How John Nuñez Retired From Wall St. and Built a Credit Repair Empire!

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Hey, Credit Heroes. Today, we're here with John Nuñez. He's the founder and CEO of Blackcard Bandits. And he's going to share his amazing story of how we retired from a life on Wall Street and went on to help 1000s of clients achieve their dreams, all well building a credit repair empire, so you better stick around. So the big question is this: how can we take our passion for helping people with their credit and turn it into a successful business without taking loans and spending a fortune by bootstrapping it from nothing? So we can help the most people and still become highly profitable? That is the question, and this podcast will give you the answer.

My name is Daniel Rosen, and welcome to credit repair business secrets. Our most successful Credit Heroes, the ones who make a great living and change a tonne of lives, all have a few things in common. They all understand the power of credit and its ability to help you achieve your dreams. John Nuñez was first introduced to the power of credit by his mother, the credit queen. After enjoying a successful career on Wall Street, he retired from that life. And he chose a new path as a credit repair professional. And now he has a very large credit repair business that he built from nothing. He has a passion for educating and empowering others. He's building a lasting legacy. He's an inspiring guest, and I know you're going to love this interview. So please welcome John Nuñez. Hey, John, welcome to the podcast.

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Thank you, Daniel, thank you for having me. Shout out, you're in the credit repair world.

1:39  

Well, I'm so excited. You're here. I know You've been with us at Credit Repair Cloud for a long time.

1:44  

Yeah, I'm celebrating my 23rd year in credit repair. Wow,

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that is amazing. So I want to know everything. But first off, let's start with what your life was like before credit repair.

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Well, I'll tell you, Daniel, it was I was very immature till an old age, you know, till I was much older. But my mother, you know, became a professional mother. When she had us, she came to the United States at 18 from Colombia, basically what $1 In a dream, and she understood leverage my mom. As I said, she became a professional mom, but she could have been the CEO of any Fortune 500 company. She had the ability to stretch $1, And when my parents got divorced, it was 14 years old. And the first lesson she gave us was credit, you know, she understood the concept of credit of, of empowering us as authorized users at at a young age would open up a lot of doors that we would have to grind away at at an older age, let's say fresh out of college starting out for the first time. So she gave us, you know this, this boot camp education at 14 1516. We will already authorize users on her American Express gold. Now I remember this one lesson, and I'll never forget when she gave it to us. She said look, betray Me Before You betray them, you know, and she said if you ever stole any money out of my purse to pay them, I wouldn't be upset, and she drilled that into our heads every day of our lives in our adolescents lives even today even five minutes before this this podcast you know she's you know Amex bill paid asking already you know she's on top of it you know she taught me all the hacks what this woman did you know with minimal education and she let us fall like she let us fall when pitfalls came. You know, when the bill came, you didn't pay it. The late fee. You know, the card getting cut off, and she's like, Well, did you pay the bill? She let us fall on our faces, but then she dug us out of the hole.

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Wow, that's amazing. So it sounds like she was maybe a big inspiration for this business of yours. 

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I owe it all to everything, everything I see every day of my life ever since then. I owe it to her, and I tell her to this day. This is in mind. This is all you know, your brainchild that just you, man, if I was the tip of her sword, you know, amazing.

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Just amazing. You have a quote on your website that I love. I really, really love it at that, but I want to know what it means to you. Its hash may be king. But credit, where's the crown? Funny,

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funny story of my life on Wall Street. I am. I have the, I guess, uncanny distinction for my first place of employment. Stratton Oakmont, the home of the infamous Wolf of Wall Street. So Jordan Belfort was my first boss and my mentor Brian, and Julie was his number two. And he taught me what I liked in my experience on Wall Street. I was just a naive kid. How I ended up there was it was just a stroke of good luck in a way, and I had started my career in banking. I was in banking, I was a teller, and I kind of climbed that ladder and Jordan was a customer of our bank. So I used to see the guy flashy the car the look everything, you know, the wolf, The Wolf of Wall Street, and I was just like, I need to do that. I want to be a part of that and whatever it takes. In my, during my first interview with Brian And Julie, you know, he's like, kid, you know, cash is trash, and it's all about credit. And in cash may be king, but you can't walk, you know, you can't walk into a dealership and spend 100 grand without raising some eyebrows. So you're going to need some credit to get this done. And

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it's funny that you mentioned Wolf of Wall Street. That's all I know about Wall Street is that movie. What did you do on Wall Street?

