Kevin interviews Malcolm “MJ” Harris, the CEO and founder of National Care Financial Group, which is one of America's largest African-American owned financial services firms. MJ’s rise began when he started creating empowering and aspirational digital content about lessons learned from his path of achieving success after overcoming a childhood surrounded by abuse and addiction. In this episode, MJ talks about how he broke out of his shell and stepped into his true self which in turn acted as a magnet to his business.
Subscribe
Apple | Spotify
3 Black Boss Values
- Your knowledge is valuable so charge premium prices
- Become clear on what you specialize in
- Black Bosses take action and achieve their dream by any means
Sponsors
**Click the timestamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.
[2:33] Where did your personality come from?
- MJ says he evolved into this popular, social personality people see online
- He was very introverted as a child but decided to be his full self and he bloomed
- He is a standout in the Financial services industry because of his personality and realness
[5:13] MJ’s childhood struggles
- MJ believes he had the perfect childhood to raise him into the man he is today
- He grew up seeing addiction, he was sexually assaulted and he had a learning disability
- MJ’s mother gave him the confidence and allowed him to work with a therapist to work through his struggles
- He developed a deeper relationship with himself
[7:37] What was MJ’s trajectory post-college?
- MJ knew he didn’t want to work a typical job because nothing seemed exciting about it
- He looked at it as dry, boring and did not want to get involved
- MJ worked in various industries to avoid corporate america
-
- Nightclubs
- Real Estate
- Small businesses
- He did everything he could do to not work in corporate america but was forced to do so because of the recession
- He grew up seeing addiction, he was sexually assaulted and he had a learning disability
[10:00] MJ in Corporate America
- MJ was thrilled about the rate of pay but overall hated it
- He experienced uncomfortable forms of racism in the office
- He slowly worked his way out through side hustles
- MJ figured out the 9-5 work flow and scheduled his side hustle insurance calls during the lulls in the work day
- His mother pointed out he was making more money through insurance and decided he was losing money by working his 9-5
[14:44] What was your life balancing work and your own business?
- MJ had late nights, early morning and felt like it was hard balancing the two
- He would go to work, appear busy and scheduled his time accordingly
- He got his work done early and would work his side hustle in the afternoon
- MJ had to stop going to happy hours and drink nights throughout the week as it was taking away time and money away from his business
- He used his evenings to work on his own business ventures
[17:26] Did you come out of your shell in corporate america?
- MJ had a hard time being the one of few African American people in the office
- He was experiencing micro-managing and other challenges due to race
- He decided to stay low, and not cause trouble at work while also just being noticed enough where they don’t come looking for him
[18:58] Transition from 9-5 to Entrepreneurship
- The transition was very smooth for MJ as he was making a lot of money per client
- The hard part was the mental switch
- MJ had to change his poverty mindset to an abundance mindset
- He realized his job was standing between him making unlimited money
[22:16] How to become an insurance agent
- The process is very easy, you just have to do it under an agency
- Make sure you’re working with an agency that provides access to sales leads
- If you’re willing to be coachable and willing to do what it takes to be successful, then you will be successful
[24:32] Black Boss Valuable Minute
- Kevin shares how you can become a member of the Black Boss Club AND also how you can save 10% off your first purchase at the Black Boss Store.
[27:28] How can we force ourselves to be extroverted?
- Corporate America taught MJ how to fake it ‘till you make it
- He saw that everyone was playing a character to get what they wanted out of it
- MJ developed his alter ego “MJ” who is the more confident version of himself
- He made a list of all the traits he wanted the “MJ” character to embody
- MJ recommends everyone do this to develop themselves and push themselves out of their comfort zone
[32:44] Building the Brand
- MJ has created over 6,000 videos, been on camera for over 12 years has over a billion views
- He first embodied the typical “corporate america” look when trying to get sales and became insecure about being seeing his true self in real life
- MJ decided to make a switch and be his true self
- He then realized people prefer the real him over the fake version
- By being himself and attracting a large audience, he realized he could then sell to more people
[38:58] Tips to People Who Are Scared of Being Themselves
- Remember the 1 % rule
- Your job isn’t to get everyone in the world to like you, all you need is 1% of the world to like you
- Having everyone like you is not the key to success
- Being yourself will attract others that are just like you
[42:18] MJ’s presence on social media
- Collectively across the platforms MJ has about 6,000 videos
- A lot of MJ’s time is spent on content creation
- He spends hours per day creating videos and publishing content
- You don’t have a business if people don’t know you exist
- MJ devotes his time from creating content as that is what draws in customers
[46:50] What does MJ’s team look like?
- MJ has 11 people that support his insurance clients
- His mother is the General Manager for the insurance business
- He also has lawyers, producers, assistants, video editors and photographers etc
- His team is necessary to keep the business running
[48:48] Has Covid-19 affected your business?
- At first there was a small impact, but since it has exploded
- Life insurance sales has gone up
- People are trying to cover all of their bases during this crisis
- More people are sitting at home and are in need of content
- MJ’s views have gone up a lot as well
[50:49] How do you monetize the entertainment side?
- Due to the relationship he has with Facebook and viewership, MJ is already monetizing from video ads
- MJ also has a merchandise line
- He’s thought about branding and sales videos but knows he can make more from promoting his own products
[53:46] Ad-pocalypse
- MJ isn’t concerned with ads decreasing or stopping all together
- He makes his money from residual income from prior years sales
- The money that presently comes in goes towards his savings
- Spend your active income, not passive income
[56:21] How has making money changed your life?
- Making money hasn’t changed MJ much
- He got a new car in January and since has been in quarantine and hasn’t been able to drive it
- He lives in a huge beautiful home but still feels sad that he can’t physically see the people he loves most
- The money matters as it takes away from certain struggles or financial stress, but it doesn’t change who you really are
[59:02:] How do you get your content in front of people?
- Read “Building A Story Book Brand”
- Once you identify your brand, you can then be effective
- Look for people who are out there that do well in your area, and do your own spin on it
- Not every video will be a hit, but the ones that are - MJ uses paid advertising to target more people who are similar to the ones that are liking as a way to push the content
[1:01:53] Parting advice to Black Bosses
- When you think of yourself as a Black Boss, take off the black - as it can be a limiter
- Know you’re a boss. Period.
- Serve your audience and client with excellence and quality
Resources
- Building A Story Book Brand
Connect with Marquel Russell
- All Platforms - MJHarrisSpeaks
- Website - https://www.mjharrisonline.com/mj-harris-website-home
