Our latest edition of Home Town Heroes comes courtesy of the turbulent city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At the age of 31 Brandon Rule is a business prodigy. He is a commercial real estate developer with an extremely impressive resume. He has developed $50 million in affordable housing projects in Milwaukee through his company Rule Enterprises and has an additional $180 million in projects currently in his development pipeline. A few weeks ago Brandon went viral on social media after news broke that the city of Madison, WI recommended that he be awarded a contract to develop a 30,000-square-foot grocery store, 150-unit apartment building and 345-space parking garage on a city-owned lot. There aren’t too many black commercial real estate developers, and they’re definitely aren’t a lot his age. One of the reasons why there are so few black developers is that there isn’t a lot of exposure given to successful individuals in the industry. Most people think about real estate from an investor’s perspective very few aspire to be big-time commercial developers. In episode 54 of @earnyourleisure Brandon broke down the ins and outs of commercial real estate development, he explained how affordable housing credits work, he talked about financing and he gave an in-depth look into his journey into becoming an icon in the industry. Guest IG: @b_rule Book Tip: Think and Grow Rich a Black Choice --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/earnyourleisure/support Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

One of the most requested industries that we haven't covered yet is the male haircare business. Barbershops are a staple in every community especially in black communities worldwide. Before we did an episode on barbershops and hair entrepreneurs we wanted to make sure we had the right person to talk to. Wade Menendez aka Wade the Barber is a world-renown master barber and stylist, he became a rockstar in the male hair care industry by mastering a technic called cranial prosthesis aka ”the man unit” or “the man weave”. The man unit is a hairpiece for balding men that can last for up to several months. The units have skyrocketed his business, he earned over $500,000 last year and has surpassed that in 2019. He has multiple streams of income from his barber business which include teaching classes to other barbers on how to install the units, he also sells products and has several brand partnerships. He has scaled one of the most common small businesses in any community into a multi-level million dollar operation. In episode 52 Wade broke down his business model, explained how he created multiple streams of income from his root business and gave insight on how barbers and other small business owners can become profitable by growing laterally. Guest IG: @wadethebarber Book Tip: The Success Factor: 12 Keys To Help You Win In Life --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/earnyourleisure/support Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy