Aaron Novinger with Interstate Business Management

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Houston, Texas. It’s time for Houston Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Trisha Stetzel: Hello, Houston. Trisha Stetzel here bringing you another episode of Houston Business Radio. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Aaron Novinger with Interstate Business Management. Aaron, welcome to the show.

Aaron Novinger: Hello, Trisha. How are you?

Trisha Stetzel: I’m very excited. So first I want you to introduce yourself. And then we’re going to jump into this really cool event that you’re doing.

Aaron Novinger: Okay. Okay. Yeah. Uh, well, my wife and I, uh, for years have run a small business accounting firm, Interstate Business Management. Uh, and it’s just small business accounting and consulting. We’re one of the few owners of accounting firm that we’re actually not accountants. We’re small business owners. So we have a really, really good handle on what our business owners need. And, uh, but thank you for talking about a Separate Heart project. That’s my first heart project is our small mom and pop owners. But the second heart project. Um, I’m so excited that you decided to hang out and chat for a few minutes about it.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. So, Aaron, when you and I spoke last week, I got really excited about this crazy thing, this crazy idea, right, of you riding a bicycle halfway across the country. Can you first, before we even get into what it is that you’re doing, can you talk about Ponzi relief first and really this heart project that you have, and then we’ll jump into this crazy idea of riding a bicycle across the country.

Aaron Novinger: Yeah, yeah. And it really came, uh, because what we do at the firm, we do complex planning, um, from an accounting perspective. And so we work closely with financial advisors, and they handle the investments, we build the plan. And so I’ve sat across the table from so many of these individuals. And one of our advisors, his broker dealer, had a company that got investigated as a Ponzi, and it ruined everybody’s life. People feel it’s always the investor, which is horrible, but it also ruins the advisors life. They lose everything. And so I just had this. And the weird thing about me is I only move based off of burdens. Okay. So all of a sudden it’s somebody has to do something for these people. Somebody has to do something. And then I just sit and pray about it, sit and pray about it. And and then I wait. And that’s the thing about God’s timing is I have to wait so I can have the right idea. But if it’s the right idea at the wrong time, it’s the wrong idea. And so, uh, how this crazy thing came to be was a couple years ago, hanging out with a good friend of mine, RJ and RJ. Every, you know, every year, a couple years, he does this big cross-country motorcycle ride where he and thousands of motorcycle guys ride their their There are motorcycles all into Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day. It’s like this huge cross country motorcycle thing. And as he’s talking, and this is how my my crazy ass ideas work, okay, as he’s talking, I, I’m like, okay, I think I’m supposed to ride a bicycle from Dallas to D.C..

Aaron Novinger: It just it just starts. I just start having this thought as he’s talking. Okay. Now, the thing about my crazy ideas and I’ve had lots of them. I get the vision first, and then I have to wait for the provision. The provision always comes later. Okay, so I just get this idea. I don’t know how I’m supposed to do it. Okay, what I’m about to tell you is not even 1% exaggerated how the provision came to be. Okay. Because as soon as I get the idea, the next week, I’m on the phone with my executive coach, Lauren, and I’m like, Lauren, look, I got this crazy idea. And Lauren’s really main job is to help me take this pile of hay, you know, and separate it and help me make sense of what I need to do next. Because anytime you know anything about A.D.D., everything is overwhelming. Okay. And so I’m like, Lauren, look what? I’ve got this idea. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do with it. I said, but I feel like I’m supposed to ride my bicycle from Dallas to Washington, DC to raise a lot of awareness and fundraising for these amazing families that were affected by this Ponzi. And she goes, you know, and anytime I it starts with, you know, I know God’s about to open doors. I just just watch.

Aaron Novinger: So she goes, you know, I’ve got a good friend of mine, Tracy, and she rode her bike from California to New York to raise a lot of fundraising and awareness for diabetes. And she actually got on the Doctor Oz Show. I can connect you guys, and she can kind of give you some assistance. And I was like, what? What? Okay. And then and then I’m like, okay, mind you, you understand there’s only I don’t know what half dozen people, period, that have done something crazy like this. And so I’m like, okay, I said, but okay, great. That’s amazing. Where does she live now? You know, I live in Dallas Fort Worth, okay? And she’s like, oh, she lives in Fort Worth. What? So I talked to Tracey. Okay. Wait until you hear this. I’m kind of a psychopath. I’ve done a lot of endurance events. Okay, so I saw my very first mile when I was eight years old. Okay? It was the only sport I could do, um, because of my severe chronic asthma. Um, that didn’t activate asthma attacks, so I just swam, and so. But I’ve done, I don’t know, a dozen, two dozen, um, 100 plus mile bike rides, stuff like that. And so I’m, um, I’m talking to I’m talking to, to Tracey. And now, mind you, if I, if I do like, 150 mile bike ride, that takes me five months to train for that one day pedaling, I don’t know, 100 and 250 miles. Okay.

Aaron Novinger: This is 4 to 5 weeks of pedaling about 100 miles a day. Okay, so I am panic stricken. Okay. And the thing about me is I have two insane phobias, like ridiculous phobias one spiders. I literally, my wife intentionally puts spiders all over the house during Halloween because she knows I hate them. Okay. But just as much as I’m afraid of spiders, I have an equal phobia of being unprepared. Okay, so the only thing I’m thinking about for this bike ride is training. I am panicked about this. And the first time I talked to Tracy hand to Bible, it’s not even 1% exaggerated. I said, Tracy, I’m panic about the ride. What do I do? You know, what’s the training look like? And she says to me, what training? I swear to God. She says, what training? And I said, well, okay, clearly, where’s Ashton? Because I’m being punk’d. Clearly we know we’re talking about training. And she said, well, you know, I’m diabetic, I’m type one diabetic. And so she said, um, I’m active. I have to exercise every day to stay alive. And she said, but you have to understand something. And when she told me this, it was so profound. And we talked about this last week and she said, you know, um, she goes, let me ask you something. When you were 12 years old and your parents kicked you out of the house because I was Gen X, and she goes, and your parents kicked you out of the house and made you go play all day Saturday.

Aaron Novinger: How much training did you need to go ride your bike all day Saturday? And I was like, well, none. She goes, this is just a Saturday morning bike ride. And I was like, oh my God. Even as I say it, I know this sounds weird. My internal energy just calmed down a little bit. It’s very weird how mental reframes have the power. Does that make sense? But reframes can literally change you with one sentence. And so I was like, wow. She goes, you have to understand this is not a race. You’re done when you’re tired. And she said, you have to understand with me, it took her three months to go from and her deal was between the bridges. So she went from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Brooklyn Bridge. Okay. And now her next event. She’s also a psychopath. She’s like, probably ten, 15 years older than me. Okay. Is from Washington to Key West. Oh, that I swear. Okay. So, like, everything she does. And so what’s really cool about trace is, um, she was supposed to be dead by age 20, uh, because of her diabetes. And so every ten years that she lives, she goes and does a huge endurance event to celebrate another ten years of living. And so, um, it’s beautiful. It really is. And so that’s really how this crazy thing started and was birthed. And Tracy and her husband Fred, because everybody thinks. Because it’s just me and my wife.

Aaron Novinger: This is not a group event. It’s just she and I. Okay. Most people think the toughest thing is what I have to do. That is false. Okay. The toughest thing for me. Like Saturday, when you train for this, it’s 2 to 3 hours. Once I get closer to the event, I’ll be three hours on an incline treadmill. I’m now two hours on a steep incline treadmill, so most of my hard work is conditioning for the ride. Once I start the ride. Come on, man, it’s just pedaling, okay? It’s pedaling. And I got my earbuds in and I’m just chatting with people. Or I’m listening to podcasts and listening to your pod. Whatever. I’m just listening to podcasts, you know? And so. But Rebecca is the secret to the entire ride. Like Tracy’s husband Fred was mine. And so because she’s the navigator. So when we leave, she rides ahead of me, and I’ll. I’ll bike 10 to 20 miles, catch up to her. And, um, once I hit, like, around 4 to 5 hours, probably about four hours. That’s when she starts taking my temperature. How are you feeling? You want to go another ten miles? Sure. So then we’re very, very careful about where I’m at and my energy levels. And then whenever I feel like Tracy said, whenever you feel tired, just stop, man. Just stop. And during the day, if you feel tired, stop. She goes, this is not a race, right? And I can’t even tell you, especially for the first week, because you’re building up the momentum And, you know, as soon as before you even get into Oklahoma or you’re in Oklahoma the whole time, you’re like, oh my God, dude, every day of this.

Aaron Novinger: But you have to. Again, it’s all about mind control, right? So it’s looking in the mirror, man. Today is just a side. I’m on a bike ride. And the crazy thing, Trisha, is that I’m not kidding. The amount o that I get very emotional about this because, um, I’ll give you a perfect example. Uh, when we were in, um, Missouri and I stopped in cases. And if you go north, you know, cases is like the gas station up north. Okay. Um, and so they just introduced their new Hawaiian roll sliders. Okay. Pork sliders. And so I’m at this Casey’s, and, um, I get to the line and grab the last three pack, and there’s a a husband and wife behind me. Now, you have to understand, you’ve been to the website. You saw last year’s bike. Okay, uh, nobody that sees this bike doesn’t stop and want to have a conversation about it. Okay. This year’s bike mindbender. It looks like a blue Batmobile. So this year is going to be a thousand times better. Okay. But I’m in this case. He’s like, oh, are you riding that bike? And I was like, yeah, that was me. And they’re like, so what are you doing? I’m like, I’m riding my bike for charity. Cross country to help some people affected by a Ponzi scheme, financial crime.

Aaron Novinger: And she starts tearing up, bro. I swear to God. And she said her dad was affected by the same thing. The company he worked at his whole career. Um, the CFO, he had a pension and he was due to retire, and the CFO gambled their pension fund away. And he said, literally, his dad had nothing, and one of his coworkers committed suicide. Bro. This is the reason. The thing about financial crimes and Ponzi schemes. There is no crime. No crime that has more silent victims than this one crime. Not one. Because every single person that gets affected is so embarrassed and ashamed of what happened to him. Like they think it’s their fault, man. These are the sneakiest snakes on the planet. They are experts and they are sociopaths. They literally have no feeling for what they do to other people. They don’t care. And so, um, for me when especially I was just telling somebody earlier when I’m back because I intentionally go out of my way when I do this bike ride, you know, a direct route is straight through the Ozarks. Oh hell no. Okay. I already have to hit the Appalachian Mountains in Pennsylvania. I am not going to do that. Okay. So I go out of my way. And Tracy, my gal, she said, look, I’m going to tell you right now, she goes, because her previous career was TV. And she said, I’m telling you right now, you have to get PR in one of three markets and that really carries your campaign.

Aaron Novinger: She said, LA, Chicago or New York? And she said it was her, um, press that she did in Chicago that the Doctor Oz Show picked up in New York. And so I said, okay, what I’ll do is, first of all, um, people don’t know this about me, but I’m literally the laziest person I know. Okay. So I literally if something’s like, okay, you need to do this, but that takes extra effort. I’m like, right, so how do we not do that? And so I said, okay, what I’m going to do, I’m going to bike north to avoid the Ozarks. Okay, so 35 up. Okay. And then once I hit 70in Missouri. Right. So. And I hit 12 big cities along the way just to just bullhorn these amazing families and what we can do for them and what laws can we change to save them. And so I go up and I hit, uh, once at Kansas City, I hit I-70 and I start going east and I go through central Missouri. A lot of my family lives in central Missouri, so we all hang out for a day or two, and then I get to Saint Louis, and then I go north to Chicago. Okay. So I go out of my way about 600 miles for Chicago. And last year, the Chicago Sun-Times did a huge piece on me, and it was amazing. Those two ladies, you’ll see, go to Chicago Sun-Times and you’ll see pictures.

Aaron Novinger: Because these ladies followed me on the freeway. They would ride ahead of me. And when I come up, they were just taking pictures. They’ve got pictures of me, and it’s amazing. On the freeway in Chicago, downtown. And there’s Amazon 18 wheelers next to me because I rode the freeway. So they were five feet away from me. Right. And so but people don’t get it, man. Especially when you ride a bike. Especially that bike. Yeah. The safest place for you to be is on a 8 to 10 foot, you know, shoulder with the rumble strips. That’s your invisible wall. People are like, are you scared? No, no, no. I get petrified because every Mayberry police in every little town pulls you over. You can’t be on the highway, boy. And I’m like, okay, well, actually, here’s the laws. Okay. I have every law of every state. Here’s the law. But cops do not know the law. Their job is to enforce what they have been told is the law. And it’s always the Department of Transportation’s that tell them. And Tracy told me because Tracy rode the freeway. And she goes, trust me, you will get pulled over by Mayberry police. Load the bike up. Take it up ten miles. Unload. Keep going. Right. So there’s, like, a way to navigate this. You see what I’m saying? So it’s been a huge, huge learning curve. And, um, I’m so excited about this year’s bike ride because we got so much of it figured out for last year.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay. So let’s talk dates and how people can get engaged. Like, how can you? What do you need along the way? So let’s talk dates and how can we help?

