April 11, 2024 • 21 mins
Unlock the financial wisdom of Gabriel Shahin, the visionary behind Falcon Wealth Planning, as we explore the crafted strategies that have propelled his firm to astounding success. In a candid conversation, Gabriel recounts his evolution from a finance aficionado to the architect of a flourishing wealth management enterprise, rooted deeply in a culture that feels like family. We delve into how Falcon Wealth's commitment to a fee-only, non-commission model, coupled with a laser focus on tax planning, has amplified their clients' net worth. Tailored specifically for business owners, high earners, and analytical minds like engineers, Gabriel's approach is as unique as it is effective. His insights on steering the firm through economic uncertainties and the agility needed to thrive during tumultuous times are not only inspiring but also invaluable for anyone looking to secure their financial future.
Step into the future of financial planning with FalconMode Planning, Gabriel's innovative tech-centric venture, which boasts an impressive 70% growth streak. Here, Gabriel sheds light on how forging client relationships and delivering unmatched value remain paramount, independent of market swings. The integration of AI and other advanced technologies streamlines operations, enabling the firm to maintain its growth trajectory even amidst economic downturns. As we unpack the importance of aligning team members with the company's ethos to sustain expansion, we also reveal the key performance indicators that illuminate Falcon Wealth's triumphs. For anyone intrigued by the intersection of technology and finance or seeking sage advice on navigating market volatility, connecting with Gabriel is just a click away—whether through his Twitter handle @FalconOfFinance, his YouTube channel, or a direct call to his team. This episode is a treasure trove of financial acumen that promises to chart a course for prosperity.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hey folks, welcome back to the growing Lean podcast
sponsored by Lean DiscoveryGroup, an award-winning software
and app development firm basedout of Virginia.
This is your host, dylan Burke,also known as Deege, and I'm
happy to be here today withGabriel Shahin, founder and
principal at Falcon WealthPlanning.
Welcome, gabriel.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Appreciate it.
Thanks for having me on.
This should be fun.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Yeah, thanks for your time.
So to get us started, can youtell us a little bit about your
history and background and whatled you to starting Falcon
Wealth?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, I mean really my history comes just someone
always been passionate aboutfinance and accounting entered
the industry in 2003 at a bignational bank with my education
my undergraduate in business.
I went into the investmentindustry specifically investment
industry, in 2009 where I wasin a previous national bank I
(01:03):
was just referring out.
They called me a financialspecialist at that point.
I wanted to be the person thatthey refer to and so 2009
started that.
And then probably a good careermove I made was at TD
Ameritrade in 2010 when reallythat's really what opened up my
eyes.
So I did the broker dealerworld, the wire house world and
(01:26):
then the discount broker worldwas really nice.
I got to work with some of thetop registered investment
advisory firms in the country.
So it was really cool to dothat and it just trained me to
just talk to hundreds of peoplea day, just pounding the phones,
to appreciate a good qualityperson to help and really what
brought me to working andcreating Falcon Wealth Planning?
(01:48):
I worked in an RA before.
It wasn't a good cultural fit,so I wanted to create something
where really we are in controlof our destiny, just have a good
family culture.
We call it the Falcon familyover here and I really feel a
good fit is just people who wantto help people, and that's who
we are, that's who I am, that'show the firm is and just
something that's innate in youjust wanting to help people.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Okay, that's awesome.
I love the passion you've gotfor this, and can you walk us
through your overall strategyfor the business?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, we're fee only.
So we're fee only,non-commission firms.
So we are independent.
We have no broker dealeraffiliation.
Our client assets we're at TDSchwaben Fidelity now just
Schwaben Fidelity.
We have a couple othercustodians as well, but those
are the two main ones.
So we can really the easy partabout what we do is managing
money.
In the investment side.
(02:39):
We can choose any investmentexcuse me, in the investment
universe.
So that part is pretty simple.
The fun part of our job isgetting to know our clients and
how we can help them.
So our strong emphasis in taxplanning is going to be huge for
them, Because most firms outthere say they cannot talk to a,
they cannot provide tax advice.
They say, please consult withthe tax advisor.
Well, we are that tax advisor.
It helps have a CPA on board,tax professionals on board, and
(03:03):
so that really what separates us.
So our goal with our clients isto help increase not just our
investment portfolio but theiroverall net worth.
So, unlike other firms outthere, we may say, hey, take
half a million dollars, go buyrental property because through
that depreciation can offsetincome that you're getting
positive on the other properties.
I mean really that's tax free$30, $40,000 a year that you
(03:24):
just created and so now that, ofcourse, assumes all cash.
Then you talk about debtmanagement.
Obviously, interest rateenvironment is different
conversation for three years agoto three months ago.
