In this episode of WealthTalk, join host Christian Rodwell as he interviews the inspiring husband and wife duo, Steve and Marie Khela, who have successfully achieved their financial independence goals through WealthBuilders. They discuss their initial motivations, adherence to the process, asset strategies, achieving financial independence, and the significance of education, mindset, and relationships. Tune in to gain valuable insights from their experiences.
In this episode of WealthTalk, join host Christian Rodwell as he interviews the inspiring husband and wife duo, Steve and Marie Khela, who have successfully achieved their financial independence goals through WealthBuilders.
Discover what motivated Steve and Marie to embark on their WealthBuilders journey, seeking structure and guidance to transform their financial future.
They share how they adhered to the WealthBuilders process and roadmap, focusing on various assets and strategies including property, business, and pensions.
Steve and Marie delve into the significance of education, mindset, and leveraging relationships in their success. Their story is a testament to the power of dedication and smart strategies in reaching financial independence.
Tune in to hear their full story and gain valuable insights that could help you on your own path to financial freedom. Don't miss this engaging and informative conversation!
Resources Mentioned In This Episode:
Next Steps On Your Wealth Building Journey:
>> Join the WealthBuilders Facebook Community
>> Become a member of WealthBuilders
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Speaker 1 0:01
The purpose of wealth talk is to educate, inform, and hopefully entertain you on the subject of building your wealth. Wealth builders recommends you should always take independent financial, tax or legal advice before making any decisions around your finances.
Christian Rodwell 0:17
Today's episode is brought to you by wealth builders membership, a proven step by step process that helps you achieve financial security within two to three years. Find out more. Head to wealth builders.co.uk, forward slash membership. Welcome to this week's episode of wealth talk. My name is Christian Rodwell, membership director for wealth builders, joined today by our founder, Mr Kevin Whelan, Hi, Kevin.
Speaker 2 0:40
Hello Chris. Good to be with you. How you feeling? You haven't been your best recently?
Christian Rodwell 0:44
Oh, no. I'm well, thanks for asking. Yeah, I'm still trying to shift this chest infection and cough in about a month now, so still not 100%
Unknown Speaker 0:54
well, as long as you're coughing, not coughing, yes,
Christian Rodwell 0:57
I'll try not to cough throughout this podcast episode today and a great episode. Always love hearing from our members. Of course, it's the whole reason we do what we do is to see the progress, to see that transformation from people who perhaps a little nervous when they first take that first, you know, step into into the community, not quite sure if it's going to work out for them, but we know, Kevin, those who follow the process and stick with it will get the results eventually.
Speaker 2 1:28
You know that it's an interesting point. You talk about being nervous, right? You're only nervous about something that's important. Think about it. You know, are you nervous walking down the street. No, are you nervous in your day to day job? No, are you nervous if you run a business and you've been running a few No, you're always nervous when you do something that's challenging. But on the other side of the challenge is the transformation, and this is what's happened in this case. But it takes, it takes people to be open minded to that challenge and not to be daunted by the challenge. Do you know what you couldn't get a better example of people who followed the process. Did they tick the box? They ticked all the boxes. Did they follow the process? They follow the process? Did they cheat the wheel, as we call it? No, they didn't cheat the wheel. They did everything and more with as many different strategies you could. You could talk about from business strategies to SaaS strategies to property strategies, family wealth strategies, anything that is part of what we do and in such a short time frame too, that's kind of surprising. And I think often, when you look back and you celebrate what you've done, you've forgotten how far you've come. And this is, think, what they found, didn't they? Stephen Marie, so yeah, good, good case study to pull out Chris and and humble people too, and which is why, you know, they don't really talk about numbers so much, but that's fine, but we kind of know where most of our members are aiming at when we talk about security, when we talk about independence, while everybody's number is different, the kind of averages that seem to ring true For most people. Yeah,
Christian Rodwell 3:21
that's right. So our conversation today is with husband and wife, Steve and Marie Keela. Steve is a business owner. He'll talk about that didn't want all his eggs in one basket. And we see business owners falling into this trap. Sometimes Kevin not looking outside of the business asset class and and Steve and Marie have absolutely now expanded and diversified into different areas. And the goal for them was early retirement. You know, early 50s for Steve, late 40s for Marie. But they'd created something called Project 55 and, you know, they they're absolutely on track ahead of time, I think, for completing that. And they want to go on more holidays. Freedom of travel really important to them, but also that freedom of choice, so that they can step back from the day to day activities of their business and choose the things they want to do.
