From Outwrite to Empowerment: Philip Rafshoon on Legacy & Financial Lessons

Episode 42: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

Episode 42: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Speaker1:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only, and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment, and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.

Speaker2:
Welcome to Take Pride in Retirement, the podcast dedicated to helping members of the LGBTQ+ community protect and grow their hard earned money. Get set for a show full of education and insights with your host and advisor, Matt McClure. We recognize every family is unique. The goal of the show is to help you achieve financial freedom so you and your loved ones can have the retirement you've always dreamed of, a retirement you can take pride in, no matter who you are, where you're from, or who you love. So now let's start the show. Here's Matt McClure.

Speaker1:
Hello and welcome to another edition of Take Pride in Retirement. Matt McClure here with you, your advisor, your friend, your pal, your confidant. I really do appreciate your time, as always. Joining me here on the show where we focus on LGBTQ+ financial matters. Um, this is the place for discussion about that, especially when it comes to planning for retirement, because everyone's situation is different, right? We've got so many unique, um, opportunities, really so many unique challenges. But those are our inherently unique opportunities that we can, you know, explore here and that we can say, hey, we need to have a plan for this, that or the other. And that really is the goal of the show, is to help you realize the importance of a plan. We're going to do a lot of that today. We're also going to have this is I am absolutely thrilled for this episode of the show because Phillip Rafshoon is joining me. Yeah. Phillip Rafshoon is an entrepreneur who, um, now works for the Midtown Alliance in Atlanta, Georgia. But he's also he's an entrepreneur, and he opened up a outright bookstore and coffee shop in Atlanta in Midtown several years ago. It is a shop that has since closed, but it's one of the first places that I remember actually being able to just be myself. And so I wanted to talk to him about his journey as an entrepreneur and just his sort of financial journey overall, and see what wisdom he is able to share with you. And he is able to share a lot. So we'll have that conversation to share here momentarily. First of all, though, I wanted to once again, thank you for being a part of the show. I wanted to also say that if anything that we discuss here on the show today really sparks your interest or, you know, makes you say, yeah, maybe I should have a plan for retirement.

Speaker1:
Maybe I should have a plan for my financial future. You can do a couple of things. You can go to take pride in retirement. That's take pride in retirement at the top right hand side of the screen. You'll see there a link that says schedule a consultation. The consultation is free of any cost and any obligation, so I would appreciate it if you would do that. You know, just to explore, um, having your finances gone through with a fine tooth comb and see if you're on the right track and, uh, if you are, then great. If not, then, hey, let's work together and let's come up with a plan that will be best for you. So once again, take pride in retirement.com. You can schedule a consultation right there directly in my calendar from the website. You can also email me Matt at retirement. Com That's Matt at Take Pride in retirement.com. Or you can call me 85524692 11 (855) 246-9211 to schedule that consultation as well. All right. Got this great conversation coming up with Philip Rafshoon. As I said, we also, uh, have a little bit to share after that about how you can live a retirement Without regrets. Um. This is wonderful. I've actually found this in Business Insider, and I thought there were some great highlights to just, uh, you know, pluck out of here. So I will, um, share those ideas and hopefully some inspiration with you in just a little bit. First, though, before we do any of that, let's go right into some inspiration for our conversations this week with our quote of the week.

Speaker3:
And now for some financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.

Speaker1:
And this week's quote comes from actor and activist Elliot Page, who said this. It's not easy to silence that voice of fear, but the freedom on the other side is worth it. Ha! It's not easy to silence that voice of fear, but the freedom on the other side is worth it. I think that's extremely profound. We'll actually talk a lot about that today when I speak with Philip Rafshoon here momentarily, Away, but it's really applicable, of course, in in your everyday personal life. You know, we're talking about personal matters and things like that, silencing that voice of fear. Not an easy thing to do, but when you do it, when you get over that fear, when you find the courage that's within you to do whatever it is that you want to do and that you feel like you need to do. Um, doing that and actually experiencing the freedom that comes with that on the other side of it. Boy that's fantastic. And boy, is it worth actually, you know, taking that step and working up that courage to overcome your fear. It's it's wonderful to be able to do that in your personal life. It's also very wonderful to be able to do that in your financial life as well. There's a lot of fear surrounding finances. There's a lot of uncertainty, particularly right now in in this country and around the world, um, among groups of people, groups of the LGBTQ plus community specifically uh, and especially um, and so overcoming that fear not an easy thing to do, especially when it comes to your personal life, but also to your finances, like, what are we going to have to do to have a solid plan that's in place so that we can, you know, make it to our retirement years and then have the solid retirement that we can actually live on.

