We had the good fortune of connecting with Grant Watkins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Grant, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I believe that every great business was started the same way. Someone saw a problem, noticed that no one else was solving it, or solving it the right way, and just decided to take responsibility and do it themselves. I myself have suffered the consequences of a lack of financial literacy. Student loans debt, credit card debt, car debt, delayed investing… these are just a few of the mistakes I made in my own personal financial journey that took time to fix. Time that instead should have been used on building up my net worth. Because I was never taught what to do with money and, just as important, what financial traps to avoid. As I grew up, I realized that most of my friends were in the same boat. We were all financially illiterate. So I decided to find a better solution than the existing ones. All of the Dave Ramsey, Robert Kiyosaki and BiggerPockets books and programs are great. But the problem is they’re mainly aimed at adults already in financial trouble. So why not aim younger and help the kids learn better money management skills so they can avoid these traps altogether? We decided upon going with the gaming method of teaching so the kids could see the consequences of their financial decisions in a virtual world instead of making those same mistakes in their own lives. So that is how the idea of EYF and our financial literacy video game “Money Quest” came about.

What should our readers know about your business?
I would say the thing I have learned most through this journey is that the limits to what any individual can do or learn are quickly being wiped away in this internet/AI age. Im not some genius coder or software developer, I don’t have a background in video game design or even education. But with the internet today and great chatbots like ChatGPT, you learn how to build almost anything digital or learn the skills needed to accomplish it. It’s not easy by any means but it’s x100 easier now than it was 10 years ago. Having to go from no software experience to watching kids play my first version of Money Quest just months later, it’s an incredible feeling. Ive had the privilege of getting to connect with many organizations such as Houston Community College, The City of Houston’s Office of Business Opportunity, Texas Technical Trade School, and more. The opportunities they offer are endless from software development to the trades like electrical work and plumbing. Sadly most kids in the public schools we’ve come in contact with have no idea what opportunities are right in front of them or how well paying they are. I am making EYF’s Money Quest because the lack of a personal financial education cost me years of debt I had to pay off that could have been avoided, and even worse, years worth of investing I am behind on because I didn’t know the importance of starting earlier in life.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This is funny because I actually had my best friend come visit about a year ago. We visited Post Houston and ate till we couldn’t anymore. I took him out on Main St on a Friday night and we hopped around from Deans, to High & Dry to The Underground Hall for some late night Cowboy Katsu. Sadly my favorite Houston bar shutdown during the pandemic. RIP Pastry War, you will be missed. I took him to Central Market on Westheimer, and Mi Tienda off of Little York. One morning we got up and headed down to Galveston to hang at pleasure pier, ride some rides and got a bite at The Spot. Few things hit the spot better than a good burger and big tiki drink on a hot Texas day. But that beer later that night at Kirby Ice House was a close second while we watched the Astros win again. If we had more time I would have loved to take him to an Astros game but sadly we had to plan it for his next visit. Whenever people ask me “What’s there to do in Houston?” the first thing that always comes to mind is food. We’re a food paradise for sure if you know where to look.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to shoutout the ImpactHub Houston team. Michelle, Grace and Akeel have been nothing but the best in helping me with the oganize part of my organization as well as kept me in the loop with a lot of opportunities my start qualifies for. We are currently applying for a big government grant that we only know about because of their recommendation.

Website: https://www.eyf.money/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earn.your.freedom/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earn-your-freedom/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EarnYourFreedom-jc2pp

Image Credits
No image credits. Most were taken by a member of my team.

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