Shawn Sharma’s rise to becoming an authority in financial literacy

It is, after all, the American dream, right? Well, some of the weapons those dreamers fail to call upon are wits, hard work, and unwavering faith in themselves. Shawn Sharma is not one of those dreamy-eyed idealists. No sir! He started at a young age and created what can only be defined as an empire, all while taking care of his mother and family’s needs along the way. Some of us have heard the term “arbitrage” but are not exactly clear on what it encompasses. All we know for sure is that Sharma is a multi-millionaire who has a thing or two to teach those of us willing to learn how to fix our credit. We sat down with Sharma to learn what exactly he does, and more importantly, can he get us in on the game?

Interviewer: Shawn, you’re a busy man. Thank you for taking some time out of your schedule to chat with us. Can you please answer that age-old ice-breaking question, “What is it that you do, anyway?”

SS: Certainly, and thanks for having me. My business is credit card arbitrage. That means that I maximize the credit card perks that are really offered to anyone, as well as cash-back offers and so on. I also spend a significant amount of time teaching people how critical credit really is. I mean, without it, I would not have gotten a world-class education by leveraging student loans. It was also the foundation of the over-twenty businesses I started with no out-of-pocket money. I mean, that alone is pretty amazing. My goal now is to help anyone who has the hunger to not only exist, but to thrive in life and business. I can teach you how to do exactly what I did. It’s not something that is out of reach. Seriously, anyone can do it.

Interviewer: Right, I want to touch on that part: That anyone can do it. I mean, you’re not just anyone. You were a mega-student in school, right? You studied your behind off, worked really hard, etc. So what if someone is out of school, maybe even older, and they’ve messed up badly in the world of finance. Can they still turn things around?

SS: Yes! Unequivocally, yes! There’s that old quote, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” It’s true that I started young. I worked hard in school, got a full ride to a math and sciences boarding school, and attended Cornell University, where I was at the top of my class and got a medical school scholarship. But trust me, life hit me hard, and I suffered some significant setbacks, plus I made some epic mistakes along the way. The bottom line is, you really can start over at any time and rebuild. I mean, at one point, I was forced to declare bankruptcy, but now I’m honestly at the top of my game. You can rise, that’s for sure.

Interviewer: Can you tell us about Credit 101, one of your biggest businesses?

SS: Credit 101 is a credit consulting agency to help the financially illiterate and remove negative and inaccurate items from their credit reports that may stop them from obtaining credit. It lends to my dream of assisting the everyman in, so to speak, achieve wealth in the same ways I did. At the end of the day, credit scores don’t care where you are from or the color of your skin; everyone starts at the same baseline. Learning to leverage your credit and use the bank’s money is the single most effective and quickest way to kickstart your financial journey. Credit 101 has generated over eight figures in revenue since inception, so it’s helping tons of people and also allowing me to make money teaching about something that empowers others. 

Interviewer: So, to be clear, someone who doesn’t know much about money and certainly isn’t rich by any standard can still achieve financial wins through credit card arbitrage?

SS: Well, let’s just say that I started out in poverty. That is a fact. Although my parents were highly educated, they were immigrants who never achieved the success they deserved in the states due to a variety of unfortunate circumstances. So I lived in a trailer park and had an awful lot of adversity. But even if someone isn’t outright “poor,” they might be standard middle-class and just want to improve their lot in life, so to speak. I can help. I can teach them how to get credit cards and use them strategically. I show you the importance of a good FICO score, repair your past, monitor your present, and rebuild your future. 

Interviewer: Thanks, Shawn. It was great talking to you. We hope to sit down with you in the years to come and learn more about other businesses you have in store for all of us.  

To follow Shawn and learn more about how you can fix your credit score and maximise your personal wealth, check him out on his website or Instagram.