Marcus Blanchard with Focal Point Financial Planning

Intro: [00:00:05] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Saint Louis, Missouri. It’s time for Saint Louis Business Radio. Now here’s your host.

Phillip Hearn: [00:00:17] Hello, good people. And welcome back to Docs Discussions here on St. Louis Business RadioX. So I’m really, really lucky in what I get an opportunity to do to basically tap into what I used to do back in college, which was have my own show, talk to really interesting people. And today is absolutely no different. So I’m kind of living in my past but still bringing it into today. We’ve got a fantastic guest on today. I’ve got Marcus Blanchard. He’s the founder of Focal Point Financial Planning LLC. Marcus, how are you today?

Marcus Blanchard: [00:00:50] I’m doing great,Phil. Thank you so much for having me on today. How are you doing?

Phillip Hearn: [00:00:54] I’m good. Thank you for asking. It’s it’s actually not raining here for once. Here in Saint Louis, so we’ll take that.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:01:00] That’s good. Yeah. Take what you. What you can get.

Phillip Hearn: [00:01:03] Minor victories, right?

Marcus Blanchard: [00:01:05] Exactly.

Phillip Hearn: [00:01:06] So before we dive into everything that you have, you and your team have going on today, I always like to understand from the from our guests and give our listeners an opportunity to understand where have you come from and how did you get to today. So tell us a little bit about Marcus and getting into what you’re doing today.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:01:25] Just like everybody, that that could be a very long story. I’ll try and keep it as short as possible. So as you said, I am a financial advisor, financial planner, whatever you want to call it. And my path here actually started back in the summer of 2009. So I at the time I had enlisted in the Marine Corps. I was going through boot camp and that was when they had given us our sign up sheet for essentially the government’s 41K or the TSP for those that are familiar with it. You know, I was 18 years old. I was just a kid and that was really the first time that I felt like I was making a big money decision. Okay. You know, relatively speaking, right? It’s not a huge deal. But, you know, at the time, you know, we’re talking about investments and putting money away. And I just remember reading through that sheet and thinking to myself, I have no idea what any of this stuff means. Not a clue. And, you know, really, when it came down to it, I was guessing as I was filling out this form. So I really hated that feeling of feeling like I was guessing when making what felt like big decisions with my money.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:02:35] So that’s what kind of got me interested in finances and personal finance and investing and and all the nerdy stuff. I like to tell people I’m a nerd in your corner. Um, but, you know, ultimately, I started it down, down that path for for selfish reasons, right? I want to know how all this stuff works so that I’m never in that position again where, you know, later on in life, this certainly isn’t going to be my my last decision with money. I want to be educated and I want to be on the, you know, the sharp end of the stick rather than getting hit with the other end, you know. So as I as I learned, you know, I got out of the Marine Corps, that’s that’s actually what I studied in college was personal financial planning. So I am one of the few people out there who actually uses their college degree in their day to day job. So I we do exist. We are out there. Um, but you know, as I learned about that stuff and just, you know, made more relationships and talked to people, I realized that people felt exactly how I did back when I was 18, making a relatively small financial decision.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:03:43] They felt the same way when they were making really, really big, you know, a lot more zeros attached to those decisions. You know, they’re selling a business. They are getting ready to retire. A lot of big decisions that can’t be undone. And the cost of being wrong is is often quite high. So that’s what led me here. You know, I ultimately started my own firm, so I’m fully independent, you know, just fee only firm. I don’t get paid to sell products or on any kind of commission. It’s just, hey, what kind of value can we add to you? And, and here I am. So that’s awesome that. Yeah. And ultimately, with those big decisions that we were talking about, it’s kind of led me into more of a specialty of really helping people with two things, right? How do we help you not get killed in taxes when you sell a business or property and when you’re getting ready to retire? So that’s that’s my my niche or niche, whichever one you subscribe to. But that’s where I focus my time and really try and hone my edge and do good work.

