Ep. 4: Financing the Future with Maserati Neesh
On this episode of Self Inventory, host Brandon Chastang sits down with Rhonesha Howerton, AKA Maserati Neesh, entrepreneur, author and host of the Neesh Speaks podcast. Maserati Neesh is the Owner and CEO of Credit Medics, LLC, Co-Founder of Queening Mentoring Program, Co-Owner of ‘Get Well Urgent Care’ medical facility, and CEO of Neesh Speaks, her motivational speaker platform. She is the author of Queening and specializes in credit counseling and financial education. “Her goal for current and prospective clients is to transform them financially and teach them ways to make great financial investments in the future to enhance their lives.” Visit her website at neeshspeaks.com
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Transcript:
Brandon Chastang: [00:00:00] A self-inventory report is the type of psychological tests in which a person fills out a survey about personal interests, values, symptoms, behaviors, and traits. Self Inventories are different from tests in that there is no objective, correct answer. Self-inventory is a podcast where we investigate the issues of society that don't seem to have any correct answer.
Brandon Chastang blends together history lessons, current events, and talk with people of all backgrounds to provide us as a society with a self-inventory in order to move forward. We need to look at where we've been and where we are now. It's time for Self Inventory.
You're now listening to Self-Inventory. I'm your host, Brandon Chastang, AKA BMcFly. And yes. BMcFly stands for being motivated comes from loving yourself. You'll listen. Right? You got to love yourself and like, and I'm not talking about, just love yourself in a conceited way. I'm talking about like yet the love yourself, you know, and embrace what's going on so you can get motivated, but we got a special guest. So I'm going to change BMcFly. Um, being motivated comes from loving yourself. Right? Switch that up right now and make this a little bit different. I'm gonna say. Black men can faithfully love you. And I'm only saying that because of it special guests,
Maserati Neesh: [00:01:43] black men can faithfully love you
Brandon Chastang: [00:01:45] somebody love you without further ado.
I want to bring the lovely lady in, Maserati Neesh, man. What's up?
Maserati Neesh: [00:01:56] I'm here. Aye. Aye. Aye.
Brandon Chastang: [00:01:59] Listen, I see
Maserati Neesh: [00:02:01] I'm here.
Brandon Chastang: [00:02:03] I can get you to, I mean, you know, I got you. I got you and get you to
Maserati Neesh: [00:02:08] We gonna go back and forth. We're our own camera men today.
Brandon Chastang: [00:02:11] Yeah, man. I mean, that's, you know, that's the way it works, man. So what's up.
Maserati Neesh: [00:02:16] I'm feeling good, man.
You're looking good. Thank you. Thank you. I got dressed for you today. I don't usually do anything. So there's. I said, let me pull my good fabrics out the
Brandon Chastang: [00:02:25] door. Okay. I see ladies and gentlemen, she got them glasses and she got them glasses on, pocket book, matching the shoes. Pulled up. I said, yo, listen, woo Mazarati Neesh.
Maserati Neesh: [00:02:40] It's a good time.
Brandon Chastang: [00:02:41] Yes what's. So, you know, Masarati Neesh is definitely a boss name, which I
Maserati Neesh: [00:02:47] was afraid to call myself that for a while. Wow. Uh, one, you know, we come from the hood. I'm like, I don't want these jokers know I got a maserati and they tried to Rob me. Um, um, and then just two, because I'm so humble, I'm like, mm.
But I'm glad I did because, um, In terms of the service that I provide, our people could care less really about credit because we don't understand the importance of it. But when we see things that credit can get you where more, um, Inclined to want to learn more about credit, right? So it's not the credit that really fascinates our people.
It's like, Oh Maserati Neesh got a Maserati. She says she did that with good credit. Like, let's see what this credit thing is about. So I'm kind of glad, I guess, for a marketing tool is beneficial.
Brandon Chastang: [00:03:35] It is. And I mean, like we live in, in the times where, you know, names are everything now. And what I mean by that is, um, like back in the day, Your name was everything without social media.
Right. Right. But now, you know, you got a, a nice name. That's a catchy name. Right. That's going to help people follow
Maserati Neesh: [00:03:56] it's going to help people find.
Brandon Chastang: [00:03:57] Yeah. Um, so where are you, where are you from?
Maserati Neesh: [00:04:01] From Logan? The Logan section of Philadelphia, um, raised in a single parent household. My dad. That's why I'm so strong.
Brandon Chastang: [00:04:09] Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Maserati Neesh: [00:04:10] I'm so strong and aggressive. Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Brandon Chastang: [00:04:14] Your father raise you now.
Maserati Neesh: [00:04:16] Very likely to see, right.
Brandon Chastang: [00:04:17] You'll listen. Before we get started with that. I mean, I want to give a shout out to the fathers,
Maserati Neesh: [00:04:22] you know, so important to presence. Yeah. So, and put my dad. I am everything that I am because of my dad. Absolutely. The hustle in me, entrepreneurship, all of that, my dad, the discipline, the, um, the drive, the ambition, um, not giving up the strength, everything my dad
Brandon Chastang: [00:04:42] now was your mother around.
Maserati Neesh: [00:04:45] My mother was in and out drug addiction. Um, typical hood stuff, but it's usually the other way, the dad is not there.
Mom's there. Um, my mom was on drugs for most of my childhood, probably like up into my 11th grade year in high school. Um, not because she didn't want to be was an, it was an addiction that, you know, kept her in the streets and we would see her from time to time. And it's crazy because my dad, he wouldn't like physically say things about my mom, but he was angry and bitter.
Because, you know, he didn't have a choice, but I cried not too long ago. Cause I thought about my dad and the one thing that admire about my dad the most is he never turned his back on us. So it was like in the midst of us not having things, in the midst of coming home, electric cut off, I'm sure he had his own dreams and things that he wanted to do.
He didn't ask to, you know, be in a position to raise two children by himself. He didn't have a clue, but. I can never, I never felt that I wasn't a priority. I never felt unloved. I never felt, um, like he didn't sacrifice for me. And that, that was a big deal for me. So, you know, you reflect sometimes. And I was thinking the other day and I just started bawling i just love my dad because he didn't turn his, he didn't turn his back on me is the reason that I am here and that I am the woman that I am and the things that he instilled in me.
And I saw him go through struggle. We went to, but we did it together. It wasn't like I can't do this. This is too much. I gotta go. And, you know, he could have left us with my grandma, but he didn't do that. I remember it was times when we were all in an efficiency together and I I'll never forget that. So yes, my dad is amazing.
Brandon Chastang: [00:06:31] What's your father's name?
Maserati Neesh: [00:06:32] Marvin Kilgore.
Brandon Chastang: [00:06:33] Marvin Kilgore there. Shout out to you brother because. Like Maserati Neesh said you could have easily gave up. You know, you could have said, I can't handle it. You know, this is, I'm not the mother, you know, I can't raise a young woman. How many kids were in the, in the
Maserati Neesh: [00:06:52] me and my brother
Brandon Chastang: [00:06:53] you and your brother
Maserati Neesh: [00:06:54] but my dad. He was an NTA. Um, he was an NTA for years. He also had a stand, a clothing stand where he, where he was so like, played it. Uh, polo shirts and stuff. So I remember him getting off of work, going straight from the school to the stand, set up, sell his stuff. And then the stand that he had, his clothing, his clothing stands set up and there was a bar across the street.
Right. And the area where he had, he worked at Edison high school, predominantly Hispanic, right. And then he sold his clothes in that same neighborhood. So a lot of the kids brought stuff. The kids, and a lot of hustlers would come to my dad and buy stuff. On the corner of where the stand was set up. It was a bar and there was a older man, a papi, Hispanic man, all in the business for years tired.
My dad built a relationship with him just by being out there every day. And he said, Oh, Marv, I just want to sell this bar. And dah, dah, dah. And my dad said, yeah, how much? And he was like, um, for you, I work it out. I like you brother. I see what you're going through. The, and my dad hustle, he grind and got enough money to buy that bar.
Bought that bar, learned a business. Bought another bar. Got that bar, got another bar. Got that bar, got another bar. My dad is the first black person that I know that I know personally that had vacation homes. Wow. Not one but two, one in Vegas, one in Florida. Wow. And one of them was absolutely paid for, with no debt on it.
