Speaker 1: 0:30

Hey, so my name is Idris, my company is called Fix my History. I do credit repair and I serve honestly everyone, but really people who are looking to make a change and move forward in their life and make the next steps.

Speaker 2: 0:42

Tell me how you got into this journey.

Speaker 1: 0:45

So I almost I kind of got into it circumstantially. I had bad credit myself. I ended up having credit card debt, went to collections, on and on, so the whole story. And then I was asking friends if they knew how they could solve this problem or if anyone could help me. And people came back with nothing and I had to realize, hey, I have to learn myself. So I did some self-learning, online books so on, and then I started learning. I started applying what I was learning and as I fixed credit, fixed my own credit, my friends were like, hey, can you help me? And then I helped them. Then they had friends, relatives, and then it sort of just snowballed and I never really charged up front, but I just wanted to help. And as time went on, more people kept coming to me that I didn't know. They just would text or call me like, hey, you helped so-and-so, and I was like, oh, yeah, that guy. And then so I was like, oh, there's a market here, there's a business here, and that's how I kind of just fell into it.

Speaker 2: 1:35

And you were telling me about how like life changing it can be for these people.

Speaker 1: 1:40

Oh yeah, especially it's. You don't realize how much credit affects you if you until you need it. I had.

Speaker 1: 1:52

One particular case was a young couple. They had got married and because of tough financial situation they had to. They were just renting a room in an extended family member's house and the situation wasn't great for them and they were having a hard time with their environment and so on and they couldn't move out because they had some debt, they had a bankruptcy and they couldn't get an apartment. So they came to me. They were really in need. I worked with them and we made a plan.

Speaker 1: 2:12

I did my end, they got their money right, I helped take them collection accounts off, I worked through the bankruptcy and then they were able to move into an apartment and then almost restart their life, so to speak. And that case really cemented for me that credit wasn't just about the money but the opportunities. In America, if you have poor credit or a bad credit report, you're really in a tough situation and you're going to have to pay for things out of pocket and that's not bad, but it really does limit you for apartments, for jobs and for career. So for me it was rewarding that this young couple was able to restart their life in a better place, in a better situation, and then now they're thriving and it was really rewarding that I could do that, more than just some debt or some credit.

Speaker 2: 2:54

Yeah, and as somebody who had to kind of learn it myself as well. It doesn't make sense. You would think that when you pay off all your debt, that's actually really good.

Speaker 1: 3:02

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 3:03

But it's not. It's like there's an algorithm, so to speak and how to have good credit. So, it's not like an intuitive thing.

Speaker 1: 3:11

Yeah no-transcript. Yeah, pretty much.

Speaker 2: 3:40

Tell me a little bit about your core values. Which one do you think is the most strongly differentiates the Fix my History, which is the name of your business, from others in the credit repair industry, and how do you see that playing out in daily operations for you?

Speaker 1: 3:51

I want to. I thought about this a lot and the one I want to come back to is reliability, and that doesn't seem like the strong word but in terms of credit and where its impact is, the backbone for this country ends up being you need it. So you want to be reliable, and for the company and for me, like when people come to me, they're in need or they're in a tough situation, they want to take what little money they have to fix this problem and go like I need you to help make this better. And on the flip side of that is can you be reliable? Can I come to you and trust you and make this work? So I thought about different words, but it really is reliability, because you're putting your money on the line, but also the opportunities that you're missing out on, and it's like I really need your help. Can you please help me and I go, yes, and then I want you to go. Okay, I'm relying on you and I trust you and it's going to work out.

Speaker 2: 4:42

Yeah, actually moves me into my next question of like how do you build and maintain a culture of trust and empathy within your company, especially since you're working with people who are often in very stressful financial situations? So I know you touched on that. But, like, what do you actually do so that they feel that trust?

