The Funding Secrets Schools Never Teach—Benjetta Exposes the Truth

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Paul Alex: Welcome to the Level Up Podcast. I'm your host, Paul Alex. I went from being a cop to an eight figure entrepreneur that helps average people like you and me make money every single day. I created this podcast to help you get motivated and to crush your goals. Let's win together. Remember, I have your six. Get ready to level up right now.

Paul Alex: Hey guys, and welcome back to Level Up Podcast. This is Paul Alex. And today I have another phenomenal guest, guys. If you guys ever thought of investing into a business, but you don't know what type of business to actually invest into, okay? And what about funding, right? That is the first question I always get asked. Paul, how much is it going to cost? At the end of the day, I always say like this, you got to find solutions, okay? That's how leaders lead. Today I have a wonderful guest. I'm going to let her introduce herself because, hey, you are a leader and you lead by example. So tell the folks right now that are listening to this on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube who you are.

Benjetta Steele: Hi, my name is Benjetta Steele, and I am the CEO and founder of Mother Motivation. I help entrepreneurs be able to access six figures in funding for investing into their brand to grow, scale, and just maximize their business.

Paul Alex: I love that. I love that. And then where are you coming from?

Benjetta Steele: I'm coming from North Carolina. The Carolinas.

Paul Alex: I love that. I love that. Raleigh, North Carolina.

Benjetta Steele: There you go.

Paul Alex: Born and raised?

Benjetta Steele: No, I was born in Los Angeles, California, but we moved there when I was like eight years old. So that's where my roots have been created.

Paul Alex: Yeah. Do you still have family in Cali?

Benjetta Steele: I do. And in Beverly Hills, Lancaster and Palmdale.

Paul Alex: I love that. I love that. I go up there like once a year in March just to revisit.

Benjetta Steele: Yeah.

Paul Alex: You got to. You got to from coast to coast. So. All right. Let's jump into it. So before you got into actually helping businesses or entrepreneurs with funding, what were you doing before? Like what got you into that niche?

Benjetta Steele: So before I even got in the industry, I was in the health care industry. I always like caring for people. I love caring for people. That has been my passion. So I did nursing care, child care, hair care, now financial care. And what pushed me into the industry was basically seeing so many people going through the pandemic, financially struggling, people losing their lives because I was a first responder. I've seen a lot of people lose their lives. So it really put me in a perspective to think from my angle, what if I lost my life and I didn't reach my fullest potential? And how can I help people get out this financial struggle? So God told me to retire and leave my job. And I was like, Lord, I just bought this house. You want me to retire? He said, haven't I taken care of you long enough? So I'm going to take care of you when you leave. And I just did it.

Paul Alex: How old were you at that time?

Benjetta Steele: At that current moment, I was 29.

Paul Alex: You were 29. Did you have kids yet?

Benjetta Steele: Yes, and to be honest, on the back end with that, I was kind of forced a little bit more because my son had major brain surgery during the pandemic in 2020. So I was forced to kind of leave. I took an FMLA, leave of absence, and then from there, I had to make money. So, yeah.

Paul Alex: How old was he?

Benjetta Steele: He was, Javante was 16. Yeah, 16, 15 or 16.

Paul Alex: So 16 years old, you're 29. You just bought your home in the Carolinas.

Benjetta Steele: Yes.

Paul Alex: In the Carolinas and COVID happens. COVID changed everyone's life. Everybody.

Benjetta Steele: Right.

Paul Alex: Whether it was bad, good, transformational.

Benjetta Steele: Right.

Paul Alex: And you had a major incident happen to you. So it was like fight or flight.

Benjetta Steele: Right. Yes. All the way through.

Paul Alex: Wow. Family, the work life because it's scary. You're in a situation where you don't know if you're going to lose your life. And you still care about the people, so you want to help them save their life. And then you still have to battle being a parent. And I'm a single parent, so my life is not easy. Basically, I had to do what I had to do. And it was hard. But I feel like God doesn't put no more on us than what we can handle. So he pushed me through it, and I'm just here.

Paul Alex: I love that saying. I love the fact that you're like, hey, I was a single mother. Because I can relate that to a lot. I was raised by a single mother. And I tell everybody this, my mom, I would always have mad respect for her because she literally went out of her way to make sure I was raised right. And I'm pretty sure your boys, they're going to say the same thing. It's a different battle. A lot of people don't understand on the back end of what we have to sacrifice. The tears we cry, the long nights, the early mornings, just cooking, cleaning, still having to be a protector, a provider. That's a lot.