So my dad is dope. My dad is dope. He's super dope. And he's one of the reasons that I don't allow people, especially men forgive me, um, to make excuses. There are none. You want to take care of your kids. You ain't got nothing. Don't matter. You need to show up. They need to know that you are there. And I felt that I felt if all else fails, if we hit rock, rock bottom, we got each other.
We got each other, and that was enough support to sustain me all the way up until this point.
You know, that story
somebody said Brandon is a legend. Hey,
Brandon Chastang: [00:09:01] Hey, no listen Im talking
Maserati Neesh: [00:09:03] to the legend. You know,
Brandon Chastang: [00:09:08] in, in, obviously that's where you got your entrepreneurship. From, and you're the, you know, learning the business, understanding the business. But before we get started with that, right? Like what was your environment now? You told us about your living arrangements, living with your father, you know, going through the ups and downs, your father being not only the Mo the man and the provider and the protector of the house, but he never gave up on his children. Right. What was the environment around that area like?
Maserati Neesh: [00:09:46] So one of the things that my dad's stressed often was, you're not going to be a follower. So that kinda like stuck with me forever. Um, I also realized that I didn't have to be a reflection of my environment. So it was like, my dad was a strong enough presence for me to make right the right conscious decisions, even as a small child. I remember, um, a lot of my friends were doing different things and I could have indulged, but I. I didn't because my foundation, what my dad had already planted in me superseded what I saw in my environment. So I never adapted to that. I was always different.
I was always different. I got people to this day that see me, or that, that run into me on Instagram people. I went to middle school with. They said, we always knew you was going to be something. Cause you was just different. And, um, The environment, you know, I'm from the hood. So, you know, I saw, in fact, I used to mess with some of the hustlers, you know, mess with the houses.
They was the fly guys. And, you know, I've saw, you know, a lot of, you know, drug activity. You know, my mom was on drugs. A lot of my family members who was on drugs. So the environment was very challenging, very challenging. And guess what? I had the choice to go that way or this way, but because of my foundation and the things that my dad instilled in me, I chose to go that way. And this is a reflection of that
Brandon Chastang: [00:11:09] w okay, so now let's jump back into the entrepreneurship. Right? How old were you when you realize. Or you were being taught about financial freedom.
Maserati Neesh: [00:11:24] So here's the thing. My dad taught me about entrepreneurship unconsciously just by being in the environment. So the same way Dupree is getting it right now.
I don't physically say, son, you're going to learn about credit. He sees what I'm doing. So he hears the conversations. So. Um, it's, he's picking up things along the way, so he's getting it right unconsciously. It's not until, well, it is intentional, but you know what I mean? Of course. Um, but my dad was never responsible with his finances.
Never
Brandon Chastang: [00:11:54] like most men,
Maserati Neesh: [00:11:55] I mean, like, even like when he started getting money, he like daughter, like I'm going to buy, he bought, um, me and my first duplex at 21. He's like, this is what we going to do. Daughter. He ain't know nothing about real estate or none of that. My dad still does not have a financial background.
So I kind of like spoonfeed him with certain information, but he stuck in his old head ways. But, um, Financially. I didn't get that from him, but, um, my grandma and some of my relatives said that I adopted that mindset from my mother. And when my mom got clean, she did a three 60. Like I never seen somebody bounce back from being on drugs for over 14 years.
So this was like, that's it I'm done. She moved to Arizona. She came back, she bought a house, she bought a duplex. She had a job. She was stalking her money. She did all that in two years. Credit was straight everything. So I think that that may be genetic, like genetically, I don't know.
Brandon Chastang: [00:12:50] Right.
Maserati Neesh: [00:12:50] And I agree to that.
I get my financial discipline from her
Brandon Chastang: [00:12:53] and see, now I definitely am happy that you said genetically, right? Because like any and everything, right. Understand in business.
Maserati Neesh: [00:13:03] Yes.
Brandon Chastang: [00:13:04] I feel like that's a
Maserati Neesh: [00:13:05] gift. That's what the pastor did. The old church. I used to go to pastor Brown Sunday. I
Brandon Chastang: [00:13:09] feel like it's success.
It's just
Maserati Neesh: [00:13:10] a Ramey shit. That's a gift for
Brandon Chastang: [00:13:11] everybody, everybody. So you got to remember right when you're teaching, when you're, when you're teaching about financial freedom, right. And when you're owning a business, you have some people that, that, you know, go to college or their professor in college. And they're, they're, they're teaching business, but they don't own one.
Yeah.
Maserati Neesh: [00:13:31] That's that is what it is. My boyfriend said that to me, he said, I've learned more from you in the last two years. Then I learned in four years of college and he got a degree and he has a degree in business. He like, yo, you put me on so much game. And I'm like, wow, wow,
Brandon Chastang: [00:13:48] this, this, it comes naturally. So when, but it's obvious, right.
That, you know, genetically your father. He started owning his own businesses. Your mother picked up and got when she got herself. I think God, yo, shout out to you. How, how many years is she clean?
Maserati Neesh: [00:14:05] She's deceased.
Brandon Chastang: [00:14:06] She deceased. All right.
Maserati Neesh: [00:14:07] All right, Russ. Well,
Brandon Chastang: [00:14:09] most of us lost. Yep. Yep.
Maserati Neesh: [00:14:11] She's gone. But, um, she was cleaned from my 11th grade years.
She died in 2009. She didn't even get to see my son. Yeah. She died in 2000. She used to put so much pressure on the baby, Rhonda, Rhonda, and I'm Ranesha.
Brandon Chastang: [00:14:27] Ranesha.
Maserati Neesh: [00:14:28] Yeah. But I did inherit that from her. Absolutely. And it's crazy because everything that she used to do, I play it back now and it's like, yo, I do that.
Like I write down stuff in my notes. I carry little journals and books. I'm like, Pay this bill, the state do this such and such, Oh, you, this do this. Don't forget to do this. And that's the same stuff she used to do. She used to write her bill due dates on a calendar. I actually have mines in my kitchen up on the countertop in this envelope holder.
And I line all my bills up according to the date that they're due. And I write the dude, the due date with the red Sharpie. So I'm in the kitchen every day. So I'm like, Oh, so I'm old school like that. I don't want to put my stuff, email me. Don't email me shit. Cause I need to physically see my shit. So yeah.
I get that from her too.
Brandon Chastang: [00:15:12] How old were you when you realized, or how far back can you go when you realize, or when you, that you were being taught about financial freedom or business
Maserati Neesh: [00:15:26] businesses? So in high school, um, I went to Allen the high school. Now, I don't know if a lot of you guys remember cassette tapes.
Right. So I told you my okay. Cause that's it. So my dad had to stay in, right? So he, um, mr. Rowe, which was another Muslim brother who used to sell like cassette tapes and different things as the hustle, he also wasn't NTA. So he kind of introduced my dad into the whole selling stuff and going to New York and bringing stuff back.
So my dad was like, um, Nice. You can make some money and your school, right? We I'm gonna take you to RO you go and buy these cassette tapes for a dollar. You're gonna go in your school. You gonna hustle on your lunch break. You're gonna sell them for five. So a lot of, um, my peers that went to school with me, I'll tell you this.
She used to walk around at lunch room with that big black duffle bag. And I used to get my money. I would grind. I would sneak out of class sometimes to go into the other lunch periods to make money. Um, and it taught me that I can make my own money. It also taught me how to communicate, you know, price margins and all that kind of stuff.
It taught me how to hustle. It taught me how to market. It taught me, um, how to, um, self-confidence all that stuff. And I didn't even know I was getting at at 14.
Brandon Chastang: [00:16:38] And you said you went so. And what high school you went to again?
Maserati Neesh: [00:16:41] High school,
Brandon Chastang: [00:16:42] any high school. Now, what kind of, I don't remember back in the day, what kind of high school that was?
Was that a predominantly.
Maserati Neesh: [00:16:49] Well, it was like a mixture because it was African-American students and Hispanic students and some Asian students too. Yeah. And some Asian students, Logan is kind of like a militant,
Brandon Chastang: [00:16:59] but I know now. Yeah. Now
Maserati Neesh: [00:17:01] it's a melting pot
Brandon Chastang: [00:17:04] where you were you being taught about financial freedom and business in high school?
Maserati Neesh: [00:17:10] No.
Brandon Chastang: [00:17:11] Like most of it,
Maserati Neesh: [00:17:12] I got everything from my dad minus the financial
Brandon Chastang: [00:17:16] responsible
Maserati Neesh: [00:17:17] part. Um, and I always said to myself that. Well, I always wanted more and I always saw myself having more as a small child. It's like, I'm the type of woman who says, Oh, I want to do this. And I get it done. I'm not thinking about all of the reasons it's not going to happen.
Discouraging myself, talking myself out of it. I'm like, Oh no, she want a house. Stack your bread grind. Get your crib. Oh, you want to pay your house off from two years? Stack your current stack your money, pay your house off. How are you going to do it? Let's figure it out. Oh, you want to buy your son a swimming pool?
What pre want a pool? Let me get to it. Grind by the pool. That's just how I am. My friend was like, I've never seen anybody. Like you it's like you say you want to do something and then you just achieve. Now, of course, there is a whole bunch of other things that happens in the moment that you say, I want to do this, and then you actually achieving it.
It's all of that space in between. And in that space, it could be some discouragement in that space. It could be some setbacks in that space. It could be some detours, it could be a lot of things that could happen or could discourage you. But I keep going until I get it done. Hm
Brandon Chastang: [00:18:25] Hmm. Keep going until you
Maserati Neesh: [00:18:26] get it done.
Get it done. That's it.
Brandon Chastang: [00:18:28] So did you, so, so. Did you go to
Maserati Neesh: [00:18:31] college? So I, so I taught you that I did music, right? Yeah. Did music. Um, and that was like my baby. That was my passion, but I was always the smart girl who said, just in case this don't work the way I want it to work or go the way I want it. My plans were, let me have a plan B.
So I started to, um, dibble and dab and real estate, um, shout out to my old head crack because I also had different people when I play it back, that God placed in my life that the positive certain things and create it. The shift of the mindset to not just my dad. So my dad does get a lot of credit, but there were also older people who were doing things, but I was always intrigued with people, black people that were successful.
Um, and I would go and ask questions as a young child, teenager, my uncle owned a little, um, You would call it like a bodega kind of store, like a little, um, I would sit out there with him, watch him, you know, sell his food, watch the customers come with
Brandon Chastang: [00:19:34] you, come around you. So you can come from people that
Maserati Neesh: [00:19:38] own businesses.
I saw it. You saw it.
Brandon Chastang: [00:19:41] I saw it. That, that, that makes a big difference though.
Maserati Neesh: [00:19:44] Yeah, you might be right.
Brandon Chastang: [00:19:45] That makes a huge difference because
Maserati Neesh: [00:19:47] you might be right
Brandon Chastang: [00:19:48] with a lot of people. A lot of people coming from the inner city don't see that they don't go outside and see, you know, uncle
Maserati Neesh: [00:19:57] dentistry's crazy.
Cause I'm listening to you talk even our landlord. In Logan on 10th street, across the street from my uncle's bodega that my dad rented the apartment too. He was very nice. Even when my dad didn't have it, he'd be like more of, I know what you doing. I know your kids, you're grounded, you know, just giving me the late fees next month or something like that.
Mr. Larry, I saw black landlords. You didn't see that. You didn't see that at all.
Brandon Chastang: [00:20:22] I seen I'm talking about, I'm talking about in a predominantly black neighborhood,
Maserati Neesh: [00:20:27] right?
Brandon Chastang: [00:20:28] I didn't see. Black landlords.
Maserati Neesh: [00:20:31] Damn.
Brandon Chastang: [00:20:32] I seen, I remember my grandmother raised me and, and when my grandmother raised me, they, they were all in there.
They own their house or mortgage, but it was a white man coming through, picking up that boy and picking up that mortgage, you know, so, and, and from what I seen on, on my block, 60th and master. You know, I seen black people inside of the house, but are rarely seeing, you know, black people,
Maserati Neesh: [00:21:00] somebody else I needed to dice a lot.
Lotta, neither did I, but guess what though? Let me tell you something about Instagram. That's why one of the reasons I like a lot of reasons. I don't like his lot fraught, but one of the reasons that I like it is because it exposes, um, it exposes another perspective or outlook to our culture, right?
Because TV. Didn't want you to see black folks when it. Okay. When I was growing up, I thought only white people could win. Let's keep it real. Let's be transparent.
Brandon Chastang: [00:21:28] Right
Maserati Neesh: [00:21:30] outside of when I got an agent, I started to see my dad and uncle and them hustle, but that didn't happen till like high school, you know, eight, my high school years.
But up until that point, just being a little small child. Like my son and younger to him TV, the only images of black people that were successful, probably the only thing we had, probably the hold on to was the Cosby.
Brandon Chastang: [00:21:49] That's why I say shout out, shout out the bill
Maserati Neesh: [00:21:51] free bill, listen to that. Listen to this.
The Cosby's taught us that we had to go to college in order to be successful. That's not the only way everybody's not meant to go to
Brandon Chastang: [00:22:00] college. And that's what I wanted to jump into. Right. Because before we, before we go take it to take it a step further, right? I want to talk about. You're multi-talented you're you're very multitalented right.
You just don't come with the business perspective. You don't come with the fashion Nova perspective, right? You come with you singing, you know how to sing very well. Not only do you know how to sing, but you've been on our albums. You've sung on our albums and work with med celebrities. Right. Who are these people just to name a few that you've.
Maserati Neesh: [00:22:42] So I was on Jayda kiss album kiss, the deaf, the song was called I'm going back. It's so funny. He was on one Oh six and park. And he's like, what's your favorite song? On the whole album. He was like, I'm going back. I was like, Oh yeah. I'm so JD kiss. Um, my sister, friend, ms. Jade was signed to Missy and Timberland.
When we were in our twenties. I think she was 21. I was 20. Um, she had a deal. She inked a deal with Timberland. We toured with ludicrous, we to tour with Nelly, Nelly Furtado. Um, I'm on a song that was featured on her album with JC. Like I've done a lot of stuff. I've done a lot of stuff. Um, Bubba Sparxxx PD, Pablo, um, state property too.
I'm on a song with. Oh, Skino called. Um, you've been down too long, down too long. That's the name of it? You've been there.
so I've done stuff with freeway. I've done stuff with beanie. I've done. Like I've been, I've done a lot of it. My catalog is
Brandon Chastang: [00:23:45] see now, now
Maserati Neesh: [00:23:48] I'm humble. I'm not like not, you know what I'm saying?
Brandon Chastang: [00:23:51] Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Let me explain something about, let me explain some about being humble. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Let me explain to people for the viewers and, and everybody that's listening. Right. Nobody tells our person that don't guide it to be humble, meaning, meaning do you,
Maserati Neesh: [00:24:09] do you love that?
Brandon Chastang: [00:24:12] Do you like a person that just don't have the ball, right? They don't, they don't have the charisma, the talent. Do you ever tell them to be humble?
No. Cause they don't want add right. When it's time after the game is over and it's time for the players to come up to the podium. Everybody don't come up to the podium. The stars normally do, unless you just had a good night.
Maserati Neesh: [00:24:37] All right.
Brandon Chastang: [00:24:38] So, so, so this is a black thing. Be humble. No, it ain't no such thing as being humble.
I'm wanting it all. And if you're talented and you're gifted and you got multiple ways of getting to it, no, let it be known that I'm nice like that.
Maserati Neesh: [00:24:55] You understand what I'm saying? How's round myself crazy sometimes though, because I'm so talented in so many different things. Right. And the weight, remember we was talking earlier, it's like, I can't sleep.
I'm like I have those nights because my mind is constantly working and I am a person who strives for. To to progress constantly. I have to be evolving the moment that I'm not, I feel so stagnant and that's when I feel like damn when I'm not progressing. And it's crazy because it's not even that I have to be like progressing, just like, you know, Success successfully.
