How the Credit Diva of Dallas Helps Clients Break the Cycle of Poverty

Hey, credit heroes. Want to know how some folks grow an amazing business from nothing? Well, today I'm joined by Ms. Ray. She is the credit diva of Dallas. She is amazing. She helps a ton of people break the cycle of poverty and reclaim their lives. And today, she's going to share her secrets on how she built her very successful credit repair business that really does change lives. So you better stick around. My name is Daniel Rosen, and welcome to Credit Repair Business Secrets. Our most successful credit heroes, the ones who make a great living and make a massive impact, they really care about helping people and changing lives. And our guest today is no exception. Ms. Ray has witnessed firsthand the vicious cycle of poverty, and now she helps a ton of people. She's the author of the book Greta Repair all youl need to Know. And she's here today to talk about her. Her very successful credit repair business and how she built it from nothing. So please welcome Ms. Ray. Hey, Ms. Ray.

Hello. How are you? How are you? Thank you for having me. I'm so grateful. So grateful to be here. So grateful.

I'm so grateful you are here. And I want to know everything about you. But let's start with where are you? Well, first of all, where'd you grow up and where are you now?

I grew up in Detroit and in the inner city of Detroit, and that's a tough place, has always been to live in and things like that. And so that was kind of where it all started for me in terms of wanting to help people and things like that. I've always been in the. In the service community and industry somehow, but the root of everything was always service centered around credit. Grew up in Detroit, but I'm in Dallas now, hence the name Credit Diva of Dallas. And I'll give you a little backstory where Credit Diva actually comes from. But then just moving to Texas, it just had a nice ring to it. Credit Diva of Dallas. But I'll give you the backstory on, you know, where Credit Diva comes from, because it's kind of. Or just very early on in life, I kind of just had a very good knowing and understanding about credit. And I now I know it to be my gift. But I didn't know that at the time. I just thought I just kind of really just liked credit. If I can be very honest, I thought credit was sexy. And I was like, oh, it's just. It was just something about credit that just tickled my fancy. Now maybe that was a little girl in me who kind of knew that I would get to this place in Life, I don't know. But it was just something about credit that I was always very, very passionate about. I've always had a lot of credit cards. And so my husband would say, why do you have so many credit cards? And so the way he said it, I kind of was like, duh, like because this sexy. But I didn't say that. I kind of, you know, felt kind of self conscious because he only had one credit card. But with his credit card he had a 700 score. This was the beginning of my teaching about credit and understanding. So he had a 700 with only one credit card. I had a strong 680 with multiple credit cards, right? And so score was never a thing to me. I just always knew that whatever I tried to apply for, I got approved for. I had no understanding. I'm in my 20s. Even growing up in my 30s, I didn't know what I was doing. But one thing I did for myself is there's a credit card that I, that I had that I got when I was 19 years old. And I still have that credit card today. So I have over 30 some years of like 35, 36 years of credit history on a credit card. And then I get a hold to some information on how to fix credit. And so I said to myself, as long as I know how to do this, I said, I'll never have bad credit, right? And so. But I was not interested in doing credit for a business. Never at the time when I get a hold of this information. So get a hold of this information. And I was in my 30s maybe. Yeah, 30s. And I was kind of reckless. I would, you know, run my credit up. And I was like, oh, I know I can get it off. I'm good, right? And so that worked for a while. And then there was a time when I hit a brick wall and I'm like, oh snap. I was like, I can't get this off my credit. So I'm like, I need to do something. So I had, I began the hunt for trying to find someone to fix my credit, right? So that turned into a whole debacle. Nobody can do what they say they're going to do, that sort of thing. So I'm like, are you kidding me? So I told myself this. I said, when I get my credit together, I'm never, I'm never doing this again. And I'm always going to have good credit, right? But it starts a journey. It starts a journey of trying to find someone to help me with my credit, right? So I'm spending Money up the wazoo, and then Finally I spend $5,000. I'm just. I'm desperate at this point. I was like, I know the power of credit. See, here's the deal. You get what I'm saying? And I had been reckless, So I spent $5,000, and I tried to get my credit repaired. And I just told the guy, I said, listen. I said, something's going on, because what I was doing used to work, and it's not working anymore. What's really going on? And he said, it's been since after September 11th. And I was like, oh. I said, that makes sense. I said, that's about the time that it started to be difficult for me, because prior to that, it had not been difficult. I could get something off my credit, no problem, and I'm good. And I was like, wow, that is about the time that things be. Can't begin to get difficult for me. So I hire Eddie, and God rest his soul, Eddie died and still don't have good credit. So I'm even more furious. I'm like, oh, my God, what am I going to do? So I never gave up. And I guess that's the entrepreneur in me. And my husband was over. He was like, do not send another person another penny. Just do not. And I. And I. And secretly I did. And it paid off because I paid a young man, and he did what he said he could do, and I got my credit together, and I never did this. You know, I was never reckless from that day forward, you know, so he fixes my credit. He does what he says he's gonna do within 30 days. And I'm like, I was so happy. And so I went to my husband. I said, I know you're gonna kill me, but I did my. I did my credit. I tried it one more time, but it worked. He was like, really? Are you kidding? And I say, yeah, you know the entrepreneur in me. No, I didn't say that, but I was. So. So we went to. No. So he's. My husband said to me, he says, the guy that did it, ask him to teach you. And I said, oh. I was like, I wonder would he do that? And so I did. And he taught me everything. You know, I don't even remember what he charged, but at the time. But whatever it was, I was happy to give it to him after I had paid him to do my credit. And then I paid him for the knowledge, to teach me, to show me again. So. So my husband was the first file that I did. The economy had went bad in 2008. And my husband had a lot of houses from when the bank economy crashed in Michigan. And not everybody felt it. It was more kind of in the Midwest. And so we were just shelling our money. So he said, I'm good with filing bankruptcy. And I said, don't file bankruptcy. I just believe that something's going to break. I just. It. And it did. So once. Once he fixed my credit, I got the information, and my husband's file was the first file I did, and he was. It made a believer out of him. And so if I'm honest, that's where Credit Debuff Dallas was birthed. It started.