Speaker 2 4:06
I think it's fascinating in a way that we I talk to business owners all the time and and I encourage them to see that in reality, they've got two businesses, the business that they're in, in the business of wealth, because only wealth gives certainty in life. Businesses don't give certainty. It's the wealth that flows from some businesses, and we know most businesses do not sell, and most businesses don't create recurring income. So for most business owners, like Job owners, they've got to reinvest money in order to build their wealth and that reinvestment, I often get them to imagine, and we do this in wealth builders, Chris, don't we that they've got a second business, and they call it something like a family wealth business, and we've got so many stories of our members creating logos and getting the children involved, and a whole raft of different. Are very creative ideas. They created their own project. 55 I mean, that's just brilliant, isn't it? It's not necessarily a business, but it's the business of doing and achieving financial independence by a certain date, which, you know, it's amazing. They've done well, tell you the results, but so quickly in such a relatively short space of time, really, that surprised them. As they look back, I think absolutely
Christian Rodwell 5:28
yes, they joined in March, 2023 so just a little over 12 months, really. So I think best that we hear from them and their own story. So let's head on today to our conversation with Steve and Marie. Keela, Steve and Marie, welcome to wealth talk. How are you both today?
Unknown Speaker 5:50
Really good. Christian, really, really good.
Unknown Speaker 5:53
Yeah, nice to meet you. See you. Christian, yeah,
Christian Rodwell 5:54
so pleased to have you on. It's been an absolute whirlwind 18 months or not even that. I think it was back in March 2023, when you decided to join the wealth builders Academy. And boy, you haven't stopped since right? So we're going to talk through what you've been doing and and hear how some of that has turned into almost hitting your financial independence level now, which is an incredible achievement. So well done to both. I'll say that now. But let's, let's, let's take you back to to that point where you made that decision, okay, we're going to join wealth builders. And what was going on at that time? You know what? What was it that you felt you needed some help with and what were you looking to gain from from joining the community? Yeah,
Speaker 3 6:41
sure. So when we started off with wealth goods, I've originally found you guys online on Facebook, scrolling through and then he was mentioning about the pensions and stuff. So we had a sip already set up, but I wanted something which we can set up as a family pension. And the SaaS was something we looked at, and we thought, That sounds really good. Looked into a bit more, jumped on a call with Gary as well. Gary Leland, he explained how it all works and everything, and from there, really just signed up for the academy and signed up for the SAS programme as well. At that same time, our finances were we were okay financially, but we wanted to make sure we had a structure in place. So that's our main thing that we wanted to do, really, and that's what wealth builders helped us
Christian Rodwell 7:21
do. And you followed the roadmap, which, you know, we'll talk through some of those steps today and see exactly what you know, what helped you to make the progress that you've made. And you know, mindset is key at the beginning. Now, you've been a business owner for 20 odd years, Steve, so you know you've got that resilience, I'm sure. And in terms of, you know, if you've given some actions by a coach, you know, you've got some things to do. Are you the kind of person that makes sure you just get on and do it? Yeah,
Speaker 3 7:50
100% Yeah. I'm one of them who likes to make a list of things and set myself a target and I want to take them off. So that was one of the things which really helped the wealth coach helped as well. We'll go over our targets and sit down and just write them down and just try to target them month by month. Really, yes, I was really good. So some
Christian Rodwell 8:07
of the early, early steps in the process are just really good housekeeping, looking at money coming in and out of your life. And we've got a process called debits. Were there any things that you're aware of? There perhaps fees that you were paying or, you know, outgoings that you didn't need anymore, which could help you reduce some of those outgoings? Sure,
Speaker 3 8:24
sure. So I had a couple of life insurances which were running on properties before that we had, and they were just running in the background. So we weren't using that house that we sold that house, I was linked to the house, and we managed to cancel a couple of them. There are a few direct debits which were coming out from magazines and stuff. So I was just saving little bits in here. And the stuff, really that we really, that we managed to cut down in the end. I think we saved about 180 quid, I think in total, just doing that debits challenge, which was really good. And it was just writing all these figures down in front of us and seeing what's coming in and what's
Christian Rodwell 8:54
going out. Yeah. And then the key is, obviously, to make sure you put that saving to good use, asset building use. The other key thing that holds people back and be interesting to hear your thoughts on this, both of you, is, is time. A lot of people never really get started because they say, Oh, I'm already so busy, you know, I don't have any spare time to start building wealth. Well, you've got a family, you've got a business, you know, you're both really busy. So where did you find the time to start? You know, building wealth as well? Well, that's
Speaker 3 9:25
when Kevin mentioned that in in a couple of weeks past, I was always mentioned even if you spend two hours a week just doing some wealth building, or just getting your sitting down and writing down what you want to do. So we just broke down our targets. So we've got something called Project 55 which we've always worked we've had it running for about six or seven years, really, and that's something, by the time we reach 55 we want to be able to take a back step and maybe get a holiday home in Dubai or something, and move there, really, for six or seven months. And that was our project. So we just broke it down from there, really, and said, look, we've got to spend at least two hours a week just sorting. At events and stuff. Really, I think we're
Speaker 4 10:01
always doing it weren't we both had six or seven years. There was always that time that we put aside to think about the future and planning for the future. And we did gradually build the decent savings pot as well over that time to kind of okay, we're at this stage now. What can we do without money? So it's always been there and but I said last year, March, we just went for born with it, yeah. Took on. It took a lot more than Yeah, yeah.