It's like, no, spiritually. I need to be, you know, continuously growing continuously feeding my spirit to grow, um, continuously evolving, intellectually, reading, more books, learning more skills. Like I have to do that. That's how I operate. If I don't, I'm gonna go crazy. My dad will be like, sometimes I'm like, I, I gotta be like,
Brandon Chastang: [00:25:51] So, so, so now that we know that, you know, you sung with em, you know, a lot of celebrities and you are albums and things of that nature, like when did that stop in.
Like, how did that, how was the transition? Was it you singing songs and being on albums and writing for people, or did you get your first business and you kind of,
Maserati Neesh: [00:26:15] so remember I told you, I always had a plan B backup plan because I wasn't going to be that person that, and a lot of my friends that are in music, like Nisha, I'm so proud of you figured that shit out music ain't, you know, take it where you wanted to take it and let's be clear.
I could have arrived at that point, especially now this day and age with the Instagram, I still can do this shit if I want to, but I don't have a whole, I don't have the same passion for it when I, um, Indulge in something I have to be all in because I'm a passionate person. So I got a 100% be there. So the way that I feel about music well felt about music.
That's how I feel about doing business. Now. It's like, I love doing business and I just want to evolve and, and doing business too. I'm like a fortune 500. Oh girl who the native, native. Um, so,
Brandon Chastang: [00:27:06] so how old were you when you got your first business? When, when you,
Maserati Neesh: [00:27:09] you know, so I've been, uh, I've been a landlord since I was like, I told you, my dad bought my first duplex, but then we moved out of that duplex and I rented it out.
So I've been a landlord since I was 24. Okay. Um, I've been hustling since the cassette tapes. I was 14. Um, credit medic started. And 2013 before everybody jumped on the whole, I do credit wave
Brandon Chastang: [00:27:34] 2014,
Maserati Neesh: [00:27:35] 2013,
Brandon Chastang: [00:27:36] 2013.
Maserati Neesh: [00:27:36] I was sitting on my couch and I'm like, yo, I need more God. And I don't just need more money. I need to feel full.
I need my spirit to feel full. I need to, and guess what. It was a major. So I really stopped doing music too, because when my mom died, it was this major transformation that shift in my life. Right. Don't look at my notes. Don't you?
Brandon Chastang: [00:27:56] No, you're good. No, no, no, listen. You're good.
Maserati Neesh: [00:27:59] Don't judge. Don't judge me, but look so, so my mom passed away and in that year, that was the darkest year for me.
Right. But in that year, it was the most teachable moment of my life. And I transitioned into the person that you see today, where a lot of my focus wasn't material things, my perspective changed my values changed. Cause it was like, this is your mom. She brought you in this world. That's your biggest supporter?
Me and my mom had this emotional connection where if something was wrong, she felt it I'm coming out. She like baby girl, she's called baby. What's wrong. Like she just felt it. So to have a conversation with her one night, And then the next day she's gone, it fucked me up. And not only did that fuck me up.
It's like, now, what is this about God? What is life about what are we here for? I started searching for that, my soul, like, I need to know what's going on. What am I here for? What is my purpose? What am I supposed to do? What is this shit about? And in the midst of that, she got pregnant that same year. Yeah.
She got pregnant me. Got pregnant. True. Maybe three months after my mom died. Not only did I get pregnant, I gave birth to a one pound one ounce baby. That same year. So my baby was sick. My baby was sick. I had a preemie, he had all kinds of complications and I literally was at the hospital. Once they discharged me every single day, all day, it was a lot going on that year and I survived that shit
Brandon Chastang: [00:29:38] pass away from,
Maserati Neesh: [00:29:39] it was like some sort of lung disease, probably from the drugs.
I'm sure.
Brandon Chastang: [00:29:43] Yeah. My mother passed my mother from a heart attack. It was drug related.
Maserati Neesh: [00:29:49] So it was like the wear and tear of the drugs. That's why you gotta take care of your body. And
Brandon Chastang: [00:29:53] that's why I'm here. I'm sober.
Maserati Neesh: [00:30:00] Yeah, that skin is chocolate. Listen, everything is right there.
Brandon Chastang: [00:30:09] I'll appreciate it. I really appreciate it. And you know, going through so much from your mother passing away, you know, a preemie now, when you look at Dupree, I mean, he's healthy.
Maserati Neesh: [00:30:24] You know?
Brandon Chastang: [00:30:27] Oh yeah. I mean, he's the only child, he's the only child or he's about to be 11.
So he's been an only child for a little minute. You know what I mean? Now your transition into the, well, not really transitioning, but you're putting all this focus. Cause that's how people, right? If your soul is not here,
Maserati Neesh: [00:30:46] come on somebody.
Brandon Chastang: [00:30:47] Yo, listen, you're not going to be receptive.
Maserati Neesh: [00:30:49] Can't be
Brandon Chastang: [00:30:50] broken. I'm talking about not just through relationships,
Maserati Neesh: [00:30:53] three things, everything breath.
Brandon Chastang: [00:30:56] If your soul is not healed, you're not going to be receptive to that.
Maserati Neesh: [00:31:00] So maybe that's what my transformation was about, right? The soul
Brandon Chastang: [00:31:04] you so had to be healed. Come on. You know what I mean? You had to get to know who you were as a person. You had to fight through. These demons had to fight through the struggles and, and inhaled the brokenness.
Um, Business. So credit. The credit, the credit medic.
Maserati Neesh: [00:31:22] Yes. Credit medics credit. I am the credit queen. That's what I've been telling you. You are the credit queen. So I'm the credit queen, but the business has evolved so much that we don't just focus on credit. Okay. So, and, and. It's so weird because when I was praying, um, for something, I said, God, I need something else.
I had enough properties where I was able to survive and pay my bills and all that. I'm like, but I just need something. I know my life is it's, it's more of a calling on me and then just this God, I need something else. And that credit repair popped in my head. As I'm sitting on my couch one day. Right. And I was always that kid and that young adult who was responsible with finances, right.
Told you I got that from my mom, genetically. And I started Googling, researching credit repair going on YouTube, started going to seminars and going to different things. And. So, you know what I can do credit repair. And then I did what the Asians did when they come into the market. Right? When they, when they decide they want to open up a business, they come in and they, they shift the market in terms of the price point.
So you have a mom and pop store that's owned by a black, a black family, and they may charge you, um, $3 for the cheese steak. Well, the age is going to come in right across the street. And because our people don't know nothing about black on black support, they didn't go to the Asians because the Asians charge $2.
When really that black mom and pop store was the one that was giving back to the community. Right. So I said, you know what, let's see what the going rate was. The going rate was like $500. I said, I'm charging two 35. In, uh, in, in my business is well into the six. We might hit the meal Mark this year. Not Mike,
Brandon Chastang: [00:32:59] hold on, hold up.
It ain't no such thing as Mike
Maserati Neesh: [00:33:01] hit the middle market
Brandon Chastang: [00:33:03] credit. Medics.
Maserati Neesh: [00:33:05] No, in a franchise and two I'm currently working on a software, so I'm franchising. So I'm not this bound to be credit. Medics
Brandon Chastang: [00:33:11] nationwide. I hope y'all listen to him because there's so much right. In Maserati Neesh has given us so much bossy, bossy material, you know, and she's telling y'all like, listen as a black woman.
You know, like y'all not taking advantage of me as a black woman, I'm going to boss up and get these businesses popping. And I'm going to make sure that I explain and teach financial literacy to our
Maserati Neesh: [00:33:43] kids. Yo dude, good credit really changed my life. Like everybody that comes around me and they attached himself to me, I'm like, Get your credit, right?
Get your credit rights set you up. An LLC build is going to take time. So one of my staff started as my mentee, three years ago, she was in college. I had a queening mentorship program for young sisters from the age of 14 to 21. Right. She was in that program all summer. She graduated from college. Now she works for me.
Um, I told her to set up an LLC. First of all, we got her credit to 700 something, totally set up an LLC, set up an LLC do that today. So we set up the LLC. Um, I just sent her to get some business credit. She got $20,000. I said, we going to send you to another bank, see if we can get you another 20. So, um, um, um, mentoring her and showing her the game.
And she's around me constantly. So she's picking up everything. Oh my God, she's picking up on everything. So she said to me, the other day, she said, Ms. Neesh, I'm ready for a duplex. How you think I should do it? What you say? So she went to college and got a degree, but she really get in the game from me
Brandon Chastang: [00:34:49] from
Maserati Neesh: [00:34:49] being up under me, my leadership.
