Latest / Glovisor Podcast / Bad Credit Isn’t Normal — Here’s What’s Keeping You Broke | Cyerra White (Ep 62)
Transcript
- Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: Understanding how to build, rebuild, and manage credit can be a powerful step towards financial freedom. Welcome to the Glovisor Podcast, where we explore business growth, communication, and personal development through real conversations with people that make an impact. Our guest is the founder of KLN Consulting, a company focused on helping people grow, rebuild, and elevate their credit. She talks about the realities of credit, the mistake that can hold people back, and how understanding your credit can help you make more informed financial decisions and pursue greater opportunities. Glovisor welcomes Sierra White. cyerra white: Hi, I'm Sierra. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: I can't wait to hear more about what you do. So please tell us. cyerra white: So I currently own a credit company and I also help with business funding. So I help people be able to understand their credit and help them put them in a better financial position. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: what inspired you to pursue this path? cyerra white: what inspired me to go ahead and pursue this was honestly my dad. He has been in the credit industry since I was a little girl. He actually started Crystal Clear Credit. and I just I've been working for him since I was 16 years old. So he inspired me to get into the credit industry, which is a funny story. My dad actually, from my 18th birthday, got me a credit for my birthday. So That's what inspired me as my dad. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: this is a family business when you first started. Have have you gone on your own now? cyerra white: Yes, so it was a family business, but then my dad retired and I actually went ahead and I took over his company and I started KLN consulting. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: you do the two aspects. You said to build, rebuild credit, but you also do the financial side. when you're building and rebuilding the credit, is that just for individuals or is that for businesses as well? cyerra white: it's for individuals and it's for business Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: Are you seeing more people coming in with credit issues because they don't understand the credit process? Or are they just getting into a tough spot? cyerra white: So we actually see both. So a lot of people don't understand the credit process. And because they don't understand the credit process, they end up making mistakes at a younger age or they end up putting themselves in a in a hard financial situation that's hard for them to get out of. in regarding to people and then on top of that, people do get do get put into tough predicaments. where it's hard for them to they kind of dig themselves into a hole by getting credit cards, maybe getting, you know, paying late on car payments, mortgage mortgages, they end up paying late on their car payment and eventually it just starts to keep accumulating. So honestly it's just both, not understanding credit and being put in and then getting into a financial situation where it's kind of hard for them to get belled out of. And that's where I come into place is where though when they do 'cause you know, people make mistakes. So I help them give them that fresh start in order to put them in a better financial position. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: Now on the financial side, are you working with just individuals or businesses as well? cyerra white: So I work with both. so I do work with individuals and I also do work with businesses. Kind of getting into businesses, I also work with people who are already established businesses and also work with people who are trying to build a business from the ground up. so I work with both. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: Well, that's a lot. Now, if one of our listeners wanted to work with you today, what does that journey look like? cyerra white: That's actually a really, really good question. Okay, so what that journey looks like is they would go ahead and reach out to me. they would either call my number, which is 302-592-7356. They would either give either give me a call or go to my social media or my website page at KLN Consulting slash official. they would reach out to me and once they reach out to me, they will go ahead and start the onboarding process. They would get portal access, which they can reach out I'm very available to my clients. They would get portal access. They would go through a consultation. We would create a full blown roadmap for them, as like figure out what their goals are, where they where they want to be in life, what's their time frame. So we would go ahead and break that full like fully down into like a really full built out plan. normally After that, we I will ask them, okay, do you want to buy a home? Do you want to start a business? And that will kind of help me direct them on where they are looking to go. after that, we would go ahead and monitor their credit and go from there to help them put them in a better financial situation. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: Right, so it's a whole turnkey kind of thing. They come to you from the beginning and they they tell you what their goals are and then you sort of work in that direction to try to get cyerra white: Right. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: them to their goals. cyerra white: I try to push my customers to open up an LLC because that is so important in regarding just because it's its own entity. And a lot of people will mess up their personal credit or put everything on their personal credit when they can honestly be putting everything on their business credit. So I tried to stare my customers no matter what to get business credit, to get business credit cards, to get lines of credit, because that's very important. I bought my first home when I was 21, bought my dream car when I was 21 because I was put in a financial position on building my business credit, building my just building my personal credit. My personal credit was already built. My credit personal credit sitting at a seven ninety six. But but building those things, right? Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: Can you tell cyerra white: Mm-hmm. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: us a little bit more about what is that score? cyerra white: So a 796 it actually is very good when it comes to like the credit size. So you know, credit can range from 300 to the 850 range. So because of that range, that puts me at very good. And exceptional will put me at about 800 to 850. So which I'm not to that range because definitely not yet. but in order to kind of get to that range that really honestly comes with credit age and just time. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: those are the ranges. Do we all have those scores or do we get those only after we get credit for the very first time? cyerra white: that's actually a very good question because when my credit score first hit the seven hundreds was when my dad added me on to a trade line. so a trade line for people that don't know, a trade line is where someone else's history becomes your history, right? So my dad added me onto his credit card in order to boost my credit score. and that's how he gave me the gift of credit. So when it comes to not everybody have that. So not everybody's gonna start at that place. I work with people who start from A 540, you know, even lower in the 400s. I have people that start at 650 that got their first secured credit card and that hit their credit credit report and they're they're at a six eighty or a six seventy or in a sixes. when it comes to your starting where you're starting at, you're always gonna start just because you have a seven eighty, a seven ninety, doesn't mean you're gonna get approved for and it doesn't mean you're gonna get approved for credit cards. They the banks can still deny you. It's about how your profile is set up. And that's what I try to that's what I try to help people with to make sure that they have a really great profile. Because there's so many people, I have a 790 or 800 and are still getting d denied for loans or they're trying to get credit cards and they're still getting denied. that's why I try to make sure that they have whether it's a strong profile so they're able to go ahead and get what they want. especially when it comes to whether whether it's personal loans, SBA loans, because nine times out of ten, you are gonna have to be a personal guarantor guarantor, especially if your business is has been open less than two years. So that's where it comes like with me, I just I try to make sure that people again have that stronger profile. So to answer your question, no, nobody just starts out at that seven hundred range, it really it really does take work and effort to build up your whole entire profile. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: Now, I also heard that those FICO scores, the higher they are, the less interest you pay. Is that true? cyerra white: That is true. So the higher your credit score is, the less interest you do pay. Whether it's cars, and right now interest rates honestly is like super high right now. but with whether it's cars, whether it's loans, yes, that is true. That is correct. that's why I do try to motivate people to work on their credit, but a lot of people in this in today's society. They're not taking their credit seriously. the method that a lot of people love is I'ma, you know, even though I don't have the credit score, I'm gonna try to make it happen or I'm gonna figure it out. I hear that the word so much is I'm gonna figure it out. But when are you gonna be tired of figuring it out? At some point we we talk about generational wealth and we talk about how you wanna give generational wealth to our children and how we want our children not to struggle, but we're not taking the necessary steps to invest in ourselves. And that's why with my company, I don't just let people slide by. I, you know, I teach you how not only I'll I'll fix your credit for sure, but I want to teach you how to maintain it. And that's why I I always make sure like they have to show up at monthly meetings, which these meetings are about an hour long. We're going over budgeting. We're going over, you know 'Cause I always say my motto is if you can't pay your bills, do not pay me. So we're going we're going over what our goals are, where they're at in their lives, I try to just make sure people are held accountable when they work with me. And just I wanna be able to give them the knowledge and that's why I'm in this field because I'm just I'm tired of seeing it. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: Absolutely. And they don't even realize how much more that's going to cost them because the lower the FICO, the higher the interest rate, they end up paying more money on those loans over the life of it than it would have been to work with you to increase the FICO and then get better interest rates. cyerra white: Exactly. And they don't a lot of people don't see it that way. They are more stuck in the now instead of thinking about the future. And again, we go back to that generational wealth. We go back to it's the same thing with life insurance. People don't want to pay the money for the life insurance, but it can benefit you in the long run. So it's just like it's there's so many you know, things that people really could do. Like you we I don't want to take your money, right? So I rather, you know, at the end of the day, even if you use Chat GPT or Claude, or there's so many systems out there that people could use to fix their credit, but they just don't do it. And that's where we just have to stop normalizing bad credit. And I think so many people have normalized bad credit, and that's not okay. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: Yeah, but even if they use those tools, I think the element that's a little different about working with you is having the educational aspect of it. Because otherwise you're gonna be back to square one again. cyerra white: Yeah. And I let them know like because it the question I get all the time, because I get almost I get a lot of people who reach out to me each and every day. And the question I get is, you know, what do you give? Like what what do you give that I can't do myself? And it's just like I give you the knowledge piece. I give you the piece where I'm able to sit down with you, walk you through on how to handle your credit. You know, and I try to a lot of people are lazy too. I don't know, am I allowed to say that But so they rather, you know, just say, Hey, here, fix my credit. I fix it, but then now they're coming back to me six months later. It's like, this happened, now I gotta fix it again. So I just I give that knowledge piece on how to make credit work for you. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: Now, would you be able to share with us one client success story that shows pretty much the transformation your work has had? cyerra white: I have one client who actually started out with me in May. they started out at a five five fifty, I believe. And now he is sitting at a seven eighty six. he his when he first came to me, he wanted to buy a home. He just he worked with so many credit companies and he was just tired when I tell you this man has spent over three thousand dollars in credit and trying to get help with his credit. And he was just like, you know what? What's one more time? I'm gonna give you a shot. And he didn't trust me. He didn't trust me. And a lot of them don't trust you in the first place because they think that you're just trying to scam them. And that's not the case. And he was like, you know what, I have a good feeling about you. And I was like, you know what? Thank you. and my motto is don't refer me until after work is done. I'd rather you not refer me. So now we're working on helping him. He didn't want to open up a business. He works in tech, but now we are not only helping him buy his home in Texas because we partner with different mortgage companies as well. and now he's trying to buy his home, and now we're actually working with him with the process of not only that, but securing a fifty thousand dollar. business funding for a company that he wants to open. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: I I can't cyerra white: Yeah. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: believe that you had that much of a change in your FICO score from the 500s to 700s that quickly. cyerra white: Yeah. It it it happened in three months. Three yeah, three was August four months. It happened in four months. He started the beginning of May. Now August, yeah, four months. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: If listeners only remember one thing from this conversation, what do you hope that message is? cyerra white: I would say the message w that I will hope people remember is to take your credit seriously. It's not a joke. And you wanna go ahead and create that generational wealth for your family, for your children. And start is your credit. You need credit for everything. Jobs, cars, mortgages, apartments. You need it for everything. And not only work on your credit, but encourage your family, your friends to work on theirs too. because that's very important and that's something that I was taught at a very young age and that's something that I want to help you guys with as well. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: great advice. Now, where can our audience connect with you to find out more, learn more about your work, and continue this conversation? cyerra white: So they can reach me at C C the C E O, which is C E C E the C E O, on Instagram. Or they can honestly they can reach out to me personally at three two five nine two seven three five six and give me a call. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: Now Sierra, thank you so much for joining us and we really appreciate your time and the value you've shared. cyerra white: Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Joe Abreu - GLOVISOR: You're welcome. Thank you everyone for listening. If this episode inspired you, make sure you share it with someone who needs it. And don't forget to follow the Glovisor podcast for more conversations to make an impact. Till the next time.