Benjetta Steele: It is.

Paul Alex: So my hat goes off to any single parent. It doesn't matter just women because I know male single parents too. So it's a lot.

Benjetta Steele: No, absolutely. And I love how you said that being a single parent is very hard. I believe that there's a lot of people out there right now watching this, especially at this podcast because this is a self-help podcast. It still helps entrepreneurs with the right mindset. And I think we got the right guest. So I love that.

Paul Alex: So let's talk about specifics. Let's go into a little bit of business. So you go ahead. God's telling you, hey, you need to go another direction. How do you find out this niche with funding and then just turn it into a business coach? Because that's very interesting. Not everybody can just dive right into that.

Benjetta Steele: So it definitely wasn't a dive. It was definitely a transition because really it was a lifestyle for me. So I had to get out my own comfortable space and mindset to say, so many people come to you for help when it comes down to finances, when it comes down to borrowing money. How can you help the people? Now, once again, I purchased my first home at 28 years old. So I'm like, if I can do it, I could really teach other people how to do it. But how do I structure them to get there? Right. So once again, when it comes down to doing certain things like that, you have to position yourself early on. And I always live by my P's, which is proper preparation to prevent poor performance. So I do that with everything. So it's like teaching my community, okay, well, we need to focus on getting our finances in order, making sure your bills are paid on time, making sure that you are handling your priorities. Instead of me hanging out with my friends, I had two children by the age of 17. So I couldn't do what everybody else did. I had to pay my bills. I couldn't go back home to my mother. My mother stayed with me. Right. So it just put me in a place where I was forced to be an adult at an early age where it taught me how to be able to help other people transition and go through that same thing. So that's how I became Mother of Motivation. That's how I started the financial aspect, just basically living this lifestyle myself and being able to easily help other people.

Paul Alex: So how do you obtain your first clients? Because I feel like I've talked to a few other friends of mine who became entrepreneurs and the start of business is nerve wracking. It's not for the faint of heart. It's not easy. So how did you find your clients?

Benjetta Steele: So I have a little secret. When I first started my entrepreneur journey and I fully left the hospital position, I started out with the gift that God gave me, which was hair. I have my natural hair care license. So I moved into a salon, had a couple of suites and basically started there. Then I transitioned more so in the financial aspect fully and let the hair thing go. But most of my ideal clients were sitting in my chair.

Paul Alex: No way.

Benjetta Steele: Yeah, because I'm very personable with people. I build relationships. So with that being said, people will always tell me their problems. I just have this gift of gab where everybody always wants to get really personal with me. So that's how I became that full business owner when it came down to the financial aspect. Because I'm helping them strategize the plan. Let's do this. You want to become a homeowner? Oh, you need a lower insurance rate for your vehicle? Oh, you're a business owner? You need funding? This is what I did. I can only give you what I did. So with that being said, my ideal clients were right in my chair and then working in the hospital, too. So it's like, yeah.

Paul Alex: That's amazing. So an advantage that you had was, and it's not really a secret. I'd be proud. I'd be like, yeah, I got a huge network. And that's what it is. Your network is your net worth. That's how we connected. So at the end of the day, it's just like you got to be sociable. And I always tell this to my employees. I always tell this to my mentees. I'm like, hey, never burn bridges. You never know when you might need that person's help and vice versa. So you did that very well. You transitioned certain clientele that you had, your network. And then when you were ready to launch a new offer, a new business, boom. It was right there.

Benjetta Steele: It wasn't easy with the financial portion. People will pay you hundreds of dollars to do their hair, but they won't pay you hundreds of dollars to fix their finances and their credit and stuff. It wasn't easy.

Paul Alex: Let's talk about that real quick. Because I feel like especially this being the Level Up Podcast, we're here to level up your mind, guys. So let's talk about that. Why do most people who are not in business or in entrepreneurship see self-education like that? When you tell somebody, hey, you take this course or you take this program or maybe you get a mentor. Maybe you join a conference that might change your life and it's going to cost X amount. People are always like, oh, well, I don't know. They're hesitant. They're like, I don't know. What are your thoughts on that? Why do people do that?

