ABOUT CLAY

I grew up near a little town of 600 people on our family farm. It’s there that I learnt the value of hard work, to treat others as I wanted to be treated, and to always be honest and do the right thing. I developed a deep love for family, friends and a passion for animals. As well as a love for sports, and helping others.

In my previous career I was a top producer in the heavy equipment sales industry, and later on a high level executive in my field. I was very proud of my accomplishments and how my clients viewed me as a vital part of their business. However, something was always missing and I didn’t realize what it was until after I completed a career change and joined this industry. 

After prospects, clients, and industry people continued to ask me why I would leave the equipment industry where I was having so much success to start a new business and risk it all, I started to reflect myself why that was.

I grew up in a family that believed the secret to success was hard work! My parents always had a financial plan and it was instilled in me at a very young age to work hard for your money and to have your money work hard for you in return. My dad’s plan was to retire at age 60 on the farm that he and my mom had built up from scratch together. Leading up to retirement they purchased some additional farmland to make sure that they would have enough land to sustain their retirement. A few months shy of retirement my dad was killed in an accident on our family farm. If that wasn’t devastating enough, I soon realized how much trouble my mom was in because my dad refused to purchase life insurance because his philosophy was “what do I care what happens when I’m dead”. So, my mom at age 51, on a modest income who had just lost her life partner was now drowning in debt. 

I was 23 years old at the time and my mom desperately wanted to stay on the farm. I had already purchased my own home on an acreage a couple years earlier and didn’t have a lot of extra money to spare but I promised my mom that we would find a way to keep her on that farm. It wasn’t easy and it took some time and creativity, but we figured it out and my mom still lives on that same farm today.

It still bothers me to this day when I go out to the family farm that my dad was too selfish not to put in place what should be “the foundation” of every financial plan which is life insurance. It would have made a world of difference for my mom who at age 74 now, still has to work way too hard to make ends meet.

It’s this passion to build all aspects of a financial plan including “the foundation” which is life insurance that I bring to every prospect and client meeting as I know firsthand how devastating it is not to be properly prepared for when life happens! 

I now realize that educating, and helping others is my true passion and I couldn’t be happier both professionally, and in my home life with my three amazing daughters!