We were lucky to catch up with Shelby Patrice recently and have shared our conversation below.
Shelby, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?
I would change the curriculum and add Financial literacy through core courses. Growing up and going through life I realized how financial literacy wasn’t taught in the school system because if it was debt and bankruptcy numbers wouldn’t be so high. I then created a curriculum that taught generational wealth through history, science, english, and math. I kept getting turned away to bring financial literacy to the school, so i created my own school and got accredited. Now I teach students grade 6th-12th through core course and give them resources within their classes on wills, testaments, student loan debt, college career readiness, investing and real estate.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Shelby Patrice Jenkins and I am the CEO/Founder of Budget University. I am a native from Miami florida and My grandmother that passed away was the reason behind me becoming an entrepreneur. When My grandmother passed she had a preneed plan and everything paid for to bury her. I went to a cemetery to make arrangements and the coordinator told me ” I Have never seen a black family so organized, usually we are waiting for a Go Fund Me or Church donation. I then said to myself this has to change. Later on early the next year I was furloughed from American Airlines and I was always knows as the flight attendant that read finance books on the jumpseat. While we were receiving severance checks, employees were reaching out to me to assist them with their budgets. I then created a facebook group titled Budget University that expanded to a financial literacy school. I realized that I am explaining to my friends the importance of an emergency savings fund, retirement plan and basic banking.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
My most successful strategy for growing my clientele for Budget University are getting into pitch competitions. Pitch competitions always start off as networking events that then lead to opportunities. Being able to speak about my brand on a stage and in front of people excites me. I get to share my passion and my calling with others that want to make an impact in the world. When that happens I am able to meet with other business owners and talk about future partnerships and building my audience
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I remember applying to so many pitch competitions and getting denied. I remember emailing corporations for meetings and partnerships and getting denied. I kept going and kept networking. Now I am up 40k in funding from pitch competitions and working with organizations.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.budgetuniversityonline.com
- Instagram: @budgetuniversity
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/budgetuniversityofficial/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelbypatricebuceo/