Unlocking Business Wealth: Exit Planning & Financial Planner Standards with Paul Brahim

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Welcome to Something More with Chris Boyd.

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Chris Boyd is a certified financial planner, practitioner,

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and senior vice president and financial advisor at

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Wealth Enhancement Group, one of the nation's largest

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registered investment advisors.

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We call it Something More because we'd like

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to talk not only about those important dollar

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and cents issues, but also the quality of

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life issues that make the money matters matter.

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Here he is, your fulfillment facilitator, your partner

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in prosperity, advising clients on Cape Cod and

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across the country.

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Here's your host, Jay Christopher Boyd.

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Welcome to the program and thanks for joining

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us.

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I'm Chris Boyd and I'm here with Jeff

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Perry.

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We are your co-hosts and we are

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both of the AMR team at Wealth Enhancement.

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Joining us today is Paul Bram, managing director

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and financial advisor with Wealth Enhancement in Pittsburgh.

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With decades of experience guiding CEOs and business

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owners through retirement, succession planning, financial wellness strategies,

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Paul brings a wealth of insight to our

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conversation.

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He is a CFP and a CEPA for

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exit planning strategies and currently serves as the

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president of the Financial Planning Association, where he's

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leading efforts to elevate the profession and advocate

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for title protection.

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Beyond his professional accolades, which by the way,

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include multiple years as a five-star wealth

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manager award winner, Paul is passionate about a

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variety of things, including his active involvement in

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community leadership and apparently an endurance athlete.

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We'll have to hear more about that at

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some point.

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We're thrilled to have him on the show.

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Paul, thanks for being with us.

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Thanks so much, Chris.

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Appreciate being here.

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Well, Paul, I have so many things I

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want to talk to you about.

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Among them is certainly your year as president

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of the Financial Planning Association during this important

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25th anniversary year.

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I also want to hear about the work

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you're doing at Wealth Enhancement with regard to

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business owners and their succession planning and exit

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strategies.

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But before we talk about all that, tell

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us a little bit about your professional journey.

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How did you become a financial planner?

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I suspect, like most people of our era,

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it wasn't originally your plan.

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So what was the path that led you

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to financial planning and this professional success that

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you achieved?

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Contentment is often not a path originally intended

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and frequently preceded by challenges.

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So I'd love to hear a little bit

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about your story.

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I'm happy to share.

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You know, when I went to college at

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Washington and Jefferson, which is the nation's 11th

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oldest college or university, at least that's what

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they tell me when they ask for money.

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But when I went to college at Washington

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and Jefferson, I was a chemistry and English

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major and a pre-med.

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Clearly, I didn't get into medical school, right?

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I did have that.

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When I graduated college, I didn't get into

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medical school, still wanted to.

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So I started a career in pharmaceutical sales.

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In that time frame when I was doing

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pharmaceutical sales, I met a couple of physicians

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that thought I would be a really great

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doctor.

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So they sponsored me.

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I was all set to start at WVU

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Medical Center, just had a few boxes to

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check.

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A lot of my doctor customers talked to

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me about the influence of insurance companies and

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HMOs on the practice of medicine, and they

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strongly advised me to avoid becoming a physician

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and stay in business.

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And at that point, I was married with

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a couple of kids, and that seemed like

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reasonable advice to me.

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Well, it's a long path to go through

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medical school too, right?

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It was a long path, and their view

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of the profession was not as rosy as

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I thought it was when I was in

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college as a pre-med.

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So at any rate, I stayed in pharmaceutical

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sales and ultimately, at some point, ended up

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in medical product sales in that career path.

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But along the way, my father introduced me

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to a guy named Ron Stiller, and he

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worked for a company called AL Williams.

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If you're old enough, you know who that

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is.

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And I got the buy term, invest the

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difference bug in me.

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And my dad said to me one day,

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son, when are you going to stop making

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other people rich, meaning my employer, and make

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yourself rich, right?

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Because he was a business owner himself.

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So he wanted me to follow that entrepreneurial

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path.

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He introduced me to Ron.

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One thing led to another, and I left

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my job in pharmaceutical sales and hung my

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shingle out as an independent in September of

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1987.

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I think if you're a student of market

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history, you know what happened in October of

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1987.

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I couldn't get an- Perfect timing, huh?

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Yeah, I couldn't get an appointment to save

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my life, Chris.

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It was a train wreck.

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I remember my dad, who had sold his

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business and became a minister, he came to

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my house after church, right?

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So we all came to my house after

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church, and he opened up the refrigerator and

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about the only thing inside of that refrigerator

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was a light bulb.

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And he said to me, son, what do

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you think the Lord's trying to tell you?

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And I said that if you and mom

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don't buy us groceries, we're not eating tonight,

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right?

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And so I had to detour away from

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financial services for a period of time.

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That's when I went into medical product sales,

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but I just couldn't get this out of

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my blood.

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Much of my success, and I had a

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lot of success in both pharmaceutical and medical

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product sales, leading the country in sales, right,

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everywhere I went.

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Much of that success came from delivering something

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we call in-service programs in hospitals, where

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you hold a lunch and learn or a

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breakfast meeting, and you teach a group of

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physicians or a group of nurses or other

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practitioners about a product, about its uses, its

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indications, contraindications, how to use it, right, what

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to look for.

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And so I did a lot of, let's

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call it public speaking inside of hospitals to

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generate, right, to generate interest in the products

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that we sold at the time.

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And I asked myself this question, I wonder

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if I can do that with respect to

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financial planning.

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And so I discovered a company called Successful

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Money Management Seminars from Portland, Oregon, and right,

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SMMS, right.

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So, you know, I kind of bought everything

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that they made.

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And, you know, just to tell you how

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hard this was, right, how crazy this was,

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right, I had that initial failure in 87,

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88, right.

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So I went back to Washington and Jefferson

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College, and I met with the dean, Howard

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Burnett.

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He's since passed.

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And I had this meeting with him, and

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everybody called him Howie.

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And, you know, in this meeting, I called

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him Dr. Burnett.

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But I said, Dr. Burnett, do you remember,

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do you remember your commencement speech when I

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graduated in 1981?

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Meanwhile, it's a decade later, right?

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And you said in that commencement speech that

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Washington and Jefferson, W&J, you know, wasn't

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here for you just for the four years

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that you attended, but it was here for

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you for life.

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Here it comes.

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Yeah, that's exactly what he said.

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That's exactly what he said.

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So I told him what I wanted him

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to do.

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I wanted him to mail 10,000 brochures

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to people right in the surrounding communities so

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that I could teach a course in the

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adult evening education program, which they didn't even

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have.

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And lo and behold, he agreed, right?

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He agreed.

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So I went out and I bought all

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this seminar stuff, right?

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I got everything that I needed.

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I'm ready to go.

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I go back and see him to do

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a planning session.

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And he didn't remember the conversation.

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Oh, no.

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Yeah.

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And I had learned that he was having

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some memory issues.

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Oh, no.

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Right.

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Exactly.

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So he introduces me to another dean and

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it all had to be renegotiated and it

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was really skinny down.

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But I did my first program with Successful

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Money Management Seminars in 1992 at Washington and

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Jefferson College.

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I had three people that attended.

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All three became clients.

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One of them was a professor of mine,

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which was fascinating.

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And the rest is kind of history.

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And I evolved from that into doing financial

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wellness training at corporations as notable as Bayer

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and USX and Alcoa, right?

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Some pretty large corporations where we did financial

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wellness training programs.

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And that's really how I built my practice.

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Ultimately, I became a shareholder in a firm

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called BPU Investment Management, became its chief compliance

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officer, then its chief executive officer.

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And in 2020, we sold our firm to

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Wealth Enhancement Group.

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I have to tell you, I love hearing

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that story.

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Thank you for sharing that.

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I think it is inspirational for people who

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are starting out to hear that even people

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who've had great success, often that success is

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preceded by great challenges.

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And here you are telling your story that

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you almost failed out of the business for

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a time, that you just were having trouble

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making it work.

