CEO Guest Speakers

• Robert Mueller, Dave Demond, & Tina Fromme
• Kevin Nicol, President

Responsibility. I think that word describes this week very well. On Monday we were visited by the Bank of Edwardsville, Tuesday we were visited by Kevin Nicol, and the rest of the week were work days.

The Bank of Edwardsville came on Monday and talked to us about credit. They talked a lot about how to increase your credit score and how to avoid decreasing it. I found this very interesting and helpful. I realize now I need to be responsible with my money. It is never too early for me to be thinking about my future. If I need a loan to start a business in the future, my actions now can effect if I get accepted or not.

On Tuesday, Kevin Nicol came and gave us the first part of a series of seminars. He taught us all about net worth, how to increase assets and reduce liabilities. This tied in well with the Bank of Edwardsville’s talk about credit score. They both talked about the responsibilities of managing your money well. Any financial mishaps I have today will cost me tomorrow.

The rest of the week was work days. Again, responsibility played an important role in this part. At this point we are assigning a lot of individuals responsibilities to take care of, whether it is getting the venue or finding prices for decorations. So far everyone is doing what the promise, I just wonder if this will change as soon as we start getting more things for people to do.

Lastly we talked about small talk. We watched a video in class about the art of conversation to help us make small talk with investors. I enjoyed the video and think it will help me in the future. I think the hardest part about small talk will be getting the conversation started. It can seem intimidating but after I get used to it I am sure I'll be fine.

Tim Donaho
Friday, November 4, 2016Learn More About Tim

As our weeks go on, we have become better and better at keeping our focus on what has to be done for success in our class business, while also keeping our minds open for information from all the business owners and entrepreneurs that come to us every week. We've made it to November already and it still feels like the class is fresh and new every time we meet. It's as if the class starts over every week due to how much each week is different.

Monday The Bank of Edwardsville came to see us. The biggest piece of information tries to make personal connections. The more you know about someone the more you can talk about next time you see them. The Bank of Edwardsville has148 years of banking under its belt, 20 full service banking centers, 190 million net worth, 1.8 Billion in assets. The Bank has received a myriad of awards, one of the top 50 businesses from RCGA, the Financial Literacy award, and St. Louis Business Journal top 10 largest trust company amongst others. Officers and employees of The Bank donate their times and talents to over 400 different charitable and community organizations. One difference between normal businesses are their balance sheets and assets. Banks' balance sheets consist of assets (loans, investments, cash, facilities and equipment) and liabilities (deposits).

Tuesday, Mr. Kevin Nichol came and gave us a seminar that tied in and went hand and hand with The Bank of Edwardsville very well. The most impactful takeaway for me was the fact that what you do today literally could affect you tomorrow. You have to always keep the future in mind because things are bound to happen but how you react and prepare yourself for the worst then you will always be ready for anything. Keeping this in mind, always try to cut down on liabilities and increase your assets to their maximum potential to get the most out of things in life. Using financial literacy you can keep things like your credit score or even relationships with people from getting into bad standing so that you can rely on them in the future. If me and my 1 CEOmates use these tools we should almost never find ourself on hard times, or if we do we can get out of them quickly.

Royce Payne
Friday, November 4, 2016Learn More About Royce

One of the first things we heard about in CEO this week was that using credit cards are good as long as you learn how to responsibly use them and not overspend. I never have understood the point of a credit card. Why would I use a credit card when I can easily use my own debit card and never have to worry about overspending. The Bank of Edwardsville have some great pointers on why everyone should have a credit card from establishing credit for when you have to take out a loan to keeping a good credit report. I have spent the last 13 years of my life in school and for all those years I’ve never once known what a credit report is but from the commercials it has something to do with credit cards. I would never known without talking to an expert that you should only spend up to 50% of your maximum on your credit cards because that's the best way to establish great consistent credit. I do have my parents and especially my dad who has a background in finance so my parents would probably tell me all this info but if I didn't have them I would be clueless on these matters and probably make a stupid mistake which would cost me. These are the things that we learn in CEO that make me glad to be in the class. Learning just about credit reports made me remember that this class is different than any other class I will ever take in my life. I’ve always had in interest in business and considered going into the field in college but once I got into the CEO program I knew this is what I wanted to do. I know I will never be an accountant but I still find every talk with accounts interesting. I’ll never be in construction but meeting with Holland construction still peaked my interest and had me engaged the whole time.This program from day one has a spectacular class and essential to my success in the future. This class has taught me things I would have never known and has educated me on some of the business traps to not fall for and the ways the people we meet with have succeeded in this world.

Joe Beussink
Friday, November 4, 2016Learn More About Joe

This week for me was a big week to think about financials. We had Kevin Nicol from, Nicol Financial Services come in and also I got to have a one on one meeting with my mentor Adam Hill, along with two workdays.

 The week started at Barcom when Kevin Nicol came in to talk to us about the fundamentals for financial freedom. At first I must be honest I did not think I was going to understand it at all, I am not really good at numbers and don't really care for math, but Mr. Nicol found a way to make it interesting, understanding, and fun. Mr. Nicol continued to explain to us to be an owner not a loaner, at first I misunderstood because at the moment I was thinking of the type of loaner that doesn't talk to anyone, but that's not what he was saying. Mr. Nicol was saying that everything that you finance in in your company you want to own,  because that in your personal asset and that is going to count towards your net worth which is a good thing. Your net worth is a combination between assets, income, and your company. With all of those things you will have a great income. If you want better behavior from bankers, then make their financial incentives more like those in the hedge-fund world, where managers have 'skin in the game,' and their net worth is tied to their long-term performance (Steve Jobs)

 The days following we continued to discuss our class businesses and assign responsibility for them. We had a tough time thinking about what we should make our fountain out of for around the fountain. I suggested a chocolate fountain most in part that I was hungry at the moment and I was thinking about chocolate doughnuts. Who knew my hunger would become in great use, everyone thought it was a great Idea and I think we are going to take off with it.

 The following day I met with my Mentor Adam Hill to discuss my personal business. I will admit at first I was really nervous to tell him what I was thinking. He told me that I was prepared for every question he had about what I wanted to do and how I wanted to approach it. He loved my ideas I could see his eyes just light up as I kept talking. We looked over my business plans and financials. And he said one thing I need from you is to not be afraid to fail if things don't work, it will just make you better. I completely understood I knew my business was going to be a very expensive start up and I need someone who can help me get through that enormous obstacle. I think I got the right person. This week since we do not have school on Friday we are both going out to look for some gear that will work for me and that will work with our budgets. For me I already have projects lined up so we are taking off and I cannot wait.

 As another week concludes in CEO I see us not growing as a class but as a group of entrepreneurs and that is about the greatest progress you could ask for. Also Happy Birthday Mrs. Siebers, Stephen, and Me!

Jaylen Davis
Friday, November 4, 2016Learn More About Jaylen

Week 11 of CEO class has come to an end. We have gotten more done this week than I ever imagined in regards to the class business. We worked solely on the business Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Monday, The Bank Edwardsville visited us and Tuesday Kevin Nicol came to speak about the Nicol Foundation.

The Bank of Edwardsville offered a lot of information I have never even heard before. Bob Mueller, Dave Demond, Tina Fromme all came in to speak about their specific roles in the bank. Dave, the credit expert, advised us to never spend more than 50% of your max credit, or else your credit score will go down quickly. Bob Mueller also offered advice about connecting with people, he reminded us not to simply shake hands with somebody, but to have a small conversation with them to get to know them and actually make a real connection. This is something me and my class has had a hard time with. Speaking to strangers, what a strange concept! I think it is so hard for us because our whole lives we have been socialized to keep to ourselves and not speak to strangers, but the thing is, in the business world that is exactly what we should do. I have noticed that most of the guest speakers and successful business owners are outgoing and sociable, and that is certainly not a coincidence. I will surely make a bigger effort to have small talk with our speakers, because that is a skill I will frequently use for the rest of my life.

On Tuesday, Kevin Nicol from the Nicol Foundation visited our class. He spoke about financial independence and how to be successful we have to maximize our assets and minimize our liabilities. But to be completely honest, the biggest lesson I took from his presentation was not to procrastinate. He spoke about not procrastinating for about twenty seconds, but it really changed how I thought about it. In his booklet that he so generously gifted to us, there was a little wooden circle. Once I removed it from the folder I turned it over and it simply said, “Tuit.” For some unexplainable reason I thought it was the coolest thing ever. It is a round tuit, symbolizing the need for us to get around to things we must accomplish and not procrastinate. I literally took it to school with me and showed all of my friends my round tuit. They thought it was a pretty good joke, and so do I. Now it lies by my bed and I occasionally look at it when I am being unproductive, knowing that I have to write my journal. No longer will I be able to tell myself I’ll get around to it, because I actually have a round tuit. So thank you Mr. Nicol for the lifelong reminder not to procrastinate, I will never forget it.  

