Welcome back to the show, my fellow extraordinary Americans. Today’s guest is Marisa Kiley.

Marisa is an entrepreneur, investor, and CEO of Grit and King, a company focused on entrepreneurial and business education. 

As a 20-year veteran, entrepreneur, and dedicated single mother, she spent 16 years establishing her presence in a fiercely competitive. Females dominated the. Three years after graduating from an entrepreneurial MBA program, she partnered with her life and business partner Ernesto Tattini to establish Grit and King. 

Their mission was to create a comprehensive platform offering advanced business strategy and education for aspiring entrepreneurs, enabling them to launch a company within six months and surpassing many traditional college programs. 

The flagship initiative, the Mentorship Partnership Program, is committed to providing education, mentorship, community, and advanced business partnerships to alleviate stress and increase support for individuals venturing into entry. Inertia. Marissa is an extraordinary American, and I’m glad and honored to have her on the show. Marissa, are you there?

Yes, I am. Thank you so much.

Marissa, thank you so much for taking the time to do this podcast with me. I know you’re an entrepreneur, investor, and CEO. Can you tell me in the audience a little bit more about yourself, your background, and how you got started?

Sure, no problem. My background is unique in that entrepreneurialism was normal in my family. I grew up with my parents, both entrepreneurs, and I’m, in fact, the third-generation entrepreneur in my family alone.

So, this was something that was normalized. My mom, actually from a very young age, always said that I would be an entrepreneur and following their footsteps just because it was the idea of always being able to buy back my time as a mother and spend quality time with my family and other important endeavors was a normal part of life and a path that I felt very comfortable with. So that’s where I got started, and I will tell you that I have no regrets whatsoever, even after almost 20 years.

This is interesting because many people don’t usually have an environment of entrepreneurship, and, as we know, environments are important. So, you already have that. 

So, what were your strategic goals and vision regarding entrepreneurship from an early age to when you started your company? Was there a transformational moment, like a metamorphosis, or was there a constant vision you had?

Both. Honestly, because my parents always gave me the room and allowed me to be as creative as I wanted. Whether through music, growing up, art, or writing, they always encourage me to do those things from a young age.

 So, the idea of being creative to earn an income was normal, acceptable, and celebrated. 

I’m very grateful for that. But I will tell you what I thought entrepreneurialism would be for me. I underwent a huge transformation, and I can credit the book Rich Dad and Poor Dad for helping me along that way. Yeah. So, I was an entrepreneur for many years and built a company. And, like I said in my bio, it was a very competitive female industry. And I built my business according to what was standard/normal within the industry. 

However, after reading that book, I was just beginning my entrepreneurial MBA program when I had this moment. I closed the book, and I remember sitting and staring at it like it had magical powers. When I read it, I realized that no matter how hard I worked in the industry, I was still employed by my own company. 

That was a huge revelation because I realized that I had struggled with many of the stresses created by the model my industry had shown me. Backing up that company I built for 15 or 16 years was wonderful. I supported my children that way, and I’m very proud to say that it was the way that I could balance my time and spend different time with them than most moms would. 

However, I was incredibly stressed because I had to work more to create income. If I wanted to take my children on vacation, I would go out and find new clients and start accumulating more and more clients because I looked at it as a long-term plan that I wanted to be created by year 5/10/15, a certain amount within my company. But the factor that I honestly didn’t consider was me. You know, no matter how hard I worked, I was exhausted. I was tired, and I was very depleted. 

So, the idea of switching to the MBA program was interesting because that was the moment I realized I had it all wrong. What I viewed as entrepreneurialism was completely off. It was what I was taught. And at the time, it was right. 

However, the evolution process of building a business and becoming an entrepreneur differs from five years ago. Ago, so I am very, very grateful for that book, and I was very, very grateful for that moment that I had that review.

So Marissa, like Robert Keogh, kasagi, I mean, I know he changed a lot of lives, but he had also certainly like there was a book I read from his like in addition to Rich Dad, Poor Dad like I had a CD which I listened to. 

And then there was another book called Cash Flow Quadrant, which talks about the four quadrants: where you’re an employee, self-employed, entrepreneur, or investor. That just blew my mind because I realized, oh wow, most people, whether self-employed or in that employee thing, can never get financial freedom that way, or it’s really hard. 

They have to be an investor and entrepreneur. And then that was like a massive mind shift for me, like where you have to have their business system to get to the next level, and yeah, that was, I mean, like an amazing thing for me when I realized that.

I agree. I took that even to the fact that when you looked at those four quadrants, self-employed was still on the side of being employed by somebody else. It just stuck out to me. I always remembered that if I stayed there, I would still be trading my time for money no matter what I did. So, I agree. If anybody hasn’t read that book, I suggest buying it now if you’re starting as an entrepreneur.

The entire model of entrepreneurship and everything else has been evolving, even in the first five years and the last five years. Can you tell me in the audience a little bit? Can you elaborate so the audience can understand how business and entrepreneurship have evolved from your perspective?

Sure, it’s not a problem. It has several facets. Our networking skills and our ability to be connected, just AIDS, help us in so many ways because we can trade knowledge and trade experience on a different level than we ever were in the past. That has aided aid aids and many entrepreneurs. We can shift in, evolve quicker, and make fewer mistakes because we can be in like-minded communities. That’s huge. 

The other example I will give is, of course, technology, software automation, all those things. I will also point out to you that I feel that the technology side, traditionally, was a lot more masculine. 

IT departments are people who are into everything that makes our companies modern now. If we go back a couple of generations, it was a little bit more masculine, and, you know, even now, when you see people that are software developers, it’s generally skewed masculine. I love the fact. We have a chance to integrate software into our companies now from day one that will help us become a hub for entire businesses that didn’t exist even five years ago. 

And I want female entrepreneurs to understand that that’s available to them immediately because I feel there’s a little bit of a lack of female entrepreneurs. But to your point, I love that any area of social media is no longer just about being social. To me, it’s media, to quote Alex or Mosey, that areas in every facet of business have updated and evolved. You can fight a system, a tool, a shortcut, all of those things that have been put together. 

To get there quicker again, make fewer mistakes, and get in front of your ideal client. So, I do believe the sophistication of business has grown significantly, but I don’t believe we are done yet. I do see a bunch of changes on the horizon. I am very excited about them as well.

So, I wanted to ask many follow-up questions based on this, but one of the things I wanted to ask was: I know you advocate for female entrepreneurship and women entrepreneurs. 

So, it’s really hard for most women, especially single mothers, to arrange to raise a family, raise their children, and also do business.

So, my question is, how did you manage your time so that you could successfully do both?

It was never easy. I will be completely honest with you because you were mom and dad inside the home, so you already had to do more as a parent. However, I’m very grateful I made it through that period for several reasons. My children are all the most incredibly dedicated, hardworking individuals. Two are now working full-time, one is about to start working, and the third is still younger. But to give them that.

For example, hard work is a part of the formula. Even when it comes to building your own business. I’m not saying you are out of balance, but when you can dedicate time and see things grow. But for female entrepreneurs, especially single mom entrepreneurs, Interestingly, you bring that up because a couple of years ago, I realized that I needed to dedicate my focus to helping single mom entrepreneurs. 

And I know that I’m uniquely positioned to do that because I’m walking that path. But at first, I hesitated because I thought, who am I? Well, mine to do this. And I’m very grateful. I happened to be speaking to a very blunt friend at the time, and she reminded me, she said. How long have you been an entrepreneur? And I told her. And she’s like, how long have you been a single mom? I said, same amount of time. She said congratulations. You are the perfect platform to say if you know if I can do it, you can.

And so, I’ve always rested there. I realized that I’d walked that path so I can tell other single moms it is never going to be easy, but it’s it comes back to that saying of, you know, if you talk about somebody trying to dedicate time to their health, it’s hard being in shape. It’s hard being out of shape. It’s hard being poor. It’s hard being rich, you know. Pick your heart. Same thing as single moms. That it will never be an easy path because, again, you’re doubling up your time for your children after work. I was the one that was outside teaching my boys how to ride their bikes. You know, for example. 

I was the one shoveling the driveway and then running to work. All those things added to my time, but how I did it was important to my children, and my business came first. I went above and beyond time with friends and things like that because my time had to be very dedicated, and anybody around me can tell you that my calendar is my Bible. I used to work with my old company because my clients visited me in my studio. 