It started at the cloud.

Yeah. Oh, wow.

I love it. I love it. I love the story. I want to go back to when you were growing up in Detroit. You talked about how you witnessed firsthand this vicious cycle of poverty. What did you see when you were growing up there in Detroit? What was the vicious cycle? Tell me about it.

I could feel people's heart, and so I knew that they wanted better or different or more, but just didn't know what it was. You know what I mean? And then the vicious cycle of single moms, lots of kids, no income, government taking care of all of the kids. And so immediately my mind goes to, okay, I know that's mom's decision. But you see it down the lineage, down the line. You know what these. The lifestyle of these kids are going to be, you know, 10, 12 kids in an apartment. I identify with my people, with their pain, with their struggle, although that was not my upbringing, but I. I could identify with them. And I think me going through my struggles with my own credit repair, that humbled me.

I can feel your passion when I watch your videos. It's amazing.

Oh, thank you.

Yeah. And I spent a lot of time in Detroit. I lived there for many months. I was there doing a show. I lived in downtown Detroit.

Okay.

Loved it there. I love it. And in the very beginning, how did you. After you helped your husband with his credit, how did you start to get your first real clients?

Oh, yeah. So I was really blessed. There was a lady, she brokered my services, so that's how I got a lot of practice. She would. I don't know where she got these clients from. And I wasn't being paid, like, a lot of money for file. I think it was, like, at the time, 500 per file. But I mean, I'm working. I was a hairstylist at the time, so I was teaching at the school. And I'm Running a credit repair business, that's really where it really kind of started at. And then I was so tired, so exhausted. But the credit repair business, of course, is really paying the bills. I'm just now working on scaling out of it, you know what I mean? But because it was passion, and that was driving me and, you know, and then finally when I made the decision to, you know, stop. Stop teaching at the school, and that was difficult, they didn't want me to stop, you know, because I had such an impact on the students. And then. And then finally I had to. There were some clients that were just committed to me. That was the hardest thing to do. Say, I'm not going to do hair anymore. And so I just told myself this. I said, and it was a faith walk. I said, you're given a third to this, you're giving a third to this, and you're giving a third to this. What would happen if you gave 100% to credit? And finally, when I did, it, literally, it blew my mind. The first, you know, like I said, the first two years in business, I was like, oh, my God. And, you know, we. We purchased again, like I said, our dream home with the efforts that we had made. And my husband is a great part of that. I owe him that. He was a visionary on a lot of things. I didn't even. I was like a consultation. What are you talking about? I just loved how my credit. Let me also say this.

