( ENSPIRE Man Code 101 ) Morris Smith Uses Financial Acumen to Improve His Life, Help Others Grow Wealth
ENSPIRE Contributor: Adam Cetorelli
Morris Smith is a man with many hats, having worked as a barber, real estate agent, creditor, restaurateur, house-flipper, landlord, and more, and his new business venture combines his talents in hope of creating opportunities for new entrepreneurs to learn to accumulate wealth through real estate investment. On April 2, 2020, Smith officially launched Beyond the Clippers with the mission of promoting upward social mobility. Through individual consulting, location scouting, and project management, Smith seeks to reproduce the success he has found in real estate investment for his clients.
Born in Montgomery, AL, Smith went to Stillman College for a degree in Business Management as he refined his craft as a barber. After graduating, he went on to open his first barbershop in Tuscaloosa, AL, at just 22 years old. Smith has owned several barbershops over the years, with Sideline Cutz, in Atlanta, GA, his current shop. In addition to his hair-oriented enterprises, Smith rents houses to several families in Montgomery who, he reports, would otherwise not be able to afford to live in the area. Beyond the Clippers extends this vision of the mutually beneficial business, allowing people with little investment or real estate experience to book an individual consultation with Smith and start their own journey toward wealth.
While the launch party for Beyond the Clippers was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith reports that the business is doing well, with clients already locating and buying property with the company’s guidance. Clients of Beyond the Clippers are typically entrepreneurs who want to get into the real estate investment world as a means of supplementing the income they make from their primary businesses. Smith maintains that, as his own story shows, people in any business can be successful real estate investors, even as they continue their everyday work.
“For me, it’s about showing other people that no matter what profession they’re in or how busy they are there’s something else that they can do to build their wealth and it’s not as difficult as other people would want you to believe. You just have to make up your mind that you want to do it and then start. And that’s where I come in at, to help people who want to start, begin the process and teach them the process along the way so that they can be successful and add another income.”
Morris Smith
Clients are already celebrating the success that stems from a partnership with Beyond the Clippers, lauding Smith for his financial expertise and hands-on approach to consulting. One client reports, “I hired Morris to assist me with renovating one of my properties in Alabama. He got the job done in 6 weeks with his team. He traveled every weekend to make sure the job was done right! I will be a returning customer.” This testimonial shows Beyond the Clippers is achieving its goals; with Smith’s help, clients like this one are creating wealth through strategizing real estate opportunities and executing them well.
I asked Smith what he would advise people do to grow their wealth during the financial insecurity of the pandemic, and his answer was threefold.
- Watch lending practices – During a recession, the criteria that banks use to give loans change, which will influence the buyer’s budget. When looking into purchasing property during a recession, ensure that your business model is accounting for changes in lending practices.
- Look for Broker Price Opinions (BPOs) – When a bank forecloses on a property, it will hire a broker to assess the property and advise on how it should be priced. This BPO does not reflect the actual price at which the property will be listed but gives a helpful indication of what that price might be.
- Take advantage of short sales – A short sale is when the owner of a property is behind on mortgage payments, and so sells the property in order to pay off a portion of their loan balance to their lender. The lender then forgives the rest of the loan balance. Short sales offer reduced prices to buyers out of a seller’s desperation to avoid foreclosure.
Hopefully these tips will help all you would-be real estate investors out there. For more wisdom from Smith, check out www.beyondtheclippers.com for information on services and pricing.
