A financial expert who believes the educational system in the USA and around the world is letting down children and young adults in the form of financial literacy and wealth building has launched a wealth building program for children between the ages 6-16.
Ivan Inspires who was born and raised in the Bronx NY and who currently residing in Cleveland Ohio, believes that fewer young adults would fall in the debt trap if they were taught financial awareness at school. Over 55 million households are in debt in the USA and over 42 million people are in poverty. This could be reduced if children are taught at school how to be more aware about finances and how to be more successful with money. Ivan Inspires aims to make children more aware with his new program.
We decided to sit down with Ivan Inspires to learn more, this is what he had to say
How did you get the name Ivan Inspires?
I came up with it myself. It was more of a personal branding concept. Since I was going to be working closely with children, I knew I had to have something catching.
Growing up I always heard of characters whose first name and last name all started with the same letter, for example: Mickey Mouse, Porky Pig, and Donald Duck. That gave me the idea to pick a last name like “Inspires”.
I laugh when I think about it though, because I’m usually pretty blunt and tend to push the envelope when it comes to my social media posts, so I’m sure there’s moments when I’m more suited to be “Ivan Irritates” rather than “Ivan Inspires”.
I see you live in Cleveland Ohio, but from what I hear you’re originally from the Bronx New York, what brought you to Ohio?
It’s was mainly the cost of living. At the time, I wanted to get back into Real Estate and you can get a lot more for your money out here.
I did a little research and I see you have a book name Head Start 2 Riches a children’s learning program named Head Start 2 Riches, and your company’s name Head Start 2 Riches LLC, can you tell me the motivation for this?
Yes, you’re right. We’ll, I never intended to have anything other than the first book that I wrote, but as turns out a lot more has come about since then.
Put it like this, the first book was more like a seed that was planted and everything that came after are its fruits. Does that make sense? Yes it does.
Why did you write the book Head Start 2 Riches to begin with?
I had learned a ton of information about life insurance and realized that there wasn’t a book on the market that covered the subject from the perspective that I had on it. Plus, the few people that tried were really boring so I decided to take a shot at it. The book also touches on the importance of financial education which led me to my next project. I created a wealth building program for children that involves the use of a board game.
Interesting, tell me more about your learning program for kids?
Sure, well just like everything else it didn’t start out as a full 16 week program. It began as a simple board game that I created for my daughter London.
When she was little it was extremely hard for me to convince her that financial education was fun and worth spending her time on. Every time I tried to teach her a lesson she would quickly get bored and tune me out.
What was worse, was the fact that every time I tested her on the information I taught her she would draw a blank. Normally a few weeks, she would forget 80% percent of the lesson. The whole thing seemed like a big waste of time.
Finally, one day while I was brainstorming I came up with a great idea. I thought about my own childhood and remembered feeling the same as my daughter. I was always “bored and frustrated” every time I was forced to do something that I didn’t want to do. Then I thought to myself, “What did I like to do?”
That’s when it hit me “I have to create a game!” A game that teaches her everything I want her to learn.
At the time, Cashflow by Robert Kyosaki was the best game available on the market that taught financial literacy, but it didn’t touch on the information that I want to cover.
My focus was to give a child a wealth building consciousness who is a “Macro-Thinker” not a “Micro-Thinker.
And Monopoly on the other hand, is dated and leaves too many things to chance.
Anyway, I created the game, my daughter loved it, it worked like a charm and I continued adding more and more elements into it until I felt it was worthy of a curriculum.
How often do you play?
We used to play several times per day, but now we normally play on the weekends.
Does the program really teach kids how to become rich?
Well, I guess we won’t know until my kids get older. What I can say is, the program instills a solid foundation for kids and whether they realize it or not, they are way ahead of the curve.
How is it different than other financial literacy programs that are available?
Like I mentioned before, my program teaches children to be Macro-Thinkers. In other words, I help them look at the big picture rather then all of the tiny pixels.
I’ve found that most financial literacy program focus too much on the nuts and bolts of running a business and investing. More wealth is created by “working on your business, not working in your business”.
I teach kids that must learn how to recruit the right people who are going to create the wealth for them. As well as the importance of raising capital, the use of pitch decks, life insurance, grant money and so on. Last but not least, I want it to be engrained into every kids mind that they should not allow themselves to get emotionally attached to assets. That’s why a huge part of the game requires them to build up and portfolio and sell it to an investor. In most cases, they can’t win the game unless they do so.
What are kids supposed to do after they complete the 16 week program?
That’s a good question. I recommend they move onto our next program “My Mission to 6 flips.” It was made to transform regular children into real entrepreneurs that make real money.
Tell me more about the new program.
It simple. Kids start a tiny business with the little money that they have. It’s normally around $50. We teach them about buying products and how to get started and then they began selling. Once they finish their 1st batch of products that’s considered their first flip. Then they just have to reinvest the money and repeat the process 5 more times.
It sounds simple, but it get very challenging over time and that’s where our program works best. The mentoring that’s included in the program will help them avoid the many sets backs.
My daughter London is also in the program and I’m having a blast just watching her go through all of the emotions. We’re definitely creating some unforgettable memories.
Doesn’t this interfere with their school work?
Not at all. Both programs were created to work around their schedule. Not to mention, children are not in dire need to make money like most adults are, therefore they are free to learn at their own pace.
Let’s use my daughter as an example. After she completed her 2nd flip, she stopped working her business for almost a year, before getting back into it. Now she’s back at it and selling like she never stopped. The goal is for them to learn all of the skills needed and to make a decent amount of money before reaching adulthood. By the time they really need the skills they would already have them, hence the name “Head start 2 riches”.
What do you say to all the parents that think you are not allowing a kid to be a kid?
I would say, they’re wrong. As I mentioned before, our 1st program is in the form of a game and we all know that every kid loves to play a game. And of 2nd program has an amazing reward system attached to it that make kids go crazy, so no… I can’t agree with those parents.
Plus, if parent are okay with sending their children to school to learn subjects like history, math and science, why not learn about money?
After all, having the ability to make and manage money is pretty important, am I right? I agree.
What do you think about the education system for children today?
I think it’s excellent for parents who want their children to become employees who think inside of a box.
What’s the best advice to give a parent who wants to get their kids educated about financial literacy?
Well, obviously I would suggest that they enroll their children into my wealth building program, but until then they should find out what their children already know about money and investing and start from there. Next they should contact their school to see what’s being taught regarding those subjects. Lastly, they should enroll their children into a financial literacy program that’s separate from the school system.
I would not rely on a system that was designed to breed “efficient workers” to teach my children how to build wealth. If parents really want them to learn this stuff, their are going to have to make a real effort. The type of education that I’m talking about doesn’t fall onto your lap. You have to go out there and get it piece by piece.
What are your plans for the future?
I intend to write a few more books, do a little public speaking and travel a lot more.
How can someone get in contact with you?
They can find me at IvanInspires.com and Headstart2riches.com
And if they really want to learn more about me, they are welcome to sign up for my free monthly newsletter. I like to share family wealth building tips. Plus, from time to time I give out free copies of my book, so that’s always something to look out for.
Wow, thank you so much for you time Ivan. This was fun.
My pleasure, thanks for having me.
For more information, please visit https://www.headstart2riches.com/headstart2riches and https://ivaninspires.com/
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Company Name: Ivan Inspires
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Website: https://ivaninspires.com/