Speaker1:
How can we do that? Well, I'll tell you, one thing to do is to overcome your fear, maybe of reaching out to an advisor and work with a trusted advisor on a plan to help you weather whatever storm is here and whatever storm may come in the future. I think that's very, um, very profound and very great quote that has to do not only with your everyday life, but can be applied to finances as well. From Elliot Page about silencing that voice of fear. Well, all right, so I would like to welcome in Now, Philip Rafshoon, who is currently serving with the Midtown Alliance in Atlanta, as director of member engagement. It's also an entrepreneur. Philip, thank you so much for being here. We really do appreciate it.

Speaker4:
Thank you for having me. Glad to be here today.

Speaker1:
I'm glad that you're here as well. I've been looking forward to this conversation for a long time. I mean, you and I have, um, we've we've talked about it for a while. We've met, uh, at the Midtown Alliance, uh, in Atlanta several times now.

Speaker4:
You have indeed.

Speaker1:
And, uh, and kept saying, okay, we're gonna we're going to do this, we're going to do this, and we're doing this.

Speaker4:
Um, yes. It just goes to show you, you have to just sometimes say, hey, let's get this on the calendar.

Speaker1:
Exactly, exactly. Just pin it down. And we and we are now doing that. Um, but, I mean, I'm, I'm thrilled. And I will, um, reveal, uh, many reasons why I'm thrilled in, in just a moment. But tell the listeners and, you know, slash viewers, um, a little bit about yourself. First of all. Right, now, of course, you're the director of member engagement for Midtown Alliance. Right?

Speaker4:
I am, I'm still in Midtown, which is one place I didn't think I'd be for this long a period of time. But, uh, born in New York, uh, my family moved to Atlanta when I was six years old. Grew up here. Went to Georgia Tech for school. Um, spent ten years in the computer industry after that, starting with NCR. And then, um, opened outright bookstore and coffeehouse in Midtown in 1993. Uh, I ran that for almost 20 years. Uh, owned and operated and then, uh, went to work for the Decatur Book Festival for a little light, for a little while. And for the past nine years, I've been working at Midtown Alliance.

Speaker1:
Amazing. Great journey there. And, you know, I mean, I have to say. And you, uh, touched on it there in, in the middle of your sort of brief bio, uh, about your life, why I'm primarily very excited to talk to you, because I feel like some of the first times because I grew up, you know, really on, on the outskirts of, of metro Atlanta and in a, in a more conservative place where I wasn't really there wasn't really anywhere I could go publicly and just be myself. So some of my earliest memories as like, you know, late teens, early 20s, getting to actually just kind of be myself and not even necessarily, you know, I almost said let loose and be myself. But, you know, I wasn't, you know, causing riots at the bookstore or anything, but, um, but I just it.

Speaker4:
Were.

Speaker1:
Maybe that, that that was me now. Um, but no, I mean, it was just such a great spot and one of the very first where I could actually felt like I could in public be myself. So first of all, thank you for for that opportunity for myself and so many others, I'm sure. Um, and so what really made you or inspired you to open up a gay friendly, um, bookstore and coffee house in Midtown Atlanta. First of all.

Speaker4:
It's a good question. Uh, you know, I had traveled, um, while I was, you know, working around the country and, and with a lot of cities and every place that I went, there was an LGBTQ bookstore. I guess we called them gay bookstores back at the time. And, you know, every city had them. Uh, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Miami, even Orlando. And every major city had one except for Atlanta. And these were places where you could go in, um, find books about our lives, talk with people who shared your experience. And it was open during the daytime. It wasn't a bar. Now, I've been going to bars and clubs since I was. I guess I can say this on camera since I was 15 years old and enjoyed them and still enjoy them, but but there was nothing to do in the daytime in Atlanta, uh, as an, as an adult or even as not an out person that where you could connect with the with the gay community. There was no internet then. And I thought, why in the heck don't we have this in Atlanta?

Speaker1:
And that was a very good question that I hadn't been, you know, why it hadn't been done since then. And, I mean, you really found, I think, the perfect spot because, you know, it was right at the corner of 10th and Piedmont, where now, of course, the famous rainbow crosswalk, uh, lives. And, I mean, it's just right in the heart of what was and still in many ways, very much is a very thriving LGBTQ plus community.

Speaker4:
Right. But it wasn't a very easy journey to get there. In fact, we opened at a different spot originally, and, uh, back in the early 90s, somebody had put a an ad in the Southern Voice, which was the precursor to Georgia Voice, uh, asking if there's interest in in opening a lesbian gay bookstore. And I said, yeah, I'd be interested. And also, if there's investment opportunities, let me know. So I met with a guy, Gary Kaltman. He was very excited. I was excited about being involved, but he came to me about a year later and said, this is not going to happen. If you want to do it, here's the business plan I put together. Take it and run with it. And then it sat on my shelf for about two years, and I was frustrated with work, and I was like, why don't I just open a store? So but it was a hard journey to get it open. We did not have landlords that wanted to rent with us. I would go in and say, I'm opening a lesbian gay bookstore and they would say, no way in my, uh, in my property. But what I realized was they had no concept of what it was. They assumed that it was a pornography store. And, you know, I could have gotten angry about it, but I realized that they had no reference on anything besides that. Even though we'd have some erotica in there, uh, there was a lot more to it. And so I kind of, you know, reformatted how I was asking and said, I'm opening a bookstore. These are the resources. This is what I have. And then later, by the way, it happens to be an LGBTQ bookstore. And by that time they had said, you've got the space and they couldn't really back down. So it took a while to get there. We opened in the Midtown Promenade, which were the Trader Joe's is now. And we were there for almost three years and then moved to the amazing space at the corner of Piedmont at ten.

Speaker1:
Wow. Yeah. I mean, you couldn't ask for a better spot there, and I and I wasn't even aware that it had opened up in a different space before. But, you know, that just kind of goes to show you, sometimes the journey gets you to where you need to be in the journey can be very unpredictable. Right. I mean, and along those lines, I mean, what kind of challenges along the way as a gay entrepreneur did you face in this space? I mean, you already talked about getting the space to begin with was a challenge, and you found a way to sort of reverse engineer their thinking on that. Um, but what other kind of as you went along, what other challenges maybe creeped up?

Speaker4:
Well, just just to get open, was it was there more challenges in getting the funding? Because I needed investors and and the, the the excuse I got all the time was Atlanta will not support something like this. There's people that go to the bars, there's people that go to politics. They're not the same. And I said, I go to all this stuff and I see the same people everywhere, the same people that you see at two in the morning at Backstreet were the same people that would go to the the fundraisers or the political events or the marches. Uh, so this, this community, I've been here a while. I know there's people that would support it. So that was a challenge. So but once we got open, you know, every day was was a different adventures. There was, you know, security challenges we became when we moved to Piedmont in 10th, we were the most visible LGBTQ business, uh, in the southeast, if not the country. We had a big window with rainbow flags on it, which in 1996 wasn't as common as you see, uh, today. Uh, amazingly, we had very few threats, uh, very few rocks through the window. But we did had some. As any small business, staffing is always a challenge. Training? Um, uh, we we never had a ton of money at the bookstore, so everything was done on a shoestring, but as, you know, as good, uh, good gays, we know how to make it look a lot better than that. Um, so that was fun. But, yeah, there were challenges every day in running a small business. But we had we had so much support, people would, uh, would come out of their way to support us. Uh, they would, uh, speak of us to their friends. They would invite us to other places in the city to do book signings. Uh, we would go with the authors to people's homes, to other venues. There was so much support because people really love the idea that we had this very out visible store at one of the most prominent intersections in town.

Speaker1:
Yeah. Which was was just great. And, you know, I mean, speaking of the the clientele as you were, you know, trying to get the business established and people just weren't quite buying that there was an actual clientele for this. You said, you know, I go to all these things. Well, you know, that was sort of me back in, back in the day, too. I remember my friends and I, um, we would go, we would like, meet at outwrite and then, you know, later in the night, we would find ourselves up the street at, say, Burckhardt. Burckhardt's was our place because we, we loved the drag shows. So we would go to Burckhardt's a lot. And so that was us too. So yeah, I mean, it was the clientele definitely was there. Um, and so, you know, as you sort of look back on the time there at, um, at outright and at, you know, 10th and Piedmont especially, you know, you talked about being so, so visible. Um, not only probably the most visible, uh, shop at the time in the city, but in the country, perhaps. What were maybe some of the big sort of milestones along the way that you sort of remember and look back on that were, you know, big positives for you as you, you know, had had that store up and going.

Speaker4:
Yeah. Well, I mean, the opening was a big positive. We had so many people that would walk in and, and um, and say, wow, I didn't know this was here. Like even on day one, we exceeded our sales expectations in the first store we opened in 93. And then in 95, uh, we were able to have a book signing with Greg Louganis, which was who was a champion, uh, Olympic swimmer. And we got the thing booked. And then we realized a few days after that that he was going to make a major announcement, uh, a week before the event. And that was the announcement that he was HIV positive and he was the biggest celebrity who had ever admitted to that. I mean, remember, this is 1995. Uh, and we had a thousand people come to our book signing. They waited from seven in the morning till, I think, three in the afternoon. Uh, we had by the end of the day, we had the Atlanta Journal Constitution there. We were on the cover the next day, and at 6:00 pm we still had people in the store. We had all four TV stations, uh, in the store live covering it two, five, 11 and 46.

Speaker4:
And at that point, that was a milestone. It took us to be able to get other, uh, other events. It put us on the map. It brought us a lot more clientele. Uh, moving to the to the new store in 96 was an amazing accomplishment. We had a party that people were just like, wow, I can't believe you did this on a corner. It was designed so well. Um, the guy was standing with my husband now. Uh, was our designer and creative director. They were shocked on that. And then, uh, even towards the end of the run in 2008, we had a really big signing with RuPaul. It was right when he started the drag race. And from that point on, we just took it to the next level of publicity and getting the word out and making the store beautiful. And we had four more years where the publishers would just absolutely love what they do, and they'd send us the biggest authors like Chelsea Handler, uh, Gregory Maguire. Every event from that point became just phenomenal and kept us, kept us, um, kept us in business for the next four years.

Speaker1:
That's that's amazing. Because, you know, I mean, obviously just RuPaul was already a big star at that time. But, you know, I mean, obviously the the stardom has grown exponentially in the last several years with the Drag Race show. But, I mean, like talking about an LGBTQ plus icon who got their start in Atlanta, um, was was amazing. And I actually went to, um, RuPaul had an event, uh, down at the, um, Tabernacle, I Tabernacle, I believe.

Speaker4:
Yeah, I heard that was great.

Speaker1:
It was fantastic. And actually, I was there. It's so funny. There were one of the drag queens from this season who was cast on the spot at that event. Um, awesome. Yeah. So we got to see that happen and then watch the show and got to see her on the show. So it was it was great. Um, and then.

Speaker4:
The nice thing is we could have this giant book signings, and then the next day there would be something like querying Shakespeare, which had, you know, ten people that came or a musician or an artist. Um, and, uh, it just became a lot of fun those last few years, just just making it all about the events and getting people in the neighborhood bookstore.

Speaker1:
I love that. Well, and, you know, as as times do, they tend to change. Um, the only thing constant is change, after all. Um, what kind of was it that initially sort of, you know, made you think it might be time to hang things up? I mean, obviously the the advent of online shopping took a toll on a lot of brick and mortar retail. Bookstores, I think, were hit especially hard by that. Was that sort of maybe the catalyst that led to the eventual closure?

Speaker4:
I would say so. I think in the 90s it was always boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And then around the turn of the century, in 2000, we started seeing, you know, we weren't as making as much money as, as, as we had been. And, um, the online shopping, uh, took. Took away from us. Um, it changes in me when phones came in. People, I think people stopped reading as many books. Uh, and then, you know, it became that as we became more accepted, people could live anywhere. Uh, they still came to sport outright. But when we had started, uh, Midtown was a lot more, uh, a lot more LGBTQ people lived in Midtown. And as the neighborhood gentrified and grew, uh, there still were, uh, gay people here. There still are. But it wasn't as much a percent of the mix and the rent went up. So, um, it's, um, it all kind of took a toll. Uh, we got into too much debt, and, uh, but because we were serving so many people and because we were doing these events that were becoming bigger and bigger and bigger every year, um, we thought we had a chance to get out of it.

Speaker1:
Yeah. And, you know, I mean, it was because it was just such an iconic spot. I mean, I kept kept it going, obviously. And you kept, uh, kept the faith there. Um, but, you know, I mean, what, um, is especially in well, let's sort of, I guess, go through it chronologically with on the financial side, like, how did you approach financial planning for the business? Kind of in the beginning, you talked about getting funding for the business and all of that. Um, but then as you went forward, how did your approach to maybe the financial planning and that aspect of the business have to sort of change and evolve?

Speaker4:
Well, it did. Um, you know, I kept you know, we kept working on the books and trying to find ways to, to, to, to get more money out of it. And, you know, as things change in the early part of the 2000, we kept thinking, what can we do to get the sales up? And they did go up and we worked on staffing. Um, but it just it just was never enough. I had to borrow a substantial amount of money, and, uh, it didn't it didn't it didn't work. Uh, one of the things that I didn't do early enough was put out an SOS, you know, support our community where at risk of of of of, uh, going out of business. And when we finally did that in 2011, um, it got so much attention that, you know, I realized if I had done it a few years before, uh, we might have had a chance. Now things have changed. The rents have gone up there even more. There's there's nothing we could have done to to save the store. And in fact, the last two years, we made a profit and were able to get, um, get the debt down. But, um, you know, it's, um, you know, if I could do it over again, I think once I started taking on the debt, I would have brought in some experienced advisors to to really just push that direction.

