When it comes to changing lives, there’s one man who comes to mind: Solomon Lacy III, a credit building guru who can take your credit from zero to hero. Many of you may or may not know him, but over 1,000 families do–families that were in need of financial miracle, the families no one ever offered to help. You see, when I was able to speak to Lacy, one thing really stuck out, “I’d rather help the people who have been knocked down a couple of times because they’re more likely to have a greater uprising versus someone who has never fallen before.” He’s always been one to look after the minority community, and I found this trait truly inspiring, so I decided to write about it.
“One thing I took from Home Depot was how much the company invested in customer service. Even before becoming a Recruiter for them, I was a clinical and mental health therapist. That position helped me to be able to better deal with different personalities and backgrounds, which helped me to meet and nurture clients where they were. Because I’m not a natural salesperson, I’ve always been better at serving than selling. People want to first like you, trust you, and then do business with you. These are a few of the things that helped me serve over 1,000 families.” said Lacy. He has always put his clients first and has gone where others wouldn’t. He knows that anyone could live out their dreams with just that right direction, which is why he helped lead them to fulfill their desires. He did so by showing them where their credit took a turn for the worst, how to fix it, and most importantly, how to never fall into that hole again.
The most difficult task seems to be getting people to understand that credit isn’t bad if it is used correctly. When using the proper techniques, you can use your credit to your advantage and yield amazing results. Lacy said another thing to me that I found incredibly important, “In our community, we have developed so many myths we believe credit is bad until we need it. We get a surplus of money (taxes, bonuses, etc) and go pay off all of our collection debt not knowing it won’t help to increase our credit score. People don’t know, anything can be removed from your report legally, especially if it wasn’t properly reported. Whether you owe or not.” I could not believe that last part. Being able to remove a collection without having to pay it sounds like a hoax; but believe me, it’s not. This is just one of the many ways that Lacy is able to help people.
There are five major factors that make up your FICO credit score that Lacy makes sure his clients understand. Payment history accounts for 35% of your score. Making payments on time should be your main focus and top priority. The second factor is utilization and accounts for 30% of your score. How often and at what percentage you keep your credit usage is highly important — you should always keep your credit usage under 30% and 10% if you can. Length of credit history is the third factor and makes up 15% of your score. This is key — the longer your credit history, the better. Lastly, are New Credit and Credit Mixture, each making up 10% of your score, for a total of 100%. These two are also very important. These guidelines are essential in keeping your credit score up and should be used by everyone.
Another amazing tip Lacy teaches his clients is to stay away from credit companies that require you to subscribe. Their goal is not to save you money, but to keep you as a paying customer. They do this by taking off one to two Items at a time to build trust, instead of finishing the job. Fresh Start Financials Group utilizes all the leverage they have from FCRA to properly and quickly attack your file with their own proprietary process. This is why it’s important when trying to build your credit that you go to someone that truly cares for their clients instead of one that tries to make a bill off of you.
Lacy ensures his all FSFG clients get set up for financial education and success. After his team improves your credit, it’s only uphill from there. The FSFG team then provides and informs you of the possibilities and opportunities your new score allows.
