Why Change is Good (even for Businesses)

gertsema wealth st joseph mo financial advisors change

By Mike Gertsema, CEO & Wealth Advisor

A new grocery store chain comes to town with a new variety of products – bakeries, delis, pharmacies, liquor stores, restaurants – and offers online ordering, pick up services, and home delivery services.

Do you check it out?

Some may feel guilty shopping at the new store because of their familiarity (and in some cases, attachment) to their old store and its employees – plus, they’re comfortable with their shopping routine and they are very familiar with the layout of the store.

They don’t have a reason to change stores and don’t know if the prices are lower, higher, or about the same. It’s just new.

However, let’s say you check it out and discover you love the new store because the people there are also so nice and very helpful. You feel comfortable there.

Now the question arises: Do you like this store better than your old store?

A lot goes into this question. Maybe your old store is familiar but the new store offers more options? Maybe you’re ready for something different, but maybe not. Most businesses understand that this thought process occurs in clients’/consumers’ minds, but some still take the chance of going to new cities.

Why Do Businesses Go to New Cities?

Do you ever wonder why new businesses come to town and feel they can be successful in St. Joseph?

They’ve probably done their research and have data from the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of surrounding areas to see if their business model fits the culture and whether they feel they can do a better job servicing the area and compete with the current retailers.

Sometimes I can sense the excitement in the community when the rumors of a new business are coming to town – which leads to enthusiasm when the rumors are confirmed.

When you think about it, St. Joseph has plenty of restaurants and grocery stores, but there is always competition and ways of doing it better and delivering more value to the customers.

Deep down most people realize it and welcome the improvement to their lives.

Like People – Businesses Change With Time

Before moving to St. Joseph almost 30 years ago, we lived in a very small town in southwest Minnesota that basically just had a small grocery store, post office, liquor store, and a gas station.

When we moved to St. Joseph, we were excited to have a variety of stores to shop for groceries, supplies, and home improvement items and we were thrilled to get our first pizza delivery (which is very funny today).

Grocery Stores

I compare that small grocery store we had back then to what we have now and it’s shocking how things have changed – giving the consumer more products and services to improve their lives, save time, give them a better experience, and deliver more value.

Today, we don’t have to leave our home to shop if we don’t want to because we can do it all online and have everything delivered to our home, from groceries to furniture, clothes, gym equipment, home improvement tools, kitchen supplies – the list goes on.

When I talk to people about where they shop and why it’s very interesting to hear the answers they give and the reasons behind the decision.

Some people really enjoy the experience of getting groceries: looking at the variety in the store, seeing the new items available, picking the produce, and trying new things (especially when they offered food samples). For others, it’s a dreaded, time-consuming task that has to be done.

Because of different perspectives, different businesses can succeed.

Real Estate

Another industry that’s changed dramatically is real estate shopping. When we moved to St. Joseph, we looked at over 40 homes either online or in person.

It was a stressful and exhausting experience because it’s a major decision when you’re deciding what neighborhood you wanted to live in to raise your family. There’s a lot to consider: churches, schools, shopping, doctors, dentist, safety, other services, etc. We feel blessed to find the home we found to raise our family.

COVID-19’s Influence

With COVID-19 changing the world and our lives, the real estate buying and selling experience has changed dramatically. Most homes are literally a virtual experience.

There are many more photos online and, in most cases, a virtual walk through the home for prospective buyers to experience in the luxury and safety of their homes.

It’s very intriguing to imagine 10 different people looking at the same house at the same time from all over the country and not seeing or bumping into each other.

Since both the buyer and sellers are concerned about the pandemic, it’s forcing technology to take over and helping society adapt.

Be What the Community Needs

Gertsema Wealth Advisors is a new financial advisor in St. Joseph. We officially opened our location on 1213 North Belt Highway on December 1st, 2018.

We are veterans in the industry that provide a lot of knowledge, experience, and expertise that has one focus that feeds into our mission: clients first, always.

When we were looking at making a change from our previous employer, we saw there was more in the marketplace to offer our clients from retirement planning, tax planning, risk management, estate planning and advising.

We know the community. We know what’s needed, and we’ve done the research to know how poorly it’s getting served. We can see the huge gap between selling products and fiduciary financial advice.

We see the gap and the lack of communication between advisors, CPAs, and attorneys, that leave clients frustrated and confused. Clients deserve more value and we know we have the technology, knowledge, experience, support, and drive to deliver the experience clients are looking for. We want to be your go-to financial advisor in St. Joseph.

We want to make sure our clients leave feeling supported, safe, and happy.

Word of mouth is the highest form of praise and satisfaction, in our opinion – so when one of our clients refers us to one of their friends or family members, we are honored.

We strive to deliver the same consistent service and earn our client’s trust every single day.

We’d love to chat with you about any questions you may have about how we can help you as your financial advisor in St. Joseph.

Some additional options to check us out are to attend our:

  • A virtual open house that we are currently planning, where we are presenting all our services so you can check out all the new technology and advancements for yourself – in the safety and comfort of your own home.
  • Webinar to see what we offer, the benefits, and how it can help improve your standard of living and wealth.

Stay tuned for dates and a registration link!

If you would like to schedule an appointment, here’s a link to my calendar to set up a personal meeting either face to face or a virtual meeting.

 

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