Phillip Hearn: [00:04:50] That’s awesome. So there’s some important pieces of what you just mentioned. First of all, thank you for your service. So of course always appreciate that. The second I think it’s interesting and I hear this quite a bit from other. Business leaders that they take almost a problem, whether it’s a problem that they were seeing or a problem that they see for others around them and try to find those solutions with it. So I think that’s a beautiful thing. And third, and I think most importantly for a lot of our listeners, you kind of prove that point of no matter where you’re starting, whether it’s like you said, with a few zeros or a lot of zeros. Right? We all want to get to a lot of zeros that it’s important to have that fiscal literacy piece. So if you combine that feeling, sitting, you know, filling out paperwork about to go into the Marines, I’m sure your head is spinning automatically. And then also with your college. Take us a little bit into that research component, because a lot of times people kind of bristle when they hear financial planning, retirement planning. They kind of tune out and not because it’s not important, but because it’s overwhelming. So there’s a couple pieces that I think you really brought up, Marcus, that are important. First of all, thank you for your service because that’s absolutely massive, right? So and I think it’s interesting how you talk about starting in a place where I mean, again, I’m sure a ton is going through your head as you’re filling out this paperwork, right? So you only highlight the, hey, I’m filling out the government’s 401.

Phillip Hearn: [00:06:16] The TSP, but I’m sure you got some other emotions going on. But take me through because you’re in a unique perspective. You’re pretty much a unicorn almost. You’re actually using your degree. So with your background of the degree, right, that’s one bucket sitting in a in a space where you’re about to fill out this TSP paperwork. How do you how do you really tap into the research? Because I think the research is so important. And I think you proved the point that no matter how many zeros you have, right, whether it’s 1 or 2 zeros to a bunch of zeros, there’s always that research and learning that needs to take place. So tell me how you work with your clients to start to get them over that hump. Because I’m sure clients, no matter if they’re talking retirement, talking about buying or selling a business, they’re in different facets of their life no matter where we’re going. How do you use that research from your schooling and your own personal experiences to help put together a top notch, you know, client experience?

Marcus Blanchard: [00:07:11] That’s a great question. It really, you know, you need to meet the client where they are, you know, and not. You mentioned something earlier about people not really wanting to reach out and engage with an advisor or, you know, whatever they call themselves, which which is completely understandable. Right. A lot of the industry is just there to sell, you know, sell products. And and that’s what people feel like is going to happen is, hey, I’m going to go talk to this person and they’re just going to sell me maybe insurance I don’t need or mutual funds I don’t know anything about or or, or, or. Right. Yeah. So again, it really comes down to meeting the client where they are. And I try and keep things very high level, right? I try and reduce the, we call it advisor speak as much as possible, Right. Know because as soon as you start talking, you know, oh, standard deviations and beta and all this investment gobbledygook, people just glaze over and they don’t want to be there. You know, you.

Phillip Hearn: [00:08:09] Do this in a math class was just exactly. And that’s the yeah.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:08:12] That is the last place anybody wants to be. Um, so really, I tell people to start out, I help people answer three questions. Okay? First one is. Are you actually on track to where you say you want to be? Okay. That’s or in in other words, you know, am I going to be okay for some people? That’s the first one. Okay. Second question is how can we improve your investments? Okay. How can we reduce any excessive fees that are in there? Because again, I don’t get paid to pitch products. So we have the whole smorgasbord of of options out there. So let’s find one that fits your needs. Let’s keep the costs as low as possible or as low, you know, depending on what you’re looking to do. Right. Right. And also keeping taxes very front of mind. So the third piece is how do we reduce your lifetime tax bill, not necessarily your single year tax bill, because in some scenarios, it may make sense to pay a little bit more tax, you know, today to save a lifetime of higher taxes, Right. 10 or 20 years down the road. So those are the three questions, right? So just to recap, am I actually on track to where I need to go or, you know, where I need to be? How do we improve your investments and how do we reduce your lifetime tax bill? So that really I mean everything that I do not to oversimplify, hopefully, but that’s really what it comes down to, right? Are those three areas and those three key things.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:09:44] You know, and that’s from the technical standpoint. So to to your question of what do I research? And that’s that’s what I research. I you know, tax law and estate law changes probably every 5 to 10 years. There’s a big change that comes down the road. So there’s it’s always good to stay up on that. And that’s a lot of it. And also just with the client’s life, right? Life. The only thing that’s guaranteed in life is that it’s going to change. So, you know, the strategy that we talked about three months ago and we’re all on board for and we’re we’re good to move forward with today, that could change entirely. For whatever reason. So it’s not that that advice was bad, it’s just now it needs to change because your life changed. So makes sense. Yeah.