Benjetta Steele: Well, it's honestly how we have been raised, how the system raises us. It's like a traditional thing. Your mother went to school. She went to college. She got this degree. She listened to her teacher. And this is how society has set us up. But to me, I've always been the rebellious one that wants to do the opposite of what everybody is taught to do. So with that being said, I know that realistically, a coach can get you further and faster to your destination versus college. College allows you—and I'm not saying this for everybody because certain degrees like being a doctor or a nurse, it's necessary.

Paul Alex: Yeah, it's necessary.

Benjetta Steele: But when it comes down to wanting to launch your own business, whether it's a service or product based business, you don't have the idea of which direction to go. School is not really giving you the full effect of how to get there. So to me, it was smarter in order for me to have a mentor that had already did what I desire to do. So that's really like the chess, not checkers.

Paul Alex: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. So it's scary for people to invest into something that they don't understand or they never seen before. So from the time that you actually started your funding business and also educating other folks on financial literacy, did you invest into a coach or mentor right away or did you wait a little bit? Because for me, I'll tell you straight up, I'm 37. I didn't really start investing into my self-education until the age of 29. But I've been an entrepreneur since 18. I did the whole nightclub thing. I threw parties for thousands of people making a lot of money at a young age, but I didn't have any direction. So I blew it all, went to the nine to five, became a cop and then figured it out again.

Benjetta Steele: Wow. That's a lesson within itself.

Paul Alex: It is. It is. Because I always tell people that you are who you are. And the only way that you become a great leader is by going through those lessons. You have to go through those lessons. The blessings is in the lessons.

Benjetta Steele: It is. Yeah.

Paul Alex: I love that. I love that. I'm telling you. So what would you tell folks that are actually trying to go ahead and look for a coach? Like, how do you find a coach? How do you know who's real? Because in 2025, let's be honest. It's so many people out here saturated in these industries.

Benjetta Steele: That's what I'm saying. So you have to do your due diligence, do your research. And really, you want to study a person. And before I invested my $3,500 into that coaching mentor, he had already given me enough free gain to make me trust him, to build that relationship. So with that being said, it was a no-brainer for me to invest $3,500 into my first coach. This was back when I was 29. I purchased my home at 28. So I was like, I hit that milestone. Now I have to go up. I need to go somewhere else. So with that being said, that mentor had already helped me get access to $100,000 in funding. So I was like, it just makes sense for me to take $3,500 and give it back to him because what else can I learn from this mentor if I do that? So, yeah.

Paul Alex: So you essentially got the social proof for yourself because you tried it out yourself. You were such a big believer in it because it worked for you. And then you were like, you know what? I could do this. I could go ahead and actually educate people on doing the exact same thing.

Benjetta Steele: It wasn't that easy, though. I had to apply the information for me to believe it in order for me to be able to help others do the same thing.

Paul Alex: No, absolutely. Absolutely. And I'm a big believer in that. I'm the first one to say you have to lead by example. And you're definitely leading by example now. So my question for you is, have you ever had a situation where you were like, man, I don't know if entrepreneurship is for me?

Benjetta Steele: It hits us like every six months. Every three to six months.

Paul Alex: It does.

Benjetta Steele: Yeah, every three to six months until you get over that milestone and you like, okay, I can figure this out. I have good people like Paul that I can call and ask a question because he already been through this. So with that being said, of course in the beginning phases it can be very difficult. Depending on where you come from, like I came from humble beginnings. It's probably a lifestyle. So a lot of my surrounding environment did not understand my vision. So they weren't as supportive. So it kind of left me like, really, yeah, I was not hopeful at the beginning. But once again, big on God connecting me with my people. He will help you build a team. And that is for a fact. The biggest thing when you are an entrepreneur and a business owner, you have to have faith because you're basically creating this vision that you haven't even seen yet. It's just still an idea. So with that being said, on this journey, there are a lot of times that you want to give up. It's going to be times where you get to a tight place. But if you keep going, it's all testing your resilience. It's testing your faith. So the more you learn, the more you'll be able to earn and the more you'll be able to execute on getting the tools you need to keep going.

Paul Alex: No, absolutely. Absolutely. So.

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Paul Alex: Let's talk about actual results from the business funding. What would you say is a good story that you'd be able to tell the audience on how you helped somebody go literally from zero to hero?

