Q&A with Our Founder
A Chat with Our Founder, Diony Cespedes, M.S.Ed., MBA
Q: What is a Sole Striver?
A Sole Striver is a person from a modest background who is among the first in their family and or peer group to begin building a net worth higher than $100,000. Sole Strivers have a unique set of challenges that can range from not understanding personal finance to managing survivor guilt or being/feeling responsible for the welfare of others before establishing their own financial stability.
Q: Are you a Sole Striver?
Absolutely! I was the first one. I made so many financial mistakes when I was building wealth in my 20’s. I essentially gave away and spent the first $100,000 I amassed. Worse, I used credit cards to plunge myself into about $150,000 in debt. I started using credit cards to “earn” points and perks at first. Then I used them to cover payroll when clients didn’t pay bills on time or to pay for products/services/charity I couldn’t afford. I didn’t know that I needed a financial team (accountant, lawyer, financial planner etc.). I thought a team was only for rich people. I also didn’t know the importance of building and managing personal relationships. My biggest mistakes: I spent money to assuage survivor guilt; and I didn’t work hard enough to add people to my network who had similar backgrounds and ambitions as I did.
Q: How did you recover from financial problems?
It was E.S.S.I (pronounced: easy). I just changed my earning, saving, spending, and investing habits.
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- Earn- I got a job at an organization that paid me well.
- Spend- I ate ramen noodles and veggies from the discount bin while I repaid my debt. It took 3 years.
- Save – I built a healthy emergency fund and didn’t touch it.
- Invest – I invested as much as legally possible in a 401k retirement fund. Then I reinvested in an “emergency fund” for my own company to avoid ever having to borrow high interest debt to cover payroll. Most importantly, I invested in education. I took formal and informal classes to learn how to manage money. I earned a certificate in finance and an MBA.
Q: Do you need to have $100,000 to benefit from Sole Strivers programs?
No! You can start with 0 dollars or have a negative net worth because of debt. You just need the desire to build a six to seven figure net worth AND the willingness to take action. Our debt reduction coaching programs are among our most popular offerings and many of those clients are starting with negative net worths.
Q. You’ve mentioned the DREAM goal attainment system. What is that?
The DREAM™ system is the way we guide clients to turn their dreams into realities. DREAM stands for Dream big, Research, Evaluate, Act and Measure progress.
Q. What is your goal for the company?
Our mission is to help people build financial and physical freedom for themselves. My goal is to provide the tools to make this possible for millions of people.