From Advisor to Architect: Navigating Wealth Transfer, Retirement, and Succession with Peter G. Miles

0:01John Lee Dumas:Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire, brought to you by High Level, the all-in-one sales and marketing platform. Today we'll be breaking down from advisor to architect, navigating wealth transfer, retirement, and succession. To drop these value bombs, I brought to Peter G. Miles and EO Fire Studios. Peter believes in helping all people no matter where they are in their financial journey. That is what led him to start St. Croix Wealth Management. It's about the relationship with a person, not the size of their portfolio. And today we talk about advisor misconceptions, the coming wealth transfer, the psychology layer, and oh, so much more.

0:40John Lee Dumas:And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Peter and our sponsors. Fire Nation, is your business stuck? Are you looking to learn the proven processes and success systems that have been used to create thousands of millionaire success stories? schedule a free consultation with America's number one business coach, Clay Clark, by visiting thrivetimeshow.com slash EO fire. Again, request life changing tickets today at thrivetimeshow.com slash EO fire. Stop duct taping your business together. High level runs your website, your funnels, email automation, scheduling payments and memberships all in one place.

1:14John Lee Dumas:And when you sign up at high level fire.com, you get a 30 day free trial. Plus my exclusive bonus stack that includes weekly office hours with me and much more. Visit highlevelfire.com, highlevelfire.com. Peter, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. Well, what up? Thank you for having me here. Yeah. You know what most people disagree with? That was actually kind of a thoughtful question. And a lot of it comes down to what you define success as. That is different from most people and how that is viewed. But I would say it's kind of twofold.

2:02One, you got to have the courage to be successful, to really take that leap of faith, to step out of your comfort zone. So as an individual, that is kind of the first piece that I think most people probably would agree with. But the piece to really drive that success and make you to the pinnacle is the team that's behind you. You can't become successful without surrounding yourself with the right people to encourage you, to push you, and be there to support you through all the ups and downs because success is not a straight line.

2:38John Lee Dumas:I mean, there's a reason, Fire Nation, why we end every single episode with the quote, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. That is your team. Those are your confidants. And going from advisor to architect, navigating wealth transfer, retirement, and succession with Peter G. Miles today. And I want to talk about advisor misconceptions, Peter, because there are a plenty. I mean, what would you say the biggest misconceptions people have about working with a financial advisor are? I would say the biggest misconception is I need to have lots of money or I need to be going into retirement or in retirement.

3:19Those are the biggest misconceptions and the biggest hurdle I feel like I have to work with and gain people to start working with an advisor. And I blame our industry, to be honest with you, putting minimums on who you can and cannot work with, saying, hey,$250 ,000,$500 ,000, a million. I really don't like that. And that's actually what caused me or propelled me to start St. Craig Wealth Management is, one, I don't believe a relationship is based on a dollar amount. And most people don't become millionaires overnight. It's a process. And we need to be with them from the beginning until the end on achieving that process.

4:06So, you know, that is the biggest misconception is I need to have all this money and no, we need to start with you at the beginning. So you are properly placing those assets. So you know, you know, where to position funds and should I take out a loan? Shouldn't I take out a loan? And starting early, not waiting until retirement, start early. So you are properly positioned when you go into retirement. That led us to, with me starting St. Croix Wealth Management, to the mission statement, which I wholeheartedly believe in, is helping all people navigate their financial journey, not just the wealthy, not just the people in retirement, but everyone.

4:47John Lee Dumas:But that leads us to what's coming. And you know this, and it seems like a lot of other advisors should know this, but maybe they're not quite understanding it. And that's the coming wealth transfer. I mean, it's pretty insane. This stat is literally insane. Over the next 10 to 20 years, Fire Nation, check this out, trillions of dollars will change hands. Not millions, not billions, trillions. What does this historic transfer of wealth mean for families who are prepared and those who are not, Peter? It's really having your wishes fulfilled. How do you want that asset to transfer. Who do you want to go to?

5:26How do you want it to go to them? How are we going to maximize the money going to them by keeping taxes at very minimal or keeping Uncle Sam out of that pocket? You know, the ones that prepare are going to do it very efficiently by not having a bunch of taxes on that transfer, either income tax through a traditional IRA and get a position into a Roth or just being able to avoid estate tax. So that is the biggest hurdle that people that do not plan are going to, the wealth that's going to transfer is going to be cut in half due to taxes. So proper planning is going to position the next generation to inherit more money and for it to be transferred the way you want it to be transferred.

