Wayne Von Borstel — Founder of von Borstel & Associates

Wayne von Borstel’s interest in finance began at an early age, when at just 18-years-old his beloved grandmother let him invest some of her hard-earned money. For over three decades, he has taken that same passion and used it to help both families and professionals alike better understand their current and future financial situations, building a rock-solid foundation of stability from which to build from moving forward.
More than anything else, he wants to help as many people as possible build and maintain the types of assets that allow them to live better, to enjoy life, and to leave more to future generations of their own family.
Wayne von Borstel earned his Master of Science degree in Financial Services from the esteemed Graduate School of Financial Services at the American College. In addition to being a proud member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, he is also a valued part of the Portland Estate Planning Council and the International Association for Financial Planning, among other organizations.
He is also the President and Founder of von Borstel & Associates — an organization dedicated to offering investment advisory services to individuals and institutional investors alike. Originally founded in 2002, the organization helps with things like investment management, financial planning services and more. They’ve served countless clients all across the United States since they originally opened their doors.
When he’s not working hard with the team at von Borstel & Associates, Wayne von Borstel teaches at monthly educational webinars. He and his beloved wife Marta also spend as much of their time as possible helping underprivileged children, providing them with educational opportunities that they may otherwise not have access to.
Wayne von Borstel has also written a variety of different books that have helped many, including “The Truth Project: Finding the Courage to Ignore Wall Street” and “The Invincibility Shield for Investors: Minimizing Losses, Maximizing Gains and Drafting a More Secure Financial Plan,”.
Wayne and Marta recently funded the construction of a number of Christian schools in India, Sudan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Honduras, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Canada. They’ve devoted their time to assisting and supporting an orphanage in Indonesia that houses hundreds of kids, many of whom are still reeling from the impact that a tsunami had on the area.
When he’s not focused on either his professional career or his larger philanthropic goals, Wayne Von Borstel and his wife also enjoy spending as much time as possible with their friends, family members and other loved ones. They travel the world, hike in many locations like the exotic Columbia Gorge, and spend time gardening for fun and relaxation.
Investment advisory services offered through von Borstel & Associates, Inc., an SEC Registered Investment Advisor.

Where did the idea for Von Borstel and Associates come from?

My company was a growth of survival, supporting my family, serving others, and never embarrassing my grandma. I was in the financial planning business probably 3 or 4 years before I got a vision to be what I am today. (We had no money, we had 2 kids and I had lost my job. I believed I could do anything. And answered an ad for a financial planner with no experience needed. That 1st job I quit immediately because I did not believe it was ethical nor appropriate. But that started me on a path to becoming an insurance agent, an investment advisor, a seminar presenter, and a financial advisor, and through many tiny steps towards always being my best, always being better for those that I serve I’ve reached the pinnacle that I never dreamt of or thought was possible in my career.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I come in at 6:30 to 7:30 AM look through the files for the day, think about the phone calls I need to make including birthday calls, and start having client appointments sometime between 6:30 AM and 8:00 AM but it can be as early as 6 AM. My morning is filled with phone appointments talking to clients about thoughts, concerns, questions, or decisions that need to be made about their financial lives. Most of these appointments are 15 to 30 minutes. At noon I usually eat lunch, often a sack lunch. Then in the afternoon, I have longer planning appointments with clients that are 1 to 2 hours long depending on the need, the conversation, and the type of appointment. Normally these appointments are done by 5 PM to 6 PM. But can go on until 8 PM or later. Then I spend a few minutes reviewing tomorrow’s files, go home and exercise hopefully. (My job is to teach or motivate, anything else in the office should be done by someone else. So delegation of all things that do not have to do with strategy is critical for success in my office, I have let others do things that even if I think I would do them better I cannot. I must delegate, support my staff, and let them do their job the best they can)

How do you bring ideas to life?

Most ideas can be related to a story. I believe that stories bring everything to life. I think God has given me the ability to tell stories that relate to circumstances, ideas, or thoughts that I’m trying to get across. (People take action based on their emotions or how they feel. I must be the Pied Piper of financial success and help people through visual, hearing, and writing to get people excited about their potential, their future, and the path we are going to take!)

What’s one trend that excites you?