Christian Rodwell 10:26
So, as you said, looking for a bit more structure, a bit more guidance and direction. And boy, as I say, Have you, have you taken that guidance? And the key thing as well early on is to understand yourself, right? What are you good at? What are you not so good at? What do you enjoy? What are some of the tasks that you should find other people to do all of that. And we, we obviously do wealth dynamics, which is an online assessment, really helps you to find out what your entrepreneurial profile is. So can you each remember what your wealth dynamic profile was?
Speaker 3 10:58
Yeah. So originally, I started by when I started with the well, I did mine first, and I became I was an accumulator. And when you start reading up on what it is, it was exactly what I was really. I was very good with my numbers and everything. So after that, I decided, Marie, if she can do her as well, and she turned out to be an accumulator. We were both the same. So
Speaker 4 11:18
we had a very surprise. Yeah, torture. There was kind of some peaks around, but generally, majority of you were accumulators. Yeah,
Christian Rodwell 11:27
interesting. And they say accumulators are the best project managers. So, so do you feel that you're both pretty good at making sure things get delivered when they should do 100% Yeah,
Speaker 4 11:37
I think we both have a different set of skills, and we just really bounce off each other that we've been we work in the business together as well. So I think that's helped, hasn't it? By running the business, moving on to this part of our, you know, future planning, we've worked really well together. So
Christian Rodwell 11:54
at the heart of the wealth builders process and our model is all built around seven pillars, and the more assets that you can begin to generate recurring income from then, the more financially stable you can become. And those seven assets, of course, cover your home investments, property, business. What were some of the perhaps the assets that you already had when you joined wealth builders and and then what were some of the new ones that you chose to focus on.
Speaker 3 12:21
Our main asset was our business, really? Yeah, so we've had our business running for about since 2003 after I left university, I couldn't find a job, really, and I ended up starting my IQ business looking after charities really. Starting looking after charities and building computers for them in the garage, and they would from there, got a few support contracts and started building the IT business up from there. So we had that already in place, and it's been growing and growing and growing, really, over the years. And then we had a few properties as well already. So we had a couple of buy to lets that we bought in 2016 and we just let it
Unknown Speaker 12:56
seem to that 16. Yeah, our
Speaker 3 12:58
home was another big asset that we've had, we've always wanted to be paying that mortgage off completely. So we did that by the age of 40. We wanted to make sure that was out the way, and they'll stress with that really. So that was our main assets. Really our business, and a couple of buy to let's
Christian Rodwell 13:12
and when you sat down with your coach and started talking about your plan, what were some of the pillars that you decided you were going to focus on? Then mainly was going
Speaker 3 13:21
to be our property, because we enjoyed property, and I, I wanted to focus more on that than anything else. We already had stocks and shares. So that was one of the other things that we wanted to focus on. So our pensions were invested in stocks and shares. So we want to keep that going as well, and then maybe a couple of JVs as well. That's one of, one of the things we wanted to do as well with a few advanced property people who are already up and running, really, in a HMO or something like that, really,
Speaker 4 13:48
we do have some experience like so we did the we bought, the buy to let 910, years ago, the property we currently living in, that was a really big renovation project. So we did kind of have some experience in that area initially, which is why we kind of went down the property route again. And
Christian Rodwell 14:04
that leads into the next step, which is leverage, which really is the key to building wealth. When you get your head around you know how to leverage all of the assets in your life. You've already touched on several of them right there. Then this is when the magic starts to happen. So are there any examples of how used either financial leverage or intellectual leverage or relationship leverage to help you on your journey. Yeah. So
Speaker 3 14:27
financial leverage we've used is that we had the business which was running for a number of years. We had a good part of money built up there really was just sitting there, not doing anything for us. So we managed to get up, set up a structure which allowed us to have our group at the top, set up a couple of more companies, which are holding company where we had our property in, and then use that, that finance from the geeks company to move it across to the other company and use that to buy and refurb properties, really. So that was one bridge we used, yeah,
Speaker 4 14:56
just giving them into business loans between them. Between how
Unknown Speaker 15:02
it works and stuff.
