In episode 69 of The Kitchen Table, Ken Baden interviews Marcellus Crews, a local politician and entrepreneur, who shares his journey from running for Senate to his vision for transforming education and job opportunities for young people and adults. He discusses the importance of certifications, entrepreneurship, and providing second pathways for success.
Tune in as they delve into the impact of education, crime, and the economy on society.
TIMESTAMPS
[00:03:08] Tech Company Evolution and Growth.
[00:04:47] Entrepreneurship and Politics Journey.
[00:08:43] Small Business Education Initiatives.
[00:14:09] Overcoming Adversity and Addiction.
[00:16:49] Giving Second Chances to Individuals.
[00:19:57] Rehabilitation and Second Chances.
[00:23:11] Overcoming Challenges in Handyman Work.
[00:29:19] Rethinking Certifications for Young People.
[00:32:09] High-Paying Job Certifications.
[00:36:24] Empowering Young Entrepreneurs.
[00:40:12] Supporting Youth and Communities.
QUOTES
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Ken Baden
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialkenbaden/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialkenbaden
Marcellus Crews
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crewsmarcellus/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Crews2me
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcellus-crews-571b2131/
WEBSITES:
The Kitchen Table Podcast: https://thekitchentablepodcast.net/
Blue Collar Ballers Union: https://bluecollarballersunion.com/
Marcellus Crews: https://www.marcelluscrews.com/
Welcome to the Kitchen Table, a podcast about where business is done. So pull up a chair and join your host, Ken Baden.
All right, welcome back to another episode of the Kitchen Table Podcast, where business gets done. I've got an awesome guest, actually keeping both local politics and business back in this space with one Marcellus Cruz, who just ran for Senate. Well, first of all, Marcellus, welcome. I'm glad to be here. Thank you for having me. I'm pumped to have you. I had, this is our second local politician and the irony is, I don't know if it's irony, but you know, we're seeking out local business folks and it just so happens, you know, the mayor ends up in here. I don't even know if he knew how he got here. I think he was kind of confused, you know what I mean? He was sitting here, he was like, so how did I get here again? Your people just set you up and you just go, man.
Ken Baden
Well, this is a cool environment to be in, so I'm happy to be here.
Marcellus Crews
Well, the pleasure is all ours. Thank you so much for taking the time to come over here, and I know you just had all the election stuff, and I really appreciate you making time for us to come out and entertain our audience, so thank you so much again. I would imagine the dust is still kind of settling. For those of you who don't know, the primaries just went and you've probably been gunning, I have to imagine.
Yes, gunning across this state. Matter of fact, this morning was the unity breakfast. Wow. Yeah, where the whole Democratic Party came together. Governor Westmore on down.
Everyone was there.
My wife is a big fan of the new governor, Morris Moore. We'll get him on one day, man. We've got a couple now. Might as well go ahead.
I think he would like this.
I think he's got, he seems to be a really cool governor in that, and I'm not huge into politics, but I think he's really, seems to be appealing to both sides. Yes, yes, yeah. I think that's really cool about him. If my wife, because she's kind of like traditional, well, actually she would argue, she's an attorney, she would argue she has traditional, I don't know, democratic or liberal values, but by today's standards would be considered either a libertarian or a conservative. However, she's like, I really like our current government. You know what I mean?
So that's my measuring stick.
I got you. I'm like, man, I don't really know what's going on.
I got you, I got you.
I'm just kind of here, man. But still, I know what goes in small. I don't know, but I can only imagine what all goes into running and doing all of the things that you were just doing. And on top of that, you're an entrepreneur yourself. And you run a, well, please elaborate. You run a tech company, but I think it's more tech construction. Can you?
Yeah, so I run a company called Cruising Technologies. A little play off of my last name. We've been in business for over 16 years now. And we started out in networking help desk computers, and I had the vision of understanding that technology was going to go into every field, every sector. And so we branched off into AV, and then we also smart products, and then that kind of led us into construction. And so we marry all of that together. Why? Because a lot of people will have a room or a building redone, and then at the end they'll say, what technology do I need? But we like to get in there first, give you the vision of what's out, what's coming out, and then kind of set you on your way. And we'll do the whole HGTV 3D breakdown and show you how it will all come together.
