Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta. It’s time for Charitable Georgia. Brought to you by B’s Charitable Pursuits and resources. We put the fun in fund raising. For more information, go to B’s Charitable Pursuits dot com. That’s B’s Charitable Pursuits dot com. Now here’s your host, Brian Pruitt.

Brian Pruett: [00:00:45] Good fabulous Friday. It’s another fabulous Friday morning and we’ve got three more fabulous guests. If this is your first time listening to Charitable Georgia. This is all about positive things happening in the community and we are going to get started with this. Caroline Momper from Berkshire Hathaway. Welcome, Caroline.

Caroline Momper : [00:01:03] Good morning and welcome, everyone.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:06] So you and I got to talk a little while about 2 or 3 months ago. You shared a little bit of your background. And if you don’t mind, we’ll talk about your real estate here in just a little bit, but share a little bit of background and we’ll talk about why you’re passionate about helping others.

Caroline Momper : [00:01:20] Well, as always, Brian and I connected by growing up in Ohio. I was born and raised in Cleveland. My husband and I met in Cincinnati in college back in 87 and relocated to South Florida. So as a child growing up, my passion was always just enjoying life and having family around as well as friends, creating relationships with people. And we just really connected on that family side of life and moved to South Florida back in 87. We I was in the real estate as well as retail side of my life, and my family all had gone on vacation as kids. We used to travel there in the summer, never went to Disney World, but always loved the South Florida area. So I enjoyed being in retail there for about 20 years and just connecting with people in the community and just always having a great relationship with people in networking, moving forward into my real estate side of life. My. My passion started in new home sales, but I have a two adult children to back up to my life in growing through the years. They both were graduated from college by now and all out in the real world working. I have now relocated to Cartersville, where I’ve met Bryan and all of these other wonderful people through connecting at the Chamber of Commerce.

Caroline Momper : [00:03:04] Joining the Cartersville Business Club, which is how we all became great group of networking, collaborating friends. And it’s just been a great opportunity for me. The changes through life of having lost my mom to a stroke back in 21. A lot of my passion came from serving and helping her throughout her really struggle with my father passed away in 17 and mom was being independent, wanted to stay at home, and then had the stroke and ended up in assisted living. So a lot of my life was kind of put on hold throughout that time period, just taking care of her. And then she ended up having a second stroke and we lost her in 21. So that whole year has been really made me realize that there’s a lot of things that you want to keep close to your heart, and she was one of them. She always kept us together as a family, always had the holidays together. So now I’m trying to incorporate that. And I do have a future thoughts of trying to do more community service work within the assisted living and Alzheimer’s communities, because those were the two things that had affected her as well. So.

Brian Pruett: [00:04:24] Well, when you sat down, I also told you that I didn’t hold it against you just from Cleveland because you’re either Cincinnati or Cleveland. So I think you redeemed yourself when you went to Cincinnati, right? No. It’s awesome. You talked about your your caregiving and stuff like that, because I know a lot of families where there where there’s one child or none of the child, children will take care of the parents as they get older and the things that happen. So you mentioned the networking piece of it. We talk about that a lot here on the show as well. That networking is is huge, especially when you’re a small business owner to get out there. And really it’s about establishing relationships. It’s not about selling even though people get that wrong. Um, but so give us a positive story since you’ve been networking that you can share, that’s maybe happened with your business since you’ve been networking.

Caroline Momper : [00:05:11] I actually wanted to share. Three of us, as well as myself, are working with Georgia Highlands College, the campus in Cartersville. We’re doing a financial literacy program that started just this month with the students there because, as we all know, when you go away to college, all it is is have fun and joy and figure out what you want to do in life. Well, these are some of the things that we’re trying to educate the students and understanding that we all don’t know what we want to be when we grow up, but having the experience of a credit union person from GE, we have Maggie Yost, who’s the mortgage broker, and we have Shannon Botfield, who’s the financial side of it. So we’re trying to group all four of us together to educate these students in coming into the real world, because as we know, we start out somewhere and we may not end up there. So that’s been one group we’re meeting now again in November, and then we’re going to skip the holidays and do one in March and end with a great, hopefully, experience to trade, you know, to educate and help those kids throughout their ending careers in college and where they want to become in the future.

Brian Pruett: [00:06:23] That’s awesome because they don’t teach that enough hardly at all these days. So that’s awesome. You guys are doing that. So other than the fact of taking care of your mom and being passionate on helping people with real estate, but why is it important for you to be part of the community?

Caroline Momper : [00:06:38] Well, I think that all over all again, networking, meeting people that are of like minds, as we all are at the table here, we all want to be looking out to help each other and understanding that there’s always someone that needs something that you may not see from behind the scenes, and that’s what’s most important.

Brian Pruett: [00:06:58] So in your industry, it’s kind of up and down right now, a little weird, a lot of stuff weird going on. So how is it affecting you guys that one of the biggest mortgage groups just announced two days ago that they’re closing their, their, their doors or at least their retail side? How is that affecting real estate right now?

Caroline Momper : [00:07:17] Well, as I call it, it’s the real estate roller coaster at the moment. And you just never know how things are going to be next day, next hour, next week, next month. And unfortunately, a lot of the buyers that were in the market last year with the increase of rates and things are not able to buy. This year, which is. They waited, but in hopes that they could. So my real passion was always working with first time homebuyers and educating them into the market. So it’s been a good. The thing for again education to understand how they can afford. But now, with the roller coaster that we’re on, it has become tough. And it’s it’s just always a lot of my what they call sphere of influence are my clients from Florida in the past because I was a realtor there as well for 20 years doing new home sales and general real estate. So I try to work, work, you know, the as well as finding things for them here in the area, but they’re all in the same boat. Basically. Everybody’s kind of just wondering when and how and what’s going to happen in the next, say, six weeks to six months.