So, they would book six months in advance, and I had to be almost a year out. I’m planning for trips for my family. So those are the kinds of things that I had to get better at to run my business successfully. So, it does take a lot more planning. It does take some dedication, and it does allow for some. I had days and days for you to show up and say, you know what, this is all I’ve got too. But you know what, though? It’s better than—the alternative of not trying in my book.

So, to add to this, many women … it’s finite; It’s stressful to do business, like starting a business or entrepreneurship. It can also be stressful to raise children like you.

So, let’s say you like a woman doing a corporate job right now, right? She wants to leave her corporate job, and she’s raising kids. She wants to start a business, but she fears the financial stress or the risks that will come with it. She wants to do so, but she’s conflicted. How? Would you advise such a person?

Well, I can personally explain that there is no one-size-fits-all method. If you go, I’ve used this example before. If you walk into a bookstore and go to the business section, most books are male, author-based. 

So, we need more female authors in the business space. We need some more female business leaders. There are so many organizations out there that will support that woman. There are so many education systems out there that will be useful. There are mentors out there and coaches. I feel if you can find the right blend of those. Then, you have a foundation for success. Again, it will still be difficult, but sitting there stressed out about money and caring for your children is very stressful, too. 

So, I would like to give that alternative and hope to single moms, and I say you have to try just from what you learn about yourself. It’s so incredible and fulfilling to go and buy a new car. And say I bought it with the money I created with a company or can take your children on a business or a personal trip. Say I did it on my income. That is one of the most fulfilling things you can do for your children. 

So, I encourage all single moms. And The thing is, it can start small. It can start incredibly small and grow. But determination, I feel, is the number one thing that a single mom has determination. She will beat out anybody in the world so that I will put my money on a single mom any day.

No, I mean the last part you’re mentioning about determination—that’s resiliency, determination, and perseverance in business—is one of the common traits I’ve noticed when I was interviewing a lot of entrepreneurs and businesspeople. They were all determined to succeed, but determination is based a lot on motivational factors and you’re “why.” 

So, in your case, Marissa, what was your “Why” that drove you even when there were setbacks and failures? What is that inner emotional impulse that lets me force you to push forward when there’s all this, like setbacks and failures? And we know there are a lot of setbacks and failures in business. What’s that like? But what is? That is for you.

First, my wife firmly planted it in helping single parents—single moms—become entrepreneurs. That’s always been my driving force, and I realized that when I dedicated myself three years ago. However, with that being said, I do two things. I always look long-term at what this will create for my family and everybody who works with us. Ultimately, we want to evolve our company to help kids become entrepreneurs. 

One of my motivations is to take my idea to the next level and evolve it. For that next segment, I do something daily that has helped me through the worst days. Well, I should say, actually, two things. The first is serious, and the second is funny. So, you’re allowed to laugh at me as much as you want. I do not mind, but the.

1st I, I’ll do my best not to laugh.

No, it’s OK if you join it; it’s OK because I think it’s silly, too, but the first one I do is a visualization in the mornings, especially on the rough mornings. I always imagine putting it on as I get out of bed. A backpack, and it’s not pretty. It’s one of those that you could probably climb mountains with. I visually and mentally put a very heavy boulder for each person who works with us, my children, my family, and everybody I choose to protect because some of us inherit.

People who were supposed to be put in our path but were not naturally part of our family go there, too. Anytime I think of a rough or hard day, I always try to remind myself I chose those people. I chose to put that weight in the backpack, and I will choose to move forward. And so that is the reason or how I get forward. 

But if I have a rough day where I know 2/3/4 things go wrong in a row, which happens, I know that you have a plan, and then I have an actual as an entrepreneur. On the days that get rough, I slam my computer shut. I’ve done it a couple of times, and I have a little talk with myself, and it kind of goes something like  … “What? You are going to quit”, and I Wait for a second. “I’m like, no. OK.” And then I’m done. That’s it. Like, that’s how quickly it goes—told you.

