Angela and Michael have known each other for a long time and they’ve been referring clients to each other for years.

[2:50] Good credit is one of the best assets you can have. The US has a unique credit system that allows you to leverage your cash position and grow your wealth.

[4:10] Angela works with both businesses and consumers but she spends a lot of her time teaching business owners to separate their personal credit from their business credit. There are protective measures that business owners can take to keep the debt of their business from affecting their personal credit.

[5:50] Angela had been on her own since she was 16 where she was working three jobs, one of which was as a cashier as a bank. She quickly moved up to working as an underwriter where she was exposed to a number of people who needed credit help, which she would provide. Ironically, helping people with their credit and being one of the top underwriters in the company was also the reason she was fired.

[9:45] What are the consequences to a consumer when it comes to credit? The end result is generally very simple, the lower the credit score the more interest that person will pay which will end up costing them considerably more money. When it comes to big purchases, a low FICO score can cost someone thousands of dollars.

[11:55] Not everyone has the same credit history, so improving your credit score isn’t a standard process. There are a few basic steps that Angela walks her clients through that improve their position and allows the algorithm to take over.

[14:00] Good credit practices shouldn’t be a secret but oftentimes, even when someone knows the steps, they will still need help with the process. That’s why people hire Angela. When she works with a client, she creates a custom strategy for them for their team to execute on their behalf.

[16:15] There are a lot of companies that do credit repair, but they are more interested in increasing the number of customers rather than improving customer’s results. There are easy ways for consumers to dispute the information directly with the credit bureaus but that only goes so far without personally working with someone at the company.

[18:15] Credit repair really involves you taking the time to understand the root cause and going directly to the creditor and working with them to remediate the problem. There is a lot of work that goes into how Angela assists her clients which is why she gets such great results for them.

[20:00] Angela was asked to be a mentor by a company that sold credit repair software where she discovered the general problem with the industry, which was that the main priority of people getting into the business was money, not on improving the customer’s lives.

[21:45] Every bank has a relationship with a credit bureau which is why they will only usually work with one or two instead of all three.

[23:00] The way most credit repair companies work is very frustrating to people because the derogatory records often come back when not dealt with properly. In the end you get what you pay for.

[24:30] Angela’s ideal clients are students who need to know how to better use their credit. Most people don’t understand their credit, and they’re afraid of what they don’t know. The best clients are the ones that are ready to learn from what they are going through.

[27:50] Clients with student loan debt are on the rise. One of Angela’s passion projects is a financial literacy course that teaches young adults how to understand what they are signing up for in terms of student loans and how to minimize the interest they end up paying.

[29:55] If your credit has fallen since the advent of Covid-19 there are a number of programs available that can help. It takes a little work but there are ways to defer payments to your creditors that can make the situation a bit better. The trouble is we have never been through something like this and the best option is to reach out and communicate with people. Anyone who is in a situation where they are losing income and are concerned about the future needs to sit down and come up with a plan on contacting their creditors and vendors and see what they can work out.

[34:30] For a typical client, Angela will work for them for an average of 120 days, so if you’re planning a major purchase in the near future, now is the time to talk to her. There are a number of ways she can help you prepare your credit and save money.

Mentioned in this episode:
Conquer Credit Management
Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy