From Divorce to Investor: Rebuilding Wealth Through Stocks and Real Estate

Monique Johnson (00:00)

I would definitely say that everyone can be an investor. That is the biggest message or inspiration that I want to leave your viewers with is that everyone has the opportunity and has the potential. Now there are gonna be works to be done. There’s things that have to be accomplished. There’s research that you have to do. it’s not an overnight thing. It’s not easy. And that’s the same with the trading when I teach people how to get involved,

Quentin Edmonds (01:58)

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the *Real Estate Pros* Podcast. I am your host, Q Edmonds, and I am indeed excited to be here today. I have another fantastic guest, and this lady is an investor. she wants to help others invest, she wants to help others be investors. she she’s an own trader in the stock market. Company name is Trade Savvy.

And I cannot wait for us to talk about what she’s already accomplished and also what she’s looking forward to accomplishing. And so I’m so excited to introduce you all to Miss Monique Johnson. Miss Monique, how you doing today, man?

Monique Johnson (02:36)

Hello. I’m doing well. Thank you. Thank you for the introduction and the invitation to be here. I’m so excited.

Quentin Edmonds (02:42)

Absolutely. I’m excited too. I’m glad you’re here. this is a collab. We get to do this together, and I’m excited and thank you for your time. You’ll hear me say that probably at the end, but I thank you for your time. I think time is our most precious commodity. I really be I appreciate you being here. I really do and taking some time out. And so, Miss Monique, I am the type. I like to dive right in. I would love for you to tell the people what’s your main focus these days.

If you don’t mind, give us a little bit of an origin story, kind of how you got into the space that you’re in, and then tell us what market you’re operating in. ma’am, you got the floor?

Monique Johnson (03:15)

Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you. I am a an investor, as you stated. I currently invest in real estate, but what led me to investing in real estate was my investment in the stock market. and what led me there was being a single mom after divorce, three children, they’re adults now, well almost adults, but

during the time of transitioning, really having to horn in on again who I was and what was gonna be next for me and for them. I spent 15 years in corporate, so I was educated, but yet anyone who’s ever been through a divorce, sometimes they know that there’s a there’s a season where you have to sometimes start over. And so that’s what it was for me. It was a start over, a rebranding, if you will.

And so I found the stock market through my corporate career. Of course, sometimes they give you stock. And so I started playing with it and saying, okay, well, let me see what goes on here. What can I do with it? And I started realizing that there’s been so many millionaires that were created from the stock market and it’s been around for years. I knew it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. yeah, that that became a a drive for me. And ultimately it gave me the fuel and finances that I then needed.

To not only supply my lifestyle, my children, and then move forward. now I not only help other people become investors in the stock market and teach them how to get started, because again that’s been around for a long time, but not a lot of people know about it, or not a lot of people know how to do it. Yeah. Sure, you may have heard about it, or sure we all know the Warren Buffett’s of the world and all the things, especially now there’s so many.

Things in the news that are always geared toward, the stock market is this and the stock market is that. I’m sure it’s been heard of, however, the way it’s utilized. And so that’s a passion that has fueled me to help other people learn. And then once they are financially secured and stable, ready for that next level, and then next level is what we do. We go out and we search and find real estate opportunities. And as a group, which we operate in.

we actually are able to do more by investing in real estate and growing our portfolio that way as well. it’s a it’s a two-lane highway for me. Not only am I helping people learn and get started in the financial world of stock market, but I also help people in the real estate world of investing in properties and being able to go to that next level.

Quentin Edmonds (05:39)

Thank you, Miss Monique. Thank you for sharing, telling us a little bit about what it is that you do, telling us about the journey. And I too have been through divorce. I yes, it’s like a rebranding of your whole life. I mean, it’s partly like you finding yourself all over again, or maybe for the first time sometimes, but I get it. And so this is

I love ask I’m gonna love asking you this question. I I make a statement most most of the time to everyone. I let them know that and I say destiny has no wasted moments, right? There is no wasted moments. we’re learning from every trial, every tribulation. We’re learning from the good times, the bad times, we’re learning from the success and the failure in life, and more importantly, for this kind of framing in business. We’re learning from the transition points. I would love to know.

Through your tr your journey finding the stock market, going from corporate, finding the stock market, what has the journey revealed to Monique about herself? Has it revealed discipline? Has it made you humble? Has it increased tenacity? Like what has the journey revealed to you about you?

Monique Johnson (07:30)

certainly say all of those things all of that the humbility of course the the tenacity because you have to be able to push through the understanding that losses are inevitable there’s gonna be some losses and not that you’re excited about that of course not but it

Each loss can turn into a lesson. And I know that sounds cliche. We’ve all heard it, but it’s true. And so that’s one thing that even from the stock market on into real estate, the bottom line is that anytime things don’t go right or the way that you thought they should go, a lot of times there’s a lesson there to learn. there’s still building blocks, there’s still things that you take and you carry and and you use that for your next turn of whatever it is that you’re you’re seeking and and striving for.

absolutely, I would say all of those things have definitely been a part of this journey.

Quentin Edmonds (08:18)

Yes, ma’am. Yes, ma’am. Thank you for the reflective answer on that. I appreciate it. I know the name is Trade Savvy. And I always I I believe there’s power behind names. I would love to know, is there a story behind the name? and if it is, how did that come about?

Monique Johnson (08:34)

Well, absolutely. Again, in that journey of of kind of rediscovery and and and learning yourself, I thought of myself and I said, I’m a savvy investor. I’m a savvy person. I’m I’m smart, I’m witty, I’m able to seek and discern and all of the things. And so that’s where savvy came from. And so at at that point I said, what, this is what we’re gonna stand on. we’re savvy.

Quentin Edmonds (08:56)

I love it. Yeah, the discernment is a big word in my life. Like I lean heavy on my discernment. I I hear you. When you when you say words like that, my antanas go up because I’m like, yeah, yeah. We talk like she talks similar language that I talk. yeah, I understand that. Absolutely. listen, so I want to talk about some operational things, right? Because we got people who’s watching, and sometimes, some practical operational things can help people, right? I would love to know for you.

What are maybe one operational thing you’ve put into place, let’s say maybe like the last two years that has really helped you the way you run your business or have made you successful in the way you run your business?

Monique Johnson (09:33)

Absolutely. I would say having a team in place, having a strong team in place is so key because we will try to do it all. We’ll turn into an octopus real quick. We’re growing eight arms and we’re grabbing all the things and doing everything. And it’s just impossible. It’s the quickest way to burn out. It’s the quickest way to turn it around and feeling like I just gotta give up because I’m tired, I’m exhausted, I’m overextended, all of that.

And so the the biggest part that has helped and propelled us as a unit is to put people in place that are better than you at that thing. whatever the thing is that you need someone to do, you can find someone that’s better than you at it, whether it’s making cold calls or whether it’s doing the research. Of course, now that we have AI, there’s so many different things that you can assign AI to do. when I say build a team, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a physical person.

Even though it’s great to be able to employ and and and help real people, but there are times when, hey, you can use AI and you can incorporate AI as one of your team members that can help you just put all the processes and things in place. And of course, we know that follow-ups and all of that that dirty work that has to get done, the dirty work that no one really likes to do, you

Quentin Edmonds (10:48)

Yeah.

Monique Johnson (10:49)

have to put someone in place that can do it and that

We’ll do it efficiently and effectively. And therefore, of course, that’s going to produce the results that you’re looking for. absolutely.

Quentin Edmonds (10:59)

Absolutely. Listen, you talked about putting a team in place. Everyone that comes on, I asked the them this question. Cause I want to hear everybody’s kind of unique philosophy and unique blueprint in building healthy relationships, right? I would love to hear your philosophy, your, your system of building healthy relationships within business. And what are some of the relationships that help you within business? Or maybe

Relationships that you help other people within business. talk to me a little bit, Miss Monique, about relationships.

Monique Johnson (11:30)

Absolutely. relationships are so important. it and sometimes when you have the vision and you see yourself as the leader, it could go to your head. It can become kind of an ego driven thing. And it’s so important that you don’t let that happen. It’s so important that you put down the egotistical hat that is so easily that we put it on sometimes. But it’s all it’s not about the single person. It’s not about me ever. in my leadership and in my team, my relationships

I make sure that everyone understands that we have a seat at the table, everyone has a voice, everyone is included, and matters. when it is a discussion that’s being had, no one’s being cut off, no one’s being shorted, every opinion goes into the pot and we decipher as a unit, as a family, so to speak, on which ideas and which places, in our case, maybe real estate lands, plots or whatever, which are gonna be the best.

it’s so important that as a leader is that you listen to your people, that you treat everybody with full level respect, honesty, dignity. and everyone’s gonna get the same cut in what we do. there’s no bigger cut than the other. There’s no one who is greater than the other. It’s just full understanding that we are equals in what we do. That’s my however, there are gonna be times when of course there’s a a visionary, right? The person who kind of put it all together.

Well, a part of being a good leader is making sure everyone understands that vision. Everyone is on the same page. And if you’re if you’re all trying to go in the same direction, one person can’t be looking in the opposite direction. as long as everybody is fully inclusive and understand the vision and all are in tune with it, then hey, there’s nothing that we can’t accomplish. There’s nothing we can’t do, we can run through a brick wall together.

And that’s the that’s the the mentality and the vibe that I like to put out amongst my team. And those relationships really work because everybody has some stake in the game. Everybody understands that, their voice is heard. And ultimately, it’s just as much their business as it is mine.

Quentin Edmonds (13:37)

Listen, thank you for that answer. I often say there’s there’s a difference between a self-confident leader and a self-aware leader, right? The self-confident leader and a self-aware leader, they both know what their strengths are. They also know what their weaknesses are, but the self-confident person.

They will just mask the weaknesses and just bulldoze over everybody, even when they know something’s off, right? But the self-aware leader, they’re confident in what they do. They also are confident in help asking people to help them where they’re not as strong in. And they make sure that they lead from a place of compliment in everybody and not in a place of the detriment of everybody. And I think that’s the lead difference between a self-confident and a self-aware leader. The self-aware leader wants to make sure that everything compliments the

mission even what they’re doing it complements the mission and I believe that’s the difference when you build a community people have common unity everybody know what the mission is everybody is born in and they are doing their part to make sure the mission is complete

Monique Johnson (14:39)

Right. A hundred percent correct.

Quentin Edmonds (15:22)

Absolutely. Miss Monique, what else? I’ve been asking you questions. I want to make sure that if you came in with a message in your mind and your heart that you was like, hey, I want to make sure the viewers know this about the business or the viewers just know this in general, like inspiration, education. I just want to open up the floor that if there’s a message that you want to land, I want to make sure we land that message.

Monique Johnson (15:44)

Absolutely. I would definitely say that everyone can be an investor. That is the biggest message or inspiration that I want to leave your viewers with is that everyone has the opportunity and has the potential. Now there are gonna be works to be done. There’s things that have to be accomplished. There’s research that you have to do. it’s not an overnight thing. It’s not easy. And that’s the same with the trading when I teach people how to get involved, because a lot of people may see

the real estate side and they say, my God, how do I do what you do? Well, the first thing is capital, right? You have to have a certain level of capital. And if you don’t just earn it, we know how our economy is and we know how the earning potentials are. And lo and behold, the minimum wage has not gone up in however many years. it’s different avenues that may have to be taken to get you there.

a part of again what we do with Trade Savvy is we have financial foundations, which is a baseline that can help people even in their lowest point. Maybe credit isn’t always good, or maybe they’ve made some big purchases or mistakes and that’s got the credit looking wonky. we can help them provide credit repair services on into learning how to be an investor with the stock market, growing your finances, of course, establishing

the things that you need for your family security because we teach all about IULs and CDs and all of the things that’s gonna help you have your structure all the way together. And then we move you to the next level, which is in fact real estate and growing that bigger bag as the young people would say.

Quentin Edmonds (17:19)

Yes, yeah, yeah.

Monique Johnson (17:20)

As the young people would say. But the goal is to just get you all the way together from from the foundation on up into what that higher self looks like. Because again, we may have big dreams and we have a vision of what our our most successful self looks like, but we may not know how to get there. one of the things with Trade Savvy is that we give you a whole roadmap and we can help you along the way on how we get there, how we all can get there, because we never stop growing, right?

As a tree, right. You don’t you only time you stop growing as a tree is when you did. as a tree, we’re gonna keep on growing. And so whatever level I’m at, there’s another level I’m seeking. Hello? Amen.

Quentin Edmonds (18:00)

Well said, Miss Monique. And I’m you just mentioned a tree. And the one thing about a tree, because because you this is what you said. You said you may not, what you see yourself how you want to be, but you never necessarily know how to get there. I’m kind of reframing your words, but you kind of said that, right? Yes. But a the one thing about a tree, a tree has to grow down first before it grows up. That’s right. it has to grow down in the root before it springs up. And so what I love about what you’re talking about is helping people.

Grow the root, grow down first. Let me show you how to do this. That way we can spring up and we’ll get you to that picture that you imagine yourself to be with everybody else. See you being successful and you see yourself being successful. Absolutely. I love it. I love it, Miss Monique. Hey, listen, if someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, collaborate with you, learn more about what you’re doing, how can they get in contact with you, man?

Monique Johnson (18:50)

Absolutely. You can reach me at tradesavvy1k on all platforms. That’s Facebook, TikTok, IG. and actually I’ve added found financial foundations, so you may see Trade Savvy Financial Foundations. you can reach out to me on any platform that way. And of course there’s my email, [email protected] And I would tell you my personal number, but I don’t know if that’s as that’s possible.

Quentin Edmonds (19:15)

Yes,

you it’s up to you. You I want you to give as much information as you feel comfortable giving.

Monique Johnson (19:20)

I don’t mind. I have a line that I can absolutely give you. (205) 563-9902 And if you again wanna call that number or reach out online or any of the platforms will be perfectly fine. I will certainly answer back. It’ll be me and then we’ll get you started. If you’re wanting to get started in any direction, we can talk about where you wanna grow.

Quentin Edmonds (19:40)

Miss Monique, let me say three things to you sincerely. One is a reiteration. Thank you for your time. again, like I said, time is our most precious commodity. You could have been doing anything else in the world, but you just here with us. thank you for your time. Secondly, thank you for the gift of your authenticity, the gift of your integrity. I would even say the gift of your vulnerability. I believe our stories plant seeds for people.

And we never know when those seeds are going to grow and take root. Back to the tree analogy, right? We never know when it’s going to take root and when it’s going to grow, but it can happen at any given time. I would sprinkle some real seeds today. And last, ma’am, definitely. Thank you for your mindset. Thank you for the way you think and bringing that mindset to this platform. I appreciate you coming on, ma’am.

Monique Johnson (20:24)

Thank you so much, Quentin. It was a pleasure. You have a good, blessed day.

Quentin Edmonds (20:27)

Appreciate that. Well, listen, y’all heard Miss Monique. Her information is in the show notes. Please get in contact with her. Let her help you out. Let Trade Savvy help you out. But definitely make sure you are subscribed here. Cause I promise you, we’re going to continue to bring up amazing people, just like Miss Monique. ma’am, I say thank you again. And everyone else, y’all have a fantastic day.