Serial Entrepreneurs With a Love for Business and Each Other
Power couple, Marvin and Gloria Smith as a team are authors, entrepreneurs, speakers and business coaches with over 500 client success stories and numerous awards. Based in the Atlanta, Georgia area, the couple has a strong sense of dedication for their businesses as well as maintaining the glow in their marriage. The couple is also founders of the DKR Group, LLC that allows people like you and me to regain solid credit foundation personally and professionally.
(MARVIN) – We got started separately. I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was 19 and I’m 46 now. We started working together before we got married. It didn’t take us long to get married. (lol)
(GLORIA) – Yeah, we started separately and with us both having an entrepreneurial background for… I’ve been an entrepreneur for about 15 years and Marvin, you’ve been an entrepreneur for about 20 plus years.We had the opportunity to come together to build a successful business.
(GLORIA) – Being a part of the chamber, they are affiliated with other sectors in the community and have been able to put me in contact with other additional support and our restaurant being featured.
Most of their businesses are a collaborative venture for the couple. When it comes to their restaurant, Marvin is the “mastermind” in handling the marketing, finances, and overall business structure, while Gloria whips up the recipes. Now that’s what you call a sweet duo!
But all that work, planning and operating several business must take a toll on their relationship right? I mean, when you think of all the hours one person has to invest in their business… what time is left to keep that magic spark? Many couples go through all sorts of craziness when working together, but Marvin and Gloria has a system that works perfectly for them.
(GLORIA) – Marvin and I… we work together. We talk everything through. Marvin is big on making the plans for the next day. If I have to go to the restaurant, it’s one of those things where I have to wing it. So it’s like, “babe, I have to go the restaurant and I don’t know what time I’m going to be finished.”
When it comes to handling business this duo doesn’t cut corners. Marvin considers himself more authoritative and is always focused on the vision.
(MARVIN) – Whether it’s good or bad, I’m always trying to keep the vision going. Like my favorite question to Gloria is, “where are we going with this?” It’s okay where we’re at, but “where are we headed… what is the goal for this.”
(GLORIA)- I’m always the one off track and he’ll have to put me back on.
Not only are they in the restaurant industry, but they also run a successful referral-based credit coaching business. They have four employees overseas of which one is solely dedicated to marketing. Marvin admits that one of the challenges have been the energy into advertising on social media.
(MARVIN) – We both figured out that not only is credit important in America, but we realized that Equifax and Transunion are probably in 13 other countries. In Canada, the platform is almost the same. In writing this book that helped us figure out that wow, we don’t have to deal with America, we can go to Canada now… wherever if we work with social media. I’ve been working with social media, more Instagram than anything. I was telling Gloria that It’s so amazing how it used to be that you could just pick up the phone and call somebody in another country, now you can pick up the phone and look at somebody in another country. It’s been very eye-opening on how many people we can actually reach on a weekly or daily basis.
(GLORIA) It’s been very challenging, but also very rewarding for us just because of the demographics of the services we offer to the average everyday person. Everyone deserves a second chance at life. Some people fall into depression because they don’t know which way to turn because they need that second chance.
(MARVIN) Yeah and we get some very emotional phone calls. It’s life changing for some people to be to get out of a certain situation they’ve been in for six-seven years and only because they didn’t have the information.
One of the things I run into with small businesses does not understand the importance of having good credit for their business. I can only image the kind of stories they hear, but it’s also wonderful that Marvin and Gloria provides a platform that affords small business owners the opportunity to clean up their credit as well as help them build their business credit for a more financially sound foundation.
Marvin and Gloria’s new book, Psychology of Credit is coming soon and will also be a fantastic tool to get prepare people for better credit.
(MARVIN) We are in the finally stages. We just got our final manuscript so now we’re working on the layout. Once the layout is complete, we go to print, so I’m projecting late July. Can’t wait to hold my… OUR baby in our hands for the first time. (LOL)
When it comes to handling business together, like any partnership, there are disagreements, however, it’s how you deal with those disagreements that allow your partnership to grow and push forward.
