This YouTube interview (uploaded January 2, 2026) features Tanya “TY” Hughes and a co-speaker describing their transition into Equis (Equis Financial). They recount acute financial hardship (losing their home), a family tragedy (the death of a son), and a low point that led them to accept an introduction to Equis. The couple financed their start by taking a $3,500 title loan on their remaining vehicle, attended a convention that changed their mindset, and used Equis’s training and lead program to build production and regional-manager-level business (Builders Boost, manager bonuses). TY emphasizes teachability, small early wins (providing Christmas for her kids), and a mission to help others replicate their success.
Questions this video answers
January 2, 2026.
Six children.
Two special-needs children.
$3,500 title loan.
Six to eight weeks at a time.
Chapters
Prior to being Equus, I was actually a stay at home mom. I had six children. I was a caretaker for two special needs kids. No work experience and really never worked a day of my life.
I had my own construction business. In 2008, when the housing market crashed, my business changed. I had a buddy that was working with T mobile and ended up working on cell phone towers for several years. Out of town for six to eight weeks at a time and away from my family. And it was a situation that was not conducive to family life.
We ended up losing our home because he never got paid on time. And it was just four months after losing our home that my husband was in Dallas and I woke up to our son who had passed away in the middle of the night. And I just knew something had to change.
I just remember the drive back. It's about a four hour drive and you know, the entire time two main thoughts came through my mind. And it was, this is either going to galvanize our family or going to tear us apart. And it's no longer an option for me to be out of town.
A friend introduced me to Equus and at one of the lowest points of my life, not only financially, but mentally. And I decided to go to a meeting where I met Rob Jones, who took the time to help me feel like I was important, who saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. And I knew that those were the type of people that I wanted to be surrounded with.
So ultimately we decided this was what we were going to plant our flag, that this is what we wanted to do as a family. You know, we could work this business together. Ultimately, we decided to take the one vehicle that we had left, drive it over to the title company and take out a $3,500 title loan on that vehicle to get started. It gave us the money to be able to pay the electric bill and the funds to get started with Equus.
I remember it was getting close to Christmas and it we didn't have any money to provide any kind of Christmas for our kids and we weren't going to put it on a credit card. And I remember going, I'm going to give everything I have and see if we can't provide Christmas for our kids. And that was really, for me, a pivotal point. It was seeing little successes. And those little successes helped me reach a little bit higher, work a little harder and work on developing me. Because what I found out as I put my passion and my love into what I do is that the better person I am, the better success that I get.
Went to convention not knowing what to expect, but walked away from that three day event with a different mindset. And just really for me to see the business opportunity in this, it's more than just going out and helping families and getting paid a pretty good compensation for doing that. It's about showing other people how to go and do that same thing was really the takeaway from that convention. And so following convention, Ty and I sat down and of course we needed to maintain revenue, we needed to keep the money coming in so that we could pay the bills. And she has taken on that role, which freed me up to be able to focus on the business and what we can do to grow the business as fast as we can.
As a producer, I came in as a stay at home mom not knowing anything. But I knew one thing is that I would be teachable and I would follow what anyone told me to do. And Equus has an incredible training platform that if you just follow step by step exactly what they tell you to do, anyone, even a stay at home mom can win. The lead program is absolutely incredible because these are real people that are really wanting the information and all I have to do is just go out there and get it to them and help protect their families and help them see.
What'S best for them as qualified regional managers. To be able to participate in the Builders Boost program and to have an ownership that puts their money where their mouth is and to provide that extra level of support for us to be able to have an office and the bonuses that we get as a manager, bonus for producing the level that we're able to produce as a group. You know, those bonuses mean all the difference in the world for us to be able to accomplish the things that we've been able to accomplish. Equus is a platform and it's so versatile that a part time person can come in and work 10 hours and 15 hours a week and make $500 or $1,000 a week. But it's also for people that want to help others do the same thing and to create a million dollar business. So moving forward, our focus is helping others find the same success that we found if they've got the drive and determination to make it happen for themselves.
When I leave this world, I want to know I made a difference. Not just my banking account was bigger, but that I truly made a difference and I helped people change their lives the way Equus has change.