Wow, this is a 16-year-old company.
This is a 16-year-old company. Yeah, we've been doing that for a while.
That's like OG status in that market. 16 years is a long time, man.
Congratulations. Well, thank you. We're the only company in that space, if you think about it, that does all of those things.
It's the first one I've heard of that does all of those things. I was actually trying to think of that when you were saying that. I'm like, man, you know, of course, selfishly, I'm like, I wonder if we could have... Well, hey, we can team up. Heck yeah, that's A. You know what, you're speaking my language now. I always look at, like, networking is such a powerful tool. I don't need to tell you that. And before I jump into, because that's a great segue into a question, but for those of our viewers who aren't familiar with you and your whole run for Senate, can you take us through you know, kind of how you got to that, how you got into entrepreneurship, but then how somebody goes so crazy as to be such an overachiever that they're like, Hey, you know what, you know, and not only do I have this successful business, it's an interesting parallel because if you think about it, the mayor was the same way, right? Like successful businessman. Uh, and then next year, you know what, I'm not busy enough. Let me get into politics. I mean, it's crazy, man, but I want to know. I think that there's a certain personality type and drive, but I'd love to hear more for you. So how did you get into all of this?
All right, I'm going to start you from the beginning. I'm going to go back. Up until grade four, I was a DNF student. And it was my mom who went to my fourth grade teacher and spoke to her, because they were concerned. I'm the scared kid, afraid to make friends. And that teacher showed me creatively how to learn. She put me in choirs, where I kind of got more comfortable with kids. I was in oratorical contests and in plays, and I realized that I can memorize. So I became a better speller, a better reader. And before you know it, in the fourth grade, I became an A student. I realized that that was mental health later on, and that was education, how important that is. But you have to engage the kid, and you got to show them how they can learn the way their brain works. And so later on, I gave back. I've taken young people on mission trips, building churches and homes. I've done a lot of service work. We helped raise $6.6 million for the homeless veterans. We did bone marrow drives. I mean, you know, we've just been out there doing service. And then I started my own company and I wanted to give back. And so we've been expanding wifi in disadvantaged homes. You know, we've been helping small businesses that can't afford some of the stuff that we do. And after all of that, I realized that I have a bigger plan. When I look at crime, when I look at poverty, when I look at welfare, when I look at areas in our society where people really want to do better, I realize that we're not doing a good job in educating our young people and adults. And when I say that, people say, oh, okay, well, we, you know, no, not traditional education. I realized that we needed a second pathway. Not everybody's gonna go to college. Not everybody's going to wanna get a PhD. And even then when they go to college, do they get the job that they studied for?
Or just a big old fat bill at the end.
There you go. But I've been living in the last two decades in what I would call the certification world. IT technology individuals for the last two decades, we had to get certifications. And that's a behemoth of an educational system that we haven't fully tapped into. And when I realized that, I realized that our young people, oh my goodness, If we actually gave a second pathway, K through 12, starting at sixth grade, they can get a certification. Can you imagine? Can you imagine a sixth grader getting a certification? I don't know. They want to become a vet. Then they start doing apprenticeships with small businesses. Because see, my business does that. Really? Yeah, we will let a young person shadow us. Now think about it. Now we're bringing small business to education like we do for sports. Imagine, because now you can grow. Because what is the biggest issue with most businesses with growth It's having employees that understand your business and can do it for you, right? Expansion. So when I looked at what was happening, I said, you know what, I got to get into politics. I have to share with everybody what I have seen work and let's come at this in a different way. So When people ask me, are you conservative, are you liberal? I would probably say I'm a moderate. I'm someone who just likes to get stuff done and I come at it with a different perspective. How do you bring down crime? You bring down crime by getting more people back in school. The states with the highest dropouts have the highest crime. That's a fact. That's not me saying it. Most inmates dropped out of school, 75%. So, what am I doing? I realize that the people that I need in my business are dropping out of school. Or they're incarcerated. I can't grow the way I would like to grow. Somebody asked me, well, what about the college graduates? I'm being honest with you. In my field, I will hire somebody certified over someone with a diploma. 100%, 100%.