But that's really the fun partis catering everything we do to
help our clients increase theiroverall net worth.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
I love that, and that's something everyone wants
to do.
You're talking my language,talking about tax loopholes.
I guess I love that.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Loopholes.
Sometimes they're there.
Sometimes that could be a grayarea, but, like a backdoor, roth
IRA contributions to loopholeseverybody does it.
It's very logical.
You should do it.
If you're not, if it'sapplicable to you.
We just know the tax codebetter than most tax
professionals out there in theindustry, even the person we
brought on board for 25experience.
(04:16):
He came on board like wow.
He jokes saying I lost respectfor my industry after knowing
what you guys know and how toincorporate it.
So it's just been a fantasticmodel.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah, that's amazing.
What is your typical clientlook like?
I assume it varies from whatthey do, but in terms of what
they are, in terms of income,what level of income is your
typical client?
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Yeah, I guess there's three answers to that.
One the business owner, becausethere's so many tax strategies
you can help with.
Another is just simple higherincome people, people who feel
they pay too much in taxes.
Now, that's relative it couldbe 100,000 for people in
Tennessee versus 300,000somebody in California.
Then the last one, which seemsto be a good one, is engineers.
(05:09):
Because we're not selling crap,because we're not selling like
commissioned products andengineers always read through
everything and like I'm notgoing to buy this.
Historically, our industrydoesn't like engineers.
We're faking what we love.
Engineers because with us wesell brain and engineers
historically have good brains.
So good brains appreciate goodbrains.
So they become really goodclients because they see the
(05:30):
value and, quite frankly,they're smart enough to
appreciate the value and therecommendations that we have.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Okay, that's awesome, I see.
I'd also think that engineersare.
They've got a solid income, astable income, so that's good
for them and for you.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Absolutely, especially if you're going to
have an emphasis in tax planning, for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Yeah, exactly.
You've been around for abouteight years now with the
business.
How have you adapted to changesin the world and the economy,
Most notably the pandemic?
How did you and your businessadapt to that?
How did you then overcome thatchallenge?
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yeah.
So it was probably aboutFebruary.
We realized, hey, this worldmight be shutting down here
early.
I was actually one of the firstpeople to get COVID here in
Southern California, so, but youknow it was just a bad flu.
There's only way I can explainit.
But long story short, we adaptedinto Zoom Enterprise very early
on and so we started doing Zoommeetings in February, before
(06:33):
the shutdown happened in March.
So back then 99% of ourmeetings were done in person.
Now, to this day, not only 100%of our meetings were virtual,
but to this day they're doneabout 80% virtual still.
So people just now value time alittle bit better.
Instead of driving 20 minutesto us both ways, 40 minutes for
(06:54):
an hour meeting, 16 minutemeeting, they're like you know
what, let's just do it on Zoom.
So we've adapted a lot oftechnology for that, yes, zoom,
we've incorporated other waysthat we've incorporated
technology Through screensharing and other systems in use
.
So it's been fantastic, so muchso, where we've been able to
service clients now nationwide.
Not only do we have multipleoffices across the country, but
(07:16):
we literally service nationwide.
So we've seen very littleeffect now from before to now
just because we're such earlyadapters where other firms were
not even knowing what to do.
We're literally just pushingoff the meetings.
We were there and how perfectwas that when the market was
going to smash in the face ofMarch and April.
(07:36):
And then we're coming in here,still prospecting, double down
on marketing, to say, hey,listen, what are you guys doing?
Your advisor is saying I can'tmeet with you because of COVID,
and we're over here saying, hey,let's rock and roll.
We can do a full engagedmeeting, all interactive.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
That's amazing.
I love to get that.
Would you say you are betteroff now than you were before the
pandemic because you've gotaccess to the whole nation
instead of just a specificregion.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Yeah, I mean probably since March of 2020, we're
probably grew 5X, so we'reprobably five times the size and
staff and clients and assets,probably eight times the revenue
.
So, yeah, are we better off?
(08:27):
Absolutely, because now we can,you know.
Imagine this, dylan.
Imagine going to a bar to pickup somebody.
Right, you wanna go on a date,you can just.
You just are limited towhoever's at the bar, or you can
go on eHarmony or whatever sitethat you want and you have the
whole world to choose from.
And you ask me.
(08:48):
I just came back and they hadlike a dating show game and they
asked newlyweds, people married10 to 25 years and people the
oldest people in the crowd Ithink it was like 45 years they
were married and they asked likethree or four people prior to
that to see who's coming on.
And all of them met online.
So, yeah, I think it's muchbetter presence for us that we
have nationwide exposure.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Yeah, 100%.
And this whole virtual worldhas changed from my life as well
, because I had the option ofchoosing a job within Cape Town,
south Africa, unless I wantedto move somewhere.
And then, like, this wholevirtual world came about and I
had access to jobs in the States, in the UK, in Australia, and
(09:32):
it just opened my world.
Because I'm working for anAmerican company now and they're
getting a good deal on mebecause of the currency
arbitrage.
It's a good deal for me as wellbecause of the currency
arbitrage, so it's a win-win forall of us and I think it's
giving access to so much morethan we had before and I think
that's the most important thing.
(09:55):
It's really cool.
It's a kind of silver liningthat came from the pandemic.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Well, because we became so good at this, we now
have people 350 miles away.
We opened headquarters inChicago, we have people in
Minnesota open office in Arizona.
I mean just a couple of weeksago, a week ago.
So yeah, I mean it's just, ifyou have figured out how you can
communicate with people,maintain the culture of the firm
(10:22):
and, most important thing, getthe job done.
Like, why not South Africa?
Why stop there?
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Exactly, exactly.
And then more recently, with AIcoming into the mainstream, how
have you, if you have it all,how have you made use of these
new tools that have come tomarket that make work so much
quicker, easier, faster, yeah?
Speaker 2 (10:50):
it's probably changed the way we've operated, from
getting 100 leads a month to1000 leads a month.
It's all through automation,it's all through AI, so it could
be automated emails, automatedtexts, automated calls,
automated reminders.
I mean we get what 1000 leads amonth translates to 300
meetings a month.
(11:11):
Well, we still have our regularreview meetings, onboarding
meetings, prospect meetings, soevery week we have 250 to 300
meetings.
So we just have a receptionistsending email reminders with
links, with locations, withtimes, with everything.
Now all AI, and so we wouldprobably need two or three
people just to do thosereminders, where now we have
(11:31):
everything through AI.
We have an internal joke here atFalconMode Planning, we call
ourselves a tech company morethan a financial planning firm,
Because our investments are soeasy, because we could just
choose the best investment.
So it's quite simple.
But it's the way we're growingin scale which is insane, and so
our goal over the year is about30 to 40% growth year of year.
Last year we grew at 70%.
(11:53):
So but why Well the markethelped?
Right?
We don't incorporate the markethelping in our growth, unlike
other firms.
We know the value we provide.
We know that we're theprettiest girl at the bar.
We know we have a brain and weknow we're honest and loyal, so
it's very easy for us to gainrelationships.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Yeah, 100%.
And with that passion andideology, I can only see you
growing from strength tostrength, because you're
obviously taking innovation andmaking it the forefront of your
business, and I think that issuper important, especially
today, when everything is sosaturated there's so many
businesses popping up everywhere.
You've got to stay innovativeand you're doing that.
(12:31):
That's epic.
I appreciate that.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Yeah, are there any specific tools that you make use
of that you can mention, likeAI tools or just tools in
general yeah, zap's, zap's,zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,
zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,
zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,zap's, Zap's.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,
zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,
zap's, zap's, zap's.
What's your favorite technology?
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Xopus in thebrand and in your daily SaaS Zaps, zap's,
zap's, zap's, zap's, 어야, zap'speople on board, finding enough
people to match the, the growththat we're doing.
So we almost have to hire inadvance.
I mean, you got to think we'reprobably bringing on four to 500
clients a year, so that'salmost like two or three
(13:47):
advisors that get full everyyear.
You know, sometimes even more.
So you know, people for us iseverything and we value our
people.
We're very slow to hire becausewe're fast to fire.
You know, or rather we want tobe very specific on who we bring
(14:07):
on board.
We have to fit the culture ofthe firm.
So I interview every singleperson that comes on board,
whether they work with medirectly or not.
I think culture is everything.
We just need good people.
Good people, dylan, no goodpeople 100%.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
I couldn't agree more on that.
And just back to a point thatyou said earlier you said you
had 70% growth last year.
Do you think that a recessionmakes people more inclined to
seek out a service like yours?
Speaker 2 (14:37):
That's my thought.
It's worked well Every time themarket drops we do very well.
So I just double down inmarketing and it seems to give
us a higher ROI than just thenon double down on marketing.
I think people realize it'svery easy to make money when
everything is going up.
I mean, wall Street has provedthat in the 90s with the blind
monkey throwing darts at a stockthat outperform your analysts,
(15:00):
right.
So it's when the people getpunched in the face, when
they're like, oh wow, I needhelp, and I think that's
something people don't realize.
How can you make money when themarket's dropping?
Or how can you stop thebleeding?
What do you do?
Or what do you buy now?
Right, because you don't wantto sell low, but then you're not
acting, you're not doinganything.
So no strategy is something thatis extremely normal for most
(15:22):
people, most novice investors.
Yet again easy to make money.
Nobody likes to lose.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Exactly, exactly.
And what are the KPIs that youuse to measure the success of
your business and of yourclients?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
I mean.
So the short answer is you know, through our system we like
tracking the net worth, right?
So net worth is everything.
Hey, your markets have droppedand obviously we have our own
benchmarks and so on and soforth that we compare their
investment portfolios to.
But I think, at the end of theday, measuring net worth is
important and still making surethey're on track for retirement,
because the thing that freaksthe people out the most is when
(16:01):
markets drop.
What do they do?
And they don't want to buyanymore.
They say I can't lose any moremoney.
It's like okay, well, I'll giveyou an example, specific example
, from one of our top clients,one of our favorite clients, my
own friends at this point.
He worked at Boeing.
He goes my portfolio cannot gounder $2 million.
It just can't.
If so, you have to sell.
And I was like not only are wenot gonna sell, but we're gonna
(16:23):
buy more, and so it's justhaving them understand.
So sometimes you need thatpassion, that confidence, that
experience to let them know.
And now this person's gonna bea client for life.
They got over $4 million.
Because here's the thing youcan't just get right once.
If you sell, you have to getright twice someone to rebuy and
the thing is that personalready got it wrong.
He was gonna sell while themarket dropped.
(16:43):
My whole point is what's therisk to investing Losing money?
Well, you just lost, okay.
Well what's the benefit ofinvesting To make money?
Risk reward If you took therisk, you better get ready for
the reward.
That's why people high riskBecause we are the professional
slap in the face, and I'm verycomfortable to slap people in
the face when they need it.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
I love that attitude Reminds me of one of my former
bosses.
Actually, he would I was inreal estate before this and the
client would say, listen, lance,I want to sell for this much.
And he would literally tellthem to go F themselves.
It was like you're not gonnaget that.
Call me when you're ready tosell for a realistic price.
And then call them the next dayand be like, okay, let's do it.
(17:27):
And I think that's the attitudeyou need to be the best in the
business.
I love that.
Yeah we know they don't.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
That's why they're here, exactly.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
And if we were to sit down in, let's say, 12 to 24
months and everything that haspossibly gone right, that
everything that could have goneright for you, has gone right,
what does your business looklike then, and what has changed?
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Yeah, good question.
So I measure us by the assetsunder management and so our
conservative goal is about 1.2billion by the end of this year,
which would be pretty much,almost pretty much a 50% growth
as well.
But if everything goes right,probably opening up five
additional locations in the EastCoast, ideally bringing on
(18:20):
experienced advisors over there,having one of our people become
a one of a managing partner aswell, so they can manage that
office and just profits marginin the 15 to 20% range and just
our advisors all making reallygood money, because I want all
(18:43):
of our people to succeed.
So by being able to increaseeverybody's pay and I mean,
listen, they all do fine, but weall want to be finer, and so if
they see Falcon all of a suddenat 10 to 15% margin, maybe even
20% margin, well I thinkeverybody should win, not just
the owner.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Exactly.
I love that and I'm sure you'regoing to achieve that as well.
So, before we go, what advicewould you like to give to other
business owners looking tosucceed in this ever-changing
world, as well as like an advicefor the average individual
looking to invest and save?
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Yeah, I mean for, like an advisor or entrepreneur
or business owner, I would sayyou know, be be passionate about
this.
I mean, money's gonna come.
I can't imagine anybody withsubstantial net worth and
success Did it just for themoney.
They did it because they wantto make a difference.
They really felt they were thebest and can make an impact.
Money will follow.
(19:46):
Talk to a significant other.
You need a support system.
I think that's extremelyimportant.
I could have done this,worrying about my spouse saying
when are you gonna come home?
I mean, she knew that I wasworking my butt off.
I think, also knowing thatyou're gonna lose people on the
way, I think you got to becomfortable with that, and that
goes personally andprofessionally.
As you double in size, probablyHalf the leadership won't be
(20:09):
there and let alone probablyhalf your friends won't.
Everybody wants you to besuccessful, deal.
Nobody just wants you moresuccessful than that.
That's very fine.
So just be aware of people.
It's gonna be hard for peopleto relate to what you're doing,
especially if you're not makingmoney early on.
And lastly, just don't forgetto pay yourself.
You know you can't be soblinded by the vision and and
(20:32):
goal where you're bankruptingthe company.
At the end of the day, you needto make sure that it's not a
nonprofit and it's a for-profitentity, and you got to make sure
that you're getting paid,because it's hard to be
passionate when there's no foodon the table 100%.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
I appreciate that.
Thank you and Gabriel, thankyou so much for your time today
and for being on the show.
What is the best way for peopleto get in touch with Gabriel
Shaheen, if you have any offersfor them, if they're looking to
Get some financial advice or ifthey're just looking to follow
your journey?
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Yeah, I mean they can follow me on Twitter, falcon of
finance, or just type inGabriel Shaheen.
I reached out through emailinfo at falcon, wpcom, which
stands for Falcon wealthplanning, our website, the
falcon wealth planning comm, aswell.
We have a fantastic YouTubechannel as well.
A lot of information, knowledgeon there, almost a million
(21:25):
views in less than a year.
So just it's kind of me justgoing up there, same passion,
just trying to help people out,give them advice that know that
people it's comfortable to give.
And yeah, phone number reachout to the office 855 963 2526.
That's 855 96 Falcon.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Amazing.
Thank you so much, gabriel.
Absolutely, this was a pleasure.
That was awesome.
I appreciate it so much.
Hey folks, welcome back to the growing Lean podcast
sponsored by Lean DiscoveryGroup, an award-winning software
and app development firm basedout of Virginia.
This is your host, dylan Burke,also known as Deege, and I'm
happy to be here today withGabriel Shahin, founder and
principal at Falcon WealthPlanning.
Welcome, gabriel.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Appreciate it.
Thanks for having me on.
This should be fun.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
Yeah, thanks for your time.
So to get us started, can youtell us a little bit about your
history and background and whatled you to starting Falcon
Wealth?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, I mean really my history comes just someone
always been passionate aboutfinance and accounting entered
the industry in 2003 at a bignational bank with my education
my undergraduate in business.
I went into the investmentindustry specifically investment
industry, in 2009 where I wasin a previous national bank I
(01:03):
was just referring out.
They called me a financialspecialist at that point.
I wanted to be the person thatthey refer to and so 2009
started that.
And then probably a good careermove I made was at TD
Ameritrade in 2010 when reallythat's really what opened up my
eyes.
So I did the broker dealerworld, the wire house world and
(01:26):
then the discount broker worldwas really nice.
I got to work with some of thetop registered investment
advisory firms in the country.
So it was really cool to dothat and it just trained me to
just talk to hundreds of peoplea day, just pounding the phones,
to appreciate a good qualityperson to help and really what
brought me to working andcreating Falcon Wealth Planning?
(01:48):
I worked in an RA before.
It wasn't a good cultural fit,so I wanted to create something
where really we are in controlof our destiny, just have a good
family culture.
We call it the Falcon familyover here and I really feel a
good fit is just people who wantto help people, and that's who
we are, that's who I am, that'show the firm is and just
something that's innate in youjust wanting to help people.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Okay, that's awesome.
I love the passion you've gotfor this, and can you walk us
through your overall strategyfor the business?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, we're fee only.
So we're fee only,non-commission firms.
So we are independent.
We have no broker dealeraffiliation.
Our client assets we're at TDSchwaben Fidelity now just
Schwaben Fidelity.
We have a couple othercustodians as well, but those
are the two main ones.
So we can really the easy partabout what we do is managing
money.
In the investment side.
(02:39):
We can choose any investmentexcuse me, in the investment
universe.
So that part is pretty simple.
The fun part of our job isgetting to know our clients and
how we can help them.
So our strong emphasis in taxplanning is going to be huge for
them, Because most firms outthere say they cannot talk to a,
they cannot provide tax advice.
They say, please consult withthe tax advisor.
Well, we are that tax advisor.
It helps have a CPA on board,tax professionals on board, and
(03:03):
so that really what separates us.
So our goal with our clients isto help increase not just our
investment portfolio but theiroverall net worth.
So, unlike other firms outthere, we may say, hey, take
half a million dollars, go buyrental property because through
that depreciation can offsetincome that you're getting
positive on the other properties.
I mean really that's tax free$30, $40,000 a year that you
(03:24):
just created and so now that, ofcourse, assumes all cash.
Then you talk about debtmanagement.
Obviously, interest rateenvironment is different
conversation for three years agoto three months ago.
But that's really the fun partis catering everything we do to
help our clients increase theiroverall net worth.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
I love that, and that's something everyone wants
to do.
You're talking my language,talking about tax loopholes.
I guess I love that.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Loopholes.
Sometimes they're there.
Sometimes that could be a grayarea, but, like a backdoor, roth
IRA contributions to loopholeseverybody does it.
It's very logical.
You should do it.
If you're not, if it'sapplicable to you.
We just know the tax codebetter than most tax
professionals out there in theindustry, even the person we
brought on board for 25experience.
(04:16):
He came on board like wow.
He jokes saying I lost respectfor my industry after knowing
what you guys know and how toincorporate it.
So it's just been a fantasticmodel.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah, that's amazing.
What is your typical clientlook like?
I assume it varies from whatthey do, but in terms of what
they are, in terms of income,what level of income is your
typical client?
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Yeah, I guess there's three answers to that.
One the business owner, becausethere's so many tax strategies
you can help with.
Another is just simple higherincome people, people who feel
they pay too much in taxes.
Now, that's relative it couldbe 100,000 for people in
Tennessee versus 300,000somebody in California.
Then the last one, which seemsto be a good one, is engineers.
(05:09):
Because we're not selling crap,because we're not selling like
commissioned products andengineers always read through
everything and like I'm notgoing to buy this.
Historically, our industrydoesn't like engineers.
We're faking what we love.
Engineers because with us wesell brain and engineers
historically have good brains.
So good brains appreciate goodbrains.
So they become really goodclients because they see the
(05:30):
value and, quite frankly,they're smart enough to
appreciate the value and therecommendations that we have.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Okay, that's awesome, I see.
I'd also think that engineersare.
They've got a solid income, astable income, so that's good
for them and for you.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Absolutely, especially if you're going to
have an emphasis in tax planning, for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Yeah, exactly.
You've been around for abouteight years now with the
business.
How have you adapted to changesin the world and the economy,
Most notably the pandemic?
How did you and your businessadapt to that?
How did you then overcome thatchallenge?
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yeah.
So it was probably aboutFebruary.
We realized, hey, this worldmight be shutting down here
early.
I was actually one of the firstpeople to get COVID here in
Southern California, so, but youknow it was just a bad flu.
There's only way I can explainit.
But long story short, we adaptedinto Zoom Enterprise very early
on and so we started doing Zoommeetings in February, before
(06:33):
the shutdown happened in March.
So back then 99% of ourmeetings were done in person.
Now, to this day, not only 100%of our meetings were virtual,
but to this day they're doneabout 80% virtual still.
So people just now value time alittle bit better.
Instead of driving 20 minutesto us both ways, 40 minutes for
(06:54):
an hour meeting, 16 minutemeeting, they're like you know
what, let's just do it on Zoom.
So we've adapted a lot oftechnology for that, yes, zoom,
we've incorporated other waysthat we've incorporated
technology Through screensharing and other systems in use
.
So it's been fantastic, so muchso, where we've been able to
service clients now nationwide.
Not only do we have multipleoffices across the country, but
(07:16):
we literally service nationwide.
So we've seen very littleeffect now from before to now
just because we're such earlyadapters where other firms were
not even knowing what to do.
We're literally just pushingoff the meetings.
We were there and how perfectwas that when the market was
going to smash in the face ofMarch and April.
(07:36):
And then we're coming in here,still prospecting, double down
on marketing, to say, hey,listen, what are you guys doing?
Your advisor is saying I can'tmeet with you because of COVID,
and we're over here saying, hey,let's rock and roll.
We can do a full engagedmeeting, all interactive.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
That's amazing.
I love to get that.
Would you say you are betteroff now than you were before the
pandemic because you've gotaccess to the whole nation
instead of just a specificregion.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Yeah, I mean probably since March of 2020, we're
probably grew 5X, so we'reprobably five times the size and
staff and clients and assets,probably eight times the revenue
.
So, yeah, are we better off?
(08:27):
Absolutely, because now we can,you know.
Imagine this, dylan.
Imagine going to a bar to pickup somebody.
Right, you wanna go on a date,you can just.
You just are limited towhoever's at the bar, or you can
go on eHarmony or whatever sitethat you want and you have the
whole world to choose from.
And you ask me.
(08:48):
I just came back and they hadlike a dating show game and they
asked newlyweds, people married10 to 25 years and people the
oldest people in the crowd Ithink it was like 45 years they
were married and they asked likethree or four people prior to
that to see who's coming on.
And all of them met online.
So, yeah, I think it's muchbetter presence for us that we
have nationwide exposure.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Yeah, 100%.
And this whole virtual worldhas changed from my life as well
, because I had the option ofchoosing a job within Cape Town,
south Africa, unless I wantedto move somewhere.
And then, like, this wholevirtual world came about and I
had access to jobs in the States, in the UK, in Australia, and
(09:32):
it just opened my world.
Because I'm working for anAmerican company now and they're
getting a good deal on mebecause of the currency
arbitrage.
It's a good deal for me as wellbecause of the currency
arbitrage, so it's a win-win forall of us and I think it's
giving access to so much morethan we had before and I think
that's the most important thing.
(09:55):
It's really cool.
It's a kind of silver liningthat came from the pandemic.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Well, because we became so good at this, we now
have people 350 miles away.
We opened headquarters inChicago, we have people in
Minnesota open office in Arizona.
I mean just a couple of weeksago, a week ago.
So yeah, I mean it's just, ifyou have figured out how you can
communicate with people,maintain the culture of the firm
(10:22):
and, most important thing, getthe job done.