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I was I was a stockbroker. I was a Cub, and I was a disciple of the wolf, and that life got a bad rap. But if it were so bad, there'd be millions of guys in jail. I mean, they were just like, you know, some few, you know, him, Bernie Madoff, stuff like that. But uh, you know, we tried, we tried our best to make money for our clients. I did, you know, I did, I managed, I managed that at a young age, over $20 million in assets in South America. That was my niche. And that was, that was a very exciting life, good and bad, you know when the, when the stock market crashed, and when the internet bubble burst, you know, that was a baptism of fire. I mean, that the likes of, you know, the crash of 1929, I didn't feel so bad because I wasn't the only one losing money. So, it was a very tumultuous and exciting time. And it prepared me for my life here, you know, this, the credit repair industry compared to that this is a cakewalk Cakewalk nowadays, so it's but all the lessons that I learned there helped me to adapt and adjust to the new, the new monster, and it helped me prepare to deal with the pressure that comes with when a client comes to you, you're the last hope for those guys, you need to have a great reputation, you have to have an established track record for them. To give you peace of mind. It's tough because, like I said, you know, our clients are desperate. I also knew very early in my career that their desperation should motivate us to move because the opportunity is there; do it good. Do it. Well, do it fast. And they'll come. I'm blessed. I'm blessed for having that experience to deal with high net individuals where I could take on, you know, I could scale without an issue. Some people become overwhelmed. You know, some people take, you know, they got one client, and they drowned in the glass of water. Sure. So yeah, definitely. All those guys and all my mentors, all my mentors, I was a sponge, and I learned the industry. And we are man. Here we are, funny. I see I see you on the Internet all the time. Now I'm talking to you.

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Oh, cool. So, how did you actually start your business?

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cool story, I was working, I was still working on Wall Street. And, you know, I had I had a private office after 911, and things got a little uncomfortable. There was a whole restructuring of the quotation system we used to live in inside a spread, you know, between the bid and the ask what the stock is going for, and what it's selling for. And we used to live there, you know, and it could be the matter of at a half a half a point three-quarters of a point. And then that the capability to to make a market that way was taken away from us. So the average guy and I wasn't the average guy, but the average stockbroker on Wall Street would make $100,000. And after 911, that whole event signaled the end for us. And I was like, you know, what, I don't know how long we could sustain this, especially like, for myself, you know, consumer confidence is lost, you know, we just lost $20 million. I mean, we were trying to catch a falling sword. Again, I was just the kid barely out of my 20s. There were guys 50 years in the game that couldn't explain what you know, this tidal wave of selling that the, you know, that came when the internet bubble burst. So I was like, Look, man, this credit thing, you know, I know what it meant to me, it was a resurrection from my life, you know, it made, I had just gotten married, you know, I had to get an apartment. And you know, you start dependent on credit. I'm relying on credit now. So to be able to fix my credit and get back to business, knowing what what I had just gone through made me move forward. And never again, not ever take that for granted that the power of that, that and American Express has the parting of the Red Sea, so to speak, when you walk into a room, if I'm like me, if I'm like this, my friends who don't have maybe the financial capabilities to keep up I wonder how they're doing if I'm, you know, and I make a good living, I started a guinea pig and on them my brother and I, he got an account, I was his authorized user, I got an account. And we just started piggybacking on each other and started building this Frankenstein monster. And then, you know, we couple that with some business credit, and that became the feeder fund for us. And we were like, you know, we became our most important client. So I was working on Wall Street out of my out of my office, you know, on Fifth Avenue. Suppose that, you know, supposedly, I'm trying to raise money to dig, dig my company out of this hole, and I got a fax machine under my desk, and I'm plotting a mutiny. I mean, because I knew the stockbrokers that Were there. They weren't, I don't want to knock them. Let's just say they weren't million-dollar producers that that they would have a heart. They were having a hard time surviving. So I said, Look, guys, if I'm leaving, I bought, we said this time I said this back then, and I said it now, when I asked for, for people to trust me, I say this I said, Listen, you ever see any of those a bomb technicians, you know what the suits if you ever see one of those guys running, run, you know, but until then, if I'm wearing one of those, and if I'm not running, don't run, that's how I kind of developed that trust with my, with my staff and my clients, I understand I there's nothing here. There's nothing here that can't be solved. You know, it's just going to take some time, and just manage your expectations the right way. So I was operating at a fax machine under my desk. And we were getting leads look, look at this how you know the Internet's you know, when you guys complain about where leads come from, we were getting leads back, Paxton, I wouldn't get an into you know, they were I was taking calls, I still have the sheets, like the intake sheets, we were keeping the books, we were keeping Ledger's ice, which I still have, you know, just documenting deletion, you know, you know, it's, it's a ledger with, you know, 12, you know, 12 months. And that's the only way that we could keep tracking, it was so primitive, we started to see, I said there's got to be a way, and I always wanted to, to participate in the development of that kind of software. I mean, I had flown to China, but the thing is, it's hard to develop. And, you know, I was a one-man band because my staff took my lead, we were innovating, and they followed in my lead. So it was like, I'm still learning the business and how to operate and how to how to pivot and scale and adapt to the new my new world, you know, so it was all to get the infrastructure going. But yeah, it started in my office. And I my first set of clients, I had a friend it was a mechanic at a Ford dealership, show him my credit report before and after. The rest is history. You know, they saw that and let's say my first commissions, I saw it was enough money for to sustain myself. It wasn't going to be any IPO Wall Street money anymore, but I wasn't, I was okay with that. I was like, Look distressed isn't worth it. If as long as I could still make a lot of money doing this, you know, maybe maybe it's not $100,000 a month. But if I could, if I can make a quarter or half of that cool. And that's, that's what happened. And I'll tell you, I'm so grateful. I don't miss my career. I got a lot of offers to come back. And I dabble here, you know, I'm more like a freelance guy. I get cold. Like I'm like, you know, like Hitman, I was like, hey, we need some help on this. I'll come out of retirement. I just, I just came out of one that I burned out. I said, You know what? I lost my number. You know, you guys, unless credit repair heroes going public. You know, I've hugged those. I've hung those headphones up on the that side, the main

