Summary
In this conversation, Matthew Hutton, a partner and lead financial planner at Navigator Wealth Strategies, shares insights into the complexities of financial planning for business owners. He discusses his background, the formation of Navigator Wealth Strategies, and the importance of understanding the intersection of personal and business finances. Matthew emphasizes the need for business owners to have a clear exit strategy and the common pitfalls they face, such as viewing their business as their sole retirement plan. He also highlights the importance of education in financial planning and offers advice for new entrepreneurs. The conversation concludes with details about an upcoming seminar aimed at helping business owners enhance their efficiency and planning for the future.
Takeaways
- He emphasizes that a successful business is not a retirement plan.
- Many business owners lack a true exit strategy for their businesses.
- Education is crucial for clients to understand their financial plans.
- Business owners often have a coordination problem rather than a finance problem.
- It's important for business owners to know their numbers and understand their margins.
- Matthew encourages new entrepreneurs to seek guidance early on.
- The upcoming seminar will focus on helping business owners work on their business, not just in it.
- Community support is vital for local businesses to thrive.
- Planning for the future is essential for business sustainability.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
Welcome to Elevate Springfield, where we will dive
into strategies and stories thathelp you rise to your full
potential.
Each episode, we'll talk abouthow you can take intentional
steps to elevate your life andyour business while making a
meaningful impact on thosearound you.
Along the way, we're gonna bringin the change makers from our
(00:20):
community that are alreadyelevating.
We'll bring the actionablestrategies, you bring the
discipline and follow through,and together we can elevate
Springfield.
Alright, let's go, Springfield.
Time to 10X your life, yourbusiness, all of it.
Time to crush those goals, timeto get after it.
(00:42):
Let's go.
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(01:02):
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All right, and we are back.
Hey, joining me in the studionow, Matthew Hutton from
Navigator Wealth Strategies.
Matthew, how are you doingtoday, man?
I'm doing well.
How are you doing?
I'm great.
Appreciate you coming todowntown Springfield and hanging
out with me for a little bit.
Absolutely appreciate you havingme.
(02:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
So we've had your businesspartner in, Brandon, right?
Not too awful long ago.
We're gonna get into Navigatorand what you do with all that
and everything, but first let'slearn a little bit about
Matthew, man.
Tell us a little about yourbackground.
SPEAKER_01 (02:41):
Yeah, I appreciate that.
So I am uh a partner in the leadfinancial planner here at
Navigator Wealth Strategies anduh a little bit about my
background.
So I come from a financialplanning family.
My parents are financialplanners out in Southern
California.
Okay.
Uh and that's really what got meinto the industry.
Got my undergrad at McKendryUniversity, just outside of St.
Louis, actually, BBA ineconomics and finance on that.
(03:03):
Moved to Southern California tostart working in financial
planning, got my MBA infinancial planning there under
Dr.
Samantha Basou and Dr.
Harry Starn.
Um, they're a couple of pioneersin the financial planning
industry.
And uh then became a financialplanner, did that for a while.
Was at an RIA there for high networth individuals, did some high
net worth financial planning.
SPEAKER_02 (03:23):
Or just for for clarity's sake, there, RIA for
folks that know what that is.
SPEAKER_01 (03:26):
So registered investment advisor.
SPEAKER_02 (03:28):
There you go.
SPEAKER_01 (03:28):
Okay, independent.
Gotcha.
Okay.
Uh yeah.
So we were really uh cateredtowards just uh people with tax
issues, money and tax issues isreally what it came down to.
So did that, uh, loved it.
My girlfriend at the time was uhgirl I dated in high school.
And uh we made that official.
She moved out, we got married,and so we were out there for a
while, but had our first kid anddecided that we wanted to move
(03:50):
back.
So sold off that portion andmoved back to central Illinois,
where I did uh financialplanning for service members uh
for quite some time, for acouple of years, met a lot of
great people.
I'd always kind of wanted toserve, uh, but had that football
scholarship out of out of highschool.
So because of that, um, didn'tuh get a chance to serve.
So that was kind of my way ofyou know serving those who
(04:12):
served, I guess.
Yeah, actually, which wasawesome.
But uh after a while, it justwasn't super challenging.
So started working for RegionsBank as a corporate bank
manager, took over a couple ofthe branches here, uh
revitalized them.
Uh, they were actually in thebottom quartile in the country
and took them to the top 10% inthe country.
Oh, nice.
Uh, two different branches overfour years, three years of
those, we were in the top 10,and then uh decided to get back
(04:35):
to what I know and love, andthat's financial planning and
helping people.
SPEAKER_02 (04:38):
There you go.
So you said footballscholarship.
Did you grow up around here inSpringfield or where'd you grow
up?
SPEAKER_01 (04:43):
Uh child of two lives.
Uh so split house situation.
So my dad lives locally inRiverton and my mom, Southern
California.
So about every eight years of mylife, I went back and forth.
So played football at Riverton,and that's where I got the
scholarship to go to McKendrythere.
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (04:59):
So you guys said, Did you have any runs while you
were at Riverton or at McKendry?
Any good football runs?
SPEAKER_01 (05:04):
Actually, we were divisional champions my junior
year in college.
So I've got a pretty big ringthat I never even wear anymore.
But but yeah, it's got it's gotsome bling with it.
SPEAKER_02 (05:14):
Okay, there you go.
So what was your favorite partabout playing football?
SPEAKER_01 (05:17):
Hitting people.
SPEAKER_02 (05:18):
Yeah.
Let's be honest.
Yeah, when you're on the line.
SPEAKER_01 (05:20):
I mean, that's what you're doing.
You're hitting people all thetime.
Yeah.
It was a it was a goodaggression release.
Yeah, put it that way.
SPEAKER_02 (05:26):
So what'd you do, tackle or guard or what?
SPEAKER_01 (05:28):
Uh I was actually an offensive center.
Okay, nice.
SPEAKER_02 (05:31):
Heck yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (05:31):
Long snap too.
I my arms are not long enoughfor it.
So that was never my forte, butI'm trying to train my kids up
on it.
SPEAKER_02 (05:38):
So we'll see.
All right.
So Southern California, where'dyou say whereabouts in Southern
California?
SPEAKER_01 (05:43):
Yeah, Westlake Village.
Thousand Oaks Westlake Village.
Most people know it is VenturaCounty.
SPEAKER_02 (05:47):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (05:47):
Yeah.
Um, is uh where we were at.
So about 45 minutes northwest ofLA.
Mm-hmm.
So kind of up the coast.
SPEAKER_02 (05:54):
Okay.
All right.
Spent your time out there, gotthat master's degree and
everything.
What'd you love aboutCalifornia, about that area
compared to here, man?
SPEAKER_01 (06:01):
Oh, I mean, I could literally go to the beach in the
morning and be snowboarding inthe afternoon.
So where we lived was actuallyrated the number one place to
live in the country.
Oh, really?
Um based on industry.
So, like if you've ever heard ofthe company Amgen, like they're
there.
Yeah.
Um, so yeah, it was just basedon proximity to all the things.
We were two hours from the highdesert to go off-roading, three
(06:23):
hours from the mountains and BigBear to go snowboarding and
about 45 minutes from the beach.
So literally everything waswithin driving distance.
Come on.
SPEAKER_02 (06:30):
I know love that.
Oh, don't remind me.
Don't remind me.
I'm sure you get out there hereand there still.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Still have family out there.
So I'm sure you're out therequite a bit.
SPEAKER_01 (06:38):
I take advantage of it.
We'll put it that way.
I would too.
I would too.
For sure.
SPEAKER_02 (06:42):
So all right.
Well, get back into the theplanning part, financial
planning part.
So navigator wealth strategies.
Tell us how that came about.
SPEAKER_01 (06:49):
Yeah.
So uh Brandon had a verysuccessful practice, and my
other partner, Ryan Kaiser,who's not been on the podcast
yet.
So Ryan ran Corner CornerstoneFinancial right here off of
Monroe for a while.
And Brandon had a WellmanFinancial Services.
Uh, well, when they were lookingto bring me on, management was
trying to find the best fit forme.
And uh I just kind of gravitatedtowards both of them.
And even though they both hadvery successful practices
(07:11):
locally at the time, theyweren't really doing a whole lot
together at that point.
And so kind of putting me in themix became kind of the glue that
brought them together.
And then it just kind of seemedsilly to have two big offices
when we could make one.
And sure, all three of us arecertified financial planners and
have the same uh education focusand mentality towards uh client
(07:32):
servicing and just really makingsure that we put clients first
and you know, get them what theypay for.
So, because of that, we decidedto join forces and uh build
navigator well strategies.
SPEAKER_02 (07:42):
Love it, love it.
So we were talking before wewent on air here that you work
with a lot of business owners,all right.
So tell us what you do forbusiness owners.
SPEAKER_01 (07:51):
Yeah.
So uh business owners have theirown level of complexity.
It's kind of like if you go to aCPA.
You know, if you talk to anyCPA, they can do taxes for
anybody, right?
But uh there's just more taxlevers to throw for individuals
who are business owners.
So too for financial planning.
So there's just more opportunityfor me to assist in affecting
(08:11):
beneficial change in the life ofa business owner.
And with that, I can justgenerate more benefit over time
by helping them.
So my job as a financial planneris to essentially go in, analyze
their entire personal life,their business life, how those
things intersect and how onesupports the other, identify all
(08:32):
the strengths, challenges,opportunities, and threats that
might be, you know, imminent oron the horizon, and then develop
roadmaps on how to get aroundthem or mitigate them or
transfer that risk.
And that comes in many differentforms.
And I would say that most peopledon't realize that they've got
issues or they've got theselittle things that are quietly
(08:52):
eroding their efficiency ortheir wealth, but they're just
not aware of it.
Right.
And until somebody points it outto them, they're not going to
be.
SPEAKER_02 (09:00):
So you're talking about the opportunities,
threats.
You probably look out forpitfalls that people might be
falling into, right?
So, what are some of thosethings that people might not
think of that they might befalling into this pitfall that
they shouldn't be?
SPEAKER_01 (09:12):
Yeah.
Right off the bat, the the lineI love to hear from business
owners, hey, I appreciate it,but I'm fine.
Uh-huh.
Like it's like, okay, yeah,absolutely.
I know you're fine.
I completely understand you'refine.
And if you, you know, if wenever have another conversation,
you're likely going to be fine.
But the fact of the matter is, asuccessful business is not a
retirement plan.
Right.
And most people look at it thatway.
(09:34):
And I would say the biggestpitfall is people forget what
they got into business for.
Business owners become theirbusiness.
It's their identity.
So because of that, they don'tknow how to separate the two.
So things like investing, theyautomatically invest in
themselves.
You know, they forget, you know,am I working to work or am I
working for a lifestyle?
Is this business supporting mylifestyle?
(09:54):
And nine times out of ten, theanswer is no.
SPEAKER_02 (09:56):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (09:57):
They're making money, but if the business fell
away tomorrow, they don't haveanything to show for it.
SPEAKER_02 (10:01):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (10:01):
And that's a problem.
SPEAKER_02 (10:02):
Right.
And if they weren't a part of itanymore, you know, I think a lot
of people fall into that trapof, hey, it's not really a
business, it's you.
It's you're doing this.
Without your blood, sweat, andtears, there is no business.
SPEAKER_01 (10:16):
Absolutely.
There's nothing proprietary.
There's like if you're gone,this doesn't exist.
SPEAKER_02 (10:20):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (10:20):
And that's why one of the first questions I ask a
small business owner is walk methrough what happens on day one
when you hang up the keys forthe last time.
They're like, well, what do youmean?
Well, what happens next?
The fact of the matter is, theaverage individual spends more
time planning for a single weekfamily vacation than they do for
30 years of retirement.
Throw that on top of businesssuccession, forget about it.
(10:42):
Right.
Yeah.
And people just don't thinkabout it.
And I think the problem is noplan is not a plan.
Right.
You know, these things are goingto happen.
And we can stick our or we canbury our head in the sand.
You know, we can try to put itout of our mind, but it's
coming.
Yeah.
So you can either prepare for itand transition gracefully and
hopefully have that thing thatyou built that you're so
passionate about support yourlifestyle and be something that
(11:04):
you pass on to your family orwhatever the case may be, or we
can just wait and see.
Right.
And wait and see is never reallya good plan.
SPEAKER_02 (11:11):
No, because like I said, it's going to happen
regardless.
And not to sound crass, it'swhether whether you die tomorrow
or 30 years down the road, youjust can't do it anymore.
At some point, it's over for youpersonally as part of that
business.
So do you find that most of thebusinesses that you work with
don't have a true exit strategy?
SPEAKER_01 (11:30):
I would say 95% of the business owners that I have
actually had true in-depthconversations about their
business planning, they at mosthave an idea of what they want
to happen, but they do not havea strategic roadmap on how to
get there.
And the one that's even moreconcerning is, you know, being
in central Illinois, we're veryfamily-oriented.
That's a great part of living inthe Midwest is it's not just
(11:52):
about building something forthemselves.
It's building something thatthey can pass down to their
children.
But they haven't really thoughtof what that looks like.
Because to your point, ifthey've built something that is
dependent on them and it is morethan enough to sustain their
needs, when they leave, there'sno cash flow for the kids.
Right.
Which means that the kids eitherhave to scale the business very
(12:13):
rapidly, in which case, if thatwas possible, why didn't it
already happen?
Right.
Or the parents will not have thecash they need in retirement
because they didn't essentiallybuild the plane better from the
ground up.
They waited until landing andare keeping it together with,
you know, duct tape and paperclips.
Sure.
SPEAKER_02 (12:31):
Sure.
So where do you start with them?
If you're working with abusiness and they have nothing
planned, nothing at all, wheredo you start advising them on
what to do?
SPEAKER_01 (12:39):
Yeah, a great question.
Uh what's it all for?
Okay.
Uh as a financial planner, everydecision is completely guided.
The north star for everydecision is based on a client's
goals.
So what do you want to happen?
Okay.
And then once we know what wewant to happen, we can identify
all of the life happening eventsthat can take place given a
(13:00):
person's stage in life, uh,given, you know, the the
industry they're in, um, givendifferent constraints, you know,
based on demographics orlocalities, or we identify those
things.
And then we say, okay, if one ofthose happens, what happens to
you in your business?
Okay.
So essentially we stress testit.
SPEAKER_03 (13:18):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (13:18):
Say, all right, if you pass tomorrow, what happens?
Not just from a financestandpoint, but who steps in?
Right.
You know, who's going to run theday to day?
How are you going to overcomethat likely income lull, right,
during the transition period?
What have you put in place tomake sure this happens?
So we stress test things andfind out, like, all right, what
are our gaps?
(13:39):
Shine that flashlight on it.
Here's the problem.
We found it.
What can we do?
And we're always looking toeither mitigate that risk.
So make it as small and as leastimpactful as possible.
Sure.
Transfer that risk.
If we can get rid of it, great.
And if we can mitigate it, wewill.
If we can transfer it withoutsacrificing achieving our other
goals, also great.
And some of them we just have tokind of take a wait and see.
(14:01):
We're aware of it, we'remonitoring it.
And if there, you know, anotheropportunity arises later on to
again mitigate it or transferit, that's what we're gonna do.
Okay.
So it just kind of depends.
SPEAKER_02 (14:11):
So when you say transfer that risk for anybody
out there, what would be anexample of that?
SPEAKER_01 (14:15):
If they're Yeah.
So uh one thing which,especially kind of new business
owners starting up, right?
They're they're so focused onthe cash flow aspect, which I
completely understand.
Cash flow is king, right?
Your your biggest asset is notyour investment portfolio, it's
your ability to create income.
Right.
Right.
Because without that, nothingelse matters.
So I I totally understand wherethey're coming from.
(14:35):
Uh, where they're like, well, Idon't want to get, I don't want
to get disability insurance, youknow, because it's gonna cost me
X percent a year, right?
I understand.
I understand it, it's scary.
It's scary to have to pay forsomething that you may never
need.
But the fact of the matter is, Imean, it's kind of sad to say,
but you know, it's cheaper todie than it is to become
disabled.
Right.
Right.
That just means we have moremedical costs and the expenses
(14:58):
don't go away.
SPEAKER_02 (14:59):
So and they stack in a hurry.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (15:01):
And they absolutely do.
And so it's like, all right,well, we need to look at ways to
mitigate or transfer that risk.
So certain things likeinsurances.
Now, me personally, I don't selldisability insurance.
It's it's not my job.
SPEAKER_03 (15:13):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (15:13):
Um, but it's my job to put my client in front of the
right person to get the adequatelevel of risk transference in
order to meet their needs.
So there's a lot of things thatI can be a one-stop shop on, but
a lot of my job is coordinatingwith the professionals in my
client's life that arepre-existing to make sure that
everybody's on the same team andeverybody's rowing the boat in
(15:35):
the same direction.
SPEAKER_02 (15:36):
Sure.
You feel like a lot of your roleis education too with your
clients, right?
SPEAKER_01 (15:41):
Absolutely.
And I love it.
Uh, like Brandon said, you know,he he was intending to be a
teacher.
Uh-huh.
That was one thing that weconnected on early.
Uh, we both have an educationfoundation.
Um, we believe in the value ofeducation.
It's that whole teach AmandaFish concept.
SPEAKER_02 (15:55):
Of course.
SPEAKER_01 (15:55):
Right.
So I've actually got uh a clientthat uh we were talking about
investments.
And when we first started goingover his financial plan, he had
no understanding of what I wastalking about.
But now every time he comes intomy office, every meeting, we
start off with a big smile onhis face, I'll refer to
something, and then he'll talkabout one of the investments in
(16:16):
that's in the portfolio and belike, this.
I'm like, yes, that.
And then so it's awesome.
It's awesome because I see thathe's getting it, you know, and
he's hungry for more.
And every single meeting, he'sgetting a little bit more
knowledgeable about what we'redoing.
My job is trust, right?
If my clients don't trust me toguide them on the right path,
they shouldn't be working withme, quite honestly, because
(16:38):
they're not going to listen.
And the value that I bring isnot in returns or lowered risk.
It's it's that ongoing guidanceto make sure that uh they have
the best possibility of gettingfrom where they are to where
they want to be.
It's just easier for those whoknow the way.
Right.
So that's kind of the focus.
SPEAKER_02 (16:54):
Yeah.
And I would say, I mean, a lotof folks are probably a little
overwhelmed by all the terms andall the jargon that's used and
everything.
So having you being able toeducate them on that is very
helpful, I would imagine.
SPEAKER_01 (17:05):
Yeah.
I mean, it's it's hard tobalance all those things, you
know, as business owners.
Like, let's be honest, it's justlike kids, right?
There's there's no manual on howto be a business owner.
There's plenty of books, right?
