Stillwater

Stillwater Financial has been a part of the Carter County community for only a few months, having previously lived in Illinois, but owner Kurt Berry said he was in love with the natural landscape of the region and the community that resided within it. He said he is looking to provide support for his current and future customers, helping them achieve their dreams with financial security to back them throughout the journey. * Story and photos by Amber Wadovick *

What made you choose Carter County and Elizabethton for your services and business? We moved here in June 2019 because my family had been looking at the eastern TN area for about three years as a place to “retire” (I would say live financial free). After our last visit in March 2019, we decided it was time to make the move. We love the mountains, the weather, the people, the lower taxes and the smaller town feel. I am expanding my business from the Rockford, IL area into the Carter County area in historic downtown Elizabethton.

What is your purpose as a business? What do you do? Our focus is on helping families reach financial independence/freedom as soon as possible, not just hoping to retire by age 65 to 70. Our definition of financial independence/freedom is when a family can create passive monthly income that is equal to or greater than their monthly expenses. Imagine waking up tomorrow and choosing to work today because you love it, not just because you need a paycheck. If you received several income checks a month that covered all your monthly bills, you have freedom to do what you were created to do! It is a wonderful feeling. I am expanding into this area to teach more families and businesses to do the same. It is what I love and was created to do. Come be part of the movement!

Families come meet with us because they realize that they are not on track for financial freedom, but just hoping to make it to retirement. Their assets are not liquid and accessible, they are not in control. After hearing about our process, they come looking for a better way. We show them how to build tools to allow them to use every dollar more than one time in their personal financial lives to reach financial freedom ASAP. Small businesses come meet with us because cash flow is always the battle, whether it is a good month or a bad month. Their business is usually their best investment,

Kurt Berry said he is excited to bring Stillwater Financial to the Carter County area, bringing his expertise to serve more communities in East Tennessee.

besides themselves, so rather than distract them with market based tools, we keep them focused on growing their businesses. We teach them to build tools that give them a financial reserve they control to help with cash flow on their own terms.

How long have you been in business? I have been in the financial and insurance industry for over 17 years, starting in June 2002 at the end of the tech bubble crash in the markets. I have worked with several major companies such as Edward Jones, Prudential, Mass Mutual and Ohio National. I did not like having to offer and sell certain products to meet weekly or monthly quotas, which most larger companies require. I wanted to find strategies for each client that are best for them, not just for the companies I represented. About eight years ago, I started Stillwater Financial, LLC and have been on my own since then. I love being able to discuss with a client how money works and how to best apply it to their unique situation to optimize their cash flow now, their protection from bad life events and their future wealth potential.

How long have you, personally, been working in the industry? See above answer.

Are you part of a franchise or are you independent? I am an independent financial and insurance advisor. I have relationships as a broker with many

companies in almost every product area from life and disability insurance, to investments in managed money, mutual funds, alternative investments outside the markets and annuities. I can also work with individual stocks and bonds, but it is not my specialty. I have decided to work primarily with third party managers that watch the markets all day with their large teams of analysts when a client wants a market based tool. That way the client is getting the best managers in the world, rather than just me. I feel I am very knowledgeable and capable, but I also know my limits. Our job is to make sure we develop strategies for each client so they win the financial game of life no matter what may come their way.

What impact do you think your services/business will have on the Carter County community? We love helping people win the financial game of life! We feel the game is stacked against the average person in America and we have been teaching ourselves first and now our clients how to use products and tools in a way that gives the client the most chance for success regardless of how the markets perform, regardless if life throws them a “curve ball,” like a major financial setback i.e. car breaks down, roof gets a leak, lose your job, get sued, etc. It is about equipping families and small businesses to be flexible, in control and have access to capital if and when they need it on their own terms. I love celebrating with my clients on their little and big successes, especially when they reach financial freedom in their own personal lives!

How do you plan to work towards achieving this impact on the community? Currently I am out networking with people in the community. I am working on setting up some workshops on a monthly basis for anyone that wants to take back control of their financial lives and begin learning concepts to help them win the financial game no matter what comes their way. Stay tuned! Or, just contact us for a free visit and get started on your own journey right away.

