Origin Story

Welcome to this week's edition of The Weekly Trail Report, where we share,

1 Story, where real stories of architects and engineers meet tailored financial strategies,

1 Actionable Tip, to provide actionable insights and guide you towards financial success,

1 Financial Term, to demystify key concepts and empower your decisions.

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1. Story: Why Off the Beaten Path Financial

Today’s story is a little different, I wanted to share how Off the Beaten Path Financial came to be.

I was at the “Friendly Tavern”, a serious dive bar, on what happened to be karaoke night, grabbing a drink with a friend when I first started putting the idea for Off the Beaten Path Financial together.

You see, I had been trying to find the right business for years.?

It only took me two years of engineering to know that I didn’t want to do it forever. The question was what was I going to do instead.?

And that journey took me about 8 years to figure out.

Along the way I had gotten very close to actively trading in the markets, I tried to start a consulting business, and I had looked into purchasing a business.

I then started an engineering department at an established contractor, pursued an online business, and actively traded options.

All the time constantly searching for what was going to be the right opportunity. One could argue that the right opportunity is the one that you make right.?

The problem I had was that none of them felt right.?

Was it me or was it something else?

The Conversation

Well, on this fateful evening of libations and deep conversation, it became pretty clear what the right path was. Through our conversation, I realized that I had a gift and that I wanted to make available financial opportunities that most people usually don’t have access to. I wanted to be able to help people elevate their financial situation beyond what they thought was possible.

Over the years I had always been actively involved in managing my money. Both from an investment standpoint as well as building systems, tracking, budgeting, etc.?

And I had gotten pretty good at it too. I always had the money for whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it.

We paid for our wedding (it included a helicopter dropoff) and honeymoon (2 week trip to Costa Rica) without breaking a sweat.

We set a goal to save for a property down payment, not only meeting our target precisely on schedule but also doubling it within a few months.

I began having more and more conversations with people about money, budgeting, and investing, and these conversations were resulting in an obvious need: people were not like me.?

They didn't enjoy managing their money, and as a result were fairly in the dark on how to make financial progress.

People needed help.?

And I could help them.?

The more conversations like this I had, the more it became apparent that there was something here.

The Guide

Around 2 years prior to the night at the Friendly Tavern, I had met someone in an aisle at a sporting goods store. He just so happened to be an engineer turned financial advisor. Since that introduction, we had been meeting periodically for drinks and conversation over the years and I had learned more and more about what it would look like to be a financial advisor.

The culmination of these different factors had all begun to converge. I clearly had the interest, desire, and expertise to help others navigate their wealth building journey.?

But if I was going to do this, I didn’t want it to be like all the other financial advisors out there.?

I didn’t want to provide the same generic advice to everyone.?

I wanted to really understand what drove people and help them accomplish their specific goals.

I wanted to be able to provide strategies to grow their wealth in ways that they couldn’t do on their own.

The Name

One evening I was doing an exercise I had found called “Your RIA Roadmap” (an RIA is a type of financial advisory firm). The objective was to identify your core desires and strategize how to achieve them.

Working through this exercise I started off by describing where I wanted to live, when I would get up, what I would do each day.?

Then I was prompted to describe what kind of business I wanted to have, who I wanted to help, and what my day to day activities would look like. I then created an Ideal Business Profile that outlined the key metrics of the firm and developed an Ideal Client Profile.

Then came the big question.?

Business Name: ________________

I started to think.?

And then it hit me, Off the Beaten Path Financial.?

I ended up throwing out a few other names during this exercise but it was pretty clear which was the right one. There was definitely a consistent theme - Next Adventure Financial, Adventure Financial, and Off the Beaten Path Ventures.

I have always tried to do the opposite of the masses.

I have always wanted to live a life unencumbered.

I have always chosen the harder path.

I have always wanted to live Off the Beaten Path.

The Reflection

It is crazy when I stop to think about how my goals have always been fairly consistent. From early college, I always said I wanted to live in a cabin in the woods, at 26 I outlined a day in my life 10 years in the future, to this exercise to name my firm.?

I have always been pulled to the same place.

What I have also realized is that I want to help others achieve similar things.?

What are your wildest dreams??

How can you accomplish them?

Most dreams involve money in one way or another.?

Like it or not, your finances are going to dictate most of how you live your life.

But that shouldn’t scare you, it should empower you.

Conquer your money and conquer your dreams.

As I had learned, not everyone was as comfortable as I was with using their money as a tool to accomplish their dreams.

So here was my path.?

To help others build, grow, and use their wealth to accomplish their wildest dreams.

And Off the Beaten Path Financial was born.

2. Actionable Tip: Start With What You Know

I talk to a lot of people who want to start their own business, primarily because they want to be their own boss, and they see the financial benefits of not working for someone else.?

The problem is that people often get hung up on the same question—what kind of business should they start?

My recommendation? Start with what you know.?

What do people come to you with questions on?

What do you spend most of your free time doing?

These are the places to start your business idea search.

If your search turns up empty, what skills do you wish you had?

What kind of things do you like to do?

What can you go out and learn to become an expert in?

Once you have established what you can be an “expert” in, whether you already have the knowledge or you need to develop the skill, now it gets interesting.

The simplest thing to do is to help someone with the skill you identified.

For example, I realized I knew a lot about investing and personal finance. So I started talking to people about that.

That helped me realize that my level of knowledge was much more than most people.

So I went further, and decided to find out if people would be willing to pay for what I was teaching or helping them with.

And, it turns out I had something to offer that people were willing to buy.?

Boom, there is your business.

3. Financial Term: Fee-Only Fiduciary

There are many types of financial advisors out there. It is important to know the differences and what to expect when you engage with one.

Most advisors are compensated one of the following ways:

• Commissions from security transactions
• Commissions from product sales
• Asset management fee
• Fixed fee
• Hourly

A fee-only advisor is someone that is only compensated for their services and is not compensated from commissions or selling financial products.

Commissions and product sales have a tendency to align an advisor's interest more with the sale instead of the client.?

By working with a fee only advisor you know that they only receive the money that you pay them which means they are incentivized to make you happy and work in your best interest.

A “fiduciary” is an advisor that is legally bound and ethically committed to acting in the best interest of their clients. It seems like this would be an unnecessary distinction, but the financial industry does not always operate in this way.?

Many advisors only have to act under the “suitability standard” which means the recommended product or strategy just has to be “suitable” for the client.

Choose wisely.

Happy Trails,

Ryan

Disclaimer: We employ fictional characters to illustrate financial concepts faced by individuals in the architecture and engineering industry. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental. While the stories are inspired by our experiences, the specific details, circumstances, and outcomes mentioned are entirely fictional and created for educational purposes only. Real client information is strictly confidential and never disclosed without explicit consent. Our aim is to provide relatable examples for educational purposes, respecting the privacy and confidentiality of our clients.