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And then eventually persistence pays off.

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I was going to say, I tease and

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I tell people it only took me 30

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years to become an overnight success.

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I think that's not uncommon, right?

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It's the reality of life.

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I also use the people from SNMS. I

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used their retirement strategy.

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Financial strategies for success.

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The one that was even later was for

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retirees.

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It was lifelong.

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I forget what it was.

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Lifelong retirement strategy.

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I actually developed a program with them called

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At Work.

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And it was specifically for people who worked

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in publicly traded corporations.

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It was financial wellness training for people who

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worked in publicly traded corporations, because it included

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a lot of information around stock grants, stock

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options, those kinds of corporate benefits that you

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would only have in a publicly traded corporation.

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And so we co-developed that program.

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And I even had the chance for many

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years to train advisors on how to secure

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a corporation to teach in and train them

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00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:19,980
on how to deliver these programs.

276
00:12:20,300 --> 00:12:24,640
It was an amazingly wonderful relationship with successful

277
00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:25,980
money management seminars.

278
00:12:26,500 --> 00:12:28,420
I was glad to say that they did

279
00:12:28,420 --> 00:12:30,280
it well and that it was more of

280
00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:32,840
a financial planning structure, a cost up.

281
00:12:34,860 --> 00:12:37,380
But a big investment to get those seminars

282
00:12:37,380 --> 00:12:39,560
off the ground with the lead time.

283
00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:41,920
It was.

284
00:12:41,980 --> 00:12:46,180
It was a very long cycle to make

285
00:12:46,180 --> 00:12:47,000
things work.

286
00:12:48,100 --> 00:12:54,580
And I remember in 1997, when I joined

287
00:12:54,580 --> 00:12:58,440
a firm called Berkowitz Pruchowski, which became BPU

288
00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,600
Investment Management, the firm I was ultimately CEO

289
00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:07,820
for, they were incredulous that I would teach

290
00:13:07,820 --> 00:13:12,460
a program over four weeks and then prepare

291
00:13:12,460 --> 00:13:16,300
financial plans and meet with people and not

292
00:13:16,300 --> 00:13:18,940
even get close to a penny of revenue

293
00:13:18,940 --> 00:13:20,620
for at least 13 weeks.

294
00:13:20,780 --> 00:13:22,260
They were incredulous.

295
00:13:22,820 --> 00:13:24,720
Until they weren't, right?

296
00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:25,040
Yeah.

297
00:13:25,860 --> 00:13:27,040
Until it worked.

298
00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:27,420
Right.

299
00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:28,460
Yeah.

300
00:13:29,980 --> 00:13:30,180
Yeah.

301
00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:30,740
Yeah.

302
00:13:32,260 --> 00:13:33,240
Well, all right.

303
00:13:33,380 --> 00:13:35,520
I want to turn our attention to the

304
00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:37,020
Financial Planning Association.

305
00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:41,300
2025 represents the 25th year of the Financial

306
00:13:41,300 --> 00:13:42,320
Planning Association.

307
00:13:43,380 --> 00:13:47,980
It was preceded by two successor organizations, the

308
00:13:47,980 --> 00:13:50,120
IAFP and the ICFP.

309
00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:53,620
But the FPA has become the industry's home

310
00:13:53,620 --> 00:13:55,520
for financial planning professionals.

311
00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:00,260
This is a momentous year to enjoy being

312
00:14:00,260 --> 00:14:02,040
at the helm of the organization.

313
00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:04,920
Tell us about your goals for your term

314
00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:06,260
and how it is going.

315
00:14:06,780 --> 00:14:07,100
Yeah.

316
00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:07,900
Well, thanks.

317
00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:08,940
I appreciate it.

318
00:14:09,140 --> 00:14:11,720
And by the way, I became a CFP

319
00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:16,460
in 1995, among other things that makes me

320
00:14:16,460 --> 00:14:17,160
very old.

321
00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:22,000
But and I was also a member of

322
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,240
both of those organizations, the IAFP and the

323
00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:25,900
ICFP.

324
00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:26,420
Yeah.

325
00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:28,860
I was an IAFP before.

326
00:14:29,940 --> 00:14:33,580
And even back then, my focus was on

327
00:14:33,580 --> 00:14:36,520
this idea of advocacy.

328
00:14:37,500 --> 00:14:40,500
I thought it was important to advocate for

329
00:14:40,500 --> 00:14:43,940
the profession and advocate for how the profession

330
00:14:43,940 --> 00:14:46,220
could enhance the lives of its clients.

331
00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:50,580
And so even back then, I was on

332
00:14:50,580 --> 00:14:53,500
those advocacy committees at a local level.

333
00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:54,260
Yeah.

334
00:14:55,420 --> 00:14:58,300
So, you know, one thing led leads to

335
00:14:58,300 --> 00:15:02,160
another and chapter president here in Pittsburgh, and

336
00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:06,760
then committee service at a national level on

337
00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:09,760
the Public Policy Committee in the Member Advocacy

338
00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:10,200
Council.

339
00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:15,680
And then this board position, which has been

340
00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:17,680
one of the great joys of my life,

341
00:15:17,940 --> 00:15:21,280
because it's that place where I believe that

342
00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,240
we're really making impact and making a difference

343
00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:28,600
for certified financial planners, for people committed to

344
00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,220
that financial planning process.

345
00:15:31,460 --> 00:15:31,580
Right.

346
00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:33,960
That process over product.

347
00:15:34,140 --> 00:15:34,300
Right.

348
00:15:34,460 --> 00:15:37,020
That relationship over a sale.

349
00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:37,520
Right.

350
00:15:37,700 --> 00:15:41,500
That that notion of becoming a trusted advisor

351
00:15:41,500 --> 00:15:45,760
to a family, maybe even for multiple generations,

352
00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:50,060
because we think holistically about their financial life

353
00:15:50,060 --> 00:15:53,120
and how it all impacts their personal life

354
00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:54,400
goals.

355
00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:58,900
I had lots of them coming into my

356
00:15:58,900 --> 00:15:59,360
term.

357
00:15:59,880 --> 00:15:59,980
Right.

358
00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:02,480
And some of the more internal right.

359
00:16:02,540 --> 00:16:05,880
Making sure that we had alignment between committees

360
00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:07,000
and board.

361
00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:07,420
Right.

362
00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:12,020
Executing on our strategic plan, which during my

363
00:16:12,020 --> 00:16:14,980
board term, we spent about 18 months as

364
00:16:14,980 --> 00:16:17,780
a board building our strategic plan.

365
00:16:18,100 --> 00:16:18,520
Right.

366
00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:23,460
Which was around, you know, practice development, practice

367
00:16:23,460 --> 00:16:24,160
management.

368
00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:25,040
Right.

369
00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:26,300
Learning.

370
00:16:26,940 --> 00:16:29,560
So that would be continuing education, the journal.

371
00:16:29,860 --> 00:16:30,060
Right.

372
00:16:30,180 --> 00:16:31,060
Financial planning.

373
00:16:31,340 --> 00:16:31,540
Right.

374
00:16:31,620 --> 00:16:34,940
Even conferences, advocacy, and of course, networking.

375
00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:35,460
Right.

376
00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:40,020
And strengthening local chapters and strengthening the bond

377
00:16:40,020 --> 00:16:43,660
between the national board and those chapters.

378
00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:48,440
Title protection for financial planners is very high

379
00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:49,920
on my list.

380
00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,380
I've been I've tried to be a voice

381
00:16:54,380 --> 00:16:56,880
for that almost my whole career.

382
00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:00,060
And I and I, you know, I, you

383
00:17:00,060 --> 00:17:01,940
know, why do we talk about that?

384
00:17:01,940 --> 00:17:06,020
Well, today, from a legal or regulatory perspective,

385
00:17:06,460 --> 00:17:12,859
there is no education, continuing education, experience or

386
00:17:12,859 --> 00:17:16,720
ethics requirements for anyone on a legal and

387
00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:19,960
a regulatory basis for anyone to call themselves

388
00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:21,040
a financial planner.

