Gene Santos has been in the industry 13 years. He's worked with 3 other marketing companies before. None of them delivered. Within his first 8 small business owner appointments, he turned $4,000 in invested into $37,000 in submitted commissions, and has more cases still working through the pipeline that aren't even counted in that number. His words: "As a business owner and advisor, a 10x return on ad spend is what we're looking for. That's crazy." But the part that stuck with me wasn't the 10x. It was this: He said we're one of the only media companies he's worked with that has a professional process and is genuinely invested in the advisor's success. That's not a scripted testimonial. That's a guy who's been burned 3 times saying it on a live call without being asked. Here's what I think most advisors get wrong about lead generation: They look at the first month's ROI in isolation. This advisor gets it, he's not just measuring cash-on-cash return. He's measuring the new cold market he now has access to. Every business owner he meets through us is a door to referrals, investment planning, group benefits, estate work. The $37K is the floor, not the ceiling. That's why he's already referring 4 other advisors from his network to us. His exact words: "They're seeing the success I'm having. If I'm putting my money where my mouth is and getting results, they want to do it too." Here's the full 4-minute clip if you want to hear it straight from him: [YouTube link] If you've been thinking about adding qualified business owner appointments to your calendar, we should talk!

New Beyond the Bottom Line just dropped with @Laurent Munier , co-founder of Safe Pacific Financial in Vancouver. What I liked about this conversation is Laurent's origin story. Before becoming one of the top 30 advisors in Western Canada and an MDRT member, he was a tech entrepreneur. He built 4 companies (some of you might remember Clubbed.com and Clubzone.com from the 2000s) and got wiped out in 2008 despite doing everything his financial advisor told him to do. That experience pushed him to go research what the wealthiest Canadian families actually do differently. That research became the foundation of his practice and his new book, Wealth Multiplier. The core concept of this episode is what Laurent calls the 4 functions of wealth: keep, grow, use, transfer. Most business owners get told to focus on the first two. The real money is in how you use and transfer it, and that's where this conversation goes. A few stories that are worth the watch alone: - A client who set up an IFA in 2018 because he thought the market was overheated. When COVID hit, he pulled $1M from the policy line of credit and bought Canadian bank stocks at the bottom. Doubled his money in a year, sold half to pay off the loan, and now owns a $1M dividend-paying portfolio "for free" that throws off ~$50K/year in dividends forever - A commodities broker his bank wouldn't lend to because of the risk profile of his business. After collateralizing his life insurance policy at the same bank, he got the loan immediately - A Mortgage Investment Corporation owner who got a better personal rate on his policy loan than his own company gets on its $100M+ corporate line of credit If you're a Canadian advisor, this one's especially useful because Laurent breaks down the passive income rules and small business deduction math in plain English. Worth sending to prospects before discovery calls. Laurent, thanks for coming on and being this open with the war stories. Appreciate you.

New Beyond the Bottom Line just dropped with Alex Fyon, co-founder of Dreams Financial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmSlDzwesHw What makes Alex different from most of the advisors we've had on the show is the two-lens approach. He's been a financial advisor for 13 years with MDRT Top of Table status (top fraction of advisors in the entire country), and he's also an active business owner and real estate investor himself. So when he talks about retained earnings, holdco structure, and tax exposure, he's living it on both sides of the desk. The core concept of this episode is what he calls "Real Estate on Paper." Most Canadian incorporated business owners think their holdco can hold 3 asset classes (stocks, bonds, real estate). Alex breaks down the 4th, why your accountant likely hasn't mentioned it, and how to use it the same way you'd use a building: collateralize at the bank for liquidity, compound tax-free, and exit clean. A few specifics we get into: - A cardiologist making $700K personally vs properly incorporated, and the $210K/year delta - A $50K/year critical illness strategy that returns $750K tax-free into the doctor's personal pocket at year 15 (works out to a 14.1% compounded after-tax return) - Why deemed disposition on death forces inheritances into fire-sale real estate liquidations, and how to prevent it - The Triangle Effect: advisor, accountant, and tax lawyer working together with you in the middle If you're a Canadian HTAB member working with incorporated business owners or medical specialists, this episode is going to be especially useful, both for your own structure and as a resource you can send prospects before discovery calls. Alex, thanks for coming on and going this tactical. One of the more concrete episodes we've recorded. WATCH NOW

New Beyond the Bottom Line (Episode 18) just dropped with @Mauro Campagnaro CEO of Campagnaro Wealth Advisory in Calgary. This one's for the Canadian crew. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWp4os47438 What makes Mauro different from most guests we've had on is he was an entrepreneur first. He scaled a CPG company from $17M to $40M in 4 years, doubled the profits, and was in every major Canadian retailer coast to coast. And he still wasn't building real personal wealth at the pace he should have been. The reason was structural. He had a bank, an accountant, a lawyer, and an insurance guy, and none of them were talking to each other. If that sounds familiar, this episode is going to land for you. The core idea: most Canadian business owners think there are only 2 ways to pull money out of their corp (salary or dividends). Mauro walks through the third way that actually lets you compound wealth tax-free inside the corporate environment instead of bleeding 50%+ every time you pull money out personally. If you're a Canadian HTAB member with retained earnings stacking in your holdco and a tax bill that gets bigger every year, watch this one. Mauro also breaks down the family office model and why your accountant alone can't quarterback this for you, no matter how good they are. Mauro, thank you for coming on. Genuinely one of the more grounded conversations we've recorded on the show because you've actually sat in our seat as operators. Appreciate you.

New Beyond the Bottom Line just dropped and this one's specifically for the US members. https://youtu.be/fDHaQqSj6t8?si=7553A-tt37QsGL0X I sat down with @Joseph Eppy (founder of Levanti Wealth) and @Joshua Schlinsky (CEO of Safe and Secure Financial). Joe has read the entire 77,000 page US tax code. Twice. Most CPAs and tax attorneys never read it once because they don't have to. This is the conversation I've been wanting to record for months because it directly challenges the relationship most US business owners have with their CPA. Joe's point is that CPAs are trained to record history after December 31st, not to plan and mitigate before it. That gap is where most of you are leaving money on the table. A few things we get into: - How the Big Beautiful Bill opened up planning that used to only be available to ultra high net worth families - A client selling his business for $15M with a $2M basis, and how the team mitigated the entire $2.6M capital gains hit - How to clean up 2023, 2024, and 2025 taxes without amending returns (this one surprised me) - The structure most business owners are missing that lets you own 1% and control 100% Joe and Joshua, thank you for coming on and being this generous with the actual mechanics. This is the kind of conversation business owners pay $25K to sit in a room for. https://youtu.be/fDHaQqSj6t8?si=7553A-tt37QsGL0X