Speaker4:
But, um, you know, we were having such a good time and we were serving so many people that that we just kept going, uh, that we had pride, uh, in late 2011 and a, uh, and it was very interesting because I was doing a live interview in the middle of the parade with Denis O'Hare, who was on, uh, wabe and he said, well, what? We already put up the, you know, save our store support. We're having a sale. And he said, well, what would you do if you had to close the store? He said, well, I'm like, it's not happening. So but what would you do personally if you, if you, if you hadn't? And I just looked at him and I couldn't answer and he said, Philip, I, I've never been in an interview where somebody could answer a question And, you know, the interesting thing is I hadn't really thought about it. I'm a very positive person. Uh, there were so many people around that said you could make it. We're going to help. But, um, you know, I had to take a look and say, you know, start taking the steps to see what the next journey was going to be.

Speaker1:
Yeah. And I'm sure it was extremely difficult because that was your, you know, as you said, almost 20 years of your life there. Um, and much of it at that spot at the corner of 10th and Piedmont. And, you know, I mean, after that obviously difficult decision was made, you know, what? What did you do? Like, what did you end up doing after that? Um, you know, now here, several years later, I'm going to ask you that same question that you were asked on WABE back in the day. What what did you do?

Speaker4:
Well, you.

Speaker5:
Know, I would say that it was.

Speaker4:
Difficult from that point on. It was difficult to close it. It was one of the hardest things I've done, but not the hardest. And it was easier than I that I fear. And, you know, I think what what stopped me from doing it was the fear of what would happen, what would happen to the community, what would happen to, uh, to me? What would I do? And the fear was what held me back from moving forward, uh, with with taking the next step. So my message would be, you know, as always, don't let fear choose your path. Uh, so, you know, we had a sort of organized closing. Uh, I spent six months just trying to pick up the pieces, uh, filling in odd, odd jobs, uh, talking to friends, um, crying. But, uh, I ended up getting a nice offer with the Decatur Book Festival, which at that time was the largest independent bookstore, uh, independent book festival in the country. Uh, it was a part time job, meaning we worked nine months there, and it really helped me get back on my feet. Staying in the book community, expanding the knowledge of literature, uh, and the type of literature and the type of authors that I've worked with.

Speaker4:
And I, I got experience, uh, not just running my own team, but working with volunteers. Working with a committee that, um, that helped guide the programming and and working with some experienced people who had done it for years. So I learned a lot there, uh, helped take events to the next level, took the book festival to the next level. We brought people like John Lewis in as the keynote, Joyce Carol Oates, uh, Roxane Gay, uh, we had, um, uh, Richard Blanco, who was the inaugural poet for Obama. I think way back then when we liked inaugurations. Uh, and so I really got some great experience. And then, uh, I was there for three years. At the end of 2015, I left, and then this opportunity in Midtown Alliance came up. Uh, and here I worked with almost 400 organizations ranging from small businesses, street level businesses to our largest employers, most of the, uh, most of the office buildings and most of the residential buildings and keep them connected to the work that we do as a business improvement district through events, through communications. And it's really cool because I get to work with such a wide range of people here and, and a wide range of different organizations.

Speaker1:
Yeah, and that's been my experience just going to the meetings for Midtown Alliance and, and all of that and seeing, you know, the neighborhood updates and, and just connecting with people in the neighborhood is fantastic. And you do meet people from all different walks of life and all different types of businesses and all of that, and it's a wonderful experience. Um, as far as, you know, like obviously, as you mentioned there, times have changed. And, you know, now we can, um, be as as gay people, as lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer people can be out and about much more than when outright started, uh, in, in the early 90s. Um, but what do you think is the importance still, even though that's the case? Um, some recent developments notwithstanding, uh, that that is the case, that why is the or what is the importance, I should say, of LGBTQ plus spaces, specific spaces like you established it outright. What's the importance of those today?

Speaker4:
I think it's I think it's very important. And it's unfortunate that we don't have as many of them. Of course, with the internet, you know, people do have options to learn about themselves and, and connect with others. But good God, what's going on today in this country and around the world with with anti-trans bias and anti all LGBTQ, uh, LGBTQ bias. Uh, I think that, um, it is more important than ever that we support the spaces we have, uh, is, you know, it's hard to find an exclusive, uh, LGBTQ restaurant. Uh, there's not that many bars. And of course, people go out less. They we have nice things at home, but it's important that that we have them. It would be great if we had an LGBTQ community center in Atlanta, which we, uh, haven't had in years and years. There is a group working on that, um, and would be great if we had another LGBTQ bookstore and coffeehouse. I think people need it. People need to meet with others. They need to. They need to, uh, especially now when there's so many attacks on us with the new administration coming in, it's it's unbelievable how they're trying to erase, uh, all minorities and, and and they will have some success. So visibility is going to be key. Uh, I think, you know, we are all trying to regroup and figure out how we're how we're going to live in this new world. But I'm still buying a lot of tickets every week, and if I win, I'm opening the I'm going to outright version two. So still.

