Meet Michael
Your Guide on the Path to Financial Freedom
The financial “experts” in this industry have spent lifetimes overcomplicating financial terms, insurance policies, and investment strategies. They’re counting on your eyes glazing over when they offer advice using smart-sounding buzzwords.
I don’t think that’s very helpful. Who has time to read all 10 pages of legalese printed in super small script every time they want to make a wise money move for their family?
As your guide, I help you make smart decisions because you truly understand your choices. My job is to make all the financial jargon more friendly. I want you to feel good about using your money to achieve your goals.
How Did I Learn about Business and Finance?
It all started the day I burned the house down.
That story was from my Cub Scout days, back when my mother called me a wild child, and I wasn’t interested in anything as boring as reading directions.
And it wasn’t the whole house. Only the kitchen and family room.
Law school at Georgetown University changed me into a responsible worker with a family and ambition. As a lawyer, I defended criminal tax evasion cases and later specialized in estate planning, civil tax litigation, and probate.
My business experience actually began with steel and baked goods.
Despite my chosen career field, I have always had a passion for business.
In 1996, my dad retired from the steel fabrication company he had started 50 years earlier. I became a partial owner and CFO of Victory Steel and Supply.
I stayed on for nine years and discovered that I loved helping businesses succeed. I enjoyed raising capital and creating efficient operations so great ideas and talented people could thrive.
My next venture was partial ownership of a Wisconsin bakery called Sweet Perfections. I helped a wonderful baker get his business off the ground and running smoothly. Then I helped raise millions of dollars as part of a tech startup called Touch Automation. We eventually sold that company, and the technology we developed is still in use today.
During the Great Recession, I created a company that traded distressed bank-owned real estate (which banks never wanted) for home equity loans. Following that, I worked in life settlements, which were not widely known at the time but are now a profitable part of the life insurance industry.
If you guessed I was a workaholic, you’d be correct.
Despite that, my two amazing kids and two beautiful grandkids are my world. When I see you, please expect me to show off pictures of my grandson. He’s objectively the cutest toddler.
After a lifetime of brokering business deals all over the country, I discovered I would rather fly back to Wisconsin to spend time with them. Now, my life is a healthy balance between my own family and helping other families financially succeed.
Here’s what my various business ventures have taught me:
Most people wouldn’t take a major loss—the very mention of “catalogs” still makes my stomach sick—and try out a different business model the very next day.
I did.
I’ve seen firsthand how planning creates crucial momentum. When you have a clearly defined path, setbacks become a bump in the road rather than a reason to give up.
The final key to success is the fearlessness to belt out “For Good” in front of an audience. For that, I’m ready. If there’s a stage, I could sing it right now! So in addition to working with the right people, you must know that your business associates are reliable and worthy of your time and investment.
That’s why trust is so important to me.
Above all, I enjoy educating my clients. I want to answer all your questions until you completely understand what you’re getting into. Planning your future should be a two-way street: I learn about you and your needs, and you glean from my decades of experience with money and business.
Together, we create a plan so that your future can be changed for the better.