A Welcoming Approach

by CARLY SIMPSON

When the team at Prout Financial Design in Traverse City began searching for a new office, their primary goal was to find a spot with enough space for a classroom. They wanted a place where they could welcome the community. This dream is part of a larger staff mission to invest in education—not just continuing education for advisors or informing clients about the latest investment strategies, but also answering questions and offering resources to the community at large.

Another goal? Create a relaxed atmosphere. Thanks to a steadily growing staff and 700-plus clients, Prout Financial’s original headquarters on Front Street was starting to feel “cramped.” Walking into the lobby at their new Eighth Street home is anything but—it feels more like a friend’s living room, with a crackling fire, comfy couches, coffee mugs at the ready.

Now settled in after their big move in November 2022, Prout Financial is ready to invite guests over, and this spring 2023, the team is hosting the first of many Lunch & Learns. The free hour-long events will cover a variety of topics—some financial and some just plain ol’ fun—from Roth IRAs and 529 plans to travel, gardening and cooking classes. Prout Financial will also bring in experts on subjects like Medicare, Social Security and life insurance. The classroom has a full kitchen—with an oven, refrigerator, two dishwashers and counter space for prep work—along with a separate restroom, two big-screen TVs, a high-tech sound system and rolling tables that can be easily rearranged. Outside groups can also rent the room and host their own events.

“Locally, I don’t know of anyone else who has a learning center like this,” says Financial Advisor and Managing Director Heidi Cartwright. “Other people do hold classes for clients to introduce products, but our monthly program that’s open to the public is a little different.

“People who come in our door may have some fear or anxiety about financial planning,” Cartwright adds. “They might not know how to get started or are worried about making a mistake. We want to give people tools to navigate these topics, which can feel like tangled webs.”

For those who want one-on-one time with an advisor, Prout Financial also offers an hour-long complimentary consultation. It’s an opportunity to ask questions and learn about different services. “I’ve had people with a couple thousand dollars who are just starting out and who want to know what to do first, to people who have substantial portfolios,” Cartwright says. “But that hour is available to anyone. We try to give you as much information as possible and a list of action items. We want you to leave having the confidence of knowing what to do next.” Consultations are available with Cartwright and Nathan Prout, son of Prout Financial Founder Dennis Prout, who has joined the advisor team. Nathan recently passed his Series 65, allowing him to give clients investment advice and analysis, and he also specializes in life insurance, annuities and financial plans.

Lunch & Learn dates and topics will be announced online (proutfinancialdesign.com) and on-air during WTCM’s “New Retirement Radio” program, featuring Cartwright and Prout. Space is limited; call to save your spot.

Securities offered through Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory Services offered through Capital Asset Advisory Services, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor.

It was an ordinary follow-up email from a patient, but with an extraordinary attachment. When Dr. Rebecca Zipser Hoffman’s staff clicked on the image, up popped a photo of a woman posing with a pair of her big old sweatpants. She was standing in one leg of them, her smile glowing, the picture of pride and health.

Even better? Her newly healthy and slimmed-down husband, inspired by his wife’s success, was standing in the other leg.

This reinvigorated, half-of-themselves duo was the perfect testimony to the outcomes Hoffman and her team are seeing at Cherry Bend Health & Wellness. The new medical spa, focused on skin care and weight loss, is the sister business to her longestablished Traverse City practice, Cherry Bend Family Care.

As a Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.), Hoffman has always embraced holistic wellness but was frustrated by traditional care models that only allow for a few minutes of patient interaction and often leave people with more questions than answers. Add to that the impact Covid-19 had on her staff and the people in her care—as the first clinic in the area to have rapid Covid testing, they found themselves taking care of the community at large, not just their own patients.

Battling burnout, Hoffman took stock: “I was thinking, well, I’m a middle-aged woman, some of my staff are in the same situation, what do I want? What can we offer? I wanted to do something that I enjoy, that gives me new knowledge, something fun in medicine. I decided to address the things people have asked me about over the years; the ‘I can’t lose weight. What do I do with brown spots from all the sun?’ questions and the issues that keep us from feeling our best as we age.”

She’d also noticed troubling health trends exacerbated by the pandemic—spiking anxiety, alcohol abuse, poor health habits. How could she wrap her arms around all of her patients’ needs?

Then Hoffman’s landlord retired and offered to sell her the other half of the building where her practice was, and she knew she had the space to expand into something new and exciting.