As mentioned before, this career is a calling for me. It is my mission field. I can pour into people’s lives by giving them the financial guidance and education they need and are looking for. What we do at Westshore Financial makes an impact. It lowers our clients’ stress about money, it improves marriages, it cares for children spanning multiple generations, and it changes lives. It's unfortunate that most people do not know, nor have they been taught, how to save money and pay themselves first. One of the main things I do with all my clients is first educate them on how to effectively manage cash flow, so that saving money becomes easy and unconscious. This is where the light bulb comes on and they begin to feel empowered about changing and improving their financial landscape. My favorite part is being a force for good and educating people. When doing so, they are pleasantly surprised and therefore enthusiastic to work with me and refer me to others.

The ability to speak to clients in a way that allows them to feel valued and comfortable talking about a very emotional and private topic. I try to be very genuine which puts clients at ease and allows them to open up in ways they normally wouldn't feel comfortable doing. They know I am there first and foremost to take care of them and that gives them comfort. My clients know that I have a vested interest in their success and I’m willing to get into the trenches with them. From a business perspective, our firm is process driven, not product focused, and that’s what I teach my clients also. That allows me to be an objective voice in their life and focus on being an advocate for them in many ways. Lastly, and most importantly, you need to be persistent in following up with people. Everyone is busy and while personal finance is critical, often it doesn’t seem urgent, so you have to stick with people and in some cases hold them accountable to help them get where they say they want to go.

Realizing that our firm and sister agencies across the country are filled with good people. I expected most of them to be greedy salespeople that are in it for themselves, but surprisingly, it’s the opposite. It has given me hope. It’s showed me that I am not alone in this fight. The people here at Westshore Financial really do want to help others and it shows in the good work they do every day.

It would be the same advice I give all my clients today. Protect your family and become financially bulletproof to the best of your ability, be a world-class saver - saving at least 20% of gross household income, and put your free cashflow to work for you to create multiple cashflow engines. Develop a strategy to reduce and ultimately eliminate your debt while maintaining a healthy cashflow and don’t be so quick to give your cashflow away to your creditors, pay yourself first. Lastly, don’t have lazy or stagnant money on your balance sheet (money just sitting in checking/savings accounts earning nothing). If we had done that 10 years ago, we would be exponentially further ahead financially as a family. I also would have gotten into this industry sooner. Truth be told, I felt the call back in 2007, but I intentionally avoided it. I should have been more obedient, but God in His patience had a bigger plan for me - it just took me a little while to figure that out!

With all the visibility I’m now getting from the work I have done for various clients these past few years, I think my practice is on an exponential growth track and will probably triple within the next five years. That will include me adding more staff and possibly some other financial advisors on my team, depending on how I grow. More importantly, I see my passion for this business and for the people I serve to continue to expand as well. The beauty of this business for me is that it forces me trust God more than ever and not rely on me trying to “make things happen” as I always did over my career. I understand that it’s not about me, it’s about being part of something greater than yourself. You will never truly know what the future of your business is going to look like and I don’t try to force it to look a certain way. Because of that, I trust in the Lord and He has come through every single time. I really don’t have to worry, even though sometimes I find myself doing that. I can say that I truly have a real sense of peace regarding the direction of my life and the calling He has given me in this industry. This career has not only allowed me to have a significant impact in the lives of hundreds of people and organizations, but it has also made a huge impact on mine as well.