THE HGP FAMILY IS CREATING A SUSTAINABLE
BLUEPRINT TO GENERATIONAL WEALTH
BLUEPRINT TO GENERATIONAL WEALTH
Written by Writelord
For many years, America has struggled with two things: racial wealth gap, the financial disparity between white and black families; and generational wealth gap, the economic tussle between older and younger generations. While arguing about the cause and effect of these two concepts basically solves nothing; one thing is quite clear from the comparisons…
Millennials are at the bottom of every spectrum of wealth creation.
Still, in an age where technology allows for easy access to timely information, gaining financial stability and wealth may not be as complex as it seems. In fact, if the current state of the world is anything to go by, there are many opportunities to make sustainable wealth. As a result, many millennials can make up for their lack of present purchasing power by “playing the long game” and making smart investments.
This is exactly what the HGP family — led by budding entrepreneur Lance ‘Claysmile’ Smith — stands for. With their core values invested in living Humble, Grateful and Prayerful, the HGP family, run by Lance alongside his nephew Khiry and two nieces, Brittani and Jordana, seeks to establish a positive and uplifting model that can inspire other families to create a new cycle of generational wealth and faith. To achieve this goal, the family has set their sights on real estate investments, one of the world’s most powerful tools for building substantial and sustainable wealth.
Contrary to popular belief, real estate is a much more open market than many people think, and isn’t restricted to people of upper class wealth. The HGP family clearly understands this, as they draw inspiration from decades of their family’s involvement in real estate. Indeed, their ambition to create generational wealth is embedded in family history, with Lance’s great-great-grandfather Turner and great-grandfather James Austin securing and maintaining properties in Virginia, starting way back in 1897.
While many, especially young people in the black community, may believe real estate to be a complex business; Lance found this to be untrue. He realized, after encountering experts in the business that investing in real estate, like stocks, does not require enormous amounts of money to get started. Anyone can delve into real estate, as long as they are financially educated, knowledgeable about the industry and committed to the process of transforming active income into passive income that can transcend inflationary factors.
But Lance Smith’s vision for the HGP family’s mission did not just emerge from hopeful wishes. In order to assist his family in creating a new cycle of generational wealth, Lance realized he needed to break the cycle of generational poverty, a concept inadvertently instilled into the black community and millennials by materialistic diversions away from building strong family values and retaining long-term relationships.
So, he created a financial literacy program called ‘How We Are Making Our First Million’, a movement which shares the motivations, methodologies and mindsets (through real-life case studies) of people who are in the process of making their first million. Already, this program feels unprecedentedly inspiring; it seeks to help young adults achieve financial freedom through asset acquisition, while showing them the actual blueprint to success. And while the program is geared towards young adults aged 18 to 30, it encourages them to invest early in ROTH IRA stock mutual funds and real estate — investments which mature well into their older years, about 20 to 40 years from now.
Now, at age 42, Lance fully understands the requirements of passive income and how it pertains to immediate family support. He understands that active income is only trading time for money, and is never sustainable if not invested early. Passive income, on the other hand, is more sustainable as it involves investing time into building systems that make you money, with little or no work at all. Like his brother Marlon Smith, Lance wants to facilitate legacy wealth for the benefit of the future generations.
Marlon, who is a CFEI (Certified Financial Education Instructor), attests to being blessed by God and his family. He believes in the necessity of working hand-in-hand with relatives in order to create generational wealth. In his words, the role of the modern generation is already stated in the bible, “Proverbs 13:22 states: ‘A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.’ I believe this to be TRUTH.”
That being said, Lance’s vision for the HGP family stems from a poignant self-reflection at a mitzvah party. At the event, the mitzvah girl’s father delivered an empowering speech. He praised the women in attendance as being highly-successful members of the family’s network. In that moment, he made his child aware of the many influential role models she had around her. To Lance, this was an eye-opening experience. He realized that all it took to break generational cycles of poverty is to infuse a theme of wise choices, healthier relationships and wealth within the family. “…and it only takes one person to set an example that can change the trajectory of the generational patterns for future generations.”
Led by Lance, HGP is a family-owned real estate investment company that is building generational wealth, one investment deal at a time. Because going it alone can be difficult, Lance approaches real investment from behind-the-scenes, working as a private lender for house flippers. The idea is a simple one: find reputable house flippers, negotiate a suitable agreement, provide the loan, and receive your initial investment plus the predetermined ROI, at the agreed time frame.
