know, 02:29 can you give me the hookup? Right. 02:31 But that's really, it's destructive to the business. 02:36 And it's not fair. Uh huh. 02:37 You know, we tend to want that hookup. 02:41 Right. And I remember the first time when I started my financial 02:44 planning company, and a friend of mine asked me to, 02:48 Hey, Ryan, can you come to a speaking engagement for me? 02:51 And I said, Yes, sure. 02:53 I wouldn't mind going out there and doing a speaking 02:55 engagement for you. 02:57 But I was just starting out. 02:58 I didn't have a lot of money at the time. 03:00 And I'll tell you, it was really hard times. 03:02 But I thought the speaking engagement was right next door 03:05 pretty much, but actually I had to get on the train, 03:07 and I had to pay, but I couldn't afford to pay. 03:09 And so I asked him, I said, Well, would you mind paying me 03:13 for my services, because I'm actually 03:14 educating your individuals. 03:15 And he just refused to do it, and got so offended. 03:18 And I remember that I actually was struggling at the time 03:23 to actually keep food on my own table. 03:26 I was struggling to pay the rent. 03:28 I was struggling just to make it by. 03:30 And here he is asking for me to do something free. 03:33 And there's so many business owners that are out there that 03:36 are going through the exact same thing right now. 03:38 They have a dream, they have a mission, they have a vision. 03:41 I mean this is where we should have 3ABN Network. 03:43 It was a dream, right? 03:45 It was a mission. It was a vision. 03:47 And of all the things they have to do, 03:49 all those things cost money. Exactly. 03:52 And so I guess we have a video that I'd love to just check out. 03:56 I was actually at a small business expo. 03:58 And we, I like doing a lot of things for the community. 04:01 So we gathered over fifty businesses, and we got a lot 04:04 of banks together to just have businesses to be able to just 04:07 display what they're selling for the community 04:10 in products and services. 04:11 And I had a chance to ask them, How do you feel when someone 04:15 asks you for a hookup? 04:16 And you can check out what they said here. 04:18 Then let's take a look. 04:21 How do you feel when people ask you for a 04:23 hookup of your services? 04:25 Unless we're going to do an even exchange 04:27 or barter, don't ask me. 04:28 And so the hookup is really for us is come to an end. 04:32 And if you can't purchase what we have written we don't sell. 04:38 How do you feel when people ask you for a 04:40 hookup of your services? 04:41 I don't feel like people should get a hookup, because if you go 04:45 to Ticketmaster, Byantha and I give you a hookup on our 04:47 tickets usually, or Jay Z. 04:50 So, I feel like if we can pay her prices for those concerts, 04:53 you can pay the price to support a local business. 04:56 Do we have a problem in our community with not wanting 04:58 to pay full price for products and services? 05:01 Yes. I mean sometimes we want to get the hookup on everything. 05:05 And we want ten percent off. 05:06 And, you know, we can maybe do a sale sometimes, 05:08 but always getting a hookup, you have to spend your time 05:11 and your material to actually make these things. 05:13 So you should value the persons as actually, business that 05:17 you're actually shopping at. 05:19 I don't think we have a problem paying full price, 05:21 because we will pay full price for things that 05:23 we deem have value. 05:25 And I think that we need to make sure that we value each other's 05:28 business just as much as we would value anyone else's. 05:30 So we don't have a problem paying full price, 05:33 we just might need to make sure that we value the business 05:36 of our community just as much as we value the 05:38 business of those outside. 05:40 No, no free products. 05:41 If we want to see a comeback of the city, if we want to support 05:44 small business, if want to shop local, and we think shopping 05:47 local and small business is a good idea, than our purchasing 05:51 decisions need to reflect that. 05:52 And we need to pay full price for the products that these 05:56 small businesses are selling. 05:57 Because we need to see the whole picture. 05:58 Sometimes it's an even exchange. 06:01 As long as there's an even exchange. 06:03 Sometimes that may or may not be money. 06:05 But as long as it's an even exchange, a fair exchange. 06:08 How do you feel when people ask you for a hookup of the products 06:12 that you're selling? 06:14 I feel like my products and my time are devalued. 06:18 I feel like if you can't afford it at the prices that I've 06:22 determined are fair value prices, 06:26 then my products aren't for you. 06:28 We need to realize that a lot of sweat equity goes into 06:31 making those products. 06:32 And that small business owner, because they've taken that risk 06:36 to run that business, to make that business, 06:39 they've gone out on that ledge. 