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Episode #3

3 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before Helping 15,000+ People With Credit

Jeri Toliver

Last Updated: Feb 2, 2026

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Hey! I'm Jeri!

I'm a financial educator and speaker known for simplifying complex credit and funding strategies. I've helped thousands of individuals and small business owners get the credit they deserve.

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Summary

In this episode of The Smart Credit Experience, Jeri Toliver shares the 3 things she wishes someone told her before helping 15,000+ people with credit—and what those lessons mean for anyone trying to fix their credit, build a 700+ score, buy a home, or become financially stable.

You’ll learn:

- Why credit is a people business (and the emotional responsibility most people underestimate)
- Why credit problems are often symptoms of deeper issues like cash flow, structure, and financial habits
- Why some people say they want change—but aren’t ready to do what it takes (and how to set boundaries)

Whether you’re working on personal credit repair, trying to become funding-ready, or considering becoming a credit consultant, this episode will help you move with more clarity, compassion, and strategy.

✅ Need help with personal or business credit? Get matched with a Smart Credit Consultant: www.smartcreditcoach.com/help

✅ Want to become a certified credit consultant? Apply to get Smart Credit Certified.

#creditrepair #creditscore #financialliteracy #businesscredit #businessfunding #smartcredit #moneymindset #entrepreneurship

Chapters

01:44 — Why people aren’t attached to points—they’re attached to outcomes like homes, stability, and peace.

03:45 — What clients are really looking for when they ask for help with credit.

04:57 — How lack of education, structure, and guidance creates long-term credit struggles.

06:34 — Why Dispute-Only Credit Models Fail

09:06 — Why people say they want help—but aren’t ready to do the work.

12:08 —How setting boundaries transformed leadership, client outcomes, and the business.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Smart Credit Experience, the place where financial clarity, strategy and transformation begin. I'm your host, Jeri Toliver, CEO of Smart Credit Solutions and the creator of the Smart Credit Method. Every week I break down the truth about credit funding and building a financially abundant life and business. So if you're ready to learn what lenders actually look for, how to build a fundable business, and how to move forward with confidence and clarity, you're in the right place.

[00:00:30] Over the last 10 years, I've helped over 15,000 people with their credit. And it didn't just teach me about credit, it really taught me more about people.

[00:00:41] When I first started, I thought that this work was more about fixing credit reports, raising scores, helping people get approved for credit cards and houses and loans.

[00:00:50] And although those things do matter, after I've had 30 thousands of conversations, countless strategy sessions, I've seen people cry. I've seen people have be frustrated. I've seen people even have wins, right, and successes. But I've realized that there are things that I really wish somebody would have told me before I stepped into the space so that I could be more prepared. And so today, I'm actually going to share some of those with you so that you can get a better idea of what does it really take, what does it really require to be a successful consultant in this space? Because I've learned a lot of these lessons the hard way. So if you're trying to fix your credit or if you're trying to help others with their credit, you can move with more clarity by learning from my mistakes today.

[00:01:44] So the first mistake that I learned was that I really underestimated the emotional responsibility that I was taken on as a credit consultant. You know, people are emotionally attached, not just to their credit, but to the outcomes that they're looking to achieve. When you think about the fact that people are out here wanting to buy homes for their families, or they're wanting a backyard to spend time with the people that they love, or they are looking to have some stability, right, so that they don't have to rent for the rest of their lives.

[00:02:24] Or maybe they're looking to start and grow a business and they're needing funding to do it so that they don't use their personal finances and drain their. Their savings to. To do it as well. These are all emotional outcomes that people are looking for. And many times they feel ashamed that they don't have the solution to the problem or they don't really know the first step to get it done. And so when you're people with their finances, you have to understand that this isn't just a credit industry.

[00:02:58] This is a people industry. You're not working with just credit scores. You're working with people. You're working with their anxiety, you're working with their stress, you're working with their setbacks, you're working with their disappointments. There have been so many times where people have come to work with us and are just struggling because they've tried before time and time again and they didn't get the results that they were looking for. And so people are looking for peace. They're not just looking for points. They're looking to be able to count on somebody to show up and deliver what they promise. They're not looking for temporary results. They're looking for something that can last.

[00:03:45] And so like, I wish I would have realized or known just the responsibility that I was taking on because if I had of, I think that I would have been able to serve and show up for my clients with more capacity for them. I don't think 10 years ago I had even the patience. I didn't have the understanding.

[00:04:09] And because of that, I was not able to serve my clients and in a way that they really truly needed to be served to have long term sustainable success.