But there's there's not, youknow, a book that says, hey, you
will build a dining industrylike this.
You know, that doesn't exist.
So every business owner at acertain point in their career is
(17:26):
faking it until they make it,right?
I have a vision, I have thedrive, I'm gonna make it happen.
That's why so many smallbusinesses fail, but that's why
so many succeed.
Right.
So this is one more hat thatrequires specialization that
they can't be expected to wearbecause they're balancing too
many things.
So it's my job to essentiallyeducate them, provide them
(17:47):
understanding of those things,and then coordinate the people
in their life to make sure thateverybody's working to help them
achieve the goals that theyenvision.
SPEAKER_02 (17:56):
Early on, especially in that entrepreneurial journey,
you're you're wearing everysingle hat, every single one of
them.
You know, and you can't be anexpert in every single one of
those hats.
So that's where you come topeople like you.
SPEAKER_01 (18:08):
Yeah.
And it it cracks me up becauseuh with the advent of like Chat
GPT and all these AI things, andyou know, people like, I don't
need, I don't need investmentmanagement.
It's like, yeah, at some pointin life, you may not.
You know, the way, the waythings are going, you know, who
knows?
Right.
I can't tell you.
But the one thing that any AIsystem's not gonna be able to do
is tell you exactly howinterconnected all the decisions
(18:30):
that you make are without youprompting it to.
That's our job, right?
Is to say, hey, like thisdecision has 12 different ripple
effects.
And if we make that move on theboard, six others are gonna go
left, right, and sideways.
This is what that does.
Right.
You know, a system is nevergoing to do that for you.
It takes an understanding.
And what I always say is, it'smy job to help my clients see
(18:52):
the forest for the trees.
Right.
Um, because without thatunderstanding, you're never
gonna make your way through it.
SPEAKER_02 (18:57):
What's an example of that as a business owner, you
know, does X, but might notrealize that it, like you said,
has this ripple effect six waysthis way?
SPEAKER_01 (19:07):
Yeah.
So one I can't go into in withdepth, but I would say the the
biggest one is the the waythey're kind of managing their
tax burdens.
So, you know, I'm not a CPA, butas a CFP, we're trained in all
the finance disciplines.
And there's certain tax leversthat businesses throw, which
saves them a lot of money now,but they don't understand what
(19:27):
that can do to them later.
And especially more pointedly,when it comes to business
succession and exit planning.
And all of those things areinterconnected.
And the last thing you want todo is be in really high tax
brackets and and really lose alot of money to tax burdens in
the year that you're trying toget rid of your business and
keep as much money as possiblebecause that business was meant
(19:48):
to sustain you for the next 30years.
And if you're not even awarethat all of these things that
you've been doing are creating atax time bomb, how are you
supposed to diffuse it?
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (19:57):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (19:58):
So it's my job to say, hey, this is what we're
building, this is what likely isgoing to happen.
Let's work with your CPA to finda more balanced strategy to get
to where we need to go a littlebit more efficiently.
SPEAKER_02 (20:07):
Absolutely.
So, you know, I know there's alot of entrepreneurs that listen
to the show.
Maybe they're really early on,they're in their first or second
year.
Any tips, words of advice forthem out there?
SPEAKER_01 (20:16):
Yeah, know your numbers.
I've actually I've taken on afew new small businesses that
great people.
I love working with them.
Again, that drives there, right?
And I I much prefer to helpsomebody build a plane from the
ground up while it's on theground.
Right.
But you would be surprised theamount of business owners that
work in the business more thanthey work on the business.
So I would say knowing yournumbers, making sure that you
(20:39):
understand what your marginsare, making sure you understand
what it's gonna take to hiteconomies of scale.
In other words, where costsstart to decrease the more you
do.
Because if you are just puttingin more and more work and you're
not increasing profitabilityabove that certain margin,
you're gonna get burnt out.
So making sure that you haveyour business structured in a
way to maximize the most amountof time that you put into it.
(21:03):
Because again, at the end of theday, the job or the profession
or the business you're buildingis really designed to support
your lifestyle.
But if your lifestyle is onlythe business, what are we doing?
SPEAKER_02 (21:11):
Right.
Right.
So would it be beneficial forsomebody if they're just
starting a business to come havea conversation and get some
input from you guys?
SPEAKER_01 (21:20):
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm always open to helpingpeople and, you know, giving
insight.
And I'm never going to turnsomebody away, right?
I I'm very into the, you know,the karma aspect of things where
it's like, hey, put put goodstuff out there, good stuff's
gonna come back.
So they may be a littlepremature for fully sitting down
and doing a business plan, butthat's not gonna stop me from
(21:41):
doing that analysis, that Scottanalysis that I referred to
earlier, and and making surethat they kind of start on the
right foot.
And then my hope is that downthe road they're gonna circle
back when they are in a positionand I'm gonna be able to help
them get the rest of the way.
SPEAKER_02 (21:56):
There you go.
Well, speaking of helping peopleout and educating, you've got to
invent.
Coming up before too long here,where you're going to be doing
some of just that, right?
SPEAKER_01 (22:03):
Some of that.
Yeah, absolutely.
So yeah, I've got a seminarcoming up on uh August 26th at
545.
I've partnered with uh PapposCafe.
We're gonna have it over there.
So really, yeah, the the titleof the seminar is, you know, are
you working too much in yourbusiness and not enough on your
business?
And really, I've just workedwith quite a few of the business
owners in this area and reallywithin the Midwest, and they're
(22:25):
all doing the same things.
They're all not identifyingthese shortfalls and these
threats in their business.
And they're all fine.
You know, then that's the thing.
I'm fine.
Right.
It's like, yeah, I know you'refine.
The individuals that I workwith, they're all successful.
That's that's why we're workingtogether.
But it's not about beingsuccessful.
It's about making sure that whatyou're building is supporting
(22:46):
what you want and your lifestylein the most efficient way
possible.
And then you understand all ofthe pieces of that and how
that's going to be passed on.
And there's so many things thatbusiness owners can do to
increase that efficiency.
They're just not aware of it.
So, really, the goal of thisseminar is to essentially shine
that flashlight and say, hey,out of all of you in this room,
(23:06):
I would bet 99% of you arelikely not doing this.
And this, if you do employ it,this could be a benefit that
could really not only benefityou, but grow your business,
help your employees, helpyourself, help with a transition
into retirement, help you passthis on to your kids more
efficiently, whatever your goalsare.
There's so many differentopportunities that the average
(23:27):
business owner is not educatedor aware of that they're missing
out on it.
And if they just had theknowledge of it, they would
consider it and then likely getthe benefit from it.
Right.
So that's what the whole pointis.
It's just completelyeducational.
SPEAKER_02 (23:38):
I love it.
I love it.
And Papo's is a great place todo it.
Absolutely.
Great food, great drinks.
SPEAKER_01 (23:43):
So I'm excited for that too.
SPEAKER_02 (23:44):
There you go.
Yeah, I was just out at thewell, for local first, we were
out at the West Side Market forthat last one.
Just got a great facility overthere and had fun time.
That they do.
So you ever been out to the WestSide Market out there?
SPEAKER_01 (23:55):
So Sundays are rough for me, but I I mean to.
Celeste and Brennan are goodfriends of mine.
So yeah, I uh I mean to get overthere and I will.
I will.
I will.
Uh but uh yeah, I gotta put iton the calendar.
But I I follow it and I see allthe stuff and they're doing
great things out there.
SPEAKER_02 (24:09):
Oh yeah, yeah, no doubt about it.
So now anything else peopleshould expect that night for the
seminar?
SPEAKER_01 (24:14):
Yeah.
Uh so there is a Facebook inviteout there or a Facebook event, I
should say.
So you can go get theinformation on there.
It's gonna start at 5 45 is whendoors open.
Uh, I'll start around six.
It's only gonna take about anhour.
Really, the goal is just to kindof start the juices going, get
people some awareness of some ofthe things that they could
(24:34):
potentially benefit from.
And then I can point them in theright direction towards
resources on how to get theanswers that they need.
Uh, and then if they want morespecific advice, uh, of course,
I'll be available for questionsand consultations and things
like that.
But really, I just I want smallbusiness owners to understand
that there's there's a way to doit a little bit better.
(24:54):
And unless there's a forum forthat where somebody's talking
about it, right, uh, businessowners are just too busy, right?
Right.
So they just don't make time forit.
So I really hope that that theymake time to come out for this.
SPEAKER_02 (25:04):
Well, and like the the comment that you made, a lot
of them will say, Hey, I'm fine.
Well, yes, great.
I am sure everybody's fine, butwe could be extraordinary.
We could be we could put systemsin place to be great instead of
just fine.
How about that?
SPEAKER_01 (25:16):
You're doing everything in your business to
increase efficiency, increaseprofitability.
Why would you not invest in theroadmap to accomplish that?
SPEAKER_02 (25:24):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (25:24):
You know, it just it's kind of counterintuitive.
But I think the the big aspectof things is if something
happens to you tomorrow, what'snext?
SPEAKER_02 (25:32):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (25:32):
What does you know, if you're even if your spouse is
in the business, they don't dothe things you do.
What's next?
SPEAKER_02 (25:37):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (25:38):
If you're gonna sell the business, what's next?
If you're gonna pass to yourkids, what's next?
And I think if people reallyreflect on it, they're gonna be
like, I don't actually know.
Right.
And that's the problem.
SPEAKER_02 (25:48):
Yeah.
I mean, anybody out there, likeright now, I'm the executor for
my uncle's estate, so I'm takingcare of all his stuff, and
that's just all on the personalside.
So you start looking at whathappens to a business after
somebody passes, that's thattimes 10, you know, on what to
do.
SPEAKER_01 (26:02):
Absolutely.
And and one thing that I'mpretty passionate about, and
I've actually got quite a fewclients who, you know, not just
business, but agriculturalbusiness clients.
Okay.
So there are, uh unfortunately,most people don't know this,
which I can't go into too muchdetail on, but uh so Illinois
has some pretty significantlylow exemptions when it comes to
when you die and you leave moneyon your family.
(26:25):
They're very restrictive.
Most people aren't aware of thatbecause they're aware of the
federal restrictions, thefederal limits, which are really
high, which the average personmay never reach.
The Illinois one issignificantly lower and it
hasn't changed in a really longtime.
And they're probably notplanning on changing it.
SPEAKER_03 (26:41):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (26:42):
So I wish I could get into it, but the point is
without planning,multi-generational agricultural
businesses can be lost.
And, you know, their greatuncle's state plan that was put
into place 30 years ago may nothave changed with the times
enough, and they may not knowwhat the implications are of
what is in place.
And so part of my job is toreview that and then work with
(27:05):
their existing attorney or thenext attorney to make sure that
their family has the best shotat keeping what they have.
Right.
Um, so yeah, it's it's crazy.
And unfortunately, there's a lotof lot of multi-generational
farms and and agriculturalbusinesses in the Midwest
specifically that are being lostin Illinois, mainly, uh, just
because of those restrictiveexemptions because proper
(27:26):
planning's not being done.
SPEAKER_02 (27:27):
Wow.
Wow.
I might have to get into that alittle more on another episode
or something.
Uh, that's a good topic.
SPEAKER_01 (27:32):
Yeah, it's crazy.
So yeah, we'll just have to getan estate planner in here and we
can bounce you.
We can get it, we can get itdone.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02 (27:37):
That'd be fun.
Well, you involved in anyorganizations, associations
here?
SPEAKER_01 (27:41):
Uh yeah.
So I'm uh currently a member ofthe JCs.
So I've done that for a yearnow.
It's a great organization.
Um so uh we're part of theChamber of Commerce here, the
Chatham Chamber and theSpringfield Chamber.
Thinking about joining theSherman Chamber because that's
actually where I live.
Um so just kind of got thatlocal stuff going on.
SPEAKER_02 (27:58):
There you go.
What do you do with the JCs?
SPEAKER_01 (28:00):
So we just put on like the the Sweet Corden
Festival.
Uh that just happened.
Um and really it's just kind ofdifferent events, community
building, things like that.
SPEAKER_02 (28:07):
Yeah.
No, we just had Dave and Nick infrom JC talking about the sweet
corn festival and everything.
So I was just wondering ifyou're doing the same thing with
that or what?
So very cool.
We've talked a lot of businessstuff.
Let's flip over to the personalside a little bit.
And what do you do to elevateyour life personally?
SPEAKER_01 (28:21):
I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie, to be honest.
Um motorcycles, jet skis thatare way too overpowered.
I'm a big snowboarder,wakeboarder.
Uh, have gotten an electricskateboard that I'm probably
gonna kill myself on.
Yeah, man.
It goes like 30 miles an hour.
So yeah, it's it's quick.
That's quick.
That's scooting on a skateboard.
It is, it is.
Uh, but to me, it's likesnowboarding on land.
(28:43):
You know, coming from SouthernCalifornia, it was great to be
able to hop up on the mountainand do some runs.
And but now being landlocked inthe middle of the Midwest, it
doesn't, you know, afford a lotof opportunity.
So same kind of motion, samekind of thing.
Unfortunately, when you wipeout, it hurts a little bit more.
SPEAKER_02 (28:57):
I bet it does.
I bet it does.
Take a high-powered jet ski outon Lake Springfield, do you?
SPEAKER_01 (29:02):
Yeah, yeah.
So recently got one of those.
It's a blast.
My boys love it.
But uh yeah, I'm a big boater,just haven't uh made the jump to
actually buy such a depreciableasset.
So you know the jet ski is alittle lower cost of entry to
get out on the water.
So it's fun.
My boys love it.
It's just something to do duringthe summer.
SPEAKER_02 (29:20):
So you ever break out the old cleats ever and play
some football here and there,some weekend flag football or
something?
SPEAKER_01 (29:26):
You know, I don't.
I'm getting old uh and fallingapart quicker than I'd like.
But actually, the I thoughtabout there's a local rugby team
and they were trying to get meto come out for a while.
And I've still kind of kicked,kicked that around because it
would really be fun to get backout on the on the grass and get
a little aggression out again.
But I would say that now as Iget older, I'm just realizing
(29:48):
how much longer it takes to healon things.
And uh, you know, I I put mybody through a fair bit of
punishment over the yearsbetween high school and college
football.
So yeah, so we'll see.
SPEAKER_02 (29:58):
There you go.
Thought I saw one of your postsrecently.
Might not even meet recentlymore.
Did you do like a tough mutteror something?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:04):
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
We did a tough mutter a coupleyears ago.
That was a blast.
Highly recommend it for teambuilding.
Yeah.
Um definitely need a teamthough.
It's a great event.
Uh so Ryan, Brandon, and I,we've uh done like the Lincoln
Halves, we've done toughmutters, uh, you know, some
shorter sprints, things likethat.
It's good to get out and workthe body just like you work the
mind.
SPEAKER_02 (30:22):
So absolutely.
Let's uh close with these lastcouple of things.
Let's give the audience a pieceof advice.
One on the personal side, one onthe professional side to help
them elevate their life orbusiness.
SPEAKER_01 (30:32):
Okay.
Yeah.
So I would say on the personalside, it's just today you're
here, someday you want to bethere.
And then the path is easiest forthose who know the way.
So, you know, life is not justgoing to happen.
Life needs to be intentional.
The more intentional you areabout identifying your goals,
understanding what options youhave to get from where you are
(30:53):
to where you want to be, thegreater probability you're gonna
have in succeeding.
So, you know, it I just can't becan't be overstated how
important it is to know whereyou want to go and then work
towards achieving it rather thanjust wandering around and hoping
we end up where we want to be.
SPEAKER_02 (31:06):
Right.
So gotta have a target.
That's right.
Then we'll find out a path toget there.
SPEAKER_01 (31:13):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (31:14):
See, you get it.
SPEAKER_01 (31:14):
Um, so on the professional side, I would say
make sure that you are doing itfor a reason.
Okay.
And if you truly love workingand you love what you do, great,
right?
You know, if you love what youdo, you never work a day in your
life.
That's what they say.
But there may come a day whenyou can't do what you love
anymore.
What happens next?
Okay.
(31:35):
It doesn't have to be your planA, but you better have it as
plan C.
Right.
So understanding what needs tohappen to make sure that what
you've built supports your lifeand your life supports what
matters most to you is importantand might be the most important
thing.
So understanding what that lookslike.
And then most importantly,what's the plan for it and how
(31:56):
is it coordinated?
Because I would sit down and youpay a lot of professionals,
right, in your life that supportyour business.
If you put them all at the sametable, would they all have the
same plan for you?
Because the answer nine timesout of ten is no.
SPEAKER_02 (32:08):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (32:08):
Right.
So make sure everybody's on thesame page.
SPEAKER_02 (32:11):
Absolutely.
And is there anything we can docommunity-wide, help all of us
here elevate Springfield and thesurrounding communities?
SPEAKER_01 (32:17):
I mean, support local, you know, the people
around you, the community, uh,making sure that you're
investing in your business,utilizing other local businesses
that are, you know, homegrown.
That's a way to scale together,right?
All boats rise.
And the more we support eachother, the more we utilize each
other's services, the moresuccessful we'll all be because
(32:37):
we're going to keep the moneylocal.
Come on.
SPEAKER_02 (32:39):
Love it.
Love it.
Well, all you business ownersout there, if you don't have a
plan, call this man up.
So tell them uh where they canfind you, all the good stuff
about the events and everything.
SPEAKER_01 (32:49):
Yeah, just to recap, uh, we've got that business
owner seminar at Papo's comingup on uh August 26th at 5 45
p.m.
Our office, Navigator WealthStrategies, is located just off
of Toronto Road, just past theold hen house.
Everybody seems to know that.
Um, so that, and you can alwaysvisit us at
NavigatorWellstrategies.com justto learn a little bit more about
(33:10):
us and our service offerings.
And uh yeah, don't be shy.
If you need help, we're here tohelp.
There you go.
SPEAKER_02 (33:15):
Appreciate you spending some time with me
today, man.
Appreciate you having me.
All right.
Well, we're gonna let Matt getback to elevating Springfield.
But for the rest of you, we'llbe right back.
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Well, thank you for joining ustoday, everybody.
Appreciate you making us a partof your day.
Hey, don't forget while you'reout on social, check ours out.
You can check my personal oneout at RobertFarrell at
everywhere.
(34:45):
Check out those ElevateSpringfield pages, those big dog
business coaching pages as well.
Check us out over on YouTube.
Give us a subscribe, give us alike or a follow on any of those
channels.
We would certainly appreciateit.
So, hey, take what you learnedtoday.
You bring the discipline andfollow through and together.
(35:06):
That's right, y'all.
We're gonna elevate Springfield.
Be great.
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This is more than a club, it's away of life.
Join us at Shudo Khan.
Traditional, powerful, real.
Welcome to Elevate Springfield, where we will dive
into strategies and stories thathelp you rise to your full
potential.
Each episode, we'll talk abouthow you can take intentional
steps to elevate your life andyour business while making a
meaningful impact on thosearound you.
Along the way, we're gonna bringin the change makers from our
(00:20):
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Springfield.
Alright, let's go, Springfield.
Time to 10X your life, yourbusiness, all of it.
Time to crush those goals, timeto get after it.
(00:42):
Let's go.
You are listening to the ElevateSpringfield Podcast.
Robert Farrell here, certified10x coach, speaker, and mentor
here to bring you actionablestrategies.
You bring the discipline andfollow through, and together
we're gonna Elevate Springfield.
We're coming to you again frombeautiful downtown Springfield
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Get out there, network withfolks, be a part of the
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All right, and we are back.
Hey, joining me in the studionow, Matthew Hutton from
Navigator Wealth Strategies.
Matthew, how are you doingtoday, man?
I'm doing well.
How are you doing?
I'm great.
Appreciate you coming todowntown Springfield and hanging
out with me for a little bit.
Absolutely appreciate you havingme.
(02:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
So we've had your businesspartner in, Brandon, right?
Not too awful long ago.
We're gonna get into Navigatorand what you do with all that
and everything, but first let'slearn a little bit about
Matthew, man.
Tell us a little about yourbackground.
SPEAKER_01 (02:41):
Yeah, I appreciate that.
So I am uh a partner in the leadfinancial planner here at
Navigator Wealth Strategies anduh a little bit about my
background.
So I come from a financialplanning family.
My parents are financialplanners out in Southern
California.
Okay.
Uh and that's really what got meinto the industry.
Got my undergrad at McKendryUniversity, just outside of St.
Louis, actually, BBA ineconomics and finance on that.
(03:03):
Moved to Southern California tostart working in financial
planning, got my MBA infinancial planning there under
Dr.
Samantha Basou and Dr.
Harry Starn.
Um, they're a couple of pioneersin the financial planning
industry.
And uh then became a financialplanner, did that for a while.
Was at an RIA there for high networth individuals, did some high
net worth financial planning.
SPEAKER_02 (03:23):
Or just for for clarity's sake, there, RIA for
folks that know what that is.
SPEAKER_01 (03:26):
So registered investment advisor.
SPEAKER_02 (03:28):
There you go.
SPEAKER_01 (03:28):
Okay, independent.
Gotcha.
Okay.
Uh yeah.
So we were really uh cateredtowards just uh people with tax
issues, money and tax issues isreally what it came down to.
So did that, uh, loved it.
My girlfriend at the time was uhgirl I dated in high school.
And uh we made that official.
She moved out, we got married,and so we were out there for a
while, but had our first kid anddecided that we wanted to move
(03:50):
back.
So sold off that portion andmoved back to central Illinois,
where I did uh financialplanning for service members uh
for quite some time, for acouple of years, met a lot of
great people.
I'd always kind of wanted toserve, uh, but had that football
scholarship out of out of highschool.
So because of that, um, didn'tuh get a chance to serve.
So that was kind of my way ofyou know serving those who
(04:12):
served, I guess.
Yeah, actually, which wasawesome.
But uh after a while, it justwasn't super challenging.
So started working for RegionsBank as a corporate bank
manager, took over a couple ofthe branches here, uh
revitalized them.
Uh, they were actually in thebottom quartile in the country
and took them to the top 10% inthe country.
Oh, nice.
Uh, two different branches overfour years, three years of
those, we were in the top 10,and then uh decided to get back
(04:35):
to what I know and love, andthat's financial planning and
helping people.
SPEAKER_02 (04:38):
There you go.
So you said footballscholarship.
Did you grow up around here inSpringfield or where'd you grow
up?
SPEAKER_01 (04:43):
Uh child of two lives.
Uh so split house situation.
So my dad lives locally inRiverton and my mom, Southern
California.
So about every eight years of mylife, I went back and forth.
So played football at Riverton,and that's where I got the
scholarship to go to McKendrythere.
Okay.
SPEAKER_02 (04:59):
So you guys said, Did you have any runs while you
were at Riverton or at McKendry?
Any good football runs?
SPEAKER_01 (05:04):
Actually, we were divisional champions my junior
year in college.
So I've got a pretty big ringthat I never even wear anymore.
But but yeah, it's got it's gotsome bling with it.
SPEAKER_02 (05:14):
Okay, there you go.
So what was your favorite partabout playing football?
SPEAKER_01 (05:17):
Hitting people.
SPEAKER_02 (05:18):
Yeah.
Let's be honest.
Yeah, when you're on the line.
SPEAKER_01 (05:20):
I mean, that's what you're doing.
You're hitting people all thetime.
Yeah.
It was a it was a goodaggression release.
Yeah, put it that way.
SPEAKER_02 (05:26):
So what'd you do, tackle or guard or what?
SPEAKER_01 (05:28):
Uh I was actually an offensive center.
Okay, nice.
SPEAKER_02 (05:31):
Heck yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (05:31):
Long snap too.
I my arms are not long enoughfor it.
So that was never my forte, butI'm trying to train my kids up
on it.
SPEAKER_02 (05:38):
So we'll see.
All right.
So Southern California, where'dyou say whereabouts in Southern
California?
SPEAKER_01 (05:43):
Yeah, Westlake Village.
Thousand Oaks Westlake Village.
Most people know it is VenturaCounty.
SPEAKER_02 (05:47):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (05:47):
Yeah.
Um, is uh where we were at.
So about 45 minutes northwest ofLA.
Mm-hmm.
So kind of up the coast.
SPEAKER_02 (05:54):
Okay.
All right.
Spent your time out there, gotthat master's degree and
everything.
What'd you love aboutCalifornia, about that area
compared to here, man?
SPEAKER_01 (06:01):
Oh, I mean, I could literally go to the beach in the
morning and be snowboarding inthe afternoon.
So where we lived was actuallyrated the number one place to
live in the country.
Oh, really?
Um based on industry.
So, like if you've ever heard ofthe company Amgen, like they're
there.
Yeah.
Um, so yeah, it was just basedon proximity to all the things.
We were two hours from the highdesert to go off-roading, three
(06:23):
hours from the mountains and BigBear to go snowboarding and
about 45 minutes from the beach.
So literally everything waswithin driving distance.
Come on.
SPEAKER_02 (06:30):
I know love that.
Oh, don't remind me.
Don't remind me.
I'm sure you get out there hereand there still.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Still have family out there.
So I'm sure you're out therequite a bit.
SPEAKER_01 (06:38):
I take advantage of it.
We'll put it that way.
I would too.
I would too.
For sure.
SPEAKER_02 (06:42):
So all right.
Well, get back into the theplanning part, financial
planning part.
So navigator wealth strategies.
Tell us how that came about.
SPEAKER_01 (06:49):
Yeah.
So uh Brandon had a verysuccessful practice, and my
other partner, Ryan Kaiser,who's not been on the podcast
yet.
So Ryan ran Corner CornerstoneFinancial right here off of
Monroe for a while.
And Brandon had a WellmanFinancial Services.
Uh, well, when they were lookingto bring me on, management was
trying to find the best fit forme.
And uh I just kind of gravitatedtowards both of them.
And even though they both hadvery successful practices
(07:11):
locally at the time, theyweren't really doing a whole lot
together at that point.
And so kind of putting me in themix became kind of the glue that
brought them together.
And then it just kind of seemedsilly to have two big offices
when we could make one.
And sure, all three of us arecertified financial planners and
have the same uh education focusand mentality towards uh client
(07:32):
servicing and just really makingsure that we put clients first
and you know, get them what theypay for.
So, because of that, we decidedto join forces and uh build
navigator well strategies.
SPEAKER_02 (07:42):
Love it, love it.
So we were talking before wewent on air here that you work
with a lot of business owners,all right.
So tell us what you do forbusiness owners.
SPEAKER_01 (07:51):
Yeah.
So uh business owners have theirown level of complexity.
It's kind of like if you go to aCPA.
You know, if you talk to anyCPA, they can do taxes for
anybody, right?
But uh there's just more taxlevers to throw for individuals
who are business owners.
So too for financial planning.
So there's just more opportunityfor me to assist in affecting
(08:11):
beneficial change in the life ofa business owner.
And with that, I can justgenerate more benefit over time
by helping them.
So my job as a financial planneris to essentially go in, analyze
their entire personal life,their business life, how those
things intersect and how onesupports the other, identify all
(08:32):
the strengths, challenges,opportunities, and threats that
might be, you know, imminent oron the horizon, and then develop
roadmaps on how to get aroundthem or mitigate them or
transfer that risk.
And that comes in many differentforms.
And I would say that most peopledon't realize that they've got
issues or they've got theselittle things that are quietly
(08:52):
eroding their efficiency ortheir wealth, but they're just
not aware of it.
Right.
And until somebody points it outto them, they're not going to
be.
SPEAKER_02 (09:00):
So you're talking about the opportunities,
threats.
You probably look out forpitfalls that people might be
falling into, right?
So, what are some of thosethings that people might not
think of that they might befalling into this pitfall that
they shouldn't be?
SPEAKER_01 (09:12):
Yeah.
Right off the bat, the the lineI love to hear from business
owners, hey, I appreciate it,but I'm fine.
Uh-huh.
Like it's like, okay, yeah,absolutely.
I know you're fine.
I completely understand you'refine.
And if you, you know, if wenever have another conversation,
you're likely going to be fine.
But the fact of the matter is, asuccessful business is not a
retirement plan.
Right.
And most people look at it thatway.
(09:34):
And I would say the biggestpitfall is people forget what
they got into business for.
Business owners become theirbusiness.
It's their identity.
So because of that, they don'tknow how to separate the two.
So things like investing, theyautomatically invest in
themselves.
You know, they forget, you know,am I working to work or am I
working for a lifestyle?
Is this business supporting mylifestyle?
(09:54):
And nine times out of ten, theanswer is no.
SPEAKER_02 (09:56):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (09:57):
They're making money, but if the business fell
away tomorrow, they don't haveanything to show for it.
SPEAKER_02 (10:01):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (10:01):
And that's a problem.
SPEAKER_02 (10:02):
Right.
And if they weren't a part of itanymore, you know, I think a lot
of people fall into that trapof, hey, it's not really a
business, it's you.
It's you're doing this.
Without your blood, sweat, andtears, there is no business.
SPEAKER_01 (10:16):
Absolutely.
There's nothing proprietary.
There's like if you're gone,this doesn't exist.
SPEAKER_02 (10:20):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (10:20):
And that's why one of the first questions I ask a
small business owner is walk methrough what happens on day one
when you hang up the keys forthe last time.
They're like, well, what do youmean?
Well, what happens next?
The fact of the matter is, theaverage individual spends more
time planning for a single weekfamily vacation than they do for
30 years of retirement.
Throw that on top of businesssuccession, forget about it.
(10:42):
Right.
Yeah.
And people just don't thinkabout it.
And I think the problem is noplan is not a plan.
Right.
You know, these things are goingto happen.
And we can stick our or we canbury our head in the sand.
You know, we can try to put itout of our mind, but it's
coming.
Yeah.
So you can either prepare for itand transition gracefully and
hopefully have that thing thatyou built that you're so
passionate about support yourlifestyle and be something that
(11:04):
you pass on to your family orwhatever the case may be, or we
can just wait and see.
Right.
And wait and see is never reallya good plan.
SPEAKER_02 (11:11):
No, because like I said, it's going to happen
regardless.
And not to sound crass, it'swhether whether you die tomorrow
or 30 years down the road, youjust can't do it anymore.
At some point, it's over for youpersonally as part of that
business.
So do you find that most of thebusinesses that you work with
don't have a true exit strategy?
SPEAKER_01 (11:30):
I would say 95% of the business owners that I have
actually had true in-depthconversations about their
business planning, they at mosthave an idea of what they want
to happen, but they do not havea strategic roadmap on how to
get there.
And the one that's even moreconcerning is, you know, being
in central Illinois, we're veryfamily-oriented.
That's a great part of living inthe Midwest is it's not just
(11:52):
about building something forthemselves.
It's building something thatthey can pass down to their
children.
But they haven't really thoughtof what that looks like.
Because to your point, ifthey've built something that is
dependent on them and it is morethan enough to sustain their
needs, when they leave, there'sno cash flow for the kids.
Right.
Which means that the kids eitherhave to scale the business very
(12:13):
rapidly, in which case, if thatwas possible, why didn't it
already happen?
Right.
Or the parents will not have thecash they need in retirement
because they didn't essentiallybuild the plane better from the
ground up.
They waited until landing andare keeping it together with,
you know, duct tape and paperclips.
Sure.
SPEAKER_02 (12:31):
Sure.
So where do you start with them?
If you're working with abusiness and they have nothing
planned, nothing at all, wheredo you start advising them on
what to do?
SPEAKER_01 (12:39):
Yeah, a great question.
Uh what's it all for?
Okay.
Uh as a financial planner, everydecision is completely guided.
The north star for everydecision is based on a client's
goals.
So what do you want to happen?
Okay.
And then once we know what wewant to happen, we can identify
all of the life happening eventsthat can take place given a
(13:00):
person's stage in life, uh,given, you know, the the
industry they're in, um, givendifferent constraints, you know,
based on demographics orlocalities, or we identify those
things.
And then we say, okay, if one ofthose happens, what happens to
you in your business?
Okay.
So essentially we stress testit.
SPEAKER_03 (13:18):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (13:18):
Say, all right, if you pass tomorrow, what happens?
Not just from a financestandpoint, but who steps in?
Right.
You know, who's going to run theday to day?
How are you going to overcomethat likely income lull, right,
during the transition period?
What have you put in place tomake sure this happens?
So we stress test things andfind out, like, all right, what
are our gaps?
(13:39):
Shine that flashlight on it.
Here's the problem.
We found it.
What can we do?
And we're always looking toeither mitigate that risk.
So make it as small and as leastimpactful as possible.
Sure.
Transfer that risk.
If we can get rid of it, great.
And if we can mitigate it, wewill.
If we can transfer it withoutsacrificing achieving our other
goals, also great.
And some of them we just have tokind of take a wait and see.
(14:01):
We're aware of it, we'remonitoring it.
And if there, you know, anotheropportunity arises later on to
again mitigate it or transferit, that's what we're gonna do.
Okay.
So it just kind of depends.
SPEAKER_02 (14:11):
So when you say transfer that risk for anybody
out there, what would be anexample of that?
SPEAKER_01 (14:15):
If they're Yeah.
So uh one thing which,especially kind of new business
owners starting up, right?
They're they're so focused onthe cash flow aspect, which I
completely understand.
Cash flow is king, right?
Your your biggest asset is notyour investment portfolio, it's
your ability to create income.
Right.
Right.
Because without that, nothingelse matters.
So I I totally understand wherethey're coming from.
(14:35):
Uh, where they're like, well, Idon't want to get, I don't want
to get disability insurance, youknow, because it's gonna cost me
X percent a year, right?
I understand.
I understand it, it's scary.
It's scary to have to pay forsomething that you may never
need.
But the fact of the matter is, Imean, it's kind of sad to say,
but you know, it's cheaper todie than it is to become
disabled.
Right.
Right.
That just means we have moremedical costs and the expenses
(14:58):
don't go away.
SPEAKER_02 (14:59):
So and they stack in a hurry.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (15:01):
And they absolutely do.
And so it's like, all right,well, we need to look at ways to
mitigate or transfer that risk.
So certain things likeinsurances.
Now, me personally, I don't selldisability insurance.
It's it's not my job.
SPEAKER_03 (15:13):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (15:13):
Um, but it's my job to put my client in front of the
right person to get the adequatelevel of risk transference in
order to meet their needs.
So there's a lot of things thatI can be a one-stop shop on, but
a lot of my job is coordinatingwith the professionals in my
client's life that arepre-existing to make sure that
everybody's on the same team andeverybody's rowing the boat in
(15:35):
the same direction.
SPEAKER_02 (15:36):
Sure.
You feel like a lot of your roleis education too with your
clients, right?
SPEAKER_01 (15:41):
Absolutely.
And I love it.
Uh, like Brandon said, you know,he he was intending to be a
teacher.
Uh-huh.
That was one thing that weconnected on early.
Uh, we both have an educationfoundation.
Um, we believe in the value ofeducation.
It's that whole teach AmandaFish concept.
SPEAKER_02 (15:55):
Of course.
SPEAKER_01 (15:55):
Right.
So I've actually got uh a clientthat uh we were talking about
investments.
And when we first started goingover his financial plan, he had
no understanding of what I wastalking about.
But now every time he comes intomy office, every meeting, we
start off with a big smile onhis face, I'll refer to
something, and then he'll talkabout one of the investments in
(16:16):
that's in the portfolio and belike, this.
I'm like, yes, that.
And then so it's awesome.
It's awesome because I see thathe's getting it, you know, and
he's hungry for more.
And every single meeting, he'sgetting a little bit more
knowledgeable about what we'redoing.
My job is trust, right?
If my clients don't trust me toguide them on the right path,
they shouldn't be working withme, quite honestly, because
(16:38):
they're not going to listen.
And the value that I bring isnot in returns or lowered risk.
It's it's that ongoing guidanceto make sure that uh they have
the best possibility of gettingfrom where they are to where
they want to be.
It's just easier for those whoknow the way.
Right.
So that's kind of the focus.
SPEAKER_02 (16:54):
Yeah.
And I would say, I mean, a lotof folks are probably a little
overwhelmed by all the terms andall the jargon that's used and
everything.
So having you being able toeducate them on that is very
helpful, I would imagine.
SPEAKER_01 (17:05):
Yeah.
I mean, it's it's hard tobalance all those things, you
know, as business owners.
Like, let's be honest, it's justlike kids, right?
There's there's no manual on howto be a business owner.
There's plenty of books, right?
But there's there's not, youknow, a book that says, hey, you
will build a dining industrylike this.
You know, that doesn't exist.
So every business owner at acertain point in their career is
(17:26):
faking it until they make it,right?
I have a vision, I have thedrive, I'm gonna make it happen.
That's why so many smallbusinesses fail, but that's why
so many succeed.
Right.
So this is one more hat thatrequires specialization that
they can't be expected to wearbecause they're balancing too
many things.
So it's my job to essentiallyeducate them, provide them
(17:47):
understanding of those things,and then coordinate the people
in their life to make sure thateverybody's working to help them
achieve the goals that theyenvision.
SPEAKER_02 (17:56):
Early on, especially in that entrepreneurial journey,
you're you're wearing everysingle hat, every single one of
them.
You know, and you can't be anexpert in every single one of
those hats.
So that's where you come topeople like you.
SPEAKER_01 (18:08):
Yeah.
And it it cracks me up becauseuh with the advent of like Chat
GPT and all these AI things, andyou know, people like, I don't
need, I don't need investmentmanagement.
It's like, yeah, at some pointin life, you may not.
You know, the way, the waythings are going, you know, who
knows?
Right.
I can't tell you.
But the one thing that any AIsystem's not gonna be able to do
is tell you exactly howinterconnected all the decisions
(18:30):
that you make are without youprompting it to.
That's our job, right?
Is to say, hey, like thisdecision has 12 different ripple
effects.
And if we make that move on theboard, six others are gonna go
left, right, and sideways.
This is what that does.
Right.
You know, a system is nevergoing to do that for you.
It takes an understanding.
And what I always say is, it'smy job to help my clients see
(18:52):
the forest for the trees.
Right.
Um, because without thatunderstanding, you're never
gonna make your way through it.
SPEAKER_02 (18:57):
What's an example of that as a business owner, you
know, does X, but might notrealize that it, like you said,
has this ripple effect six waysthis way?
SPEAKER_01 (19:07):
Yeah.
So one I can't go into in withdepth, but I would say the the
biggest one is the the waythey're kind of managing their
tax burdens.
So, you know, I'm not a CPA, butas a CFP, we're trained in all
the finance disciplines.
And there's certain tax leversthat businesses throw, which
saves them a lot of money now,but they don't understand what
(19:27):
that can do to them later.
And especially more pointedly,when it comes to business
succession and exit planning.
And all of those things areinterconnected.
And the last thing you want todo is be in really high tax
brackets and and really lose alot of money to tax burdens in
the year that you're trying toget rid of your business and
keep as much money as possiblebecause that business was meant
(19:48):
to sustain you for the next 30years.
And if you're not even awarethat all of these things that
you've been doing are creating atax time bomb, how are you
supposed to diffuse it?
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (19:57):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (19:58):
So it's my job to say, hey, this is what we're
building, this is what likely isgoing to happen.
Let's work with your CPA to finda more balanced strategy to get
to where we need to go a littlebit more efficiently.
SPEAKER_02 (20:07):
Absolutely.
So, you know, I know there's alot of entrepreneurs that listen
to the show.
Maybe they're really early on,they're in their first or second
year.
Any tips, words of advice forthem out there?
SPEAKER_01 (20:16):
Yeah, know your numbers.
I've actually I've taken on afew new small businesses that
great people.
I love working with them.
Again, that drives there, right?
And I I much prefer to helpsomebody build a plane from the
ground up while it's on theground.
Right.
But you would be surprised theamount of business owners that
work in the business more thanthey work on the business.
So I would say knowing yournumbers, making sure that you
(20:39):
understand what your marginsare, making sure you understand
what it's gonna take to hiteconomies of scale.
In other words, where costsstart to decrease the more you
do.
Because if you are just puttingin more and more work and you're
not increasing profitabilityabove that certain margin,
you're gonna get burnt out.
So making sure that you haveyour business structured in a
way to maximize the most amountof time that you put into it.
(21:03):
Because again, at the end of theday, the job or the profession
or the business you're buildingis really designed to support
your lifestyle.
But if your lifestyle is onlythe business, what are we doing?
SPEAKER_02 (21:11):
Right.
Right.
So would it be beneficial forsomebody if they're just
starting a business to come havea conversation and get some
input from you guys?
SPEAKER_01 (21:20):
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm always open to helpingpeople and, you know, giving
insight.
And I'm never going to turnsomebody away, right?
I I'm very into the, you know,the karma aspect of things where
it's like, hey, put put goodstuff out there, good stuff's
gonna come back.
So they may be a littlepremature for fully sitting down
and doing a business plan, butthat's not gonna stop me from
(21:41):
doing that analysis, that Scottanalysis that I referred to
earlier, and and making surethat they kind of start on the
right foot.
And then my hope is that downthe road they're gonna circle
back when they are in a positionand I'm gonna be able to help
them get the rest of the way.
SPEAKER_02 (21:56):
There you go.
Well, speaking of helping peopleout and educating, you've got to
invent.
Coming up before too long here,where you're going to be doing
some of just that, right?
SPEAKER_01 (22:03):
Some of that.
Yeah, absolutely.
So yeah, I've got a seminarcoming up on uh August 26th at
545.
I've partnered with uh PapposCafe.
We're gonna have it over there.
So really, yeah, the the titleof the seminar is, you know, are
you working too much in yourbusiness and not enough on your
business?
And really, I've just workedwith quite a few of the business
owners in this area and reallywithin the Midwest, and they're
(22:25):
all doing the same things.
They're all not identifyingthese shortfalls and these
threats in their business.
And they're all fine.
You know, then that's the thing.
I'm fine.
Right.
It's like, yeah, I know you'refine.
The individuals that I workwith, they're all successful.
That's that's why we're workingtogether.
But it's not about beingsuccessful.
It's about making sure that whatyou're building is supporting
(22:46):
what you want and your lifestylein the most efficient way
possible.
And then you understand all ofthe pieces of that and how
that's going to be passed on.
And there's so many things thatbusiness owners can do to
increase that efficiency.
They're just not aware of it.
So, really, the goal of thisseminar is to essentially shine
that flashlight and say, hey,out of all of you in this room,
(23:06):
I would bet 99% of you arelikely not doing this.
And this, if you do employ it,this could be a benefit that
could really not only benefityou, but grow your business,
help your employees, helpyourself, help with a transition
into retirement, help you passthis on to your kids more
efficiently, whatever your goalsare.
There's so many differentopportunities that the average
(23:27):
business owner is not educatedor aware of that they're missing
out on it.
And if they just had theknowledge of it, they would
consider it and then likely getthe benefit from it.
Right.
So that's what the whole pointis.
It's just completelyeducational.
SPEAKER_02 (23:38):
I love it.
I love it.
And Papo's is a great place todo it.
Absolutely.
Great food, great drinks.
SPEAKER_01 (23:43):
So I'm excited for that too.
SPEAKER_02 (23:44):
There you go.
Yeah, I was just out at thewell, for local first, we were
out at the West Side Market forthat last one.
Just got a great facility overthere and had fun time.
That they do.
So you ever been out to the WestSide Market out there?
SPEAKER_01 (23:55):
So Sundays are rough for me, but I I mean to.
Celeste and Brennan are goodfriends of mine.
So yeah, I uh I mean to get overthere and I will.
I will.
I will.
Uh but uh yeah, I gotta put iton the calendar.
But I I follow it and I see allthe stuff and they're doing
great things out there.
SPEAKER_02 (24:09):
Oh yeah, yeah, no doubt about it.
So now anything else peopleshould expect that night for the
seminar?
SPEAKER_01 (24:14):
Yeah.
Uh so there is a Facebook inviteout there or a Facebook event, I
should say.
So you can go get theinformation on there.
It's gonna start at 5 45 is whendoors open.
Uh, I'll start around six.
It's only gonna take about anhour.
Really, the goal is just to kindof start the juices going, get
people some awareness of some ofthe things that they could
(24:34):
potentially benefit from.
And then I can point them in theright direction towards
resources on how to get theanswers that they need.
Uh, and then if they want morespecific advice, uh, of course,
I'll be available for questionsand consultations and things
like that.
But really, I just I want smallbusiness owners to understand
that there's there's a way to doit a little bit better.
(24:54):
And unless there's a forum forthat where somebody's talking
about it, right, uh, businessowners are just too busy, right?
Right.
So they just don't make time forit.
So I really hope that that theymake time to come out for this.
SPEAKER_02 (25:04):
Well, and like the the comment that you made, a lot
of them will say, Hey, I'm fine.
Well, yes, great.
I am sure everybody's fine, butwe could be extraordinary.
We could be we could put systemsin place to be great instead of
just fine.
How about that?
SPEAKER_01 (25:16):
You're doing everything in your business to
increase efficiency, increaseprofitability.
Why would you not invest in theroadmap to accomplish that?
SPEAKER_02 (25:24):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (25:24):
You know, it just it's kind of counterintuitive.
But I think the the big aspectof things is if something
happens to you tomorrow, what'snext?
SPEAKER_02 (25:32):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (25:32):
What does you know, if you're even if your spouse is
in the business, they don't dothe things you do.
What's next?
SPEAKER_02 (25:37):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (25:38):
If you're gonna sell the business, what's next?
If you're gonna pass to yourkids, what's next?
And I think if people reallyreflect on it, they're gonna be
like, I don't actually know.
Right.
And that's the problem.
SPEAKER_02 (25:48):
Yeah.
I mean, anybody out there, likeright now, I'm the executor for
my uncle's estate, so I'm takingcare of all his stuff, and
that's just all on the personalside.
So you start looking at whathappens to a business after
somebody passes, that's thattimes 10, you know, on what to
do.
SPEAKER_01 (26:02):
Absolutely.
And and one thing that I'mpretty passionate about, and
I've actually got quite a fewclients who, you know, not just
business, but agriculturalbusiness clients.
Okay.
So there are, uh unfortunately,most people don't know this,
which I can't go into too muchdetail on, but uh so Illinois
has some pretty significantlylow exemptions when it comes to
when you die and you leave moneyon your family.
(26:25):
They're very restrictive.
Most people aren't aware of thatbecause they're aware of the
federal restrictions, thefederal limits, which are really
high, which the average personmay never reach.
The Illinois one issignificantly lower and it
hasn't changed in a really longtime.
And they're probably notplanning on changing it.
