EP #98: Monet Owen Financial Group with Friedel Pinkston

What happens when a top-ranked high school baseball star faces a career-changing injury? Friedel Pinkston's journey from the baseball diamond to the helm of Monet Owen Financial Group is nothing short of inspirational. In this episode, we sit down with Friedel to explore his remarkable transition into the financial services industry, where his passion for helping others and his background in sports have driven his success. He shares candid insights on the importance of resilience, the significance of building strong relationships, and how personal setbacks can become powerful motivators for professional triumph.

But that's not all! We also delve into a critical yet often overlooked aspect of life insurance—living benefits. Friedel illustrates the life-changing impact these benefits can have through real-life scenarios, such as a heart attack, that highlight the financial security they provide during tough times. Discover the various conditions covered and learn practical tips for safeguarding your retirement savings against life's unexpected events. Friedel's expertise offers valuable takeaways for anyone interested in financial planning or seeking inspiration from a story of perseverance and transformation. Tune in to hear how Monet Owen Financial Group can help you prepare for whatever life throws your way.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Stacey Risley.

Speaker 2: 0:12

Hello friends and neighbors. Welcome to North Atlanta's Good Neighbor Podcast. Today we're here with Fridell Pinkston. He is the founder and CEO of Monet Owen Financial Group here in Atlanta. So welcome, fridell. How are you today?

Speaker 3: 0:26

Man, I'm well, I'm great, I'm great. How are you doing, stacey?

Speaker 2: 0:29

I'm doing well. I'm so happy to have you on. We met. Our audience doesn't know this, but Fridell and. I met a couple of weeks ago at the softball fields playing co-ed softball.

Speaker 3: 0:40

So, yes, I was being a big flirt and I am a great person. In the process, I was a good choice of mine.

Speaker 2: 0:47

Worked out well right.

Speaker 3: 0:48

Now you're on the show.

Speaker 2: 0:50

I got to learn a little bit about you and knew that you would be a great guest for us and invited you on, and I'm so glad to have you on here today.

Speaker 3: 0:59

I appreciate you having me on.

Speaker 2: 1:00

Well, with that, let's go ahead and have you. Tell our listeners a little bit about your business. Tell us about Monet Owen Financial Group.

Speaker 3: 1:08

Okay, so we are a financial services company. We help people set up tax-free retirements, living benefits, life insurance, college funding, 401k rollovers For small businesses. We help them with samples and self IRAs, key person insurance and a lot more financial things.

Speaker 2: 1:30

Wonderful. Well, tell our listeners. And this is the part I'm super excited about. I mean, I'm very excited also about the Monday, monday Owen financial group and I keep trying to put a the in there. That makes. Maybe it just makes you, you know what.

Speaker 3: 1:49

We're going to let it go, we're going to let it happen. It's fine, you're going to let it happen.

Speaker 2: 1:52

The Monet Owen Financial Group that makes it sound bigger. I like that. There you go, the one and only. Oh my goodness. Well, I love your journey and I know that our audience is going to love it as well, so go ahead and start and tell our listeners about your journey.

Speaker 3: 2:07

Okay, well, originally I was a professional baseball player that was cut short due to injury and from there I became an artist and an actor. And then, just on a whim, trying to find something corporate to make some money, I found insurance. So here I am, I'm in love with it. I love people. I'm a big people's person, so it was actually perfect for me because I get to meet people and, you know, make them smile, make them laugh and also help them. So this is like it's like a dream job to me. It doesn't feel like work. It feels more like just meeting a new friend today that I'm going to help.

Speaker 2: 2:48

Yeah, that's great, and so you started in just insurance.

Speaker 3: 2:51

Then, as far as the yeah, I started with a regular final expense life insurance and then, as I learned, the more you can do with your license, I got more in depth with more things and, you know, got more versed and created my own company and now we're a thriving business.