6:17John Lee Dumas:Let's talk about the psychology layer. because money decisions, they're not just math. I mean, it's a big part of it, but it's not just math. How does psychology, how does fear, how does identity shape the way that people approach retirement and estate planning? Over the years of being a financial advisor, I've really kind of tuned into the emotions and the psychology that people have with money. What's the relationship they have with money? And, you know, touching all those different points, I see people when they retire, you know, they spent most of their life saving for retirement, you know, gathering assets, putting money away in their 401ks, you know, save, save, save.

7:07And then when they go into retirement, it's hard for them to switch that mindset, that psychology of I need to save, I need to save to now spending that money that you saved. um most people have a very hard time with that um and like i tell people it's we want you to spend money we want you to spend money right away and i have a little saying i always tell people is that i want you to be able to enjoy all that money that you've worked hard saving before your hips go bad before your knees go bad and before grandkids are running around i guess once that happens it really starts to slow up. So kind of condition yourself or just going through the turn of the mindset, the psychology of going from the save mentality to a spend mentality and being okay with that.

7:56That's very, very difficult for people to do. Most people just, they want to protect that and not spend it.

8:03John Lee Dumas:Now, do you ever bring in the inflation side of the equation where you just are honest with them and say, listen, like you want to save, save, save, but your money is just a melting ice cube. I mean, every year it's losing two, three, five, seven, nine percent of its spending value. So you spend the money now, it's actually going to be able to allow you to do something. You wait 20 years, this hundred thousand dollars that you may have that you could do a ton with right now, you're not gonna be able to do anything except maybe go to McDonald's and get a happy meal with. Do you ever talk to your clients like that?

8:30We have to. I mean, I jokingly save money sitting in a savings account at the bank, you're losing money safely. Because that return, and that interest is not keeping up with inflation. So that's why you need to have a proper structure to your finances, to your assets, so that money can stay ahead of inflation and continue to grow so that you're building that spending power and not decreasing it. And to that point too of, hey, do these things right away. And we want to build it into the budget. Some people, I bring up the word budget and they cringe. oh, my financial advisor is going to put me on a budget and restrict what I'm spending.

9:11And no, we just want to know where's your money going. Let's do a budget, you know, at least twice a year just to do a little checkpoint. Where am I spending money? And then work into that budget, though. I want you spending money on traveling, on doing things, creating memories. Those memories are really priceless, especially taking with family. I encourage a lot of grandparents to take their grandkids on trips.

9:37John Lee Dumas:Oh, yeah. You know, I don't remember a thing that my grandma purchased me, but I remember all the time I spent with her. And those are priceless. So it's okay to spend that money. And spending that money on family, on trips, on experiences, is more valuable than any type of returns. so it's just being okay to do that and giving them permission to do that and say hey we have you protected in your plan go spend go do things go enjoy life so it's very hard for people to do and do it early before the cost of things go up or before you can't do it because of hips and knees going bad yeah one of my most powerful memories of my grandmother is she was really struggling and contemplating taking this massive trip to Russia I mean, it was going to be, you know, just this huge trip that she was going to get to Moscow.

10:33John Lee Dumas:Then it was like this bus was going to take her and a bunch of other travelers, like all over the country to St. Petersburg to here to there. And she was really nervous about it. She's like, maybe I should just wait a couple of years and, you know, just kind of like yada, yada, yada. She was giving all these reasons and excuses and kind of just thoughts and fears that she had. And she ended up just biting the bullet and going. And she came back and she was just beaming. beaming. She had all these pictures and it was just so fantastic. And then lo and behold, six months later, she fell in the shower, she broke her hip.

11:04John Lee Dumas:And then she was like, literally never able to significantly travel again. Like she never could have gone and done like a Russia trip like that. And to me, it was just like, man, like how grateful are you Graham for having taken that trip when you did, because you just don't know when that opportunity is going to be taken away from you. I mean, she talked about that trip till the day that she passed. I mean, like that was something that was such fun. It was like a lifelong goal for her. And just like to me, like I used to cringe just thinking like, oh man, like what if she had waited and then that had happened?

11:35John Lee Dumas:And she would have always just kind of been like, what if? Like what if? But she accomplished that and it was like such a good feeling. So think about that, Fire Nation, as you're talking with yourselves, with your family, with your friends, with your loved ones. I really love this conversation with Peter here today. And we have a lot more to talk about. estate planning reality checks, succession by design, and more when we get back from thanking our sponsors. Fire Nation, is your business stuck? Are you looking to learn the proven processes and success systems that have been used to create thousands of millionaire success stories?

12:04John Lee Dumas:See thousands of success stories and testimonials from real people just like you, who Clay Clark has mentored and coached into prosperity at thrivetimeshow.com slash EO Fire. Clay's proven business coaching program is month to month, and it costs less money than hiring a minimum wage employee. Yes, it's month to month and costs less money than hiring a minimum wage employee. Schedule your free personal 13-point assessment with Clay Clark himself today at thrivetimeshow.com slash EOFire. Because Clay only takes on 160 clients and only allows 300 attendees on each business conference, you will interact with Clay directly.

12:38John Lee Dumas:See thousands of success stories and learn about attending the Thrive Time Show two-day in-person workshops featuring football star and entrepreneur Tim Tebow and President Trump's son, Eric Trump, today at thrivetimeshow.com slash EO Fire. Become the next success story. Schedule a free consultation and request tickets to join football star and entrepreneur Tim Tebow and President Trump's son, Eric Trump at Clay Clark's next business conference today at thrivetimeshow.com slash EO Fire. Fire Nation, ideas are exciting, but systems will allow you to create freedom. That is where High Level comes in.

13:10John Lee Dumas:High Level allows you to build and run your entire business from one platform. Website builder and hosting, funnel and landing pages, email marketing, automation and workflows, calendar booking, payments and subscriptions, even course and membership hosting. Everything works together seamlessly. Plus, award-winning 24-7 support so you are never stuck. And when you go through my link at highlevelfire.com, you unlock my full bonus stack, a 30-day free trial of High Level with full access, a private 50-minute coaching call with me, weekly live office hours with me, a digital copy of my book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, my 50 Days to Something Execution Roadmap, and more.

13:48John Lee Dumas:Stop piecing tools together. Start building momentum. Visit highlevelfire.com and start building your something today. Peter, we're back, and I want to talk about the estate planning reality check. Why is proper estate planning so often delayed, and what are the real consequences that families face when they get this wrong, or in some cases, they just avoid it altogether. Goes back to what we talked about just previously with the psychology. They're having to face or talk about their demise. Who wants to talk about death and their own death and what that's going to look like and when that's going to happen?

14:33And we don't know when that's going to happen, So, you know, we got to plan for it. And if we don't do the planning, then we're leaving it up to the courts to decide on what's going to happen. Or, you know, if we don't do the proper planning, it's going to cause family members fighting and, you know, oh, this is what they wanted. And no, I heard him say this. And unless it's written down somewhere, it's not your wishes. You've got to write out, this is what I want. Meet with an attorney. Do all the proper documents. Go do prepaying for your funeral and everything. Get everything taken care of so that all your wishes are fulfilled and taken care of and the family doesn't have to fight about it.

15:22Whenever you have two highly emotional events, and the emotional events there is one, death. You lost a loved one, and the next one is money. Very emotional topics that it's a recipe for disaster. And so you really need to have that roadmap of this is what needs to happen with everything so that everything goes to the right person. And by doing the plan too, you can make sure you're maximizing what is going to each person. To me, the biggest, I'll say, problem or someone not doing any planning, especially for business owners, if they are passing on a business to one family member but not the others, if that's not in writing or if there's not a state equalization done, that business is not going to survive to the next generation.

16:21I think the statistic out there is only 30 % survive the next generation and it reduces even more significantly when it's the next generation beyond that. So if you really want to have the business, which is part of the family, continue to be successful and continue to grow, you got to do the right planning to get everyone in the right places to make sure that, hey, this is the person that's going to run the business. They're in the business. They know it. Let's say there's a family of three. through two other siblings, they're taken care of through an estate equalization plan so they get their fair share and it allows the business to continue to grow with the one person that is running it.

17:01So very important for business owners to start that planning and start that planning early. And communication is their key. If you don't communicate what that plan is to the family members, it's going to cause, again, that family squabbling, the fighting. make sure that your wishes are communicated early to them, have family meetings, discuss those things and be open and honest with everyone. These are wishes. Here's why. And people are fine with that. It's okay to talk about that early and let the family know what the plan is. So kind of some key little points there on succession planning.

17:40John Lee Dumas:Well, this is building off of that because I think this is such an important topic and that's succession by design. I mean, St. Croix Wealth Management, you have been intentional about this long-term succession so that those disasters you mentioned don't happen. Why is designing the transition early so critical for all parties involved? And maybe because you've already talked about this to some degree, what would you say is maybe a real world example that you can give where it really went right or maybe where it really went wrong? And of course, we don't have to use names or specifics because we want to keep the information private, but I think it could really just help people understand how this happens in real world.

18:22Especially in our industry. So designing a succession plan for someone that's in the service industry, you know, as for financial advisors, our clients are not clients, they're friends, they're family. I mean, literally some of them are, but they become that. You're so close to them. You go through births and you celebrate weddings. You go to funerals. You really become a part of those families. And it's hard to say goodbye to those relationships. And it's hard to transition those relationships and to have a real smooth transition. You got to do the proper planning ahead of time. And I even say a minimum of five years.