[00:04:21] Because I was sold on short term results as well when I got into this space. And I'm so grateful now that I've learned so much about what people expect from someone that they're hiring to help them with their credit. And I've been able to grow as a professional as a result, you know, and I'm grateful for that. The second thing that I wish I would have learned is credit problems really aren't just credit problems. Credit problems are really more of a result of deeper issues.

[00:04:57] These can be emotional issues, spiritual issues, mental issues, psychological issues that are buried under all type of stuff, you know, just life.

[00:05:11] And so when I realized that credit issues are more of a symptom of things, then I started to start connecting the dots and showing more compassion for people because we all, you know, I don't know about you, but I wasn't taught about credit. I learned about credit the hard way. I learned by making mistakes. I learned by paying things late. I learned by letting things go into collections. That's how I learned about credit. And a lot of people learned about credit the same exact way. And so if you're somebody that's like, I don't understand my credit is so bad, many times it's just a result of having cash flow issues.

[00:05:51] Not understanding how credit cards work, a lack of structure, not having a financial system, not having any guidance or having poor guidance is like the top reasons why people have bad credit or maybe they've avoided their credit. They, they don't look at it. They're, they just said to hell with it because they just don't know where to start.

[00:06:18] And there are people that avoid things that make them feel uncomfortable or they avoid things that they're not sure about. They're not, they don't have any clarity around. And I understand that now more than ever before.

[00:06:34] So this is the reason why those dispute type models don't work anymore. Because people need more than just somebody sending out dispute letters. They need somebody that can guide them and help them develop new habits, help them develop even a new identity around themselves and how they manage money.

[00:06:56] So they need somebody that can help them develop a strategy so that they can fix the problems that are leading to the credit issues.

[00:07:05] Right? Because many times it's not, you're not having credit problems because you are stupid or you're, you know, you're, you're just mainly uneducated. That's really what it boils down to. It really boils down to the lack of financial literacy that is in the space just in the United States actually. Period. Right. We should be learning about this stuff in grammar school, high school at the minimum. But nobody ever teaches us anything. And so bad credit is, is really ever really the problem. Bad credit is just a symptom of other problems of not being taught, of having poor systems, poor guidance, and just not really knowing where to start. And also not having somebody in your corner that understands the problems is another thing. You know, when I, when I embarked on my journey of having better credit, I didn't really know where to start either. And so I hired somebody to help me with my credit and he scammed me out of $800 in the process.

[00:08:10] And it was a feeling that I never wanted to feel again. But, but I knew that if I never wanted to feel that way again, I needed to adjust my habits, my disciplines around my money and finances. And I needed to get literate about how credit and money worked.

[00:08:30] And so I'm able to extend that same grace and compassion and empathy to others that are dealing with the same exact thing.

[00:08:40] Because overall people just want to a safe space.

[00:08:44] They want a space where they can grow. They want a space where people will support them. They want a space where they can feel like this is it, this is it for me. And that, that's what it's all about. And so that's what we've been able to create from learning what I've learned over the last 10 years and helping so many people.

[00:09:06] And then the last thing that I wish I would have learned getting in before I got into the space is that everybody just doesn't want help or they're not ready for it. I'll say they're not really ready for the help that they say that they want.

[00:09:23] Many people, they say that they want help, but they're, they do other things. They say they want better credit, but they're still out spending unnecessary money. They're, they're still not paying things on time. They're still not hiring qualified help.

[00:09:39] So I have realized that people say one thing, but they do another.

[00:09:45] There has been countless times where people schedule even consultations on our calendar to discuss helping them with getting funding or improving their credit, but they don't show up for it.

[00:10:00] And it used to frustrate me. It used to frustrate my team.

[00:10:04] But then we realized that, number one, credit, like I said, is a very emotional topic.

[00:10:11] People feel shame around it and they're not comfortable sometimes talking about it to a stranger. I totally understand it. But nothing is ever going to change if you don't change. If you don't make the decision that enough is enough, that today is the last day that I'm ever going to deal with these four financial problems. And so I used to feel like, man, why are people scheduling calls on our calendars and not showing up? Or why are people saying, hey, I'm going to join your programs next week and then ghost us? Like, why do people do these things?

[00:10:48] Because they're not ready. That's just what it all boils down to.

[00:10:52] And so I, I, I had even found myself at a point where I wanted it more than, than the client did, you know, I had more hope for them than they had for themselves.

[00:11:07] I was ready for them to change, but they weren't.