Speaker1:
I love it. I thought I thought.

Speaker4:
$2 last week.

Speaker1:
Hey, there you go. It's a start, you know. Yeah, I it was so funny. I thought you were going to say there for a second. If I win the lottery, I'm moving to, you know, Bora Bora or something.

Speaker4:
But no, I don't think that's me. I really would love to, uh, can find a way to continue to get back to the community. Yeah. I see so many people every week that say, I miss your bookstore. I love your bookstore. And. And the truth is, they don't they don't have anywhere to go and get that type of thing. Yeah. Look, I think what happened with me is there was a memorial day or Labor Day, and I had the day off, and I just wanted to go out somewhere during the day. And, I mean, I don't even think there were any bars open at that time. So going to a place where you can meet people, where you're traveling in town, it can be your first place to go where you can learn what's going on. I think it's important.

Speaker1:
Yeah. And there have been, you know, other places right there in Midtown. I feel like that you could go during the daytime that have closed as well at Henry's, um, which was a staple just down, you know, a block or so down from, uh, 10th and Piedmont. That was.

Speaker4:
A heartbreaker.

Speaker1:
Yeah.

Speaker4:
Jones. Einsteins. But Henry's was just that place, you know.

Speaker1:
To go to at the time. By the way, when Joes and Einsteins closed, um, we lived just in that little tiny apartment building that's right behind where Einstein's was. And it was like Joe's was another one of those places. Like when I would come into Midtown as a young person, it was outright Joe's. And, um, then I, you know, then later on we would go to Burkhart's or Blake's or wherever, but it was, um, that was another heartbreaker as well. So, yeah, you're you're absolutely right. There are less of those spaces, especially those sort of daytime spaces where people can go.

Speaker4:
Right, and less nighttime spaces. Look, when we when we opened the the the at the corner of Piedmont attempt. We have people that would come come for the weekend. Uh, they'd be coming Thursday night. They'd be coming to the bookstore. They would, uh, spend the weekends partying. And Monday, Monday was one of our busiest days because people would stay over Sunday night. They'd go out to the dance or whatever they go. And then Monday was their day to come by the bookstore and pick up things. They had I'd and the books. And yes, we get and get something to drink and take pictures. Uh, so we were really busy and when they, when they restricted the hours of the bars, that was another thing that helped us speed the decline of the bookstore.

Speaker1:
Yeah. Well, you know, there you go. So many different aspects. You know, we talk about like, you know, online retail and all of that being a thing, but that, of course, not the only, um, obstacle that you sort of had to overcome. Um, what would you say to any sort of, you know, young LGBTQ plus entrepreneurs maybe, who are trying to either, you know, they've either started their own business or they're looking to maybe establish their own business and kind of get started in this world. Do you have any advice, sort of, you know, from your years of experience that you would share with them?

Speaker4:
Yeah. Well, first, don't go into debt.

Speaker1:
Rule number one.

Speaker4:
Okay. But but there there is just a, a a ton of people who want, who want to and need to support a business like that, that could that can give advisement on the best ways to do it. And, uh, don't get frustrated, uh, because there's people that won't support you because you're, you're out and proud because there's a heck of a lot more people who are going to support you because you're out and proud.

Speaker1:
That's absolutely right. Especially, you know, the I feel like these days, even with all of the setbacks recently that you have have mentioned and the in the struggles that are still to come on that front. We are still a long way from where we were. Um, but, you know, we've always had to fight battles along the way. And I feel like maybe we were sort of lulled into this false sense of security that things were only going to keep going in one direction. Um, but, you know, there are there are new battles to be fought. But at the same time, uh, not only are there, you know, people in the public who are going to be supportive, but there are people in people's, you know, personal lives who will be extremely supportive as well. So yeah, having that support system is is huge.

Speaker4:
Yeah. I think it's really important. It's really critical.

Speaker1:
Yeah. And it's funny because, you know, we were talking just a minute before we started recording here. And um, you know, obviously this is a show where, you know, talk about finances primarily focused on retirement planning for LGBTQ plus folks, because everybody's always say everybody's situation is different. And no matter who you are or where you come from, who you love, how you identify or how much money you have. You deserve to have a retirement that you can take pride in. That's why the show exists, and that's why I do what I do. Um, can you talk about kind of the the little laugh that we had before, before we started about, you were like, you know, it's funny because I'm coming on this show where you talk about retirement a lot, but retirement just sort of kind of happened for you, right? It just it's not anything that you ever really had a plan for.

