Why I Started Coffee & Compounding
Wealth, business strategy, and thinking long-term - one cup at a time.
The Things That Never Change
Death, taxes, and a cup of a coffee in the morning. The first is inevitable, the second preventable, and the third a matter of preference.
My morning weapon of choice is a drip coffee, medium roast, with a heavy splash of half and half. More specifically, beans sourced from Costa Rica and roasted from a craft coffee shop. I have my wife, Grace, to credit for my taste in the finer things in life.
We all have limited constants in our life, things that never change. Yet we walk around like we just discovered fire yesterday, anxious and afraid. People we love pass away, the quiet erosion of our hard work, simple things we overlook that cost little to nothing, and the single all-powerful force that generates wealth long-term.
The day that we all wake up and recognize these things that never change, we can then understand a pattern. With that pattern recognition we can make informed decisions. Once we can make informed decisions, we now have confidence.
With confidence, we can do anything.
Why Substack, Why Now
I’ve been searching for a way to express myself for a while now. Given that I’m married with three kids, OnlyFans just wasn’t in the cards for me.
Grace would tell you that I’ve been wrestling with making content. I know I’ve needed to do it for business and branding purposes. It’s extremely important in today’s environment where attention is cheap and you can build a business organically unlike any other time in human history.
My problem is that at my core, I really don’t care to have people’s attention. Being even more honest, I don’t think I’m that important. While I do consider myself to be a performer, I don’t think anyone wants to see me twerking for followers. If you’re in need of a laugh, please go watch my first 23 YouTube videos.
I feel most alive when I walk in the room and nobody notices me. The opportunity to feel the energy, listen to what is being discussed, and learn more about other people excites me. So, the idea of me carrying around a tripod and being the center of attention has messed with me. Maybe that’s humility, more than likely it’s insecurity.
The bridge I’ve crossed is that, while I don’t think that I’m important, I do believe I have an important message to share. In 29 years of life and what is now 10 years of business, I’ve been through a lot. All of those experiences God has given me to live in gratitude, sharpen my skillset, and have empathy for others.
In the last 24 months, I’ve added $420,000 to my wife and I’s net worth. 2 months before that we were at rock bottom. People have turned on me. The “friend” who officiated my wedding is suing me. People have joined me. I have a great business partner and people who have believed in our firm’s vision enough to join us.
My average client is 64 years old which is contrary to what many would expect. If you want to know the path ahead you can ask the person coming back down it. I get to walk up and down that path, every day.
I’m starting this Substack to be your guide along the path. It doesn’t mean you have to follow my exact path. However, by understanding what’s ahead and what occurs along the way as it pertains to wealth, business, and relationships you can possibly begin to see patterns.
If I can help you spot the patterns, then you can make informed decisions. With informed decision making, you can have confidence.
Confident people change the world.
Welcome To the Coffee Shop - Pull Up a Chair
It’s long been Grace and I’s dream to have our own coffee shop one day. Having worked in and knowing people who have owned or own shops, I just don’t see that being a path we take.
The vision for me was always walking into a softly lit, cozy shop with a minimalist aesthetic feel on a brisk autumn day. The smell of roasted beans in the air and Hozier softly playing overhead.
I’d have a client or a business relationship coming in to sit down and talk business, life, strategy. Learning, developing relationships, and making money in my own shop.
Today, I’m taking that same vision and applying it here. The comments are where you can pull up a chair and through dialogue we learn more about each other and hopefully you feel refreshed and educated about what’s possible for your wealth and business.
This is for the people who want to connect, build wealth, and grow without all the noise. Just like a coffee shop on a weekday afternoon, the vibe is light and you have the space to process and think.
The content will be how I like my coffee, moderately light with some bite in the undertones. Not acidic or fruity but slightly bold and direct.
This is for the people who want the best, appreciate craftsmanship, believe in math, and hate taxes.
What I’ll Be Pouring
I’ll be releasing new content twice a week on Wednesday and Friday mornings. Focused narrowly on what I have expertise and experience in as a financial advisor and business owner.
Wednesday’s will be focused primarily on retirement and financial planning strategies. I am not a theorist; I will only make content based on actual planning experience. I’ve had over 10,000 client meetings in 10 years of doing this. I’ll be sharing what works, what doesn’t work, educating on key pieces of planning that are overlooked, and how to reduce or eliminate taxes.
Friday mornings will be things I’m passionate or interested in that pertain to business ownership strategy, how to buy or sell a business, side hustles to make you money in retirement or for fun. Once again, I don’t like to talk out of theory. These will only be topics that I have directly worked in and personally done.
The additional vision for this is to highlight coffee shops across the country in my content. Places I stopped at across the country while in town for a meeting and reviews, Dave Portnoy style.
We have an epidemic in this country of people choosing chain coffee shops because they think they are “cheaper” than local craft shops. I’d love to help the coffee community while we grow this community. We will start a coffee shop must try list for the community to share.
Wednesdays and Fridays, bring your favorite mug and be ready for me to pour you my best stuff.
An Angel A Day
The best things in life are never understood in the moment. Timeless and abstract, they age like fine wine. The T206 Honus Wagner, thrown out with the trash because Honus didn’t support tobacco being promoted to children, is the most iconic baseball card. Vincent van Gogh sold 1 painting in his lifetime and died broke, iconic.
It’s the abstract and differentiated that catches our attention. Enough that we say to ourselves “This is unlike anyone or anything else.”
That is someone special in my life. When I first her, I was drawn in. Her soft tone and intelligent wit have a way of captivating you in a conversation. Deep in thought, intellectually unbound, soft but well spoken.
At first what I didn’t understand was her style of artwork. Abstract and catching, it pulls you in to understand what it truly means. I would argue, not that I know anything about art, that I can easily spot her work from anyone else’s if I walked into a gallery.
Much like her art, that is her in a room. Different from the women of her time. A distinguished career that didn’t start until after the age of 30. Full of knowledge and understanding yet carrying zero assumptions and judgment. A gentle warrior and true stoic.
Her personality and work are angelic, one of her latest pieces of work being her An Angel A Day book that she gifted to me for Christmas. It’s something I’ve learned in my time with her, the best gifts to give in life are the ones when you give your life’s work.
To this special person, I dedicate this next chapter in my journey giving my life’s work to others. May I carry that spirit in me, like an angel a day.
Find Your Money Shop
Some people have a “home church,” I would recommend having a “home coffee shop.” I’m a superstitious person. If I start making money a certain way, I prefer to keep it that way. What I’ve found is I’ve always had my money shops when I meet someone on the road outside of the office. On the contrary, I’ve had places that I’ve never made a dime in.
I’ve literally made six figures in revenue at The Coffee Shop at Joplin Greenhouse. I also had a decent amount of success at Mother Road Coffee when it existed in Carthage, MO early in my career.
Find your money shop, tip the barista, smile and say thank you. When you walk in with your potential client, you will be treated as if you’re someone important just by having been a nice person and regularly doing business.
It’s home field advantage, try it.
Great post!
Proud of you!