Brian Pruett: [00:08:29] So can you, other than the fact of waiting and see what’s going on, can you give somebody who might be listening? That’s maybe thinking about buying a home, especially a first time home buyer? Give us some advice on what they should be kind of looking for and planning for when they’re doing this.

Caroline Momper : [00:08:44] Well, I think the most important thing is, again, establishing what is most important to you is always the payment. But unfortunately, with the rates up and down as they are, there’s always the chance to refinance in the future, which doesn’t always give them the right payment in the beginning. But they can search to find maybe not everything that checks their boxes, as we always say that they there’s a lot of new communities that are offering programs to those first time homebuyers. My first closing in Cartersville was actually through the USDA, and it’s a loan program that’s the first time homebuyers can qualify for with zero money down. And people always think that you have to put 20%, but you do not. And there’s a lot of hope grant programs in the Bartow County that is offered to them as well, which that’s kind of one of the things that I’m working on educating those buyers that there is a possibility, don’t think doom and gloom and there are opportunities out there.

Brian Pruett: [00:09:47] Also, would you agree with we got there are so many real estate agents out there, a lot of people jumping into the industry or maybe jumping out now. But what’s important to look for in an agent?

Caroline Momper : [00:09:58] Well, we at Berkshire Hathaway have a forever agent program that’s led by a great speaker, Alan Dalton, and he tries to educate us on being that forever agent and not just looking, as Brian mentioned, for that end result of the sale, but as your sphere of influence. We we look at past clients, but we also want to them to know, like and trust us the best. And there’s always competition out there. And Berkshire Hathaway has 29 offices and over 1500 agents. But finding that fit and finding the the right comfort level is what I try to do with my buyers and sellers.

Brian Pruett: [00:10:36] So is your your office is here in Woodstock, correct? Yes. We’re all can you service though?

Caroline Momper : [00:10:41] I service all of Bartow County. My first opportunity was actually out in Kingston. So we I’ve had buyers throughout Acworth and Cartersville, the Kingston area, canton, Woodstock and further south into Powder Springs as well.

Brian Pruett: [00:11:00] Okay. Also, if there might be somebody listening who’s thinking about getting into the industry other than saying, don’t do it, what would you give them? What advice would you give them?

Caroline Momper : [00:11:11] I would say, don’t worry, things are a little bit on the roller coaster side, but there’s always the opportunity that if you work hard, save hard, as we’re trying to learn that the credit background, things like that, work on that if it need be, but there’s always going to be a place it just may not be tomorrow, but it could be in the future. So things unless they’re. Leasing. You look at the comparisons to rent versus buy that you should just really think positive and hope that it will happen. It may not be tomorrow, but it will happen for you.

Brian Pruett: [00:11:52] So again, there is a lot of people in your industry or agents out there, and we talked about networking and an important piece of it. Why is it important for especially agents to be out there networking, even though there are so many out there?

Caroline Momper : [00:12:05] Well, I think that my personal coming from the industry in South Florida, learning the Georgia market has helped me becoming part of the networking and the chamber, because there’s just so many things that they do out in the community. We do a lot with the business club outside as well, and it’s the with Berkshire Hathaway, we also do five K runs. We do a few other opportunities which help meet and greet more people in the industry. We don’t. We like to collaborate, as we always say, and and help each other. And there is a number of agents that I do work side, you know, just bouncing ideas off of and trying to work together to to let everyone know we’re not competing. We’re just all in this together.

Brian Pruett: [00:12:58] And that’s important to the collaboration over competition. Because, you know, even though everybody in the industry that might be agents, I’m sure there are some agents that can do some things that others can’t do. And you may come across an agent who might just be strictly commercial. So obviously they can’t help you if you’re looking for a home. So I love the aspect of collaborating over competition, so it’s just pretty incredible. Well, you mentioned about the five K’s. You guys got anything coming up you want to share?

Caroline Momper : [00:13:23] We do one in April. I just finished one last week at the Burnt Hickory Baptist Church in Powder Springs, and there was about 50 of us that ran. We’re doing the five hour five K for the Woodstock offices in April, and that’s the they’re planning it for the Etowah River run there. So it’s a great opportunity. We do have another few things that we try to do here in Woodstock. There’s a cornhole competition and we raise the funds for kids with cancer. So everybody comes out and enjoys their night. And we usually we’ve had it at the Reformation Hardware Brewery here in Woodstock.

Brian Pruett: [00:14:02] Is that coming up any time soon?

Caroline Momper : [00:14:04] We actually just missed that one. It was a last month, the next probably couple of weeks. There’s not anything scheduled at the moment but the one back in April.

Brian Pruett: [00:14:14] All right. Well, if somebody’s listening and wants to get a hold of you for your services, how can they do that?

Caroline Momper : [00:14:18] My website is w-w-w. Dot Caroline Mopper at best Georgia.com. And of course my. As far as Facebook, we have a website for Berkshire Hathaway as well. One thing I did want to mention for all of those who are out trick or treating or doing a blood drive at our office in Woodstock, and it’s from 10 to 4. So anyone who wants to come out and donate blood, we’d love to have you.

Brian Pruett: [00:14:50] So you got Dracula. There is what you’re saying. Yeah. Nice. Nice.

Caroline Momper : [00:14:54] We’re on the perfect day, right? There you go.