Speaker4:
Right. It's not something, you know, I think I've lived my life. It's not one of those people who went to school and said, I know what I want to do when I get out. It kind of came into place. Um, and when I opened, you know, I opened the bookstore. It's not something that, um, that I planned to do, but, you know, after we closed the bookstore, I was able to put together some plans for retirement. Uh, I have some stuff. You know, I have a pension from when I was NCR, which helps a little bit, but, uh, I've been able to do some investments that, that, that, that make when that time I retire, A little more attainable. Both, but both myself and my husband have put our heads together on that.

Speaker1:
Yeah. Which is is great. I mean, you know, you you do have that working, of course, in your favor. And I would, uh, I would say that is wonderful. Um, of course that is you're in the minority on that one, because I think a lot of people do really need that, that formal plan. I think most people need that formal plan. But, hey, you have obviously been, um, very fortunate and very, I guess, stupidly, I don't know if that's even a word, but, um, you know, with, uh, with your own particular, uh, personal finances, uh, in these, these last several years and have, you know, made a way where you can actually enjoy a comfortable retirement in, in the years to come. So that is, um, wonderful. Um, well, Philip, just just about running out of time here, but, I mean, is there anything else that you wanted to share or, um, you know, about your your journey in business or life in general, or words of wisdom or anything else that you want to share with the listeners?

Speaker4:
Well, I think I think what I said before, don't let fear choose your path is is pretty important. Uh, it was written by, uh, a couple of authors. We had a author wall where we had people sign the wall every time they signed a book. And so, uh, two of the authors, Joyce Murdoch and. Oh, I forget her. Her partner's name, they were they were one of the first out writers at the Detroit Free Press. And they put that on the wall. And I take that to heart. Uh, very well. But but, you know, I think I've summed it up. You got to be out and proud. You've got to surround yourself with people that are going to support you, uh, along the way. And, and always be looking for. For what? The next, next thing is.

Speaker1:
That's right. I mean, you really do. And I love that quote. Don't let fear choose your path. That's, um, so important and especially important, I think, Today, due to many reasons that we've discussed. Right. Right, right. Yeah. Well, um, Philip Rafshoon is an entrepreneur and currently with the Midtown Alliance in Atlanta. Philip, thank you so much. I really do appreciate it. This has been great. I've learned loving more about Outwrite and your other business and career adventures. Uh, and just hearing all of that and hearing your, your wisdom to share with the audience as well, really do appreciate your time.

Speaker4:
Absolutely. Thank you for inviting me. I really enjoyed talking with.

Speaker1:
You and my thanks once again to Philip Rafshoon for being a part of the show today here on Take Pride in Retirement. Um, I tell you, I've just been so inspired by that conversation and, um, by him and his life and talking about overcoming obstacles and struggles and really thriving from that, uh, from a business standpoint, from a financial standpoint, from a personal standpoint as well. Um, and really just powering through. I love it, and I cannot say. And I told Philip there, uh, a moment ago, but, um, you know, I really am so grateful to him for the work that he did, opening a spot like Outright Bookstore. Um, it really was one of the very first places I could ever go, especially in the daytime, and felt like I could just be myself. And so it's that's because of Philip that that place existed and that I and so many others had that experience. So my thanks once again to him. All right. Well, um, moving on to some other topics just quickly that I wanted to cover because I saw this, uh, from Business Insider that I wanted to share here just before we run. And I think that these are some great tips that I've taken from what they put out there, um, that can apply to all of us, really? On how to live a retirement without regrets. Number one, I think, is probably the most important here. And that's why it's number one on this list or on my version of this list anyway, is plan ahead and implement a implement a plan that you can count on.

Speaker1:
Yeah, financial planning is so important. Start saving early and consistently. Investing early and consistently right. Set clear goals for what you want to achieve in retirement. That's that smart vision that we so often talk about. Have an idea of where you want to go, and then work with a trusted advisor to plot out the course of how you're going to get there. You know, I talked with Philip, um, a moment ago about, uh, outright bookstore and all of that, and he had mentioned there, you know, when he, uh, was in the later years of the business, he had had to take on a lot of debt to hopefully keep the business afloat. Ultimately, it only lasted so long. Right. And, um, he said if he had to do it all over again, he would have worked with a trusted advisor there, um, you know, to, to help make things work. And I think that just really goes to highlight the fact that you, in your own personal financial life, need to work with a trusted advisor to make sure that whatever goal you have, you can actually reach that to make sure that you can really be, um, in charge of your life and not as as Philip said there. Um, you know, don't let, uh, don't let fear choose your path for you. You choose your own path and work with a trusted advisor to make sure that that path is clear.