389
00:17:22,020 --> 00:17:28,860
So I, I could, you know, pick any

390
00:17:28,860 --> 00:17:31,780
vocation or profession that you would be in.

391
00:17:32,460 --> 00:17:34,580
And the next day, I could hang my

392
00:17:34,580 --> 00:17:36,200
shingle out as a financial planner.

393
00:17:36,500 --> 00:17:38,020
And nobody could say a word.

394
00:17:38,420 --> 00:17:38,620
Right.

395
00:17:38,780 --> 00:17:42,420
There's no prohibition from a legal or regulatory

396
00:17:42,420 --> 00:17:44,760
perspective for me doing that.

397
00:17:44,820 --> 00:17:47,140
Now, the CFP board has done a great

398
00:17:47,140 --> 00:17:50,880
job in terms of its public awareness campaigns

399
00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,140
of the difference between a certified financial planner

400
00:17:54,140 --> 00:17:58,020
and everyone else who professes to be a

401
00:17:58,020 --> 00:18:00,120
financial planning professional.

402
00:18:00,580 --> 00:18:02,780
I think they've done a tremendous job in

403
00:18:02,780 --> 00:18:04,680
that public awareness campaign.

404
00:18:05,100 --> 00:18:07,760
But for us as an association, we would

405
00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:09,800
like to see that go a step further.

406
00:18:21,980 --> 00:18:33,360
We think

407
00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:37,580
it's different from, say, the accounting profession where,

408
00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:42,600
you know, the public recognizes the difference between

409
00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:45,220
someone who does their taxes, who they might

410
00:18:45,220 --> 00:18:49,500
call themselves an accountant, and a CPA or

411
00:18:49,500 --> 00:18:52,600
enrolled agent who has a credential that makes

412
00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:52,700
them a financial planner, or an insurance professional,

413
00:18:52,700 --> 00:18:52,800
right?

414
00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:55,020
them a little more of a specialist or

415
00:18:55,020 --> 00:18:55,680
a professional.

416
00:18:56,060 --> 00:18:58,860
You'd think that it needs its own title

417
00:18:58,860 --> 00:19:02,920
protection in this, in our industry, is that?

418
00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:05,780
In ours, I believe it does, right?

419
00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:09,240
So if, for example, like, you know, if,

420
00:19:09,420 --> 00:19:12,200
if I'm, if I have a degree in

421
00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,700
accounting, and I hang my shingle out and

422
00:19:15,700 --> 00:19:20,420
say, I prepare tax returns, I do bookkeeping,

423
00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:21,140
right?

424
00:19:21,700 --> 00:19:22,260
Right.

425
00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:24,780
Wonderful, right?

426
00:19:25,420 --> 00:19:25,620
Yeah.

427
00:19:25,700 --> 00:19:27,840
But that person with a degree in accounting

428
00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:31,440
can't hang their shingle out and say, I

429
00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:36,520
do audits, or I do certified valuations, right?

430
00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:38,680
Can't say that.

431
00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:39,860
There's a difference.

432
00:19:40,180 --> 00:19:42,660
Think about, think about medicine and think about

433
00:19:42,660 --> 00:19:45,060
the division of labor in medicine and what

434
00:19:45,060 --> 00:19:48,060
that hierarchy looks like, right?

435
00:19:48,140 --> 00:19:51,020
So a physician, well, I can do the

436
00:19:51,020 --> 00:19:52,180
whole ball of wax, right?

437
00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:55,600
And, and there are two, and there are

438
00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,380
two, there are two schools, right?

439
00:19:58,500 --> 00:20:01,500
There's Doctor of Osteopathy and Medical Doctors.

440
00:20:01,580 --> 00:20:02,520
So there's two schools.

441
00:20:03,900 --> 00:20:06,620
Both of them get licensed to practice medicine.

442
00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:11,180
A physician assistant, well, they can do certain

443
00:20:11,180 --> 00:20:12,680
things that a doctor can do, but they

444
00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,160
can't do all of them, right?

445
00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:17,400
You can't hang your shingle out and say,

446
00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:20,620
I'm a doctor, if you're a physician's assistant,

447
00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:21,260
right?

448
00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:23,480
You would get a cease and desist really

449
00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:25,220
quickly from the state, right?

450
00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:28,820
As a licensed nurse practitioner or a certified

451
00:20:28,820 --> 00:20:32,160
nurse anesthetist, you can't call yourself an anesthesiologist.

452
00:20:32,620 --> 00:20:33,620
You're different.

453
00:20:34,300 --> 00:20:35,860
And it's not to say that one is

454
00:20:35,860 --> 00:20:37,600
better than the other, right?

455
00:20:37,780 --> 00:20:40,340
But it's, it goes to the level of

456
00:20:40,340 --> 00:20:42,240
what you can do in terms of how

457
00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:42,960
you practice.

458
00:20:43,140 --> 00:20:46,440
And it's a recognition of that additional training,

459
00:20:46,940 --> 00:20:47,380
right?

460
00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:50,220
And retraining that you go through in order

461
00:20:50,220 --> 00:20:53,300
to stay current in your profession.

462
00:20:53,300 --> 00:20:56,500
And so I think you think about what

463
00:20:56,500 --> 00:20:58,680
we do, Chris, in people's lives.

464
00:20:58,980 --> 00:21:01,700
You think about the nature of the relationship

465
00:21:01,700 --> 00:21:03,600
that we have and the impact that we

466
00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:06,700
could have on that family potential for potentially

467
00:21:06,700 --> 00:21:07,940
for two, three generations.

468
00:21:08,500 --> 00:21:10,280
It's serious business.

469
00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:13,180
What's more important to people in their life

470
00:21:13,180 --> 00:21:14,140
than their money?

471
00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:16,840
Often they put their money ahead of their

472
00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:20,800
health, which I don't advocate for, but it's

473
00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:21,840
pretty darn important.

474
00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:25,860
It's important to them and making the right

475
00:21:25,860 --> 00:21:29,760
kinds of decisions, right, has significant impact.

476
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,740
And I happen to believe, right, that people

477
00:21:33,740 --> 00:21:39,080
who are credentialed in financial planning, right, do

478
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:40,100
that better than others.

479
00:21:40,100 --> 00:21:42,440
It's a little minor, yeah, of the training,

480
00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:43,780
of the experience, yeah.

481
00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:44,560
Yeah, yeah.

482
00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:46,700
But yeah, so at any rate, it's important.

483
00:21:46,920 --> 00:21:52,660
So is that best done through a national

484
00:21:52,660 --> 00:21:55,140
effort or a state level effort?

485
00:21:55,260 --> 00:21:56,820
You've been giving this a lot of thought

486
00:21:56,820 --> 00:21:57,540
and attention.

487
00:21:58,060 --> 00:21:58,240
Yeah.

488
00:21:58,380 --> 00:22:03,760
How has the association decided to tackle this?

489
00:22:06,350 --> 00:22:08,870
So we've spent the last couple of years

490
00:22:08,870 --> 00:22:12,630
having some pretty in-depth conversations with key

491
00:22:12,630 --> 00:22:13,250
stakeholders.

492
00:22:14,250 --> 00:22:15,810
And what do I mean by key stakeholders,

493
00:22:16,390 --> 00:22:16,730
right?

494
00:22:17,170 --> 00:22:21,910
Maybe we've had conversations with those custodians like

495
00:22:21,910 --> 00:22:23,630
Fidelity and Schwab.

496
00:22:23,750 --> 00:22:26,630
We've had conversations with the AICPA.

497
00:22:26,970 --> 00:22:29,930
We've had conversations with the CFP board.

498
00:22:30,230 --> 00:22:34,370
We've had conversations with other professional associations, right?

499
00:22:34,370 --> 00:22:38,330
NAFTA, NEPA, right, inside of our ecosystem.

500
00:22:38,590 --> 00:22:40,470
We've had conversations with SIFMA.

501
00:22:40,730 --> 00:22:42,990
We've had conversations with the SEC.

502
00:22:43,330 --> 00:22:46,970
We've even had conversations with legislators at the

503
00:22:46,970 --> 00:22:50,790
state and the federal level, trying to get

504
00:22:50,790 --> 00:22:54,110
some perspective on what's the best path forward.

505
00:22:54,110 --> 00:22:59,750
And each path forward, state, regulatory, say through

506
00:22:59,750 --> 00:23:04,690
the SEC, federal through legislation, each has a

507
00:23:04,690 --> 00:23:06,550
set of pros and cons.

508
00:23:06,890 --> 00:23:10,830
And we're currently in the process of evaluating

509
00:23:10,830 --> 00:23:13,830
what that best way forward looks like.

510
00:23:14,550 --> 00:23:18,330
And we have public policy counsel, right, legal

511
00:23:18,330 --> 00:23:21,790
counsel that's assisting us in that assessment.

512
00:23:22,050 --> 00:23:24,750
And it's the work, it's the ongoing and

513
00:23:24,750 --> 00:23:27,750
continuous work of our public policy committee.

514
00:23:27,750 --> 00:23:31,710
What we've determined, especially after a conversation with

515
00:23:31,710 --> 00:23:38,290
FP Canada, which went through a title protection

516
00:23:38,290 --> 00:23:44,450
exercise in Canada for financial planners, and it

517
00:23:44,450 --> 00:23:46,250
was a very long journey.

518
00:23:46,250 --> 00:23:49,090
It was a very expensive journey.

519
00:23:49,630 --> 00:23:54,510
And due to the strength of lobbyists who,

520
00:23:55,190 --> 00:24:00,450
let's just say, opposed this, right, the requirement

521
00:24:00,450 --> 00:24:04,850
to call yourself a financial planner was dramatically

522
00:24:04,850 --> 00:24:05,990
watered down.

523
00:24:06,690 --> 00:24:10,590
And so that title protection doesn't carry as

524
00:24:10,590 --> 00:24:12,390
much weight as they would like.

525
00:24:12,530 --> 00:24:15,730
And so our face-to-face meetings with

526
00:24:15,730 --> 00:24:18,490
them and our Zoom calls with them has,

527
00:24:18,910 --> 00:24:20,550
you know, they gave us their whole playbook

528
00:24:20,550 --> 00:24:23,330
and, you know, on a 20-plus year

529
00:24:23,330 --> 00:24:26,010
journey that they went through for this.

530
00:24:26,010 --> 00:24:27,930
And we've learned a lot from that.

531
00:24:28,070 --> 00:24:31,350
We're synthesizing that along with the listening tour

532
00:24:31,350 --> 00:24:33,170
that we've been on and all those key

533
00:24:33,170 --> 00:24:36,270
stakeholders to try to find the best path

534
00:24:36,270 --> 00:24:36,790
forward.

535
00:24:37,110 --> 00:24:40,090
And we know one thing, ain't going to

536
00:24:40,090 --> 00:24:41,850
be easy, and it's going to take a

537
00:24:41,850 --> 00:24:42,230
minute.

538
00:24:43,370 --> 00:24:44,930
It's going to take some time.

539
00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:50,270
Well, I'm glad you have quite a quality

540
00:24:50,270 --> 00:24:53,850
guy in the succession of leadership following you

541
00:24:53,850 --> 00:24:55,850
at the FPA.

542
00:24:56,010 --> 00:24:58,530
Dan Galley, we're big fans of him around

543
00:24:58,530 --> 00:24:58,970
here.

544
00:25:00,690 --> 00:25:02,010
He's spectacular.

545
00:25:03,590 --> 00:25:04,830
He's spectacular.

546
00:25:05,670 --> 00:25:06,930
So that'll be great.

547
00:25:07,150 --> 00:25:08,670
But I'm sure it's going to take, you

548
00:25:08,670 --> 00:25:10,810
know, many years of quality.

549
00:25:10,810 --> 00:25:12,330
Yeah, it really is.

550
00:25:12,950 --> 00:25:15,250
And I got to say this, Chris, you

551
00:25:15,250 --> 00:25:18,810
know, yesterday we sent out a press release

552
00:25:18,810 --> 00:25:28,310
about Dennis Moore becoming the permanent CEO of

553
00:25:28,310 --> 00:25:30,230
the Financial Planning Association.

554
00:25:30,830 --> 00:25:32,330
Wanted to talk to him about that.

555
00:25:32,810 --> 00:25:33,430
Yeah, sure.

556
00:25:33,610 --> 00:25:34,190
What do you want to know?

557
00:25:34,190 --> 00:25:35,310
Well, I mean, you know, I mean, as

558
00:25:35,310 --> 00:25:37,750
we do all kinds of planning as planners

559
00:25:37,750 --> 00:25:42,510
about leadership and succession and, you know, the

560
00:25:42,510 --> 00:25:43,190
unexpected.

561
00:25:43,830 --> 00:25:46,650
And this year we had a very sad

562
00:25:46,650 --> 00:25:51,770
and untimely death of Patrick Mahoney, and someone

563
00:25:51,770 --> 00:25:53,870
that I think all of us thought very

564
00:25:53,870 --> 00:25:54,550
highly of.

565
00:25:54,650 --> 00:25:59,210
I think he was an institutional leader as

566
00:25:59,210 --> 00:26:00,010
CEO.

567
00:26:00,010 --> 00:26:04,290
And so, yeah, I'm sure it was felt

568
00:26:04,290 --> 00:26:07,290
by everyone and probably challenging.

569
00:26:09,110 --> 00:26:11,790
The skill set that you bring in your

570
00:26:11,790 --> 00:26:16,630
professional life probably was very helpful as the

571
00:26:16,630 --> 00:26:20,550
organization deals with the transition like this.

572
00:26:21,130 --> 00:26:22,990
But tell us a little bit about how

573
00:26:22,990 --> 00:26:27,230
that all played out with Dennis, who is

574
00:26:27,230 --> 00:26:32,690
a past president and certainly a quality individual

575
00:26:32,690 --> 00:26:36,070
who knows the ropes, so to speak.

576
00:26:36,230 --> 00:26:37,850
But tell us a little bit about this

577
00:26:37,850 --> 00:26:38,730
process.

578
00:26:39,490 --> 00:26:40,130
Sure.

579
00:26:40,470 --> 00:26:42,750
And I want to give much credit to

580
00:26:42,750 --> 00:26:45,890
our board and to Patrick Mahoney.

581
00:26:47,370 --> 00:26:50,710
We brought up the issue in a board

582
00:26:50,710 --> 00:26:55,510
meeting, in executive session around the need to

583
00:26:55,510 --> 00:26:58,970
have a written succession plan, right.

584
00:27:00,190 --> 00:27:03,090
Because life happens, right.

585
00:27:03,530 --> 00:27:04,330
Life happens.

586
00:27:04,330 --> 00:27:06,590
You know, in my exit planning practice, we

587
00:27:06,590 --> 00:27:10,210
tell I tell business owners when we do

588
00:27:10,210 --> 00:27:13,130
a workshop that 50 percent of you in

589
00:27:13,130 --> 00:27:16,650
the room will exit your business involuntarily from

590
00:27:16,650 --> 00:27:20,010
one of the five D's death, disability, divorce,

591
00:27:20,170 --> 00:27:21,690
disagreement or distress.

592
00:27:22,230 --> 00:27:22,470
Right.

593
00:27:24,010 --> 00:27:26,870
Life happens despite our best efforts.

594
00:27:27,250 --> 00:27:30,070
So it's important to have a very clear

595
00:27:30,070 --> 00:27:34,030
internal succession plan and a very clear process

596
00:27:34,030 --> 00:27:36,070
in case something happens.