Now, Lance is no stranger to the business world. He owns Claysmile LLC, a consulting company that is involved in multiple industries, such as public speaking, dance fitness, event hosting, bookkeeping, and financial education. As a result, Lance understands perfectly how hiring the right staff can determine business success. With the HGP real estate investment company, Lance needed a crew he could depend on, a staff equally motivated as he was to succeed. So, on his second real estate deal, he recruited his hardworking nephew, Khiry to the fold; and business has excelled since then.
Khiry Clark got into real estate investing through Lance and has been blessed by the experience ever since. At the time, Lance was negotiating a deal with a house flipper, who was a good friend of Khiry’s dad, Gregory Smith. A 4-digit sum was needed to close the deal, and Khiry was all too happy to contribute his capital. It turned out to be a life-changing opportunity, as he is now an experienced private money lender in the real estate business. Khiry believes HGP is already creating a legacy and will one day make a huge positive change in the world.
“I saw the vision from day one,” he said, “HGP is on-course to create a lasting legacy and to build wealth for future generations.”
Once Lance and Khiry got going, it wasn’t hard to encourage other members of the family to join the company. Lance’s nieces Brittani K. Holley and Jordana Smith have also joined HGP and are now learning new things about real estate investing, financial literacy and generational wealth.
After being encouraged by her uncle to join, Brittani believes that real estate investing is a secure way to set people up with housing. She is super excited about watching houses change from rubbles into beautiful homes. “HGP means everything to me,” she said, “My goal is to own multiple properties with my family, and gain financial freedom”
Jordana was also encouraged by her uncle, Lance and cousin Khiry to join. “They explained the plan to me and their passion inspired me to join,” she said. “Real estate investing is the opportunity of a lifetime.” Jordana believes that, under the guidance of her uncle, HGP can help anyone gain new life skills, helping multiple families open up new streams of income.
So far, HGP has got off to a good start, with all members contributing financially, emotionally and spiritually to the project. At least once a month, the family gathers for a meeting where they discuss the principles of building generational wealth as well as generational faith. They all share their experiences with finances, relationships and health, ensuring that their family’s code of conduct (Humility, Gratitude and Prayer) is adhered to. They also share goals for the month and establish accountability for results. A group prayer then concludes the meetings.
In these meetings — just as he does in his financial literacy program — Lance mentors his family on steps to take to becoming financially successful. He shares in-depth experiences of his challenges, providing insights into how passive income should be created. While the members rely on Smith for direction, especially in the real estate business, they appreciate his ability to connect with them on a deeper, more personal level.
Recently, Lance shared four important keys to being a successful private lender for house flippers. These strategies, he demonstrates, can help any beginner in the real estate business find success.
1. Only work with trusted house flippers. Vet their integrity and competence before making an agreement.
2. Make sure the house flipper has a proven track record of success.
3. Demand a promissory note, and make sure the house flipper gives you a personal guarantee.
4. Ensure the house flipper is a high net worth individual, (‘otherwise, the personal guarantee is worthless’, Lance says.)
Millennials are at the bottom of every spectrum of wealth creation.
Still, in an age where technology allows for easy access to timely information, gaining financial stability and wealth may not be as complex as it seems. In fact, if the current state of the world is anything to go by, there are many opportunities to make sustainable wealth. As a result, many millennials can make up for their lack of present purchasing power by “playing the long game” and making smart investments.
This is exactly what the HGP family — led by budding entrepreneur Lance ‘Claysmile’ Smith — stands for. With their core values invested in living Humble, Grateful and Prayerful, the HGP family, run by Lance alongside his nephew Khiry and two nieces, Brittani and Jordana, seeks to establish a positive and uplifting model that can inspire other families to create a new cycle of generational wealth and faith. To achieve this goal, the family has set their sights on real estate investments, one of the world’s most powerful tools for building substantial and sustainable wealth.
Contrary to popular belief, real estate is a much more open market than many people think, and isn’t restricted to people of upper class wealth. The HGP family clearly understands this, as they draw inspiration from decades of their family’s involvement in real estate. Indeed, their ambition to create generational wealth is embedded in family history, with Lance’s great-great-grandfather Turner and great-grandfather James Austin securing and maintaining properties in Virginia, starting way back in 1897.
