Today we’d like to introduce you to Marschelle Weeks.
Hi Marschelle, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am the oldest of four girls. We grew up in Virginia. My Parents purchased their dream home in September 1990. In January 1991, Super Bowl night, my Dad died in a car accident. He had insurance on his job but did not have a policy he owned. The story goes that my parents went to get a policy they owned, separate from their jobs, but my Dad either had to leave to get back to work or missed the appointment to sign his part of the policy.
My Mother, at that point, was finishing up her master’s degree at Virginia State University. She commuted 1.5 hours to Petersburg, Virginia to attend class after teaching high school all day. She really made a way for the four of us. I went on to college at Old Dominion University. Because there was no life insurance, our home did not get paid off. My Mom took care of all 4 of us on a teacher’s salary. We took out school loans that allowed us to pay for school.
I made a lot of adult-type decisions in college. It was hard to focus completely on school because I would think about my Mother and sisters at home. I think I felt guilty because I was pursuing my degree and apart from family and the challenges that came with our household going from 2 incomes to one income literally overnight. It was a ripple effect. I moved off campus, got a full-time job and took a full load of classes. I thought I was taking the burden off my Mother financially. However, it was really too much for me to take on at the time. I couldn’t have been anymore than 20 or 21 years old. I ended up getting suspended from school because working and attending school full time took a toll on me. But I didn’t allow that to stop me. I went to Northern Virginia Community College and had my credits transferred back to Old Dominion once my suspension was over. I would then go on to graduate.
Later on, I attended Keller Graduate School to obtain my MBA to redeem my undergraduate career. I needed to prove to myself that I could make good grades. And I did. I’ve worked as a government contractor since November 2004. I am married now with 2 children. Around 2013 my job became more stressful due to time constraints in having a family. This is when I started to feel an entrepreneurial itch. I tried a few things but I wasn’t passionate about it.
So fast forward to 2020. The previous four years were unstable on the job due to changes in government. I was laid off in the third round of mass layoffs September 2019. I applied and obtained an LLC to work as an independent contractor, hiring myself out to different companies because there were no full-time jobs. The pandemic hit in March 2020. This caused the volume of work to decrease and suddenly I was working less than part time.
I was introduced to the financial services businesses. Because I had plenty of time to think in 2020, the opportunity resonated with me. I began to think about my story. What I didn’t share earlier is that my Mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2008. She had insurance that kicked in once she used all her vacation and sick leave from taking and recovering from the chemotherapy. She went into remission for a year but passed away in 2010 due to the complications. Ovarian cancer is tough. When my mother passed, she had insurance policies, plural, in place. It was the exact opposite of when my father died.
My sisters and I were able to place a headstone on our Father’s grave. We were not only able to bury my mother with dignity but we didn’t have to beg family and friends for money to pay for our Mother’s funeral. We paid off debts and were able to save money. She did her due diligence. She did not leave us in a bad way but took the steps to make sure we would be okay financially. We could focus on grieving which was a blessing. Her love for us outlasted her physical presence. So having lived this life, I am on a mission to educate people on the importance of life insurance and investments. People need to know how money works.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Losing my father at the age of 14 was difficult. My three sisters were 10, 9 and 9 (twins). Getting suspended from college was embarrassing. It took me a while to get over the shame but I would go on to mentor high school girls from my church and be able to tell them my struggles, show them my undergraduate transcript then show them my graduate school transcript. God has blessed me with the ability to share my challenges and show them how I overcame them. I am stronger, wiser and grateful. Life has been tough. We don’t enjoy the struggles but I can look back and thankful I’m still standing. Things are working for my good even when it doesn’t look like it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I simply teach people how money works. I show them the importance of getting out of debt so they can save money for short term and/or long term goals as well as the importance of being properly protected with life insurance. I find that people do not have insurance outside of their job. That’s risky because people lose jobs, get furloughed or laid off. When this happens, typically all benefits are lost. I encourage people to take the steps to leave an inheritance to their family to think about the future, dream… how to protect their last name. What we do as individuals makes an impact on our community. I always ask the question, ‘what will your street look like 10, 20 years from now?’ It is also important for anyone who has people who depend on their paycheck to have life insurance. Income protection is ten times their annual income. If a spouse or parent leaves this Earth too soon, leave your loved ones with ten years of you. I saw too many GofundMe’s circling around social media. No one should have to pass a hat around when a loved one dies. Life does not have to be expensive.
I want the working class to be able to leave an inheritance, make an impact on their families and communities. I want people to retire with dignity and not work until their bodies shut down. I have relatives who invested their money and have retired with dignity, volunteering in their communities, living in paid for homes, traveling and relaxing. We can all have that with the right information. I want to share that information.
What does success mean to you?
I am learning to allow myself to dream, believing it’s possible, knowing my ask has been granted and taking the steps toward my goal in faith. I’ve had many successes throughout my life, set and accomplished goals. However, in this season success looks like time freedom. Time freedom will allow me more time with my Husband and kids to hang out and travel and do the things I enjoy (without the background noise that lack of time makes) such as community service, being a soccer mom, dance mom and karate mom … Time with the people I love most.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Financialfuturebuilders
- Facebook: financialfuturebuilders