In your field, your field relates, I don't know if you know what we do, but one of the main businesses, Potomac Custom Remodeling, which is a remodeling company. So we're construction, but in home residential remodeling. Mostly roofing, exteriors.
Okay, so we're kindred spirits. So we desire and crave certified individuals who can come in day one and start doing the job. So, imagine if we gave a second pathway where young people, and adults, but young people specifically, start to get that certification, do their apprenticeships. That's the after-school program. That's the over-the-summer program. They start shadowing us. Think about it. In a couple, few years, high schoolers, they're working for us. They already have a job. They're already getting the experience. What is the biggest issue once you graduate? No experience. You can't get it because you gotta have experience. There you go. So when I looked at this, I said that there's a better way. And coming out of business, I understand making, creating jobs. I understand what the business sector really needs, being in it for 16 years. I said, I have to put Notice how I started when I was in school. I realized that I got to bring, marry all of that together and help our society do a better job because we're not doing a great job right now. Not at all. And I'm affected by it. You're affected by it. That's how you get there.
I wish I would have known all this, man. We could have voted for you. Which is not too late for you, man. You seem like a very young man. I mean, it's relative to politics.
I am relative to politics. And the fact, what you just said, I told the governor today. and Madam Speaker, that I plan to stay in politics. I'm thinking about it, I'll say this on your show, this'll be the first time I'm saying it publicly. I am considering running for the county exec position in Prince George County.
Beautiful, which I feel like probably suits well with your business background? Yes.
Okay. Yes. And when you look at Prince George County and the PR, that comes out of there, I believe that it's time for someone to come in and turn that around in a different way. Not in a traditional way, but in a new way. Because I believe our young people are hungry and wanting another pathway. I believe our adults want a new pathway. I believe the businesses there want a new pathway. Because we're constantly, oh, let me throw money at it. No, it's not money. If you came to me and you said, I'll give you half a million dollars or I'll give you four great workers. I'm going to take the four great workers. I'll make my way right. I'll make that half a million and more. with four great workers, hey, I can go on vacation then. With four great workers. That's how I see the economy and I see our businesses from bottom, from the bottom. I don't see, you know, I was looking at somebody's plan to bring down crime and all of it had policing in it and then it had sprinkles of mental health. And I said to myself, that's already the wrong approach. Now, I'm not against cracking down on crime. We gotta crack down on crime. I mean- What's the real solution internally? There you go. Because the same people that you lock up, they have to return. And my whole point is the plan I just told you, that would go into welfare, that would go into incarcerated facilities to really, my thing is, when you're incarcerated, you should be job trained, get that certification, financial literacy, life skills, and before you even get out, job placed.