Sure.

If I had known, like, kind of what I'm doing now and things, what I. What I really want to do, I'm a better facilitator, I'm a better teacher, and I should have been in mentor, mentoring people about their credit. And that's the direction I'm going in now. You know, more. More mentorship and things like that. I did take the credit repair route before getting there, but that's where my passion was. Just talking about credit would light me up. I would literally turn into somebody else. And I was like, what is that? You know, and then I had to just, you know, I dealt with it and I'm like, man, that's your passion. And then I had to take myself back through the journey. Like, that's why you've always been passionate about credit. That's why you, you know. But I was always a good steward with my credit, always took care of it. And I always preach that, you know, to my clients and things like that.

So how many clients do you have today?

So today we have about 500 clients still on the books. Yeah.

Wow.

And. And so what I'm looking to do now is, you know, kind of transition them into more of a mentorship community. That, again, that's. That's what I've always wanted, but I didn't know how to do it. And it took some personal development for me to get there. So the last three years have been about personal development for me, for me personally. And then now I'm positioning myself to get more into a role of mentor, coach, and things like that.

So do you have a team?

Yes. And I'm continuing to build my team. Yes. Yes. Good.

How big a team do you have?

So I have 10 now.

Wow. Well, the early days of credit repair cloud, it was just me. I'd have little pictures of people on the website that were all the people I was pretending to be. I was Phil on sales, I was Tammy on support, and I was working around the clock and not sleeping, and it was crazy. Hey, can you share some of your greatest success stories of maybe a client whose life was changed through your service?

Most people come to me to purchase a house or purchase a car. It didn't matter what you wanted to do. I wanted to make it happen for you. But the person that comes to my mind the most is going to be. And we have a nickname for her. And I'm going to share here. I know she doesn't mind, but she has become a friend and a sister to me. But this lady came to me and she wanted to purchase a house. She wanted to purchase a car. A car and a house. She was able to purchase two. Two cars and the house. But what was what I loved about her is the way she thanked me, and she thanked me by literally, I'm gonna say dragon, but it wasn't dragon. But literally bringing everybody she knew, all of her co workers, I mean, everybody to me. And so I would just. I would call her Ms. Moses. I was like, you're leading the people.

Wow.

So that was her nickname. But because she was so humbled and she was so grateful for what we had done for her. And what I love about her now is when we talk and if she's doing something that, like, for me, I get on them about utilization, make sure that you're not running that credit card up. And she'll be saying, everything's good on my credit. But I know, Ms. Ray, you would tell me that utilization is too high. I just got to get my utilization down, you know? But what made me feel so good about that is that they. They're learning. They're learning about credit. They're learning to understand credit in a way that they had not prior to meeting me. But. Yeah, her name is Roniece and she is my favorite testimonial. Just because of all of the people. It was not just her experience with me, it was just how she thanked me after, you know, how grateful she was for what we had done for her. So, yeah, she, She's. She's a friend now. So I had a real big 55th birthday party last year and I invited her and she flew in. I gotta tell you this. I can't believe I'm saying this about her, but it's meant for me to tell you. I invited her to the party. She flew in with her husband to enjoy the festivities. And this is the God's honest truth. And her being who she is, had never been an Uber before until coming to Dallas. She told the Uber driver about me and the Uber driver is now a client.

That's awesome. But you really did change her life. She got cars and a house.

Yes. And I think. I think for her, she thought she'd never own a house. I made her believe. And that's part of understanding credit too. Because a lot of times people think it's so bad, it's. I could never own a home. And I gave them. I was like a hope dealer. You know, I gave people hope. I gave them something to believe in, you know, because I understood credit. I could look at that report and was like, oh, this is nothing. This, this is somebody who doesn't understand credit. They don't even. They never had a credit card. You know, they. These people needed more credit education than they needed credit repair. If I could just be quite honest. Yeah, they need it. Yeah.