Brian Pruett: [00:14:57] And that’s actually a good day to do that. I never thought about doing it. That’s pretty cool. You do it every year. Awesome. Well, Caroline, thanks for sharing a little bit of your story and a little bit of advice on some real estate. Don’t go anywhere. We’re not done with you yet. So but thank you for sharing. We’re going to move over to Ms. Becky Hart, Mary Kay, consultant. Becky, thanks for being here this morning.

Becky Hart: [00:15:13] Good morning. Thank you for having me.

Brian Pruett: [00:15:15] So it’s just in your name heart. You have a big heart. Yes. So you shared with me. You got a good story too. But your husband’s got an incredible story. So you like sharing his story? And we’ll talk a little bit about yours too. But we’ll get into Mary Kay and what you do with that. But share, share Kenny’s story because it’s pretty incredible.

Becky Hart: [00:15:35] He started out having a stroke. He’s been a diabetic most of his life, had a stroke and lost his kidney. And he didn’t know during his life that he actually only had one working kidney till they did the full body scan. So now he’s not down one, but he’s down two. My husband’s very positive. When he went into dialysis his first day, I started crying. He’s like, why are you crying? I said, because I didn’t want to see you go through this. And he said, you know what? God’s put me here. I don’t know why I’m here. He does. So I’m just going to pray for everybody that comes through that door. My husband received his kidney five years ago in February, actually turned out to be a friend, and nine days after he got his kidney. I think this is the story you want me to tell. We were in the Mason transplant house. You have to stay there a certain amount of time by the doctors, and my husband just got enraged. Well, it could be the 500mg. Of steroids I give them to keep them from rejecting. Makes them really sweet, right? And he said, I’m going home. And I said, oh, you’re not going home. The doctor said, we’ve got to be here. And he said, why? And I said, you know what? It’s been Team Kenny all this time. It’s going to be Team Becky. Now we’re staying till the doctor says you can go home.

Becky Hart: [00:17:02] He pouted a little, but he got over it. At 1 a.m. that morning he woke up asking for his nitro, and he’s carried nitro for six years but never used it. I said, well, baby, why do you think you need it? He said, I don’t know. My heart’s beating really fast and I can’t breathe. Good. Gave it to him. Call the hospital. They sent the ambulance. They were there within three minutes and started to hook him up to the to my mind just went crazy. Hook him up to monitor his heart and all of a sudden he falls over. Now I don’t watch medical shows because I’ve got too much empathy for those people. I start crying when they die and when they fall over. And I said, what’s wrong? And he said, he’s coated. I said, well, what does that mean? He said, his heart stopped. Get the ambulance back in here. He’d sent a bunch of people away. He said, we’re good. We’ll transport him anyway. Three times. They shot Kenny that night and finally got him back. But God is so good guys that his new kidney stepped in when his heart stopped and he woke up just like he went to sleep. And the girl that gave him the kidney said, I’m your husband’s perfect donor. We just kind of thought she was being nice. She was his perfect donor. She saved his life not once, but twice.

Becky Hart: [00:18:30] She gave him a new kidney and then his heart that night. He has an amazing story. He’s been through a lot, but the last year has been great, has been wonderful.

Brian Pruett: [00:18:41] You said he doesn’t like sharing it, so that’s why you like to share it. But I like to share something about Kenny, too. Because Kenny came a couple of times with you to the Emerson Connects group. And we were there one time. And as you mentioned earlier, before we got on the air, it’s a smaller networking group and it’s a little more intimate. And we had one of the folks there that particular morning that Kenny was there asking for prayer, and we started going around talking after she got done talking and Kenny stopped, said, wait a minute, guys. When somebody asks for prayer, you pray, right? Then I just thought that was really cool because it’s not something I ever thought about, right? You tell somebody you’re going to pray for them and then you get busy. And sometimes a lot of times it may not happen. You have good intentions too, but I just thought that was really cool that he did that. So but your story too, of perseverance, especially the last several months, you’ve had some things going on, losing several folks in your life that’s been very important to you. So it’s just great to see you out and about because again, it could be one of those things where, you know, what the heck with it. I’m not going anywhere, you know? So can you share a little bit about being somebody of perseverance?

Becky Hart: [00:19:47] I guess that goes back to number one. Like you said, I’m a child of God. I’m a wife, I’m a mother, even a great grandmother. And I’m the oldest of 12 children. So I learned early in life that I’m a caregiver, I’m a caregiver, I love people, and my husband says my gift is the gift of empathy, that that’s why I don’t watch medical shows, because I feel that in my heart I feel your pain. So in doing that, that prepared me for my role as a caregiver with my husband, my three children, my grandkids, great grandkids, but also in the community as being a Mary Kay consultant. It’s not about selling. You said earlier, it’s about building relationships. It’s about sitting down and getting to the heart, sitting over a table and finding out, just looking in that woman’s eyes. How are you today? What can I do for you? It’s not about the sale. It’s about building her up. I found that God must have put in my DNA to go to homeless shelters, battered women’s shelters, boys and girls clubs. Anywhere where somebody would need my heart, my love.

Brian Pruett: [00:21:04] Well, it’s really cool, because the last several weeks you’ve got up and talked about, again, not about the sell and who you’re looking for, but what you’re looking for are people to pamper. And you mentioned, you know, lately you’re talking about looking for people with cancer and, you know, the battered women’s shelter and stuff like that. So you just briefly touched on it. But why is it important for you to be part of the community?

Becky Hart: [00:21:24] Um, I’ve had a lot of loss in my life. Children, grandchildren. The loved ones, sisters, parents and I want to leave the world a better place than I found it. I want to reach people. I think, like I said, in my DNA, God said, you need to go and serve before Kenny’s transplant. We help build churches. We fed the carpenters that built the churches. So I know it’s my job. Is serving in what capacity? Mary Kay is just an avenue for me to do that. To be with women. Um. I had a rough childhood growing up. So in doing that, I guess. Why? That’s why I’m especially drawn to women. We aren’t. We aren’t taught to take care of ourselves. We’re taught to take care of our loved ones. And we’re the last ones. I tell ladies, there’s a reason you put the mask on on the airplane first. If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of others. You can’t pour from an empty cup.