597
00:27:36,850 --> 00:27:40,810
And so Patrick and the board worked over

598
00:27:40,810 --> 00:27:43,570
a period of time to build the qualifications

599
00:27:43,570 --> 00:27:45,650
for the next CEO.

600
00:27:45,970 --> 00:27:49,550
Should Patrick either resign or have to leave

601
00:27:49,550 --> 00:27:51,190
due to disability or death?

602
00:27:51,190 --> 00:27:51,550
Right.

603
00:27:52,270 --> 00:27:56,350
We built internal succession in the event that,

604
00:27:56,390 --> 00:27:59,150
you know, there would be an emergent situation.

605
00:28:00,450 --> 00:28:04,750
And all of that was in place, thankfully,

606
00:28:05,430 --> 00:28:11,110
when Patrick's illness really accelerated and ultimately and

607
00:28:11,110 --> 00:28:14,330
tragically took his life much sooner than any

608
00:28:14,330 --> 00:28:18,650
of us expected, way sooner than any of

609
00:28:18,650 --> 00:28:19,390
us expected.

610
00:28:20,030 --> 00:28:22,790
And including, obviously, him.

611
00:28:23,770 --> 00:28:27,670
So so Dennis was prepared to step into

612
00:28:27,670 --> 00:28:28,210
the role.

613
00:28:28,790 --> 00:28:32,730
All of the legal documentation that was necessary

614
00:28:32,730 --> 00:28:36,250
to put him in place in that role

615
00:28:36,250 --> 00:28:37,730
was already done.

616
00:28:37,810 --> 00:28:39,410
All we had to do was sign off

617
00:28:39,410 --> 00:28:39,850
on it.

618
00:28:39,910 --> 00:28:40,150
Right.

619
00:28:40,330 --> 00:28:43,370
And that allowed the association to continue to

620
00:28:43,370 --> 00:28:45,830
function on a day to day basis in

621
00:28:45,830 --> 00:28:47,510
a pretty seamless manner.

622
00:28:47,510 --> 00:28:48,010
Right.

623
00:28:49,550 --> 00:28:53,050
Notwithstanding the emotional duress that everyone went through

624
00:28:53,050 --> 00:28:54,630
due to Patrick's passing.

625
00:28:54,830 --> 00:28:54,970
Right.

626
00:28:56,410 --> 00:28:59,370
And then we looked as we formed a

627
00:28:59,370 --> 00:29:02,510
search committee and talked to lots of different

628
00:29:02,510 --> 00:29:04,810
search organizations.

629
00:29:05,810 --> 00:29:08,730
We built out a profile for the next

630
00:29:08,730 --> 00:29:13,510
CEO working with those folks and came to

631
00:29:13,510 --> 00:29:17,310
the conclusion that we had the perfect guy.

632
00:29:17,510 --> 00:29:18,330
Nice.

633
00:29:18,990 --> 00:29:19,270
Right.

634
00:29:19,850 --> 00:29:21,950
We had the person in that right seat.

635
00:29:22,310 --> 00:29:22,410
Yeah.

636
00:29:22,450 --> 00:29:22,830
Yeah.

637
00:29:24,450 --> 00:29:28,830
He really is uniquely suited for this role.

638
00:29:29,050 --> 00:29:33,070
First, he's actually a certified financial planner and

639
00:29:33,070 --> 00:29:36,150
the certified financial planner is our core member.

640
00:29:36,650 --> 00:29:36,870
Right.

641
00:29:36,990 --> 00:29:42,470
So he's he's actually a CFP and he's

642
00:29:42,470 --> 00:29:45,050
currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program for

643
00:29:45,050 --> 00:29:46,170
financial planning.

644
00:29:46,170 --> 00:29:51,030
So he's clearly committed to the profession of

645
00:29:51,030 --> 00:29:52,130
financial planning.

646
00:29:52,490 --> 00:29:52,590
Right.

647
00:29:52,950 --> 00:29:54,950
With the loss of experience from.

648
00:29:55,030 --> 00:29:55,290
Yeah.

649
00:29:55,910 --> 00:29:59,770
And his chapter experience, two different chapters, an

650
00:29:59,770 --> 00:30:03,170
alumni association for financial planners.

651
00:30:03,310 --> 00:30:03,650
Right.

652
00:30:03,710 --> 00:30:04,490
At his college.

653
00:30:05,330 --> 00:30:09,830
Importantly, he also has an MBA and had

654
00:30:09,830 --> 00:30:10,990
a leadership role.

655
00:30:10,990 --> 00:30:11,470
Right.

656
00:30:11,510 --> 00:30:13,590
As a chief operating officer in a very

657
00:30:13,590 --> 00:30:14,410
large firm.

658
00:30:15,170 --> 00:30:19,330
So so he's got business acumen like crazy.

659
00:30:19,490 --> 00:30:20,050
Yeah.

660
00:30:20,410 --> 00:30:24,930
And and so when you think about his

661
00:30:24,930 --> 00:30:28,950
qualifications for this role, well, he's us.

662
00:30:29,810 --> 00:30:31,370
He has that experience.

663
00:30:31,570 --> 00:30:34,250
He's worked out here in the financial planning

664
00:30:34,250 --> 00:30:34,830
profession.

665
00:30:35,090 --> 00:30:38,550
He has executive level experience and executive level

666
00:30:38,550 --> 00:30:40,130
training with the MBA.

667
00:30:40,130 --> 00:30:40,710
Right.

668
00:30:41,490 --> 00:30:45,970
And he's got an unimpeachable reputation among the

669
00:30:45,970 --> 00:30:48,090
chapters and among our members.

670
00:30:48,630 --> 00:30:51,390
So I am thrilled that we could elevate

671
00:30:51,390 --> 00:30:53,270
him to this role of CEO.

672
00:30:53,470 --> 00:30:54,290
I'm really thrilled.

673
00:30:54,850 --> 00:30:56,010
And I know that he's going to lead

674
00:30:56,010 --> 00:30:59,270
the charge on title protection and lead the

675
00:30:59,270 --> 00:31:01,930
charge on elevating the profession, not just the

676
00:31:01,930 --> 00:31:04,150
association, but the profession as a whole.

677
00:31:04,410 --> 00:31:05,990
We're very excited about that.

678
00:31:07,070 --> 00:31:07,550
Excellent.

679
00:31:07,750 --> 00:31:10,150
Well, before we you hit on a variety

680
00:31:10,150 --> 00:31:12,610
of things that I gosh, another time I

681
00:31:12,610 --> 00:31:14,050
would have loved to have talked more about

682
00:31:14,050 --> 00:31:16,610
just the idea that you emphasize some of

683
00:31:16,610 --> 00:31:20,470
the importance of the relationship between national and

684
00:31:20,470 --> 00:31:23,690
the structures, the various constituencies.

685
00:31:24,990 --> 00:31:26,530
I really think that's important.

686
00:31:26,610 --> 00:31:29,390
And I think we saw that a couple

687
00:31:29,390 --> 00:31:33,610
of generations ago with the SBA efforts and

688
00:31:33,610 --> 00:31:34,950
how important that was.

689
00:31:34,950 --> 00:31:37,390
And so I'm glad to see that that's

690
00:31:37,390 --> 00:31:38,310
not being lost.

691
00:31:39,790 --> 00:31:42,690
You know, change leadership evolves every time.

692
00:31:42,690 --> 00:31:42,910
Yeah.

693
00:31:43,170 --> 00:31:46,790
You mentioned you mentioned Dan Galley.

694
00:31:47,050 --> 00:31:51,250
So last year as president elect, I was

695
00:31:51,250 --> 00:31:54,570
the board liaison between the FPA's advisory council

696
00:31:54,570 --> 00:31:55,430
and the board.

697
00:31:55,970 --> 00:32:03,020
And it was kindly and gently a frustrating

698
00:32:03,020 --> 00:32:03,500
role.

699
00:32:04,580 --> 00:32:05,320
Yeah.

700
00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:05,620
Right.

701
00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:06,420
Yeah.

