Meet RW Jones | The Brillionaire- AKA The Welfare Escape Artist!

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

Hi RW, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
“If the misery of our poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.” by Charles Darwin.

This quote is the foundation of my work. What this means is that yes, there are often times that we will always have poor people, in one way or another. The poor we will always have. But if their misery be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions- then great is our sin.

My work is rooted in systemic racism and discrimination. I work with HUD-assisted families where policies were crafted to keep poor people poor and bring about some of the lowest quality of life issues.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am the President & CEO of Can I Live Housing Authority. We are the nation’s only tenant-led agency dedicated to the WEALTHFAIR of our families. I was once told that if you want to know more about God, Open a Small Business. It took me 9 years to create my first sale. I was a former welfare mom with a vision. No one else around me believed that one day I could run my own business. There were no other successful entrepreneurs in my family.

I am most excited about the following.

● Founder and Leader of Can I Live Housing Authority which has helped contribute more than $3.5 million in contracting opportunities for under-resourced entrepreneurs.
● I have helped to establish more than 200 small businesses.
● I’ve granted and seeded more than $50k to start small start-ups.
● I’ve educated and organized more than 300 tenant councils through over 100 live conferences and webinars.
● I’ve been featured in over 1 million press sites.
● I’ve written 2 books that help youth and young adults become parents when they are responsibly ready
● I’ve developed 1 leadership program that helps HUD-assisted tenants stronger advocates empowering them to take control of the places they call home.
● I’ve empowered more than 3,000 youth and young adults to pursue education, passion, and purpose.
● I’ve assisted at least 600 moms and dads to go back to school.

I’ve overcome obstacles simply by tunning and tapping in the Creator, the source. This guides me through hard times, and challenges.

I want the world to know about my story and my brand is that you don’t always need lots of money to start a business.
While it makes things easy, it is not absolutely required. When you have a vision, and you master your skills, things fall into place.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is hard for me as I don’t have a total work-life balance. But I do like to shop, eat, and have fun.

First, we’ll have breakfast at Union Market – eat outside and enjoy DC’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Then we will check out 202 Creates- a creator-maker space for DC creatives.

We’ll have lunch at Busboys & Poets

Visit some of the local theatres to see a play and or even the movies up in Arlington VA.

We’ll definitely hit up the National Harbor for shopping, and stop at Gracies Mandarin for Dinner.

The week would comprise of hitting up the outlets in Maryland, and Jet Skiing in Colonia Beach VA, or North Beach MD.

The week would comprise of activities in the DC Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) Metro region.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a shoutout to three major consultants who transformed and shifted the way I thought about my business approach.

The first is a consultant by the name of Al Huntoon. He was the very first consultant that forced me to rethink how I was going to generate funding for my non-profit. The way I was thinking, I had no revenue model and just thought because my vision was so awesome that we would never be without funding. Not sure why, but I thought that everything was Gucci because I launched it. He pushed me so hard to see things from another perspective that I remember leaving the room and going into a corner to CRY!! I had to let go of this fantasy I had in my head for almost 9 years. This shift helped me seek out and be open to a revenue model that would help the business grow.

The second is Charles Griffin. Mr Griffin was a local unemployed communications teacher who was looking for work. I could not afford to pay him so he asked if he could intern for a small stipend. I agreed. Charles was critical in the launch of my first training product. He was there to ask me the hard questions, challenge my thinking, and ensure I was comfortable talking about my pricing, as well as delivering an awesome training experience.

The last is a consultant named Mary Cantando. Now that I was generating income, I wanted to grow and scale my sales. She helped me see that my struggle with poverty was attached to my thoughts about scarcity. She helped me transform the difference between a growth and scarcity mindset. This was critical in me realizing that I absolutely deserved more and that the earth was filled with abundance. I was worthy of abundance.

Website: https://canilive.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caniliveha/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/caniliveha

Twitter: https://twitter.com/caniliveha

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CANILIVEHA

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5CmkeWcAAwrRmL2rZfS7Fg?view_as=subscriber