Speaker 2: 3:08

Well, that is wonderful. I love to hear that. I really enjoy hearing people that are like yourself that you know. You said that you started in playing Major League Baseball, you know, and then were out of that due to injury and then moved into, you know, started with insurance corporate corporate to make more money, and now you're helping other people make more money and what to do with their money. You definitely have a wide range of experience and I'm going to make you go back and tell us a little bit more about if you don't mind, more about if you don't mind. So you played Major League Baseball right for three years.

Speaker 3: 3:50

You want to tell us a?

Speaker 2: 3:50

little bit more about that.

Speaker 3: 3:52

Yeah, so I got a. It's a sensitive story so I was actually rated as the number three player in the country. Coming out of high school. My senior year I had a verbal agreement to be the third pick of the draft. All I had to do was not get hurt. My senior year I got hurt, so that dropped me from the first round to the seventh round. I still I didn't go in out of high school, went to college for one year. Then I went in. I couldn't recover from the injury I only got. I only played for two years, tried to compensate for one injury, ended up hurting another part of my body. So I ended up having surgery on two parts of my body my shoulder and my elbow at the same time. So it took about 15 years before I can go to a Braves game.

Speaker 2: 4:39

Oh, I bet, oh, my goodness, and so we're going to actually. So I'm going to lead right in because I know that, you know, we kind of chatted about this beforehand and I always ask our guests if there's a hardship or challenge that they have faced and that they can now say, for having been through that experience and come out on the other side, that they're better or stronger for that today. And this, this, I know, is yours, you know, and I, I imagine, any of us. I mean, I was never a pro athlete by any means, but I was very competitive and very athletic and and played competitive sports All of us dream about, you know, go into the big leagues and to then to have that, that and for it to be cut short during an injury. So tell us a little bit more about that experience, fidel, if you don't mind.

Speaker 3: 5:31

Well, you know, adversity either going to break you or it's going to make you. It wasn't so much as a bigger disappointment for me, Like I was used to life and things happening. It was more about I had a lot of people that was living vicariously through me, that was depending on me to somehow someway make their life better, and that's not just talking family. I had a whole small town that was looking at me to bring the whole town into the light. So it was kind of like when I went down, they lost hope. They went down. Oh man, that was our one hope, that was our one shot. So that's a lot for 18, 19 year old to have on his shoulders. But I carried it with. I still carry it, you know, kept my head high and I found other avenues. So now I'm still lifting them up and bringing them to the light in other ways.

Speaker 2: 6:19

So give a shout out to your small town. Where. What's the small town when?

Speaker 3: 6:23

are you from Hartwell, georgia?

Speaker 2: 6:24

Hart, give a shout out to your small town, when what's?

Speaker 3: 6:25

the small town. Where are you from? Hartwell, georgia, hartwell Lake, hartwell yes, I'm sure you heard of it.

Speaker 2: 6:29

I have.

Speaker 3: 6:29

I have heard of it.

Speaker 2: 6:31

Yeah Well, and I can. So that tugs on my heartstrings. You know, when you're saying that a lot of other people were living, you know vicariously through you and that you're, you know we're hoping to be able to bring them, like you said, into the light, and now you're doing that through other ways.

Speaker 3: 6:50

It's a whole different train now, but we're going to get there, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 6:56

Well, so when you're not working, what else are you doing for fun Acting, acting.

Speaker 3: 7:05

I got in that on accident. I got a text from a female one day. She was like, hey, this movie, um, needs some real baseball players to be an extra. And me being me, I got a big personality. I said, hey, man, I'm not an extra person. If I go out there, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be an actor. And she was like man, it's not possible. I was like okay. So I went out and keep in mind, I was a professional ball player before. So, um, and all the cards were stacked against me. They told me I was too big players, wasn't this big back then? But they were like we're gonna let you try out anyway. And I'm like try out. So in my head I'm like, bro, I don't try out. Like whatever.

Speaker 2: 7:45

Okay, I am the star. What are you?