06:40 Then we need to support them by paying full price for the 06:44 products that they're selling. 06:46 And not kind of cheapening what they're doing by saying, 06:53 Well, let me have the hookup here. 06:55 You know, I'm going to go a little bit, No, you didn't! 06:57 Let me tell you how devaluing that is. 07:00 When you ask for a hookup what you're saying is that, 07:02 I want to degrade your services, take you down in price, 07:05 take food off your table, and get it for free. 07:07 You know what? I can't do it. 07:10 I can't call DT and ask them for a hookup. 07:12 I can't call Michcon and ask them for a hookup, 07:15 because they have to pay their bills. 07:17 I have to pay mine also. 07:18 And it's a lot of things that have to be done. 07:20 There's a lot of things behind the scenes that most people 07:23 don't even know about to get to the closing table. 07:26 It's not just getting the offer accepted, 07:27 it's getting the offer closed. 07:29 And that span of time in there is a lot of time and effort 07:33 that we can't do for free. 07:36 So we earn every dime of our money. 07:38 So there is no free. 07:41 How do you feel when people ask you for a 07:44 hookup of your services? 07:45 I feel a little uneasy most of the time. 07:48 You know, when people ask for the hookup, to me that's, 07:51 they're not serious. 07:52 They're not committed. 07:54 How do I feel? I feel devalued. 07:56 I feel like my fifteen years of expertise, and training, 07:59 and education is not of value to them. 08:02 So I think as a community, one of the things I would like to 08:06 see is we learn to collaborate and support one another. 08:09 I'm okay with a barter. 08:11 I'm okay if we're all moving together, and we exchange 08:14 services, and we're all looking to support one another. 08:17 When I say the word hookup, and discount, that people are 08:20 trying to ask for services in our community, 08:22 of our businesses. 08:23 How does that make you feel? 08:25 Oh, it makes me feel a little conflicted, because, you know, 08:28 it's great to hook up your friends, 08:29 and people that you know with deals or discounts, 08:32 but the end of the day it is a business, and you have to think 08:34 about your business. 08:35 So the way I would kind of rephrase that is reward loyalty. 08:38 I think turn that into a loyalty program. 08:41 You know, the punch card. 08:42 The rewarding someone who's a consistent visitor. 08:44 If someone's just going to come into your business one time, 08:46 get a hookup, and then never see you again, that's not good. 08:50 However, if you're going to be a returning customer, 08:51 who's going to come to my business, tell your friends 08:53 about my business, bring me more business, I have no problem 08:56 giving you kind of a hookup on the front end if it's going to 08:59 mean dividends on the back end. 09:01 First of all, sometimes they not only ask for a discount, 09:03 but they ask for my services for free. 09:05 So what it makes me feel is that they don't value my services, 09:08 and value the intellect, or the experience and the knowledge 09:11 base that I bring to... 09:12 It makes me feel cheap. 09:14 That's what it makes me feel. 09:15 Would you do that at McDonalds? 09:17 Would you do that at Walmart? 09:18 So why do it to us when we're trying to 09:20 come up as a community? 09:21 How do you feel when someone asks you for a 09:25 hookup of your t-shirts? 09:27 I feel that the person shouldn't ask for a hookup. 09:31 They should understand that I have bills to pay. 09:34 They should understand that I have mouths to feed. 09:38 But most importantly they should understand that what I'm really 09:42 trying to do is better uplift the community. 09:45 You can't better than uplift the community by 09:49 giving everyone a hookup. 09:51 And so they should invest in themselves by really investing 09:56 in black businesses, and investing in small businesses. 10:00 Because the only ones that will be able to improve 10:04 our communities is us. 10:06 So don't look for a hookup. 10:08 Help me improve the community by spending your 10:11 money in the community. 10:15 Okay! I think it's very interesting that the one thing 10:20 that they all pretty much said the same thing was value. 10:24 They want to feel valued. 10:27 And bottom line is the small business community has a 10:31 tremendous amount of value. 10:32 If you think about all of the things that we 10:35 interact with daily; you know you go to the barbershop 10:38 how many employees does that have? 10:40 You go to the dentist. 10:42 How many employees that you go to a restaurant? 10:43 Maybe thirty tops for the larger businesses. 10:48 And all the way down to your local pharmaceutical stores, 10:52 to your local bakeries, to your... 10:54 All of these businesses have one hundred employees or less. 10:58 And these are the small businesses that essentially 11:00 create seventy percent of our economy is consumer spending. 