Benjetta Steele: So about two years ago, I had an individual young man. He's about my age, about 30, 33, 34. Literally, he came to me. He was already a little bit into real estate. He started when he was in college. But he came to me like, Ms. Benjetta, I'm trying to get some more capital because I need to purchase more property to create more streams of income. So with that being said, he didn't have the best of credit. So we basically had to start from the foundation, which is credit. You can't do a lot if you don't have a lot of money, you need to have a lot of good credit. So basically, helping him analyze the negative, removing the derogatory remarks. Now, I didn't say it was an overnight process. It took us six months to get those negative items removed because he did have over 20 negative items. To make a long story short, once we cleaned his profile, he already had a business. We just needed to build business credit. So once we got the personal side together, the business was structured and the business credit was built, he was able to obtain $350,000 worth of funding. And that was a mixture of credit card stacking where he was able to get access to $150,000 there and then get more capital with HELOCs and loans, business loans. So with that being said, he was able to purchase about four more properties. And not only that, here we are two years later and this individual, he's in school for business management. And he recently came to me like, I want to do my internship with you because you really taught me a lot and I want to work for you. And that was amazing because the individual believed in me and he listened and he was coachable, which I tend to see men more coachable than women. But there's no discrimination. I'll just say he listened and he followed the process. And that has been my best student, and his journey has just been amazing.

Paul Alex: I love that. I love that. That's such a great story. And I like how you actually glow when you talk about someone else's results. That's great. That shows that it really fulfills you when you're helping people.

Benjetta Steele: It does. I love helping people. I ask God all the time, you put me here because people problems can be a lot for you when you have your own problems. But I'm satisfied with seeing other people get the results that they desire because their results is my results.

Paul Alex: Of course. Yeah, their success is their success. It definitely is. I love that. So let's go ahead and talk about what exactly are some of the terms that you actually said, credit stacking. So for a complete newbie like myself, like the audience listening right now, what would you say is credit stacking when it comes to funding?

Benjetta Steele: So credit stacking is basically a sequence of building relationships with different banks and lenders, so you can access the capital for investing into your brand new business. I'm more so focused on startup business entrepreneurs who haven't made any money in their business. So they don't have revenue to go get a business loan or go get equipment financing and so forth. So that is the perspective that I teach. And it's also so much of a benefit because you're able to get 0% entrance credit cards. So you can invest into your business without stressing about paying interest within 6 to 21 months. So that's a game changer, which a lot of people, they didn't teach you this in school.

Paul Alex: No, no, no, absolutely. You don't teach you about credit cards. I remember growing up, my mom was like, stay away from credit because it will ruin you. You'll go in debt. And she didn't teach me the difference between good debt and bad debt. So I think it's things that are necessary in school nowadays. But it's going towards, I feel like school, e-learning is definitely going to take over in the next few years. Even AI, just e-learning in general. Because you've got to think about it like this. Who would you rather learn from? A multimillionaire who is savvy in finances and funding and business and life? Or a teacher who doesn't have the same skills, a general teacher, teaching you from a book where they haven't even done the work themselves? They haven't even had the social proof. I want to learn from a millionaire.

Benjetta Steele: Exactly, right?

Paul Alex: Right. So, no, that's good stuff. Okay, so how about the other portion of that story with HELOC? How does that work?

Benjetta Steele: So HELOC is basically a loan, and it comes from the equity that you have built in a home, or commercial property. But basically focused on the personal side when it comes down to your home or homes that you have purchased. So it's a home equity line of credit where you can borrow from the actual property based on the equity that it has built to be able to invest into more property. So you can create more passive streams of income.

Paul Alex: Wow. Yeah. And do majority of your clients actually come in saying like, hey, this is the type of business I want to do? Or do you get people just like myself maybe back when I was like 25, and I have no idea what I should invest into? No business that like I wanted to invest into a business. I wanted to be an entrepreneur like a lot of people nowadays, but they just don't know where to start.

Benjetta Steele: So it's like a 25/75. And the reason why I say 75 is more so because I have partnerships that are in real estate, that are in investment companies. So I love to collaborate with individuals who have established business. We have the clientele that need my help. And then the other 25 come into my mentorship and they basically need education on which direction to go. And I teach them about starting a short-term rental arbitrage business, which people consider Airbnb, or short-term rental car business. So basically, you're just using assets to be able to create the income where you're not having to work hard. You're working smart. And then also they can start their own credit and funding company because there are 8 billion people in the world. I can't help everybody. But if I teach you how to get some extra money, make $10,000 to $50,000 a month, that could be a game changer.

Paul Alex: That is really cool. So you can help people actually go ahead and start their own funding company.

Benjetta Steele: Correct.

Paul Alex: Okay. And then is this something that could be for a beginner? Is this somebody that needs experience in business? Do they need a degree?

