From 0 to 50: KFG is working together to change the world!

By Kevin Korhorn, CFP®, ChFC, AIF®

Last week, I was honored to be asked to speak to a group of fellow financial advisors on one of my favorite topics: personal financial planning. The response from the attendees was spectacular—not because I’m a particularly amazing speaker (I always feel a bit underprepared and overly enthusiastic!), but because customized, comprehensive financial planning is finally resonating with the majority of my peers. But that wasn’t always the case.

Far from it.

When I was led to start this business 25 years ago, I knew that the only way I would be happy in life was to serve others in a meaningful way. I saw financial planning as a way to dramatically improve people’s lives, and I was true to that calling from day one. But after becoming a leader at a large, regional sales office, it was clear to me that I was mostly alone in that mission. Most of the people I worked with didn’t believe in financial planning. As a result, there were order takers who acted as gatekeepers to financial products. I found myself in the minority of advisors who focused on connecting the solutions that were available with each client’s core values.

I believed connecting those dots was the only way to truly serve people, and I knew I wanted to build a team of like-minded professionals. So I set out with the mission of building a unique financial services firm: a place where everyone could work together and fly as high as their wings could take them. I could never have imagined how beautiful that dream would become.

This month, Korhorn Financial Group accomplished a major milestone, adding the 50^th member to our team! Even for a dreamer like me, it sounds almost too great to be true. But the number itself means far less than the amazing people that make up that number. As our team has grown year after year, I continue to be humbled by the brilliant folks who have joined our team. I learned long ago that the key to being a successful leader is to hire and nurture people who are smarter than you. My partners Mike Bernard and Josh Gregory exemplify that advice in action, and KFG would not be where we are today without their wisdom and commitment. For many folks on our team, KFG was their first step after college, and our newest team members help shape the culture of continual learning. They give me energy and challenge me to remain a humble learner.

What I believe draws great people to our team and keeps them at KFG for years is our unique culture. We begin every week by taking 30 minutes to participate in a Positive Focus Group. Built on a technique I learned at The Strategic Coach, Positive Focus helps us set the stage for making the coming week our “best week ever.” Every person on our team shares a highlight of the past week that exemplifies the mission of our team. We even have theme music (our long-standing friendship song is “Lean on Me”), and on the first Monday of every month we celebrate Milestone Monday—complete with goal updates, work anniversary celebrations, birthday treats, hi-fives, and, of course, our Friendship Song. Corny? Perhaps. Weird?  Kinda.  But it works. It helps us all remember why we’re here and that what we do is a matter of life and death. If we do our work with passion and excellence, we will change the world.

After more than 7 years at KFG, Bekah Smith, one of our Client Service Coordinators, recently made the decision to transition to a new full-time job: staying at home to care for her growing family. As we always do when someone moves on, our whole team came together in a circle and shared what they appreciated most about Bekah. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room. Like everyone who has been a part of our lives, Bekah took a piece of each of our hearts with her when she left. And yet, somehow, some way, the new members of our team find a way to fill the holes, bringing in more love and helping us continue to make KFG a place where everyone who is here wants to be every day.

Over the past 25 years, we’ve built a family at KFG. We work together, play together, and grow together, and our clients’ successes are the fruits of that unity. Best of all, I am no longer alone in my mission to help change the world through personal financial planning.

Next week, KFG is taking 21 members of our team plus two students from Bethel College to the annual meeting of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) in Chicago. I hope over the course of the three days of sessions filled with education and learning, each person with us will walk away with a single nugget of truth or inspiration that can help us change the world. That’s exactly what happened to me when I was listening to a session at the Silver Oak Securities conference last week. A speaker put something into words that I have always believed but never articulated, and the truth of it struck me at my core:

“Every one of your clients is the hero—or heroine—of their own story. Don’t work to make yourself the hero. Simply give every client the support they need to be heroes for their own families.”

At KFG, that’s precisely what we strive to do together. We are here to help you change your world and be the hero of your own story. If there’s anything more our team of 50 dedicated, caring professionals can do to help you make your dreams come true, please let us know. We are, truly and humbly, here to serve.