But I do. And it’s a silly voice. I’m going to admit it. It’s a very silly voice, but I started doing it a while ago, and it helps me realize that you’re probably being a bit emotional and ridiculous at that moment. Not you, me, but it, once you get through that. Moment. It’s just a moment. We often know if we sleep on something, it’ll look better. We’ll come up with a new solution. We’ll find the way through it. And if not, there’s a reason. The roadblock is there. Maybe something is missing—something you haven’t seen yet. But I also have realized in almost 20 years, like I said before, that a roadblock often appears. Just say you’re going to have a breakthrough. 

I’ve learned to look at those moments when I know something amazing is right on the other side. I almost get to the point where I rejoice, not completely. I’m still working on that. But I try to—I always try to look at it—that something amazing will come on the other side of this roadblock.

That is such an interesting mindset. It reminds me of their story about the goal: the people digging for oil. They were about 10 feet from digging the oil, and then they just gave up. Had they done that and gone a bit more, they would have had all of that, or did they get the oil? I don’t know how the story goes, but there was something along the way. But the main point is. 

Yes, you’re right. Sometimes, your biggest roadblocks come right before success, and it seems like nothing’s going right, but you just have to persevere. You just have to step back and think, OK, what am I doing wrong here? What am I doing right here? And just be calm about it.

Well, and I will tell you, I talked with my business partner and life partner about our company the other night. I told him I would never quit. And he said you’re that confident now because it’s been three years. It’s been a lot of work to get us here. And I said yeah, because I will never forgive myself.

If I quit, I will always have that lingering question: What if I tried for one more week? What if I tried for one more month? What if I kept going and did one more thing? I hope that resonates with every entrepreneur out there and that it’s easy for us to quit after the first, second, or third rounds. 

But you know, if you look at any historical breakthrough, any revelation was never on the first try. How often does he think they have to work to create a light bulb? Do you know any of those? Like anything about an invention in history, it was never the first time.

No, I agree it takes a lot of tries, but many people like that’s the mindset shift; right, you want to go from an employee to an entrepreneur businessperson. You have to know you won’t get it on the first try. It might take you 6 /7 times, even 10/15 times.

But eventually, you might either have to move forward or pivot. You, but you just have to have the same vision. 

What is your biggest lesson while educating others to become entrepreneurs? Like what? Something about human nature or how people think and all that? Like, what is? What is the biggest revelation? I would ask you to find out.

I’m smiling because this is a topic I talk about quite often, and I’m so glad you asked this question because. I don’t think when you are a young entrepreneur, you realize that everybody who came before you went through similar things that you’re going through at that moment. It’s easy for us to think it’s just. Yes, it’s just me. It’s just what I’m creating, but there are landmarks every entrepreneur has to go through, and it’s interesting because when I talk to a younger entrepreneur, I can tell them I’m just letting you know you’re probably going through this, or this is coming. 

And it’s interesting because I am not trying to be a know-as-all. It’s just that I walked this road for so long, and I call it mastery of the mix. That is the term that we use. I do events on this and a lot of coaching because it’s that point where you first have an idea and you first come up with your business plan on a napkin or post-it notes or driving home from work one day, and you think, Oh my goodness, this is at.

But there’s this dopamine high that kind of drops into reality. And it’s just a part of what we go through. And I feel like that’s one of the biggest misconceptions about the entrepreneurial path that everybody goes through. Everybody will go through it. But if we can provide more education and have more communication about this.

Then we would all know you will go through this, and it’s OK. You’ll get through it, just like I did, or I will go through it, and I still have things to do. We all do. So, if we could have more of that conversation and realize that you’re never alone, that would be the best thing.

But that’s exactly how most of us feel. We feel alone but don’t realize that other people are out there. That’s why organizations with a collection of entrepreneurs with similar mindsets are so important. Combine that with mentorship, and it’s like a synergistic effect. I call it time compression.

Suppose you have the right mentorship and community along with the right mentorship. In that case, it just accelerates everything so much because you have connections, contacts, and resources, like people who can lead you to another person who can lead you to another person who will be able to help you, and it’s just like that’s not.

I would advise my audience to have a community and get mentorship.

I completely agree. Agreed.

So, what do you think is the biggest challenge that most people face when they’re new to entrepreneurship and trying to make their business work? And from your perspective?