Benjetta Steele: I definitely feel like you will want to have a little bit of experience. Now, if you are a quick learner, you can learn in six to 12 months. Now I'm big on people executing for themselves before they jump into it because you need to see how the sequence works when it comes down to getting access to funding. And I mean different types of funding: credit card stacking, which is what I specialize mostly in, but even HELOCs, knowing the data points, business loans, equipment financing. There are so many different loans you can get, but knowing the right one tailored to that client's needs is key. Every client is different. I might have a millionaire client that already has a lot of assets, already has revenue coming into their business. That's going to be different from a startup entrepreneur. So their plan of action is going to be totally different. So you want to be able to know the data points. You want to be able to understand all the different terms that the banks offer. Because if you're going in there blind, you're going to miseducate people. And I don't like to miseducate people.

Paul Alex: Set them up.

Benjetta Steele: Set them up.

Paul Alex: That's great. So you're setting them up for success for the long run.

Benjetta Steele: No, that's good. I'm big on that.

Paul Alex: That's good. Yeah. People have got to do their due diligence when it comes to business because you can literally lose your shirt. Your shirt, your pants, your house.

Benjetta Steele: Yeah.

Paul Alex: You're going to lose everything. But okay, so I know when I was doing my research on your business, you specifically say that you help people with 700 plus credit scores. How about the folks that have a credit score right underneath that 700? Like what can you do for them?

Benjetta Steele: Yes. So this really takes it back to making sure that each client's goals that I go over, whether they are a consumer or entrepreneur, depending on their goals, we always start with the foundation. The foundation for everyone in my program is credit, because the better your credit, the more structured you are, the better your results are going to be. So if you have below a 700, and it's not always about the score, it's about the structure of the profile. So I have to make sure that the structure has no derogatory, no late payments, no charge-offs, no collections, no evictions. None of that is reporting or reflecting on your credit profile. From there, once we get that clean—and it just depends, everyone's credit profile is different, just like everybody's bank account is different.

Paul Alex: Absolutely, 100%.

Benjetta Steele: So with that being said, we get that clean and make it look all good and polished, and then we build you up. And I have a different way based on each client. You can do the credit building route, or I can take you to the expert route where you're building with pledge loans, you're building with authorized users and primary trade lines. So you look very healthy when you go to the bank versus when you start like an amateur, you're building with credit builders and the baby credit cards and security loans. It just depends on which direction you want to go. You have to build you up solid. So, yeah, it just depends on everybody's bank account.

Paul Alex: I love that. No, I love that. No discrimination. I love you all. So let's transition to this question. So you mentored thousands of people. What would you say is your belief that separates a boss from just a hustler? What mindset or action makes someone elite in your eyes?

Benjetta Steele: Yes. So my belief with separating a boss from a hustler, a boss is really delegating tasks. A boss is doing their due diligence, doing their research. They don't just stop at, oh, I learned this skill and I'm just going to make money off of it. But you continuously grow in your industry. And then you also are putting other people in position around you. You're not being selfish and you're not trying to just keep it to yourself. A hustler is just really living for the moment. They're like, I'm going to make this dollar bill and whatever works for the moment, then that's what I'm going to do. And they might be all over the place. So with that being said, you want to stick to one direction, as far as your industry, whether it's a product base or a service base. And you want to lock in on it because one thing I'm going to say is that I had to learn to do that. I was balancing doing hair and teaching finances. But once I kind of put the hair on the back burner and running a salon and locked in on finances, revenue went up because I gave that 100% versus a hustler is going to be all over the place.

Paul Alex: How did you make that decision? Just because I have a ton of friends that are doing multiple things. And I always say your mind is like a pie. You can't split it four ways. You got to focus all in one. It's like one of my mentors says, burn the boats. Burn the boats. You got to go all in. That's it. So what would you say was that aha moment for you where you were like, you know what? I'm about to go all in on this.

Benjetta Steele: So the aha moment for me was last year. And I'm going to be honest. It started to become a high demand. Now, already, like I told you, my entrepreneur journey started at seven years old, so I already was good at doing hair. But my back and my arms and everything was hurting, too. So I was like, you know what? It's a high demand for what I'm doing. And in order for me to be able to help more people and be sufficient at what I'm doing, I have to transition over. So I just basically had to do a cutoff. I cut the websites off from my hair business. I stopped taking clients. And then I graduated fully into this. And I've just been locked in.