You know what, I think it's a good time to segue into the mayor. I just kind of plopped this on to him. He didn't know. He doesn't need to know. He didn't know about my background. So I am a convicted felon, former addict. I wasn't raised, I wasn't one of those dropouts. In fact, I'm a college graduate. Car accident, pills, you know the story, right? So from pills to harder substances. And in one year's time, I went from, and I'm very open about my, that's a big part of who I am, right? And my brand, not that. just to be celebrated, but it's a fact of who I am. And six years ago, homeless, hopeless, completely just rock bottom. I mean, everybody in here all knows that. But again, I champion that as to say, if I could do it, you can do it. And I wanna be very candid. Six years ago, homeless, hopeless, completely just rock bottom. I mean, everybody in here all knows that. But again, I champion that as to say, if I could do it, you can do it. And I wanna be very candid in there. You know, and I'm like, this ain't, this ain't right. And I'm like, get out. I'm making a change, you know, and I'm going to do all these things. probably like most, you know, I get out and I'm like, all right, I'm gonna worry about me, gotta get a job. And then like, you know, and so all those changes I was gonna make, but when I hear you say that, brother, that is so sorely needed, you know, now I wasn't in prison, prison, I was in max security, which all local jails are here, but they didn't do anything like that. They didn't even teach them how to, I fill out a resume. And some of my cell buddies, some of my good friends that I still speak to today, mind you, right? It doesn't matter, black, white, Hispanic, like, well, a lot of my buddies actually, you know, came from like, you know, the more, I mean, I guess you could call it a hood area, like in there, but like, they just didn't have the support system. They were some of the nicest, just genuine human beings I've ever met that I'm still friends with. But when you're put up against a situation when you're 13 years old and your mom's out. I'm just, you know, and, and dad's gone and you got brothers and sisters and you got to steal cereal and stuff to, to, to provide for them as a kid. And you see the guy on the corner with the watch and the car and you're, and he's doing his thing. And it's like, Hey, he's making money. He's never been, they've never been taught anything else. And then you put that individual in jail and the things we get best at are either getting worse, playing dominoes or bones or spades or whatever, and that's it. Maybe we work out once or twice a week. There was no reform, no nothing, no teaching. That would be... I think you're 100% right, man. I think you're spot on. If these guys just had a chance or were just taught, just given like a skill. One of my good buddies, man, he's getting ready to come out now. We call him Block. His name is Derek. They don't like, not all of them are big fans of being shouted out by their government name. So I'm gonna pause. But my buddy Block is, and he got locked back up for a gun charge, man. Just the most genuine human being, just like you, you know what I mean? He's just never been taught another way, man. Never been taught another way. And for me personally, as an employer, I was, right off the bat, I was bringing in only people like myself. And that was exhausting because, you know, When you add in the element of addiction, there's a lot of variables that you can't control. Not that you can control people, period, but there's just statistics, period, and they're not good. And that was really difficult and almost, it made me almost lose my mind. I think we have a good mix now. of guys like that, just normal folks. But it doesn't matter where, what. It doesn't have to be addiction. It can just be, hey, I'm just looking for a chance, man. And we can pour in and give you that opportunity. But what you're talking about is just from a firsthand experience, I can tell you. So sorely needed, man. So sorely needed.
And that's what I've been hearing. I've been hearing this story. And I have family members. And I don't look at these issues and go, oh, this person did that or that. I look at myself. I'm that type of guy. I will look at myself and what are you doing? What change are you bringing, or are we just talking about it? If people really stop and take a listen to a lot of politicians, they'll just hear them spout the issues, but don't hear a solution. I spend a lot of time talking about the solution that we can do for these problems. Why? Because if I've been there and seen it and felt it, then my mind started working. You know, how can we deal with this? And a lot of the young, listen, I was at, these moms wanted to say sorry to their kids. They had them early on. I was at this event when I was a candidate. And this one young man's story broke my heart. His mom did not want him to go to college, even though he had a full ride, because she needed him to help take care of his siblings. What's gonna happen to your siblings if you go for that full ride? Not realizing this guy can come back and really help you. But the program I'm talking about, A Second Pathway, I was telling them in this forum, You would have gotten that certification, and you would have been able to work immediately. And you would have been able to give back while still going to school. Can you imagine that? He can now do almost a six-figure job, because what he was into, he would have been doing a six-figure job and still going to school and being able to help his siblings. It is time for us to get serious. If we really want a better economy, if we really want crime to come down, if we really want people to truly be rehabilitated, if we really care about our society, we can't just say, oh, these are no good and they're incarcerated. No, these guys are part of our society. That's our family. We've got to give them another way. You can't just say, go find a job.
