Who I am Twenty years ago the mother of my daughters asked me why I chose a career in the financial industry. She was trying to figure out what about my job brought any amount of joy or personal satisfaction within a field that I often described as a rat race. I stumbled on my answer for a few moments before giving her the simplest and truest response: I like to help people. I like to help people plan for their future. I like to help parents with special needs children. I like to help other entrepreneurs build empires while chasing their dreams. I like to help. That’s who I am at my core and that desire is what drives every client interaction I have. That’s who I am and why I do what I do. I was born and raised in the midwest and bounced around schools during the hardest time in life to bounce from school to school. The first company I ever created as a mere preteen in middle school was created to sell hats to my peers. If I had to gauge the success of that company, I would have to admit I don’t think I would have made it onto Shark Tank. From the ages of 12 to 32, I opened up and started several products/companies. Some were moderately successful in the sense that I didn’t technically lose money, and others were outright fails. But the common denominator was always this: an idea and a willingness to do whatever it took to attempt to succeed. While still in college, I started a construction company that was successful, and a natural supplement company that was not so successful. I even tried my hand at helping my first wife cultivate a wedding planning company that was also not successful. After college, I started an insurance company, an investment firm, a financial planning firm, a publishing firm and business consulting firm. And while those post collegiate adventures were successful, they weren’t enough because they weren’t the right kind of enough. Regardless of the failures, or the successes both small and big, I am an entrepreneur at heart with a heart to help. Where I’ve been Over the course of my career in the finance industry the way I have helped people has shifted from a full menu of financial services designed to support everyone to a more tailored and specific approach designed to advise entrepreneurs and executives. While I began my career working for big box wealth management companies with clients looking to plan for retirement, college savings, wealth accumulation and much more today my companies provide a specialized ecosystem where clients can receive advice that integrates personal and business planning. In 2016 I took the biggest leap of my professional (and quite frankly, my personal) life and started my next company so that everything this company would do, would be with the goal of helping people in mind. I turned what started out as a job into a true passion and a calling. November 1st 2016 Horizon Ridge Wealth Management was born out of a dream, a small office with an incredibly high rent, two computers, and pure unadulterated drive. Sleep would wait because dreams would not. When the pandemic hit, like many small business owners I was unsure if my little brick and mortar would survive. But just like I advise my clients, shoot for the best and plan for the worst. Our pivot allowed us to not only survive, but to thrive. Out of the proverbial ashes came the new fire: an idea to help those with the most complex problems by turning complexity into simplicity. Entrepreneur Advising. And so we rebranded, spun off companies, and honed our craft to serve those entrepreneurs that wanted to leave a positive impact on their communities and a legacy for their families. Now I would be helping people, help people. What I do Today I run multiple companies that provide a variety of business and financial advising, but all with the same original goal of simply helping people. Within every brand, and every business plan, the core is this: how will we create avenues for our clients to reach their goals? How do we simplify our client’s most complex issues? Will our clients walk away with tools and resources to plan for their futures? Can we increase the number of successful business exits? We think the answer, to each of these questions, is YES. C-Suite Planning™ works with active and retired entrepreneurs and executive clients to build tailored financial plans designed to overcome obstacles and explore opportunities for decades to come. Our team focuses on supporting our clients across four specific areas of advice: Executive Financial Planning, Exit Planning, Divorce Financial Planning, and Special Needs Financial Planning. Different Investments™ provides clients with active investment management through the combination of traditional investments (i.e. stocks and bonds) and alternative investments (i.e. real estate, oil & gas, clean energy, private equity/debt, and hedge funds). Our team believes our proprietary active research leads to active return designed to minimize risk and optimize return. The team at Value Creation Consultancy™ supports business owners interested in creating value within their business, amongst their employees, and across their communities. To accomplish this the team uses a proprietary process known as the Value Creation Assessment to assess the strengths and weaknesses in order to complete an enterprise valuation. Then through Value Creation Consulting and the Value Creation Network our team of in-house and external consultants work to increase revenues, profits, and enterprise value - each of which are critical in achieving a successful future exit.