Paul Alex: I love it. You went all in. You grew. You believe. You got vision. You got people that will follow you. I love that. No, that's the way you're supposed to do it. But I feel like what holds a lot of people back is their limiting belief of, what if it doesn't work out? You gotta experience it. You gotta go in, right?

Paul Alex: So we both come from like humble beginnings. And I love that. You know, you're saying you were a single mother, two kids. I had a single mother. She raised me. Love her to death. So what would you say to women? This is gonna be a good one. Especially mothers who think success in business isn't for them.

Benjetta Steele: Listen, queen, I'm going to tell you right now, you have to dominate in your area. Whatever industry you are in, you have to give it the same type of love and affection like you give that man over and over, like you give that job over and over. You have to believe in it just like we believe in things that might not be here tomorrow. So I'm really big on keep on pushing, resilience, dedication. Leverage your nine to five to fund your five to nine. You want to always give it that time and put in the effort. Cut off the TV, cut off the noise. Maybe you might have to stop dating if you're not married. Really sacrifice and really love on your passion just as much as you loved on that man. It's probably not here.

Paul Alex: That's good.

Benjetta Steele: You have to love on what's going to change your life. And you have to understand that it takes time. Success isn't overnight. A house wasn't built overnight. You didn't just teach your kids how to be great overnight. Nothing is done overnight. So the more you build and the more you educate yourself, the more you learn, the more you'll earn. The more you just lock in on what you desire to do, the better you'll get at it. So it takes time, and you will get there, queen. I promise you. I did it by myself. Two children. Purchased a home at 28. No mother or father giving me anything. Really humble beginnings. I didn't always have this type of mentality, but the transition of having a coach, having right leaders, God putting the right people around me, just really wanting more for myself, wanting to be better, it will definitely take your life 360. So you got this. You just got to keep on pushing.

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Paul Alex: Yes. Gotta keep on pushing, queens. I love it. Keep on pushing. Okay, so obviously people always talk about recessions. They're like, "Oh, recession's coming. Recession's here. Recession proof over here." You guys been saying this for the past seven years. Probably longer than that.

Benjetta Steele: Longer than that.

Paul Alex: I'm sure. But I've only been in full-time entrepreneurship for seven years now.

Benjetta Steele: Okay, well, we really...

Paul Alex: Yeah, so that's what I'm saying. You're like, you know, very similar.

Benjetta Steele: Very similar.

Paul Alex: That's why it's called a level up right here. Connect you to your people, I'm telling you. So how important is it to build a recession-proof income today? And what industries are you telling your mentees to lean into, especially in 2025, because the game has changed?

Benjetta Steele: So what industries? To me, you want to be able to learn tools and resources and keep up with what's going on, especially like we have AI that's populating. So guess what? You can teach people how to use AI that's going to transition their business and give it that level of boost. Finances. People are going to always have financial issues, whether it's credit, whether it's starting a business, whether it's funding. Merchant services. Guess what? People are going to always spend money on credit cards. You have a merchant service, but you're going to need that on the back end. I guarantee you 100%. Real estate. Someone's going to always need somewhere to stay. That's why I love real estate. That's why I love short term rentals. Rental cars. People are going to always need something to drive. You're going to always be able to make money there. So those are a few. Hair industry. Nail industry. Cosmetics. Coaching. People are going to always need something that is in that industry. So if you lock in and learn that, it can take you to another level. I'm not going to discredit other businesses, but you want to always think about a business that's going to always generate and keep you with revenue. Child care. Recurring revenue.

Paul Alex: My wife and I, last year, we flew into Atlanta, I think, like six times. Just to get her hair done.

Benjetta Steele: Just to get her hair done.

Paul Alex: Just to get her hair done. She's a queen. But she looked great. And it was worth it. So luckily, that hair. Beauty industry. The lady who does the hair, she actually moved here to Miami.

Benjetta Steele: Oh, wow.

Paul Alex: She actually moved here to Miami because she started getting very popular, right? And there's a lot of demand. So I highly recommend that industry, guys. I'm telling you. The hair industry is booming. It's huge.

Benjetta Steele: Listen, no matter what, if you just learn certain skills that are top dollar, you'll always be able to make money. Just think about it. When I was doing hair, I was making $600 a day.

Paul Alex: I believe it.

Benjetta Steele: I used to always have a little saying: $600 a day will keep the stress away.

Paul Alex: I love that.

Benjetta Steele: So with that being said, there's more than enough things that you can learn out here. And the power of just having your cell phone in your hand is no excuse. You can go on YouTube and get bits and pieces and learn from experts like ourselves. But having that mentor to guide and lead you in the right direction, connecting yourself, networking, because your network is your net worth.

Paul Alex: Absolutely. And just because you come into one industry doesn't mean you're going to stay there forever. You transitioned from doing hair to doing funding, real estate deals, arbitrage, podcasting. It really takes you based on the industries that you're in, the connections that you make. It's like a transition, like a tree branch where you have these different avenues that you can take. So don't just limit yourself, but you want to build one place before you just jump all over.

Benjetta Steele: No, absolutely. That is key right there. And I love that you brought that up because a lot of people are like, "Well, I'm trying to do this, I'm trying to do this, I'm trying to do this." I was like, wait a minute, what is your main source?

Paul Alex: But I think that happens to everybody, especially as an entrepreneur.

Benjetta Steele: Oh, yeah, 100%. You have ADHD at the brain.

Paul Alex: It's the shiny object syndrome. It's just like, am I doing the wrong thing because my friend or my family member is making a lot of money doing this right now or becoming financially free faster? Everybody got their journey, guys. Lock in on one thing. Give it a minimum of a year, but go hard.

Benjetta Steele: Go hard.

Paul Alex: That is the key right there. I'm telling you. Okay, so this is going to be good. Ready? Give it to me. You can't cheat. So can you break down exactly what it means to you with the word leverage? And how our audience can use it starting today.

Benjetta Steele: Leverage can be broad. I'm going to always use myself, for example, in me helping clients. I help entrepreneurs leverage their personal credit to obtain six figures in funding or more based on their revenue. You can leverage your credit. You want to leverage your mindset. You want to leverage your connections, your friends. You want to leverage opportunities. Opportunities love speed. You want to leverage the knowledge. You want to leverage someone if they have the information that you desire to have or need. Leverage them. Go to them and ask them, "Hey, can you help me in this direction?" So leverage is very broad. You can leverage assets. If you have a boat or you have a home, you can pull equity from that. Or if you need to sell it or refinance it, you can leverage that to create another stream of income. So you can invest more. To me, that's what leverage stands for.

Paul Alex: And how can the audience actually start using it now?

Benjetta Steele: The first step, if you don't come from a lot of money, you want to leverage that credit. There's no excuses. Even if you don't have the money, you can use ChatGPT. Leverage ChatGPT. Start sending out those dispute letters. Clean your credit profile so you can leverage your credit to access capital so you can create more streams of income for your lifestyle.

Paul Alex: So it's basically creating a plan, executing on it, creating the credit if your credit's not at $700. And then come talk to you.

Benjetta Steele: Come see me.

Paul Alex: Come talk to you and then you'll get a mic. Or if you're a little lazy, it's okay. I can help you with all the above. We'll take you from zero to hero. I love that. So this is going to be a great question. Currently right now, how many followers do you have on Instagram?

Benjetta Steele: 113K.

Paul Alex: 113,000 followers on Instagram. So I already know what people are thinking, whether they're listening or watching. They're probably like, "Well, that's the reason why she's so successful. She got all those followers." And I always get that all the time. I'm like, no, no, no, no. I started with zero followers. So here's my question to you. Let's say I strip away your Instagram, your followers, your brand. What are the three unshakable skills or mindsets that would help you rebuild everything from scratch?

Benjetta Steele: Oh, that's a great question. The three unshakable skills is my mouth. I'm a talker. I'm going to always connect with like-minded individuals. I don't care who you are in the world. I'm going to make a connection with you, especially if the energies are there. Number two is the mindset. Nobody can take that from me. So I'm going to always be able to learn more in order for me to earn more. And number three is really networking. Networking is a powerful tool because honestly, I didn't get a lot of my clients from social media. My clients came from building relationships with other individuals in the car industry, real estate industry, just networking groups that send me clients because of the relationships I have built with them. They believe in me, and that means they're speaking highly of me to send their clients to me. So a lot of my clientele really does come from relationships that I have built. And I prefer that.

Paul Alex: Closed mouths don't get fed. It's so true.

Benjetta Steele: Listen, my ex-boyfriend taught me that when I was like 19 because I always used to be scared to ask for things or speak up. But he was like, "Benjetta, a closed mouth won't get fed." So baby, if I don't know, you won't get it.

Paul Alex: It's true. As an entrepreneur, there's no room for you to be shy in here. You can't be an introvert. And if you're an introvert, you gotta find an extroverted mentor to help you come out of your shell.

Benjetta Steele: That's definitely true. I love that.

Paul Alex: Okay, so this is the question I ask all my guests that come on The Level Up Podcast. Now this is your moment. You got this camera right here. So give some motivation. Anything from your heart that will help somebody level up today in 2025, especially with your background, very similar to mine. You went through some hardships, single mother, two kids, and you built a successful business. You helped a lot of people. So what would you tell right now to the single mother who's watching this right now that's seeing you in awe? Like, there's no way this can't be real.

Benjetta Steele: I'm telling you, it's real. So what I would say is, hi queen, my name is Benjetta Steele. And I understand truly, realistically what you're going through. You might be tired. You're tired of working. You're tired of cooking. You're tired of struggling. You're tired of going through the trials and tribulations that have been stacked against you. But that's not the end. I want you to sit back and I want you to grow a closer relationship to your higher power. Whoever you believe in that can help you get to the next level. Believe. Stay motivated. Write down your affirmations and be able to speak it because the tongue is a very powerful tool. So speak into existence what you desire to do, what you desire to have, and make small steps towards those bigger goals. Every week, do something different. If you're learning something new, if you need to fix your credit, start small. Work towards your bigger goals and be able to take a little bit of time for yourself. So you're having that self-care and you're putting the focus on what's going to change your life. If it's hard being a single parent, see if someone can watch the kids for you at least twice out the week so you can take some time to focus and just learn for yourself. Turn off the TV. Listen to some educational podcasts. That's what I had to do. I turned off the whole cable, queen. I promise you. Stop paying for stuff like that. Remove any negativity that's in your life. If it's a bad man that's in your life that is verbal abuse, mental abuse, let him go. Because that's not what God has for you. He cannot bless you with something better until you remove the old and negative. Remove those old friends from your life. If they're not willing to empower you or help you with your children or help you get to the next level, remove them. It's okay. Because what I do know on this journey, I went through that and I felt alone. But when I say God will send people to you on that journey, you'll be like, "Oh my God, where did these people come from?" Which can be scary because it's like, what do they need? What do they want from me? But just know you asked for something. And once again, that tongue is so powerful. So when you ask for it, it will deliver. It might not come the way you want it to, but it's going to come right on time when He's ready for you to have it. So believe in yourself. Wipe your pretty face. Stop crying because God is going to work it out for you. Just keep on believing. Keep on pushing. And you got this. Look back six to twelve months. Those problems you had six to twelve months ago no longer even exist. You'll laugh at this. Keep pushing, queen. Stay resilient. Stay motivated. Stay dedicated. And know that everything will change one day at a time.

Paul Alex: That was fire. That's motivation right there. That's what I'm talking about. Thank you. And where can they find you?

Benjetta Steele: You can find me on Instagram, which is my main platform, at I Am Benjetta the Boss. You also can find me on YouTube at I Am Boss Lady. And then Facebook at Benjetta Steele. And last but not least, if you want to do a 15-minute strategy call so we can analyze your goals, you can contact me at 919-670-512 and hit my link tree at linktree slash Benjetta Steele.

Paul Alex: We're also going to drop her link down in the comments, guys, so you guys can go ahead and schedule an informational call. With that being said, guys, this was a powerful, powerful interview. I really respect absolutely everything that you said. I mean, you remind me so much of my mother's journey. Everything that you're going through, even a lot of the core values that you have with my wife, which is amazing. I wish you was here in Miami.

Benjetta Steele: That's alright, because I'm going to be back.

Paul Alex: I know you guys probably connect on socials right now after this. I think I already follow her. I'll connect you guys after this. I appreciate that. Alright guys, so that's another episode here at The Level Up Podcast with Paul Alex. Look, we are ranked number one in business, we're ranked top 25 in all categories. We're trying to get up there, guys. So share this with somebody that you love, that you actually want to help out. If you know anybody that's going through it right now, that is not going to be their end result. We're here to level them up. We're here to help the world. And we'll catch you on the next one.

[Outro: Thanks for listening to The Level Up Podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to share with a family, friend, and everyone you know who's ready to level up. Leave a five-star review on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and wherever you tune in. It really helps spreading the word. And don't forget to check out officialpaulalex.com for more episodes and resources to kickstart your journey. Let's level up together.]

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