As if it's that easy. And they've never filled out an application, never fill out a resume, never had to your point. Most jobs like, all right, what's your experience? Well, I'm sitting. And then what's your record? Right, then what's your record? And you know what, for me personally, it pushed me into entrepreneurship because I knew that that record was gonna be a problem. So I'm like, you know what? Let's see if I can get my MHIC, my Maryland Home Improvement Commission license, which I didn't think I was gonna be able to get. I was afraid I couldn't get it because of my record. And of course they scrutinize it, but they gave it to me ultimately. There you go. You know, because fortunately I didn't have anything, you know, I think they could see like, all right, well, this is all in a, a short period of time, and I had to write an explanation, like, hey, I had this past of drug use, and so on, and nothing since, nothing before. Unfortunately, I was able to get it, but those, it's so discouraging, man, when you get that record, that it stops a lot of people from even trying, you know what I mean? Because you just think, well, why even try? I'm not gonna get it. And fortunately, I had a, my wife now, at the time, was an attorney, and like, no, we're gonna, what does it say we need to do? We need to go get this paperwork? Cool, take your butt to this, Salisbury's, we're gonna go get your paperwork, we're gonna go to the courthouse, the clerk of court, we're gonna get your records, we're gonna get your stuff, and we're gonna send it in. And I got it, and now I'm applying for Virginia. It's taken a year, and I still am applying for Virginia, but I'm gonna get it. They passed my background, they're like, all right, you're cool with that. I just gotta take one more test and I'm done. I mean, this is such a big issue. I applaud that, man. I really do.
Thank you, by the way.
Thank you so much. And to your point, now we've got two offices, 10 sales guys over there in the Eastern Shore. We had at one point probably 20 some odd here. We've since cut a lot, the Fair Labor Standards Act. It got away with the whole 1099 thing. And so we were like, all right, we're going W-2. and take any risks. Not everybody was okay with that, so we lost a few guys in that transition, but we still got a young man coming in tomorrow. I just got out of rehab, you know, and that may not sound super appealing, but at one point I sponsored this young man in a 12-step program that I'm heavily involved in, everybody knows that. And I know the kid, he's a grown man, I know the man, but I know what he's capable of. I know what somebody was just looking for one chance, man. Some of these guys are just looking for you to take a chance on them. Just one chance. And if you do and they hit, look, they might not hit, but so, The guy with no record at all could be a total nutcase. There you go. And just hiding it really well. Right. Could be a total pain in the behind. Or not a great worker. Or not, or no work ethic. Right, no work ethic. Yeah, right. And then you get the guy or gal that's looking for just a chance, man. And well, literally. Yes. Like, that was me. Yes. Well, we'll just, we'll break my wing. I started handyman work and I had no handyman experience getting picked up by another member of this 12-step community six years ago, mind you. I had no low bank account. I had nothing, no bank account, no place. I was staying in a group home with funding from the state on food stamps. And I was so happy to get picked up, you know, paid daily by a guy just doing whatever he had for me that day. Then, you know, getting picked up by another friend of mine, retrofitting lights and slowly advancing and who would give me what, you know, cause I'm thinking I got, I can't be picky, you know, can't even drive at this point. Then get my license unsuspended, then save up enough money to pay for a truck that's leaking trim, you know, dot three, right? And which is clutch fluid. But bottom line is in a year's time or two years time that I get a better job and a better job and you start to feel more and more confident that I got back into sales. That's where this all came from. I was in construction sales for a long time. I started installing roofs. Because I'm thinking I can't get back into sales. I don't know if that's really for me. So I started installing them. That's a hard work. That's a hard work. I see the guys doing it. I couldn't do it. So for me, I wanted to go back to selling them, but I learned more. I'm very thankful for what happened and that it made me a much better human being, a much better person, much more full, much more grateful. And in that, you get someone like that, that's full of gratitude and just looking for a chance. And man, you got yourself a superstar. Talk about, it is so hard as a businessman, putting that hat back on as an entrepreneur. One of our greatest, if you're anything, I'm sure you are, all of us can say, it's so hard to find good help these days. How many people have said that, right? So hard to find good help. That's an understatement. It's the understatement of the century. But you wouldn't think of what he's talking about, or you may not, but I'm here to tell you, those are probably, and it sounds counterintuitive, but I'm telling you, a lot of your best candidates are these folks. They just, because the ones that never experienced, think about the person that's only ever seen sunny in 75, right? They don't appreciate that. Whereas the person that's only ever seen rain, the first chance they get to step out into the sunshine, like, this is absolutely amazing. Those are those individuals. Those individuals are dying for an opportunity and will break their back. And look, they might not hit. But again, everyone you hire is a risk.