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thing. So now you've built up this huge business? How many active clients do you have today? Over 3000? Wow, that is amazing. And it's been over 10,000 over the years. So, starting from scratch and scaling up from nothing to 1000s of clients. That's not easy. What was that like? And also, what's what's your secret to attracting so many clients? Is it? Is it your marketing? Is it affiliates? What do you do?

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I'm old school when it comes to that I'm hands-on, face-to-face. I network a lot. I could only imagine when I was adopted and we were going there. We're going there this year, you know the scale even higher, you know, through through paid advertising. I've done that I've had some experience on that. But I'm still I'm still, you know, all habits die hard. And I'm grinding. So I live in Miami where with credit, everyone's dependent on credit here hobnobbing networking around town, I've developed a reputation over the last 20 years. If you ask 10 People who are the credit guy around here, you know, nine people will say me, and I'm not being cocky or anything like that. I'm just asking around, you know, I haven't paid for lunch in this town in 10 years. And it's because of that I've always been in front. They know me I'm there. You know, I'm, like I said I'm shoulder to shoulder with the community. I do right by one of them. You know, I got 1020 relatives, like I said, always be honest with the expectations, make them understand, hey, man, you played a part in this as well. I'm gonna get you off the hook. You can't come at me with that same ferocity that your collectors did. You know? So again, to answer your question, Daniel, just getting with my community and networking, you have to be able to cater to their needs, understand some, sympathize with them be empathetic to their situation. You know, like I said, with a last resort. It's it's us than bankruptcy court, which I tried, you know, I always advise against I've had some high net worth individuals where that could have been an option, but I've still advised against it. Because I said that there's a way out of this without you having to blow yourself up like that for the next, you know, the next 10 years and then us go back in and Try to vacate that public record after the fact. So, use the power of social media. But remember, there's a million other people doing that as well, you know, but there's not a million people out there in the street hustling, credit repair. In my community, they're not very Internet savvy. They need to see the whites of my eyes; that's been the secret to my success, being able to interact with them, I come down to that level, and I bring them up to my level to make them understand, you know, I, they look at the picture this way, and I expand it some more. I'm like, look, look at it this way. I tell him like, I'm like an economist and a therapist. At the same time. I'm like, calm down. Everybody that comes to me has the worst credit in the world. I understand. I've sympathize with that. And I tell him, Look, just calm down. I make the jokes. I make the jokes as a good or bad I, you know, I'll say hey, did OJ get off? You know, it's like, everything has a solution. Just be calm and trust the process. And all