11:04 So if we?... And where are they going to spend their money on? 11:08 And if we take away the business there's nothing to spend their 11:11 money on, there's nothing to build up the community. 11:13 And as we've said, poverty and crime are positively correlated. 11:17 And there's nothing... One of the best ways to fix poverty 11:20 in our communities is by helping the small business to recover. 11:22 And we need to support them. 11:24 Absolutely. It's interesting to me that everybody in the video 11:29 had had some kind of experience with someone 11:32 asking for a hookup. Right, yep. 11:34 And so I think it's, you know, the natural inclination, 11:38 I think is to say, Okay, I know you, you know, hook me up. 11:42 But really we need to really be thinking about how to help 11:46 each individual that's in small businesses, so that we can 11:50 support them, and just like the man was saying at the end, 11:54 that helps the community. 11:56 We help the small business, it helps the community, 11:58 and everybody benefits. 12:00 The Bible also says, Freely you have received, 12:02 freely you shall give. Uh huh. 12:04 And a lot of times what I've heard, and in my opinion 12:07 wrongfully so, was individuals will say, Well, businesses 12:10 should want to give, you know. 12:12 Well, how about we turn that around? 12:14 As opposed to saying, How about they give to us? 12:15 How about we give to them? Nice! 12:17 How about we support them? 12:19 How about we give to them? 12:20 And they do give a lot. 12:22 You know, the word clearly says the laborer is 12:25 worthy of his reward. 12:26 Do not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. 12:30 I mean this is very scriptural, so I've actually provided some 12:35 very tangible tips, very basic tips for the community that I 12:39 would like all of them to follow. 12:41 And I think that the first thing is the small business 12:45 support model, okay? 12:48 So a series of questions that everyone should be 12:51 able to ask themselves. 12:53 When someone comes up to you and says, Hey, here's a 12:56 product or a service. 12:57 So if someone comes up to you and asks for a product or 13:01 service the first thing you need to do is say, Okay, do I need 13:04 this product or service? 13:06 And if the answer is no, then the first thing you should do 13:12 is then refer them to two people who could need that product 13:16 or service. Uh huh. 13:18 If the answer is yes, you need to ask yourself another 13:22 question: Is this product or service worthy of my support? 13:28 If the answer is no, the first thing you need to do is talk 13:33 to that business owner, and give them constructive criticism. 13:37 One of the best things that ever happened to me when I started my 13:39 business was Yvonne Gordon. 13:43 She gave me some of the harshest criticism when I was 13:48 selling my life insurance. 13:49 And I was very green. 13:51 I had got my license. 13:52 And it took forever to take their underwriting, 13:54 and so she ended up taking her business elsewhere. 13:56 And she told me exactly why she did it. 13:57 And it was harsh. Really? 13:59 And I tell you right now, that was one of the biggest blessings 14:03 that I ever received. Tell us why. 14:05 Well, when she essentially told me about myself, 14:10 I'm not going to sit back and say I felt good about it. 14:12 I'm not going to sit back and say I didn't mumble some few 14:15 words under my breath. 14:16 That you had to repent for later? 14:19 That I had to repent for. 14:21 But you know what? It was the biggest blessing in the world, 14:23 because it told me, and it made me know exactly what I needed 14:27 to do to fix whatever was wrong with my business. 14:30 And we don't do that enough for our businesses. 14:32 That's right. That's another Biblical idea, or principle, 14:35 that correction, dealing with correction, and correction is a 14:39 positive thing, especially if it's done, you know, if we take 14:45 it properly. Right. 14:46 Fools are the ones that disregard correction. 14:50 That's true. So you took the correction, and it actually 14:54 improved what you did. 14:56 I ended up going out and I hired somebody. 14:58 I hired a good friend of mine to this day, Christina Hodges. 15:02 And she was in charge of pushing our products 15:06 through underwriting, and making sure all the policy and the 15:08 paperwork was done in an expeditious matter. 15:10 But had not Yvonne taken that time to do that for me, 15:13 I'd have been... I would have never been able to correct it. 15:16 And so many times as opposed to giving constructive criticism 15:20 in a public place like Yelp, or some place where everybody's 15:24 going to see it publicly, talk to the business owner. 