We Should All Be Millionaires: Rachel Rodgers Shares Her Journey and Actionable Wealth Strategies

My interests and my clients interests are aligned. Right. So if I'm showing up and I hate some aspect of the business, I cannot show up as my best for my clients. And so therefore they're not getting the best of what we have to offer.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Make Unplugged. And today we have the rockstar Rockstars. The guru of gurus and the leader of leaders. She's transformed herself from a broke attorney to a self made millionaire who's passionate about teaching women in marginalized communities how to claim their financial power. And more importantly, she's authored the international bestseller we should all be Millionaires. Her mission is simple. To close the wealth gap permanently. She's a bold voice in business, a mother of four, a CEO. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming a person I have looked up to for a long time. She's fearless. She's a visionary. She is unapologetic. We're talking miss Rachel Rogers. Rachel, how are you doing today, dear?

Thank you for that intro. Listen, I'm gonna have to take you on the road with me.

I am available, especially in Puerto Rico.

I love it.

Rachel, how are you? That's my first question. Just how are you?

Yeah, I'm good. You know, I just came off of when that people don't. I think mothers understand this. Maybe dads to the end of the school year is so much every day. It's like today we're having wear white because we're doing some glow in the dark party. Today you bring your special toy to school for a show and tell. This day is this special event every day. It's like you got to have a special T shirt for this one. This day's pajama. And like we're holding on by a thread to the end of the school year. Please, listen, can we just get this over with? Please stop adding special things. We are done. We have. We have nothing left to give. So that's over. We're officially in summertime now. So I'm like, okay, we're easing into the summer. That's where we're at right now in my family, you know, and we're getting ready for our big event. We do a big conference every year called Ry the Millionaire Summit. So those are the two big things going on right now.

I love it. So both my sister and my sister in law are teachers.

Yeah.

And mothers. So they totally feel what you were saying right now.

Yes, exactly, exactly. It's just like, you know, we're not entrepreneurs in isolation. Right? We have kids to take care of. We got parents to take care of, we got neighbors to take, like, all the things, doing it all, you know, and, and. And learning how to manage it all right? And also make sure you're making time for yourself as well. So it's all. It's all a lot. And so sometimes I just posted something yesterday where I was like, you know, school year, me is like, eat all those vegetables. Are you going to bed early? Right. Like, all about that. You go eat these vegetables. Right? I will fight you over these vegetables. And yesterday I found myself being like, you want pretzels for dinner? No problem. Works for me. You know what I mean?

My sister gets in that mode of do whatever. Just let mommy sit right here in this little corner and pretend like she's not here.

Exactly. Listen sometimes about self preservation, okay?

Absolutely. Absolutely. So, Rachel, you know, again, I've been a huge follower of yours. You've been an inspiration to me as a. Not just an entrepreneur, but also a leader. I've always wanted to ask you, and I ask all my guests this, but more importantly you, what is your. Because what's that thing that's deeper than your why that really drives you to be? These are my words and my words, only one of the biggest givers in the world that I know. Like, what's your.