My perspective might differ slightly from others because I am firmly planted in the business education industry. We talk a lot about a four-pillar approach to business, and I wish I had known again 20 years ago that having an expert status within your industry is one thing. Still, it’s a different thing to understand the business itself.

So that’s almost like you have to have a dual degree. If you were going to college, it would be true. And we don’t realize that when we’re new entrepreneurs, we think I’m a great chef and want to open a restaurant. Awesome. I will be there for you on opening day and want the 1st dinner. However, there are many steps between saying I want to open a restaurant and knowing how to keep the restaurant open and profitable. That’s the difference between industry, education, and actual business: education and industry. Education, to me, comes from your experience and your passion. And where do you see yourself making that impact in the world, whereas business education is structure planning? Having, you know, knowledge, working knowledge and knowing how to track all of your numbers and your financials and, oh, by the way, their software too, that you probably should know how to use. 

So those you know it is a lot. It is a lot to think about if you consider it overwhelming. Ask. But again, if we can go with a more timeline approach and say, OK, here are your basics, and then move forward to here are a little bit more, and a little bit more, it works well. But I think the misconception is that. You’re a chef. You’re ready to run a restaurant that will be profitable or a hair stylist opening a hair salon, and they’ll know how to run the salon. Be profitable. It’s just not the case.

Well, something similar to what she talked about. Business education is relevant, bringing me to the next point, especially regarding American National identity. Right.

So, America has always been about freedom, and extruding America is about freedom, especially regarding the financial front, right? So, a necessary part of that is financial education regarding entrepreneurship and business. Education. 

From your point of view, most of the schools I see in America don’t; they don’t teach the type of education you and others are teaching. 

So, from your perspective, what should we do nationally to get the most? We should get an actual business education.

Well, I just joined you on your soapbox. This is the perfect question, and I could talk about it for hours with you because I feel very bad for the next generation. We didn’t learn enough in school about finances, let alone now, for kids, the next generation. I wish we could have made changes as my point already. 

What I think needs to happen and what I want to see happen is that all children in their teenage years should build a company. I think that should be a part of their education process. We are learning how to build a business plan now. What would they need to hire? 

How do you track all the numbers? I think that should be a normal part of education, but I also come from the viewpoint that I think that kids should have cooking classes and go and get their hands dirty and also learn how to do all sorts of things too well to round out their education. But I believe there needs to be more emphasis on that because it’s a practical way. 

So, part of what I see as a problem is a lot of theory. I’d like to see how to use the information in real life. If we could do that, especially for kids at a younger age, we would have a lot more successful business owners and be able to create more income for our economy. It has such a beautiful effect; you know that it’s not just a selfish reason. 

But I do wish there was a lot more emphasis on, again, you could be as basic as how to balance a bank account and how to handle credit cards. Or something much more sophisticated about a business and how to run it. But I believe that there needs to be more emphasis on it as a whole. In junior high school and college, age groups are involved.

I couldn’t agree with you more. What’s annoying is that many people are getting these college degrees. Like they’re spending $100,000 on student debt, and then they’re getting, like, let’s say, something like an art degree or something that is not practical to becoming financially free or having enough income. 

You can do whatever you want to gain time and financial freedom. And it’s just, uh, the reason it bothers me so much is that our entire identity as a nation is based on freedom. But when it comes to knowing your finances, it is essential to be free because if you’ve put in consumer debt, you must get a job and pay those bills. And it’s just like a never-ending cycle; you have to get out of that.

I agree, I agree. Again, time freedom is also wrapped into this conversation, trickling down in every era of our lives. If we do not know what we’re doing with money, say, I’m at the most basic level. We don’t know that, and I feel like until we get older, 

So I would love to see that happen much earlier for kids.

So, most Americans want to attain the American dream. Much of that is based on sound finances and a certain level of financial freedom. But today’s reality, most people live paycheck to paycheck, and the American dream seems very far away.

So, what do you think is the biggest challenge to Americans in attaining the American Dream, and how can they overcome that challenge? From your perspective.

Mindset: First and foremost, we all must be aware of and willing to make changes. Because if we’re not willing to pick our heads up and see other options, we just keep doing it the same way everybody else is, and we’re not going to create a better society. 