Brian Pruett: [00:22:35] And that’s important too, because it took me actually just a few years ago to realize, you know, I used to think, man, that’s selfish. Why would you put the mask on the player on you first versus somebody next to you that needs help? But you’re right. If you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anybody else. I also think that it’s cool the way God works, because he works in a lot of mysterious ways, and he obviously knew of giving you the last name Hart, when you got married, because that’s what you needed, and that’s what you got to give to people. So that’s that’s pretty awesome. So you guys do a lot with Mary Kay as far as giving back to the community. You guys did something a few couple of months ago, I guess with the, the, the enlisted and and you’re doing something now for the people with cancer. Can you share about both those? Right.

Becky Hart: [00:23:19] Both of those people think that it’s a selling opportunity. It’s not. It’s a it’s a giving opportunity. My group, my friends and family, we sent 50, 150 packs to the military women that are stationed overseas. And it’s a chance to let them know, hey, we care about you there in the middle of the desert. There in a mountainous region. They can’t get things for their skin. They can’t get things for sunburn. So we send them packs. And what I’m doing this month is I’m doing the chemo package, and that’s with the hydrating lotion, and it’s unscented, and that’s with the extra mile night cream. There’s no profit made by the consultants when we do this, but we allow our customers to sponsor two people.

Brian Pruett: [00:24:07] And how can they do that?

Becky Hart: [00:24:09] Contact me on my website or my phone number, or even through Facebook. My Facebook name is Becky Hart MK.

Speaker5: [00:24:18] When.

Brian Pruett: [00:24:19] You say sponsor to people, what does that look like when they say, hey, I want to sponsor folks. Can you give them a little more detail on what that looks like when they’re sponsoring them? Right.

Becky Hart: [00:24:27] What that is, is they’re sponsoring two people. They’re not like I said, I’m not making any profit on it. I’m just the go between. Sorry. I’m losing my ears.

Brian Pruett: [00:24:36] Well, you got two here, so go. Yeah.

Becky Hart: [00:24:41] I will deliver a package with their name to someone they love. Someone you know that’s going through cancer or to the local cancer clinic and will be cutely decorated. And the little card telling them how much we love them with two products inside.

Brian Pruett: [00:24:56] What does that cost? So somebody.

Becky Hart: [00:24:58] It’s $25.

Brian Pruett: [00:25:00] All right. So I had you’re the second Mary Kay consultant I’ve had on our show. We had Kimberly George on here talking about her experience in the Navy and and all that as well. So first of all, I got to ask, do you have the pink Cadillac?

Becky Hart: [00:25:11] No, but Kenny’s got a new kidney now.

Brian Pruett: [00:25:13] Well, there you go.

Brian Pruett: [00:25:14] There you go. Is it pink?

Becky Hart: [00:25:16] No, but it’s a Georgia bulldog.

Brian Pruett: [00:25:18] Yeah. There you go.

Becky Hart: [00:25:18] And he’s an Alabama fan, so they might not be tussling in there.

Brian Pruett: [00:25:22] There you go. So because there’s also quite a few Mary Kay consultants around. But you shared we’re sharing some yesterday at the group of how you guys have a code of ethics. Yes. Which I think is really cool. Can you share about that? Because, you know, again, there’s a lot of Mary Kay consultant out there and you don’t ever at least I don’t see people in the same group. But now I know why. Yeah.

Becky Hart: [00:25:45] If I enter a group for the first time, like when I came to Cartersville, I first found out there was no Mary Kay consultant there. Mary Kay just set up a strong code of ethics for us. Morals. I think it’s morals. If there’s a consultant there, we just kind of bow out. We don’t want to cause any conflict for her or her customers. If I meet you and I’m going to try to talk to you about products, first I want to say, hey, do you have a Mary Kay consultant? You do. That’s great. I’m glad you’re being taken care of and I walk away. If you don’t, I want to tell you about our amazing products. I’ve been using Mary Kay for 35 years. I’ve sold it for about ten. I’m my best customer.

Brian Pruett: [00:26:29] There you go.

Becky Hart: [00:26:30] I’ll be 70 in February. And I tell everybody that God and Mary Kay have been very good to me. I’ve been blessed.

Brian Pruett: [00:26:39] Awesome. Well, you didn’t start out. You said you’ve only been ten years, Mary Kay. But one of our mutual friends, Lisa Lewis, you were one of her bosses, is that right? Yes.

Becky Hart: [00:26:50] Lisa and I go back probably 40 years, and I worked for McDonald’s. I was an assistant manager and Lisa was my 16 year old cashier. Amazing girl.

Brian Pruett: [00:27:02] Yeah. She’s awesome.

Becky Hart: [00:27:03] And it’s nice to have relationships. Living in Cartersville have relationships that last that long.

Brian Pruett: [00:27:09] So I’m kind of curious. Obviously, you’ve talked about how you’re a people person, you’re a caregiver, you’ve got the heart. How is it going from the fast food world into something like Mary Kay?

Becky Hart: [00:27:23] No different. If you’re a good person, a good manager, people, people will love you. You treat them the same way. You treat them with respect. If they say no, that’s fine, you know. Glad it’s nice meeting you. Have a wonderful day. I do network events on the weekend with my daughter to to meet people, to get out in the community. And I think you just you just got to be a good person.

