2020 END OF THE YEAR GERBER RECAP
2020 will go down in the history books for sure, but its unprecedented challenges didn't stop us from adapting and making lemonade out of lemons!
Here's how we spent the "first-in-our-lifetime" pandemic year.
PRE-PANDEMIC
Growth with Purpose was Gerber's theme throughout 2020, and we kicked off January with a series of blog posts and presentations around this approach to business.
Next came our annual offsite Gerber team retreat. It was held at Scioto Country Club, discussing our goals and direction for 2020 (little did we know, right? Best laid out plans...), playing a mean game of paddle tennis and then enjoying dinner and drinks at Randy's house.
We also attended several Columbus Blue Jackets games with our clients and COIs (packed crowds, no masks, remember those days?), held an informative "Better Predicting Success Through Cash Flow" event at Haven Collective, and we hosted Rebecca Lockwood's first of many "Get a Grip" EOS Workshops (although this was her only in-person event of the series). In early March, .Randy presented an in-person "TIGER Talk" at Innovate New Albany about growing your company with purpose just before the you-know-what hit the fan.
ENTER COVID
During the statewide lockdown and in the months that followed, we put all of our efforts into providing support, resources and education for our clients and other entrepreneurs.
Building and managing wealth is the cornerstone of what we do for our clients. Because of the opportunities and problems in the equity market place, we focused our clients efforts on three areas: Cash, tax loss selling, and investments.
We've modified the vast majority of our clients' portfolios with greater emphasis on new economy companies and lower emphasis on old economy companies. In addition, we lowered their tax burden by selling off underperforming stocks or securities to eliminate capital gains tax, and invested money in a fashion that was aligned with our clients' goals. While we offer many support services for our clients as they grow and scale their businesses, financial planning and investments is the core of what we do.
We continue client meetings and regular communications about updates and explanations to statewide orders that affected their businesses. We added a "COVID-19 Resources" page to our blog with "What We Know" articles, Growth with Purpose blogs with a COVID slant, and summaries of COVID-related webinars and panel discussions.
Those webinars and panel discussions provided specialized content for dentists, restaurant and bar owners, and business owners in general. We brought valuable resources and the sharpest minds to provide guidance and advice to the many entrepreneurs who were struggling to pivot or just plain survive. We are happy to say that our clients have fared pretty well, and continue to innovate and pivot during a year like no other.
We also launched a virtual version of Gerber's Emerging Entrepreneur Experience. Gerber Entrepreneur allows us to remotely reach entrepreneurs ready to grow their business no matter where they live.
This was possible thanks to opening a new production studio in our office. The cameras and sound system are perfect for hosting and recording meetings and webinars.
Like many of our clients, we innovated, both by force and by choice. Remote working forced us to use Zoom, but now it's part of how we choose to do business. We looked at more outsourced services to provide our clients with better content faster. We also signed a five-year contract with Salesforce to help us systemize and streamline our business and deliver our services more efficiently.
In September we celebrated our one-year anniversary in our new location at the Smith Bros building. We couldn't have a huge party, but we did reflect on what we learned and appreciated about our new space and the process it took to get here.
October brought with it another move - not a physical one, but just as major. We changed our custodian from Raymond James to Fidelity. This was an exciting opportunity for our clients and our firm, and we greatly appreciate their patience as we transitioned. Change is rarely easy, and this change wasn't easy either, but it is often necessary to grow in new directions.
And speaking of change, a few of our team members transitioned from Gerber to explore other opportunities in 2020. Kyle followed a lifelong dream to live in Colorado. Lori, the extraordinary mother that she is, chose to stay home with her children for the time being. And Katie is growing her experience and skills in another company. We appreciate their service to our clients and wish them happiness and success in their new chapters.
We are excited to add two more A Players to the Gerber team in 2021. Nick Marino, Advisor, comes to us with years of financial experience and certifications. He's a Certified Financial Planner, a Chartered Financial Consultant and has earned a Series 7, Series 66 and Series 24 license.
We also welcomed Alicia Crittenden as our new Client Service Associate. She will be handling our clients' transactional and administrative needs, and has several years of experience in account management, account coordination and customer service. Please check out "The Gerber Team" page of our website for their complete bios.
We can't say we're sorry to see 2020 go, but as we move to 2021, we're optimistic for what the future holds. We will continue to provide opportunities that help and support first-generation entrepreneurs!
Wish you and yours a safe and healthy New Year!
