Thirty years ago today, on July 19, 1994, I started my journey as a financial advisor, founding what eventually became Korhorn Financial Group (KFG.) I was young and idealistic, and I wanted to change the world. My dream evolved into being a part of creating the most financially literate community in the world – changing the world one financial life at a time.
At KFG, our noble cause is the financial health of the American worker and guiding them from their working years through retirement with clarity, confidence, and creativity which leads to calm and financial peace.
I envisioned a firm that provided comprehensive financial planning in the context of a vertically-integrated financial services company, a place where someone could come to get financial advice and implementation under one roof. I had no idea my office in the Commerce Center on Colfax Street in downtown South Bend would eventually become four locations and 97 team members, equipped with the extensive resources we have today.
One of my favorite traditions we practice every week is an exercise known as Positive Focus. This all started in November of 1997 when I attended The Strategic Coach, a coaching program for entrepreneurs in Chicago, IL. Quarterly, each attendee was asked to reflect on the past quarter, identify five positive events, explain the reason it was positive, determine the further progress to build upon the momentum, and lay out the first action step to take to keep pushing forward. This exercise proved especially valuable when a quarter might have felt unproductive or discouraging. As the name suggests – it highlighted the many good things that had occurred.
We started implementing Positive Focus as a team at KFG in 2002. Every Monday morning at 8:15 a.m., everyone in the firm prepared a positive focus based on the prior week. We would gather and share all four components—the highlight, the reason why it was a highlight, the further progress, and the first action—with the entire team. Over time, this tradition has become a powerful, motivational, and encouraging exercise, fostering a sense of achievement and celebrating wins company-wide.
As we celebrate 30 years of KFG, I’ve reflected on my Positive Focus for the past three decades:
Achievement — One of the greatest highlights from the last three decades are the families and businesses we have had the opportunity to serve and the team with whom I am privileged to serve. We have been fortunate enough to work with thousands of individuals and families as well as hundreds of businesses in our local area. Because of The Wise Money Show, we have the honor of serving clients from all over the country in almost all 50 states. It is not just our heartbeat for financial planning but our true calling to help clients in all areas of their financial lives. It has been soulful and rewarding work.
Reason Why — I have yet to meet the people we are unable to help with their financial lives. When most new clients come seeking financial wisdom, it is often due to an event that has happened or will be occurring in their lives: retirement, the passing of a loved one, starting or selling a business, etc. It is with great joy that our multi-disciplinary team collaborates to help clients optimize the outcomes in their financial lives. We are process-driven rather than product-driven, which makes our approach unique.
Further Progress — Over the next 30 years, I hope that we will continue to get even better at what we deliver. What gets me out of bed every morning is the challenge of becoming more effective in delivering financial wisdom so we can serve even more people. This is not about growth for the sake of growth but fulfilling our mission to create the most financially literate community in the world. As we improve, I assume we will grow, but our resources are allocated toward becoming even more excellent each day. I am committed to finding ways for our team to get even better, trusting that God will continue to provide what we need.
First Action — Our internship program is currently hosting nine students who have made a great impact on our firm. The approach we took with the internship program this session is the best we have had, with more hands-on experience in all areas of the company to foster learning. One challenge we face is finding talented individuals who are humble, hungry, and wise to serve our clients. By continuing to develop our internship program, we aim to show local talent that they don’t have to leave the area to have a great career.
Thank you to the clients for the opportunity to serve over the last 30 years. It is truly our pleasure to serve so many great individuals, families, and small businesses. We are grateful and look forward to serving you in the years ahead.
Thank you to all current and former team members who have made KFG a great place to work. You have made us into a place where talented people can come to join a family and fly as high as their wings will take them.
I want to encourage all of you to hold fast to the disciplines of financial planning and the ability to change lives. It would be far easier, less expensive, and efficient to run the business another way, but we believe, at the very core of our being, that financial planning will be the engine that will allow us to continue to change people’s financial lives, and in doing so, to change the world.
Kevin Korhorn is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ at Korhorn Financial Group. He also holds his Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) and Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) designations.