SPEAKER_03 (26:41):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (26:42):
So I wish I could get into it, but the point is
without planning,multi-generational agricultural
businesses can be lost.
And, you know, their greatuncle's state plan that was put
into place 30 years ago may nothave changed with the times
enough, and they may not knowwhat the implications are of
what is in place.
And so part of my job is toreview that and then work with
(27:05):
their existing attorney or thenext attorney to make sure that
their family has the best shotat keeping what they have.
Right.
Um, so yeah, it's it's crazy.
And unfortunately, there's a lotof lot of multi-generational
farms and and agriculturalbusinesses in the Midwest
specifically that are being lostin Illinois, mainly, uh, just
because of those restrictiveexemptions because proper
(27:26):
planning's not being done.
SPEAKER_02 (27:27):
Wow.
Wow.
I might have to get into that alittle more on another episode
or something.
Uh, that's a good topic.
SPEAKER_01 (27:32):
Yeah, it's crazy.
So yeah, we'll just have to getan estate planner in here and we
can bounce you.
We can get it, we can get itdone.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02 (27:37):
That'd be fun.
Well, you involved in anyorganizations, associations
here?
SPEAKER_01 (27:41):
Uh yeah.
So I'm uh currently a member ofthe JCs.
So I've done that for a yearnow.
It's a great organization.
Um so uh we're part of theChamber of Commerce here, the
Chatham Chamber and theSpringfield Chamber.
Thinking about joining theSherman Chamber because that's
actually where I live.
Um so just kind of got thatlocal stuff going on.
SPEAKER_02 (27:58):
There you go.
What do you do with the JCs?
SPEAKER_01 (28:00):
So we just put on like the the Sweet Corden
Festival.
Uh that just happened.
Um and really it's just kind ofdifferent events, community
building, things like that.
SPEAKER_02 (28:07):
Yeah.
No, we just had Dave and Nick infrom JC talking about the sweet
corn festival and everything.
So I was just wondering ifyou're doing the same thing with
that or what?
So very cool.
We've talked a lot of businessstuff.
Let's flip over to the personalside a little bit.
And what do you do to elevateyour life personally?
SPEAKER_01 (28:21):
I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie, to be honest.
Um motorcycles, jet skis thatare way too overpowered.
I'm a big snowboarder,wakeboarder.
Uh, have gotten an electricskateboard that I'm probably
gonna kill myself on.
Yeah, man.
It goes like 30 miles an hour.
So yeah, it's it's quick.
That's quick.
That's scooting on a skateboard.
It is, it is.
Uh, but to me, it's likesnowboarding on land.
(28:43):
You know, coming from SouthernCalifornia, it was great to be
able to hop up on the mountainand do some runs.
And but now being landlocked inthe middle of the Midwest, it
doesn't, you know, afford a lotof opportunity.
So same kind of motion, samekind of thing.
Unfortunately, when you wipeout, it hurts a little bit more.
SPEAKER_02 (28:57):
I bet it does.
I bet it does.
Take a high-powered jet ski outon Lake Springfield, do you?
SPEAKER_01 (29:02):
Yeah, yeah.
So recently got one of those.
It's a blast.
My boys love it.
But uh yeah, I'm a big boater,just haven't uh made the jump to
actually buy such a depreciableasset.
So you know the jet ski is alittle lower cost of entry to
get out on the water.
So it's fun.
My boys love it.
It's just something to do duringthe summer.
SPEAKER_02 (29:20):
So you ever break out the old cleats ever and play
some football here and there,some weekend flag football or
something?
SPEAKER_01 (29:26):
You know, I don't.
I'm getting old uh and fallingapart quicker than I'd like.
But actually, the I thoughtabout there's a local rugby team
and they were trying to get meto come out for a while.
And I've still kind of kicked,kicked that around because it
would really be fun to get backout on the on the grass and get
a little aggression out again.
But I would say that now as Iget older, I'm just realizing
(29:48):
how much longer it takes to healon things.
And uh, you know, I I put mybody through a fair bit of
punishment over the yearsbetween high school and college
football.
So yeah, so we'll see.
SPEAKER_02 (29:58):
There you go.
Thought I saw one of your postsrecently.
Might not even meet recentlymore.
Did you do like a tough mutteror something?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (30:04):
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
We did a tough mutter a coupleyears ago.
That was a blast.
Highly recommend it for teambuilding.
Yeah.
Um definitely need a teamthough.
It's a great event.
Uh so Ryan, Brandon, and I,we've uh done like the Lincoln
Halves, we've done toughmutters, uh, you know, some
shorter sprints, things likethat.
It's good to get out and workthe body just like you work the
mind.
SPEAKER_02 (30:22):
So absolutely.
Let's uh close with these lastcouple of things.
Let's give the audience a pieceof advice.
One on the personal side, one onthe professional side to help
them elevate their life orbusiness.
SPEAKER_01 (30:32):
Okay.
Yeah.
So I would say on the personalside, it's just today you're
here, someday you want to bethere.
And then the path is easiest forthose who know the way.
So, you know, life is not justgoing to happen.
Life needs to be intentional.
The more intentional you areabout identifying your goals,
understanding what options youhave to get from where you are
(30:53):
to where you want to be, thegreater probability you're gonna
have in succeeding.
So, you know, it I just can't becan't be overstated how
important it is to know whereyou want to go and then work
towards achieving it rather thanjust wandering around and hoping
we end up where we want to be.
SPEAKER_02 (31:06):
Right.
So gotta have a target.
That's right.
Then we'll find out a path toget there.
SPEAKER_01 (31:13):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_02 (31:14):
See, you get it.
SPEAKER_01 (31:14):
Um, so on the professional side, I would say
make sure that you are doing itfor a reason.
Okay.
And if you truly love workingand you love what you do, great,
right?
You know, if you love what youdo, you never work a day in your
life.
That's what they say.
But there may come a day whenyou can't do what you love
anymore.
What happens next?
Okay.
(31:35):
It doesn't have to be your planA, but you better have it as
plan C.
Right.
So understanding what needs tohappen to make sure that what
you've built supports your lifeand your life supports what
matters most to you is importantand might be the most important
thing.
So understanding what that lookslike.
And then most importantly,what's the plan for it and how
(31:56):
is it coordinated?
Because I would sit down and youpay a lot of professionals,
right, in your life that supportyour business.
If you put them all at the sametable, would they all have the
same plan for you?
Because the answer nine timesout of ten is no.
SPEAKER_02 (32:08):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (32:08):
Right.
So make sure everybody's on thesame page.
SPEAKER_02 (32:11):
Absolutely.
And is there anything we can docommunity-wide, help all of us
here elevate Springfield and thesurrounding communities?
SPEAKER_01 (32:17):
I mean, support local, you know, the people
around you, the community, uh,making sure that you're
investing in your business,utilizing other local businesses
that are, you know, homegrown.
That's a way to scale together,right?
All boats rise.
And the more we support eachother, the more we utilize each
other's services, the moresuccessful we'll all be because
(32:37):
we're going to keep the moneylocal.
Come on.
SPEAKER_02 (32:39):
Love it.
Love it.
Well, all you business ownersout there, if you don't have a
plan, call this man up.
So tell them uh where they canfind you, all the good stuff
about the events and everything.
SPEAKER_01 (32:49):
Yeah, just to recap, uh, we've got that business
owner seminar at Papo's comingup on uh August 26th at 5 45
p.m.
Our office, Navigator WealthStrategies, is located just off
of Toronto Road, just past theold hen house.
Everybody seems to know that.
Um, so that, and you can alwaysvisit us at
NavigatorWellstrategies.com justto learn a little bit more about
(33:10):
us and our service offerings.
And uh yeah, don't be shy.
If you need help, we're here tohelp.
There you go.
SPEAKER_02 (33:15):
Appreciate you spending some time with me
today, man.
Appreciate you having me.
All right.
Well, we're gonna let Matt getback to elevating Springfield.
But for the rest of you, we'llbe right back.
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further than Sangamon TreeService.
They're your trusted local pros,delivering quality workmanship,
exceptional customer service,and fair, honest pricing every
(33:36):
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Call the name your neighborstrust, Sangaman Tree Service, or
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Whether it's auto, home, life,business, David and his team are
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and reliable coverage.
Local service, realrelationships, peace of mind.
Call today or stop by theiroffice.
(34:25):
They can build your dreamprotection plan together.
Call 217-726-6343.
Well, thank you for joining ustoday, everybody.
Appreciate you making us a partof your day.
Hey, don't forget while you'reout on social, check ours out.
You can check my personal oneout at RobertFarrell at
everywhere.
(34:45):
Check out those ElevateSpringfield pages, those big dog
business coaching pages as well.
Check us out over on YouTube.
Give us a subscribe, give us alike or a follow on any of those
channels.
We would certainly appreciateit.
So, hey, take what you learnedtoday.
You bring the discipline andfollow through and together.
(35:06):
That's right, y'all.
We're gonna elevate Springfield.
Be great.
SPEAKER_00 (35:10):
When I first walked into Shudokan Karate Club, I was
just looking for a way to getstronger.
But what I found was so muchbetter.
Here we train in traditionalkarate, the real stuff.
Passed down through generations.
Every punch, every karata haspurpose.
I've learned self discipline,confidence, and how to protect
myself.
Not just in class, but in reallife.
(35:31):
It's not about being aggressive,it's about being prepared.
This is more than a club, it's away of life.
Join us at Shudo Khan.
Traditional, powerful, real.
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