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00:00I did something that changed the course of the rest of my life.
00:02And I walked into the office and I said to them,
00:05I love this brand, you know,
00:06more than anything in the world and this company and I'm obsessed
00:09and I'll do anything for it.
00:11But if you don't allow me to be a part of this next chapter,
00:13I'm going to do it on my own.
00:16Never forget their faces.
00:17And they said, okay, well, the risk I think of losing him far outweighs.
00:21What if this doesn't work and it's not portable?
00:23My name is Joey Gonzalez.
00:25I'm the global co-CEO of Berries.
00:27And today I'm going to talk about my financial journey
00:30and what I have learned about money.
00:40I first started at Berries as a client.
00:42I was going twice a day and Barry obviously noticed
00:46and asked if I wanted to be an instructor.
00:47So I said, yes, of course.
00:48And I put on that mic and it was love at first sweat.
00:51And I knew I wanted to dedicate the rest of my life to growing this brand.
00:55I became the GM.
00:56I was running the two studios in Los Angeles.
00:59I kept asking Barry and the other two partners
01:02if I could invest and open new studios with them.
01:05Finally, after working together for five years,
01:08that's when I started to move around to different parts of the country,
01:11really sort of sharpening our core competency,
01:13which is finding and developing fitness superstars.
01:17But when I opened Berries New York City,
01:18that was the moment where I started making real money.
01:22I reinvested 90% of that money into building the business.
01:27Let's talk about bad money decisions.
01:31You know, it's hard for me to call this a financial regret
01:33because I think you learn so much from your mistakes, right?
01:36But I did invest in a restaurant concept.
01:39It's called O-Fudge and you took your kids there
01:42and we had au pairs that were dressed in Jean-Baptiste.
01:45We whisked your children away and took care of them
01:47while you, you know, dined on delicious fine dining.
01:51And it lasted a couple years,
01:53but the lesson for me was really in how important it is to know the team,
01:59who are the boots on the ground and who's going to be running the business.
02:02And that was really, I think, my miss there.
02:05I actually started making money very young.
02:07At the age of 13, I started to act and I was in the union
02:11and spent the greater part of my high school life traveling
02:14and doing film, television, musical theater, everything,
02:18which brought me to Los Angeles.
02:20And then about the age of 23 or 24, I sunset that career
02:24after falling out of love with the lack of money that I was making.
02:29And so the very first investment I made was an income producing property in LA
02:35and it ended up being the best investment of my life.
02:38Not only did it help sort of support my life on an ongoing basis,
02:42but it is also the asset that I leveraged to build Berries.
02:48When it came time to open our first studio here in New York City in Chelsea,
02:52I took out a second mortgage, which was around half a million dollars,
02:56and built the studio.
02:57It was very high risk, high reward.
02:59My husband and I developed Fuel Bar and all the recipes.
03:02So if it hadn't worked, I would have been, you know,
03:06without a home, potentially without a job,
03:08and probably no longer married or engaged.
03:12The most challenging part of my financial life was undoubtedly March of 2020.
03:16My private equity partners were going to exit, I was going to monetize,
03:20and the pandemic hit.
03:21We went from doing over $100 million of revenue a year to zero.
03:25Taught me a lesson.
03:26Don't count your eggs before they hatch.
03:29Thank God I didn't make any dumb purchases.
03:32And never a good idea to anchor yourself and identify yourself by money.
03:36Oh boy.
03:37Okay, now should we talk about some good money decisions?
03:39The secret to my financial success,
03:43really knowing and understanding every little detail about my business.
03:48Starting from, you know, teaching classes in the Red Room,
03:52to working the front desk, to managing people, to cleaning toilets,
03:57you know, to today where I get to be the global CEO
03:59and run an organization this special with a level of empathy and understanding
04:04that I don't think a lot of people have.
04:06I think the best financial advice I've received was from my dad
04:12and it was, don't be an idiot.
04:14My father immigrated from Cuba, my mother from Italy,
04:18were extremely careful about how they spent and invested their money.
04:22I still have a very disciplined approach to money.
04:27By far and away, my favorite thing to spend money on is travel.
04:30I did a three-week honeymoon, I spent two weeks in India
04:32and then a week in the Maldives.
04:34The most extravagant thing I think I spent money on was
04:37when I had my firstborn.
04:39Her surrogate was in Pennsylvania and we lived in California
04:42and so because I was so nervous, I flew private from there
04:47and there just to make sure she was okay.
04:49It really set the tone.
04:52The best small purchase I've made is probably my protein mixer
04:56in my backpack because I use it so often.
04:59I have a lot of money in my bank account.
05:02I have approximately 90% of my money in my business and in real estate.
05:11I own about five different properties across the country
05:14because of my upbringing and because of my parents.
05:16It's always just been a place where I felt my money was safe.
05:21To make sure you're working with the right attorney
05:23who really helps you to dot your I's and cross your T's
05:27and make sure that the agreements that are verbal
05:30are also articulated in the written word.
05:34My money mantra is just to be smart about your investments
05:38and really get to know product, the people, the business,
05:41who exactly you're investing in.
05:43So that's my financial journey.
05:44Thank you so much for joining me
05:46and remember to be smart and discipline with your coin.