Christian Rodwell 15:04
Did you use any investments or any cash that you had elsewhere? You said, obviously your home, that was something that was kind of off the table. You weren't going to touch that. Yeah,
Speaker 3 15:13
exactly. We just always felt that we don't touch our own home really. So we can, we could remortgage it, but we didn't want to do that at all.
Christian Rodwell 15:21
Yeah, in terms of relationships, then obviously, you know, you had the relationship with your coach. But what about any friends, family or people in your network? Was there anyone that you collaborated with or have been able to kind of, you know, bounce ideas off?
Speaker 3 15:34
So before I joined wealth builders, I wasn't very big on networking, you see, so it was only after I started doing a bit more networking online, jumping on the courses and stuff, and then doing one to ones with other people who are who part of the wealth builders, I got a bit more confident and started going to the pin meetings and stuff and speaking to a few people there. And now I feel as if it's getting it's working a lot better. I went with my son to a couple of events as well, and he was amazing just to see him stand up and speak in a room full of like 2030 people introduce himself and saying he's got a bit of a passion for property as well. I still struggle to do that myself to this day, but it was really good to see him do that as well, which I think is probably because of his senior, his dad, do it now he's probably learned from that as well, focusing
Christian Rodwell 16:17
on on the property then, in particular, because am I correct to think that really it's been property and business that have helped you now generate enough recurring income to get you pretty much close to that financial financial independence target within, as I say, just over 12 months or so? Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 16:35
I'm pretty confident tell
Christian Rodwell 16:38
us a bit more about the properties that you've purchased and what strategies you've used over the last 12 months
Speaker 3 16:45
for the first one we bought was just up the road, really. We've got a commercial shop, which is which we run as a family, really. And right next door, a couple of houses came up. We decided to put an offer in for them. Just before we were going on holiday, they accepted one of the offers. We bought the property, and then we've done a complete back to Brick refurb on it, so, but we project managed it ourselves that are giving it to a builder to do everything we managed to get the trades in that individual time. So we learned a lot from that. Really, while we were doing that, we would let just, we were going to put it on a normal buy, to let, really, just let it out. But then we started looking to serviced accommodation, and that was one of the strategies I've been looking at. And because it was so local to us, and the area was perfect for it to be at sa, we changed into SA, and it's been doing really well since then. On the on the other bit, we bought the housing houses,
Speaker 4 17:34
first auction property. We've been a bit worried using auctions, but we went ahead and bought the purchase property in August last year, which was an auction property. It worked out really well. We that's near completion, another refurb project, using all the skills that we've used learn put our first one same trade, people we've made relationships with, so we've been using them on this project as well, which is near completion, hopefully in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 18:04
And then our latest strategy was a short lease apartment that we managed to get as well that was an auction property as well, but nobody was touching it. And because he only had a 52 year lease left on it as well, and the person who owned the lease had passed away, so we had gone into probate. The wife who was trying to sell the lease, she the freeholder was a plane ball at all. So I ended up in a dodgy sort of warehouse in Birmingham, really speaking to the freeholder to see if I can get their lease extended. And we had a mutual agreement, shook our hand on it that he extend the lease for 20,000 for 999, years. So that took quite a bit of time as well, is going back and forth, because the three older didn't have everything in place. We had all these forms that we needed to complete and everything, but it would never get back to us and everything. But it took a lot of time, but it was just pushing paper around. But we managed to get that very good price, like 89,000 with the lease extended to 999, years. So that worked out really well. We'll be looking to refinance that in six months for about 200,000 as well, so I'll get most of our cash back out for that. And that's because I took a course, really with Jason Patterson. He's called the short lease King, and I did a course with him, and I did every step he told me to do step by step on this first project that we were doing. And it worked out really well. And
Christian Rodwell 19:22
you emphasised there the importance of education. And again, if you think back to that moment when you said, Okay, let's join wealth builders. Could you imagine that you'd be doing all of this stuff, you know, the following year? No,
Speaker 3 19:34
not at all, really. No, I think education and just networking with others is so important. That's what wealth builders allows us to do,
Speaker 4 19:43
just steamroll the past, like less than 18 months. Just can't believe quickly, you know, everything's kind of come into place, and then it's definitely helped us. Yeah,
Speaker 3 19:52
when we started six months and five months, and it's unbelievable when you see on PayPal. You've done in them 12 months, really. Otherwise, you think probably I haven't done a lot really. But when you see on paper, you have done a lot in 12 months,
Christian Rodwell 20:07
that's it. Yeah, and obviously, the obvious results, the main thing is recurring income. That's what we focus on. And as we've said, You've almost achieved your financial independence target, which is incredible, once you start to get to that level, momentum kicks in, doesn't it? And do you see now that, literally, it's just going to keep on going and going,
Speaker 4 20:29
I think so, yeah, it's like a verse, isn't it? You We want more. We want, you know, we you can really enjoy it. It kind of yours. It gives a buzz. It kind of gives you adrenaline portrait to kind of think, look what we can do and look what we've done, kind of push you forward. You know, just to want more and to do more. My main
Speaker 3 20:46
thing is going to be the business really, yeah, which is, we're going to keep that going at the moment it works, but we're going to try to get the staff to run it for us as well, so we can take a bit of a back step. That's my main aim now, really, to see if we can cut our days. I've cut my days down to four now from five, because we were really busy when we were building it up. I was really busy, but since I joined mile, did learnt that I need to delegate a lot more as well. So I've managed to delegate. We're looking to get more staff in now as well, to build the business so that I, me and Marie, are not involved as much, and then we can concentrate on the other pillars, like property as well.
