MONEY EXPERIENCE: Featuring Alcott Czubek
Alcott Czubek is an Executive Director at Pivot Point International and veteran of the beauty industry.
After recently listening to a MONEY session, Alcott was inspired to create a 9Grid™ to kickstart his personal plan to become debt-free. After just a couple of weeks, Alcott has already crossed off several of the steps he outlined and is well on his way to achieving his goal.
We sat down to chat with Alcott last week for a Q&A to learn more about his experience with the MONEY program and the Qnity tools. Here’s what he had to say:
What do you love most about the MONEY program?
“The way that you developed the program. Built within the curriculum, every lesson has some sort of 9Grid™ exercise, and it forces you to organize your thoughts. That’s where it becomes really powerful,” he said.
“In any industry, there’s a hole when it comes to basic financial literacy. What this allows us to do is take this next step as an industry.”
Alcott sees this program as step forward for the beauty industry as a whole. “It validates what we’ve known all along – this is a professional career. Beauty school isn’t a second choice, it’s a real career. And to gain respect outside of the industry, we need this well-rounded approach to the education. Not only the skills and artistry but also the money.”
Beyond the beauty industry alone, Alcott stressed the importance of financial education for everyone. “If every young person had a course like this, imagine how different the world would be today. Think about how different the economy would be. We believe that beauty changes lives, and this is really an opportunity to change people’s lives in a way that’s immediately impactful.”
You are using the 9Grid™ tool with your own money goals. Can you share about your experience with the tool and your results?
“We did this 9grid™ workshop for our company and it’s actually shaken me up a bit. It forced me to stop and think and create a plan to become bad debt-free. There are 9 boxes here and 5 are checked off.
Had I not documented this all, I don’t think I would’ve been that focused. My goal is by the end of the year to have them all checked off. Since I made my first 9 grid just a few weeks ago, it’s changed my life.”
We hear this often, and it can be difficult to imagine why a tool that seems so simple can be so powerful, but many times tackling tough goals requires a step back to the basics.
Alcott tied his experience back to that of all the students going through the MONEY program, saying “That’s what the difference is. In this program, there are actionable steps to help you reach your goals. They’re no longer pipe dreams – it’s so much easier to execute.”
Why would you encourage schools to bring on the money program?
First and foremost, Alcott stressed the opportunity for students to be successful.
“I want to make sure students have that appropriate level of core knowledge on basic financial literacy so they can be more successful and stay in the industry.”
Drawing upon his experience with schools, Alcott added, “If someone is choosing where to go to school, there’s got to be a point of difference, and it’s up to you to impress upon prospective students and their support systems that this is the right school. And this means we not only are going to turn them into an artist, but also a true businessperson who can understand a P&L, money in, money out, etc.”
Ultimately, Alcott said, it’s a win-win for everyone. “You’re giving your students tools to be successful, they’re staying in the industry, and they’re paying back their student loans which helps your business. It’s like a big circle – but there’s a part of the circle that’s been missing – and now we can complete the circle.”