I do believe we have the ability, the capability for sure. You know we have all the resources at our fingertips, and we have flexibility—the freedom to get as much education as we want to. I want to see more of that utilized, and I do believe, as I said, just even as simple as seeing more female authors write business books, I think there need to be more programs for teaching children at a younger age and, again, more access to education when it comes to businesses. Part of the fault, though, I believe, is the evolution that’s happening so quickly.

And so, there’s a lag like a lag time in between. I believe that needs to be a part of this conversation, too. So, it’s not necessarily human error, but it’s one of those things that everybody’s kind of running around and doing their own thing. And there’s no central idea, good or bad, because everybody can do it their way. 

But I think there must be more experts out there who provide, like Rich Dad and Poor Dad. But you know, maybe a new approach to it or something simplistic to understand from the business or financial side, all of the above because I believe all of it works together.

One of the reasons I’m having this conversation is that I feel we are having an obsolete level of traditional education. It’s based on the 1950s and 1960s approach, where you went to college, got a degree, got a job, a blue-collar job, and then worked for 40 years. And at the end of it, you saved up. You saved up enough money for retirement is everything, but the problem is that there is no job in today’s world. Inflation is eating up your savings account. 

So, many people from the baby boomer generation or even Generation X are finding out that the money they saved will not be enough for the rest of their lives. And they might go back and work. And that’s the reason why I’m so passionate about this because the world ever.

Yes, yes.

Living is changing, and without an understanding of money and entrepreneurship business, we won’t be able to get to the next point.

Yes, I agree. You remind me of my grandfather, who retired at 50 with two. He paid pensions and did not have to work the rest of his life, and they lived very comfortably and were well provided for. They cruised worldwide and had plaques on the wall from it. And then, you know, the generations. Now I’m part of Gen. X. I’m the youngest of Gen. X—very, very, very youngest.

But I’m still considered Gen. X and see the difference between my grandparent’s generation. In my generation, for example, I’m incredible. Upset and saddened by what? Younger ones coming out of college, I see videos and read articles all the time. This week, I’ve seen a couple of kids applying for 1500 jobs with an MBA. They can’t find anything better than a 20. $5000 job. And it just breaks my heart. It really, truly does. And I feel like, again, another part of the conversation has to be giving them the options for more, for sure.

So, what would you advise a Gen Z person born in the late 1990s or early 2000s to listen to this conversation? What would you tell them about the reality of the financial situation in America and what they should do for their own lives?

I’ve been giving this advice for a long time, so, interestingly, you’re giving me the space to give this information to get over my advice; I, for many years, have been privileged to mentor and coach younger ones. And one of the things I’ve always told them is, you know, that’s fine if you’re going to college. I wouldn’t, you know, getting not my child. 

So, I wasn’t in the place to tell him it was wrong, but I advised them to seriously think about starting a business simultaneously. And I would always tell him because it’s really hard. You mentioned an art degree earlier or to immediately jump into photography or whatever creative field we can use. Just as an example, expect to make. The high income from it right away takes years of practice, such as refinement.

So, I always would tease, especially girls. I would say, you know, starving artists don’t have pretty shoe color. And it was meant as a joke, but I wish at 18 somebody would have told me you have more energy than you will later in life. You can build your company and attend school if that pleases the family. And you’re being, say, your family’s paying for college. Don’t turn away from the option. Because you could still network, you can create connections and get the experience you know. Use it for what it will help with, but at the same time, keep an eye on entrepreneurialism again. 

You can start small. But try something out. You never know. You could find what you absolutely love that way. Try out three different things. Try out ten. You don’t have to tell everybody, but keep trying new things. You know, I’ve always talked about it. Go to a photography class. Go to a writing class, and those skills may not seem related. But I can tell you firsthand, as an entrepreneur, how many times my writing classes and typing classes have been. My photography lessons and weird things all have come together and have helped me build a company. 

So, go out and take lectures. At that age, I was privileged to sit in on guest lectures at DePaul in Chicago. The gentleman who invited me was in the MBA program. He said, “Oh, man, I’m so glad that’s over. That was so boring”. I looked at him, and I said I loved it. It was amazing. And I was offended that he didn’t appreciate it because this was his education. His parents were paying for it. 