I’m not sure a trend today excites me. But what does excite me is the potential in each human being to be their best. And I try to be the tool that facilitates that happening with more frequency and opportunity for success. The trend that this is fighting is the fact that we as a society are moneyholics and have so many things that we want or are told that we should want that financial prudence and fiscal responsibility has been thrown out the window. But my opportunity is to help people go against the current, go against what the news media tells them, go against what their emotions direct them to do, and be fiscally prudent, financially solvent, worry less, and live more! (So the major trend that intrigues me, the number 1 disease in America is moneyholism! And one person, one couple at a time I am trying to save from their own desires, and misplaced dependence on money is all that can make them happy. I have a Wayne’s rule; “if all that makes you happy, is money, you will never be happy. But the lack of money will make you unhappy”. That seems contradictory, or worse yet just doesn’t make sense but truly that is what I’m helping people understand is this rule, which leads to tremendous personal, financial, and community success.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

When I am done with an interaction, conversation, phone call, or appointment; to always spend a few seconds thinking about what I could’ve done better, and what I could’ve said differently then be happy with who I am. But every time I have a conversation or an interaction with a client I spend those few seconds thinking about what I could’ve done better and then be happy with whom I am. Because that allows me to incrementally become substantially better over long-term.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I am not sure I would change or give myself advice about anything. Maybe be stronger in my faith. Considering the circumstances, difficulties, and trials that I and my wife went through I think we did our best and because of all those circumstances, we are better today. I think what was important in my younger years was that I believed that I could be better, I could help people be better and that tomorrow would be better than today.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

That dollar cost averaging is statistically not true. I did my Masters Degree thesis on dollar cost averaging assuming that what everyone said in the industry was true. 3 things I found:
No one had written any research on dollar cost averaging before. It did not exist.
That dollar cost averaging was a myth. Two-thirds of the time you’re better off investing a lump sum than investing that same some over a long period of time. And that you did substantially better in the two-thirds of the time it was better than you did worse in the 3rd of the time it was not better.
So statistically no one should dollar cost average. But emotionally, and mentally dollar cost averaging hopes people stay in the market, be consistent, and win more often. So even though it’s not better mathematically from a human perspective it is better.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Value my employees. Understand that they are an asset, not a tool. Value every relationship because it is important. (Early in my career I paid my staff too little and treated them as tools. Just something to do the job with. Because of this, I had fewer qualified employees, we gave a lesser product, and had substantially less productivity. When I started realizing that employees were 1 of the most important assets I had in my business, I found employees with more motivation, more willingness to get the job done, and more longevity in employees working for me which led to better intellectual capital in each employee which ultimately led to a phenomenal experience for my clients.)

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Create value! Understand that I could not allow myself to be a commodity. (Investing for clients is just a commodity. You are not going to get paid well if you are a commodity. So what can you do that adds value that others are not willing to do? That is why there are a score of things that I do that few if any others do. This creates a value that people cannot get anywhere else. I affect people’s lives, families, and the quality of life they live each day by taking the stress and worry out of their lives. Giving them comfort and confidence on their path so they can enjoy the grandkids, the fishing whatever is important to them.)

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

I have had many failures as an entrepreneur. I have asked many people to do business with me that have closed the door. But I never gave up. I believed in myself and looked for those people that would say yes to having a better tomorrow because I believed what I delivered was going to give them that. (Any mistake I made, I found a process or product that would never allow me to make that mistake again. There were 4 to 5 times in my career that I felt terrible about a deliverable, end result, or the feelings that clients had about what I did. I made sure that I found a solution that would not lead to that experience each time. Usually, that led to exponential growth, and long-term success because it is about them! Not me!)

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Legacy builders! Record clients’ life stories by asking them questions about their life, their experiences, the people that affected them, and the wisdom they have gleaned. (Because of doing these conversations with clients and recording them. I know my clients better, they think about things that they haven’t thought about for years and their great-grandkids will know where they came from. It is phenomenal how I had clients that I had worked with for 20 years when I did the 1st legacy builder conversation with them, I knew them twice as well as I had before because people are a result of their life, their experiences, and their story.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

The hundred dollars that I did not spend. It is easy to spend money on wants. Deferred gratification will ultimately lead to less stress, a better life, and more financial success. I think it is more important what I did not spend money on than what I did spend money on.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Our vault in our track my wealth software. It allows us to be more organized, have better conversations, and make better decisions. It is a phenomenal resource for clients, ourselves, and the families of those clients.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

The Richest Man in Babylon. Financial success has 0 correlation to how much you make, financial success has often a percent correlation to how much you save.

What is your favorite quote?

There are many, “there is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.” — Ronald Reagan…. What is your purpose? If we have a purpose that is bigger than us… This gives us spring in our step! This gives us a reason to get out of bed! People with the purpose live healthier, are happier, and live longer on average. I believe this is a quote about putting other people, and other needs in front of your own!

Key Learnings:

• Be prudent. We can only do 4 things with money. Spend it, save it, invested or give it away. Every time we do 1 of those 4 things really get closer or further from her goals, increasing or reducing the risk of failure, and reacting or not too emotional desires.
• There is no neutral use of money for our plants. Have an optimistic pessimism about your future. Always be positive with high goals going forward. But be smart enough to be a little bit pessimistic and think about options, concerns, and things that could go wrong. But then go forward bravely!

Originally published at https://ideamensch.com on November 2, 2022.