Everyone you hire is a risk. And I really want to celebrate you and applaud you and say to you that I plan to be intentional about partnering with you. Why? Because I want to build what we call the collective. groups, entities, nonprofits, businesses, faith-based that are doing a lot of the work. Great work in their silos, but we need to come together and hit it from all areas. That's, I believe, the plan that God has given me to do. Okay, I didn't become our U.S. Senator. That's fine, but from the perch of maybe county exec. We can turn a whole county around. We can help turn other counties around. We can partner with other counties and we can start getting at the real root cause and not continue to go down, spiral down this road of let's just lock them up. No, let's come at the educational piece in a different way. So that's what I'm saying to you. I believe that it is that time. when we get it right. Everybody feels it. Everybody knows that we need to get it right. It's time to get it right somewhere. So that we can hold it up as the model.
Somewhere. We gotta get it right somewhere.
We gotta get it right somewhere. And so I am truly considering running because, or becoming a candidate. My mentor doesn't like me to say running, because what are you running? He likes me to say a candidate. Because I believe we've got to, what we're talking about is the essence of the fundamentals of life.
I hope you are, man. I really do. I feel like just having sat with you, I seriously hope you are. I know you're just now announcing it, but man, if there's anything I can do to help or any influence or anything, I would love to see, because that's just, I mean, it's just so important. I mean, that's a game changer, man. And you know what, to your point, I think God wholeheartedly could have, would have, and possibly did say, okay, like not yet. It doesn't mean like very young political standards like we talked about, but hey man, you can do a lot more for the people that you're talking about from here. And I think that that is just beautiful, man.
I mean. And then set me, because what I'm talking about, I'm gonna be honest, in my debates, people would get quiet. They would listen, but this is new. Now, to me, it's not new. I mean, in the 80s, we did something upward bound. There was an educational system where sixth graders could get sort of certified. It died out. Every time we've tried to do this, it died out. Why? Because of funding. So they would just let it go. But did it work? Yes. I met plenty of individuals who got their certification at sixth grade and went on to do greater things. It's time to bring it back. Our economy, A.I. OK. Our economy is built now with technology in every field, which means there's certifications in every field, every field there's certifications. And what we're telling young people that they got to go all the way to college, graduate, and then Get going? No. You can get certified. I was out on the street of Baltimore and this young man said, why don't I buy GED? You don't even need your GED to get certified. You can get your A plus, you can get cybersecurity. I mean, you can get dental hygienist. You can go and get all these different certifications without a GED. And they don't know this. And get financial literacy. We have to do this if we want a better society. What, we're gonna just go down this road for the next, what, six years? It's just gonna get worse. Everybody's complaining about the economy. Oh, you talking about they're complaining now. Think about six years we don't do something like this. It's gonna get worse. Dropouts are high across America. Now, I'm sounding the alarm on this, and most people don't even think about it. But dropouts is huge. Maryland, 8.3% last year. That's over 10,000 kids. And Maryland is supposed to be the poster child for doing well.
That's so disappointing, especially to your point where the metrics support or the analytics support that the dropout rate is directly proportionate to the crime rate.
It's directly proportionate. Now, watch this. 127,000 jobs last year not filled. Wow. Here? Here in Maryland. That represents, if you just do it at the lowest, let's say the average job would have given $40,000 in wages, which is not true. You had some six-figure jobs in there. You're talking about $11 billion lost in wages, in people's pockets. What would that have done to our economy? What would that have done to our taxes? We could start lowering our taxes in this area, because that's what I would love to do. I would love to start lowering some. Hey, you got my vote, brother. You just got my vote. I would love to lower some taxes. If we're bringing in more into the state, then let's start lowering the taxes. But I'm going to say this, because I've said this in debates. Democrats are always talking about a living wage, and I believe in a living wage, but they're always talking about raising, you know, the minimum wage, right? Which is, you know, let's get it at $15 an hour. Who can live on $15 an hour? Nobody.