Christian Rodwell 21:19
Yeah, and have you set the business up in a way that it generates recurring income as well
Speaker 3 21:25
it does, yeah. So our main business is support, really. So we provide IT support to all businesses all over the UK, and we lease it equipment that was our main business. So we started off as a support company, but we found that businesses wanted new equipment as well, so we started introducing leasing of IT equipment. So we lease laptops from little as like six or seven pound a week, and they keep it for three years, and then after 24 months, they can renew or they can return the equipment. Equipment is always changing. So what we do is we offer them a non one stop solution, really, where they get the equipment, get the support, get the warranty, and then they can just keep upgrading when they want.
Speaker 4 22:02
So the support contracts definitely are a decent recurring revenue for us. Yes, I mean, there's people that have been with you for since you started, 20 years. So touch what the old people staying with us? Yeah,
Speaker 3 22:18
marinas get annoyed when they do ring me on the weekend and stuff. But I said that's the reason they stay with me, because they know they can get around the end of the call. So
Christian Rodwell 22:24
the money's nice, right? But, but what does the money ultimately allow you to do? What can you see now, in the future, that you're going to have the ability to, you know, to do, perhaps, that you wouldn't if, if you weren't at this level?
Speaker 4 22:37
I think the first one is early, early retirement. Ish, I'm I'm late 40s and new or nearly 50. So the next seven to eight years retire, we want to holiday home in another country where we can kind of spend months out there, work from there, if needed, and then kind of back and forth from here, isn't it?
Unknown Speaker 23:00
We can stop completely. We
Speaker 4 23:02
need to be doing something. Yeah, we both need to be doing something. Yeah, we need to be kept busy. We kind of need to have a drawing or something to work towards, but it's nice to think. But I also
Speaker 3 23:13
wanted to make sure that with our kids as well, that they weren't worried as well. We wanted to set up a stone where that where they can be coming to the company, into the property business as well, knowing that they are getting a bit of income from there, but they can go out and do whatever they wanted in terms of jobs. So if one wanted to just do charity work, they'll know they're getting some income coming in from the properties as well. And they can go and do charity work. They're not held back, really. But we don't want to be spoiling them as well, saying that this is all yours as well, really. So we want him to work for him. I think they're learning as well along the way. So that was one of the things I wanted to teach him. So every day, not how to budget now. So if any money they get for their birthday, they're always saving 25% of that into another account. Then they're all the other 80% or whatever it is they spend on themselves, really. So they're learning how to do that.
Christian Rodwell 24:00
You mentioned your son, obviously standing up and speaking at the pin networking event. Your daughter's also getting involved. I believe
Speaker 3 24:09
she is. She's managing the essay for us, really. Yeah, she's getting all the bookings and looking after and getting the cleaners booked in. She's automated it using some software online now, so whenever a booking comes in at automatic reply last the customer, and then when the cleaner needs to be booked in, she's managed to do that as our so she's,
Speaker 4 24:28
she's automated a lot of processes. And, you know, she's 19, and I don't think if we didn't, you know, come on board with this, she would have been exposed to anything like this. So she's definitely, you know, had a really great opportunity because of, you know what we've done here? Yeah, she's
Speaker 3 24:44
doing a law degree at the same time as well, so she's managing that as well. So that's really good.
