Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Johnson.
Hi Eric, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
During my time as a Marine Corps Officer, I realized that a countless number of my Marines had terrible financial habits. Their irresponsible financial decisions were rooted in a lack of trustworthy guidance, education, accountability, and maturity. This prompted me to really think about what I could do to expand my knowledge of personal finances in order to help my Marines as well as other young professionals that desired to obtain financial freedom. After obtaining my Dave Ramsey Financial Coaching Certification, I created In The Smoker Lifestyle, LLC.
I started working with clients virtually during 1-on-1 sessions in which we created a budget for them and talked about how to set goals for themselves while also addressing negative habits and developing positive habits. Working with clients for an extended period of time exposed a theme to me. Many people that were having trouble with their personal finances also lacked the proper mindset to obtain financial freedom. Constantly being exposed to unsupportive environments and limiting beliefs caused them to believe that their current circumstances had to be their forever circumstances. Their friends consistently asked them to do things that went against their budgeting goals. Or their family members made them feel bad because they wanted more out of life. Or they didn’t want to ask for help because they wanted to maintain a certain image. All of these realizations led to me publishing my first book “The In The Smoker Mindset” which addresses the mindset that prevents people from obtaining financial freedom and the mindset that they can adopt in order to become financially free.
Realizing that a majority of my clients had demanding day jobs, I wanted to provide them with the ability to still learn from me without having to take time off from work, so I created The In The Smoker Budgeting Course. This allowed me to help people that wanted the information but wanted to work on their own time.
I also created a podcast called “The Finance Bruh” which is hosted on all platforms. I really enjoyed this show because it gives me the opportunity to have real conversations with real people about money. I have conversations with people on the show that I want people to have with each other within their own households.
Along with financial coaching, I have also started my public speaking journey after becoming a John Maxwell Leadership Certified Team Member. I have spoken to many crowds from teen parents to high school and middle-aged teens, to college students and young professionals about personal finance, credit, leadership and developing a growth mindset.
I look forward to influencing more people to take care of their personal finances sooner so that they can free themselves and enjoy the lives that they desire longer.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
This journey has been anything but a smooth road. When I first started In The Smoker, I was greeted by ridicule and jokes from people that expressed why no one wanted to hear what I was talking about, and people tried to discourage me from continuing to work towards fulfilling my vision. Thankfully I was able to push past the negativity of the people attempting to sow doubt in my plans and continue developing my vision.
While developing In the Smoker, I also ran into many issues that served as roadblocks to my progress. This was discouraging, but I used these setbacks as learning opportunities and continued to refine my products and processes over time. One of the earliest disappointments that I experienced starting out was working with clients that were not fully committed to the financial coaching program. My desire for them to be successful was much higher than their own desire to be successful. Instead of allowing this realization to stop me, I worked tirelessly to define my ideal client. Those initial clients didn’t help me in the instance, but they did help push me toward my ideal client which is a young professional that wants more out of life but often feels stuck due to debt and bad financial habits along with a lack of knowledge and accountability to help them reach their goals.
I also wanted to make In The Smoker an active part of the community by providing seminars and speaking to different groups from local businesses to Non-Profit organizations. Many people would not respond to emails, and many wouldn’t even entertain a phone call. However, I was able to find a Non-Profit called PEERS Family Development Center in Jacksonville, NC and a school called Zoe Leadership Academy in Fayetteville, NC both of which gave me a chance to prove my company’s worth. Now both of these organizations have participants and students that are benefiting from the knowledge and encouragement that they receive from In The Smoker.
I don’t think it’s realistic to think that you will not have setbacks along the way when you are building a business. But I do believe that how you decide to handle those setbacks will determine your future success.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I specialize in creating serial goal achievers. Once you’re financially free, you’re free to do whatever you like.
Many young professionals want more out of life, but they often feel stuck due to debt and a lack of knowledge of how to overcome it. It was this realization that led to the creation of In The Smoker. My clients understand that learning how to budget and manage their money properly is only part of the solution. Without developing the proper mindset along with the proper habits to support their newly learned skills, the knowledge itself is pretty much useless. My book “The In The Smoker Mindset” addresses the mindset that prevents people from being financially free and provides a mindset to adopt in order to achieve financial freedom. Professionals looking for growth also tend to feel alone because they don’t have anyone else within their inner circle that is willing to join them on their journey of growth. However, I provide the accountability that they are looking for in order to ensure that they achieve their goals on time.
We don’t allow excuses to hold you back. I work with my clients through one-on-one coaching sessions, and I also provide a course for professionals that need a more self-paced learning experience. The course is great because it requires the student to do the work on their own. By doing the work on their own, even if they are stuck with an issue, they are more prepared to ask the correct question in order to solve the issue and keep progressing forward. The course also enabled me to give a more affordable option to people that didn’t have the money to pay for 1-on-1 coaching sessions. I have also had people take my course before working with me 1-on-1 and they were able to use their coaching sessions much more effectively. So far members of the In The Smoker Financial Coaching program have paid off more than $1,000,000 worth of debt with 11 people also becoming completely debt free so far.
As a graduate from the United States Naval Academy and a United States Marine Corps Veteran, I also have a vast amount of leadership experience. Now as a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member I utilize my knowledge of leadership, mental growth, emotional intelligence, and team building to help others create effective teams for themselves.
My podcast, “The Finance Bruh” was created to show people the tough conversations that they should be having with family and friends that revolve around personal finance. I have real conversations with real people about money because it affects everything from your mental health to your ability to provide for your family. The best way to avoid failure or to ensure success is to learn from the people that did it before you.
How do you define success?
This is a really good question. I would say that my definition of success is tied to value. It’s one thing to make a lot of money just because you can convince people to buy what you’re selling. However, it is a much different feeling when you have someone tell you how impactful something you did was for them and their lives. That impact has the ability to extend much greater distances than my words or money can on their own. That’s a success.
Pricing:
- The In The Smoker Mindset (Kindle) – $9.97
- The In The Smoker Mindset (Paperback) – $19.97
- Budgeting Course: The In The Smoker Budgeting Course – $129.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.inthesmoker.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inthesmoker/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1181977685686115/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/INTHESMOKER
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8feFNFypCFNiEHZbz0jrofsrSj2oR8yW
- Other: https://in-the-smoker-financial-coaching.teachable.com/