Michael Lassman
Friday, November 4, 2016Learn More About Michael

We had Mr. Nicol from the Nicol foundation come and speak with us one of the days. He presented a lot of information really fast but it was all extremely insightful. I have always heard to diversify your portfolio but never knew exactly what it meant. What were you supposed to diversify? Where everything is? Who you go to? He explained that a person should stay with the same financial advisor but put put your money in different investment types and places. Such as different stock, bonds, CDs,  etc. He also advised not to choose a financial advisor too fast but to do research on who the person is, how many clients the advisor has, the “cons” of using the person.

We had ‘The Bank of Edwardsville in to speak with us this week. Before them I knew a little bit about credit, but just the basics, that you need good credit to get loans and finance things, and to pay bills on time to get better credit. Beyond that I was in the dark. I had no idea what a good credit score was but I now know that around 740 is the ideal credit because the highest a person can get is 800 which is unheard of. Also that past history, public records, and outstanding balances on accounts affect a person’s score the most. And to avoid your score dropping due to credit cards, do not go more that 50% than the max credit amount on your card. But 40% is the ideal mark to not pass.

The rest of the week we had work days. I believe that we have made quite a bit on our class “business.” I was charged with making the brochure that asks for sponsorships and tells what the sponsor will receive for their donation. Speaking of which, anybody that is reading this; if you would like to sponsor please do contact any of the CEO students about it and we will get you the pricing and what you will receive. Also if you would like to have a representative at the event we are selling booths for $300!

Carson Gamboe
Friday, November 4, 2016Learn More About Carson

Another exciting and eventful week of CEO class has passed. We are 11 weeks into the school year, and are finally getting into the groove as a class on the class business. This week, we had three full work days at Barcom, and I think that we have made big strides this week. We are finalizing many small details that will help us actually go out, get sponsors, and promote our business. I am learning that the more we listen to each other the more success we have as a class. There is still a little bit of argument, but for the most part the class is doing a lot better. We seemed to have everything finalized for sponsorships, but we ran into a problem about decorations. I am excited to see how the class' minds work to solve this issue. I think that the trade show will be very successful, and we will pull it off.

On Monday, the Bank of Edwardsville visited us, and talked about the banking world. The bank was established in 1868, and has been successful ever since. They have a 190 million dollar net worth, and bring in 1.8 billion dollars in assets. Banks make most of their money from loaning money with higher interest rates. The Bank of Edwardsville makes 742 million in loans. Two very important lessons are to establish credit early, and start saving early. You need financial history to help you get a loan from a bank.

On Tuesday, Kevin Nicol came to speak to us about Nicol Financial Services. He is a very smart and passionate person, and just wants to help others. I really admire that about him. He gives scholarships to a student from each CEO class in the area because he supports the program and the children in it. I really liked his presentation of financials, but what strikes me as amazing is his support.

Stephen Waltrip
Friday, November 4, 2016Learn More About Stephen

This week we got to talk to the people who run Bank of Edwardsville. Bob Mueller is the president of the Bank of Edwardsville. He talked about how they started in 1868, which is 148 years of uninterrupted banking. Which I find amazing that they lasted that long. They do a lot of home loans. They also manage billions of loans. They’re a five star bank. They also get involved in community and put time and effort into it. They’re actually a trend where everything is online.

More and more people are going to do their banking online. And the biggest risk now a days is identity theft. Because after you your identity is taken you’re pretty much casing your money. And it's best if you avoid “fishy” emails. Cause most the time its hackers trying to take your money. And if you have any paper documents from your bank burn it do whatever you can to make it unreadable. And you can always do stuff to fight id theft. Like for example make your password hard to guess. Also destroy your old card.

 Dave Demond he's the Mortgage Loan Originator for the bank. He mostly look at credit scores, it can change every day.  Your credit score comes from your history, collection, public records, and so on. Also it’s best to avoid late payments. Then Tina Fromme the Certified Financial Planner Professional and a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor of the Bank of Edwardsville and she talked to us a little about investments which I found to be interesting. She told us the risk of not investing; the one big problem would be inflation. She also talked about how it's best to start early on saving.

 Later we got to hear from Kevin Nicol from Nicol Financial Services. He talked about how the mission of his company is helping people achieve and maintain financial independence. He also is a writer. He gave us Fourth Edition Financial Priorities which is quite interesting. There was a lot of good stuff in it. I actually got my dad to read it, and my dad doesn't read that much. He loved it.  

 Kevin Nicol in his talk, talked about getting involved. “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” a quote by Winston Churchill. Kevin Nicol shared this quote with us. I couldn’t agree more with this. One you get that good feeling of helping people and talking to people. Two you can advertise your own business.  All in all it was a pretty good week in CEO.

Kelly Rowden
Friday, November 4, 2016Learn More About Kelly