Because, yeah, well, I just. I think there's so many things to be mad about politically, socially, economically. Right. In our society. And that's never. Hopefully it will change one day, but I feel like it is a constant. Right? So it's like, what is the thing to be mad about today? Right. What's the thing going on right now that we are not happy with, that we want to change? And. And so for me, I need to feel like an activist. I need to feel like I'm doing something to change that. And I do feel that real activism is not ranting on the Internet about something that you're mad about, although that could be part of it. But it's really like building a system, right. To create, to affect change. And so that's what I see myself doing, and that's what I get up to do every day. So when I. When I. When terrible things happen or when I'm upset about something, I'm like, you're already doing something about this. You didn't wait for the next thing to be outraged about, to react to it. You're building something that is going to change this slowly but surely over time. And that's what I want to do with my Life, you know, and, and I really couldn't afford to be an activist because I have no money, you know what I mean? I got to be able to support myself. So I had to find a way to build a business that could be mission driven and like values aligned, right? So like we have a mission that we're accomplishing, but we can still turn a profit at the same time. And I can still afford to pay my team and take care of my family and all of those things. And so building that was very important to me. And that's, that's the why. It's like the why is almost like I don't take no for an answer and I don't accept that it's not possible, right? Because you know, people are like, well, you can't do it that way. That's not possible. I'm like, who says, have you tried? How do we know if we haven't tried? So I'm like, okay, I have all these boxes I need to check. How can I make one thing, do all of these things, you know, be a great place to work, be a great business that, you know, can be studied one day, you know, by Harvard Business School, right. And still create effect change in the world and make the world a better place, you know, and still be a place that I want to show up to every day and actually want to work, you know, work, work at. So those are all my boxes and that's my, my ultimate why. The other thing too, I will say, or ultimate because is I'm just sort of like the guinea pig. That's what I see myself as. So I'm like, let me go, let me go do it so that I can show everybody that it can be done right, like that you can go from low income, no resources, no professional network, no investment, no nothing to building an eight figure business. And right now our goal, we're moving towards building a nine figure business. And I just want, I just want to create the pathway to show that it can be done. And then of course, I'm always teaching as I go, right? So like what? You know, first I taught like how to build a six figure business. When I figured that out, then I taught how to build a seven figure business. Now I have an eight figure business. Now I'm teaching that to some of my clients who are at seven figures and trying to grow to eight. And then I'll figure out how to get to nine and then I'll teach that too, you know, so, so that it's like, let me see if it could be done. I'll find out. I'm a go and find out. And then if it can. And I mean on my own terms too, right? And then if it can, then I'm gonna teach everybody else how to do it. So that's. That's really what. It's just kind of like, let's just keep going. Because honestly, the nine figures, I. I don't. I don't truly care that like about a hundred million dollars, right. I have enough money to be comfortable at this point. It's just like, it's the. Can it be done? That is exciting to me. Right. And so showing people that it can.

So.

So that we can stop saying to ourselves, we can't, or we have these limitations or it's not possible. Like, if I'm the evidence, then we can no longer say that, you know, so that's the reason to show that a black woman who grew up poor can bootstrap a business all the way to nine figures.

I love it. We're gonna get to that growing up poor part in a minute. Cause you have a deep story that I need the world to know and understand. But I want to hit on something that you said a little bit ago. Having a company where you enjoy showing up.

Yes.

Most leaders and CEOs don't understand the importance of that. Because, you know, I have clients that when I go on site with them, I see it in their face like they dread opening the door. And I'm like, well, hold on. If this is how you feel and you're at the top, how do you think your employees and other leaders feel? And I can promise you, and this is what I tell my clients, the biggest reason that you can't scale is because you don't even want to be there.

Correct.

You don't want to be there with a smile on your face and energy to innovate and a mission to impact. How in the heck do you think your team feels when they have to walk into that same environment that, oh, by the way, you created.

Yes, exactly. I do not believe in creating. Like, basically building a business or leading a business is like, you know, creating a job that you hate. And I'm like, no, thank you. Right. So if there's something that I. What I believe is that my interests and my clients interests are aligned. Yeah, Right. So if I'm showing up and I hate some aspect of the business, I cannot show up as my best for my clients. And so therefore, they're not getting the best of what we have to offer. So I'D rather change the offer, alter the marketing, change the system, change something so that we can serve them in a way in at our highest and best. And I can show up with my most excited, most enthusiastic energy, right, to deliver to them at a high level. So if something starts killing my vibe, I'm like, okay, get rid of that and let's do it a different way. Because what's the constant is the mission, right? It's like, how can we help to close this wealth gap, right? As long as we are marching towards that, we're doing what we need to do. The structure of how we do it is going to change because the market changes, the industry changes, times change. So we have to be nimble, but we're always still marching towards the same goal, you know? So I, I listen, I say listen. Find your enthusiasm some way. So if it's something gotta be killed, kill it if you need to. Maybe sometimes two is not letting go. You might see this too with your leaders, right? You're doing things that is like, you know, five years ago you should have been doing and was doing. But now this version of you needs to be onto these other things. You need to let that go and let the leaders you hired do it or let the team you hired do it. So sometimes that's what's killing your vibe, is you're doing old work that you need to let go of and trust somebody else to do. So, yeah, I think you have to show up to work with enthusiasm. Otherwise, you know, it's like it's all downhill from there. If you don't like it, you know what I mean? Absolutely.

