Wacek Financial Planning Is Getting A New Name!
We are fast approaching a new year, 2020. New years are a time of new beginnings when people take a fresh look at their lives and make resolutions to improve. Unfortunately, the average New Year’s resolution only lasts about 12 days.
Here at Wacek Financial Planning, we are making some big changes in the new year and I guarantee that they will last more than 12 days. We are getting a new name. As of January 1, 2020, we will have a new name, new logo, and new website.
Why I Began Wacek Financial Planning
Before getting into the reasons behind the name change, I want to review the reasons behind the company itself.
When I first entered the financial planning profession straight out of college, I was privileged to be able to work with and learn from a wonderful financial planner who had over 25 years of experience. I loved working in an environment in which I could learn the details of financial planning and how to serve clients without the pressure to bring on new clients or sell products. However, over time I came to recognize that I have the desire to bring quality financial planning advice to those who are just getting started on their financial journey, and this company was set up to only serve those who had already accumulated a fair amount of wealth. I felt conflicted because I had friends and family who I knew needed help with their finances but I wasn’t able to serve them because they did not meet my employer’s minimums.
I am also grateful for the two years I worked at my second job in financial planning where I worked with some amazing clients and co-workers. However, I soon realized that the only way I could substantially increase my income over time at this company was to sell high-commission products to the clients I was working with. It bothered me that we were given a financial incentive to recommend certain products over others instead of just focusing on our clients’ needs. I was afraid that such conflicts of interest would affect how well we served our clients and knew this wouldn’t be a good long-term fit for me.
And finally, as a committed Christian, I wrestled a lot with how to integrate my faith into the financial planning work I was doing with clients. The Bible talks about the topic of finances a great deal and Jesus, himself, has a lot to say on the subject. With this in mind, I had a strong conviction that I should be able to openly discuss with my clients how their relationship with Jesus might impact their financial decisions. But at the same time, I knew I didn’t want to preach at or judge my clients or hold myself out as a Christian as a marketing technique. I wanted to do this because my relationship with Jesus is the most important thing in life and I believe this impacts every single area of my life, which includes the advice I give to my clients.
So, after spending about seven years in the financial planning profession, I longed to find a place where I could serve anyone, regardless of their current wealth, do so in a conflict-free environment, and do financial planning through a biblical lens. Unable to find such a financial planning firm, I decided to start one myself. And, thus, Wacek Financial Planning was born.
Why We Are Changing Our Name
Fast-forward five and a half years to now. By the grace of God, I have managed to build a successful company that is set up to put our clients’ best interests first, to help anyone regardless of net worth, and allow me to provide financial advice that incorporates biblical principles.
When I originally started Wacek Financial Planning, my thought was that I’d probably always stay as a company of just me in order to keep things really simple. However, the longer I’ve been in business, the greater the need I’ve seen for the services that I offer.
My heart has always been to bring high-quality, biblically-sound financial advice to people that otherwise wouldn’t have access to it because of the way the profession is set up. There are a lot of people that need help and most traditional financial advisors can’t help them because of the way their businesses are structured.
I am only one person, so if I limit the growth of my company to just me, the amount of people I am able to serve is significantly limited. Because of this, I want to grow Wacek Financial Planning beyond just myself and have already added two part-time staff over the last two years. Expanding the company will allow me to serve many more people than I could alone and also provide a higher level of service to those I serve.
By growing the company, I can also offer other advisors and financial professionals what I wanted but was unable to find-- the opportunity to work in a fee-only, Christ-focused environment. If I want the company to grow beyond just me, I want the name to do the same. New team members will be more likely to feel a sense of ownership and inclusion if the company isn’t just named after me. On top of that, while I like my last name, Wacek is hard for most people to pronounce. There will be no question as to how to pronounce our new name.
How The Change Will Affect You
I hope I haven’t scared you with all of the talk about growing the company beyond myself. If you’re my client, you will remain my client and won’t be passed off to another advisor. As of right now, I’m still the only financial planner in the company. The only difference my clients will notice is the logo at the top of their meeting agendas and the email address at which they can reach me.
This change won’t affect the advice we give, our processes, services, or our company values. We’re still the same company on the inside.
By now, you’re probably wondering, so what is the new name?! I wanted a name that better embodies what this company does. We are not a traditional, sales-oriented firm. We offer more than just planning or advice. On every step of your financial journey, we are here to be your
Watch for our new and improved website at www.guidefp.com, going live on January 1, 2020!
About Guide Financial Planning
Guide Financial Planning (formerly Wacek 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 to help 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.