And of course, I'm not going to steer her wrong. I want her to win. You know what I'm saying? And I already know what it takes. To win. I know the tools. I know this, this, huh? The USA is a system. A lot of white folks learned the system at a young age because that's what they do. They teach the system, financial literacy LLCs.
Um, the sister, the other day, went to lunch with her. She came with my brother. Right teacher, 27 years old, bought a whole block in Baltimore. Right. I'm sitting at the table. I love smart people. I'm sitting at the table, we're talking, we're building and I'm just letting her talk, let her talk. Right. I'm like, damn, she's smart as shit.
Right. So I'm letting her talk. She thought she like, yeah. She's like, yeah. In a trust fund, Mitch, do you have trust funds? You know that if you put all of your LLCs under the trust, you're protected, you know, if anything ever happened, even if you were to get indicted, they cannot take anything that's in your trust is protected.
They will have to pay you. For the things that they are trying to confiscate and your trust. So just learning more and more things. So guess what I said, I said, since, listen, you smartest ish. Right? I said, I want to introduce you to my, my, my other girlfriend is super duper smart, got all his stuff together.
The other day we supposed to had an hour meeting. We literally was in that meeting for four hours.
Brandon Chastang: [00:36:11] Wow.
Maserati Neesh: [00:36:12] It was too much information. My girlfriend was like, yo, this is too much. We need another meetup. I know that's something great is going to come from that. It's too many intelligence systems. And the thing about all of us, we are all humble.
We are all different. So I am the person who I am very strategic. I got money to buy anything I want. I can go get a Burke in the Damar five bear. Burkins I got tons of credit. I am, I will treat myself, but I am very strategic when it comes to making big purchases. I got to have another string line coming in.
That's going to support that, that day. I'm getting a Bentley truck. I said, wait, let me rehab these two houses, rent them out. So that, that can pay for the truck. I'm not just going out here trying to keep up with the Joneses, living outside my means. Right? So I am strategic, but I still treat myself my other girlfriends.
She like, I'm buying a Porsche day. I'm getting a range road. That's how she operates. Right. So she spins and spins this new system that we met. She was like, Yeah, I just, just had to get out of my Honda. It was from 2003. I'm looking at her like what? So my girlfriend, like. Yo, what you really like, you got the bag, but she was like, y'all spend all this money on this stuff.
I'm not wasting my money on that. And it made me look at myself like, what is this all about? What is all this about? What is this about? Oh,
Brandon Chastang: [00:37:31] I mean, I look at, I look, it's a gift and a curse with that, you know, like, because I mean, I'm black. Man, you know, so I come from,
Maserati Neesh: [00:37:41] she said that though, like she's like showing
Brandon Chastang: [00:37:44] like, I mean, listen, Yes, you can always learn.
Right. I always want to tell because Hey, when people, you know, get on social media, right. And they throw these pitches up of these white guys that like, like a Bill Gates and he's wearing sketchers.
Maserati Neesh: [00:38:00] Okay. That's his culture.
Brandon Chastang: [00:38:02] That's again, like, okay. I come from ivory, I come from gold. I come from pyramids that are stronger than any building on this planet.
Okay. So at this point, if you do want to dress fashionable, Okay. You know, G night now, if you would've said something like, I'm not giving people that hate us money now I'm to shut up.
Maserati Neesh: [00:38:26] But it's so funny because my girlfriend, and when I said just spin, she was like, well, I've gotten better. She's like, I'm going to, she's like, I'm going to get rid of my pain mirror.
I was thinking about getting the Porsche truck. She was like, what do you think about that? Susan asked her, like, can I get that dude? Can I get that? She was like, Well, she was like, well, it's only $600. Is that cool? She's like I said, it's cool because you're not spending the 14 that you were spending on a pair of mirror.
Brandon Chastang: [00:38:52] Let me ask you a question. Right? So when you, when you're looking at, you know, the business and you're looking at how successful you've become from when you started up until now, and you mentioned credit. For, for so many people that don't understand credit, how important is credit, especially. And before you answer this square, before you answer this, before you answer this question, right?
I want people to understand that, like I used to teach, I don't teach anymore, but when the school closed down in the community, the value of the community goes down. Really?
Maserati Neesh: [00:39:35] Yes.
Brandon Chastang: [00:39:37] I'm super serious. The value of the community because
Maserati Neesh: [00:39:40] the real estate yes. Shout out.
Brandon Chastang: [00:39:43] Yes. So when you look at children, living in the community or the school, or just people, period, this is how gentrification works.
A lot of people don't think that, you know, white people, Asian people don't fill out for PHA. They don't think that white people are Asian people. Don't fill out for section eight. These, this is why our community, if you hear about a person filling alpha PHA or something like that in a get moved four hours away.
That's because people that are buying, I mean, people that are, that have money, they're not buying into the community when you buy in a community. Now, if you got section eight, you can pick and choose who you want, what type of family you want to be in that house. So the point that I'm trying to make is credit helps you buy back.
The community, when you Bob back the community now was no such thing as gentrification. I want people to understand this gentrification does not mean that we hate white people. Gentrification means that is the culture of black people are being diminished. Now it's being diminished. So credit. How important
Maserati Neesh: [00:41:01] is, can change it life, especially for a black business owner.
So I was, um, watching this, um, interview with ice cube and he said 3% of bank funding. Um, but in business funding goes to black owned businesses, 3%. He said that a lot of it has to do, and this is my assessment too. A lot of it has to do with. Us not being educated on credit and financial literacy. Right?
The other thing is we don't have the credentials. There are no credentials. The credentials are not there to qualify you for the funding. So if you don't have the credentials, you're automatically excluded. So this is why my purpose in my presence is so important to educate. Other black business owners on business funding is so many tricks and stuff.
I didn't learn over the years. I'm like, Oh my God, there are no doc programs as a business owner. If you are a black business owner, even if technically your business isn't operating right now, but let's say Brandon, you, you establish an LLC five years ago. Right. So the LLC is aged out. Your business technically is five years old.
Now Brandon has been working on his credit. So now Brandon credit scores is a seven 20. Brandon comes to me and I'm like, I pull your credit. And I'm like, Brandon, your credit score is seven 20. You like, yeah. All I do is just pay my bills on time and keep my credit card balances low I'm like, yo, that's the, that's like 65%.
Of, you know, what it takes to maintain or establish good credit, paying your bills on time and keeping your credit cards, store cards or major credit cards, keeping that usage the balance low. So in the midst of the consultation, you say Neesh. Yeah, I got an LLC. I never did nothing with it. I'm trying to get some money so that I can really get it off the ground.
I'm like B, with that seven 20 and that aged LLC, you can get business lines of credit. Under the no doc program, there are banks that have no doc programs that will give your business. As long as your business is two years of age, you can qualify for business lines of credit without showing any documentation.
All I want, when I say documentation, no tax returns, no profit and loss statements. None of that. Now there is a cat on the no doc program, meaning the banks is like, listen, joker. We not going to go past 50,000 without you showing us on paper that your business is actually producing revenue. Yeah. So imagine if you go to three different banks that offer the no doc program and you are able to get $20,000 worth of capital 30 here, 40 there.
Now you have these lines of credit that you can use. Now, the lines of credit are really what I like in terms of business funding, because a line of credit just sits there. Sort of like your credit card. If you don't have a balance, you don't pay nothing. Right. But the line of credit gives you access to capital right away.
It's attached to a checking account, a business checking account. You can write checks, you can go to the bank, pull the cash out, you can do whatever. So yeah, that information game I just gave y'all man, I'm on my Waldo. Just get y'all man. I was for forget
Brandon Chastang: [00:44:17] yo, shout out to wallow a million dollars worth of game.
Yeah. Yo. I imagine, I imagine. See, and this is why I talk about education. Right? One of the, one of the things that I speak on is education. Speak on five elements. That's like hurting our community. And education is one from the public school system. I tell people that the state will find a state prison, 43 to $49,000 a year per prisoner.
And the state will fund Philadelphia public school. Right. Philly is the fifth largest city, the, the poorest largest city in that one of the worst school district freaks in America. This is something that I'm not telling you. I mean, I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. Wow. They will find a public school, Philadelphia public school.