Unknown Speaker 24:48
You can see a bit of a drive in her as well. How are you
Speaker 3 24:53
big passion? She wants to do all sorts. How she at the moment? And
Speaker 4 24:57
I think, like Steve mentioned, because we. You are on to financial freedom. It gives the children the opportunity to kind of, you know, not work for the sake of working, but to work to do something that they enjoy and have a passion for, instead of doing just a day to day kind of jobs. And that was the whole point as well. Yeah, yeah. And
Christian Rodwell 25:18
you mentioned at the beginning, you know, looking at leveraging your pension through the SaaS. And SaaS obviously can form a really fantastic legacy, that trust fund where, you know, it can make sure that all of the hard work that you're building now is protected for the future. Is that something that we've also enjoyed implementing and learning about? Yeah, the
Speaker 3 25:38
SaaS was quite a difficult set because we were with Vanguard, and there were always obstacles of moving that fund across to,
Speaker 4 25:48
you know, there's a quite a few back and forth, if it's something new and not relatively. Yeah, that's been really good. We've also got the children's pensions. Yeah, the kids
Speaker 3 26:01
have got their own pension set up as well. We set them up as well, but the SAS is something that we wanted to set up so we can start using the loan back as well to develop the property business a bit more as well. But we also wanted to use it as a leverage that was amazing, that we've got it as a backup.
Christian Rodwell 26:18
So are there any pillars left untouched, now that you've yet to focus on the JV
Speaker 3 26:24
is the next thing for me, really, I love to do a JV with somebody really, just to learn a bit more.
Christian Rodwell 26:30
I mean, the one thing it sounds like you're definitely setting yourselves up for is that freedom of choice, so having the ability to, you know, decide how you spend your days, who you spend your days with, and what you spend your time doing. And you might still be in the thick of it right now. I'm sure. I know you've got loads of, loads of projects still going on, but hopefully you can see within the next few years that that absolutely will be, you know, something, that you'll you'll have that freedom of time, that freedom of choice.
Speaker 3 26:58
Yeah, Christian, I think so. Yeah. We love our holidays, as I know we do like travelling, so that's one of the things. We always try to get three to four holidays a year if we can, yeah. So that's one thing we we can only do that now because of the financial freedom you can get, really and automating the business to a good degree that we can leave that now, yeah. So
Christian Rodwell 27:17
final thoughts, then, really, for anyone who's listening now, Steve and Marie, and perhaps they were in your shoes of where you were 12 months ago, and you know, they're not really sure if you know they've got the time or they've got the skill, what would be some words of advice that you'd like to share with them? So
Speaker 3 27:33
like I said, we were we were okay. We had the finance day in place, but we didn't have a structure. And I think with wealth builders, it gives you that structure, really, what are the nine steps that we needed to do? Everything was there. We've got the peer in the group as well, which can help us whenever you want anything, you can ask a question. And I
Speaker 4 27:50
think everybody worries about future, planning and thinking, or they don't want to. You know, think about what far ahead is daunting. You know, it's it's scary, but this gives you an opportunity, you know, to kind of do it, and it's simplified, and it's not, it's step by step by step. It simplified it you know, they hold your hand along the whole process, and you know before you know, your future time is kind of done. And you you know this, and it wasn't as difficult or as daunting as you thought it would be. And so no one wants to, you know, and also, here's the legacy that you leave for your children that was really important to us. Because also, no one wants to think that we're not going to be here anymore. But, you know, it just makes it, just makes it so much simpler for definitely not hold
Speaker 3 28:35
back. I think if you can do it, I'll jump on the course and jump on the academy really supports amazing whenever we
Christian Rodwell 28:45
really should give a shout out to to the coaches that have helped you along the way as well, who have that been?
Speaker 3 28:52
Toby's our coach at the moment. He's been amazing. He's always coming up with good ideas. We're looking at our project together now at the moment, and he's he's just managed. I've just looked at it as a normal, flip sort of project, but he's come back with all sorts of ideas and stuff, and then you just start saying, Oh, yeah. So that was really good. I jumped on my niches course as well. Did that for just to sort out quite stocks and shares. And that was really good cause jumped on that with him as well. So that was, you can ask anything. And the webinars are really important to me as well. Like, there was a webinar yesterday that I unfortunately missed, but that was about the wealth dynamics as well. But you can get them all recorded. You jump on when you get time. So they're really, really useful. John Dale, who does the property for the property, is expert in that, and you can jump on a call with him as well. So there's plenty of stuff to do and plenty of help available.
