In this episode of the #VacationToCEO series, host CJ interviews Herman, the founder of Bella Salon and Sloan Enterprises. Herman shares his personal journey from working as an employee to becoming an entrepreneur, sparked by a babymoon in Italy and the birth of his daughter Bella. He explains how he left his corporate job, formed an LLC, and began offering credit‑repair and funding services, eventually helping thousands secure financing and start their own businesses. Throughout the conversation, Herman offers practical advice on navigating credit, obtaining capital, and building multiple revenue streams, while emphasizing the importance of family motivation and a mindset shift from employee to CEO. The episode is aimed at listeners who struggle with starting a business, need funding guidance, or want to improve their financial literacy.
He's the founder of Bella Salon, Sloan Enterprises, where he's helped thousands of people secure funding, fix their credit, and build multiple businesses. If you're ever— if you've ever struggled with business, wanted to start a business but didn't know how to get funding, or just wanted to get smarter with your money, this episode is for you. Let's get it in. What's up, Herman? Welcome to the show.
CJ, thank you, thank you for having me, bro. I'm absolutely honored that you have trusted me to to your people, your listeners. This means a lot to me, man. I'm feeling good today. How about you?
Thank you for coming on, man. Give us some of your wisdom on this game, man. On this game. So, Herman, what made you realize that working for someone wasn't—
Oh man, so that's a, that's a short story long, but I'm gonna try to keep it tight, right? So, um, maybe like 8 years ago, bro, my wife got pregnant with our first daughter, Bella Sloan, which I named my company after. And we went on something that's called a babymoon. That's when you take that last trip before your life changes, right? And we went to Italy, bro, for like 10 days. Amazing trip. My, um, my, my, my wife know how to put trips together for the low, so it was, it was cheap. It was not as— it wasn't a flex like you think it is, right? So we go there for 10 days, and while I was there, bro, when I got back, I used all my vacation time, so I didn't have any time to spend with my daughter when she was, when she was born. Like, I couldn't help out or anything like that. I had to work. And then my brother was like, listen, unless you own your own, you'll never be free, right? So he was like, that credit thing that you was— that you do before it got all crazy on the internet, because I used to help people with their credit all the time, write the letters before, um, it got really popular. He's like, you should start charging people for that. And I was like, no, like, people really need that stuff. Like, I don't want to charge. Like, I just give people the game. He's like, listen, there's a second bar he told me. He was like, if they're they're going to pay somebody, they might as well pay you. But literally, bro, I went and got my LLC, started the business. I called 10 friends and family.