Not eight, six to 9,000 a year per public school student.
Maserati Neesh: [00:45:17] So a year for student, for students.
Brandon Chastang: [00:45:20] Okay.
Maserati Neesh: [00:45:20] So for inmate is what, it's
Brandon Chastang: [00:45:22] 43 to 49,000 a year per prisoner. So what you're telling me is school is a pipeline from school to prison. You know, how many kids were inside of class for the whole year? We're going to use math with no math teacher, but you need to have meth in order to pass these standardized tests.
Right. So in order to pass these standardized tests, you have to be taught meth, right. Teacher in there
Maserati Neesh: [00:45:54] for the whole year.
Brandon Chastang: [00:45:56] But how about this? They getting moved to the next grade. Yeah. So. Let alone credit. They not being taught shape.
Maserati Neesh: [00:46:04] Yeah. I just went up to my son's school and raised a little Hill. I said, listen, and I played he's high as Texas.
Now y'all going to do something. And my son has an IEP and talk about it. And I played for cool mine too. Now we gonna figure something out because, uh, when he started this virtual thing, Um, first of all, I paid too much money for virtual, but okay. We get the COVID thing that's going on. Okay. But we started off with a teacher now y'all telling me the teacher, the second day she had an emergency.
So she hasn't been there. So what's going to happen. Cause I'm paying for cool, man, we going, something's going to happen. Y'all gonna figure something out. Cause he has an IEP. I said, and if I don't feel comfortable with him being elevated to the next grade, he's not going. And they said, Oh no, that's not how we do that.
We have to push them through. Well, y'all joke is it's going to cut a check. To pay for some tutoring services and everything else that he needs so that he can be where he needs to be. Cause I'm not happy.
Brandon Chastang: [00:46:52] And that's what, and, and that's what I'm saying about. You know, financial literacy and being learning about business and learning about being financially free.
Maserati Neesh: [00:47:04] Yeah. Um, cause let's be clear. That's how I got here. Right. Educated
Brandon Chastang: [00:47:09] and you're educating.
Maserati Neesh: [00:47:11] That's how I got here. Absolutely.
Brandon Chastang: [00:47:14] It's it's it's so many people out there that don't understand that. All it takes is simple credit for you to get to the next
Maserati Neesh: [00:47:24] level, the system,
Brandon Chastang: [00:47:25] the system understand. Right. And like I said before, yes, it's a gift.
You know, this is something that you just don't wake up and be like, you know, I know it
Maserati Neesh: [00:47:38] sounds funny. B. Remember the meeting I told you about that we had the other day, me and my two, well, the young lady that I just met and then my girlfriend. So she's educating us about stop this sister smart, listen, I transferred money out of my account.
They put 5,000 into this Robin hood thing. She told me I'm like, she educated me on stop. She said, all these terms. I'm like, what? I'm like, I don't know none of that shit. I don't trade who do what? Save get the contract. I don't know nothing about that. She was like, well, I'm going to help you. I hope you put some money here.
Put some money there. So now I was like, yo, that's how people be when I be talking about credit. But while I was always, he always tell me that my gift is the way I break the information down. I speak the language of the people. So I try to make it very simple. I simplify it. So I'm giving you the game so that you can understand it.
I'm meeting you where you are, and then you take that game. And then at that point, once I give you the game, which is the information it's up to you to apply it and benefit from it,
Brandon Chastang: [00:48:39] you know, I hope people that are listening follow and make sure that you, you know, Get the game that's needed in order to better yourself inside of your community right now.
I remember when I first seen you on Instagram and it wasn't about credit. It wasn't about singing. It wasn't about
Maserati Neesh: [00:49:01] nothing. I saw you reposting I'm like, who is this
Brandon Chastang: [00:49:04] guy? Yeah. Like I was, I was like, I was like, hold up. She just like, no disrespect, but she just hit like some spots. Like you understand what I'm saying?
And, and what you were talking about, like, Being a black woman being very, that being financially free, lot of, and this is not a debate or argument, but a lot of black women, they not carrying it. Like you. You
Maserati Neesh: [00:49:38] know, it's crazy.
Brandon Chastang: [00:49:39] That's funny. No, no, no, no. Listen,
Maserati Neesh: [00:49:41] I never looked at myself like that. It's other people that kind of show me where I'm at.
Brandon Chastang: [00:49:45] No, listen, listen, let
Maserati Neesh: [00:49:46] me
Brandon Chastang: [00:49:47] listen to me. Let me, let me get this one over
Maserati Neesh: [00:49:50] here. You gotta be
Brandon Chastang: [00:49:53] women. That's making a lot of money or not carrying it like you
Maserati Neesh: [00:50:00] was carrying it,
Brandon Chastang: [00:50:01] like paying homage to a black man, regardless of. Their financial state. And what I mean by that is we not looking for somebody that just want to sit on AIS and live off of you?
Yeah, but we not saying that you got to be rich or to a point like I am, right. A lot of women that's like in like financially free, like you, they're looking for somebody to be financially free to now. At the time when you stated you got your own house now, I don't know word for word. And when you were talking like this, this wasn't sounding like desperation.
This was sounded, this was wasn't sounded
Maserati Neesh: [00:50:49] like desperation.
Brandon Chastang: [00:50:50] This
Maserati Neesh: [00:50:50] was sounded more,
Brandon Chastang: [00:50:52] no, this was sounded more like, let me acknowledge these men out here. You were saying how you got your own money, you got your own businesses, you got everything that you want. But when it comes down to a man, it's not about what in the man.
Cause it wasn't desperation. It was like, I honor, you CA black King. I see what's going on.
Maserati Neesh: [00:51:21] Definitely see
Brandon Chastang: [00:51:22] black men. They want to be warranted, right? Like, like, like when you see, because every woman, every woman, or this planet love a black man, right. I'm talking about our stature.
Maserati Neesh: [00:51:37] Our look,
Brandon Chastang: [00:51:38] our walk is the swag and a lot of black women worrying.
I'm not saying that they don't pay homage. We not going to say that, but a lot of black women do more men do a lot of men bashing, you know what I'm saying? Like it's like, Oh yeah, we always cheating. I mean, if you look at, look at the reality shows the black men always cheat, you know, he gay and
Maserati Neesh: [00:52:02] he's, he's messing up.
I mean, yeah.
Brandon Chastang: [00:52:04] I mean, if you look at, if you look at power, The black men look how we laid, look, how he labeled the black man. You know what I mean? And it's a black woman that's directing that or have some type of form of dialect.
Maserati Neesh: [00:52:17] So
Brandon Chastang: [00:52:19] look at it. You know what I'm saying? The black man, he
Maserati Neesh: [00:52:21] internalized it
Brandon Chastang: [00:52:22] cheated on the wife.
He
Maserati Neesh: [00:52:25] encouraged him to be a hustle and sell drugs, duh,
Brandon Chastang: [00:52:28] but I'm talking about the director of power or some parts of power is a black woman. The black woman of the right, the black woman of, um, um, loving basket, love and hip hop or some crap like that. At the end of the day, it started out with black men, but then that shit went away.
And now it's about black women. You know what I'm saying? And I'm not saying that black women don't hold us down, but to get to my point is that you simplified how the importance of having a man and honoring that man and treated him like a King and don't look down on him. Cause he's not financially, financially free like you right now.
So when I reposted that, man, I said, Whoa,
Maserati Neesh: [00:53:15] Yeah. So it's funny because the man that I am with now, he teaches me so much.
Brandon Chastang: [00:53:21] Okay.
Maserati Neesh: [00:53:22] What's his name?
Brandon Chastang: [00:53:25] he's,
Maserati Neesh: [00:53:27] he's a very humble. So, um, he is teaching me so much about love and relationships, and I just had a conversation with my best friend the other day, because I have the tendency to place my standards and expectations on others.
And I do that because I want you to win. Right. And I do that because I'm winning. And I know that I have the resources and the information to pour into you to get you to win too. But a lot of times it's like I'm forcing your growth when we all grow and develop on our own time. Right. So I'll be very transparent.