Christian Rodwell 29:44
Yeah, yeah. And, of course, both of you who've been great members of the community, sharing and helping others and and that's the key, isn't it? It's always to have an arm stretched out behind for those that are a few steps behind and and stretched out ahead as well, for those that have or. Already walked the path that you wish to follow. So yeah, it's all about that. Congratulations to you both on such an amazing, fast, accelerated journey over the last 12 months or so, and I know that it's just the beginning for you both. So well done, and thanks so much for sharing your story with us today.
Unknown Speaker 30:17
Thank you, Christian. Thank you.
Christian Rodwell 30:22
Okay, was great speaking to them. They're hearing everything that they've been doing. We'll dive into some of those lessons in a moment. Kevin, before we do that, let's head on over to Trustpilot, and I'm going to pull out one of the reviews that's come in for us in the last week. And this one is from Isaac, who says Kevin was a speaker on a recent Nimbus maps webinar, and his wealth of knowledge attracted us to speak with him as we were looking to set up our SAS pension. After a one to one call, he advised us that SAS is likely not the best option for us right now. He talked himself out of our work, and then he proceeded to inform us the best option for right now. The fact he did this, despite the fact it meant he is advising us not to use him and his team at this moment, means that we will 100% be using him. Thank you, Kevin, for your integrity, and thank you wealth builders.
Speaker 2 31:13
It sometimes surprises people when I do that, and then we do that as a team. It's not just inside the DNA of me, it's in the DNA of you and Paul and the rest of the team we live to get to get results for people, and they don't need to. They might come with an idea they want to SaaS, for example, or a particular strategy doesn't mean it's right for them, and it would be very easy just to capitalise commercially and say, yep, let's get that set up. You know you want one, let's do one. But in every situation, when we look at it, if it's just not right or the timing's not right, we just simply don't suggest it, because we don't want people to incur a cost and a weight on their mind when we know how difficult you know wealth is. So we want people to focus on what they can do, not what they might do in six months, 12 months, two years. So we'll continue to do that. And I'm always delighted when people come back and say, Hey, I spoke to you two years ago. I'm ready now, you know. And that happens an awful lot, and that surprised me, that review, I didn't invite the review, didn't ask someone to do a review. It's just nice that they took themselves to a place to say that. Let me think about that. That doesn't happen very often. You know, people thinking about us rather than think about themselves and and I'm pleased about that, and always slightly humbled by it. And thank you, you know, to Isaac for taking the time out, because he didn't need to do that, did he? He could have just moved on with his life, but he didn't. So thank you, Isaac, and thank you for all of those people who we've spoken to, who've come back and remembered that integrity further on down the line. So
Christian Rodwell 33:00
SAS, of course, was part of the strategy for Steve and Marie, the business owners. We mentioned that and leverage is a key part. And one of the first things that we do with all of our new members is create a wealth map so we can see everything on one page, and we get a real snapshot of where someone is right now. And then, working with a coach, can start to dive into the areas and look at the bigger picture. And one of the first things was setting up the company in the right way, so taking those business profits that were sat there and being able to now use them in other areas. And for Steve and Marie's case, investing in property,
Speaker 2 33:35
yeah, and creating the SaaS as well, because you can divert the profits into a tax free vehicle, and also get the corporation tax back. So look, it's any any business owner and anybody who's building wealth is going to suffer taxes. So the more that you can make your strategy as tax efficient as possible, the better it is. And definitely a good SAS candidate, not like Isaac, who wasn't quite ready, but Steve and Marie definitely ready. And they've they, you know, they put SAS to good use.
Christian Rodwell 34:09
Now, we didn't refer in conversation to the wheel of wealth, but of course, it's in the integral part of the wealth building process. Once you've chosen your pillar, your strategy, then you have to turn the wheel. And begins with education, support, connections. And we heard how much they've learned in the last 12 months or so, certainly when it comes to property, I think they talked about doing a commercial property, some service accommodation, buying at auction shortly, strategies, none of these things they really knew about until, till they started.