Phillip Hearn: [00:10:32] So let’s jump back into the tax piece, right? Because a lot of people, when this recording comes out, we will technically be in the swing of tax season unless you’re a business owner, which every day is tax season, right? Sure. So when we’re talking about taxes, take our listeners through how they can work with you when also they’re going to be working, let’s just say, with their accountant or whatever the case may be, because I think there’s a solid delineation that has to be made based on the services that you’re offering versus let’s just say and humor me with this, I know you’re different than like an H&R Block, right? Just to kind of simplify that process. Take us through what that looks like, the differences, and then technically how you guys can work with that accountant to get done what they need to on their tax strategy.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:11:16] Yeah, that’s a great point. And just to to put that out there, I am not a tax preparer. I’m not a CPA. I don’t pretend to be one, nor do I ever want to be one.

Phillip Hearn: [00:11:25] That might be the biggest piece. You’re like, I don’t want to be one, right?

Marcus Blanchard: [00:11:28] Yes, I do not prepare tax returns. However, I do review everyone’s tax return. That is a non-negotiable for me. Just because the tax return doesn’t lie, not not to say that clients lie, but you know, nobody can recite what their AGI and taxable income and all these other fun tax terms are off the top of their head. Right. The tax return just has it all right there, spelled out very plainly. And if something it’s very easy to spot something, if it’s if it’s wrong or it needs to be changed or if there’s opportunities. So going back to what I was saying, I do require that everyone upload, you know, at least the most recent copy of their tax return when we’re going through that onboarding process, mainly for two reasons. One is to spot any maybe oversights or missteps that happen during the preparation process of the tax return. Because, you know, you have to think about it. It’s not trying to poo poo on any any the tax return or tax preparers. It’s just they are doing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of these in a very short amount of time. So it all it takes is miss checking one box for something to not happen or what is more common is the tax preparer just doesn’t have the information that they need. Right. They weren’t told. Usually they find out about everything that happened last year after the fact and sometimes it’s too late.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:12:56] So they don’t know about it. They can’t allocate for it in the tax return. So that’s the first reason is just to spot oversights and errors. The second reason is to. Plan into the future, which is where I’m going to be a little bit different than maybe the tax preparer, where they are focused on singular years. Right. Some, you know, and just like everybody, not everybody’s created equal. So some tax preparers may really, really want to try and reduce your your your taxes in just a single year. So it’s kind of like looking through a toilet paper roll. Right? They’re very, very focused. They’re going to do really great work to try and reduce your taxes as much as they can. But but I zoom out a little bit more. So I take that having an accurate tax return is just like reading a map. You need to know where you are to determine where you need to go, right? So we absolutely need to have correct information. And then my job is to kind of act like more, more, more of a guide. And that also includes having an open line of communication with your tax preparer. That’s one of the biggest probably oversights that I see in people’s relationships with their advisors and other professionals is that all these professionals are working in a silo.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:14:14] You know, they all want to do good work and help their client, but they’re they’re doing it on an island, right? And really, we’re all trying to work together for the same goal i.e you, the client. And if you got three different people that are working in different directions, right, maybe you’re getting your trust established with your estate attorney and you have your tax preparer and then you have your advisor. Well, those all touch your taxes in some form or fashion. Right? Right. So you would hope anyway that they are communicating and and, you know, they don’t necessarily need to agree on everything, but there needs to be an open line of communication and being on the same page moving forward. So, you know, when it comes because again, when it comes back to those big money decisions, hey, maybe you’re selling a business or you’ve you’ve saved a great nest egg for a long time and you’re ready to retire again. The cost of being wrong is very high. And that’s where especially advisors and tax preparers, I should say, advisors that look at this stuff, they can go in two very different directions. So there needs to be communication there. So that was a very long answer. I’m sorry. No, that answers your question or not.

Phillip Hearn: [00:15:30] But and this is an important answer because it actually leads to another question. But before I even get to that, understanding the makeup of the team, right, in terms of when it comes to not only the taxes, but you mentioned excuse me, retirement planning. So I wanted to tap into that as well because I think that’s an important piece. The concept of it would be great if everybody talked to each other, but I think a lot of clients, no matter where they are on on the spectrum of, you know, maybe a solopreneur or two, you know, they’ve got hundreds of companies and hundreds of people that work for them. That component of the team kind of talking to each other. I think you’re 100% right because more times than not, they’re working in their silo. So let me ask a follow up question to this and feel free to add in the retirement piece or any other layers that I think our listeners would want to hear. What’s the best way? So so let’s say you’ve got your tax planner for the estate planning, right? Let’s put that here. Of course you’ve got your accountant now you have you as almost, I would say, your full strategist, if you will, then you’ve got maybe your financial advisor and let’s say they’ve got one before they started talking to you. What’s a smart way to blend and get those people kind of talking in the same direction? Because you’re right, they’re supposed to be working for the quote unquote client. But I’ve also seen in personal experiences, and I’m sure our listeners are in the same bucket where they’re not almost working in the full focus of the client. So what would you suggest on if that client is trying to get everybody together? What are some ways to start to alleviate that stress?

Marcus Blanchard: [00:17:03] Um, you know, one one saying I picked up in the Marine Corps was inspect what you expect, right? It isn’t necessarily, you know, micromanaging by any means, but hey, if, if this is something that you expect to happen of having professionals communicate, just put it out there. Say, hey, I want you to do this here is their information. Okay. And then, you know, hopefully, you know, you don’t need to be keyed on every email by any means. And a lot of those conversations, it’s me and the tax preparer talking strategy, talking game, saying, hey, this is what I think. What am I missing you? What’s on your radar? And then you’ll get the hey, here’s a couple bullet points about what we recommend. Okay? So just just put it out there. Say, hey, you know, we’re we’re getting a trust set up. You’re talking to an estate attorney. Here is my tax preparer and my advisors contact information, please keep them in the loop.

Phillip Hearn: [00:18:04] Okay. Okay. So good. Yeah. So you almost play and I’m going to dumb this down, so don’t be too mad at me as I do. But you almost play like a like a shepherd, right? Like you’re trying to get everybody that needs to be at the table and at the right time to the table to make sure that that client is feeling like, all right, I’ve got my questions answered. We’ve got a strategy moving forward. There’s A135 year plan. That’s that’s the the quick takeaway or snapshot that I get from my at least on the right track.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:18:35] Yeah, you hit the nail on the head. You know, it’s sometimes it feels more like shepherding cats. But but yes, that’s we’re trying to bring everybody to the same table and have the same conversation.

Phillip Hearn: [00:18:47] I love it. Okay. Very good. So looking at that and again, you’ve kind of given your background, your theories, almost your mission, vision and goal statement, if you will. Right. Who are ideal clients that you and your team like to work with the most? Right. Because we would love to say, Oh, you can work with anybody, but that’s that doesn’t make a good business in most cases. So who are those ideal clients that you and your team like to target?

Marcus Blanchard: [00:19:10] Yeah, exactly. That’s it’s such a good question because there’s a lot of different businesses out there and they all have their own specialty or, or not, you know, maybe more of a generalist. I am definitely more of a specialist, right? So as we kind of alluded to before, the the groups that I specifically serve are again, are you selling a business or typically a commercial property typically between 1 and $10 million? Okay. And or are you over age 50 and getting ready to retire? Okay. So, you know, doesn’t have to be both necessarily at the same time. Often those do overlap. But yeah, that’s that’s really where I add the most value, you know, because to your point, you know, if you have questions about, Hey, my employer stock options plan or my student loans or, you know, college savings plans and stuff, you know, yeah, I can brush up on that and definitely add value. But you’re owed expert help, right? And I am not the expert. You know, I’m not in that category of planning every single day. So, you know, I would really be doing people like that a disservice. And I’m more than happy to to send. Hey, you know what? I could probably help you, but I’m not the right guy. Go talk to, you know, the guy or gal down the street or here’s the information you know, everybody deserves and needs quality financial advice. And and quality means that you’re working with an expert in that field.

Phillip Hearn: [00:20:43] Yeah, no, that that makes complete sense. And I like how you broke that down, too, because you and your team have a focus. And like you said, sometimes you ask somebody and they’re all over the place in terms of what that focus potentially looks like. So I like how you bring that up. I’ll flip the question now. How do you and your team currently attract new clients and grow your brand? What does that side look like?

