A B O U T A S C E N D A N T A N D T R E V O R
Everything I believe about money started long before I had any.
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◆ W H E R E I T B E G A N
I grew up on a small 40-acre farm just north of Milwaukee, where money was tight and everything got fixed by hand. We did the work ourselves because there wasn't another option. A trip to McDonald's was a treat. That kind of childhood teaches you two things: how to work, and how it feels when money is a source of worry instead of freedom.
At ten, I started working on the neighbor's dairy farm. One Sunday, I was pestering my stepdad to play a game with me. He pulled out the paper, opened it to the finance section, and said we could play his game. Shortly after, I had a brokerage account, bought my first stock with the money I was earning, and the Sunday financial section became a tradition.
I've been investing ever since. Thirty years and counting.
◆ T H E C L I M B
As the first in my family to go to college, I paid my own way through UW-Platteville. Starting in engineering physics, I switched to sales and marketing after realizing I wanted to work with people, not just problems. As it turns out, I ended up doing both.
I graduated in 2007 into a saturated job market, so my first job was 60 and 70 hour weeks on a factory floor building industrial pumps. During the recovery they promoted me to project engineer, a role where everyone else had an engineering degree.
In 2013 I found financial advising, and I haven't wanted to do anything else since.
◆ W H Y I B U I L T A S C E N D A N T
Throughout my career I’ve seen how much of this industry runs on selling products, hitting quotas, or taking on clients to hit a bonus payout. It never sat right with me. I did what was best for my clients anyway, and though it cost me money, I'd make the same choice every time.
I know what it feels like to worry about money. I also know what it takes to move from scarcity to abundance, because I've made that walk myself. Helping people make it is the best part of this work.
◆ L I F E N O W
Today I live what I advise.
I'm a business owner running multi-location operations, a real estate investor, and a dad to a young daughter. I'm also engaged to a wonderful woman, Courtney, and can’t wait for our wedding in 2027.
When I talk with a business owner about payroll stress, or with parents about saving for their kids, it isn't theory. It's my Tuesday.
Now you know my story.
I’d love to hear yours.