Welcome To My Mentor Page
After decades of building, advising, and occasionally rescuing businesses, I'm officially trying to retire from consulting, but I'm not done mentoring.
Someone told me Substack is "where the smart people hang out," meaning serious folks discussing real issues without all the marketing noise drowning out genuine conversation everywhere else. That resonated with me. What I want to share here isn't wrapped in a sales funnel or designed to grow my personal brand. I'm past that stage of life and mentoring someone else on SaferWealth.com.
Why This Page Exits
This is my mentorship venture. Yes, I do some marketing on social media for other companies, but here's the thing: being serious about business growth that affects your family's financial future isn't like learning to fix a light switch or making small talk at YouTube networking events. High level discussion is free because that is what it is worth.
Building real wealth through business requires daily discipline, strategic thinking, and the kind of commitment most people won't maintain without real skin in the game. That's why I'm using Substack to deliver daily value you can actually implement, not motivational fluff or recycled business tips, but specific guidance from someone who's built, scaled, and sold businesses successfully. I am not here to make friends, I am here to help people.
The best business advice comes from someone who has nothing left to sell you. My “trying to retire” gift to myself is the freedom to mentor through Substack without hidden agendas. No coaching packages, no masterclasses, no "limited time opportunities." Just straight talk from someone who's been in the trenches. All the marketing business is in SaferWealth.
I'm working on a couple of business books through Indiegogo, but they're extensions of this same philosophy. When I published my previous book in 2016, it worked as a screening tool for potential clients. If they couldn't grasp the concepts, we weren't a good fit. The system worked perfectly. You can still find that book on Amazon, but the updated version will offer the same value at the same price, because maximizing book profit was never the goal. In fact, bring me 100 subscribers and I will give you a book.
Why This Isn't Free (And Why That Matters)
Let me address the obvious question: if mentorship is my only goal, why isn't this free?
Real mentorship isn't broadcasting to millions of casual followers with completely different situations. You can't effectively mentor 2 million people, you work with committed individuals who prove they're ready to do the work. Managing a massive free platform would consume my retirement and cost thousands monthly, defeating the whole purpose of stepping back. If I am helping you and others, then you pay the staff that brings it to you.
The subscription isn't about generating income. It's about filtering for commitment, just like my book was. Here's the psychology:
Payment creates investment. When you pay for advice, you've already committed to the outcome. You're far more likely to implement recommendations rather than let your investment go to waste. It also reduces cognitive bias.
Loss aversion drives action. Once you've paid, you're motivated to extract value to avoid feeling like you wasted money. Free content creates no such pressure to engage deeply. It also reduces cognitive bias.
Identity consistency matters. By subscribing to business mentorship, you're declaring yourself a serious business owner. People naturally behave consistently with their stated identity. It also reduces cognitive bias.
Payment eliminates paralysis. Free content creates endless options with zero commitment. Paid content creates focus, when you specifically choose my guidance, you're more likely to follow it instead of constantly seeking alternatives. It also reduces cognitive bias.
Reciprocity creates obligation. Payment establishes a psychological contract where both parties have skin in the game. Free advice creates no such mutual commitment. It also reduces cognitive bias.
Nobody respects what they get for free. More importantly, nobody takes action on advice that cost them nothing as most advice they get runs against their cognitive biases that keep them indifferent.
Try this: go to the store and buy a 12 once bottle of water, the go home fill a 48 once pitcher with water. Put them side by side. Then pour one out. Which one would you keep and which one would you pour out? You will value 12 minutes more with me than 48 on a free YouTube channel. Just the way the brain works.
The Problem with Business "Expertise"
Here's what drives me crazy about modern business advice: everyone wants to stay in their lane. The marketing gurus, leadership experts, finance wizards, they all act like business is a collection of specialized departments. But business isn't departmental. It's a living organism where everything connects. That is why you get very little from these SM channels, knowledge involves integration. So to pick my “subject matter fit” on Substack, I did not know what to do.
You can't say "I own a business, I don't need to know about venture capital" any more than you can say "I own a house, I don't need to know about plumbing." Whether you realize it or not:
If you're a new business owner, you're essentially a seed or Series A investor in your own company
If you're profitable but still working 60-hour weeks, you're a Series B investor who needs banking expertise
If you've achieved 20-hour work weeks, congratulations, you're now a Series C investor
When you eventually sell, you'll need estate planning, investment knowledge, insurance expertise, and more
Just like building a house requires understanding how all the trades work together, building a business requires understanding how all its systems connect. So you will have to deal with my what may seem to be topical tangents as mentorship you need know or in the future.
What You'll Get Here
My background spans venture capital, banking, investment insurance, taxation, and business growth, not because I collected certifications, but because real businesses forced me to understand how these pieces fit together.
I can't promise to stay in a neat content lane because business problems don't come in neat packages. One week we might discuss cash flow management, the next week succession planning, then pivot to reading market signals or understanding investor psychology. One week I may even tell you what your family thinks about you working 80 hours a week.
What I can promise: no fluff, no recycled guru wisdom, and no solutions that ignore the messy reality of running an actual business.
My One Ask
If something I write helps you, share it with another business owner or whomever who might benefit. The best mentorship has always been passed along, not sold.
That's it; no "act now" pressure, just someone who's walked this path sharing what he learned along the way.
Let's talk business, and yes there may be free stuff in the future.
Got a specific business challenge you're wrestling with? Drop a comment or send a message. I will try read everything and respond to what resonates.
Why Subscribe?
Join for $5/Month – But Not for Long
I'm starting this at just the minimum charge of $5 monthly to keep it accessible while I figure out what works. The plan is to cap it at 1,000 subscribers for real mentorship, then bump it to $20.
That $20 isn't arbitrary, it's what I'd need to hire social media help. But I've got something better in mind.
The Secret Weapon: Bored Retired Executives
I know semi-retired business veterans who are driving their spouses crazy sitting around the house. These guys have decades of experience and way too much time. Give them purpose and their wives get a break, it's basically a public service.
If this takes off beyond 1,000 people, I'm putting these "lazy ass retired friends" to work. They've got the same skills I do, likely better, and they're itching for something meaningful.
The Karma Play
So here's my shameless ask: get everyone you know to subscribe. We're talking old people working for free to create social media jobs for young people. Beautiful win-win.
At $5 a month, what's the worst that happens? You get solid business advice for the price of a gas station coffee. And maybe help solve both unemployment and retirement boredom in one shot. You could reach Sainthood, Nobel Peace Prize, outcomes are really endless!!!
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