What has the public’s interaction with you been like since you opened in Carter County, and can you provide an example? So far, everyone has been very friendly and welcoming. I have had the chance to help several families already in my short time here and what typically happens is they start to tell their friends, family and co-workers about what we were able to accomplish for them and they introduce others to us. It is the best compliment we can receive for doing something we love. An example of the help we have received so far, is finding the office space we are in now. We met some families in a fellowship group over our March 2019 visit to the area. One of the families introduced us to Tawnya Davenport who owns Salon Revelations and the building our office is in. We hit it off immediately with Tawnya and her husband Tony and feel like part of the family. Everywhere we go, that seems to be the response we have received here. It has been a great blessing to experience and be a part of. I must add that we were challenged twice not to bring our “big city” ways into this smaller community. I will state it very clearly, we are here to get away from the “big city” thinking and problems to learn from and invest in your ways down here!

What kinds of challenges have you encountered since opening, and how have you worked to overcome them? The main challenges we have faced have just been getting acclimated to the new area. The hardest things are finding new experts that I can build a referral team with. I have all of that still in Illinois for my existing clients, but still working on it here. It takes time to find the right people that you can connect with, we have similar beliefs and goals for working with mutual clients and that you can trust will do everything in their power to help the clients succeed without going against the advice we have already given the client. That is something that just takes time to develop. I am working on meeting people in the areas of auto/home insurance, estate planning attorneys, bankers, mortgage brokers, real estate agents and others to begin to develop that team of trusted advisors for the benefit of our clients. If you would like to meet and see if we can be a good fit in these areas, contact me to set up a meeting so we can get to know each other. I am always looking to meet great people that want to make a difference in clients lives in the right way.

What are your future goals as a company? Where do you see yourselves in five or 10 years? Our goal is to help as many people in the Carter County area to build a strong financial position that will stand the test of time in both their personal lives and their businesses. We can only work with 40-60 new families/businesses each year based on our current capacity. I have an office manager in my Rockford, IL office that handles all of the client service issues and I also have another associate in Madison, WI that helps with marketing and case prep. We all work together virtually and I meet with most of my existing clients online as well. In five years, we would like to have a clientele of 200+ families/businesses in the Carter County area as well as adding an additional staff person and 1-2 other junior advisors that would like to learn how to improve the financial lives of families in this area. In 10 years, we would like to have our clientele grow to 500+ families/businesses in this local area and possibly 1-2 more advisors. We are not looking to build a large company, but a smaller, local, efficient organization that can impact the most people for the good.

What is one thing about your business you really want our readers to know? The first thing I think that sets us apart is that we do not charge fees for our time or services. I have found that is the main issue that keeps families away from seeking the help that would get them on the right track to financial independence/freedom. I used to charge a fee, but found that hindered people from contacting us when they needed us the most, like when they have a big financial decision to make. By not charging for our time, we are available to answer the questions clients have and give them the best opportunity to win when they need it. So how do we get paid? Well, when we discover a strategy with our clients that makes sense to them and puts them in a better position, sometimes that calls for a new product or tweaking a product. We find the right company with the best product for this situation and we get paid by the company for using their product. Sometimes it is a fee and sometimes it is a commission. That makes us a fee-based advisor. The client pays the same whether they worked directly with the company or through us. So if we cannot find a solution in which to improve our clients situation, then we don’t get paid. So the pressure is all on us to find helpful solutions the client likes and is willing to implement. So far it is working really well. Clients are better off and moving in the direction they want to go and we get paid to help them get there. Win-Win.

Where are you guys located in Carter County? How can potential customers contact you? We are located at 707 E. Elk Ave., Ste 2. in Elizabethton. Our office looks out over the covered bridge park stage area. If you are traveling through the historic downtown area on E. Elk Ave. cross the bridge and we are the second building on the left. The Stillwater Financial, LLC sign is on the front window. If you go past the Veteran’s Memorial you went too far. We only meet with clients via an appointment due to confidentially concerns, but we have very flexible hours to meet working folk’s and professional’s schedules. My email is kurt@ stillwaterfinancial.net and my phone number is 815-222-8465. Let us know if you want to come in for a visit.