Richard Spears has built his life and success on this simple proverb. His determination naturally draws people to his shared vision of change in our lives and community.

Richard spends much of his time at home in the kitchen or behind the grill recreating a dish he saw online or recently enjoyed at a restaurant. Braised short ribs with polenta, homemade pizza in the stone oven, and Caribbean-style steamed redfish are just a few of the dishes he’s perfected. “We do a lot of entertaining,” Richard said. “My wife, Angel, handles the planning and decorations - She’s the organizer. If it were up to me, I’d wing it, but I don’t wing it on food. I always have a recipe ready.” His business style is much like his cooking style: find a recipe, work to perfect it, repeat. 

“I was an investor first, and that remains one of my biggest passions because it’s the best way I know how to help the community in North Baton Rouge, where I come from,” Richard said. 

Richard draws inspiration, and a formula of sorts, from Bo Menkiti. Menkiti is the CEO of Keller Williams Capital Properties, one of the fastest-growing real estate brokerages in the Washington, DC area. The company focuses on strengthening neighborhoods through strategically developing, managing, and selling property in urban markets. “Ultimately, I aspire to do my part, invest in my community and be a part of its development,” Richard said. 

As Richard developed a growing list of clients, his friend Jude joined him as a Showing Assistant, and his wife Angel started the process of becoming a licensed Realtor. The recipe for Prime Properties Group came together during Career Visioning classes hosted by Keller Williams. “During those classes, I saw the significant value in collaborating to do more. I’ve been able to do way more with others than I ever could have done by myself. By bringing Jude along and having my wife there with me, we were able to help 103 families that first year we started Prime Properties,” he said. “I definitely couldn’t have done that myself without getting burned out.” Since then, the team has grown with Richard as the CEO of Prime Properties Group with Keller Williams First Choice and his wife, Angel, as Director of Operations and Realtor. The team is comprised of four full-time agents, Charon Johnson, Michael Julien, Cornell “CJ” Griffin, and Marquita Guidry, along with executive assistant Erin Miles-Green.

Three years ago, Richard’s father, Richard Spears, Sr., passed away from congestive heart failure. And soon, Richard found himself sitting in the doctor’s office with a choice. “At 36, the doctor told me I have high blood pressure, and my treatment options were to lose weight and exercise or take daily medication. I asked him how much weight I needed to lose, and I got to it.” Richard started sharing his health journey on Facebook by posting his Apple Watch stats each day. And soon, the people around him were ready to take up their own mission toward better health. "If I got my workout in today, you can, too.”  

“Everything we do at Prime Properties is about healthy competition,” he said. “We all have different journeys and goals, but we work towards them together,” he said. The team began tracking their weight loss and workouts as a friendly competition. Then, they started working out together. “We work out as a team once a week at The Stew Compound, and I’m putting together a pickleball day for us,” he said. “It has strengthened our sense of camaraderie. We make everything a healthy competition, we’re sharing all of these different goals - to create an impact in our communities through volunteer work, to help more families through real estate and homeownership, and now we have a shared goal of bettering our health. We’re consistently working toward these shared goals, and the camaraderie and accountability make the mission that much more powerful." Richard opts for early morning workouts to start his day with a win. “I feel like I’ve already won the day by getting through a workout. It creates my momentum for the day.” Now, he’s looking forward to his next doctor’s visit. “It’s been life-changing. I have more energy and barely need coffee anymore,” he said. That helps him keep up with his two sons, Cameron, 12 and Dylan, 6. 

Like most people, Richard often thinks about how different his life would be had he been equipped with the knowledge he learned in his 30s. “If I had known then what I know now, there’s no telling what else I could have accomplished at this age,” he said. He doesn’t dwell on what could have been and instead turns those feelings into action to facilitate positive change. 

Richard set his sights on developing a program to teach financial literacy classes to high school and college students. “Financial education opens doors for opportunities that give people the economic power to change their future. It saves lives,” he explained. “I was called to do this work, and as I began to develop the program, I went on a podcast, and the hosts were a part of the 100 Black Men of Metro Baton Rouge Organization. I wasn’t familiar with the organization, but as I was sharing my vision for this program with them. They told me that they were already teaching financial literacy courses and invited me to a class. I kept going back and soon joined the organization.” He volunteers as a teacher of the Dollars and Sense Program and Financial Literacy Academy. In those classes, he provides guidance and insights to young men on budgeting, investing, and managing money, equipping them with the life-changing and wealth-building information he wished someone would have taught him. He also works with the Young Investors Academy, which offers college students micro-grants to create an investment portfolio. "It's incredible to see them show up, not just be there, and be fully engaged with the lessons. Empowering young people in my community is a long-term passion of mine. I plan to keep building and finding ways to pursue that mission.” 

While business, volunteering and family keep Richard busy, he feels like he's just getting started. "Any time we hit a glass ceiling, it's because we're missing a person. It's always about people. All of my personal success comes from my relationships with others and our shared mission and desire to improve our community and the lives of the people around us."