15:26 Talk to the individual and say, Hey, you know what? 15:29 Your service was a little bit slow. 15:30 You know, there was a restaurant in my neighborhood where 15:33 we actually helped him. 15:34 We got him, we invested, and pulled our money and got him a 15:37 business mentor, because his service was just awful. 15:40 But he was a community based restaurant. 15:42 We wanted to see him be successful. 15:43 Because of when in our businesses we have to have 15:45 ownership of these businesses. 15:47 So if the answer is no, then give them 15:50 Constructive Criticism. 15:51 Now if the answer is yes, and you say you can, this is worthy 15:55 of your support, then if you have the money, buy the product 15:59 or service, and if you definitely need it. 16:01 So these are the simple model that simply says, Let me just 16:07 make sure that we can do all we can that every single person 16:10 that comes in front of me, that we find a way to support them, 16:13 whether it's through a referral, or constructive criticism, 16:16 or purchasing the product, or any other way that we 16:21 can to support them. 16:22 Maybe we can give income services. 16:24 A lot of individuals do that all of the time. 16:26 I just say, Look, I can't afford your services. 16:28 I value your business, but let me see what I can do 16:31 to help support it. 16:32 Maybe I can volunteer, maybe I can refer some interns for you. 16:35 Whatever we can do to help support. 16:37 So that's the small business model. 16:40 Another thing that we like to do, and it's a good tip for 16:43 small businesses is to have a customer loyalty program. 16:47 I think Devin in the video here talked about it where, yes, 16:52 you can give a hookup if that customer is loyal to you. 16:57 You go in and you see it all the time at various 17:00 sandwich companies. 17:01 You have ten sandwiches, you buy ten I'll give you 17:04 the eleventh one for free. 17:05 So these types of things that allow you to 17:08 simply build loyalty. 17:09 And if you see these businesses, or customers that are coming 17:13 into your shop frequently, and they're bringing other 17:15 people in there, then those are the people that you 17:17 need to also invest in. 17:18 Because they are essentially doing your job. 17:20 They're marketing for you. 17:21 And then lastly, and a great tip for business owners that's out 17:25 there is get involved in educational marketing. 17:28 I like to call it benevolent marketing. 17:30 This is where it was great for my business when I started it, 17:33 because the main thing I did as a financial adviser was 17:35 teaching, and educating, and getting out there. 17:38 And every single time I could, get into the community, teach, 17:42 provide free workshops, provide free programs, free services. 17:45 I wouldn't give the entire power away, but I would give a little 17:49 nugget to say, Here's just enough about financial literacy 17:52 that if you want to give additional services, 17:54 that you can come back and you can pay for additional services. 17:58 And so a lot of restaurants might provide cooking classes. 18:01 Or legal services, or lawyers might provide 18:04 free lawyer legal tips. 18:06 Find different web sites. 18:07 You can blog, you can blog on many different websites. 18:10 Or you can write, and that gets your name out there. 18:12 Social media is a great time to get your name out there. 18:16 It markets you for free. 18:18 And individuals learn about your services. 18:19 And when they come to you, consumers, again, 18:21 make sure you pay full price. 18:23 You know, I'm sitting here listening to this, 18:26 and this is such great information, because so many 18:28 people either you have a small business, 18:32 or you are a consumer of that business. 18:37 And so you don't just go to the business, 18:40 you support the business. Right. 18:42 I think that is such great information. Right. 18:45 It really, really is. 18:46 I mean it's a circular level of support, right? 18:50 You have the, it's again seventy percent of GDP 18:53 is consumer spending. 18:55 And for those who don't know what GDP is? 18:57 The Gross Domestic Product. 18:58 Of all the things that we produce in this country 19:00 seventy percent is what other individuals are spending their 19:03 money on every single day. 19:04 And so when you buy water, or food, or clothing, 19:10 all of that goes into Gross Domestic Product, 19:13 and that essentially churns this economy. 19:15 So we have to 1, and this is why Dollars and Sense is very 19:19 important, is make sure that our individuals are being fiscally 19:22 responsible; that they're spending their 19:23 money in the right way, and circulating their dollar, 19:26 and generating more dollars for themselves. 19:28 But then when they start to spend that money, 19:30 where do they spend it? 19:32 And it's usually in their local community. 19:34 Again, a lot of civil rights activists have really advocated 19:38 for, and Malcolm X said it. 19:40 The community in which you spend your money 19:42 becomes richer and richer. 