Speaker 1: 4:58

First thing I always do when I talk to people is first thing I say is okay, tell me about your situation, tell me where you are right now and what got you in this place. And I try to hear their story and I try to hear the decisions that led up to getting here. So sometimes it's just they fell behind on payments and they got into situations and so on. That's fine, that's most people. But then there's also some other people that are in a tough. They were doing all the things right. Bad life circumstance happened. We just went through COVID a couple of years ago. Things were fine. They hit a bad situation. Things go out of control.

Speaker 1: 5:27

So I want to tell people too that I was in your situation. I ended up having too much debt, I had to go to collections, I had to deal with the collectors. So I know the harassing that they can do. I know the mental load that they can put on you and I know what it feels like to have debt hanging over you, the emotional toll of debt and thinking about, oh, I got to pay this off, I got this person calling me for money, and all these things.

Speaker 1: 5:52

I can empathize with you and I can tell people like hey, I was in your situation, I know what you're going through, let's come to a better place and make a plan. And I also ask them what they're trying to do with better credit and that helps me. See, it's like, okay, they're in this current situation but they're trying to go somewhere better. And I said I want to be the person that helps you get there. I'll help you in all the financial situation I can. I want to be the person that helps you get there. I'll help you in all the financial situation I can. If there's something else, maybe I'll try. If it works great, but really it's about can I help them get to that next level?

Speaker 2: 6:27

Yeah, and I think there's a lot of shame and embarrassment around having bad credit. So I think it's pretty cool that you are really being very transparent in your own journey so that people don't feel like, there's this, I'm better than you or you know what's wrong with you that you didn't pay these bills, or that you had to.

Speaker 1: 6:41

Yeah, and I think with the social media environment, there's a lot of people who are like faking it online and you can. If you're just scrolling and you see somebody traveling constantly or like they're upgrading their cars, upgrading their lifestyle, you're like, oh my gosh, I'm missing out. But in reality there and I've had some of those people come to me they're like dude, I'm in debt up to my eyeballs. I'm like did you really need that expensive car? They're like no, but you know, for Instagram.

Speaker 2: 7:02

You're like all right, but Well, hang on, wait a second. But your social media? You have a lot of that stuff on there.

Speaker 1: 7:07

Yeah, I do so the thing, whatever reason. Then I take the photos. So it's like I'm not going somewhere just to take photos, but like if I go to a wedding, if I go to an event or if I'm traveling for an actual vacation, then I'll do the content. But it's there's people doing something just for the sake of on the camera. I need a, yeah, and I'm like that was kind of cool like 2015 and 2016, but now, 10 years later, there's still people like, oh, I'm trying, I'm trying to go to maldives and like take a photo on a resort island or something. You're like all right, but that's going to cost you like 10 grand and you're going to be in debt. They go, but for the gram I was like all right.

Speaker 2: 7:42

Unless you're getting sponsored and getting paid 50 for that.

Speaker 1: 7:45

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 7:47

What's been one of the biggest obstacles or failures that you faced in credit repair business, and how did you get through that?

Speaker 1: 7:56

repair business and how did you get through that?

Speaker 1: 7:57

The biggest thing, I think for me was getting people to trust me in that I can be the person that will come through for them, because there are a lot of credit repair companies there's too many that start and they flounder and they, you know, they go, they don't make it or sometimes I'll see, like real estate agents or other people who like, will have credit repair as a part of their portfolio of services and they don't pay attention to it and it doesn't work out.

Speaker 1: 8:19

So for me it was. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do this. I wasn't sure if this was the right thing for me, but as I helped more people and I realized how much potential there was in actually being the change agent, I wanted to be that person for the people who needed help. So I wanted to separate myself by having empathy for the end client and also saying there's so much more to this than just the credit score. It's about the opportunities that open up. So my next phase, or my next thing that I want to do, is show people what you can do with credit and what you can do with opportunities that open up. So I don't want to be just credit related, but like this is one step in a multi-step process to change your life.

Speaker 2: 9:02

Yeah, that's really smart, because a lot of people don't know. They just are trying to get that fill in the blank Powerhouse.