Speaker 3: 7:47

talking about. It was, um, it was like 150 other players. So I was like I'm gonna go dead last, so I let all 150 go, I go dead last and mouths drop on the floor. So they were like, man, we don't know what we're gonna do with you, but we need you to stick around. So I started, uh, playing around with chad, with bosman and my guy from Tokyo Drift Friday Night Live, lucas Black. I was re-acting his stuff from Tokyo Drift and the director saw me. He was like, hey, man, you ever act it? And I'm like no. He was like, well, learn these lines and come act them out for me in about 30 minutes. I ended up getting a role in the movie 42 about Jackie Robinson.

Speaker 2: 8:29

Oh my gosh, that is so exciting. How long ago was that that was?

Speaker 3: 8:36

2012. I did four since then and I'm actually doing another this Thursday.

Speaker 2: 8:42

How exciting. That is so fun. You didn't share this with me previously, so I am excited to hear it.

Speaker 3: 8:52

I didn't want to put too much on your plate at one time. You'll think I'm lying if I say I did this, this, this, this, this.

Speaker 2: 8:58

I may have you know Major League Baseball, because there was also another thing that you did share with me that you are doing for fun when you're not working. You want to tell about that passion as well.

Speaker 3: 9:11

Yeah, I'm in the music industry. I'm an artist as well as a songwriter. I've written for a few big names. I'm not going to name drop today. Yeah, I've written for a few big names. I have some credits. I also have my own album coming soon. I won't talk too much about that, but yeah so if I had to say that's my new passion.

Speaker 2: 9:38

I love music, I love it you're kind of a jack of all trades then, just very talented in all sorts of ways you know, you meet them people that's good at everything they pick up Yep. There you are, oh my goodness. Well, I know that when I first met you you were playing. You know, like we said, co-ed softball. So, you're still keeping the athletics in as well.

Speaker 3: 10:07

On this very full plate of yours, I can go out there and put a show on for the people.

Speaker 2: 10:11

That's right.

Speaker 3: 10:13

Well, and then it worked out.

Speaker 2: 10:14

That worked out well for the Jackie Robinson movie to get you in the door with that.

Speaker 3: 10:21

I mean, I got so many stories about that from me taking Chad to his first strip club to Harrison Ford having a conversation with Harrison Ford, I got something to conversation about. This crazy.

Speaker 2: 10:34

Oh my goodness, well, harrison Ford. I actually have met Harrison Ford as well, and he is just a really cool guy.

Speaker 3: 10:43

I'm sure.

Speaker 2: 10:43

I'm going to sign Harrison you didn't see. I'm sure too, because I've just met him yeah.

Speaker 1: 10:50

I didn't, that is yeah.

Speaker 2: 10:53

He's just a really. He's one of my favorite actors too, and and then he's really just a very cool, very nice guy.

Speaker 3: 11:03

Once he put that earring in, he'd become a whole new person. As a side, I don't know. Yeah, you don't know this side, oh, my goodness.

Speaker 2: 11:14

Well, so we have, I think, covered what you're doing for fun when you're not working for sure, and we've talked, we slid into that hardship question. So now I'm going to pull us back towards the financial industry, your financial planning group and your business, Monet Owen Financial Group. Are there any myths or misconceptions about your industry or your business that you may want to clear up with our listeners today?

Speaker 3: 11:42

Well, a lot of people don't they're not aware of the living benefits aspect of life insurance. A lot of people just think life insurance is when you die, your benefits share, get your money. But there's a new form of insurance that comes with living benefits and that's like if you have a heart attack, stroke, cancer, als or kidney failure, you can actually access some of your policy while you're living. Stroke, cancer, als or kidney failure, you can actually access some of your policies while you're living. Oh Wow, it actually benefits you while you're living, rather than just your beneficiary.

Speaker 2: 12:12

Nice, okay, I did not know that at all. I would definitely agree that a lot of people don't know that.

Speaker 3: 12:21

I can give you an example of when that works. Let's say you have a heart attack. Life happens that you have a heart attack two weeks from now and then you can't work. All you got is a savings in place. You don't have no living benefits. So now you're going to have to run through your savings to keep life going while you heal up from your heart attack. So originally you had your savings for retirement. Now've ran through your savings. Now you got to work to your 80. Because you don't have a savings anymore, whereas if you had little benefits, heart attack happens.