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this networking you're doing? Are you also building relationships with businesses? That

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all your clients? Yes, yes, I work. A big chunk of my business comes from the real estate community. I like to say we're like the Amazon of credit here. And we cater to all facets of business, car dealerships, anything credit driven, I've serviced from coast to coast, and the main bulk of the businesses are individuals that are right now like I call them like the COVID client, you know, back then, back before COVID, there was maybe three kinds of like prototypical client, there's the young guy, you know, that made them it's the young guy, the young girl that made a mistake at a young age, then there was the individual who made a mistake at an at an older age of divorce. And then the third kind of client, which was just the total irresponsible person, I'll just say it is, for lack of a better term, the deadbeat, you know, the delinquent. And I used to categorize them like that, and I could box them in, and I could tell, I can look at a credit report today and tell you exactly who you are. I don't know if everybody could do that. That's my cheap parlor trick, you know, I could just I could tell, I could tell you, you I don't need your name, I don't need to speak to, and I know who you are, throughout the pandemic I had, I kind of created this new Johnny with a good job client, that's the guy who, you know, fell victim to the pandemic, and, and when the new norms came in, you know, let's say Johnny with a good job, worked at Carnival Cruise Line for 15 years. And he had a great job. He had an Ivy League mortgage a monster car payment, and then Carnival decides to, you know, downsize and actually do away with the department, you know, his job is now gone. So then, now this guy has to make a decision, when do I pay the credit card bill? Or do my kids eat? Or do I keep the lights on? Or do I pay off this equity line? So now, it's, you know, I see it in my old neighbor in my own neighborhood I could go you know, during that time, I saw people turning in the Keys, because they couldn't handle it. So then so now that's that new demographic, so to speak that Johnny with the good job that will do anything to get their credit back to where it needs to be? Because it just they can't, it's life or death for them? Sure.

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Hey, for that, we got people of all levels listening for anyone new to the world of credit and credit repair. What are fundamental principles you think they should be aware of?

18:17  

I think they should be honest and transparent. Again, always manage the expectations. Make them understand that, hey, Rome wasn't built in a day, you know, your credit wasn't ruined overnight. So don't we will try to get through this as fast as possible. Give us the latitude because we're the only ones in your corner, we stay till the job is done. It's as long as it takes, it's American Express you dealing with you know that you guys owe a lot of money to understand that they're gonna come at you with guns blazing; there's a way around it, but it's gonna get ugly before it gets better. For all those rookies that are out there, understand that part that go with the flow, don't over-promise anything before the pandemic. I mean, if I was Tom Brady, I would say I was Tom Brady from the one-yard line, you know, throwing Hail Marys for touchdowns on every snap, but the new normal now it kind of slowed it down. But now with this advent of, of AI, you know, some people may look at it as a disruption to our industry. I think it opens up the doors for a whole bunch of other possibilities, you know, to be able to scale 20,000 clients, and what can I say to those rookies out there, you guys are so lucky. You're so lucky to have Credit Repair Cloud not to sound like Ric Flair, but you're lucky to be speaking to me because I have combat experience. So don't get frustrated.

