We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lewis Weil. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lewis below.
Lewis, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share a customer success story with us?
I have so many wonderful clients it is hard to pick. I get to work with some of the most interesting people and be part of their journey building the life they want for themselves. I’ve helped university professors buy homes and plan their finances for having a baby. I’ve helped someone buy a beachfront property in Africa. I get to help surfers travel the world chasing waves. Or just sweet couples who want to have financial security and not be so stressed out. But one client in particular stands out. I am not allowed to say names of my clients, legally and as part of my own policies. But I have permission from a particular long time friend and client to share some of their story. When I first started working with her she was an elementary school teacher. I love working with teachers, people who help others have a special place in my heart. And one day this client shares with me, “I want to start a business making professional wrestling gear” you know the spandex outfits wrestlers wear. I knew the client loved wrestling, but this was still a surprise. Oh and also she didn’t even know how sew. I take people’s goals and dreams seriously, no matter how out there they might seem. We made a plan for her to save up cash to live off of and reduce her living expenses to make the money last longer. And she got to work learning to sew. We set some goals and decided at what point she would quit her teaching job. And she made a go at it making and selling wrestling gear. Eventually the saving started to dwindle and we made the call that she needed to go back to teaching, but only temporarily so she could refill her savings and then make another go at being fulltime on her wrestling gear business. We’ve repeated this cycle a couple times now. Her wrestling gear business just keeps getting better and better. Her sewing skills and creativity are always improving, her business is always getting better and more professional. She’s built a great network and reputation with wrestling leagues. She is always off traveling the country and the globe to attend events and build her network and business. We are still working on getting the business to a place where it supports her financially 100% and we’re getting there. It might take a couple more cycles of refilling the savings but she is getting there. I definitely thought it was a wild idea but I’ve learn along side her as an advisor, and an entrepreneur myself that people will be successful if they are persistent and passionate. Not every person or every goal needs to be as out there as this example, but I think it is a powerful story to show what is possible. I am tremendously proud of her and all my clients who make an earnest effort at their dreams!
Lewis, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I used to be a molecular biologist! Though I have always had a penchant for personal finances and starting weird projects. I fully intended financial planning to just be one of my weird fun side projects but after I started doing it I quickly realized there was a huge need, that everyone needed help with financial planning. Also, I was an ok scientist but rocked at planning. So I quickly decided to make the leap, leave the lab, and start working with people. I was invited to speak about finances for artists at the “Museum of Human of Achievement” an arts space in East Austin. Nearly all the studio artists attended. It lead to me to do an arts + financial planning residency in northern California. Which lead to me writing an article “an artists guide to financial planning” in The Creative Independent for Kickstarter. This took me from being a local planner in my neighborhood to having clients worldwide!
Now I help the wonderful people live their interesting lives. I am an investment advisor and help people plan for building financial security and wealth. There is so much more to it though. I help people plan for having kids, taking sabbaticals, become self-employed, focusing on their art practice, merging finances with spouses. And travel, houses, cars, dogs, and kittens and everything in between. Life stuff. I love it, I spend my days helping amazing people get organized and provide structure and empathy. I start with budgeting and organization, and along the way tease out people’s dreams and help them conquer anxieties. Just in the last few weeks I’ve had people quit jobs to take sabbaticals or focus on their art practices. I’m helping a couple folks with international moves. Some folks I’m just helping them make sure they have stability. Money touches everything in life, so what starts as a budget conversation can easily turn into big life decisions!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
My article “an artists guide to financial planning” changed my practice and life. Really though any service business is built on reputation from doing the work. For a decade I’ve shown up and been there for people and did my best to help them. I think people can tell that I am genuine and there for them. I truly love meeting people, getting to know them, and help them. I thrive on it and I think people can tell and they tell their friends and family. Word of mouth is everything!
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
I end every call with “get your next call scheduled right now while you are looking at me!” It’s important that people have me on the calendar and don’t let it slip their minds.
I can always be better at this. I don’t use a CRM and I don’t like automating messages to clients. It is important to me that they know a message really is from me and that I am thinking about them. I have an infant child and busy life of my own so I could probably be more on top of this. If someone hasn’t been on my calendar in couple months they’ll get a message from me giving them a little nudge. I send out periodic emails to all clients about current financial topics, like tax time or insurance enrollment, which are useful but are also a nudge to remind them to book a call with me. I post on social media and make the occasional you videos but I am as likely to talk about my hobbies as I am finances. If I am popping up in people’s views maybe it will remind them they have been meaning to work on their finances. I try to keep my outreach and marketing authentic. It is one of the reasons my company name is just my name.
Clients who have worked with fancier, higher dollar firms have told me that they didn’t get that level of interaction despite having paid much more. I try to be very available despite my busy workload and life. I don’t have a limit on how often someone can schedule with me, in 10 years I have yet to have someone take too much advantage of that. I have email and dedicated phone number for people to text or call. My goal is to be very real and available!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lewisweil.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lewisweil/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewisweil/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LewisWeilCo
Image Credits
Tico Mendoza, and Arthur Moss