Okay, so we've been spending... Especially not with the rate of inflation right now.
So we're spending all this time trying to get to 15,000. And I'm not saying let's not, you know, I'm just saying, why not spend all this time getting people certified into these high five and six figure jobs? And for those of you all who don't know what I mean by high fives and six figures, like I was told, that some people don't know, well, we're talking about 50,000, $58,000, 60,000, and sometimes $100,000 job, wages that you can make. We can do this. This can be, I have companies, and you can go look this up without me. There are Fortune 500 companies that will hire convicted convicts coming out if they're certified. Because across the board, in every sector, we have a deficit. From nursing to even cybersecurity, there's a deficit. Even in construction, we have deficits of needing to fill jobs. So we can't even certify enough people to fill these jobs. So my point here is, it's time.
More than time. You came on the right podcast. Talk about entrepreneurship and stuff. I mean, we just can't fill the jobs. I don't care. If you listen to this job, if you listen to this job, if you listen to this podcast, you either own a company, you're CEO, whatever, right? Like you're in sales. Some of my mentors, you mentioned, which I think it's so important to have a good mentor. And I would guess you would agree. Sounds like you've had some wonderful mentors. I have some mentors currently. Yeah. Yeah. And it's just, it's probably the hardest thing, man. I don't know. I mean, there's a lot of hard things in business, but finding good people is just, and the fact that mine, that what you just told me is like blowing my mind because I'm like thinking of how many interviews, all the, you know, all the jobs we've been trying. It's just, we're so hard. What we do, it's, kind of hard by nature of like door-to-door sales is a tough gig to get just you know you can get applicants but people who really want to do it and are going to stick around and do it but man that's brutal.
Think about how many young people and adults who would have been great, but we lost them to the prison system. Or they lost their lives or they've checked out, they're now on drugs. But they think there's no future. They think that there's no, I have spoken to a lot of young people who feel like there's no future. I mean, what are you talking about? But when they hear what I'm talking about and I go, we're talking about three months. We're talking about six months. We're not talking about a whole two, three years to get a certification. Wow. I got my A plus certification in about, I want to say four weeks. I got my applications master's that probably took me about two or three months. Just studying, going to boot camps. It's a hands-on training. So if you are really dedicated, you can get your cyber security in six months. I mean, and- That's a great job. And that's a great, and there, listen, we're so far behind. We need more cybersecurity individuals. I mean, like yesterday, your cell phone, people don't understand cybersecurity. And this is how I explain it. Everybody has a cell phone, right? What do you keep on your cell phone? Everything. Everything. Everything. So you're telling me you don't need that protected? Yeah. Because anybody can hack into that. And now your whole world has been changed. This is why cybersecurity is so important, and that's how I explain cybersecurity. I know, because most people think, oh, computers, servers, software. No, no, no. Let's just think small. Your iPad, you've got everything on that thing. You need those companies to be protected.
You guys don't think about that now, do you? Everything on there.
So I want, I would like, listen, there's a organization called build.org. They've been doing the curriculum I'm talking about for the last 25 years. Anybody can look this up. Build, B-U-I-L-D dot org. It's a turnkey curriculum of turning young people into entrepreneurs. Wow. Yes. Teaching them how to start a business while they're in high school. teaching them, getting them mentors, they do apprenticeships, but I wanna bring this down to sixth grade, to junior high. That's what I'm talking about. Why? Because we need to revamp the culture that's coming up.