Speaker 2 34:40
And we're not suggesting that it's normal for people to adopt four or five different strategies and turn four or five wheels within one year. That's not normal. They're an exceptional couple, but it is normal to turn at least one or two they've just done it twice as quick. Exactly, you know, we think most people could do it in three years or so. When they've done they'll have done it by 1518, months. So that's because they've given themselves the ability. And, of course, they've got a great business as well, which gives them the stability of the recurring income that's also flowing in from it, contracts, from lease contracts and and some of those, as Marie said, you know, being been with them for for donkeys years, and that's a sign of a good business. And that's why, whether they sell the business or transfer the business into the ownership or the management of the team, they've got, that's going to stand them in good stead as well. And when you got that, when you got that stability, gives you the confidence to spend the time to be able to build other strategies. And, yeah, I mean, I think we should probably pick out one or two of those strategies on another podcast. Maybe we'll talk about auctions, Chris, maybe we'll pick out short leases, because, you know, everybody has heard about leases and 999, year leases. What happens when they when they get shorter? How does that work with mortgages? Is there a strategy to be able to identify these properties and and create more value? And all of those things are possible. And so every time we get a lesson shared by one of our members in the spotlight, yeah, it might be a reason for us just to dive a little bit deeper into that for the benefit of others. One
Christian Rodwell 36:26
of the other benefits I picked up on, certainly from Marie more confidence and Steve going out, networking, taking his son along, son standing up, and Steve probably going, wow. Where did that come from, right? So. And of course, their daughter now being involved in the business, and it's just so great to see those lessons being kind of passed on to the next generation.
Speaker 2 36:49
I think all too often, there's this concept, isn't there? The current generation most likely, statistically, to be wealthier than the generation to follow, and that's rare. You know, more often than not, the next generation is wealthier than the one before it. This is the first time it's not going to happen statistically. And therefore people dying and leaving money is one thing, but leaving wisdom is another, and involving their children and things feeling the pride of that involvement, feeling the pride also of getting well, well adjusted, mature, careful, generous children who don't just want to be entitled and spoiled, but want to participate in The family's wealth, not just to support the parents, who perhaps have been the pioneers of it, but to perpetuate it for generations to come. And I think that's an important part of the wealth builder principles, Chris, enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, our own family Declaration of Independence, which is to to build wealth and build wisdom, to pass that on and expand the wealth for the next generation and generations after that. So all the lessons we could probably teach in wealth builders have been encapsulated in one family here, and I'm delighted that you managed to, you know, to pull out all of those lessons Chris, so well done to you, and well done to Steve and Marie for for sharing as generously as they did. And
Christian Rodwell 38:23
the final parting words that Marie said was, it wasn't as difficult or daunting as they thought it would be. And I think for anyone listening now who perhaps is, you know, on the fence, you know, is this the right thing to do? Well, there you go. And words from from someone who was probably in that same position just 15 months ago. Yeah,
Speaker 2 38:43
and look, sitting on the fence is an interesting thing, but it's painful on the bottom, and you can get splinters there. You definitely don't want to be doing that for too long. But if it it isn't, Jen, it is really isn't daunting. If there's a plan to follow and you trust in the integrity of the people who are guiding you, and all we can do is keep doing our good work. Chris and and more people every month will find us and follow us and trust us, and that's all we want, really. And you know, other people are out there, and you can do things on your own, but in truth, speed, enjoyment and risk. It's faster, safer and more enjoyable if you do it with others, inside a community where you can feel that you're being supported, rather than just trying to do it all on your own. So I, you know, I commend anybody to take a fresh look at wealth builders. If you've been listening for a while, you know, just have another look. Come and join us on a webinar. Just take one small step because it only takes one small step every single month to build wealth. You don't have to do in 18 months, but most people can do it in three years. Think about that. Chris three years ago was covid, you know? So from three years from now, was like looking back three years you. Yeah, wow. You could be financially independent within three years, or financially secure, at least anyway, most people, in other words, all your bills paid for from the proceeds of recurring income that you generated from assets and a short time after that, hopefully to be independent for the rest of your life. And that's an interesting challenge for people who think, Oh, don't think I could do that. Well, can you just do one thing next month and reach out, and then can you do what we ask you to do the following month and just do it and just tick the box? You know, then, you know, most people can, can achieve it and yet. So if you actually do statistically, it's still 95% of the population don't make it. And you know, we're helping people, you know, hundreds at a time, but statistically, we're not going to do anything for the whole of the economy, and we just love that to accelerate, if we can. So if
Christian Rodwell 40:57
you'd like to have a chat, feel free get in touch. Head to wealth builders.co.uk, forward slash discovery call. You can book a call in with our team, and we'd be more than happy to to understand what it is that you're trying to achieve and see if we can help you get there a little bit quicker. Thanks to Steve and Marie again for for being our guest today. Thank you, Kevin. And we'll catch up Same time, same place next week,
Speaker 2 41:19
yeah, and we'll pick up on one of those strategies, I'm sure. So until then, my friend, see ya.
Speaker 1 41:26
We hope you enjoy today's episode. Don't forget that we are constantly updating our resources inside the wealth builders membership site to help you create, build and protect your wealth. Head over to wealth builders.co.uk/membership, right now for free access. That's wealth builders.co.uk/membership, you.