And I just happened to be able to be uttered enough with the invitation: Get into as many of those conversations as possible and network. You know, those are the kinds of things that you can do. It doesn’t matter your age, whether you’re 15 or 50. Those are skills we can acquire and practice from the first moment we think about becoming an.

So, let’s say somebody is now in college, right? And they’re in this. They’re in, like, let’s see, their first year or something. And they’re listening to this podcast. And they’ve chosen, like, a worthless degree, like four years, and they’re going to get and, you know, in the future, they’ll get like 100,000 or one $50,000 of debt. Would you tell that person to quit, look online or on YouTube, or start a business? Or would you like, how would how would you like? Let’s say you had a conversation with that person. 

Well, Cosmo, I will tell you because I am a mom. I’m probably going to answer it a little differently. First, you have to think about who’s paying for it. It would be best to converse with your family because you’re still dependent on them at that age. That has to be a factor. However, your free time can be devoted to learning whatever else is out there. You do not have to spend every waking moment in college. You have enough time to do other things, so I would encourage somebody, if they’re thinking about it, to 1st do the research.

 What are you interested in? Form a plan. Start something. Please test it out because, sometimes, we’ve all been there where we hit moments in life where we’re at a crossroads, and it feels very uncomfortable. Plan before you do anything final if you’re at that in college. Come up with an idea, just focus on it, and sit with it for a couple of days. In a couple of weeks, get an educated opinion on it. That is to me. 

So many people want to jump into doing things, and it’s almost a knee-jerk emotional response. If you’re educated, one, you’ll make fewer mistakes, and two, going in with a plan means you’ll be much more level-headed. The first step, I would say, is to plan more than anything, and then again, my answer is more based on a mom: if one of my children decided to quit 3 to 4 years into college, I hope they would. Talk to me. 1st, so I guess that’s where that conversation comes from. Now, with that being said.

And I will tell you that my children are entrepreneurial. Mindset is there. My middle son started his first business when he was 12. And so, my sons will go through our education system before they even consider going to college.

My 16-year-old, for example, will be going through a program this summer to give them a more research-educated viewpoint on entrepreneurialism. So, I’m speaking from experience. I can back that conversation up and say I’m not just saying give up, but I’m saying become more educated, research, and plan.

That’s awesome. And you’re a rare type of parent. But like most kids today, their parents come from an old way of thinking where they believe you have to get a college degree and get a job and everything. But. But yeah, I would have the conversation slightly differently. I’ll be like. Come on, man. What are you doing, $100,000? Come on. But I understand that perspective, though. 

But this brings me to the next thing. Right. I was wondering if you could tell me and the audience a bit more about your company, its premise, how it got started, and more. In my opinion, most people should be doing real education with what your company provides rather than what’s happening in the colleges and universities.

Well, I thank you for that. And I completely agree with you for many reasons. So, we started this three years ago, and again, we both have our entrepreneurial MBAs, and we started this company because we both have similar wives. My business partner, life partner, is to help dads transition from traditional careers into entrepreneurialism because they can buy back time with their children. And be the head of the household. For me, it’s also helping single moms and children become entrepreneurs. So, we had very similar viewpoints, and it was a no-brainer for us to be able to talk about starting our company together.

So, Grit & King was formed to reinvent how businesses. Becoming a business is the best way to put it, but if you look at statistics, you will see how long it takes a business to get up and running. You have two factors. Either you need to spend more money or time to start a company, and it sounds so simplified when you say that if it is true that you have a very small budget, you’re going to spend more time grassroots getting your social media visible. Things of that nature are a quick exam. But suppose you need to compress your time, as you mentioned earlier. In that case, I believe most companies take about 18 to 24 months of messing around, getting educated, piecing things together, and taping different technologies. How about we save all that time and do it in six months?

And instead of learning theory, let’s build as we learn. And it’s going to cost less than one year of college. That’s why we did it. I did a lot of research before we started building this platform. Because. I wanted to know what was out there. I was curious, and I looked around, and I was amazed. You know, there are one or two Ivy League schools out there that even have anything that states entrepreneurial in the title, and they might be the best programs in the world. But they were based on theory, and part of the problem I see with that is. 