I don't know why they don't teach this stuff in school. That's the crazy part. We only learn about it after it's too late and we've messed it up.

I have an answer for that. Because they make more money on us not knowing.

That's true.

The banks, they want you to come and finance, they want. They make a lot of money on you not understanding because they're going to give you the high interest rate. A lot of clients that I service, because people are impoverished, they didn't even really understand what an interest rate was. And here I am. I don't want to just do your credit, but I want you to understand what an interest rate is and how you suffer when you don't understand this. You know, how you suffer when your credit score is low, but you're Trying to go out and purchase a car, and you don't know why you're paying $1,000 for a 1989 Honda. You don't. You don't even know. That bothered me. That bothered me. And I got a problem with car salesman. No, I'm just kidding.

Me too. Don't get me started on them. But it bothered you so much you wrote a book. This book, Credit, repair, all you need to know. I love that title. Can you share some insights from the book that can help our listeners understand how to manage their credit better?

For me, it's back to the fundamentals. It's back to the basics. It sounds difficult, it sounds lethargic, but all I do is I reinforce the fundamentals. The basics. Pay your bills on time, take pride. Credit is nothing to be afraid of. I take out the fear factor. A lot of times I deal with people that are afraid of credit, and it's just. You're afraid of the unknown. But no, this is something that we need to know and understand. We need to know it and understand it. So for me, I just kind of go back to the basics. And a lot of things even in my life right now, I just. I. I keep it kiss. Keep it simple. Stupid. You know, it's simple, but they've complicated it. But if you can hear me and. And if I give you just the basics, it's really not that difficult. But what it is, is you. It's so complicated up here. You know what I mean? But I mean, just think about it. It's really not that difficult. Pay your bills on time. The cards that you do have, you can't just run them up. Those are the basics.

Sure. I didn't understand it at the beginning. I was in show business, which meant I. I looked like I had a career, but I had long gaps between gigs, and I was living on credit cards. And when I didn't have money to pay, I. They would send those checks. Hey, are these. I get so excited when they'd send those checks. I didn't know that that was the big trap. And sometimes I'd use those checks to pay the credit cards. And then it just got worse and worse and worse. And before I knew it, I was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. Yeah. And I didn't want to go bankrupt, but it just. It was. It's a terrible. I just felt terrible. You just feel like a loser. I did.

No, and I think most people feel that way. I know. I did too, when I, you know, when I.

When.

When my credit was Bad. And I. When I found myself on the hunt, I felt like, oh, my God, I'm a loser. Because I felt like I knew and understood the importance of credit. That's another thing. A lot of people that I service or help, they don't. They understand the importance of it, but not until it's really something they can't accomplish. For me, I knew the things that you could do with credit, but I didn't. I didn't. I didn't understand it totally, but I knew how important credit was. You know, I didn't totally just let it go. But, yeah, I think for a lot of people, just the understanding about credit is far from them. And I knew that it was important for me to share the knowledge the way that I could share it in a way that people can understand. I knew that that was beneficial, and that drove me. That's what drove me to help people.

I love it. I love it. And do you feel that you are breaking the cycle of poverty?

I do. I do. I am. One client at a time. Yeah. Absolutely.

Amazing. And bringing you a lot of good karma.

Yes.

And I want to talk about marketing. First of all, I love your site. I love your site. I love your branding. I love all the pink. I love your certified credit diva process. It's so cool. Yeah. And on your website, it says you're a frequent speaker at different organizations where you volunteer to teach financial literacy and credit literacy. Why do you do this and what do you get out of it?

