MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. – A Miami Gardens man pulled himself out of poverty with grit, strength and determination. Now, he’s using his story to lift others out of similar circumstances.

Miami native Alfred Nickson knew the life he wanted from an early age.

“He always had his mind set to do better and greater in life, and that was from day one,” said his mother Kimberly Walton.

For the majority of his childhood, he remembers waking up at around 4 in the morning just to make sure the whole family had time to get ready for the day.

“I’m the oldest of seven kids. Myself, my brothers, my sisters, my grandmother, my grandad, my mom, her husband at the time, a few cousins, auntie, uncle,” he said.

It was a full house. They were all cramped into a small two-bedroom apartment in Miami Gardens.

Nickson knew he wanted to do better and get his family out of poverty.

“He would talk about being a millionaire like every day, pretty much every day he would talk about ‘When I’m going to be a millionaire,’ and people would just stand around and looks amazed,” Walton said.

At the age of 19, his first opportunity showed itself.

He started his first business with $500, but it wasn’t easy at first.

“Those first three years, it was just a lot of work, but we didn’t make no money,” he said. “I made $1,500 in my first three years.”

Then he dove into the financial industry.

Nickson noticed a lack of financial knowledge in his community — things like life insurance, wills, trusts, and taxes.

His mission was to educate his community through his home-based business.

Four months into the new endeavor he reached a high five-figure income.

By the age of 25, he made his first million, and so he fulfilled one promise he made to himself.

“All of those troubles of two-bedroom apartments, 14 people, all of the struggles and sacrifices my mom made, I ended up getting her a home down in the Kendall area — a six bedroom, five bathroom home, and I told her you can sit down, you don’t have to work anymore,” Nickson said.

Nickson has a message for all the children growing up thinking they have no way out of poverty.

“We have so many opportunities right now. Maybe you get an allowance or maybe you’re getting revenue, and instead of buying video games and playing video games all day, you can leverage some of that money to put into crypto, that’s growing, to put into stocks,” he said.

Nickson attended Miami Central High School. He has made over $10 million with his business and has helped tens of thousands with financial literacy as well as help others reach their first six and seven-figure revenue goals.