Troy Millings and Rashad Bilal, founders of the 'Earn Your Leisure' podcast, education network, and media platform, interview Robert Smith. Screenshot from YouTube, Dec. 13, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a82AOTXUrxg
Childhood friends Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings saw a void in financial literacy education in Black and brown communities and they’re working to change that with their “Earn Your Leisure” podcast and a growing media platform where they sell merchandise, tickets to conferences and online courses.
It’s working.
The “Earn Your Leisure” educational platform provides information on investing, real estate, budgeting, entrepreneurship and trends in the financial world. Part of their strategy, Bilal and Millings told CNN, is inviting Black entertainers, artists, business owners, investors, and millionaires to talk about their paths to success.
Bilal and Millings both grew up in Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, where they met as middle schoolers. Millings became a middle school physical education teacher in the Bronx and Bilal became a financial adviser.
In 2019, they started recording a podcast show about finance, now available on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify. Guests have included Ice Cube, Steve Harvey, and 2 Chainz.
Bilal and Millings interviewed Robert F. Smith, the richest Black American man, during an episode published Dec. 13, 2022.
“Our community hasn’t had access to capital,” Smith told Bilal and Millings on the podcast. “As you do better, you typically are enhancing your community at much higher rates than non-people of color.”
At the end of the podcast episode, Bilal thanked Smith. “This is definitely off the bucket list of people that we wanted to sit down with. When I woke up this morning, I (said) ‘I can’t believe this is actually happening today.’ Thank you for blessing us with your knowledge and all your service as well.”
Smith responded, “It’s a blessing to be here with you brothers. Keep doing what you’re doing.” As he rose from his seat, Smith joked: “Did you record it?”
A month after Bilal and Millings interviewed Smith, they attended the 2023 World Economic Forum in Davos, where Smith was in attendance.
Smith is a scheduled speaker at their upcoming Third Annual Invest Fest, scheduled for Aug. 25-27 in Atlanta. Nicknamed the “Coachella of financial literacy,” the event merges finance, music and culture. Entrepreneur, musician and music executive Diddy is set to headline the event.
The Earn Your Leisure podcast claims on its website to have amassed more than 50 million downloads and to be consistently ranked in the Top 20 U.S. Business Podcasts in the United States, peaking at #1 on the Apple Podcast charts.
“Earn Your Leisure” has 2 million-plus followers across social media and 900,000 YouTube subscribers.
Rephonic, a podcast industry data source, showed “Earn Your Leisure” as ranking No. 12 on Apple Podcast for business and investing podcasts in the U.S. as of this writing, and at No. 46 on Apple Podcasts for business podcasts in the U.S.
The Earn Your Leisure Network describes itself as a revolutionary network that gives rise to emerging and established content creators from the world of business, finance and entrepreneurship whose perspectives, expertise and in-depth insight have been undervalued and overlooked.
It sells a range of clothing on its website from beanies and T-shirts to hoodies and tracksuits bearing the words “assets over liabilities,” priced at $35 to $199.
EYL University is an educational platform that takes a community-based approach to learning including live coaching from industry experts designed to take students from living paycheck to paycheck to creating the lifestyle they want.
EYL University, powered By Recession Proof, claims to deliver cutting-edge real-life strategies so its customers can build multiple streams of income in real estate, crypto, credit, stocks, content creation, advertising, freight brokering, e-commerce, and online course creation.
“Because ultimately, we don’t believe this financial knowledge should be reserved for the rich,” the EYL website says. “We’re building multiple streams of wealth, together.”
EYL has 27 local chapters across the U.S. so customers can network, it says, with success-driven communities and stay accountable. Live and interactive coaching is offered by industry experts.
Earn Your Leisure is presenting Invest Fest on Aug. 25-27, 2023 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The third annual event combines investing, entrepreneurship, pop culture, and entertainment in a festival setting. Invest Fest 2023 will include business and investing panel discussions and a vendor marketplace showcasing more than 400 small businesses and live podcast stages with interviews from top entrepreneurs and celebrities.
In addition to Smith and Diddy, the Invest Fest lineup includes Angie Martinez, Steve Harvey, B Simone & Megan Ashley (The Know For Sure Pod), Jeezy, Pretty Vee, 19 Keys, Joy Taylor, Rich Paul, Milan Harris, Ian Dunlap, and more.
“Invest Fest is an example of unity and using our collective power to make a real impact,” Combs said. “I’m excited to be speaking in front of thousands of people looking to be informed in a way that will inspire them.”
For registration for Invest Fest 2023, click here.
Photo: Troy Millings and Rashad Bilal, founders of the ‘Earn Your Leisure’ podcast, education network, and media platform, interview Robert Smith. Screenshot from YouTube video, Dec. 13, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a82AOTXUrxg