Work on yourself, work on your appearance. Know your product more than anything, know what you're talking about. Study this and become obsessed with it. I look back now 23 years later. This is a career What did you do? Like I used to tell people how I was a stockbroker on Wall Street, and that was my, let's say, my claim to fame. And for the last 23 years, I'm like, Hey, I'm a credit guy. And they're like, what does that mean? And it's like, you know, Amazon United Got everything that well I could get everything regarding credit done. And I tell people to stay the course it because it could change your life. I mean, it's been then, you know what this industry? This industry is done for you, and I'm not a paid actor. I'm the real thing, you know, I was there. I've been through the ups and downs and to see this, this industry has given me, let's not talk about the money because the money is there, the freedom, the freedom to do other things when you come on the scene. So many years ago, it really texted my business and even still, like now that we're still evolving. And I could only imagine where we're going now, you know, it's 3000 people in a row, they more or less have the same problem. But now, with artificial intelligence, a credit report could get dissected and reconciled in the blink of an eye, and imagine how many people we can help just between

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you and me. We've got a bunch of cool AI things about to come out and

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wait, I can't wait. And Zapier, you know, you know that the whole email automation, that stuff? Ah, I feel that the new professionals they have to take full advantage of that.

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Sure, sure. Hey, could you share with us some of the most impactful stories that you've experienced success stories? There was

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two clients, right? Were they online at a Mercedes-Benz dealership? Well, one was my client. One was not yet my client. So my client is talking to the to the affiliate, who put them in contact. She thanked them for referring them to me that they were able to obtain the vehicle. Everything was great. My, let's say the lead person was eavesdropping. She's like, I'm sorry to eavesdrop. But do you mind if you would give me his number? So they gladly gave her the number. And my client, she, when she contacted me, she told me, she needed my help, because her credit was destroyed because she had cancer. And she wants to have a child while the chemotherapy destroys her reproductive system. So her only option was in vitro fertilization. So when that happened, the only way she could afford it was through financing it but her credit was destroyed from the cancer. She was going to, you know, unless she got some help from a credit repair professional, there was no way that she had a shot at this at this IVF. So I was I took on the case, I had a hot hand at that time. So I knew I could help him and quick and I said, Look, it'll be about two weeks, you know, at that time, and I was realistic. Like I said, that I was, I had a hot hand, you know, and we fixed her credit. And her son's name is John. Oh, wow. That's awesome. Yeah, yeah. I had a, I had clients. I'm talking about buzzer beaters, you know, escrow monies, for all intents and purposes, life savings in escrow that an unforeseen civil judgment pops up right at the finish line, they're going to lose. It's Christmas time. I like it. I can't remember the date. Exactly. I know that I could say this. I got the file anywhere between the 18th and 21st of December. I can't remember now so long ago, but it was a judgment. The clients were desperate. The payday was amazing, you know, for a day's work. All I had to do was file a motion to vacate this judgment. And the client moved in, they closed and they moved in on Christmas Eve. Wow, they were living they were living in, in my client's brother-in-law's garage. Because they, they they rolled the dice, everything they had was in escrow, and they were counting on moving into that house. And then that judgment comes out of nowhere and just sucker punches them. I mean, it was they were devastated. I'll be honest with you: I was already off the grid for the holidays. I'm not gonna lie about the money again, the offer was great. But being able to help the client, you know, to put yourself, you know, to put the cape on and, and do what you do. It was so, you know, it was so sad. I've gotten job satisfaction from this, you know, the money again, as I said, the money is always going to be there, you know, but to see that person get to the next level, that poor woman, you know, she had been through so much. And to be able to, you know, every day for the rest of her life. I know that a son is here because of something that my mother taught me so incredibly. Again, yes, so many stories and some cool ones. You know, some you know, the, you know how a client could get discouraged when they get embarrassed at a car dealership. And then you know, you sit in with them, and I've gone that's one of my favorite things to do is to go to be there with my client, when at that moment when they pull the trigger. You're right. And so my clients, a lot of my clients, when they go buy a vehicle a lot of times that's the purpose why they hire me, and I'll go with them because I like to negotiate. I'm a fish negotiator. I try to give them the best deal. But But what I like to what I like when I go for the most call me petty, but I like to see the look on the guy's face who turned them down. It's like, who did that? How did who How did you do that? Because that guy selfishly in his head. He's like, Man, I need that guy's number. So that's how I've developed my reputation over the, and I've done this I mean, I, I'm so confident in what I do is that I've even gone to lengths making outlandish challenges. I'm like, Hey, I bet your 100 grand right now, I'll give you the money right now. I'm telling you, I could get this done. Are you sure you want to go down this road with me? Because I'm gonna collect, and then they go, no, no, no, it's okay. I believe you. It's not bragging if you could back it up. And I've never back down from a challenge ever, you know, even back then, when it was primitive, I would say, hey, in a year, you know, and a year in a year is like, now back then is like saying in a day, there are so many stories. I mean, you know, like, like, I told you that Daniel, I don't pay for food in this town. You know, during the pandemic, I pulled so many businesses out of the fire, being able to help them, you know, reestablish their corporate infrastructure or establish one that they didn't have. I had some dark days in the beginning, too. You know, I've had a lot of pissed-off clients. I'm not gonna lie to you, you know, but we were going through growing pains. As long as I stood tall in front of them with my chest, I was like, Look, I know this took a little bit longer than expected. I make them understand that the longer this takes, the less than I make. If this takes a year, and you paid me $2,000, Do the math. I'm here. I'm working for pennies on the dollar. So, I'm doing my best to get you off my desk and on to the next evolution. So again, to the rookies, welcome to this wonderful business. It'll change your life. It'll give you all the flexibility in the world. And one, one huge piece of advice if I could, if I could give because I don't give any, but I kind of like I like to like Yoda, you know, I'm like, Look, your most important client is you. If you're not good for yourself. You cannot. How can you tell your client how to live? If you're not if you live in Rome? I