702
00:32:06,700 --> 00:32:10,040
And we knew that we needed to really

703
00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:14,280
dig in and find a better way to

704
00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:15,260
connect with chapters.

705
00:32:16,980 --> 00:32:21,440
So my suggestion was that the advisory council

706
00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:27,740
executive committee, the ACEC, build a strategic plan

707
00:32:27,740 --> 00:32:31,560
that aligns with the FPA strategic plan.

708
00:32:31,700 --> 00:32:33,860
And that strategic plan is how do we

709
00:32:33,860 --> 00:32:39,080
better connect chapters with national and get the

710
00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:41,880
kind of communication loop and the kind of

711
00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:45,280
alignment that can be really good for our

712
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:46,620
profession and our members.

713
00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:51,640
So that process started at chapter leaders conference

714
00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:52,800
this year.

715
00:32:53,420 --> 00:32:55,820
And I was able to work with Ben

716
00:32:55,820 --> 00:32:58,360
Lewis to begin that process.

717
00:32:58,860 --> 00:33:02,240
A strategic plan was put in place during

718
00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:03,100
this year.

719
00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:06,200
Dan Galley served in that role as board

720
00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:09,320
liaison and advanced that strategic plan.

721
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:12,640
And a primary aim of his presidency, right,

722
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:15,760
is all focused on these chapters.

723
00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:18,560
And so you see there's a progression of

724
00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:22,720
right discovery, recognition, planning, execution.

725
00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:23,820
Where did we learn that?

726
00:33:25,100 --> 00:33:25,620
Right.

727
00:33:25,820 --> 00:33:29,620
In order to create better alignment with the

728
00:33:29,620 --> 00:33:30,960
board and with chapters.

729
00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:32,740
And we think that will be great for

730
00:33:32,740 --> 00:33:33,160
membership.

731
00:33:33,620 --> 00:33:35,340
We think that will be great for partnerships.

732
00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:35,840
Right.

733
00:33:35,980 --> 00:33:39,000
We think that will be great for how

734
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:42,020
we get better and better at what we

735
00:33:42,020 --> 00:33:43,220
deliver to our clients.

736
00:33:43,580 --> 00:33:43,720
Yeah.

737
00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:45,920
I think it's really important to think vertically,

738
00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:49,760
not horizontally, inside out, outside in, not top

739
00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:51,440
to bottom, you know, kind of mindset when

740
00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:52,680
it comes to communication.

741
00:33:53,180 --> 00:33:54,800
So love hearing that.

742
00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:55,680
I have this.

743
00:33:56,180 --> 00:33:58,020
Call me crazy, Chris, but I have this

744
00:33:58,020 --> 00:33:58,360
belief.

745
00:33:58,540 --> 00:34:01,060
There's no financial planning association if we don't

746
00:34:01,060 --> 00:34:02,220
have chapters and members.

747
00:34:02,540 --> 00:34:02,640
Right.

748
00:34:08,639 --> 00:34:11,360
You have the annual conference in a couple

749
00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:12,380
of days as well.

750
00:34:12,500 --> 00:34:14,480
Just maybe give that a plug.

751
00:34:15,159 --> 00:34:15,520
Yeah.

752
00:34:15,780 --> 00:34:18,400
We're very excited about the annual conference.

753
00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:22,500
It's going to be in Las Vegas because

754
00:34:22,500 --> 00:34:25,840
what better place to celebrate 25 years than

755
00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:27,179
Las Vegas.

756
00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:27,580
Right.

757
00:34:28,460 --> 00:34:33,800
We've got a tremendous lineup of speakers.

758
00:34:34,380 --> 00:34:37,100
But most importantly, we're going to be celebrating

759
00:34:37,100 --> 00:34:37,679
us.

760
00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:38,159
Right.

761
00:34:38,380 --> 00:34:41,480
It's the 25th anniversary and we have lots

762
00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:43,960
of things planned in the at the conference.

763
00:34:44,139 --> 00:34:44,280
Right.

764
00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:47,040
To celebrate those 25 years and to look

765
00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:49,060
forward to the next 25 years.

766
00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:49,440
Right.

767
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:51,699
And I think it's going to be really

768
00:34:51,699 --> 00:34:54,920
great that we're going to enter this conference

769
00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:58,640
with Dennis as the new CEO, where he'll

770
00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:01,640
have a chance to really connect with people

771
00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:05,500
and outline his vision for the association over

772
00:35:05,500 --> 00:35:07,360
the next 25 years.

773
00:35:07,360 --> 00:35:08,800
And it's a fantastic vision.

774
00:35:09,580 --> 00:35:10,800
So it's going to be a lot of

775
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:11,040
fun.

776
00:35:11,260 --> 00:35:12,260
Our silver anniversary.

777
00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:14,120
We have a few surprises.

778
00:35:14,580 --> 00:35:16,600
So if you haven't registered, register.

779
00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:17,880
Very good.

780
00:35:19,260 --> 00:35:21,240
I want to take a minute and change

781
00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:21,800
directions.

782
00:35:22,020 --> 00:35:24,420
So we're talking again with Paul Brown.

783
00:35:24,500 --> 00:35:27,360
He's the managing director and the financial advisor

784
00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:32,820
with Wealth Enhancement and CFP and CEPA.

785
00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:34,120
And I want to take a little time

786
00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:36,300
and talk a little bit about your work

787
00:35:36,300 --> 00:35:39,500
in dealing with exit strategies and planning.

788
00:35:40,820 --> 00:35:43,600
It sounds like this has become an important

789
00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:49,140
focus of your efforts in your professional work

790
00:35:49,140 --> 00:35:50,940
with Wealth Enhancement.

791
00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:57,140
You lead a practice in Pittsburgh, correct?

792
00:35:57,560 --> 00:35:58,040
I did.

793
00:35:58,340 --> 00:36:03,100
Tell us a little bit about the focus

794
00:36:03,100 --> 00:36:07,420
of your efforts when it comes to helping

795
00:36:07,420 --> 00:36:08,260
business owners.

796
00:36:08,300 --> 00:36:10,940
We've got this generation of business owners kind

797
00:36:10,940 --> 00:36:13,280
of reaching a point where they might be

798
00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:14,660
thinking, I'd like to retire.

799
00:36:14,820 --> 00:36:17,040
I just don't know how to extract my

800
00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:20,880
wealth or have the right leadership in place

801
00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:21,620
behind me.

802
00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:23,840
So tell us a little bit about your

803
00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:25,720
efforts as it relates to the sport.

804
00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:26,740
Sure.

805
00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:30,580
There's a number of statistics that are somewhat

806
00:36:30,580 --> 00:36:35,340
alarming about that, Chris, that have been the

807
00:36:35,340 --> 00:36:36,800
driver for me.

808
00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:40,800
You see a problem, let's find a solution.

809
00:36:41,460 --> 00:36:44,700
Right now, for most small, mid-sized business

810
00:36:44,700 --> 00:36:47,300
owners, 80 to 85% of their wealth

811
00:36:47,300 --> 00:36:50,100
and sometimes higher of their total net worth

812
00:36:50,100 --> 00:36:51,960
is tied up in their business.

813
00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:55,240
If you think about their business, it is

814
00:36:55,240 --> 00:37:02,500
a highly concentrated, low basis, illiquid position.

815
00:37:04,100 --> 00:37:08,540
If we think about everything tied up in

816
00:37:08,540 --> 00:37:11,640
that business, because we constantly reinvest, we're constantly

817
00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:15,000
trying to grow, and we think exit is

818
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:16,320
some point down the road.

819
00:37:16,420 --> 00:37:19,400
Well, for a large part of the US

820
00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:23,120
ownership population, down the road is today.

821
00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:24,860
There we are.

822
00:37:26,380 --> 00:37:29,760
And a few other numbers that are somewhat

823
00:37:29,760 --> 00:37:33,740
alarming, I mentioned it earlier, half of those

824
00:37:33,740 --> 00:37:37,920
owners will exit involuntarily, and they won't get

825
00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:40,620
that value for their family when that happens.

826
00:37:41,320 --> 00:37:44,700
If we look at those involuntary exits, we

827
00:37:44,700 --> 00:37:47,680
end up with a rather diminished value if

828
00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:49,420
we get anything at all out of that

829
00:37:49,420 --> 00:37:52,860
business for our families, particularly if we haven't

830
00:37:52,860 --> 00:37:54,220
built the right succession.

831
00:37:55,180 --> 00:38:01,600
Another couple alarming statistics are that about 75

832
00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:05,580
% regret selling their business after the first

833
00:38:05,580 --> 00:38:05,980
year.

834
00:38:06,860 --> 00:38:09,180
So, something's not working, right?

835
00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:11,680
Just something isn't working.

836
00:38:11,880 --> 00:38:13,840
And so, one of the things that we

837
00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:16,220
see that hasn't worked is owners tend to

838
00:38:16,220 --> 00:38:18,580
think linearly about exit.

839
00:38:19,500 --> 00:38:22,460
Inherit a business, start a business, buy a

840
00:38:22,460 --> 00:38:27,680
business, grow a business, sell a business, figure

841
00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:29,120
out what to do with the money, figure

842
00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:30,360
out what to do with my life.

843
00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:34,480
A very linear kind of a process, right?

844
00:38:36,060 --> 00:38:37,700
Very sequential.

845
00:38:38,980 --> 00:38:43,060
Those who are satisfied with their exits take

846
00:38:43,060 --> 00:38:44,480
a very different approach.

847
00:38:46,060 --> 00:38:50,360
They think first about what life after business

848
00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:53,640
will look like for them, and they develop

849
00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:56,120
a clear vision of what they want for

850
00:38:56,120 --> 00:39:00,280
their life and their family after business.

851
00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:03,140
It becomes their true north, right?

852
00:39:03,220 --> 00:39:05,120
Their guiding star, what are their why?

853
00:39:05,320 --> 00:39:06,740
Call it what you want, right?

854
00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:07,300
Their reason.

855
00:39:09,450 --> 00:39:11,870
Once they have that, they can then begin

856
00:39:11,870 --> 00:39:15,030
to align their business decisions and their personal

857
00:39:15,030 --> 00:39:19,310
financial planning decisions with that true north, with

858
00:39:19,310 --> 00:39:22,150
that real kind of vision of what life

859
00:39:22,150 --> 00:39:24,310
looks like after business.

860
00:39:24,530 --> 00:39:30,010
And it causes them to simultaneously build the

861
00:39:30,010 --> 00:39:35,850
right financial plan, risk, tax, investment, retirement, estate,

862
00:39:36,210 --> 00:39:37,010
trust, right?

863
00:39:37,090 --> 00:39:41,430
On an integrated basis and align their business

864
00:39:41,430 --> 00:39:44,790
decisions for making that business ready, attractive, and

865
00:39:44,790 --> 00:39:48,750
valuable through the lens of a buyer.

866
00:39:49,850 --> 00:39:51,530
And that's really critical.

867
00:39:52,150 --> 00:39:54,290
When they start looking at their business through

868
00:39:54,290 --> 00:39:56,790
the lens of a buyer, it helps them

869
00:39:56,790 --> 00:39:59,330
understand what they have to work on to

870
00:39:59,330 --> 00:40:01,090
make it ready, attractive, and valuable.

871
00:40:01,710 --> 00:40:03,450
And if they're smart about this, as we

872
00:40:03,450 --> 00:40:05,590
guide them through that, they'll figure out how

873
00:40:05,590 --> 00:40:08,110
to create liquidity from the business that goes

874
00:40:08,110 --> 00:40:11,550
over into their financial plan along the way

875
00:40:11,550 --> 00:40:15,270
so that they can actually make business ownership

876
00:40:15,270 --> 00:40:16,170
optional.

877
00:40:16,950 --> 00:40:19,130
What is life like for a business owner

878
00:40:19,130 --> 00:40:22,230
when they have enough liquid assets to support

879
00:40:22,230 --> 00:40:26,330
the vision for their life without having to

880
00:40:26,330 --> 00:40:27,350
sell that business?

881
00:40:27,870 --> 00:40:29,250
What does that look like?

882
00:40:29,850 --> 00:40:33,930
And so our work in exit planning focuses

883
00:40:33,930 --> 00:40:36,130
on those parallel paths.

884
00:40:36,130 --> 00:40:39,430
And so I've spent the last year and

885
00:40:39,430 --> 00:40:41,950
a half or two years training wealth enhancement

886
00:40:41,950 --> 00:40:47,130
advisors on the value acceleration process for business

887
00:40:47,130 --> 00:40:50,550
owners, making it ready, attractive, and valuable, and

888
00:40:50,550 --> 00:40:52,650
how to integrate that back to the financial

889
00:40:52,650 --> 00:40:56,910
plan that's all focused on their personal why.

890
00:40:57,530 --> 00:41:01,050
So we're getting people, certified exit planning advisors

891
00:41:01,050 --> 00:41:06,010
certified, and we're doing internal training programs, and

892
00:41:06,010 --> 00:41:09,330
we've provided them with the software tools that

893
00:41:09,330 --> 00:41:14,410
are necessary for business valuation, for assessing the

894
00:41:14,410 --> 00:41:17,030
business through the lens of a buyer, and

895
00:41:17,030 --> 00:41:20,790
providing a framework for business owners to work

896
00:41:20,790 --> 00:41:23,630
on that business to prepare them for exit,

897
00:41:24,190 --> 00:41:29,350
all the while simultaneously building an integrated financial

898
00:41:29,350 --> 00:41:30,110
plan for them.

899
00:41:30,890 --> 00:41:32,330
It's exciting work.

900
00:41:33,230 --> 00:41:34,550
It's really exciting work.

901
00:41:35,570 --> 00:41:36,330
Do you want to comment?

902
00:41:36,490 --> 00:41:37,810
It just sounds like right up your alley,

903
00:41:37,950 --> 00:41:38,070
Jeff.

904
00:41:40,180 --> 00:41:41,940
Well, you know, we see so many people

905
00:41:41,940 --> 00:41:45,380
who just strive for that number, that dollar

906
00:41:45,380 --> 00:41:48,000
number without focusing on what's their numbers, how

907
00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:50,040
much do they need without thinking about all

908
00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:51,060
these other things, Paul.

909
00:41:51,660 --> 00:41:54,020
I do have a question that I've been

910
00:41:54,020 --> 00:41:55,840
dying to ask you because of your successes

911
00:41:56,420 --> 00:41:59,740
and your period of time that you're in

912
00:41:59,740 --> 00:42:00,400
your life.

913
00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:02,920
If you could go back and talk to

914
00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:06,980
your 30-year-old self, what advice could

915
00:42:06,980 --> 00:42:07,860
you give that person?

916
00:42:09,980 --> 00:42:13,100
Well, you know, that's something that you think

917
00:42:13,100 --> 00:42:15,180
about when you're 66 years old, right?

918
00:42:15,580 --> 00:42:17,760
You think a lot about it when you're

919
00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:18,960
66 years old.

920
00:42:20,960 --> 00:42:22,840
I think there's a few things that I

921
00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:27,860
would tell my 30-year-old self make

922
00:42:27,860 --> 00:42:31,900
sure that you have the right priorities and

923
00:42:31,900 --> 00:42:35,840
the right objectives for a complete life, not

924
00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:38,720
just a business life, right?

925
00:42:38,900 --> 00:42:41,800
Our lives are multidimensional, right?

926
00:42:42,240 --> 00:42:44,620
They're physical, our health, right?

927
00:42:44,720 --> 00:42:49,300
They're emotional, they are spiritual, they are financial,

928
00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:49,800
right?

929
00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:52,640
They are career, they are family, we have

930
00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:54,760
a multidimensional life.