Like, why not South Africa?
Why stop there?
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Exactly, exactly.
And then more recently, with AIcoming into the mainstream, how
have you, if you have it all,how have you made use of these
new tools that have come tomarket that make work so much
quicker, easier, faster, yeah?
Speaker 2 (10:50):
it's probably changed the way we've operated, from
getting 100 leads a month to1000 leads a month.
It's all through automation,it's all through AI, so it could
be automated emails, automatedtexts, automated calls,
automated reminders.
I mean we get what 1000 leads amonth translates to 300
meetings a month.
(11:11):
Well, we still have our regularreview meetings, onboarding
meetings, prospect meetings, soevery week we have 250 to 300
meetings.
So we just have a receptionistsending email reminders with
links, with locations, withtimes, with everything.
Now all AI, and so we wouldprobably need two or three
people just to do thosereminders, where now we have
(11:31):
everything through AI.
We have an internal joke here atFalconMode Planning, we call
ourselves a tech company morethan a financial planning firm,
Because our investments are soeasy, because we could just
choose the best investment.
So it's quite simple.
But it's the way we're growingin scale which is insane, and so
our goal over the year is about30 to 40% growth year of year.
Last year we grew at 70%.
(11:53):
So but why Well the markethelped?
Right?
We don't incorporate the markethelping in our growth, unlike
other firms.
We know the value we provide.
We know that we're theprettiest girl at the bar.
We know we have a brain and weknow we're honest and loyal, so
it's very easy for us to gainrelationships.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Yeah, 100%.
And with that passion andideology, I can only see you
growing from strength tostrength, because you're
obviously taking innovation andmaking it the forefront of your
business, and I think that issuper important, especially
today, when everything is sosaturated there's so many
businesses popping up everywhere.
You've got to stay innovativeand you're doing that.
(12:31):
That's epic.
I appreciate that.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Yeah, are there any specific tools that you make use
of that you can mention, likeAI tools or just tools in
general yeah, zap's, zap's,zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,
zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,
zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,zap's, Zap's.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,
zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,zap's, zap's, zap's, zap's,
zap's, zap's, zap's.
What's your favorite technology?
Speaker 2 (13:27):
Xopus in thebrand and in your daily SaaS Zaps, zap's,
zap's, zap's, zap's, 어야, zap'speople on board, finding enough
people to match the, the growththat we're doing.
So we almost have to hire inadvance.
I mean, you got to think we'reprobably bringing on four to 500
clients a year, so that'salmost like two or three
(13:47):
advisors that get full everyyear.
You know, sometimes even more.
So you know, people for us iseverything and we value our
people.
We're very slow to hire becausewe're fast to fire.
You know, or rather we want tobe very specific on who we bring
(14:07):
on board.
We have to fit the culture ofthe firm.
So I interview every singleperson that comes on board,
whether they work with medirectly or not.
I think culture is everything.
We just need good people.
Good people, dylan, no goodpeople 100%.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
I couldn't agree more on that.
And just back to a point thatyou said earlier you said you
had 70% growth last year.
Do you think that a recessionmakes people more inclined to
seek out a service like yours?
Speaker 2 (14:37):
That's my thought.
It's worked well Every time themarket drops we do very well.
So I just double down inmarketing and it seems to give
us a higher ROI than just thenon double down on marketing.
I think people realize it'svery easy to make money when
everything is going up.
I mean, wall Street has provedthat in the 90s with the blind
monkey throwing darts at a stockthat outperform your analysts,
(15:00):
right.
So it's when the people getpunched in the face, when
they're like, oh wow, I needhelp, and I think that's
something people don't realize.
How can you make money when themarket's dropping?
Or how can you stop thebleeding?
What do you do?
Or what do you buy now?
Right, because you don't wantto sell low, but then you're not
acting, you're not doinganything.
So no strategy is something thatis extremely normal for most
(15:22):
people, most novice investors.
Yet again easy to make money.
Nobody likes to lose.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Exactly, exactly.
And what are the KPIs that youuse to measure the success of
your business and of yourclients?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
I mean.
So the short answer is you know, through our system we like
tracking the net worth, right?
So net worth is everything.
Hey, your markets have droppedand obviously we have our own
benchmarks and so on and soforth that we compare their
investment portfolios to.
But I think, at the end of theday, measuring net worth is
important and still making surethey're on track for retirement,
because the thing that freaksthe people out the most is when
(16:01):
markets drop.
What do they do?
And they don't want to buyanymore.
They say I can't lose any moremoney.
It's like okay, well, I'll giveyou an example, specific example
, from one of our top clients,one of our favorite clients, my
own friends at this point.
He worked at Boeing.
He goes my portfolio cannot gounder $2 million.
It just can't.
If so, you have to sell.
And I was like not only are wenot gonna sell, but we're gonna
(16:23):
buy more, and so it's justhaving them understand.
So sometimes you need thatpassion, that confidence, that
experience to let them know.
And now this person's gonna bea client for life.
They got over $4 million.
Because here's the thing youcan't just get right once.
If you sell, you have to getright twice someone to rebuy and
the thing is that personalready got it wrong.
He was gonna sell while themarket dropped.
(16:43):
My whole point is what's therisk to investing Losing money?
Well, you just lost, okay.
Well what's the benefit ofinvesting To make money?
Risk reward If you took therisk, you better get ready for
the reward.
That's why people high riskBecause we are the professional
slap in the face, and I'm verycomfortable to slap people in
the face when they need it.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
I love that attitude Reminds me of one of my former
bosses.
Actually, he would I was inreal estate before this and the
client would say, listen, lance,I want to sell for this much.
And he would literally tellthem to go F themselves.
It was like you're not gonnaget that.
Call me when you're ready tosell for a realistic price.
And then call them the next dayand be like, okay, let's do it.
(17:27):
And I think that's the attitudeyou need to be the best in the
business.
I love that.
Yeah we know they don't.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
That's why they're here, exactly.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
And if we were to sit down in, let's say, 12 to 24
months and everything that haspossibly gone right, that
everything that could have goneright for you, has gone right,
what does your business looklike then, and what has changed?
Speaker 2 (17:57):
Yeah, good question.
So I measure us by the assetsunder management and so our
conservative goal is about 1.2billion by the end of this year,
which would be pretty much,almost pretty much a 50% growth
as well.
But if everything goes right,probably opening up five
additional locations in the EastCoast, ideally bringing on
(18:20):
experienced advisors over there,having one of our people become
a one of a managing partner aswell, so they can manage that
office and just profits marginin the 15 to 20% range and just
our advisors all making reallygood money, because I want all
(18:43):
of our people to succeed.
So by being able to increaseeverybody's pay and I mean,
listen, they all do fine, but weall want to be finer, and so if
they see Falcon all of a suddenat 10 to 15% margin, maybe even
20% margin, well I thinkeverybody should win, not just
the owner.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Exactly.
I love that and I'm sure you'regoing to achieve that as well.
So, before we go, what advicewould you like to give to other
business owners looking tosucceed in this ever-changing
world, as well as like an advicefor the average individual
looking to invest and save?
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Yeah, I mean for, like an advisor or entrepreneur
or business owner, I would sayyou know, be be passionate about
this.
I mean, money's gonna come.
I can't imagine anybody withsubstantial net worth and
success Did it just for themoney.
They did it because they wantto make a difference.
They really felt they were thebest and can make an impact.
Money will follow.
(19:46):
Talk to a significant other.
You need a support system.
I think that's extremelyimportant.
I could have done this,worrying about my spouse saying
when are you gonna come home?
I mean, she knew that I wasworking my butt off.
I think, also knowing thatyou're gonna lose people on the
way, I think you got to becomfortable with that, and that
goes personally andprofessionally.
As you double in size, probablyHalf the leadership won't be
(20:09):
there and let alone probablyhalf your friends won't.
Everybody wants you to besuccessful, deal.
Nobody just wants you moresuccessful than that.
That's very fine.
So just be aware of people.
It's gonna be hard for peopleto relate to what you're doing,
especially if you're not makingmoney early on.
And lastly, just don't forgetto pay yourself.
You know you can't be soblinded by the vision and and
(20:32):
goal where you're bankruptingthe company.
At the end of the day, you needto make sure that it's not a
nonprofit and it's a for-profitentity, and you got to make sure
that you're getting paid,because it's hard to be
passionate when there's no foodon the table 100%.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
I appreciate that.
Thank you and Gabriel, thankyou so much for your time today
and for being on the show.
What is the best way for peopleto get in touch with Gabriel
Shaheen, if you have any offersfor them, if they're looking to
Get some financial advice or ifthey're just looking to follow
your journey?
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Yeah, I mean they can follow me on Twitter, falcon of
finance, or just type inGabriel Shaheen.
I reached out through emailinfo at falcon, wpcom, which
stands for Falcon wealthplanning, our website, the
falcon wealth planning comm, aswell.
We have a fantastic YouTubechannel as well.
A lot of information, knowledgeon there, almost a million
(21:25):
views in less than a year.
So just it's kind of me justgoing up there, same passion,
just trying to help people out,give them advice that know that
people it's comfortable to give.
And yeah, phone number reachout to the office 855 963 2526.
That's 855 96 Falcon.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Amazing.
Thank you so much, gabriel.
Absolutely, this was a pleasure.
That was awesome.
I appreciate it so much.
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