We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Will Newman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Will thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
Still in my on-boarding training seminar two weeks into my new job, the coach lectured about ways to persuade, sell, and force products onto customers. I sat uncomfortable, trying to push the racing thoughts from my mind telling me I didn’t belong here. From the hotel room that night, I called my wife and said, “I can’t do this. I know I’m supposed to be helping people with their finances, not selling to them. I’m quitting and starting my own business.” I put my livelihood and my career on the line to do what I felt what right. Three months later, Newman’s Financial Planning opened, and I secured my first (although small) client immediately. The satisfaction and purpose I felt when educating and setting families up for long-term financial success lit a fire within me. Though growing at a steady pace, the risk still plagued me as I recalled the statistic that most financial planners fold after five years. Over the next four years, my days were filled with ups and downs of securing new clients, and then silence for what seemed like months. I learned how to market, I learned how to make a sales pitch as a guy just trying to figure this all out. And I picked myself up off the ground more than a few times of rejection. Today, Newman’s Financial is thriving. With over 150 families now trusting Newman’s Financial Planning, I know the risk I took is paying off for both the families I serve, and my own family. I truly love what I do each day and have stuck to my values, which is also the tagline for Newman’s Financial; Your Success is Our only Mission.
Will, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Not everyone knows what they want to do when they enter the workforce, but I sure did. Because I always had an affinity for numbers and math, I started investing for fun in high school. That led to be studying Business & Finance in college, earning a Bachelors degree from Arizona State University. By the time I graduated, I knew I wanted to work in the financial industry. However, a strong love of golf pulled me in a different direction, and I was a professional golfer for a few years before landing at The Vanguard Group in Scottsdale, AZ. While working, I earned my MBA in Financial Planning from California Lutheran University, along with all of the licenses required for the profession. Of course, I also continue too play golf as an amateur, which I still enjoy as a member of Superstition Mountain Country Club in Gold Canyon. My time at Vanguard was invaluable. I gained a solid foundation of knowledge and in relationship-building. I worked my way up over the course of the next decade, eventually managing a $2.5 Billion book of business for 600 high net worth families. I also built portfolios for the advisors who needed guidance on behalf of their clients. All of this happened during the 2009 Great Recession and other financial ups and downs. It was an invaluable training ground. After leaving Vanguard, I moved briefly-very briefly to another large investment firm. But after seeing their approach, which included hiding the true fees from clients and selling products and services regardless whether they were in the best interests of clients, I knew it was not the right fit. Their values did not align with my own values. I launched Newman’s Financial Planning with the goal of being fair and transparent in all of my interactions. My passion with my business is truly to help my clients achieve financial success and exceed their goals. I am gratified when I am able to educate clients about the value I can provide in helping them to obtain their goals. It’s not uncommon for me to chat for hours with my clients about the market and portfolios. As an independent financial planner, I help my clients save thousands of dollars in unnecessary fees from working with the big firms – and I provide them with a personal and individualized experience. Outside of the office, I am married to my high school sweetheart and the proud father of our two sons, Luke and Jacob.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
To keep this very short I needed a ton of resilience to keep going when things started so slow with with my business. Please see the beginning question for this answer.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
This is a tough one but it brings me to a memory of when I spent my entire first years revenue on a marketing campaign. This campaign was to setup a geofence around private country clubs around the valley and when anyone around this “virtual” fence searched for financial help or financial advisor, Newman’s Financial Planning popped up first. I ended up getting a lot of high net worth business from this and this was a huge risk that paid off early in the first year of my business.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.newmansfinancialplanning.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newmansfinancial
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/newman-s-financial-planning
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkyv6T0RxuSx06jULjiYVdg
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/newmans-financial-planning-queen-creek?osq=newmans+financial+planning