That sounds like an actual solution, which, I mean, you know, you sound a little crazy. Your politician friends might not like that. We like just talking about things, you know, doing things. Oh, I'm actually trying to fix something. So, yeah, it's crazy. That is crazy. But I love it, man. I mean, it may sound a little bit, what is it? What's that common Turner phrase? It's a little too much like right. You know what I mean? I don't know. But he, I mean, that's beautiful, man. I sincerely, in any way, shape, or form that I could be of any help. I mean, it's just something that genuinely I believe in, man, having been there. And again, I don't regret any of that. I learned so much. It humbled me. It just made me a far better person, man. Far better. We wouldn't be sitting here today. No, sir. No, sir. No, we wouldn't. No, we wouldn't. I'm lucky to be alive, but... I don't know what I would have done. I had no real goals or ambition. I was just kind of a lost, you know, but it was, this was the best thing that could have happened to me, but also to get to do something with that information. You know what I'm saying? Like having had that firsthand experience and like the guy wasn't there, like, I'm going to do something. And then you get out and it's like, Dang, I gotta do this. Then I'm gonna do something. I'm talking roaches in the feed trays, because I worked in the kitchen. And look, I get we're in jail, but it's like... I don't know, man. We really gotta be treated like that. At least let's rehabilitate and not demean. And you're an animal, you treat people like animals. What do you expect when it happens, when they come out? When they come out, there you go. At least educate these young men. And I know some that are doing really, really well, man. I still talk to this day, but I just learned so much valuable information. And it's like, you may judge and think, oh, I start selling drugs. That might be one of the nicest, young man you've ever met that's literally just trying to take care of his family. I'm not making excuses, man. I'm just saying like- That's the truth. It's easy to say that against somebody when you don't know how they grew up, the circumstances. And that story I told you is a true story from one of my friends, right? He's like, man, I've been taking care of my sisters since I was a kid, you know, and stealing cereal and stuff to feed my sisters. Mom's smoking crack, dad's gone, and guy in the corner selling drugs. I'm like, well, I didn't even know what he was doing. I just know he had money and I need to make money. No one else taught me any other way. And that's, and I did it to help my family. So before you really throw some stones or whatever, you should consider there are other factors, you know, and I don't know, now I'm going all political, but.
No, but you're saying it right though. You're saying it right. So many people throw stones and you know, no,
How can you fix that? That's what I love, man. I love it. How do we fix it? What's the solution? I love your solution, man. I love it. Anyway, how can we support you? How can we find you? How can we see more about what you got going on? Where can we follow you?
Well, I would say it's simple. MarcellusCruz.com. M-A-R-C-E-L-L-U-S. Cruz. C-R-E-W-S.com. You can go to Marcellus Cruz, you can get to my social media feeds and you can see all the good work that we're doing. We also put a lot of videos up on the website. You can just follow me and check me out and even get in contact with me. If you have a young person in your household and you just don't know what to do, well, hit me up. Hit me up. Or they're incarcerated. Hit me up. The point here is it is time for us to stop talking and start getting on with helping.
Yeah. Put some action behind that. Yes. I love this. This is one of my favorite podcasts, man. I love this. I enjoyed this conversation. Action, man. I love it. I love it. I support you fully, man. I sincerely hope that you do do that. I do. I hope so. Anything I can, I will champion the heck out of that, man. Sincerely. I will. I hope you guys heard it here first. All right. But we're going to see. Like you said, you're a man of action. I'm a man of action. Now it's time to put that action behind that and go get it, man.
That's what everybody's got. I just got over a phone call coming in. It was like, I don't know what you're thinking about. It's time to go. I just got off. Man, that was a brutal crisscrossing the state. But I'm happy that I did it. I did make a name for myself.
Running for Senate, Senate, Senate, and hanging. And hanging.
I mean, you can watch my debates. It's on our Facebook page. You can watch them. We live streamed them. And I hung with them. And I realized I'm ready to go do God's work. Beautiful.
Yeah, he prepared me. I love it. And you can do it. Awesome. Beautiful, man. Thank you so much for coming, man. I really appreciate it. I cannot wait to see everything that you do in politics. I can't wait to see all the things and all the people you help, man. I'm really excited for you. Thank you. I appreciate you. Appreciate you, my friend. This is lifelong right here. Yes, sir. I agree. One hundred percent, man. One hundred percent. That was awesome.
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