Speaker 3: 12:56

You had 400 000 of uh a policy you could probably go access probably 290 295 and you just use that to keep life afloat while you heal up and you don't stress about your bills. You don't stress about anything monetary. You just relax and heal up and then you still have your retirement sitting there waiting for you when retirement comes. So it's a peace of mind really. It's a small fee for a big peace of mind. Yeah, I mean, that would definitely ease anyone's mind. It's a small fee for a big piece of mind.

Speaker 2: 13:25

Yeah, I mean that would definitely ease anyone's mind knowing that. So, and you named quite a few conditions there that you're able to access you know the living benefits. Do you want to go through those again? Because?

Speaker 3: 13:39

those are Heart attack, stroke, cancer, als, kidney failure, nice, that's I mean.

Speaker 2: 13:44

Nice, that's it, I mean.

Speaker 3: 13:48

The major things that happen.

Speaker 2: 13:49

Yeah, I mean, those are a lot of things that people I mean obviously none of us plan for any of those things to happen to us. But I'm very surprised heart attack is on that list. To be honest, you know that you're able to, to access that. And heart attack, heart attack and stroke, I mean there are. Just that affects such a large percentage of people, and just for those two conditions alone, that would be worth the benefits for sure. Well, is there anything else about your business that you would like our listeners to know?

Speaker 3: 14:30

Not really about the business, it's just a mindset. People always say you know, I don't need it right now. Yeah, you might not, Ain't nothing happening right now. I mean you don't need it until you need it. So I mean, just be prepared, Prepare for life. Don't let life catch you unprepared. Just prepare for life.

Speaker 2: 14:46

Yeah, well, that's great advice in general. You know, don't let life catch you unprepared. No one needs needs life insurance. You know when they think you're going to need it, you know. So it's just yeah, don't let life catch you unprepared. That's really good advice for all of us, and so you can help our listeners with that and that and other aspects through Monet Owen Financial Group. I'm going to keep saying that in there.

Speaker 3: 15:18

Now I'm looking for the duh.

Speaker 2: 15:20

I know, I know, Now that I said it right, we need to go back to the Monet. Well and so, oh, tell us this, because so how did you name your business?

Speaker 3: 15:34

It's actually my daughter's and my son's middle name. My record label is Monet Owen Music. My insurance company is well, my financial company is Monet Owen Financial Group, so everything I do is for them, so I named it after them.

Speaker 2: 15:48

Well, everybody loves a good family man, so I thought we'd throw that in there too. Right, right, that's a. That's a touching story, and I would never have known that otherwise. So he named his business after his kids. I mean, need I say more? Well, so if our listeners want to learn more Fridell, what is the best way for them to get in touch?

Speaker 3: 16:15

Okay, so you can reach me on my website, monetowencom, that's M-O-N-E-T-O-W-E-Ncom, or you can call me directly 4-0-4-9-0-6-6-1-0-3.

Speaker 2: 16:30

Wonderful. So MonetOwencom, or you can call him directly, so you've heard him and I am so happy to have had you on Fredell from the softball fields a couple weeks ago to on the podcast today. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you.

Speaker 3: 16:45

Next time I catch you at a field, we're pulling you into the game.

Speaker 2: 16:48

No. So yeah, that's not going to happen again. I'm no better. No, you zip line it I need you to play softball too. Oh goodness. Well, it has been an absolute pleasure. I'm so glad that you were able to join us today.

Speaker 3: 17:06

Thank you for having me once again.

Speaker 2: 17:07

Well, that's all for today's episode, Atlanta. I'm Stacey Risley with the Good Neighbor podcast. Thanks for listening and for supporting the local businesses and nonprofits of our great community.

Speaker 1: 17:17

Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast North Atlanta. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPNorthAtlantacom. That's GNPNorthAtlantacom, or call 470-946-7007.