19:44 And the money in which your community is left out of 19:46 becomes poorer and poorer. 19:48 So we have to really be cognizant of making sure that 19:51 if we're going to spend our money, we support those 19:53 businesses in our own community to make our dollars circulate 19:57 effectively, because in many cities around this country: 20:00 Detroit, Chicago, urban areas, and rural areas in Appalachia, 20:04 they all have small businesses that are just trying to make it, 20:08 just trying to have an idea, just try to get a leg up. 20:11 So we've got to support them and make sure we get a viable, 20:14 long term, and sustainable economic recovery. 20:16 That's great advice. 20:19 And so it's not just about your own self-interest, 20:23 it's also investing in the community that you live in. 20:27 Right. They're serving the community. 20:29 They have the service. 20:30 If you don't like it you say something. Right. 20:32 If you like it you say something. Right. 20:35 I think you should reinforce the good, and I think you should 20:38 also give constructive criticism. Exactly. 20:40 And then also we have to feel responsible for our brothers 20:46 and sisters, who are just trying to do better. Right. 20:50 So I think all of that, just supporting local businesses, 20:55 is so important, because in so doing, our communities get 20:59 economically viable. Uh huh. 21:01 And that's what we're really aiming at; trying to help others 21:07 to just reach their goals. 21:09 And that's a Biblical, that's a Biblical principle, too. 21:11 And the thing is, you know, we just, when we watch the news 21:16 and it seems as if, and not to make it a political discussion, 21:20 but a lot of emphasis has been placed on politics lately. 21:23 Oh yeah. And for the last two or three years, and even longer 21:28 than that you're seeing this politician, or that politician, 21:31 and, you know, the essence of politics is a servant position. 21:35 The politicians job is to be a servant for the people. Right. 21:39 Well, the businesses job is to make sure when you start the 21:43 business you need to serve yourself as well as the 21:45 surrounding community as well. 21:47 So it really is more of an empowerment perspective, 21:49 that if you can support your businesses, it is direct 21:52 it is tangible. If you vote for someone they may, or may not 21:56 abide by what you wanted them to do. 21:57 You never know. But if you can support that small business, 22:00 you know it goes right to the bottom line. 22:02 You can look and see the people that they've hired. 22:04 You might have a son or daughter that works in 22:06 that small business. 22:07 You might have some individuals who you know. 22:09 And you go to that small business. 22:11 It provides a viable place. 22:12 You know they're spending money in the community. 22:14 I have a good friend of mine, Chef Don in Detroit, he buys all 22:19 of his local produce from people who grow organically, locally, 22:23 in the Detroit area. Nice! 22:25 So it becomes a local... again the dollar starts to... 22:28 You can see it! It's a very visible perspective of a dollar 22:33 circulating effectively. 22:34 And every single time that dollar circulates from one 22:37 business, to one person, to the next person, it becomes a more, 22:41 and more of empowerment. 22:42 So as soon as you say, You know what? 22:43 I don't want to spend full value. 22:45 I don't want to pay full price. 22:47 That dollar removes itself from the ecosystem of the economy 22:51 in your local community. 22:53 And you're essentially taking food off the table from not only 22:55 that business owner, but eventually yourself, because, 22:57 again, you're taking away the empowerment of that economic 23:00 base of that community. 23:02 So we've really got to be cognizant 23:03 of every single decision. 23:04 And we should be supporting them, 23:07 marketing, cheering for them. 23:09 And there's no need for competing of one another. 23:13 We have to complete one another. 23:14 Ah, nice! So we have to really be supportive of our... 23:16 I mean I'm the biggest cheerleader when it comes 23:18 to small businesses. 23:19 I love that. It's not about competing. 23:21 It's about completing. Exactly. 23:22 That's beautiful. Now we are not talking about small businesses 23:27 like your local liquor store, or your... 23:29 We're not trying to support that kind of local business, 23:33 so don't get us wrong. 23:34 We support according to our values. 23:39 Yes, absolutely. It's a point well taken, there are businesses 23:43 out there, liquor stores, weed refineries, check cashing, 23:47 payday loans, cash advances, pawn shops. 23:51 All of these are businesses that essentially are 23:53 exploiting the community. Right. 23:55 So supporting those businesses are essentially taking money out 23:59 of the economic viability, and long term 24:02 sustainability of that community. 