If you can't have the best places to work for yourself, like, don't expect anybody.

Yes. There's only so much discipline that exists in the world. Okay. You know what I mean? Like, you got to get this kid to eat their vegetables right at night. So it's like you can't be fighting everywhere. You know what I mean? Like, somewhere gotta be easy. And the place that you have to be eight hours a day, you know, that should be fun for you in some way. Like, are we going to love every second of it? No, but I feel like 80% of the work I do I love and is like 100% in my zone of genius. And then there's like the 20% and might even be down to 10% at this point because I have such a great leadership team. But like the 10% that I have to do that I don't enjoy. It's okay because the 80 or 90% is so much fun that, that little bit I can power through. Right, but you can't power through 100% of it. That, that sounds terrible.

All right, Rachel, we're going to talk a little bit about the beginning, the adult beginning of Rachel. Right. And we're going to bust a myth here really quick because most people assume attorneys are wealthy, high credit core individuals. But Ms. Rachel Rogers @ one point had a. I'm going to say this number out loud and I gotta say it. A 400 credit score.

It might have been like 450 or something. Like it was like in the 400s. I don't remember that. But like, not even the high four hundreds.

It was a four.

Correct. Some people don't even know it could go that low.

People don't understand. Like, you can't really have a real bank account with a 400 something credit score and you're an attorney.

Correct.

So. So walk us through the moment that you realize, all right, that's enough. Like, something has to change, but then more importantly, the action and energy that you put behind making that change.

Yeah, so. So it was like, it's a slow process, right. Like sometimes we think, okay, it's like something that clicks that either changes everything for the better or changes everything for the worse. Sometimes that happens, but a lot of times it could be an erosion, you know? So, like, I just, I, I didn't trust that I was good with money as part of this. And then I was in law school. You couldn't have, you weren't allowed to have a job, like even a part time one, except in the summer. And so you had to get not only your law school tuition, but also your living expenses. If you didn't live with your parents or you didn't have somebody to foot the bill, which I absolutely did not, then you got to borrow not only your tuition but also your living expenses for those three years of law school. So that was a, that was, you know, expensive. Right. And you know, I'm trying to maintain and, and slowly but surely, like, especially in my last year, I just got so overwhelmed with all the things that I was doing right, to set myself up for my career and all the studying and keeping up with classes and what have you that I, I remember there was like a credit card like that I was trying to keep up with, and I forgot, like, I literally forgot about one payment and it tanked my credit score. And then once I saw the result of just that one payment that I was late on, I just kind of gave up. I was just like, forget it. I'm. This just can't be what I worry about right now. My. My credit's gonna be terrible. It is what it is. I just need to stay focused and finish law school, you know, and so that's what I did. Then at the end of law school, they put you in a room and they have you there with all the other, you know, not everybody. Like, they take small groups at a time because, you know, they're expecting, you know, traumatized reaction, so they don't want to have everybody in there. So they take a small group at a time, probably based on your last name, like the first letter of your last name, whatever. And they're like, we'd like to print out for you all of your student loans that you're about to leave this place with, because it's not. Not just law school, undergrad as well. They get it all on one page. And you, You. You get. They hand you that page that you didn't want because you didn't want to know, you know, and you see that big number, which is a larger number than you've ever seen in your life. You know, I think I had like 300 some odd dollars in total debt. And I was like, heart palpitations? Yes, exactly. Where I just like, I was like, what now? So, yeah, so you see that number and it's absolutely terrifying. And. And they're basically like this, how much you're in the hole. And then also they just, you know, wish you luck. Right? Like, they don't really give you much advice, you know, or. Or tell you what to do is basically like, listen, I hope you have a job because you need to get started with this number, you know, start cracking away. So anyway, so I saw that number and I was like, my God. And that's what kind of got me refocused on my finances, because I had abandoned it during my. I think it was my last year of law school. And so I was like, okay, I'm going to make a list of every debt that I have, the student loans and everything else. I'm going to put it all into. Mint at the time was like, the software, it was all. It was brand new. And I was like, I'm going to put everything in and just see where. Where I'm at. And then it showed me my net worth, which was negative, multiple six figures, you know, with the student loans, couple credit cards, you know, whatever else. And I was like. So I was like, why did I do this? Why did I calculate this net worth? But I'm glad I did it because it motivated me. And I was like, okay, we gotta solve this problem. What am I gonna do? Right? And so I had a clerkship with a judge for a year. And it was not, you know, you don't make a lot of money doing a clerkship, but you get a lot of connections. There' a lot of opportunity that comes from that. So I was like, okay, I'm gonna do my clerkship, and I'm. I gotta get a good job, you know. And this was during the 2008 recession that I graduated because, you know, perfect timing. So I'm going through looking for jobs, applying for jobs and. And trying all of the things. And all the jobs are like, we'll pay you 65. You know, we've got $70,000 a year for you. Or there was one that was even less than that. There was one job at a small law firm that would pay more, closer to 100,000. But the partner was awful. Like, she was in my courtroom all the time, and she was a nightmare. And I was like, I can't do it, not even for the money. You know what I mean? And so I was like, you know what? I don't love any of these options, so I'm a create an option for myself, and I'm going to go solo and start my own practice. And my mother was like, you're going to do what now? She was like, wait, you're not gonna take one of these jobs? And I'm like, no, mom. And I know she was like, my God, I'm sure she was praying, like, please, Lord, knock some sense into this child. But I started my own practice, and the first year I made like $65,000, which I replaced my. My first year salary, like, my salary as a clerk was $41,000 a year and good health insurance. So I was like, if I could just replace that, like, let's start there.