While many, especially young people in the black community, may believe real estate to be a complex business; Lance found this to be untrue. He realized, after encountering experts in the business that investing in real estate, like stocks, does not require enormous amounts of money to get started. Anyone can delve into real estate, as long as they are financially educated, knowledgeable about the industry and committed to the process of transforming active income into passive income that can transcend inflationary factors.
But Lance Smith’s vision for the HGP family’s mission did not just emerge from hopeful wishes. In order to assist his family in creating a new cycle of generational wealth, Lance realized he needed to break the cycle of generational poverty, a concept inadvertently instilled into the black community and millennials by materialistic diversions away from building strong family values and retaining long-term relationships.
So, he created a financial literacy program called ‘How We Are Making Our First Million’, a movement which shares the motivations, methodologies and mindsets (through real-life case studies) of people who are in the process of making their first million. Already, this program feels unprecedentedly inspiring; it seeks to help young adults achieve financial freedom through asset acquisition, while showing them the actual blueprint to success. And while the program is geared towards young adults aged 18 to 30, it encourages them to invest early in ROTH IRA stock mutual funds and real estate — investments which mature well into their older years, about 20 to 40 years from now.
Now, at age 42, Lance fully understands the requirements of passive income and how it pertains to immediate family support. He understands that active income is only trading time for money, and is never sustainable if not invested early. Passive income, on the other hand, is more sustainable as it involves investing time into building systems that make you money, with little or no work at all. Like his brother Marlon Smith, Lance wants to facilitate legacy wealth for the benefit of the future generations.
Marlon, who is a CFEI (Certified Financial Education Instructor), attests to being blessed by God and his family. He believes in the necessity of working hand-in-hand with relatives in order to create generational wealth. In his words, the role of the modern generation is already stated in the bible, “Proverbs 13:22 states: ‘A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.’ I believe this to be TRUTH.”
That being said, Lance’s vision for the HGP family stems from a poignant self-reflection at a mitzvah party. At the event, the mitzvah girl’s father delivered an empowering speech. He praised the women in attendance as being highly-successful members of the family’s network. In that moment, he made his child aware of the many influential role models she had around her. To Lance, this was an eye-opening experience. He realized that all it took to break generational cycles of poverty is to infuse a theme of wise choices, healthier relationships and wealth within the family. “…and it only takes one person to set an example that can change the trajectory of the generational patterns for future generations.”
Led by Lance, HGP is a family-owned real estate investment company that is building generational wealth, one investment deal at a time. Because going it alone can be difficult, Lance approaches real investment from behind-the-scenes, working as a private lender for house flippers. The idea is a simple one: find reputable house flippers, negotiate a suitable agreement, provide the loan, and receive your initial investment plus the predetermined ROI, at the agreed time frame.
Now, Lance is no stranger to the business world. He owns Claysmile LLC, a consulting company that is involved in multiple industries, such as public speaking, dance fitness, event hosting, bookkeeping, and financial education. As a result, Lance understands perfectly how hiring the right staff can determine business success. With the HGP real estate investment company, Lance needed a crew he could depend on, a staff equally motivated as he was to succeed. So, on his second real estate deal, he recruited his hardworking nephew, Khiry to the fold; and business has excelled since then.
Khiry Clark got into real estate investing through Lance and has been blessed by the experience ever since. At the time, Lance was negotiating a deal with a house flipper, who was a good friend of Khiry’s dad, Gregory Smith. A 4-digit sum was needed to close the deal, and Khiry was all too happy to contribute his capital. It turned out to be a life-changing opportunity, as he is now an experienced private money lender in the real estate business. Khiry believes HGP is already creating a legacy and will one day make a huge positive change in the world.
“I saw the vision from day one,” he said, “HGP is on-course to create a lasting legacy and to build wealth for future generations.”
Once Lance and Khiry got going, it wasn’t hard to encourage other members of the family to join the company. Lance’s nieces Brittani K. Holley and Jordana Smith have also joined HGP and are now learning new things about real estate investing, financial literacy and generational wealth.
After being encouraged by her uncle to join, Brittani believes that real estate investing is a secure way to set people up with housing. She is super excited about watching houses change from rubbles into beautiful homes. “HGP means everything to me,” she said, “My goal is to own multiple properties with my family, and gain financial freedom”
Jordana was also encouraged by her uncle, Lance and cousin Khiry to join. “They explained the plan to me and their passion inspired me to join,” she said. “Real estate investing is the opportunity of a lifetime.” Jordana believes that, under the guidance of her uncle, HGP can help anyone gain new life skills, helping multiple families open up new streams of income.
