Critical Thinking Required

For this episode, we invited Robert Sheck, the general manager of Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home to talk about funeral planning.  It’s a difficult topic for most people of course, but it’s also a very necessary one.  Tim started the conversation by asking what should one consider when they begin burial planning?  And what do people miss in the process?  Robert pointed out that funeral planning is not just about the financial aspects, but more about releasing your heirs from making emotional decisions at their saddest moment such as “What casket would dad like?”, “What dress would my wife like to be buried with?”  Robert also mentioned that funeral costs usually double every 10 years and getting an insurance policy from a funeral home may be a smart move to lock in prices.  Tim was curious how the millennial generation has changed the industry?  Robert said that they are less into the traditions, and they prefer to treat the funeral as a celebration of life, rather than a sad, quiet event.  Dan asked how Robert copes with all these sad emotions on a daily basis, and how COVID has changed the industry.  Being afraid of your mortality is a very real thing, but no matter how difficult it is, please have the courage to talk about it, and make arrangements for yourself.

This is our quarterly commentary episode.  Are we facing inflation?  If so, what does that mean, and how does that impact our daily life?  The team put in their two cents.  Real estate has been crazy for a while now, but for the past couple of weeks, we have seen a fast rise of buyers not only paying way over the asking price but waiving all contingencies including inspections.  Tim himself is looking for a house right now, and he said he for sure will not waive inspections.  The potential downfall is just too severe for him to stomach.  If you don't absolutely NEED a house right now, we encourage you not to get swept up by this "housing tornado" just because all your friends are doing it.  Lastly, we discussed fractional shares.  Nathaniel likes the idea of being able to afford a tiny part (less than one share) of a giant company.  Dan, however, worried that this will encourage self-trading individuals to view the stock market even more so as a casino, not a properly-educated long-term investment.  As Nathaniel said, like most financial products (services), they are designed for good reasons, it's when people get too greedy that everything turns into an uncontrollable mess.  Educate yourself, do the research, and have a healthy amount of anything!

For this episode, we invited Abby Rosenblum, the founder of “The Social: Modern Matchmaking”, to talk about dating and matchmaking.  Abby switched from her career as a TV producer to a professional matchmaker three years ago.  She said that for both jobs, the key is to ask the right questions, and make your audience feel comfortable.  Dan asked what Abby doesn’t like about this industry - her answer: lack of authenticity.  Abby talked about how matchmaking is not just finding the right person for you, but more about helping you understand what you want, and then coaching you on how to interact with people.  Abby asked Tim, Nathaniel, and Dan if they would be open to a matchmaking service if they were single as there is a surprising trend in her industry to work primarily with men, but not women.  Tim was wondering what questions should one ask if they are interested in the matchmaking service.  Like Abby said, if you are ready for love, get out of your comfort zone, and give it a try!

This is Part II of the episode.  We mainly talked about the barriers and risks involved in the industry and what the future could look like.  As a scientist, Echo wished she could do research freely, across state lines, and without having to come up with creative ways to dodge unnecessary regulations.  Josh thought one of the biggest issues is money: the best product no longer wins the market.  It takes a lot of money to just get permits, and even more to deal with regulations to run the business.  Nathaniel and Josh discussed how the current cannabis industry resembles the alcohol industry after Prohibition.  Dan and Tim were interested in what competition is like.  Josh mentioned that the distribution channels are where major competition occurs.  Interested in where cannabis' future lays?  Watch the full episode!

This is Part I of the episode, where we invited Toxicologist Echo Rufer and Cannabis expert Joshua Hoffman to talk about the cannabis industry.  Back in 2018 and 2019, we couldn’t have a conversation with clients without them asking about cannabis.  But for the past two years, the new “hot baby” seems to be cryptocurrency.  What happened?  According to Josh, due to regulation, and the fact that the cannabis industry just went from illegal to partially legal, the market is extremely fractured and has been cut into thousands of small pieces.  This fracture naturally makes investment dangerous and volatile.  Echo agreed that not having standardized regulations is problematic.  Josh pointed out that the federal reclassification of cannabis and more stable banking is crucial to moving forward.  As a scientist, Echo stressed the importance of listening to science in order to make the right policies.  Josh completely agreed: having more “Echos” in the cannabis industry is going to lead to a better consumer experience and safer business operations.  In the next week, we are going to continue this topic, and talk about what other hurdles this industry is facing and what the future holds.

This topic fires us up quite a lot because we LOVE and are PASSIONATE about our job, yet our industry overall is not up to our standards.  We kicked off the episode with the brief history of “financial advisors”: from being the platform (back then, individuals couldn't trade stocks without a broker), to selling products (that’s what the majority of today’s brokers and dealers are selling: insurance, annuities, funds, etc.), to selling performance and service (RIAs charge you a percentage of assets under management), and to what LBW is doing and what the industry is slowly turning towards: selling advice and knowledge.  We broke down what different types of “advisors” are available today, what roles they each follow, and how they are incentivized differently and charge you differently.  It’s crucial to understand the difference between the suitability rule (followed by brokers and dealers) and the fiduciary rule (followed by RIAs) and how they will affect you.  Tim passionately explained why he has a problem with our industry and where he sees the future unfolding.  As Dan said, the change is coming, regardless if you want it to or not.  You can either lead the change, follow the crowd, or be left behind.  We, at LBW, choose to lead the change, push the change, and be a part of the change!

In this episode, we invited our former intern and current summer employee Jerard Stoegbauer to talk about how his academic life prepared (or didn't prepare) him for the real world.  Jerard graduated this past May from UW-Madison with a degree in Personal Finance.  He believes that other than academic learning, the most important experience in one's college life is to learn how to meet new people, have a relationship, figure out who you are, and how you fit in this world.  Nothing will prepare you fully for the real world, but an internship will link the gap if you are able to find one that teaches you more than how to use the copy machine.  Jerard entered the Army ROTC program (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) in college because he wanted to be a part of something bigger than himself.  We discussed leadership, and how he would like to help follow young soldiers' finances with his knowledge.  As Jerard is preparing to start his active duty with the Army in August, we wish him all the best and thank him for his service!

Light a candle, pop the cork, and relax - we are going to talk about wine today!  We invited Wollersheim Winery & Distillery owners Philippe Coquard and Céline Coquard Lenerz to talk about their family business.  We kicked off the podcast with a brief overview of Wollersheim's story, how it started and how it has since grown.  As the 13th and 14th generation of a winemaker family, Philippe and Céline drink, dine, talk, and breathe wine all day long.  As a family business, Philippe stressed the importance of love and family first.  As for their succession plan, Céline still remembers going to the family meetings as a kid when the winery was transferred from her grandparents to her parents, and how those "why do I have to be here for these boring meetings?" moments have become so important to her now as it has prepared her mentally for future successions.  As the father-daughter duo said, for a multi-generational family business, always remember: family first, and communicate the uncomfortable "money talk" regularly!

In this episode, we invited sociologist, relationship & online dating expert Dr. Jess Carbino to talk about dating apps and online dating.  Dr. Jess moved to L.A. for her Ph.D. in sociology and got onto dating apps to make friends and find her special someone.  Instantly, she got interested in how people present themselves online, and how they define “attractive.”  She talked about the massive data and how she studied them.  Tim was curious: other than brand reputation, what’s the most important thing for a dating app to thrive?  In Dr. Jess’s opinion, it’s the technology innovation.  The industry hasn’t had a meaningful innovation since Tinder.  As for the future of online dating, she can see Al and VR playing crucial roles.  Advice from Dr. Jess if you are interested in online dating: this is a numbers game; you will experience emotional highs and lows, but it’s important to keep going and give it another try!

This is Part II of “So, You Want To Start A Business!?”.  As Nathaniel mentioned, it’s extremely important to choose the right structure for your entity (LLC, Partnership, C-Corp, S-Corp, Sole Proprietorship, etc.) Not only will it affect your taxes, but more importantly, it will also ensure or obstruct your company’s future growth.  Other things that are necessary: a business plan, a continuity plan, a succession plan, and an operating agreement/bylaws.  Dan talked about where to find financing, banks, investors, investment firms, etc.  The team discusses where and how to find resources that may benefit you greatly.  As Tim said, you need to start networking the day you can speak!  How true.  To sum it up, owning a business is hard work, but it’s worth it.  You will experience rapid personal growth alongside the business.  Be prepared, be rational, and don’t be afraid to ask for help!