That's a win.

I did it the first year. Then the second year, I made like $300,000. And so I was like, oh, I'm on to something, right? And, like, Even with the 65,000, I knew I was just scratching the surface. I knew there was so much more opportunity. I could see the pathway, you know, but. Yes, but seeing that debt, I think sometimes just facing what you have to do because, you know, I think sometimes we fantasize, like, okay, student loans are going to get forgiven, or someone's going to come and save me, or something's going to happen, and you just have to Recognize you are the. You're your own hero, okay? You the one that got to come save the day for yourself. So what are you going to do, you know? And when you recognize, okay, I have no other options but to roll up my sleeves and make it happen, you figure out a way to do it. And so I took the risk of starting my own practice, and that is where my wealth came from. And, you know, within two years, I was making in a year what my total student loan debt was. Right. So it was like, okay, this was worth it. Right. And quickly. So it was risky because I could have gotten more money in the first year. Right. But I never would have gotten to $300,000 in two years. Right. It would have taken me many years as a, you know, becoming a part in 10, 12 years at least to get to that level of salary as an attorney. So it was 100% worth the risk. And of course, it's only gone up from there. But. But, yeah, but sometimes, like, building wealth comes from taking those. Those risks, you know, and saying, like, what calculated and strategic risk I'm going to take, and if you're going to take a risk of going and being an entrepreneur, then am I willing to show up and do the work to make it happen? You know, is the question to ask yourself wholeheartedly. Agree.

And one of the takeaways I've got from you, you know, again, following you for so long, being a fellow entrepreneur, you know, there's this saying that I always bet on myself.

Yeah.

I don't like that saying. Right. Because that's. It's a bet.

Right.

Like, sometimes you win, sometimes you don't, but the house always wins.

Yeah.

What I like to say Rachel Rogers did was she believed in herself and she invested in herself. It wasn't a bet, it was a belief in an investment. And I know that that's something that you also teach, you know, leading into, to what you do now, which is not just inspiring, but helping others. Right. Females in marginalized communities see that these things are possible, but not just see it. Here's the action that you actually need to take to get there. And so I applaud you for that, for that belief and investment in you, because I think that's the initial catalyst that everyone needs to have. If you don't believe in yourself and you're not willing to invest in yourself, you're probably going to be where you are waiting and hoping for luck or someone else to come rescue you.

Exactly. And that's. That's just, you know, some People feel like the making the investment in yourself and taking a risk like that is, you know, very scary, you know, and like, oh, that's a big risk, but the opposite is a big risk, too, right? Like, you could work at a job that you could even love and be laid off one day. Right. There's no guarantee. So we have to be the owners of our own story and decide what are we going to do to ensure that we win regardless, you know, And I think that's important. And one of the best things that came out of entrepreneurship is I know how to build a business now. So if something happens in my industry and I can no longer do the work that I'm doing, I'll just go start another business.