24:04 So we've really... You're right, you really have to be diligent 24:06 about making sure that that business has the best interest 24:09 of your community at heart. 24:10 That's right, that's right. 24:12 Biblical principles we can apply in every situation. 24:16 And just know that that's the best way to go. 24:20 Absolutely, absolutely. Best way to go. 24:22 And the bottom line is we are in such a challenging time 24:25 economically right now. 24:27 And, yes, we have to support our businesses, but we have to 24:29 learn how to create our own business. 24:31 I mean, the word says all things are possible 24:33 for those who believe. 24:34 And what we have to believe is the majority of S&P-500 were 24:39 formed during times of economic recession. 24:41 So the largest companies in this country were formed in times 24:45 of the hardest economic times. 24:47 So what we have to really understand is that when we look 24:51 at all these trials of tribulation, the beautiful thing 24:54 about God is that He's just so merciful. 24:57 He's just so great. 24:59 He has so much grace and mercy on what we have. 25:01 When you look around and see all of this need, 25:02 what do businesses do? 25:05 We fulfill need. So the more needs you have, 25:08 the more opportunity you have to fulfill the need 25:11 that actually exists. 25:12 So I have a lot of good friends who actually created businesses 25:15 out of these economic times. 25:17 We had individuals who created businesses for veterans, 25:19 because they had higher homeless rates. 25:21 We had individuals who created businesses for those who were 25:24 formerly incarcerated, because levels of 25:25 incarceration went higher. 25:27 I actually wrote a book, The Stop and Frisk Handbook. 25:30 And I sold that and created a business in order to educate 25:32 individuals to make sure that as they stopped they were 25:35 being educated about what they could do, and learn their 25:37 Constitutional rights, and also make sure they're getting 25:39 educated so they're not loitering in the first place. 25:42 So all of these things we are business models and ideas 25:46 that sadly the largest place where you'll find the most ideas 25:50 is in the graveyard. 25:52 Because people pass away, and they never 25:54 institute these ideas. 25:56 So I'm urging all of you people out there, listen if you've got 25:59 an idea we need you to take that idea from your head, 26:04 and put it into fruition. 26:06 God gave you that dream not by happenstance. 26:10 This is just not incidental. 26:12 That dream is a message that He's trying to give to you to 26:16 start that business, create opportunity not only for 26:19 yourself and your family, but also revive your community. 26:23 And then for those who are brave enough to do so, kudos to you. 26:26 The other individuals in the community, for those that have, 26:30 we need to support them. 26:31 They stepped out on a ledge. 26:33 Take the dollar out of your pocket, 26:34 and give to those individuals. 26:36 And this is what the message is of, 26:38 that the Scripture's all about. 26:40 If we can do just this, we will be alright. 26:43 And we can take control back of our own economic viability, 26:46 in every single community, whether you're in urban America, 26:50 world America, Appalachia, everywhere 26:52 it's possible to do so. 26:54 Absolutely, absolutely. 26:55 We need to do a program just about how to set up a business. 27:00 Absolutely! So, and you have a takeaway for us for today? 27:04 Absolutely. I have some good things to say. 27:07 Alright. Well then, let's get to it. Ha ha! 27:16 In your community there are many businesses. 27:18 These businesses, if supported, will bring respectable traffic 27:21 to your community. 27:23 Restaurants, bakeries, law firms, doctors' offices, 27:25 schools, libraries, and more are all a reflection of the upkeep 27:29 and character of your community. 27:30 Frequent investment is crucial to property value 27:33 and the quality of living, so be sure to pay full price 27:36 when you're down at your friends establishment, 27:37 or pay full price from your services from a close buddy 27:40 who's an accountant. 27:42 These are the investments that matter most to your 27:43 network and community. 27:45 I don't want to see another business close its doors. 27:47 Let's follow Romans 4:4 that says, Now to the one that works, 27:51 His wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 27:54 Or Leviticus 19:13 that says, You shall not oppress your 27:57 neighbor or rob him. 27:59 The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you 28:01 all night until the morning. 28:02 Let's join together to aggressively recommend good 28:05 services and products, and pledge putting 28:07 an end to the hookup. 28:08 And remember, be the change, and the purpose of life 28:11 is a life full of purpose. 28:12 Till next time, Dollars and Sense. |
Revised 2017-08-01