Marcus Blanchard: [00:21:07] Um, you know, I’ve, I’ve tried a lot of different marketing things and I’ve tried found a lot of things that don’t work. It’s, it’s not my favorite, but really where I’ve found success is, you know, fish where the fish are, right? For me, that is LinkedIn. I am I hate to say it, I’m one of those LinkedIn guys now. I that has been a good avenue. So really the types of people I talk with are usually the professionals in someone’s life. So either a business broker where makes sense, right? Because all of their clients are selling businesses. And if I can step in and add value to their transaction and make their seller more happy, that helps them, right? Also with tax repairs. So mainly business brokers and tax preparers. That’s really where I’m spending a lot of time, is just having these conversations because, you know, same thing on the professional side when they see, oh, hey, this person’s a quote unquote advisor, right? It’s like, okay, that’s nice. Great. You know, I don’t really care which is fair. You know, a lot of them are generalists, which is just a different business model. Okay. So that’s where I spend a lot of time. So if if you want to read about taxes and how to not get killed by them and retirement planning and stuff, feel free to check out my LinkedIn. Yeah, love it.

Phillip Hearn: [00:22:36] Love it. So this is a question that I ask everybody because as much as we talk about business and being a business leader in your business, I think the other side sometimes is just as revealing and just as important. When you’re not as you say, these are your words, not mine being the research door, right? Yep. How do you unwind? How do you recalibrate? How do you kind of, you know, get the energy to go again? What do you like to do?

Marcus Blanchard: [00:23:02] Um, you know, I live here in Utah, and, you know, about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City, and mountains are just amazing. You know, I’m ten minutes from from the trails, so it’s great. So I’m more of a hiker, right? I like getting out. I like getting in the in the mountains and the foothills that that really re-energizes me. You know, it’s funny enough being here in Utah, I don’t ski snowboard, which is I know just a. A travesty or a travesty. I can. I’m looking at the mountain right now. It’s covered in snow. We’ve had an amazing winter. I haven’t been out in it at all. You know, I grew up in the desert, so I don’t know. I get more and more used to the snow, and it’s it’s fun. You know, we’ll go sledding, but, you know, me and my wife and and that’s fun. But there’s just a lot more. Work up that. More gear. More stuff that you need when you go out in the snow. So yeah.

Phillip Hearn: [00:24:04] You’re like, I can hike with some boots and maybe a couple walkers. Exactly. Kind of thing. Right?

Marcus Blanchard: [00:24:08] Exactly. Yep. You know, I can bring a pack if I want. Depends on where I go, you know? So I like hiking up in the mountains, camping, getting into hunting a little bit, hopefully this year. So just. Just the outdoors, you know? It’s good. It’s good stuff.

Phillip Hearn: [00:24:22] Good. Yeah. I won’t tell anybody from Utah that you don’t ski or snowboard. They probably look at you kind of crazy. I know.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:24:28] I’ll get kicked out.

Phillip Hearn: [00:24:29] But yeah, they might kick you out. I’m just saying I didn’t want to get there, but that. Yeah, that could be the next thing. So good luck with that.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:24:36] Thank you. I need it.

Phillip Hearn: [00:24:39] So last before we wrap up and this has been a great conversation. We really appreciate having you. How do our listeners connect with you? So if they are kind of that right size client, what are the best ways for our listeners to to connect with you and get with you on the services that you and your team offer?

Marcus Blanchard: [00:24:54] Yeah, absolutely. So like I mentioned, you can always look me up on LinkedIn. Marcus Blanchard There’s just if you aren’t ready for a call and you want to see kind of what I talk about, that’s an excellent place. You can also go to my website focalpoint planning.com. You can sign up for an email list there, poke around again, see a lot of the same information there and then you can always call or text at (801) 477-0549.

Phillip Hearn: [00:25:23] Awesome, awesome. And we’ll make sure that all of those links phone number whole nine yards are actually in this recording as well. So folks will be able to tap into it either by listening or by actually going to our website and everything else. So love it. Marcus It was a lot of fun to have you on the show. Thank you so much for your time and and good luck with the snowboarding thing. Again, you know, it sounds like you got to learn how to do that. So.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:25:46] Yeah, maybe. Maybe next year.

Phillip Hearn: [00:25:48] Yeah, yeah. You have a little bit of time. It does snow a couple times out there, so just a few. All right. So thank you again.

Marcus Blanchard: [00:25:54] Appreciate you having me on.

Phillip Hearn: [00:25:56] This has been another episode of Doctor Doc’s discussions here on Saint Louis Business RadioX And we’ll see you next time. Thanks.