Speaker1:
Right. And I would love to be that trusted advisor for you. By the way, go to take pride in retirement. Com and click on the link to schedule a consultation. Um, some of the things that we can work on too, by the way, are on this list. Diversifying your investments to manage risk and, you know, create that comprehensive plan that's going to be good no matter what happens. Planning for those what ifs in life. You know, it was, uh, one of the big, um, insurance companies, I think it was several years ago, uh, had their slogan, you know, planning for the if in life because, you know, it's l I f e so if is right in the middle of life. You got to plan for the IFS in life. And that is the kind of plan that plan that I would love to be able to put together for you. Once again, take pride in retirement. Com is the website now How to live retirement without regrets? Um, number two on this list. Stay active and engaged. I cannot tell you how important this is. Staying active and engaged. You want to take care of a couple of things. First of all, your physical health, right? Maintaining that regular sort of exercise routine. I'm not saying you got to go out and run a marathon every day, but just enough to stay fit, stay healthy, and then you're going to, you know, delay or even avoid a lot of the health concerns and issues that come up when you live a sedentary lifestyle and when you get older because the body tends to break down.

Speaker1:
I'm as I'm starting to find out myself in, in a couple of ways, hey, this pain in my leg just will not go away. Um, but schedule regular health checkups as well to catch any issues early, right? Schedule those regular checkups, stay in tune with your health and in tune with your body. And then stay in tune with yourself mentally. Also, focus on your mental health. Engage in hobbies and activities that you enjoy and find fulfilling. Right? Just, you know, whatever it is woodworking, pottery, painting, um, even if it's going out and volunteering at a particular organization, making a difference in your community. Stay socially connected with friends and family as well. And you know that that volunteering piece, uh, is, is so important that connecting with family is so important that doing whatever it is you need to do hobby wise or love to do hobby wise, I should say also important to take care of your mental health. And then finally pursue new interests and learning. You know, they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. I don't think that's true. I mean, unless you talk to my dog and try to, uh, one of my dogs anyway and try to get him to learn a new trick, uh, he would probably be the the thing that That confirms that old saying, but I don't think it's really all that true for humans.

Speaker1:
I think we can continue to learn and to grow. And you can you can do things like travel and explore, plan those trips to places that you've always wanted to visit. Make sure, of course, that you've planned in advance for those financially, so you're able to afford to take those trips. Explore new cultures, new environments to keep your mind active as well, and then focus on personal growth. You know, set personal development goals. Like, even if you want to write a book, you can do that. If you want to write a book, maybe it's a maybe it's a novel, maybe it's nonfiction, maybe it's poetry. Whatever you want to do. Maybe you want to learn a new language. Maybe you want to start a small business. I spoke with Philipp earlier. Of course, he wasn't in retirement when he started his business. But at the same time, um, you know, he said to me, If he had the the means now, he would start, you know, outright 2.0 all over again. So, you know, as he gets closer to retirement he's saying that. So yeah, you could start a small business in retirement. Absolutely could. But make sure you've got a plan for that. And I really want you to live the retirement lifestyle that you deserve. I don't want you to live a just in case. Retirement. Right where you're afraid to spend money that you've saved for those retirement years, that should be your golden years, right? You need to establish a solid income plan and enjoy extra cash flow each and every month.

Speaker1:
Make that income plan happen so that you can make all the things that you want to do happen in your retirement years. Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Take Pride in Retirement. Thank you so much for joining me here. Once again. Take pride in retirement. Com is the website to go to reach out to me. Schedule a consultation. I'll go through your finances with a fine tooth comb, come up with a plan and show you how you can potentially make things better. Look, if you're already on the right track, I'll tell you it's a no pressure situation. There's no cost. There's no obligation at all to continue working with me. We'll only work together if we decide together that it is best for you to do so right. So no pressure to continue on. Same time, what I will do is go through all of your financial situation and say, look, if I can improve it, I absolutely will. I'll present you with a plan that is going to show you how you can improve, and then we'll work together. If we agree to do so right. It's again, no pressure situation. There's no cost, there's no obligation. Go to take pride in retirement. Com you can also give me a call 85524692 11 (855) 246-9211. Well that does it for this time around. And until next time take pride in pride in yourselves and take care of each other. We'll see you next time.

Speaker2:
Thanks for listening to Take Pride in Retirement. Members of the LGBTQ+ community deserve to work with the fiduciary financial advisor who puts their needs first. To schedule a free, no obligation consultation with Matt McClure and the team at Active Wealth Management, call (855) 246-9211 or go online to take pride in retirement investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. Bcm and Active Wealth Management Incorporated are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.

Speaker1:
Registered investment advisors and Investment advisor representatives act as fiduciaries for all of our investment management clients. We have an obligation to act in the best interest of our clients and to make full disclosures of any conflicts of interest. Please refer to our firm brochure, the ADV to item four for additional information.

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