As an entrepreneur, I must get my hands dirty, roll up my sleeves, and Build. That is the first step in building your foundation. I say it every day, probably 20 million times a day. That’s one of the things I say because a lot of people think. 

Again. I have my experience. I have a passion for this industry. There’s no foundation under your feet. It would be best if you had a foundation. You need to know, and I’ve got a great example for you that’s real quick. I paid for websites, for example, for years for my business when I realized that my business employed me. I could not understand why I spent all this money on my website—I never brought in the type of clients I wanted it to, and I could not articulate why for my life.

Once I learned how to build websites and figure out what a website is meant to do, I can now articulate that vision to somebody else to build it for me. I’m educated in that area. That saves me time, money, and stress, and I can reach my ideal client. So that’s just one tiny little example. Well, what if we had entrepreneurs with more education so they know how to talk to a web designer? They know how to use their software. They also understand profit margins. And they also know how. To do sales. That, to me, is a very necessary tool. Otherwise, the other issue is that you need to launch a business and be successful and scale.

I recommend that anybody listening to this check out your company. Are there any projects and programs you have right now that somebody could look into, and what are they?

They, yes. So, we have our flagship program, which, as I said, is a project called Metro Shift to the partnership. It is a six-month, very intense program. I compare it to a conveyor belt: once we turn it on, we will help you move through it in six months because I want every entrepreneur to see results in six months. It’s very important to me. 

The other thing, well, the things that are different about us, one is, like I said, it’s not theory. The base is built base, so you build, you learn, but every week, you go through the classroom. You go through coaching, and the coaching works in tandem with the classes, so you do not have coaches, and I’ve seen this far too many times where a coach will tell somebody, oh, that’s great that you learned that way to program. This is how I do it. It’s a more modern way, or it’ll save you time. That means that person that student has to undo to redo, and I feel like that is not fair at all. So that’s something we’re very aware of when we built it. The other thing that they get is software to learn and build out as they grow through the program.

So, they’re ready for launch. We did those kinds of things very differently. Another thing we did was make all of our classes AI-based because we have already updated the program since it was released and will continue to update it. You said something interesting about the community earlier; we didn’t forget that part. 

We have a membership available to all the students, and they can continue with the membership afterward, providing additional training. Additional time with the coaches giving information like I talk a lot about mastery in the middle. Talking about how it takes a long-term approach, we also have a resource library there of different businesses we have vetted that we work with, and we know that they will be very caring. They will be honorable in their dealings with our students. We’re also trying to give anybody who comes through our program the feeling of being there for them. That we have a system that will move them through. We even have a VIP team, which is the first-person and last meeting with them. 

So, we did it to ensure that it’s not like, here you go. Thank you. So. Much for paying and good. Luck. We did it so that somebody feels like that. They have a hands-on instructor with them every step of the way.

That is awesome. How can our audience connect with you and learn more about you and your work? And all of all of this.

My best option is to use LinkedIn, which is just Marisa Kiley. Of course, I tend to be on there more than on other platforms. Then, go through our website, Metro Shift, to partnership.com. It’s a very simple website to remember; you can just go through it and learn more about the right person for the program. We were very careful about this because we want to make sure that when you look at what our program offers, it’s really about balancing out life. And to give you the laptop lifestyle that somebody desires, it’s not going to be your nine-to-five life, that is. It’s pretty much being dialed in for everybody that’s coming through college. So, we’re trying to swim against the current event based on that fact.

That is amazing, Marisa and Marisa. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this podcast and explain the importance of business and entrepreneur education. I cannot stress enough to the audience that you must be financially free. 

If you’re an American, that’s your national identity. And then, if you’re not financially free, you have to work it through education, education, education. That is the key. Also, getting your hands dirty, starting a business, knowing about money and monetary systems, all of that stuff.

So, I appreciate your work.

Well, thank you.

What you’re doing is important for this country today, and I hope you’ll return to this show later.

I would at any time. I swear, this conversation could last days because you and I share the same viewpoint. I believe we all need to contribute to improving this society, so that’s what I’m here for, too.

Totally. And I want to conclude this podcast by letting my fellow extraordinary  Americans know that, hey, look, there’s an extraordinary within every one of us. We must awaken it and unleash it until next time. Bye for now.