[00:11:12] And that can only go so far, because if I have to drag you to the starting line, I'm going to have to drag you to the finish line, too.

[00:11:25] And I've realized that timing is everything.

[00:11:30] I have had people that have come and scheduled meetings on our calendar that haven't shown up, but then two years later say, I'm ready now.

[00:11:42] So it's just a matter of timing for people. Some people are ready to take it to the next level. Some people aren't. And that's just the way that it is. Some people are ready for results.

[00:11:53] Some people aren't.

[00:11:55] Some people are ready to take on the responsibility of improving their circumstances.

[00:12:00] Others aren't. That's just the way that it is. Some people are ready to pay the cost.

[00:12:06] Most people aren't.

[00:12:08] So I've learned not to take it personally, because I'm not the problem, I'm the solution.

[00:12:17] And when I adopted that mindset, when I adopted that positioning, I stopped chasing clients, I stopped begging them to take the next step. And I created boundaries so that I didn't keep allowing people to waste my time and waste the time of my, of my, my coaches.

[00:12:40] And so that we can spend our energy, our effort, and focus on the people that are ready.

[00:12:49] Because trying to chase down people that are not ready is exhausting.

[00:12:54] And that's not our job anyway, so. And I'm grateful that I've learned these lessons because now I'm able to show up for the people that are ready.

[00:13:06] I'm able to deliver to people what they need in a new and exciting way because I have the clarity around what kind of leader I am and the kind of leader that I want to be.

[00:13:23] And so now I am able to discern whether or not a client is even a good fit for me.

[00:13:31] And that is a blessing. It's a blessing. Having boundaries as an entrepreneur protects not only my time, but it protects the client's time too.

[00:13:42] And so I've been able to educate myself not only on credit, but around leading people, working with people. This is a people business.

[00:13:52] And getting educated on that has helped me show up in a more, a softer, more compassionate way.

[00:14:04] And that has literally transformed our business. It has transformed my company, it has transformed our clients results.

[00:14:13] And I am so excited for the next 10 years.

[00:14:19] And so those are really the three things that I have learned. The top three that I have learned over the last 10 years, helping over 15,000 people.

[00:14:28] And I hope that, that you take this and apply it to even yourself. Whether if you're somebody that's looking to get into the credit industry, or maybe you're looking to even hire somebody to help you with your credit. Like ask yourself, who am I hiring?

[00:14:47] And ask yourself, if you're getting into the industry, what kind of leader do I want to be? Because this industry requires you to be compassionate, it requires you to be patient. It requires you to meet people where they are and show up for them the way they need you to. Not how you want to, but how they need you to.

[00:15:12] Because that's the only way to help people transform their life. For not only themselves, but for their family.

[00:15:19] So, you know, I learned stop trying to save everybody and to build systems around me that protect my energy and to work with only people that want real, lasting change.

[00:15:33] So, you know, I can't fix everybody, but I can give the strategy to people that want it. And that strategy has time and time again helped people with improving their circumstances.

[00:15:45] So that's the reflection that I wanted to share with y' all today.

[00:15:49] And I hope that you take this same evil philosophy and apply it to your own business, because business is a people's game.

[00:15:59] That's what it really is. When you're in business, you're not dealing with just money. You're dealing with people.

[00:16:05] And the best thing that you can do for yourself, for your business, is to become a people person.

[00:16:12] Get. Get in there, you know, get to know people, get to know what they want, what they desire, what they're challenged by, and see how can I really help and serve you today?

[00:16:23] And that alone is going to help you stand out from everybody else.

[00:16:29] Because when people consult with us, they feel it. They feel the authenticity. They feel the fact that we care.

[00:16:37] And I've had clients that have told me that they'll go to bat for me, they'll fight for me, because we're the real deal, bottom line. And so I. That makes me feel really good, and it makes me feel confident that we're showing up for people in a space where people need that. They need it.

[00:17:03] So take it, use it and grow.

[00:17:07] And, yeah, that's all I got for y' all today. So if you got any.

[00:17:14] Any questions or if you need even some assistance with your personal and business credit, hit us up. Get matched with a Smart Credit consultant, and we'll be more than happy to help you with getting the credit that you deserve. And if you're looking to even get certified as a credit consultant, then fill out the application, our team will review it, and we'll reach out to you to see if it's a good fit. But other than that, thank y' all for joining me today. I really appreciate you listening. Again, this is Jerry at Smart Credit Coach, and I look forward to seeing next time.