All businesses are the same. Doesn't matter what it is, exactly the same.

And that creates a lot of job security, financial security. Knowing that you have the ability to go build wealth and make money with your own skills, you don't need a gatekeeper to say yes to you in order to do it. That is the ultimate financial and job security to me.

Absolutely. Absolutely. So, again, Rachel, I could talk about your accolades forever, right? I could talk about the wisdom that you impart forever. One of the things that I think is critically important for our viewers and listeners is something that you have a program for that you talk about. It's, hey, you can make $10,000 in 10 days. Yes. There's a way to do that. So I'd love for you to talk to the viewers and listeners about that, because I think a lot of people are in a place where it's like, I don't know what to do. I don't know how to do it. You know, you start thinking about seven, eight, nine figures. Well, you got to start with the first hundred dollars first, right?

Exactly. Yes.

So. So talk to us about $10,000 in 10 days and more of the principle and theories behind that.

Yes. So when I was writing my book, We Should All Be Millionaires, I came to the last chapter, and I was like, how do I want to close this out? And I'm like, wouldn't it be great if they just put all of the lessons that I just shared with them into action right now? Because I like action. I don't want to just. I don't want to sit here and have somebody get. Receive a lecture or be inspired, but not use that inspiration to go act. Right. Because the action is what creates the result. And so I'm like, how can I inspire them to act? And so I had this idea for a 10k in 10 days challenge. And, but I wanted to, I didn't want to put it in the book without testing it. So I had my own membership community at the time with, you know, over a thousand clients in there. And I said, okay, guess what, y', all, this month we're gonna do a 10k in 10 days challenge. Here's how it's gonna work, you know, and I'm gonna teach you how to make $10,000 in 10 days. I'm gonna, we're gonna have a week of prep where I'm gonna teach you, like, what things to put in place. There's only a few things. You don't need a website, you don't need business cards, you don't need all these fancy things. You just need some key, basic things. And then we're going to do the 10 days, right? It's going to be a 10 day container. And then from that time period, you just go, go, go and sell, sell, sell, and do everything that you can to make that money. Come in and get those clients, right? And then at the end, we're going to debrief and say, okay, how did we do right, and what did we learn? And so we did the 10k in 10 days challenge with our community for the first time. And, you know, afterwards we did a survey to everybody to say, like, how did you do what happened? And then we, you know, collated all of that information together. And the person on my team who was gathering all that info, I said, hey, just add up all the results that people said they got. You know, just like add it all up to see where, where we, where we got as a community. Yeah, and as a community, in that first one, it was like $3 million, I believe something like that because we've done. We did one that was 2.3 million, and then we did another one that was 3.2. And I can't remember which one it was, but it was millions of dollars that we had created as a community in 10 days. Marginalized entrepreneurs who didn't think that they could make money quickly like this. And it was just a game changer. So I put that, I laid it all out and put that in the chapter of the book. That's where it came from. And so we are literally doing a 10k in 10 days challenge right now in my mastermind for the month of June when we're recording this. And so we just finished prep week. And so the prep is like, okay, what's an offer? It could be as simple as pick my Brain, right? You can hire me for an hour of my time and I'll answer any questions you have or help you strategize something that you're an expert on, right? It could be that. It could be, you know, sell the stuff in your garage, right? It could be collect on money that people owe you, like your cousin and an old client or whatever, right? It's like what money is available to you, what doors are open, what possibilities are there, what ideas do you have and how can we take that and turn it into an offer right now? Right? So it's like you come up with an offer and then I've had literally someone make thousands of dollars selling yarn. She had yarn in her house. She was like a crafter as she sold like patterns and all kinds of things like that. But she had a whole bunch of supply of yarn. She sold her yarn supply and made thousands of dollars. And so it's like there is money lying around literally right here that you can access if you need it. And that's the point is to teach people that is there. So come up with an offer that we come up with, like, what is your strategy to. To reach people? How are you going to reach people? How are you going to talk to people who might want to buy this thing? And so we have that conversation and teach them, like some marketing strategies that are quick and easy to generate sales quickly and get you on the phone, get you in front of clients and. And that's literally it. You need the offer, you need the marketing strategy, and you need the willingness to just be tenacious for 10 days. And it is amazing the results that have come out of this. And the biggest result, like the $10,000 is amazing which people have made and people have exceeded that. We've had people make 25,000, a hundred thousand in 10 days.