Aaron Novinger: Absolutely. Uh, May 26th, you’ll see on the website like the website is Ponzi relief.org. And so when you go to the website, you’ll see right now it says, um, May 19th I shifted it down. One week we found out our godson is graduating. And so we got to beat his graduation. And so, um, we’re going to leave one week later, and then we’re heading to the Capitol. So May 26th is really when we’re going to head out. And you’ll see when you go to Ponzi relief, there’s a place that says like, um, apply now. Like we actually have a box of how you can help, right? So look, this is about, um, organization. This is PR, this is, uh, helping us with social media. Um, there’s you can see there’s like 8 or 9 different things that we need help with. And trust me, the thing about this is to do something great requires a great team. Okay. And and when we started this thing, there was no idea this was going to be a annual ride. I only got the vision for one ride. And the crazy thing about how God works. By the way, just so you guys all know, this dude will not swing the door wide open of the vision he’s got for you because you will turn tail and run the other way. He cracks the stupid door one inch at a time. Okay, so this this damn door got cracked just long enough for me to do this bike ride. Okay, halfway through the ride, my wife Rebecca says, I figured it out, and I was like, what do you mean you figured it out? She goes, I figured out the purpose of this ride.

Aaron Novinger: It’s to plan the ride. I said, oh my God, I think you’re right. I think this has to be an annual thing. I think this has to be an annual thing until we see real change. And to me, this is not about just saving form 4684, which is doing so much help. Um, it’s an immediate, um, income credit for these affected. And this is this is important, Trisha, because I think it’s important people realize that whenever somebody goes through a hurricane and trust me, where you at? You get lots of them. Okay? The thing is, is hurricanes are devastating. Both things can be true at the same time. You can go through a devastating hurricane, but you can also see and spot the beauty of the rainbow after the hurricane. Okay, both things can be true. And so form 4684 is the rainbow. After the hurricane, it was put in place specifically for Covid relief and it expires at the end of this year. It’s the first time, and the only time in history that victims have been able to write off actual losses from a Ponzi scheme or financial crime, never been able to do that before. And that happens. It expires in this year. It’s unbelievable. And again, it’s not like it replaces the money they lost. But this is a beautiful rainbow after the devastation of the hurricane. You see what I’m saying?

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah absolutely. All right. So the goal $1 million.

Aaron Novinger: For this for these, for these star grower Ponzi the last two years. This ride is dedicated to the victims of the star grower Ponzi scheme. My goal is to raise $1 million for them, for them. And I feel like between them and I’ve got a couple churches and nonprofits that are, um, were like, like wanting to help as well. So I feel like if we could raise $1 million for them, I feel like, um, we can do a really good job of pretty much making those victims whole. And then next year, we’ll go find another one. But I can’t leave the star grower until we raise the money. And for me, every year, I want to get it to the point where every year we have a new, um, Ponzi that we’re really pushing for the year, and we have more families that we want to help and save and give them some type of retirement other than, um, every minute of every day, stress and anxiety. You actually watch these retirees, and I’m not kidding. There’s the person before and after the Ponzi, because usually they are so medicated they literally change for them to not go crazy. It is the worst thing you’ve ever seen. And I, I what I tell everybody is you back, back in the 80s. Remember those like, little red things. And you put that little disk in and you click it. Yeah. Every minute of every day, their faces keep clicking in front of my face. The only way this dude sleeps, we got to make them whole.