Um, so me and Mikael, we're having a conversation. He comes to me. So mind you we've been together for like two, two years to 24, 25, twice 27 months now. Right. So he comes to me and he says, um, Bay, now mind you a year ago, I said, me let's do a flip together. Right. I said, I don't have the time. To go to these properties to make sure the contractors are doing what they need to be doing.
I don't have the time to go there. I'm doing credit medics. I'm doing this. I'm doing that. I said, what I do have is the finances to invest in a project. So I'm going to put up to 10% of however much the project is going to cause you could carry it. The loan or we'll carry the loan together. We'll create an LLC and you're going to be the general contractor manager.
You're going to manage the projects. Right. Then we're going to use my resources when a project is done to sell the property. I told me Kyle, that months went by for first, he was like motivated. He was like trying to look for some wholesale deals doing this. Then it appeared to be motivated. One thing about me being nice.
Say she going to do something. Like my goals for this year were done by June because I don't fuck around. I say that I want something and I get it done. Now I love the fact that he's not intimidated by that at all. He liked, and he supports me, but it kind of makes you look at when you see all the shit out the door, it gotta make you look at like, well, what am I doing if she's going to, so now I'm looking at how I move, how I operate and I'm looking at him like, what are you doing, babe?
Like I said, this much are going by and, and where's the house? What are we doing? So fast forward over a year later, he says something to me a couple of weeks ago. Oh yeah. So I said, I'm not interested anymore. And I said, me cacao out of everybody. That's in my life. I give pre and you the most time. Because y'all basically, he don't live with me, but he's there all the time.
I said, you sleep with me every single night. You have access to me on a whole nother level. Yes. Don't get me wrong since we've been together. He's he's not the brother. Cause I ain't dealing with no bum. Bum is a mentality. Okay. Not dealing with no bum. When I met me KL, he had 700 credit scores. He owned his house.
He had a car, it was a hooptie, but he owned his car. No, because I had to push his ass. I said, you're going to get a car. You can't afford him because he's very safe. Right. And it's so crazy because his dad said to me, two months ago, we was sitting on the porch. He said, daughter, I tried to call you the other day.
He said, but I missed you. I said, you did. I say why I come back? I said, what you want it? He said, I want to thank you for what you're doing to my son's life. He said, my son always had it in him, but that push that you give him he's on fire. And he really is, but I was getting frustrated because he wasn't progressing at the same speed that I am progressing, but we come from two different backgrounds.
Correct. So I had to understand that my mind said I was already trained and programmed to think like an entrepreneur, I'm a leader, different things. My dad gave me that got me to this level. So I automatically I'm automatically program and consciously I think like that. So I had to go back to his upbringing, his, so he's already a good dude.
So now he's getting with him. That's why they said, when you meet a wife, you find a good thing depending on the woman, because now you have this good brother. Who just needed a little push. He needed me to show him how to walk in faith. How to be a little bit more confident, how not to walk in fear. I said, Mika, y'all you, ain't going to get to nothing because you're too afraid.
You're too afraid to leave. Why are you so, and he told me, he said, Ranesha, I've been at this job for 13 years. I said, ain't no fucking way in hell. I'm going to be at the same job in the same office with the same position that long I have to be evolving. What are you afraid of? I said that car. What do you got to play?
Everything so safe now, granted, now here's the thing I jumped out. He plays it safe. The balance. I jump out too much sometimes. Well, he liked Ronisha take your time. You got a lot on your plate right now, you know, you're gonna get, it's gonna be too much pressure. You got to the, and I'm like you playing it too safe.
So I had been telling him, I said, Mika, yo, I have a nice car. I said, we drive in my car all the time. I don't want to just drive in my car all the time. I need you to have a nice car so I can want to drive in your car. Sometimes we're not doing that. I said your car is not comfortable for me. You ain't got no air.
The wind, the mirror is off on the side and listen, Mitch, go ride with you the free side. She got me in. I know what freeway I gotta be in a squatter RADA. Yeah. I'm a wrap with you, but. I worked too hard to be comfortable. So I'm not going to step down to be uncomfortable. Well, that's to accommodate
Brandon Chastang: [00:59:14] that's the key.
That's the key, not the cut your wisdom, but that's the key. So you not, and that's, and that's why I was feeling what you were saying, because even joking about it or whatever the case may be. You don't look down on him or talk down on him.
Maserati Neesh: [00:59:29] You understand what I'm saying?
Brandon Chastang: [00:59:30] No, that's cool. See, it's one thing I understand about women, right?
Women are the first teachers to mankind, right? Y'all are naturally born teachers, educators, and. For me, when I finally get into a relationship, I want my woman to be able to tell me what the hell is going on, but still recognize me as a man and a leader, just because I don't know certain things or I'm slacking on certain things.
No, come at me, challenged
Maserati Neesh: [01:00:05] me. He was very honest though. He said, Rodney shit, I'll be honest with you. My mindset was not what it is right now. So he's on call right now. He called me, he said, babe, I got a line on this to them. I said, y'all, I'm so proud of you.
Brandon Chastang: [01:00:20] He on, I met Jay Z said, Jay Z said, it's the power of it.
Right. You know, that song is the power. But, but listen, let me tell you something to take it a step further. One thing about a man, if he's truly in love with you and he's dedicated, whatever it is, he's going to strengthen his weaknesses. Yeah. He's going to strengthen his weaknesses. And that's the one thing that I understand when he finds out that I'm in love with this woman, and this is the woman that I want to be with.
I relied on my strengths enough, but I'm not going to let my strengths be my weaknesses. Let me strengthen my weaknesses. Right. And a lot of women I've been in the situation where
Maserati Neesh: [01:00:59] talk about it,
Brandon Chastang: [01:00:59] a female, man. I'm gonna talk about it. I definitely been in a situation where a female. Like she thought I was trying to use.
Uh, yeah. And I'm talking about, this is amongst, this is amongst my, me being who I am within three years, almost not back in the day where I'm running around being a womanizer and a user and all that I'm talking about. Once I have my soul healed, like, you know, she's making a lot of money and she thought like, can you take care of me?
Can you do this? Can you do that? And I'm sitting back like, well, you know what. This is not for me. You know what I'm saying? Because if you can't trust that I'm gonna, I'm going to get into a place where I need
Maserati Neesh: [01:01:44] to be.
Brandon Chastang: [01:01:45] I don't know, man, you know, sometimes, I mean, sometimes it's so not healed, you know what I mean?
Probably based off of probably what she went through, whatever the case may be. So that's why, again, I'm looking at you like. Damn the, when you said what you said on that video that went viral, I'm like, wow. And then once I start to learn about you, I'm like, yo, she can easily be on that arrogant type town.
It's a difference being cocky is one thing I love when a person cocky, but being arrogant. It's a whole different perspective. And I don't like that. So. With that being said,
Maserati Neesh: [01:02:22] this is good
Brandon Chastang: [01:02:23] with that being said, I love
Maserati Neesh: [01:02:26] it too. So great. And you offer so much perspective you're so wise when you repost it. My video that time, and then of course it drove me to your page and I'm missing.
I'm like he gets it. You get it perspective, enlightenment, you get it, you get it. And I think that you reached to people and I think, I know you reached the people and you teach at the level that they are at and they're able to retain it and receive it.
Brandon Chastang: [01:02:53] And, and that's the, that's the most important part.
Like even when I was teaching, I used to come in with sweat suits on and you know what I mean? Nike sweatsuits, Adidas and all that, because. This is not, I'm not, no, no, not no preppy teacher. Like, no, I'm from the neighborhood, just like you. Right. I want to bring this to the end. Right. And the podcast is called self
Maserati Neesh: [01:03:20] self-inventory
Brandon Chastang: [01:03:22] self-inventory podcasts.
The one thing that I had to learn about when I finally. Got sober. I got sober. I went to rehab January the 21st, 2018. And when I got out of it, I spent 30 days in it. And when I got out of rehab, right, it was a lot of things about myself first time. And when I got out of rehab, I had to, I realized it was a lot of things about myself that I didn't like.
And I'm like, yo, the harsh reality is. You're a narcissist, the harsh reality is you're manipulated.
Maserati Neesh: [01:04:01] Right? Look, I'm interviewing you now. What made you begin to dig deep and pull off the layers? What was that aha moment where you was like, I don't like this about myself. W w
Brandon Chastang: [01:04:10] w when I had to me finally getting to know myself, I mean, I've been using drugs for like, since I've been using drugs since 2004 and from 2004 to 2018.
