Today we’d like to introduce you to Kye Wilson.
Kye, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story is definitely not the traditional story, but it is not completely uncommon. As a young person, I always had a passion for all things related to money. I wasn’t focused on making money or being rich as much as I was questioning, “but how does it work?” I wanted to know all about the underlying principles of money and financial markets. I wondered why some people were affluent in some places but not in others. I questioned why certain people had so much money, yet people in other places had so little.
While the adults drank their morning coffee before school, my sister and cousins would usually make it their habit to read the newspaper comic sections discarded by the adults. I, on the other hand, chose to search for the real estate and money sections. In those early years, I could hardly understand the content, but I would study the words and pictures carefully. My interest only continued to grow. As I matured, I read several financial education and self-help books, and I watched hours of money shows such as Suzie Orman and infomercials. My first big adult win came after I left Paine College. I had amassed some debt from having college credit cards that I allowed to go into default. I purchased a self-help book that guided me to repair my credit on my own. In 2000, I finally settled into a career as an insurance agent. This career was fulfilling, but something was still missing. I was able to run my own small business, work in sales, help customers, and work in the financial industry. While doing this, I still continued to take classes such as real estate, home appraising, securities licensing, and cryptocurrencies.
After a few years, I realized that I had outgrown that opportunity and moved into a management position. That role was fun and necessary to better understand the inner workings of corporate America culture. But after a number of years in that role I realized that corporate life in that capacity was definitely not for me and once again, I returned to the agency model where I had more control over my time, thoughts and energy. As far back as I can remember, people have been coming to me for financial advice or to see if I could answer their questions. So while working throughout all of these years, I had also been giving people financial advice and strategies after applying them and testing them with my own personal portfolios. Early in my career, I also taught basic money principles to children in schools, after-school programs and churches. I never charged fees for my knowledge but simply shared it because I thought it would be useful to others. For several years people would suggest that I teach classes or become a financial advisor.
In November of 2020, I officially launched my new company Kye Financial LLC and it’s first project was Ready Set Free Podcast. The podcast was a fast and efficient way for me to share information on frequently asked topics. The dialogue on the show is shared in a fun and easy way for anyone to understand. Sometimes I invite guests to dialogue with me on a topic about their experiences and expertise. My overall goal is always to teach people how to fish and not give people fish, as the saying goes. In addition to financial education, I interweave physical, emotional and spiritual lessons as well to create lessons that are holistic. The second part of the company roll-out offered Introduction to Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency classes live on Zoom.
The classes are currently growing in popularity and upon participant requests, I am adding new class titles to the catalogue. Part three, the most recent addition to Kye Financial, is now in offering one-on-one personal finance coaching packages. This is an option for people who desire more specific and detailed assistance that cannot be addressed in a general podcast or zoom class. I offer various consulting packages that range from one-time assistance to meeting on various regular schedules. The focus of the one-on-one sessions is to assess overall portfolios and work on drafting a plan to accomplish measurable steps that work best for your goals. One unique part of my services is that I show people both conventional and unconventional ways to reach their goals, so they have several options to choose from. Part four of the business is under construction now. I will be happy to share the news of Kye Financial’s latest endeavors with you later in the year
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Honestly, the most difficult part of this journey was due to my own personal restrictions. For many years I have wondered what my life’s purpose was, as humans tend to do. What is my gift that should be shared with the world? Decades have passed as I listened and read the overwhelming amount of recommendations about how you should share your natural gifts and talents with the world. I digested all the advice that said if you’re doing the things you love and are good at, it will make work fun and enjoyable… But for some reason, I could not connect the dots. While I loved talking about and studying money, I never imagined how that could be a job, career or sustainable income. I didn’t know anyone personally that worked in the financial world in this capacity that could help me create a pathway to integrate my passions with my career.
So for the past 20 years, I worked in the insurance industry as an independent agency owner or as a sales manager. There have been parts of this career that I loved and parts that were definitely not my favorite. Once I took the jump last year and officially launched Kye Financial LLC, the road suddenly smoothed out. Things have not been as stressful as I had expected. The ideas have flooded in and I have received so much incredible support. I feel overwhelming joy and gratitude for so many people and other businesses that have assisted in my success. Many people have donated time, resources and professional services to help my growth and success. It all has been received with a kind heart. The real biggest struggle has been keeping my focus pointed in the right direction. With so many opportunities and only so many hours in a day, I have to remember that at this point, I am a small business. I can only accommodate a certain number of projects at a time until additional staffing and support partners are in place. The requests and suggestions have all been absolutely outstanding, though and I plan to get to each one of them in due time.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My business is called Kye Financial LLC, and the tagline is Success Simplified. I think my title really says it all. I work within all the various financial markets, including gold and silver, real estate, credit, investing, cryptocurrencies, insurance, and budgeting. My mission is to make the various money markets easy for anyone, including children, to understand. I would like everyone to feel comfortable managing their own portfolios, or at least have the knowledge to competently oversee the person that does. My company offers many different educational options that range from free (listening to the Ready Set Free Podcast) to low cost (enrolling in the live zoom classes starting at $49) or offering one-on-one consulting ($250 and up). I also teach or speak at group events (rates vary). While Kye Financial is a new business, I have been in this industry for a long time and have lived through many financial cycles. Sometimes I feel like there was so much lost time due to starting this journey later in life, but the reality is that my decades in this field, training experience and knowledge only helped me to be able to jump in and soar quickly as a business. What I felt most disappointed about ended up being one of my best attributes.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I have learned through this process has been that taking a chance on yourself is the best risk you can ever take. Even if you fail to hit the mark you were hoping for. There is great value and taking the chance. Not only does it remove some of your fear from trying again, it also removes some of the pitfalls that you may have lacked knowledge on the first time. Each attempt will get easier.
Pricing:
- Free Ready Set Free Podcast on all podcast streaming services and YouTube
- $49 live Zoom classes
- $250 one-on-one consultations
Contact Info:
- Email: info@readysetfree.me
- Website: https://www.readysetfree.me
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/ready.set.free
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/readysetfree/
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/ReadySetFree_Me
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT04bPC2uRH9hLL2lpysJTw
- Other: https://player.captivate.fm/show/bd28fe03-e4d3-42d9-90b8-1df06aca3e7a/latest/
Image Credits
Justice Photography