Brian Pruett: [00:27:49] We’re going to put that on recording and send that all over the world, because people need to hear that, especially these days. So when you hear your voice, that’s why.

Becky Hart: [00:27:57] Well, I heard something last night. I watched a movie and it was about Mel Trotter Ministries. If you’ve never watched that movie, watch it. And the young man asked another young man, what’s the difference between privilege and entitlement? Do you know the answer?

Brian Pruett: [00:28:14] No.

Becky Hart: [00:28:14] It’s gratitude.

Becky Hart: [00:28:18] And that really resonated with me. It’s like gratitude. There’s not enough gratitude in the world.

Brian Pruett: [00:28:22] No, that’s a lost art. Yes, it definitely is. All right, so you just started networking not too long ago, right? Yes. You got a positive story you want to share about networking?

Becky Hart: [00:28:36] I know you’re not going to believe this, but I’m basically a shy person. And had Lisa Lewis told me I was going to have to stand up and introduce myself, I probably wouldn’t have came. But when I got there, that’s when she told me. And every day I would be like, I can do this, I can do this. And now it doesn’t bother me. Coming on the radio station six months ago. Nah, I think I’ll pass. I’m just I’m just going to pass standing up and telling people what I want. The hardest thing is telling somebody what you want.

Speaker5: [00:29:09]

Becky Hart: [00:29:09] You know. I’m just thinking you ought to know.

Brian Pruett: [00:29:12] Well, especially if somebody you know who was there for the wrong reason. They don’t have a problem asking for what they want because it’s the wrong reason to ask. Yeah, I think all of this, that and we’ve done a pretty good job, I think, of running those people away from Carville Business Club intentionally unintentionally. But it’s it’s you know, I just love the fact that we’ve got a room full of people who are out there to help others. It’s just really cool. So. All right, let me ask you this. You were just talking about your things that you’re doing for the cancer folks. Um, what do you have anything other things coming up you want to share?

Becky Hart: [00:29:50] Um, doing the Christmas open house for my for my customers. And in that, we always give back. I do a drawing for them, a gift basket, and then I’ll do a drawing for a basket to donate to the battered women’s shelter or to the homeless shelter, whichever has a need.

Brian Pruett: [00:30:08] So speaking of donations, you’ve donated a couple of times to our trivia that I do for some prizes. And let me just tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but when I go up and give to the person that they’ve won something from Mary Kay, they’re like, what? That’s awesome. Really? So I mean, but I think it’s a misnomer because Bob talks about this all the time. When he first met Kimberly, he thought, I’m never going to use you, right? Because there’s not stuff for men, but there is stuff for men, right? Yes.

Becky Hart: [00:30:33] We have a complete skin line for men. We have colognes. I laugh and say we have everything but toothpaste and shampoo, and actually the men can use the women’s products as well.

Brian Pruett: [00:30:44] Wow.

Becky Hart: [00:30:44] But we do have a men’s line and some great smelling colognes. I’ll bring you a sample next week.

Brian Pruett: [00:30:49] All right.

Brian Pruett: [00:30:50] Sounds good. All right, one more time. Share how people can get Ahold of you in case they want to get Ahold of for your services.

Becky Hart: [00:30:55] Becky Hart MK on Facebook WW dot Mary kay.com/r Hart 82.

Speaker5: [00:31:05] Phone number.

Becky Hart: [00:31:06] (678) 535-8946. Awesome. Thank you.

Brian Pruett: [00:31:11] Thank you Becky for coming on and sharing. And thanks for for being vulnerable to share not only your husband’s story, but talk a little bit about your past as well. So speaking of being vulnerable and talking about their past and things, we’re going to Michelle Cleveland, Project 24 Seven. Michelle, thanks for being here this morning.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:31:29] Well, thank you for having me on. I really appreciate it very much.

Brian Pruett: [00:31:32] So you are on a mission. I mean, that’s one way to put it is you’re definitely on a mission to to get awareness out there, specifically on suicide. And you have a real reason. Not that there shouldn’t be people out there doing this, but you have a particular real reason why you’re doing this. Do you mind sharing your story?

Michelle Cleveland: [00:31:49] Not at all. Because it’s my why. And I think people need to know why people do these things. Crazy things. I guess we’ll talk about later. But in 2016, my youngest son took his own life. And then less than 30 days later, my oldest son also took his own life. So in less than a month, I lost two children to suicide.

Brian Pruett: [00:32:15] Yeah, it’s. Becky’s been touched by suicide. You shared you had a grandson share. I have two brothers that committed suicide. So I can only imagine, though, being a parent and having that happen. So. Obviously you’re persevering as well. You’re on a mission now to get the awareness out there. So I’ve always told people, because I used to be a sportswriter, I never wanted to ask those stupid questions. I mean, how did that feel? But talk about being a parent and then moving forward. How do you do this on a day to day basis and working, trying to get this when you’re that close to the situation.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:32:50] The calls has to be bigger than you. And project 24 over seven is a suicide prevention tool. So I think about all those families that won’t be going through what my family has gone through. Every time I talk to somebody so many times I’ve spoken with somebody. Oh, I’m so glad you told me this. I needed to hear it. Or. There was one time when I was talking to a girl at a cash register and she said, you see that car out there? That’s my mom. She’s coming to pick me up at the end of my shift. I attempted the other day and I just can’t tell her. Can you please go tell her?

Brian Pruett: [00:33:36] Wow.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:33:37] So the cause has to be bigger than you. And everybody knows suicide is a problem. Awareness is out there. From 2019 to 2021, the rate of suicide went up by almost 10%.