931
00:42:55,220 --> 00:42:58,160
And I think I would tell myself to

932
00:42:58,160 --> 00:43:02,900
think carefully and to plan so that, right,

933
00:43:03,140 --> 00:43:08,360
all of those elements of my life were

934
00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:11,380
attended to with the same degree of care,

935
00:43:11,980 --> 00:43:12,480
right?

936
00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:15,420
So not just all business, right?

937
00:43:15,860 --> 00:43:18,420
But to think about those other dimensions.

938
00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:22,180
Now, I'm very fortunate, my wife is an

939
00:43:22,180 --> 00:43:23,960
amazing woman, and we have been married for

940
00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:26,560
44, almost 45 years.

941
00:43:27,480 --> 00:43:30,860
And she saw everything that we did as

942
00:43:30,860 --> 00:43:33,420
a partnership and supported my business efforts.

943
00:43:34,240 --> 00:43:35,340
God bless her.

944
00:43:35,380 --> 00:43:38,840
I don't know that many spouses would have

945
00:43:38,840 --> 00:43:39,520
done that.

946
00:43:39,960 --> 00:43:41,220
But she was great at it.

947
00:43:41,300 --> 00:43:43,740
So think about all the dimensions of your

948
00:43:43,740 --> 00:43:47,300
life, not just your business life.

949
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:49,400
And the second thing that I would have

950
00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:54,340
told myself, right, from a business planning perspective,

951
00:43:54,940 --> 00:44:00,460
is it's all about the long term where

952
00:44:00,460 --> 00:44:02,960
you can have the greatest impact on people's

953
00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:03,380
lives.

954
00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:07,140
And make that your singular focus, right?

955
00:44:07,480 --> 00:44:09,980
Where can I have the greatest impact on

956
00:44:09,980 --> 00:44:14,300
people's lives and build that specialty, right?

957
00:44:14,720 --> 00:44:18,640
Become best in class in that specialty, where

958
00:44:18,640 --> 00:44:23,060
you feel emotionally satisfied in your work, and

959
00:44:23,060 --> 00:44:26,960
you see the greatest impact in people's lives.

960
00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:29,140
Those are the things that I would think

961
00:44:29,140 --> 00:44:29,440
about.

962
00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:32,600
All of the dimensions of my life, right?

963
00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:35,820
And where can I get the greatest degree

964
00:44:35,820 --> 00:44:41,460
of emotional satisfaction with my work, because I'm

965
00:44:41,460 --> 00:44:45,200
having impact in an area where I'm a

966
00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:45,680
specialist.

967
00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:47,580
Thank you.

968
00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:49,180
That sounds right on point.

969
00:44:49,360 --> 00:44:51,060
And my bet is that you've done well

970
00:44:51,060 --> 00:44:52,380
following your own advice.

971
00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:54,040
I think I did okay.

972
00:44:55,360 --> 00:44:56,720
All right.

973
00:44:57,220 --> 00:44:59,320
Well, that seems like it's a pretty good

974
00:44:59,320 --> 00:45:01,580
place for us to wind down our conversation.

975
00:45:02,040 --> 00:45:05,160
I want to just say thanks for making

976
00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:06,400
so much time for us.

977
00:45:06,980 --> 00:45:07,640
Yeah, absolutely.

978
00:45:08,800 --> 00:45:12,760
With regard to the work that you're doing

979
00:45:12,760 --> 00:45:16,300
with the wealth enhancement and this exit strategy,

980
00:45:16,780 --> 00:45:19,760
are you encouraging advisors to get the designation

981
00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:24,480
that you have yourself, the CEP here?

982
00:45:24,720 --> 00:45:27,160
Yeah, Certified Exit Planning Advisor.

983
00:45:27,340 --> 00:45:28,480
I most certainly am.

984
00:45:29,060 --> 00:45:32,520
Gentlemen, according to the Bureau of Labor and

985
00:45:32,520 --> 00:45:39,600
Statistics, right, BLS, just in the boomer generation,

986
00:45:41,720 --> 00:45:51,980
there's about $20 trillion of unlocked value in

987
00:45:51,980 --> 00:45:53,440
boomer businesses.

988
00:45:55,850 --> 00:45:57,670
Now, if you think about that statistic that

989
00:45:57,670 --> 00:46:01,650
50% of them exit involuntarily and only

990
00:46:01,650 --> 00:46:04,350
20% of them actually sell and most

991
00:46:04,350 --> 00:46:09,230
are dissatisfied, it's really possible that those actual

992
00:46:09,230 --> 00:46:11,930
valuations may never be unlocked.

993
00:46:12,310 --> 00:46:15,330
And they may never be unlocked because that

994
00:46:15,330 --> 00:46:18,990
owner doesn't know how to do it and

995
00:46:18,990 --> 00:46:21,510
their advisors don't know how to advise them

996
00:46:21,510 --> 00:46:22,070
to do it.

997
00:46:22,510 --> 00:46:22,910
Right?

998
00:46:23,550 --> 00:46:29,210
So, I think as a Certified Financial Planner

999
00:46:29,210 --> 00:46:34,170
who is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, if

1000
00:46:34,170 --> 00:46:38,930
you develop that skill set, it opens up

1001
00:46:38,930 --> 00:46:42,550
an extraordinary market to you where you can

1002
00:46:42,550 --> 00:46:47,950
differentiate yourself from other advisors, big differentiator, right?

1003
00:46:48,490 --> 00:46:52,410
And if you do your job right, you

1004
00:46:52,410 --> 00:46:57,390
can have substantial impact on people's lives and

1005
00:46:57,390 --> 00:47:00,050
maybe even help them and be part of

1006
00:47:00,050 --> 00:47:05,830
creating multi-generational wealth with the right governance

1007
00:47:05,830 --> 00:47:06,850
plan in place.

1008
00:47:07,510 --> 00:47:12,190
So, I strongly encourage advisors in our firm,

1009
00:47:12,430 --> 00:47:17,330
any firm, to look at that Certified Exit

1010
00:47:17,330 --> 00:47:21,590
Planning Advisor designation and see if your personal

1011
00:47:21,590 --> 00:47:25,490
skill set matches right with that kind of

1012
00:47:25,490 --> 00:47:28,930
work and look at that as an opportunity

1013
00:47:28,930 --> 00:47:32,550
to impact and change lives in a truly

1014
00:47:32,550 --> 00:47:33,430
exceptional way.

1015
00:47:33,810 --> 00:47:35,470
Thanks for being with us and best of

1016
00:47:35,470 --> 00:47:37,810
luck as you continue with the remainder of

1017
00:47:37,810 --> 00:47:40,350
your term and all the important work you're

1018
00:47:40,350 --> 00:47:43,390
doing through the association as well as in

1019
00:47:43,390 --> 00:47:44,030
our industry.

1020
00:47:44,210 --> 00:47:44,810
Thanks so much.

1021
00:47:45,330 --> 00:47:46,070
You're quite welcome.

1022
00:47:46,250 --> 00:47:46,890
Thank you, gentlemen.

1023
00:47:46,890 --> 00:47:49,450
Thank you for listening to Something More with

1024
00:47:49,450 --> 00:47:50,150
Chris Boyd.

1025
00:47:50,390 --> 00:47:52,630
Call us for help, whether it's for financial

1026
00:47:52,630 --> 00:47:56,550
planning or portfolio management, insurance concerns, or those

1027
00:47:56,550 --> 00:47:58,590
quality of life issues that make the money

1028
00:47:58,590 --> 00:47:59,690
matters matter.

1029
00:48:00,030 --> 00:48:03,350
Whatever's on your mind, visit us at somethingmorewithchrisboyd

1030
00:48:03,350 --> 00:48:06,510
.com or call us toll free at 866

1031
00:48:06,510 --> 00:48:12,070
-771-8901 or send us your questions to

1032
00:48:12,070 --> 00:48:16,010
amr-info at wealthenhancement.com.

1033
00:48:42,070 --> 00:48:43,990
before making any financial decisions.