Yesterday, June 2,2024, Guide Financial Planning turned ten years old. Getting into the double-digits is a momentous occasion, so we want to take a moment to reflect on where we have come from, where we are now, and how we got here.
The Origin of GFP
It all started with Ben. Ben Wacek was a young financial planner who had a vision for how he wanted to serve God by helping others steward their finances. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), his vision didn’t fit into the business model of any of the firms that he worked for.
He wanted to be able to help people, like himself and his friends, who didn’t have a bunch of money saved up to invest yet. He also longed to do so in as unbiased a manner as possible, free from the temptation of commissions. Finally, he wanted to be able to serve his clients without leaving the most important part of himself at the office door—his Christian faith.
Unable to find a firm where his vision could become reality, he took a leap of faith to start one. In those early years, it was just Ben all by himself, working tirelessly in the little home office he set up in his basem*nt in south Minneapolis. What was he doing alone in his basem*nt? This blog post reflecting on his first year in business gives us some insight into those early days. From the very beginning, his goal was for God to use him by serving his clients well.
Where We Are Now
Fast forward ten years and Ben is no longer alone nor in his basem*nt. His current home office has a beautiful view and he has built a team of five more people to share the burdens and joys of the business with him.
It’s amazing how God has been faithful over the last decade and what Guide Financial Planning is today has far exceeded Ben’s expectations.There are now three financial planners on the team serving a combined 130 client households on an ongoing basis and many, many more clients in one-time engagements.
It’s our joy to be able to serve our clients the way that Ben had envisioned, helping people find peace of mind when it comes to finances. Many people find finances to be really confusing and overwhelming. Our clients tell us that they have peace of mind knowing that they have a plan in place and our team to turn to when they need help implementing that plan and staying on track.
Our team gets so much delight out of being able to help our clients wisely steward their resources, which is part of what attracted each person to the team. We love our clients and we love each other. Each time we have added a team member it has made things even more fun and allowed everyone to move more intentionally into their own unique skills, giftings, and abilities. We each view our work as much more than just a job or a paycheck, but rather a God-given opportunity to make an impact on people’s lives.
How We Have Gotten Here
How did we go from one guy in his basem*nt to six people who feel they have their dream job? We haven’t taken the traditional route. The traditional way to grow a financial planning firm is to convince as many of your family and friends as possible to work with you or spend a bunch of money on advertisem*nts and marketing. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, it just doesn’t really fit our team and how we work.
While we do have a lot of friends and family working with us, that is not our primary source of new clients. Instead of chasing people, we feel that if we serve our clients well and demonstrate value, people will come to us. We do this both in-person with our current clients and online. We chose to put up a website and provide as many valuable resources as possible online, so that those outside of our personal networks could find us if they feel that we are a good fit.
Online
Over the last two years or more, the majority of our clients have come to us over the internet. They find us online by searching for “Christian Financial Planner” or another search that matches our unique services to their specific needs.
In addition to internet searches, we have gotten a number of clients from Amy’s blog, The Pastor’s Wallet. She started it back in 2016 to help clergy, who are a severely underserved population in the finance industry, with the unique IRS rules and other challenges that they face. At Guide Financial Planning, we have developed deep expertise in clergy finance and consider it a privilege to be able to serve those on the front lines in ministry.
Client Referrals
Our second major source of new clients has been referrals from current clients. Every referral we receive is a validation of what we do. In order for our clients to recommend us to those they care about, we have to provide a high quality, valuable service. We are constantly seeking to improve the services we provide and feel that we have done so a lot over the past ten years. Right now, with the team and experience we have, we are better suited to do an amazing job in serving our clients than we ever have been before.
We feel really good about where we are and how we’re helping our clients achieve their goals and we’re really excited for what the future holds.
God
Finally, we want to give glory to God. We wouldn’t be where we are today without him. God is the one that gave Ben the vision to start Guide Financial Planning. God is the one who has provided the clients. God is the one that has given us the wisdom and knowledge to guide our clients. God is the one who has brought each team member in the perfect timing along the way. We have all worked hard, but we know that God is the one that has made it all possible.
We ultimately believe that God is the owner of our business. In addition to Ben as the founder, each team member is called to steward the company and client relationships that God has entrusted to us. We have some ideas of what we would like the future to look like, but we’re just trying to be faithful to what we feel God is calling us to each step of the way. The number one thing that he is calling us to is just doing a great job of serving our existing 130 clients and each new client that comes to us in the future to the best of our ability.
About Guide Financial Planning
Guide Financial Planning is led by founder Ben Wacek, who is a Christian fee-only Certified Financial Planner™ and Certified Kingdom Advisor®. He has a passion for helping people of all income levels make wise financial decisions and steward their resources from an eternal perspective using Biblical principles. Based in Minneapolis, MN, he works with clients both locally and virtually throughout the country and abroad. You can follow the links to learn more about Guide Financial Planning and our team and the services we offer.