Brian Pruett: [00:33:53] Covid didn’t help.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:33:53] With that going up. Yeah, Covid did not help because we need peopling is what I call it. Yes, right. People need to have that contact with other people and isolating people was so detrimental to their mental health. It was awful. We are creatures of community, and when we’re cut off from that community and just the masks, think about the masks. How many times a day do we look at someone and smile? Uh huh. And with the masks, you can’t see the smile. You can see it in the eyes. But that’s not the same thing. It’s not the same at all. And so wearing masks was literally killing people.

Brian Pruett: [00:34:37] Well, and you talk about the mask. I mean, you think about two people I particularly think about is Robin Williams and Twitch from The Ellen Show. Two people that you never thought would have done what they did. And so you never know by looking at somebody, you know, what’s going through them or what. You know, what they’re dealing with. So it’s very important, like Becky said, to have gratitude, but also just treat somebody with respect. Yes. Because you know, again, you don’t know somebody’s story. And it’s hard. I mean, we’re all humans, but if somebody does something wrong to you and the natural thing is, well, I want to get them back. But it’s not that you don’t need to do that. So when you and I first met, we went at the Woodstock Business Club. But you had your own business. Yes, I did, and you decided to quit that and go. You’re you’re traveling nationwide for this. So first of all, speak about being a business owner and then really being on a mission about going nationwide.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:35:30] Well, it was in the spring of 2022 that I had the idea that became project 24 seven, a networking colleague that I knew just only from networking. Not a personal friend, but a networking colleague, just called me one afternoon to check on me, and we had really connected because of my background, and he just wanted to see how I was doing. And it occurred to me, you know, when I needed help. When I was at my lowest, I made it as far as scrolling through my contacts. But then as I looked at each contact, I made excuses not to call. Oh, it’s too late at night. You know, I really don’t know that guy that well. And these are people that if you do end your life, they’re going to be at your funeral saying, damn it, why didn’t they call me? Those are the people that are going to be pissed off at you. So why don’t you call? Well, you make excuses. And so project 24 over seven is about removing those excuses, removing any friction to make it easier for people to call. And once I had that idea, I mentioned it to a therapist and a psychiatrist and a few more professionals in the field, and they all said, oh my God, that’s amazing. People need to know about it. People need to hear about it. And so I put together a program about it.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:37:01] And then I thought, you know, this is bigger. And so I mentioned it to another business colleague and he said, you know what? This needs to be an app. It needs to be an auto dialer, not just something you set up on your phone to remind you, but an auto dialer that’s going to dial through your friends that you indicate are 24/7 contacts. And so it’s going to dial through those people one at a time. Not like the Apple function for help that you push the two side buttons and it sends out a blast to everybody. You don’t want to do that when you’re feeling low. What you want is one person to answer the phone, so it dials through one at a time, and it keeps going until a live person hits a prompt. Yes, I’m available right now to talk. Because people aren’t always available. I’m in the shower and I just grabbed the phone real quick. I saw it was you. Oh no, I can’t talk for a whole hour. I got to dry off. So, you know, they either don’t answer or they hit the prompt. No, I’m not available right now. And if none of your contacts are available, it goes to the suicide hotline you preselected in the app. So you’re guaran damn teed. Oops. Bad word.

Brian Pruett: [00:38:13] No. You’re fine.

Speaker5: [00:38:14] Not guaranteed.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:38:16] You’re guaranteed to talk to somebody. So now I have this app I have to build. And he said, you know, you need a nonprofit to do this. Well. A non profit is another business. And so I shuttered my business and decided, this is what I’m going to do. And I sold my house. I’m a motorcyclist and I hit the road, and I’ve done over 40,000 miles in 30 states, and I have these little stickers that I give out at the same time that I rolled. The month before nine eight, eight for mental health had just rolled out to the state of Georgia. It took years to get nine, eight, eight in all 50 states, but it’s finally some of the last states or last year. And so I put that on the outside ring of the sticker. 988 National Suicide Hotline. And on the inside is project 24 over 7.org to let people know to go see about it and how to set it up manually for now. And we’re setting up the nonprofit.

Brian Pruett: [00:39:27] So you talked you just talked about that, that you’re in the process of setting up the nonprofit. How can individuals and businesses get involved and help you?

Michelle Cleveland: [00:39:36] Oh, that’s a great question because it’s expensive to set up a 501. And, you know, people don’t realize before you can be a 501 with the IRS. There’s a lot of background stuff. And just application for the easy form for the 501 is $275 I’ve spent, don’t want to say the dollar amount. A lot of money out of my own pocket to get this set up. So we really need some funds. And right now we’re doing a fundraiser. It’s t shirts, only $15 a t shirt, and it promotes project 24 over seven. And it’s really cute. It’s aqua blue and it says save a life because that’s what you’re doing. By setting up and having those conversations with your friends to set it up in your phone. Somebody is going to talk to one of their friends and they’re going to say, I’m so glad you said that. I really need to talk. Because like you mentioned Robin Williams, you don’t know what’s behind that smile. You don’t know who’s really struggling because they don’t want to make people feel uncomfortable. They don’t want people to know that they’re struggling. We’re all supposed to be just doing great and they don’t want to burden people. Right. And so when you put it out there, I want to be there for you anytime, any day. Can you please put me in your phone? That conversation is going to strike up other conversations and it will save lives, is what I’m told.

Brian Pruett: [00:41:13] Well, share how people can get involved with that t shirt fundraiser.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:41:16] Absolutely. If it’s not on the website today, it should be on there tomorrow. But go to the website and set this up on your phone. It’s project the word, the number 24 and the word spelled out seven. Dot org so project 24 7.org. Word, number. Word and the shop to buy the t shirt should be up there shortly if it’s not already.

Brian Pruett: [00:41:42] Awesome. So if you guys are listening, make sure you go take care of that and get get some of those and help Michelle out. There’s hopefully some things we’ll do as well to help you soon. So I’m curious, what’s a typical day when you’re out riding on your motorcycle? Cross country. Are you speaking at events? Are you just handing out stickers? All of the above. What’s the day look like for you?

Michelle Cleveland: [00:42:04] All of the above. I’m always looking for opportunities to speak. If anybody has any connections with the local schools, with the school board, I’d love to work with the county school boards, with the local school boards to plug into their suicide prevention programs, because it’s about prevention. And for the schools, it would be the counselors, perhaps school resource officer. It would be a list of contacts that the kids would be putting into their phones. And then first responders, rotary lions, any organizations who need a speaker, I would love to speak for them. And yeah, just handing out those stickers. Like I said, I’m having those conversations at a gas station. I see some first responders filling up their vehicle. I walk up to them because they’re one of the highest risk categories. So I walk up to them and I give them several stickers and I say, hey, share this with your buddies because you guys need to set this up in your phone. You don’t go buy a fire extinguisher when you know you’re not going to need it, right? When when the kitchen’s on fire. I said that backwards. You don’t buy a fire extinguisher when the kitchen’s on fire, you buy it when you hope you’re never going to need it. So that’s when you set it up in your phone, is when you hope you’re never going to need it.

Brian Pruett: [00:43:24] What’s it look like? How far out are we? Do you think the app is from being ready to launch?

Michelle Cleveland: [00:43:31] It’s going to be at least a year because it’s $80,000 was the the average estimate I got. But we have to have at least 20 to get a deposit down to get them to start development. So it’s at least a year away.

Brian Pruett: [00:43:47] So I’m just this is just a curiosity question for businesses, because maybe somebody listening who wants to go in and donate things without a 500 and 1C3. You know, I don’t know. Is there still a way to get. I know people should do this because of their heart, but they always want to know about the tax breaks and stuff like that. Are there still ways to go in and donate and get those?

Michelle Cleveland: [00:44:06] There is no tax deduction yet. We’re still waiting on the 501, but like I say, it costs a lot to get to that point. So we’re waiting to hear back from the IRS. It was retroactive. But you know the tax year is near the end. So we’re still.

Brian Pruett: [00:44:26] Waiting. All of you listening. Don’t worry about that. Go ahead and donate. Get this thing going because it’s a definite need out there. So um, share again how people can get a hold of you, you know, in case they want to take advantage of you coming to speak or wanting to help you.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:44:39] Absolutely. On project 24 over 7.org, there is a contact form, so you can use that to reach the team. You can also reach me at Michelle Cleveland at Project 24 over 7.org or info is much easier info at project 24 over 7.org or you can find us on the web.

Brian Pruett: [00:45:03] So I like for you to answer this. The couple people that I like to because this is about sharing too on businesses and things as that as well. So being a former small business owner yourself and now being a non profit, working on being a founder of a profit, as you mentioned, it’s still a business. But I’d like for you to give advice. First of all, somebody listening who might be thinking about starting a business, what they should do, and then somebody who might be thinking about trying to start a non profit. Some advice on that.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:45:31] If you want to start a business, have a solid business plan, find a good mentor. If it’s a new business that you’ve never had any experience in, for example, someone wanting to start a restaurant. If you’ve never worked in a restaurant, go get a job in a restaurant. Go and do some work in that field so that you understand the ins and outs behind the scenes before you dive in. Having a mentor is so important, so, so critical and pick their brains because they know what you don’t know and you don’t know what you don’t know. So that’s really important. Have a mentor. Also, if possible, use s m somebody else’s money. Have your business plan put together and go look for financing and see if you can get some startup money going because you don’t want to just use your own nest egg. That’s a hard row to hoe, and there’s limited resources when you do things like that. If you want to start at a small pace and you can do it bit by bit, having a day job and just starting your business on the side, you can always do that, but always have a plan for when you’re going to be big enough to say goodbye to that day job. And like I say, try to get somebody else’s money so that you can quit that day job and actually make a go of that business.

Brian Pruett: [00:47:04] And the last thing you want to do is have an idea and be passionate about something and not go do it, and then you’re miserable because if you’re working at a job and you’re miserable and you don’t know why. Find your why. All right. So if somebody listening wants to start a non profit, you’re in the middle of that. Give some advice.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:47:19] Very much the same because it’s another business. But non profits have a lot of little tweaks to them. So your mentor needs to be in that non profit space. Ask a lot of questions. Find other nonprofits, ask what kind of management software they use for managing all of their contacts and their donations. Ask people at networking events, hey, I need this kind of help and you’re in that line of business. Would you be willing to donate your services or would you be willing to donate? For example, I need brochures printed, go to printers and say, hey, I need this, so ask for donations in kind. So many people are so willing to help you out when you’ve got a nonprofit and you have a good cause. So look at donations in kind. Not just, oh, I need this much money for that, because money buys a lot, but not everything. And when you’re setting up a nonprofit, you want to hoard those resources as much as you can because you want to have as much available for the cause as possible. So you’ve got to be really stingy, right? Real frugal.

Brian Pruett: [00:48:35] Well, also collaborate with others because collaborating with, like you’re doing with the Outer Circle Foundation. Yes. You know, collaborating with other people that are doing somewhat of the same thing, you know, maybe not doing the exact same thing, but you’re both on a mission to help get the awareness of suicide out different groups, but all the same thing. So the other thing you mentioned a little bit ago about the networking, and you shared the story of the person checking on you. What other positive story can you share about networking?