Speaker 1: 9:08

Yeah, just temporary, like for the gram, for the next three to seven days. Like, what can I do? How can I have fun, which is great, and I want to as well but you need a bigger long-term goal.

Speaker 2: 9:19

Yeah, a blueprint so to speak. Yep Credit repair has lots of myths, misrepresentations and unethical actors. I know we talked about this a little bit at the beginning, how that kind of made you feel a little uneasy at the beginning. But how did you ensure that what you deliver is transparent, honest and ethical?

Speaker 1: 9:38

The simple thing is I tell people I only do what we can operate within the law. So, without getting too much into it, in the 1970s the government passed a law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act and it has rules for how the creditors, how the credit bureaus and all the people who act in the space, how they can operate. And within that is where the power comes, for credit repair is you want to dispute things that are 100% accurate, 100% verifiable and 100% accurate, and there's only so much you actually can do and because of the law, you want to operate within that. So there's companies that will do stuff like credit sweeps and they'll say, hey, call, get this police report and then file it with the credit bureaus and then you can do this. There's too many schemes and scams because they're selling that quick fix right now and that sounds great, until that end client ends up getting sued or ends up committing fraud and they're in trouble and the credit card company can kind of disappear. So then it's like I don't want to be the person that set someone up for that and I also don't want it to come back to me.

Speaker 1: 10:40

So I tell people during our call is like hey, like I hear their story, I go okay, I think I can help you.

Speaker 1: 10:46

And then I explain here's the law, here's how we operate and here's what we're going to do and I'm not going to try to do anything that isn't in the law.

Speaker 1: 10:54

And sometimes people tell me oh, I saw this on TikTok, I saw this on IG or somewhere else. And I go I can't verify or deny all the things they said, but I'm only going to operate within the law. And then I I really get them to go okay, like are you sure you want to go through with this? I'm only going to do this part and now what you told me on TikTok. And they go okay, okay, okay. So it's like once you kind of dispel the myth of how, how credit repair works and how many tools you have at your disposal and like we can only do these things, it actually gives them some relief like, oh, okay, this person is giving me all the information up front, and that's really most of the thing is let people know what they can do and I'm going to do it on your behalf and I'm going to give you consistent updates and we're going to take it from there.

Speaker 2: 11:38

And you have the relief of knowing that you're not going to get arrested.

Speaker 1: 11:41

Yes, that's true, and no more dead. Like yeah, it's like, hey, we got to stop these collection calls. We're going to get you back on track.

Speaker 2: 11:47

Yeah, beyond repairing credit, how do you educate your customers so that they don't fall into the same pitfalls in the future again? What tools or habits are essential in your view?

Speaker 1: 11:58

Oh, I love this question. I think the cyclical nature of it is a huge one and I didn't realize until I started working with people and it's the bad behavior or the bad habits. Honestly, it's the habits that get people stuck where. It's like they'll come, I'll work on their stuff, they'll get better, and then they might come back a year later and go, hey, it's me again and I'll go. Oh, what's happened? It's like, well, look at my credit report and I look at it and go, okay, so really it's impulsive buying, it's trying to keep up with people.

Speaker 1: 12:30

Honestly, the main thing with bad spending habits is you want to look good for somebody or you want to put up an image, and then you end up buying things you don't need, you end up going places you don't need to go and so on. So it becomes this thing that people don't really realize they're doing until, like you look back a year later, like week to week, month to month. You might not see it, but if I go back, if I look through your bank statements for a year, I go, hey, like I just counted five $6,000 of miscellaneous expense. But it's really just bougie outfits and like traveling to places and they go. Well, you know I had to because so-and-so and, and then I really have to again just explain like you can't do this. But what if we save some money, build a plan, invest, and then in the future you can do so much more. And the big difference I learned was for people to get from where they are to where they want to go, the future has to be brighter than what they have right now. So if you, you can't really sell someone on saving and investing Cause you've heard that, I've heard that from childhood, but I never did it until I got in, became an adult, and for people it's oh, a year from now, two years from now, I want to be less, have less stress and a little bit more money, but have a way bigger outlook.

Speaker 1: 13:39

So I really want to paint the picture of the future is going to be brighter. It sucks now. It sucks in the near term six months, maybe a year but after that it's going to be way better. And I try to picture like, hey, like, what would your life be like if you had less stress? What would your life be like if you had five, ten more thousand dollars? What would your life be like if you had better credit and then really just like, slowly, just like, work that and make them find the vision of the future, and then they'll go. Ok, maybe I should change some habits, maybe I should. So like it has to come from them and I can only like lay the groundwork and show. Let's work on three years from now.

Speaker 2: 14:10

Yeah, that's hard.

Speaker 1: 14:12

Yeah, that's a lot of psychology.

Speaker 2: 14:14

It is and it's like mindset.

Speaker 1: 14:15

Honestly, like I never realized how much it would be. Like you're kind of like a pseudo therapist during the consultation calls, but then as you hear more you're like, oh yeah, like a lot of people get stuck in the same things, and for me too. I said I was kind of in your shoes too. I was like, oh, I want to go travel here, I want to go do that. And then I had a credit card and swipe. Next thing you know you're like oof?

Speaker 2: 14:35

Where do you see Fix my History in three to five years? What goals are you focused on?

Speaker 1: 14:42

both business growth and community impact. I think the painting the vision for the future is. The thing I want to work on is right now I'm specifically on the credit aspect, but I'm working to do kind of a consultation. I don't know, I don't have the quite the vision yet, but it's going to be like I want people to change and have a better outlook for the future. I don't want people to keep coming back to me over and over for credit and just credit, like I want them to. I want people to call me back and be like hey, I like I bought this house and now I'm doing really well. Like that for me is worth way more than, oh, I have my, my friend or my cousin who needs credit help, which is great, but it's like a story of you doing something better. Two, three, four years from now is going to be more rewarding for me than just another client that I was like oh, I have to a couple of and use credit as that stepping stone.

Speaker 2: 15:31

I love that Kind of like the chiropractic thing you don't want them to have to keep going back to you.

Speaker 1: 15:35

Yeah, cause it's like, cause it's almost like saying like oh, I'm not doing a good enough job either, right. So it's like in a counter way, it's like well, am I actually helping you or you or what's going on here? And people do surfaces though, right, is it like one is yeah, to fix your credit?

Speaker 2: 15:55

which you're fixing their credit, but then another one is like to fix their habits.

Speaker 1: 16:00

Yeah, that's a big one, that's the one that's like there's a whole self-help industry on that and that has its own thing. But just to get started, because, like, the money is a big, the world we live in is tough, so we got to get the money right first, so you have opportunity.

Speaker 2: 16:14

Yeah, and I think even just there's a lot of education around that of like, how do you get the money right? How do you make those smart decisions? Now, quick question Is it just you or do you have a team?

Speaker 1: 16:23

I do have a team, okay, but kind of all over, like I have some outsourcing help and then I have Amazing, how do you personally stay grounded, aligned, with purpose, motivated, especially when you see they save enough money and then they don't know about credit.

Speaker 1: 16:54

Sometimes they someone told them open a credit card and they open a credit card, they max it out or whatever, so they end up in a tough spot.

Speaker 1: 17:00

But for them to buy their first home in America, like get started in their American journey, that's a big deal.

Speaker 1: 17:05

Like for me, like I'm an immigrant too, and for my family when they bought a home, like that was a big deal too. So like that's like when I can help someone start that kind of path for themselves or that kind of future, like that's a great feeling, because not a lot of people, I think, have access to help people in that way. Like you might have your normal job or do whatever, but like someone said, hey, like I finally got that house, it's like wow, that was a big deal, because this is a pivotal moment in their life and they're going to start and live their life in that place, raise their kids and have memories and so on. So it's a big deal and I try to focus on the successful clients and there's going to be people, you know, who aren't quite moving along as you would like, but focus on the people that have taken the help, that did their part too, and then now they've found success and I think that helps the most.

Speaker 2: 17:51

That's awesome. What tools or technology innovations have you adopted, or are you looking to scale your impact without compromising the personal touch your clients need?

Speaker 1: 18:02

I think with technology I've gotten better with software and doing those kinds of things. Like when we do initial call, I try to give people an audit right then and there I pay for the credit reports so it doesn't impact their credit and I do a free audit where we'll review their entire credit reports. So I pay for that and I, you know obviously even simple stuff like Zoom. We're going to Zoom call, I'll open the credit portal, I'll go line by line their entire credit report and go hey, do you know this account? Do you know this account? What happened here, what happened there? And as they talk, that's when I learn about them and what's going on. And then even I've dipped in and out of like AI it's not I'm not quite sure how to use it Like people tell me it's going to change the world, but I'm like we'll see.

Speaker 1: 18:41

But I try to. I try to keep in touch with people just through anywhere, like calls, voicemail, email, everything. So any way the person needs contact I to do that, any type of. Oh, I have an example. It's, let's say, um, there's different companies now that do reporting for rent where if you rent, it doesn't report on your credit, like a mortgage would report as a monthly payment. So now there's companies that do that.

Speaker 1: 19:08

There's a cd, what's it called um certificate deposits that are not virtual. Like there's a company called self inc. There's all these other companies and I. There's a cd what's it called um certificate deposits that are not virtual. Like there's a company called self inc. There's all these other companies and I. There's chime. So, like I, I open an account with those companies myself and I'll go through it for like six months to a year and I report back because like, hey, like I opened this security account, it was okay. Maybe you should. You don't need to do this. I have a credit builder card I work with. If they have have no credit or poor history, I give them that option. So I try to do the thing first and then I take it to my clients. I go, hey, I actually personally use this for my own personal day to day and I'm recommending it. So I won't recommend anything that I don't use.

Speaker 2: 19:45

I feel like you could totally partner up with a lot of mortgage companies.

Speaker 1: 19:48

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 19:49

And real estate agents.

Speaker 1: 19:51

Yeah. So the other side of that is they have so many people come to them that I'm trying to like establish a thing on my own and then hopefully they can see me and go. Hey, like that one guy is doing something good with credit. Maybe we should talk to him.

Speaker 2: 20:03

Yeah, no, I'm saying yeah, they could definitely like feed business. Yeah, I remember when I was First home, that's what they said Go get a Kohl's card, because you don't have enough credit. Yeah, and just like it's like hmm, more shopping.

Speaker 1: 20:15

I know, right.

Speaker 2: 20:16

Well, I don't even shop at Kohl's, I just bought something just so I could pay it off every month. Okay, so in your view, what are the most effective ways that you keep yourself and your team motivated, engaged and loyal, especially given the emotional labor involved? Especially, you're doing like audits and consults. I feel like that would be very draining unless you were guaranteed that as a client, because that's a lot of work.

Speaker 1: 20:39

It is, but I think obviously, as you do more you kind of get better at it. So it's not quite like the first couple of times I did it I was like, oh my gosh, what am I doing? And then as you get better, it becomes a little bit smoother, and then you learn to ask the client the questions. And then as they start talking and telling me their story, like that's why I start with, okay, tell me your story, tell me how you got here, and then you really hear what's going on.

Speaker 1: 20:59

So, but for my team and for everyone, I say we're actually helping people and we're let's focus on the people that are motivated for help, that came here like actually honestly looking to change and looking to move away from the mistakes they've made. And that's who you want to work on and focus, because there's a lot of people who, like you know, kick the tire, like, well, how much does this cost? What'll happen? What about this, that and the other? You go sure, sure, sure, like I'll still talk to them.

Speaker 1: 21:28

But I try to tell people let's focus on the people motivated to change, that are hungry for growth and that want to move on with their life. And when you interact with those people, then it's not like I'm working with a client, it's like, oh, I'm talking to so-and-so, and they're like a friend, and then we can just talk, chat and go okay, here's the plan, here's what we're going to do, and it becomes a little bit easier, there's not as much stress. So to move away from the things that can weigh you down is to focus on past results and then focus on people that want to grow and change and that are saying, hey, please help me, I'm ready.

Speaker 2: 21:59

Yeah, that's really smart, because you can also make a bigger difference with those people because you're not spending all your time, resources, trying to convince them to do yeah, that came to you.

Speaker 1: 22:08

Yeah, and those people end up also being good clients as well in terms of like payments and like doing their end, like, hey, they got to pay down some bills, they got to like close an account or so and so. So like they're motivated on their end. I've had when I first started, I had clients who I was like hey, did you do this? They're like, oh, I thought you were going to do it. I was like, no, remember, we talked about it and so like I had that.

Speaker 2: 22:37

And that's when it really like elevated and I could hold them accountable, but not like in a bad way, just be like hey, you need to do your end.

Speaker 1: 22:40

I'm doing my end because we need your credit to get better, not my credit. Yeah, do you have good?

Speaker 2: 22:42

credit. Yeah, it took a while, not gonna lie. You offer success stories and customer testimonials. How do you select which stories to highlight and how do you balance authenticity with respect and client privacy and dignity?

Speaker 1: 22:51

I won't say their name unless they're okay with it. But the main thing I tell people is like, I want to highlight where you started and where you are now. And I think that's what people, when they're reading a review, they want to go. Okay, is this going to help me? Right? They're not worried about my company. They're worried like, hey, is this person going to actually help me and my situation? Or they're just writing a review to write a review? So the main thing is like oh, I'll say this person came to me, they were in a bad situation, they had to move out of the home, get to an apartment. This situation was going on, and so I try to just paint the picture and I think that helps where people go. Oh, I saw your story. You posted about so-and-so and I'm in a similar situation. And when they come to me, it's already like we have a little bit of thread connected and we can talk about okay, here's what we should do next, here's what we should do next. So like it helps that way.

Speaker 2: 23:38

That's awesome when someone hears Fix my History. What do you want them to think, feel and expect and how do you ensure every client touch point delivers on that promise?

Speaker 1: 23:49

I think I like I do like the name of my company and that when they say Fix my History, people always go. What does he mean by that? And I think I like just that it has a touch of curiosity where they go what part of history? Because then when people come to me they go what do you mean by that? And I go well, you tell me it's like what part of your history are you worried about? And so it's like a little funny way to get started and then I do this and the other and they go okay. So to balance that, I think I want people obviously reliability, but I want people to know that things can change. So it's fixed my history and it's if I could have another name, it would be a better future or something along those lines, cause I want, like you started from somewhere and I want you to get better, like I don't want you to just come here and stop. So I want it to be a change agent and say fix my history and then for a better future.

Speaker 2: 24:37

Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah, I do like that, fix my history, because you're right, people are like, well, wait, which part of my history?

Speaker 1: 24:43

Yeah, and I was like you tell me what part of what part of the thing are you trying to worry about?

Speaker 2: 24:46

And they're like, oh, do they start naming stuff? You're like whoa back out.

Speaker 1: 24:49

No, I don't do all that.

Speaker 2: 24:51

And then my last thing is there anything specific that I didn't ask you about that you would like to share or mention?

Speaker 1: 24:57

I've been, I guess, a Nova kid my whole life here. So I grew up here, went to all my schooling here, college here, I work here now. So my business is based off here. So I want people who are in the area to be like, hey, this person's similar to me and I'm a local. I want to serve the Northern Virginia community, the DC Metro, so I want people to reach out to me if they need any type of help with credit.

Speaker 2: 25:19

Amazing. What's the best way to find you?

Speaker 1: 25:21

You can go anywhere on my socials or you can text me 571-548-3232. Right to my cell phone. You can text, you can call that number and start from there.

Speaker 2: 25:32

Awesome, and they can get that.