When you’re lucky enough to have as great a mentor as Charles “The Credit Chef” Truvillion Jr did, it’s smart to listen closely. After following his father’s advice to only pay cash and avoid credit, the Credit Chef quickly learned the benefits of credit through his “credit dad” once he moved to Atlanta, Georgia.
“He sat me down and told me the importance of credit cards and business credit. Upon learning all there was to know he passed away before we could start our company. Without much direction I went back into corporate America climbing the ladder to Regional Manager of a cell phone retailer. In 2011, the company closed its doors, leaving me without a job or the six figure income I was used to. I returned to my first love which was cooking and decided to give that a try rather than enter back into the corporate world,” the Credit Chef recalls.
This decision turned out to be a huge turning point – although he loved cooking, deciding to pursue a career in it proved tricky given The Credit Chef’s poor credit history and growing credit debt on his maxed out cards. As he began to help others fix their credit, he quickly saw that he was bringing in much more money from credit clients than his catering career. With his love for cooking and prosperity in credit well established, he decided it was time to combine the two.
“Upon leaving a credit repair training in Florida, I befriended one credit repair owner and he suggested I name myself The Credit Chef, because I both cook and fix credit. A lightbulb went off and I quickly trademarked the name and the rest is history. To date we have helped over 5000 consumers repair their credit, buy a new home, or save money on their interest payments. This by far outweighs the feeling I would get when a new client tasted my dish because that is just a moment good credit is for a lifetime,” the Credit Chef outlines.
Now, the credit chef is proud to be making his living helping consumers enhance their credit scores the same way he enhances their palate with his cooking. By combining his two passions, he’s found success in his work, leading him towards freedom to enjoy time with his children without being told to sacrifice time with them. He knows moments with family aren’t promised, and you need to be available to experience them in real time.
The success he has found does not come easily. In fact, he knows he’s made many mistakes in his credit and his business in the past. Luckily, he was able to learn from those mistakes and experiences with the guidance of one of his friends’ fathers, who taught him to protect his credit for when he would need it when he got older.
“I took advantage of my credit and destroyed my credit history many times. I just want to help consumers not make the mistakes I made,” The Credit Chef says.
Beyond that, The Credit Chef has overcome many challenges to get where he is in his business. Namely, he struggled with spending his profits instead of investing back into his business, in addition to not using his credit to help expand his business with advertisements as opposed to waiting on referrals.
Avoiding the mistakes he made in his own business, The Credit Chef also recommends to new entrepreneurs that they need to be ready for a lot of sleepless nights. To be better prepared to do so, he recommends writing down all the ideas that cross your mind, and to review them weekly to keep them fresh. With this work being done, it will be easier to not accept failure as an option.
In the next year, The Credit Chef has exciting projects to look forward to, including tapping into real estate flipping, as well as opening a tax office to help his credit clients avoid taxes and start their own business so they can capture success, just as The Credit Chef has done.
Be sure to check out the Credit Chef online at his Instagram page and website for updates and news.