A Step Beyond Helps Spur Homeownership For Black Families

A Step Beyond, founded by Nicole Wheatly, recently hosted its Remarkable Real Estate and Business Development Conference. PHOTO PROVIDED BY NICOLE WHEATLY.
A Step Beyond, founded by Nicole Wheatly, recently hosted its Remarkable Real Estate and Business Development Conference. PHOTO PROVIDED BY NICOLE WHEATLY.

A Step Beyond Helps Spur Homeownership For Black Families

By Tia Carol Jones

Nicole Wheatly has a passion for changing the community, block by block, person by person. Wheatly believes solid collaborations lead to success. She knows that one organization cannot fix the multitude of issues that exist in neighborhoods.

Wheatly founded A Step Beyond in 2005 to work with families to build up finances so they can become homeowners. Doing work in community and business development, Wheatly realized there is a disparity in minority homeownership, especially Black families. A Step Beyond hosts meetings, seminars and conferences to help people believe in the possibilities of homeownership.

A Step Beyond also works with people to find strategic ways to remove barriers that come up when they are buying a home. The organization addresses issues like credit, as well as training on how to be a “contagious saver” instead of an “excessive spender,” so they can be in a comfortable place to start the homebuying process.

A Step Beyond helps people to pay for small repairs that might be required during home inspections. The organization hosts an annual conference, Remarkable Real Estate and Business Development Conference, as well as other events, throughout the year, to help raise funds to make those repairs. The goal is to ensure people are able to move into their homes safely. Wheatly wants the people who attend the conference to be motivated, elevated, and encouraged to go out to execute.

“I want you to come here, I want you to soak in this knowledge and information and then we want you to go out and use it, because when people do the work, it works for them,” Wheatly said.

Wheatly and her team have seen the evidence of what happens when people do the work and have seen them living their dreams as a result. She believes the positive, consistent messages she relays enable them to triumph through the process of homeownership. She also tells the people not to focus on other people but to only focus on themselves and getting to the finish line.

The feedback she has received from the attendees has been very positive. She said the reward of putting on the conference, which takes her six to eight months to pull together, is the messages from the attendees. People have messaged her to say how they left the conference motivated to take actions that can change their financial outlook.

“They heard the stories of people who struggled, who had nothing and now have everything. Getting those messages from people makes it so worth the eight months it takes to put the event on,” Wheatly said.

Wheatly also reflected on the momentum the conferences were going in, and how COVID-19 caused her to think of ways to continue to grow. She decided to take the conference outdoors. This was the first year the conference took place indoors. She said it was bigger, greater and more amazing than she could have dreamed it would be.

Wheatly credits her partners, volunteers and sponsors who share her vision for helping the conference come together. She is grateful to them for working with her throughout the last 12 years to keep the conference going.

A Step Beyond hosts programs for young people to understand the importance of homeownership, real estate and owning multiple properties. She realized it was necessary to start with young people after working with adults. That way, the young people learn about real estate and small business development, with the hope it will give them access to different streams of income. Those classes are free for the young people.

For more information about A Step Beyond, visit www.astepbeyondinfo.org, and for more information about Nicole Wheatly, visit www.nicolewheatly.com.

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