My father, Reginald F. Lewis, was an icon. After living through the Civil Rights movement, he became the first Black man to build a billion-dollar business in the 1980s. Growing up with him as a dad taught me a lot about money, and it’s why I am a financial advisor today — because I realized that I have specialized knowledge about money that came just from being the daughter of a pioneer.
I miss my dad. He died over 30 years ago, but when I get to tell people about some of the things he taught me, it makes me feel close to him again. Black History Month is also Black Futures Month — and it’s a chance to remember him. Here are three key things I learned from my dad about finance.
1. Make money while you sleep
My father said he wanted to make money while he was sleeping, and he certainly accomplished that through investing. He first taught me about stocks when I was 8. It has served me well! The things I learned and put into practice are still literally paying dividends, and everyone should benefit from this information — especially African Americans who have the most ground to cover to catch up as a group with non-Black peers.
Investing is putting our money to work and letting time and compounding do their magic. There are so many different ways to invest, but if you just want to get started, I recommend learning about the concept of dollar-cost averaging, researching ETFs that track the S&P 500, and then setting up automatic investments on a weekly to monthly basis.
In other words, set it and forget it. On February 9, the S&P 500 passed the 5,000 mark for the first time in its nearly 67-year history. While past performance is no guarantee of future results, the market does seem to be moving positively over time.
Don’t invest money that you need anytime soon. though. I suggest a minimum of a three to five-year time horizon, but ideally, this is a nest egg that you just let grow — while you sleep!
2. Follow-up is key
The second thing I want to share that my father taught me was about following up. “Follow-up” is just continuing to move the ball forward on whatever I am working on.
When I was about 13, I worked at his office one summer, doing admin work. One day, an employee of his dropped the ball on an initiative, and my dad wanted to use it as an example of what not to do. He told me, “Follow-up makes all the difference.” Little actions taken consistently over time can lead to big results.
With our money, what does that mean? It’s about doing our research and following through on our intentions — for example, checking our investments periodically. It’s about following up on financial conversations. And it means making sure our money is doing what we want it to do, and if not, following up on making changes.
3. You can do anything you put your mind to
The last principle I really take to heart that my father taught me is the idea that “You can do anything you put your mind to.”
My father had been invited to a pilot summer program at Harvard Law School that aimed to “introduce Southern Negroes to the law” that had been expressly designed not to be an immediate feeder program to the law school. (They only wanted to recruit college juniors, and my father had been a senior at the time.) He was invited to join, and he became the first person ever accepted to its then-148-year history without filling out an application! He was that good.
He set his mind and made it happen. As he wrote in “Why Should White Guys Have All The Fun,” “I needed a plan. An incredible calm came over me and the plan began to emerge. First, have a tremendous final year in college; second, know the objectives of the program; third, break your ass over the summer, eliminate all distractions.”
Growing up watching and learning from my father, this attitude was basically in the water at our home. When he put me on his board of directors, I had to set my mind to succeed.
I have applied this concept to so many things, like passing the Series 65 exam to become a financial advisor, even though my previous career in the arts did nothing to prepare me for that. I just put my mind to passing the test, and with a lot of studying, I succeeded.
I apply this to my money like this: If I’m uncomfortable with any aspect of my financial life, I believe in my ability to figure it out. I know that I can find a way to approach it that will smooth out the rough patches if I give it enough time, have a plan, and, of course, follow up!