People, not 10, not a year.

We're talking 10 days, not even 10 business days. You know, it's like five days a weekend and a couple more days, you know what I mean? Like, so 10 actual straight days. They get these kinds of results. And the real result is they realize, oh, they, now I know how to make money. Now I know what it takes to generate sales. Now I know this is the kind of energy that I was in for 10 days. That's the kind of energy I need to show up to my business with or my career with every day, right? And so that's the ultimate lesson and to show people that, like, you can make money whenever you want to. You have that power. I think we give our power away or we're convinced by society that making money is hard, that we can only make it under these conditions with these gatekeepers giving us permission to do so, etc. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. You can make money whenever you want to. And when you know that, you just again feel that job security. Because even if you have a full time job, you're like, I need a little extra money for something important. You just go do a little side hustle for a little while, make that little extra Money, do a 10k in 10 days challenge for yourself, make that extra money and you feel so empowered that you can change your situation whenever you need to.

Well, here's what I'm going to do because that is so impactful, Rachel. So I'm going to do two things. One, when this drops, the first five people that message me Millionaire, I'm going to give you a copy of the book. Right? We should all be millionaires. So I'm going to give you a copy of that book Also if you attend any of my lead out loud series event. So post recording, we'll have one in August, one in November. Everyone who attends will also get a copy of this book. So, Rachel, I'm gonna go purchase a bunch of books.

Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. I love that.

But then you also have a new book coming out, Future Billionaires. So of mine and my mentor Daymond John, like financial literacy at a young age. And I know that the audience for this book is young people, but I will also tell older people a lot of the principles that are in this book are gonna apply to you as well too.

It's true.

In 60 seconds, Rachel. Like what's Future Millionaire about? What can people expect out of that book?

Yes. I really wrote this book for Gen Z. So anyone from 13 to 27 years old and right now, because of student loans, because of inflation, because of the housing crisis, the American dream is no longer available to them. Right. They can't just go to college, get a good job, buy a house, like that's not a thing anymore. And so they need a new pathway. And if they don't have a new pathway, like for all the people listening, those kids will be in your basement, on your couch, in your guest bedroom forever. Okay. Eventually you would like them to leave, I'm sure. So. So they need a new plan that will actually work today. And Future Millionaire gives them that plan.

I love that. So when does it release?

It's already released. It came out? Yes, it came out earlier this Month. So it is out in the world and young people are reading it. And I've just been so excited to meet so many young hustlers who are like, listen, I'm ready. What do I need to do? Just give me the blueprint. And so now they have the blueprint. And so I'm really excited because I want them to feel empowered as well. And just because the economy is doing what it's doing doesn't mean there's not moves to be made. And so this will tell them exactly what moves to make. The mindset shifts. Right. The strategies that are going to help them build wealth from where they're at right now.

Love it. So here's what I'm also going to do now. Everybody that messages me, future millionaire, not Everybody. The first 20 people, I'm gonna send that book to you so that you can either have for yourself or child, niece, nephew, whoever you want to have that book. So because I believe in financial literacy so much, younger people, I'm gonna get 20 copies of that book and hand that out. And then also I'll have those available at the lead Lao series events as well, too.

So thank you so much, Mick.

I really give you my credit card number in three seconds. How about that? So, Rachel, where can everyone find and follow you?

Yes. So you can check out my company, Hello7 at hello7Co. Listen to the hello7 podcast where I do episodes every week. Or find me on Instagram. I'm always there hanging out. So Rach Rogers esq. On Instagram.

I love it. Rachel, this was truly an honor. It was a blessing. There's so many places we could have gone. So much insight that you have. We might have to do this one again.

Yes, definitely. We could always do it again. I'm down.

Thank you so much, dear. Thank you.

Thank you for having me and for.

All the viewers and listeners. Remember your because is your superpower. Go unleash it.