Michelle Cleveland: [00:49:05] Well, just yesterday I was at a networking event and I was talking to different people and as they were talking about what businesses they had, I thought, oh, wait a minute, I need that service. Oh, wait a minute, I need that service. And so I talked to these people after the meeting, and sure enough, I got somebody on board who’s going to help us. And so that’s huge. But also on a personal level, I’ve had people come up to me and say, I attempted, thank you so much for what you’re doing, or this is who I lost. Thank you for doing what you’re doing and hearing that. That support really keeps me going, hearing that I’m making a difference.

Brian Pruett: [00:49:51] So I can share this because she was on my show and shared. But have you sat down and talked to Hilary McDermott? If you haven’t, you need to because she shared her story about attempting yesterday. Attempting, and she talked about how God kept her and because she did attempt it, and there’s no reason why she should be walking around other than God wanted her still here. So yeah, I.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:50:11] Saw Hillary again yesterday. We’ve spoken.

Brian Pruett: [00:50:14] She’s an amazing person. So yes, she is. Um, all right. So other than the fact, obviously, of getting the awareness out of suicide and what happened to your to your boys, can you give me a different answer about what’s important, about why you’re part of the community? I mean, that’s the big reason. But there are other reason, things that you can share.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:50:34] When I was a little girl, we escaped. The communists in Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia were Czechoslovakia back then. And when we came to America, so many people donated clothes and furniture. And I saw the power of a community. I saw how they can help. I was on the receiving end of all of that love and caring. And when we lost our boys, I wasn’t very religious. I’m not very religious, but I can tell you all the prayers. Of people around when I would start to feel low. It was like somebody putting a warm blanket over my shoulders. I could feel the prayers lifting us up and holding us. So I know from the receiving end how important it is. So that’s what gets me. That’s what motivates me to be part of a community.

Brian Pruett: [00:51:36] Awesome. That’s another reason I love this show. I mean, there’s things like that is incredible. So. All right. So you mentioned a few things, but give us some things that are immediate needs for you that you’re trying to get done right now, that maybe somebody listening might be able to help you with. Obviously the financial is obviously a big one, but what other. You mentioned printing and things of that. Are there other things that people can get involved and help you with and what are those?

Michelle Cleveland: [00:52:00] Absolutely. Um, well, we’ve got some marketing needs. Anybody who wants to help us with promotion, advertising, things like that, that would be awesome. And brain block. We can accept checks, cash donations. Yes. They’re not deductible right now. But the big thing is getting the word out for us and speaking engagements, speaking opportunities that would really help us a lot. Getting the word out.

Brian Pruett: [00:52:36] Well, are you are you fixing to go on the road again?

Michelle Cleveland: [00:52:40] I’m parked here in Georgia for a while. Okay, but if you have someone anywhere in the country, especially school districts, if you know a school district who’s looking for something to boost their suicide prevention programs. I do travel all over the country. I’m staying in the warmer states right now for obvious reasons. I live on a motorcycle, but suicide prevention programs are planning six months to a year out. So if you have any contacts anywhere in the country, I’m willing to travel there.

Brian Pruett: [00:53:12] Okay. All right. One last time, share about how can people get a hold of you and, you know, in case they need speakers and things like that, go ahead and share it one more time. How they can do that?

Michelle Cleveland: [00:53:21] Absolutely. Thank you. Project 24 over 7.org. It’s the word project. The number 24. The word 7.org. There’s a contact form there or info at project 24 over 7.org is the easiest way to reach us.

Speaker5: [00:53:38] Awesome!

Brian Pruett: [00:53:38] Michelle, thanks for coming on and sharing just a little bit of your story, because I know it wasn’t the whole thing, but on your why? Because it’s just an incredible thing that you’re doing and and it’s a definite need that we have to get out to the community. So thanks for sharing that. All right. Well, as we wrap this up, I always like to do this. When we end, I would like for the three of you to share one positive word quote nugget for somebody listening today, the rest of 2023 and beyond with. So Caroline, we’re going to start with you. What you got.

Caroline Momper : [00:54:06] Well, as Michelle always says, the why in the world we need to have one. And mine has become much stronger. Being a part of the Cartersville community and meeting all the wonderful people that I have through networking. And it’s it’s just been an amazing experience that you have to do it. Because back to isolation and Covid and masks and all of that, you say to yourself, I couldn’t do it. My kids both work remote at home and I’m always like, go out, do something else, find it. But it just is so important to be among. And amongst is one of the things that one of our trainers always says, that you really have to stay focused, stay positive and be in the community helping others, seeing why it makes it so important in your heart to do that.

Brian Pruett: [00:54:56] Becky.

Becky Hart: [00:54:58] I think above all else, be kind. That person you’re meeting on the street or in the store when you’re checking out, you don’t know what’s going on in their life. So the smile and the kind words you give them may be the only one they get today. So what took a moment may last all day or a lifetime for them.

Brian Pruett: [00:55:16] Michelle.

Michelle Cleveland: [00:55:18] Going back to advice for business people. Money buys choices and so many people are chasing the money. Chasing the money, chasing the money because that buys them choices for their future. But. Not all choices can be bought. Focus on those choices that can’t be bought, because so many times you’re saying no to something that’s so much more important than money.

Brian Pruett: [00:55:42] Good stuff. The other thing I like to do at the end of this too, is again, we thank you as a lost art. So, Caroline, thank you for what you’re doing for especially the first time homebuyers. Becky, thank you for what you’re doing for the community in itself. And, Michelle, thank you for what you’re doing, not just for this local community, but everybody out there nationwide and worldwide. You getting the message out there on suicide prevention. Everybody out there listening. Let’s remember, let’s be positive. Let’s be charitable.