Watson was born on the South Side of Chicago in 1981, one of six children. Her parents were not active or involved in their children’s lives. As a result of instability, she was passed around to various relatives and has called almost every part of Chicago home.
She was considered the black sheep in her family because she had never “taken the traditionally or socially accepted route to an end.” Watson said, “As a black sheep child, my life is a complete testimony to those who use it as an excuse.”
After graduating Whitney Young Magnet High School, she walked into a $35,000 a year position at a bank, which led to bigger things for her career. She “fell” into her financial career by default in 1999; she eventually progressed into different aspects of banking, and went into retail banking, which handles transactions with the costumers.
Watson has various certifications for financial planning. She is currently working on her undergraduate degree in financial planning at DeVry University online.
Watson said that she has the desire to educate others—a desire she has had since grammar school. She hopes to begin teaching two workshops a month to help the lower-income black communities who struggle daily.
“The more people I help, the greater my reward is in the future,” she said.
While moving up in the ranks in the banking industry, she realized the “the lack of financial knowledge that paved the way to financial disaster” in our community.
“One of the main reasons black communities are always financially struggling is we don’t utilize our resources, [like] the library. The answer to all of our problems lies in books and the Bible. We just need to take the time to read them,” she said. Another pitfall is African Americans are “over-consumers” instead of being “over-investors,” Watson said.
She has multiple duties such as educating clients to help them obtain future success and giving her clients certain products that cater to their needs.
She also said that she participates in goal-setting and tracking and does outreach in communities that are economically depressed in an attempt to attract and educate a new market. She also organizes financial workshops and seminars.
Today, she balances two jobs working at Black Rhino Inc., which is a CPA firm in Park Ridge, Ill., and has an independent firm based in Chicago. Watson also balances motherhood (two children) along with her hectic work and school schedule.
After graduating Whitney Young Magnet High School, she walked into a $35,000 a year position at a bank, which led to bigger things for her career. She “fell” into her financial career by default in 1999; she eventually progressed into different aspects of banking, and went into retail banking, which handles transactions with the costumers.
Watson has various certifications for financial planning. She is currently working on her undergraduate degree in financial planning at DeVry University online.
Watson said that she has the desire to educate others—a desire she has had since grammar school. She hopes to begin teaching two workshops a month to help the lower-income black communities who struggle daily.
“The more people I help, the greater my reward is in the future,” she said.
While moving up in the ranks in the banking industry, she realized the “the lack of financial knowledge that paved the way to financial disaster” in our community.
“One of the main reasons black communities are always financially struggling is we don’t utilize our resources, [like] the library. The answer to all of our problems lies in books and the Bible. We just need to take the time to read them,” she said. Another pitfall is African Americans are “over-consumers” instead of being “over-investors,” Watson said.
She has multiple duties such as educating clients to help them obtain future success and giving her clients certain products that cater to their needs.
She also said that she participates in goal-setting and tracking and does outreach in communities that are economically depressed in an attempt to attract and educate a new market. She also organizes financial workshops and seminars.
Today, she balances two jobs working at Black Rhino Inc., which is a CPA firm in Park Ridge, Ill., and has an independent firm based in Chicago. Watson also balances motherhood (two children) along with her hectic work and school schedule.
*Photography by GMO Photographer, Billy Montgomery.
