Authenticity & who we are.
Today is July 20th. It is about a hundred degrees outside and the berries are all in peak season and begging to be picked. The kids are red-faced and sweaty from playing outside and just came in clamoring for ice cream (which I may have accidentally eaten. All of it. Hello COVID 19). Life is different than it was just a few short months ago and we are all trying to make it through the difficulty with our sanity, and our health, intact.
This time has been especially difficult for small businesses all across the country who have had to shut down or slow to a crawl the last few months. We are fortunate that our business is strong, our clients are loyal, and the safety and security Jeremy offers has been tried and proven its worth through this volatile time. That having been said, these last few months have not left us personally untouched by the overall climate of fear, lack of control, and general unease permeating every corner of our collective lives.
As a small and independent financial advising company, we have always emphasized the personal and unique individual attention we give our clients. Without a large corporate conglomerate telling us how to help, we have the freedom to respond quickly and efficiently especially in the difficult months of this pandemic. We are grateful that we were able to choose early on to work hard to help each other, our clients, and our community in any way that we could.
Jeremy received his Masters’ degree in counseling before becoming a financial advisor, and it is part of what makes our company unique. We believe that any advice, even financial, cannot be given in a vacuum. When we say we offer Comprehensive Financial Advice, “comprehensive” refers not only to the wide array of financial planning and advice Jeremy has to offer, but also the truly wholistic approach we give to every situation that walks through our door. Jeremy is incredibly competent and knowledgeable around the world of retirement, social security, and financial advising, but it is that expertise along with his capacity to listen and genuinely approach each unique individual that make that advice and knowledge as effective and relevant as it is. He works to know his clients and their goals and dreams so that he can help them make the financial decisions that will enable them to live fulfilled and authentic lives.
This approach is mirrored with our employees, clients, and local community. It has been even more essential in the past few months as we have struggled as a community to find hope, humor, and positivity amidst a great deal of uncertainty and suffering. Our question from the very beginning was, how can we help? What are our unique skills as a company and as individuals that we can bring to this situation? What do our employees need? What do our clients need? And what does our community need? It became very clear that, although we were continuing to offer trusted financial advice and secure investment options amidst the volatility, we could also offer a little relief in other ways as well.
We knew it was unusual for a financial advising company to make silly videos instead of those riveting educational documentaries on the history of the ERISA rules of 1930, but we wanted to make a few people smile.
We knew mothers’ day flowers had nothing to do with required minimum distributions or ETF’s, but we did it anyway because we wanted to help moms’ know their worth.
We understood that it seemed odd we were promoting all the restaurants and retail stores and local businesses in our community instead of our latest and greatest portfolio (which is fantastic by the way) but wanted to use any platform we could to encourage our fellow businesses and others to support one another.
We have focused on taking care of each other, and we will continue to take care of each other regardless of what it costs us. This is exactly the same way that Jeremy listens and offers advice in the best interest of his clients regardless of what it costs him. It is who he is as a person, advisor, and business owner.
So to those of you wondering why a financial advising company is making silly videos, flower giveaways, welcome back cookies, and putting so much effort into events happening in our local community. The answer is because this is who we are. We are a company and people rooted in connection, creativity, and humor who recognize that we can use our unique gifts to respond to the need we see around us, and we do not hesitate.
Granted it has not been easy and we have spent plenty of time in our office dreaming about a better time filled with parties and theater, sporting events and mask-less faces. However, we are grateful. We are grateful for our employees and their unwavering loyalty, passion, and creativity in the midst of extremely choppy waters, we are grateful to our clients for sending us notes of encouragement and kindness and for trusting us with their financial futures, and we are grateful to our community for being a welcoming place of generosity and fearlessness.
If you want to be part of what we do, give us a call and set up a time to chat with Jeremy. You won’t be disappointed and we would love to have you aboard.