19:11If it is, hey, I would like to retire in six years, seven years, 10 years, you got to start that process of, okay, who do I want to take over my clients? Who's going to take care of them? Once you've kind of done that vetting process, then it is, okay, let's get the right documentation in place for this to happen. And then it starts to just integrating those clients into the other advisors business possibly, or just putting that united front out there of the two of you working together. So that when it does get to the point where, hey, I am retiring, the people feel confident. They know that person.

19:54They got to know more of a couple of years. They trust you and that you are finding the right replacement, that it makes a much smoother transition for A, the advisor, because they feel confident the person they chose is going to take care of their clients, which are friends and family to them now. And for the clients just to have that confidence, or not the confidence, but the trust in that next advisor that they know that person just makes a nice, smooth transition. So that proper planning is key. Anything that's It's abrupt, any type of change that invokes emotions and sometimes fear and if not done properly can really make a transition fall apart.

20:42And that transition falling apart could affect that advisor that's retiring or that advisor's family. So we got to make sure that you're doing the proper planning to make sure it's a smooth transition for all parties involved.

20:54John Lee Dumas:So let's talk about advisor versus owner because you actually wear two hats, Peter. we're talking financial planner and business owner. So how do you successfully blend those roles without compromising your clients' outcomes or your business's longevity? That's very difficult. Some advisors are great advisors, but not the best business owners. And it's very hard to maintain both. And it goes back to what makes someone successful. It's having that proper team and the people in place, you know, that it's going to kind of be the owner side of it that, hey, I see an employee as an investment, not as a liability.

21:37They're going to help me bring in more clients, help more people that put on that owner hat, that business hat of, hey, this is an asset, not a liability. And I think that is hard for a lot of advisors because hiring someone that comes directly out of their paycheck. And that's with anyone, not just advisors. But it's coming right off the bottom line that it's hard to do that for a lot of people. And I see that a lot in the advising world where you have advisors that are just so low on their own. You kind of hit a capacity. There's only so many households or people or accounts that you can work with until you get capped out or you're going to sacrifice the services you're providing.

22:25So then you bring on an assistant, and again, you get kind of capped out there. To really kind of build more of a, I don't want to say enterprise, but a larger practice, it takes that team. It takes multiple staff. It takes multiple advisors to really build out a large practice. So it's hard to juggle both and you really need to put time aside for each of them. You don't ever want to sacrifice your clients, but you got to balance that with also putting time and efforts back into the business. So it's a juggling match that's hard to do. Fortunately, I've been able to do it very well and I have experience with real estate too of running businesses and being able to be successful at it.

23:17John Lee Dumas:Peter, we have talked about a lot today. We're talking advisor misconceptions, the coming wealth transfer, that psychological layer, estate planning, the reality check that that is, succession by design. And then, of course, you were just breaking down advisor versus owner. What is the one thing that you want our listeners to walk away with from our conversation today? Really the planning, taking the time to sit down with an advisor, no matter where they're at in their stage of life. Either they're just starting a career or they are starting a family or getting ready for retirement or facing some longevity where they're looking at passing away here in the near future or getting older.

24:04no matter where they're at, to seek someone out and look for help. Someone to come by their side and guide them through all these large decisions that they need to make. That would be the biggest thing is don't be afraid. Going back to being successful, to being successful financially is not being afraid to reach out to an advisor and start working with one. And don't think, I'll have people like, oh, I don't have enough money or I need to be closer to retirement. No, take that step. Start working with an advisor sooner than later and just seek that guidance. Allow us to come along their side, guide them through life and be in there for any of those difficult decisions that they need to make.

24:49Because there's going to be lots of them going through life.

24:51John Lee Dumas:Peter, if Fire Nation wants to connect with you, wants to learn more about what you have going on, what is your call to action for our audience today? Reach out. The call to action is taking that step, reaching out. They can look for a financial advisor close to them or we work with clients across the country is reaching out and getting that plan put in place. You're going to be taking the biggest journey of your life, your life, everything about life. What is the best way to reach out? Go to our website. Google St. Croix Wealth Management. Stcroixwm.com is our website. um you know we just have a new you know updated website that they can go through and reach out to us ask questions and that's what we're here for we're here to be at their side as they go through life fire nation you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with you've been hanging out with pgm and jld today so keep up that heat and for links to everything we talked about including peter's website of course go to eofire.com type peter in the search bar and the for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation today.

26:01John Lee Dumas:For that, we salute you and we will catch you on the flip side. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Peter for sponsoring today's episode. And Fire Nation, are you an entrepreneur on fire who's looking to share your amazing message with the world? If yes, we are now accepting applications for EO Fire. So to learn more about becoming a guest, visit eofire.com slash guest. And I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Fire Nation, is your business stuck? Are you looking to learn the proven processes and success systems that have been used to create thousands of millionaire success stories?