(MARVIN) You can agree to disagree. One person can have this point of view and I can have another point of view. The wonderful thing about business and marketing is you can test it. And what I mean about “test it,” you can try your ideas, but no on a big scale, see if there’s an interest for and then do it. I would say that you don’t have to agree on everything to be successful. Sometimes Gloria has told me ideas and I’m like… I don’t know and vice versa. Even the book… I don’t think we were in full agreement, but she was like, okay, I’m going to trust you on this.
Sometimes with us disagreeing, it sometimes helps us to slow down and look at things differently.
You have to agree on finances. That’s the number one thing couples fight about. Sometimes I think I like to let Gloria do what her strength is and then we fill in the weaknesses by having someone else handle it.
(GLORIA) – With any business, everybody wants to be the “chief” and not have enough “Indians.” You have to know how to play your position and that’s what make it work for Marvin and I when working together. You know… where he’s weak, I’m strong and where I’m weak, he’s strong. We balance each other. One doesn’t try to over compensate or overrule the other one. At the end of the day, you just want a successful business.
(MARVIN) – I think one other thing as far as a myth is, you need help with different things. Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean that you’re going to be successful at it. It’s okay to reach out and get help. I think a lot of entrepreneurs get in their own way.
I think he just read me.
(MARVIN) Even with Gloria sometimes in the restaurant, she’ll get so passionate in the kitchen and then I’ll say, “Glo, you know you have – I don’t know how many employees, why are you in the kitchen?” Even though you love it, sometimes you gotta step back and let the business run itself and not always jump in the middle. I’m the same way. I wanted to control everything that were doing. When I started listening to my employees they gave me better methods. They streamlined our business so much so, that I don’t remember the last time I printed something. Our whole business is virtual… paperless.
When running a successful business or when you’re serial entrepreneurs like Marvin and Gloria, people closest to you are the ones who may take your relationship for granted by finding ways to pluck and pull information they know requires consultation attached with a fee. My experience with this has been pretty tough. I didn’t want to hurt feelings or tried to work with them because they’re family or I’ve known them for years, BUT… Marvin and Gloria share why this isn’t a problem for them.
(GLORIA) – There’s ways that you can give information without giving information.
(MARVIN) – Like we’re out and they get to asking us about credit and how to fix it. Like I’m going to answer the question how I’m going to answer it, not how they want me to. I used to always tell Glo, like, I’m going to pull a Michael Jordan on them. I’m going to say something, but I’m not really saying anything. (LOL) And then I give them the website. (LOL)
Normally, I say, what you need, cost this much. We give a free consultation initially.
(GLORIA) – In our social life, I’m the softy. Marvin has conditioned me. We have a rule… people don’t appreciate things unless they pay for it. If you give it to them for free… they’re not going to appreciate it. It’s like with our kids. If they earn, they’ll take better care of it. That’s the same with our consultations and everything we do with our business. You’ll appreciate it more when you’re paying for it.
And how we distinguish our customers from those who are serious and those who are not, in order to get the free consultation, you have to sign up for the Credit Watch which is going to cost you a dollar. That tells us how serious you are. If you’re really serious, you’re going to pay that dollar. Then we can possibly do business with you.
Respecting someone’s business includes paying for their services and most importantly, their time. If your services requires a fee… charge your family and friends too. Your relationships shouldn’t hinder your business by disrespecting your knowledge and time.
It’s okay to be excited and help people, but don’t get caught up in giving away information you spent years to obtain, develop and nurture. Married for only five years, Marvin and Gloria have a deep been able to maintain love for their businesses and each other.
(MARVIN) – Both of us are driven. We believe in putting the time in. Sometimes you have to sacrifice, but our motto is, we like to work hard and then we’re going to play hard.
(GLORIA) – Yes and it’s all about communicating and it’s a work in progress. Just like you put time into your business and everything else, you have to put time into your relationship.
After the release of their upcoming book. Marvin and Gloria are eyeing public speaking within the next five years. Their publicist, Midori Star Media Group is shopping them for various opportunities that include radio and television. They are also thinking about franchises. This couple is proving with every level of success that they are unstoppable.
We have been through many tough times. So we can guide you out of many different situations. Whether its foreclosure , divorce, repossession or bad financial management we can help. | https://www.dkrgroupfunding.com/marvinandgloria
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