That's a very long time. So in a lot of things that people, that word accountability hurts,
Maserati Neesh: [01:04:33] it hurts. In order to grow, there has to be accountability.
Brandon Chastang: [01:04:42] Ah, it
Maserati Neesh: [01:04:43] hurts. It's like the, it's like a fundamental, it's like a component that is so necessary. Like you gotta, you wanna dig deep, you gotta be accountable
Brandon Chastang: [01:04:52] and you gotta
And me being sober. Right? It's like
Maserati Neesh: [01:04:58] you had to deal with that. I'm starting with the man in the
Brandon Chastang: [01:05:02] mirror, but the man in the mirror
Maserati Neesh: [01:05:04] sober made you pay attention
Brandon Chastang: [01:05:07] and made me pay attention.
Maserati Neesh: [01:05:09] Like,
Brandon Chastang: [01:05:11] Oh my God, like, yo, calm down. Okay. You wait, yo, listen, you know what I'm saying? So. I had to reconstruct myself. I had to, I had to all y'all listen, tear myself down and build myself up.
So my question to you is my last and final question is what is your self-inventory personally ain? And as a business woman, like, and what I mean by that is what do you think you can do to make yourself better personally? And as a businesswoman?
Maserati Neesh: [01:05:48] Great. If I fall off, bring me back. Cause sometimes that's a lot going on in my mind personally, I deal with my shit.
That, that man in the mirror thing, I'm constantly, um, making myself accountable for things, right. Even in my relationship with my man, it'll be, it may be something that I have an issue with and I'll address it. But after talking to him or maybe I'm pondering on it and then revisiting it, days later in the car by myself with no music, I be like, mommy, should I show shit?
Shit shit. Y'all shit on him. So I think that people around us, um, help us to evolve and grow too. One of the things that I don't have around me is a bunch of yes-men my friends. I, it is a requirement that you call me on my shit. Is it, or it is a requirement that you say, Rhonesha. That was some selfish shit you did.
Like prime example. We just went on vacation and on the vacation, it was a friendship. It was a friendship. Now my friends didn't know my little cousins, but me being the cousin that I am, I love my little cousins. We're very close. We was at a family gathering. I'm like, y'all got a room in such and such.
Y'all should come. They was like, Oh, for real, the next day she called me. She was like, we're looking at flights now. But I never called my friends and told them that I invited my little cousins. Right. So when they finally booked their flight, which they booked it before I told my friends, I told my friend, yo, can you change the reservation and add law that?
And it was like, okay, Hey cool. But then my friend who's birthday it was, was like, Hey, we don't have a problem with that, but who are you bringing to the and when I hung up, I was like, well, why is it a big deal? You know what I'm saying? Even accountability is this too. It may not affect me. It may not bother me. I may not be impacted by it, but it affected you.
So what can I do different or better next time? I called my friend. I said, I want to apologize. I never took into consideration, although it's small to me and I know it's not really a big deal for you, but it is cause you brought up certain things. I apologize for not going to you first to ask you if it was okay.
So I like to have people around me that make me accountable for my shit. That pause me to look within, to cause me to peel layers off because we are constantly evolving. None of us, don't got this shit figured out you ain't got to figure it out as much as people think that I'm my Yana and I can fix their life.
I still dealing with my own shit too. I'm constantly growing and evolving in terms of business and growing and evolving in my business. It is so important. And I said, it's on my live earlier for us to be around people that can pour into us that can, um, continuously feed us in terms of information, um, being around people who are also evolving because you connect or you tap into their resources, you tap into their connection.
If you, my man be my man, that's my man. We look out for each other. Somebody may call you. You may let's say hope call you. I don't know, Hope said I'm working on this deal. Duh, I got a couple of people I'm trying to get them out of the projects. We want to put them in a program and teaches them about finances, credit, duh, you automatically think of who? Me.
You connect me to that. And you put me into that. So you just created another stream line of income. You just create another platform for me. You just helped me level up. From your relationship. So it's important to make sure we are surrounded around the right people with a common interest. You know what I'm saying?
To grow, to keep winning, to build each other up. I build you up. You built me up, we're building up the community as a whole.
Brandon Chastang: [01:09:58] Not just, we talked about this earlier. How, when people feel like they, they, they want to link. Like w what's the benefits that I write when they want to attach it. It's like, you're not, I'm not reaping no type of, even if your benefits are a little bit better than mine. Let me reap some of the benefits
Maserati Neesh: [01:10:19] even if, if you say, um, Neesh, I want you to mentor me. Right. But you know how many dms I get for mentorship? For one I'm afraid because I don't trust everybody's spirit. You can have a hidden motive you want, might want to learn this shit and did be my competition, because that has happened to me.
But how bout you say Neesh, I want to serve you. How can I help you? How can I come into your office? You got an administrative stuff because just by you being in the presence in my presence, you're going to learn stuff, right? It's just going to come with it. How bout you serving, how about you offering a hand?
How about you valid, voluntarily, like, you know, do this, or do that? How about like all of that matters, all of that matters instead of you just attaching it with nothing to offer. And nothing to contribute. I sat this on my lap the other day. I said, we feel used when people are not depositing back into us, you will deposit and back into me.
You could be like Neesh, listen, I know you're busy all day. This is what I'm gonna do for you all week long. I'm a send you, I'm an Uber eats you some meals. I'm an Uber eats you a smoothie. I know you're trying to work out and be healthy. One of my interns did that for me. Do you know how big of a deal that was for me?
I came in, he had a smoothie on my desk. That was a big deal to me. So it's just stuff like that. Just pouring back into somebody else who's depositing into you. That's what matters.
Brandon Chastang: [01:11:45] So I know you have a podcast Neesh Speaks to these piece podcasts. Um, where can they find you and you have a book out soon?
Maserati Neesh: [01:11:53] Yes. So the name of the book is Queening. The book your actually came out a couple of years ago. The name of the book is Queening and it's on Amazon. Of course I am the author Rhonesha Howerton. Um, you also can go to, um, YouTube. My podcast is called. I got to get you on that too. Um, my podcast is called the Neesh Speaks podcast.
Cause I'm speaking, you know, about everything that you need in order to evolve, talking about finance finances, you know, talking about homeownership, entrepreneurship, we talk about self development, all that kind of stuff. Um, so just enlightening my people. Um, so you can go to YouTube for the Neesh Speaks podcast.
You can go to iHeart, you can click that little podcast. Um, icon on your phone and just put in Neesh Speaks. You can go to Spotify. Those are all of the platforms. If you are interested in my services, you can easily just go to creditmedics, C R E D I T, medics, M E D I C S one zero one.com and schedule an appointment right there.
Brandon Chastang: [01:12:48] You had celebrities, right? You usually, I think, I think one celebrity was Crazy Handz, right?
Maserati Neesh: [01:12:55] Crazy. It's Crazy Handz is my client. Um, Chris is my client, um, P Rock, PB rock was my client. Um, Q Deezy, my client. I have a lot of, a lot of, so I'll be like, yeah,
Brandon Chastang: [01:13:07] no, no, no, no, no, no. I like it. You want self-inventory? I like it.
Yeah, no, that'd be chilling. Um, I just want to say, thanks for coming on the show. Appreciate you. You know, you, you, you gave us a lot of information and you spoke about a lot and you're very down to earth, man, and fun to be around you. Definitely, definitely. You know, I'm not gonna lie, man. Shout out to my engineer, Mike, man, I ain't gonna front, man.
This is. You probably was like the one that just bought that excitement inside the podcast.
Shout out to Mike and Dylan, man. I love those guys. J say thank you, man.
Maserati Neesh: [01:13:45] You welcome, it's all love
Brandon Chastang: [01:13:46] to the viewers, man. Thanks for listening to the Self Inventory Podcast. Yes, B McFLy, the top motivator in the world and your sober messenger. Let's go.
Self Inventory is a podcast produced by Brandon Chastang and Studio D Podcast Production. You can listen anywhere you get your podcasts. If you'd like to support the show, please subscribe, leave a review and tell everyone you know about Self Inventory.