Aaron Novinger: That’s my only job. It’s my only focus. And the crazy thing was, I was leading this earlier. Whenever I’m pedaling, once you get to, like, halfway through Missouri and you start going east, you will pick up some of the Ozark. Okay? And you think those are mountains until you get to Pennsylvania. Okay. And so you’re pedaling. And once I got to Pennsylvania and I started doing the hills, there was so many times where I’d be pedaling and I’m like, I can’t, I can’t. You’ll see. I wear a shirt and it says pedaling for and I. And every day I put a piece of masking tape. Tape of a husband and wife and how much money they lost. And as I’m pedaling, I swear to God, I look down and I pat them and it like, gives me supernatural strength, man. It’s really, really weird. And so, um, every minute of every day is for them. Everything we do is for them. You know, I try very hard. Um, that’s why I never talk about my accounting firm, ever. I don’t want this to ever seem like I’m trying to cross promote. I don’t I just want to take care of them, man. I think they’re worth it. I think they’re amazing people. And I don’t think anybody should have that happen to a man. I’m just being honest with you, you know? You can tell I get really emotional about this stuff, but to me, it’s, um, it’s my heart project, right?

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for, uh, being so vulnerable and showing emotion because it it shows how important this is to you and the whole reason when we talked last week why I wanted to have you on the show, I could see, I could hear, not see because we were on the phone, but I could hear the passion in your voice. So folks who are listening, how you can get involved, go to Ponzi Relief org, scroll down and you’re going to find three boxes. There’s a space to donate. There’s a space to spread the word on social media, and there’s also a way to join the team and see if there’s a way to help support Aaron on his ride with Rebecca, who is his pace setter. That’s what I decided.

Aaron Novinger: She’s your pace. I love that pace setter. She’s the pace setter and the navigator. That’s right.

Trisha Stetzel: Yes, I love that. So as we start to wrap up today. Aaron, thank you again for being on the show today and caring so much about these people who deserve deserve what you’re giving them, right? They absolutely do. And, uh, I can’t wait to see the pictures from this year. You’re going to start your ride on the 26th.

Aaron Novinger: Yes.

Trisha Stetzel: From the Dallas Fort Worth area. Yeah. You’re going to go all the way to Chicago.

Aaron Novinger: To Chicago?

Trisha Stetzel: Of Missouri. Right. And then you’re going to go all the way to DC. This is.

Aaron Novinger: So exciting. Um, it’s going to be awesome. And, um, I can’t wait because, um, I’ve got so many of the contacts and stuff of all the hard work that we did last year. Uh, so this year, I think I can’t say the word fun because it’s usually not, but I if I could say it’s going to be fun, um, it’s going to be awesome. It’s going to be awesome. And you, my dear, are absolutely amazing. Thank you, uh, for giving voice to this. Um, you’re so busy. And, um, and of course, you know, there’s a huge love for the military and the navy and. Come on, man, uh, trust me, you and I could talk for three hours. Um, about awesome stuff. And I’m sure we will.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah. Oh, yeah. We’re definitely having another conversation about weight.

Speaker4: Um, you know, you’re amazing.

Trisha Stetzel: When you have a break in your, uh, ride.

Speaker4: Maybe.

Trisha Stetzel: Circle back and just have a conversation about how your ride’s going.

Aaron Novinger: No way. That would be amazing.

Trisha Stetzel: My husband is from the Chicagoland area, so he’s got family in Chicago and Iowa. Would love to maybe just catch up with you, uh, on your ride. That would be awesome.

Speaker4: Okay, I would love it.

Trisha Stetzel: There’s also a Facebook page. It is listed on the Ponzi, uh, relief org page. But just if you want to go straight to Facebook, it’s called pedaling for Ponzis. And you can join the group there and keep track of Aaron’s journey. Aaron Rebecca’s journey on the way to DC. Aaron, thank you so much for being on the show today. I can’t.

Speaker4: Wait to.

Trisha Stetzel: Hear all of the amazing people who get involved in this journey that you’re taking. Thank you for doing this amazing work for these people who really, really, I am sure are thankful that you’re out there giving back in such a way.

Aaron Novinger: That’s awesome. Thank you so much for allowing this to even happen. It’s only through you, um, and people of influence is the only way that the word gets out. So, um, thank you so much.

Trisha Stetzel: Thank you. Aaron, I appreciate you. And that’s all the time we have for today’s show. Join us next time for another amazing episode of Houston Business Radio. Until then, stay tuned, stay inspired, and keep thriving in the Houston business community.