So far, HGP has got off to a good start, with all members contributing financially, emotionally and spiritually to the project. At least once a month, the family gathers for a meeting where they discuss the principles of building generational wealth as well as generational faith. They all share their experiences with finances, relationships and health, ensuring that their family’s code of conduct (Humility, Gratitude and Prayer) is adhered to. They also share goals for the month and establish accountability for results. A group prayer then concludes the meetings.
In these meetings — just as he does in his financial literacy program — Lance mentors his family on steps to take to becoming financially successful. He shares in-depth experiences of his challenges, providing insights into how passive income should be created. While the members rely on Smith for direction, especially in the real estate business, they appreciate his ability to connect with them on a deeper, more personal level.
Recently, Lance shared four important keys to being a successful private lender for house flippers. These strategies, he demonstrates, can help any beginner in the real estate business find success.
1. Only work with trusted house flippers. Vet their integrity and competence before making an agreement.
2. Make sure the house flipper has a proven track record of success.
3. Demand a promissory note, and make sure the house flipper gives you a personal guarantee.
4. Ensure the house flipper is a high net worth individual, (‘otherwise, the personal guarantee is worthless’, Lance says.)
Lance has used this template to great effect, landing contracts with top house flipping agencies in the district. Just recently, he and his nephew, Khiry visited a new property in Baltimore, one of many house flips they invested in as private lenders for a house flipper. The property is a homely establishment located in the Forest Park neighborhood of Baltimore City. Lance believes this progress is a good example that his method works — that anyone can earn high interest rates when lending money out to house flippers who are reputable, hardworking and professional.
While real estate investing provides great ROI, Lance emphasizes the importance of working as a collective for better returns. According to Khiry, Lance’s drive to succeed is contagious and was the real reason why he joined HGP. Just by speaking with Lance, he could already feel a sense of success about the business, even before he got involved. The same sentiments are echoed by house flippers who constantly work with Lance, stunned by his immaculate vision and admirable work-ethic.
TOTA Investment Inc. is one such partner which conducts a house flipping business with loans acquired from private lenders. Lance and his family became a private lender to the firm through a referral from a friend. The manager, Andre Harper, applauds Lance as one of the best real estate partners he’s ever worked with. Together, they finalized a project which yielded high ROI. He believes that Lance was a ball of light in the entire process. “He brings so much more to the table than just money,” Andre stated. “His enthusiasm and commitment to learn is a valuable asset. He continues to enjoy so much success with his relationship-building skills.”
TOTA Investment Inc. is one such partner which conducts a house flipping business with loans acquired from private lenders. Lance and his family became a private lender to the firm through a referral from a friend. The manager, Andre Harper, applauds Lance as one of the best real estate partners he’s ever worked with. Together, they finalized a project which yielded high ROI. He believes that Lance was a ball of light in the entire process. “He brings so much more to the table than just money,” Andre stated. “His enthusiasm and commitment to learn is a valuable asset. He continues to enjoy so much success with his relationship-building skills.”
Cher Castillo is another fan of the HGP team. An associate broker at the Flip Queen DC and Infinity Capital Group (ICG) which acquires and develops properties across the DMV; Castillo is close family friends with Lance and Khiry. She was thrilled by their interest in real estate, and immediately prepped them on the overall process. She believes people like Lance, Khiry and the rest of the HGP family are very effectively building generational wealth by pursuing real estate investments.
“I believe that real estate is the safest investment with the best returns,” said Castillo. Like Lance, she spends time educating friends, family and clients on why reinvesting their funds is imperative for generational wealth.
Today, Lance opens up the doors for more young adults to join his financial literacy program. Long-term, he hopes to get more young people involved in real estate investing.
Lance notes, “It is important that we teach the youths how to build streams of passive income and generational wealth.”
“I believe that real estate is the safest investment with the best returns,” said Castillo. Like Lance, she spends time educating friends, family and clients on why reinvesting their funds is imperative for generational wealth.
Today, Lance opens up the doors for more young adults to join his financial literacy program. Long-term, he hopes to get more young people involved in real estate investing.
Lance notes, “It is important that we teach the youths how to build streams of passive income and generational wealth.”