I get fulfillment. It brings me joy when I see people getting it. And a lot of times I get the fulfillment after the event when people come up to me and things like that. So I was at a. I was at a speaking event, and this lady, I saw her at another event, and I just went there to support. I wasn't speaking, but normally the events that I speak at are like homeowner seminars. I partner with quite a few real estate agents in the Dallas area. And, you know, we'll do a live or, you know, we'll have a seminar. I think the last one we did was called Secure in the Bag or whatever. And that was a good time. But at that meeting, I met some really powerful women. And. And. And there I was just transparent about my story, you know, and out of that meeting, one of my clients were there. One of my former clients were there, which really made me feel good. And so, I mean, she could just attest to what I had done for her. When she finished, she had a 700 score, and she was real good. So the other women in the room didn't know me, but to know that I had a client there, and I knew that then my brand was growing and my reach was expanding, you know, even more. And I was, I was so proud about that. But I get the most fulfillment just from people's. When they. When they have a better understanding about credit. That lights me up. That, that lights me up because again, I don't even like doing credit. It's for me, I know it's about the knowledge and understanding. And when you got it, then I know my living isn't in vain.

How often do you do these speaking engagements?

I. I try to do stuff like once a quarter. Yeah.

Does that bring clients?

Yes, that. That brings client. And. And I always know a few people in the crowd already and so that I always feel like I got reinforcements, I got backup, you know, it just always makes me feel really good, makes me think. It makes me feel like I know that I'm doing the right thing. That's just spreading credit awareness.

I love it. What's working the best for attracting new clients for you?

So my brand, really and truly, that million dollars in two years, that came from referrals.

Well, talking about referrals and testimonials, how important are referrals and testimonials to your business?

Very important. I don't know why it's always so hard to. I mean, you know, it's funny because my, my. I call her my sister because we are sisters, but she works for me. And I'll say, did, you know, so and so got their house. It was like they didn't come back and say nothing, you know? You know, and they were always. The clients were like, oh, my God, Ms. Ray, please do this. I got to do this. I got to do that. And then we do it for them. We don't hear from them, but we were kind of on a roll. We're getting some really good testimonials and things like that. So now things are going to video testimonial, so we're going to start working on that. But again, we're going to move into the phase of just more mentorship and helping people get just a better understanding about credit.

Let's wrap up. I want to switch gears and ask you a few rapid questions. So answer with the first thing that pops in your head, the first word or first phrase. Okay. Are you ready?

Ready.

Okay. What's your business? Superpower passion. What's your business? Kryptonite. The area you've had to work the hardest to improve.

Systems.

What does business ownership mean to you?

I take a lot of pride in it.

What drives and motivates you?

Helping people, serving people.

What's your definition of success when you.

Live life on your own terms?

I love that. And if you could go back in time and tell yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Fear held me back for some years. I had some fear issues I had to deal with and I didn't start dealing with those until I started my weight loss journey and started my personal development journey. And that's when that's the last thing I had to conquer was fear. I've reached a point of being fearless just by being a. Just by living in today.

So your advice to your younger self would be to let go of the fear?

Yes. I wish I had let go of fear earlier than now. Yes.

And do you have any other advice for someone just starting out with a credit repair business?

Get some systems and processes in order early. Begin working on early on. Begin a system of scaling yourself out of the business. That's what I would also say to my younger self. You know, I didn't, I didn't have an exit strategy. That's the word I want to use. So have an exit. Exit strategy. Get those systems really and truly. If you're going to scale, get those systems and processes in order. Even this podcast was a system and a funnel and everything. You know, you, I know you got a team, you know, so it's going to take that in order to scale and grow. So work on those early.

I love it. How can people find you and reach out to you?

I am on social media. I'm on Facebook as Credit Diva of Dallas. I am on Instagram as Rich Auntie Funding. I just changed my handle, but yeah. And then online. Credit diva of Dallas.com Email adminreddivodallas.com and I'm on TikTok as rich auntie Funding.

I love that. I love that name. Well, I want to thank you so much for your time, Ms. Ray. This was a lot of fun and I wish you continued success and, and for everyone out there listening, if you're finding value in the things we share on this podcast, click below to subscribe and follow. Also give us a five star review or share the show and help us to change more lives. If you'd like to read the show notes, they're posted on my blog. If you have a question or a comment, drop it down below because I read each and every one of them. I would love to hear from you and I'll respond as soon as I can. And if you want to learn more about running your very own credit repair business, check out my podcast, credit repair business 101, a step by step Guide. And if you'd like to get certified in disputing and gain confidence and grow your very own credit repair business, check out our Credit Hero Challenge. Doors are closing soon, so sign up right now@creditherochallenge.com and keep changing lives.