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love that. That's great advice. Hey, we're running toward the end of our time here. So we're going to switch gears a little bit. I want to ask you some rapid-fire questions and answer with the first thing that pops into your head. Okay, okay. Okay, what's your business superpower? My ability to network? What's your business? Is Kryptonite the area that gives you the most trouble?

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The amount of phone calls that I receive? I try to have them go through the portal. I could have some rest, and I could answer their questions thoroughly. It my kryptonite would be the the constant phone calls.

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What is business ownership mean to you? Freedom? Hmm, what's your definition of success?

27:19  

Not owning an alarm clock?

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And if you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be? I

27:27  

would invest more money into the development of my business. Okay, before

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we wrap up. Can you tell our listeners where they can connect with you and learn more about Blackcard Bandits?

27:38  

Sure. internets. I am here to help. The more of us that know. The less of the less of us get pigeonholed. You could reach me on the best way to reach me on social media is on Instagram at the Blackcard Bandits. Just drop a question. I'm more than happy to help you guys. I was I was in a former life. I was an aspiring baseball player. I ran my business the way I conducted myself on the field in between the lines, you know, we're all a team. We're all in a community. I've learned there are millions of people in this world that need our help. I haven't put a dent in the universe yet. Hey, if I can help you get to the next level. If anybody if they if you needs my help, you know, don't don't try to do too much. Don't be afraid to ask for help. black car bandits. I'm always I'm always recruiting. Not like I said, I'm not here pitching myself. But if you need help from a professional combat experience, I'm more than happy to help.

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Well, I want to thank you so much for your time, John. This was a lot of fun. Yes, that success. Thank you. And for everyone out there listening. If you're finding value in the things that we share on this podcast, click below to subscribe and follow. Also, give me a five-star review or share the show and help us to change more lives. If you'd like to read the show notes, they're posted on my blog. If you have a question or comment, drop it down below because I read each and every one of them. And I'll respond as soon as I can. If you want to learn more secrets to growing a credit repair business, check out my episode on how to generate leads without paid ads. So take care, Credit Hero, and keep changing lives. Hey everybody, it's Daniel again. And really quick. I'd like to invite you to join what I believe is the best thing we have ever created inside the Credit Repair Cloud community. And it is a challenge that we call the Credit Hero Challenge. If you're just planning out your business, or you're just getting started, and you dream of having a successful business of your own, you can quit your nine-to-five and fire your boss and have financial freedom, or you can add another revenue stream to your existing business. If that's your dream, you need to get into this challenge. We created this challenge to help you create and launch your very own credit repair business to build a proper foundation for a real Your least successful business. This challenge is going to help you understand the strategy, the tactics, and all the things you need to be successful at credit repair. It really is the greatest thing we have ever built, and it will change your life. So I recommend you do it right now. Stop everything, pause this audio, go online, and go to creditherochallenge.com. That's creditherochallenge.com, and join the next challenge. And there's a challenge that starts in just a few days. So go get started right now at creditherochallenge.com