I wouldn’t be here serving the SDP client family today if it weren’t for Conrad Slate.

Conrad and I both graduated from Tennessee Tech University and I believe that was a big contributor to Conrad inviting me in for my first job interview back in early 2018.

I had been interviewing with many financial services firms throughout my junior and senior years at Tennessee Tech and I actually had already started the onboarding process with another firm in Knoxville before I had my first interview with Conrad.

When I first arrived at the SDP offices, I was welcomed by Kim in the front office and I immediately felt at home. The smell of coffee in the office paired with Kim’s diffuser and the welcoming atmosphere somehow instantly reminded me of visiting my grandfather at his office when I was young. It is bizarre how distinctly I remember that moment. I am naturally an anxious person, so I was very nervous about the interview and making a great first impression. Despite this, the interview went great, but it was not like any interview that I had participated in so far. Conrad asked me questions about myself, my upbringing, and my school journey. He asked me many of the questions that I have learned to go through with new prospective financial planning clients.

He even went through the “SDP approach talk” with me to give me an idea of how he, Rick, and Will run their business and care for their clients. I didn’t know it then, but Conrad was already showing me how to operate before even offering me a job. We went through that approach talk together many times for practice after I had joined the team and Conrad would help me by role-playing as a prospective client. Anyway, after that first interview, I got in my car and immediately called my mother, “I think I am going to back out of the onboarding process at ‘anonymous financial services firm’ so that I can join the SDP team. It seems like the perfect fit for me.” She cautioned me against being too hasty in my decision-making, but my gut told me that I needed to be apart of Conrad’s team. The rest is history, Conrad invited me back for another interview with the rest of the team and I canceled my onboarding at the other firm immediately.

When I received my offer letter to join the SDP team, I jumped at the opportunity to learn from Conrad. I took the job, earning less, with less benefits because I was so excited to work on a great team and have the opportunity to be mentored by Conrad, Rick, Will, and of course Kim.

I am so glad that I met Conrad, and had the opportunity to work with him. The knowledge and wisdom that he passed down to me are invaluable. Thank you, Conrad. I could not have asked for a better mentor in life and business.

Enjoy your retirement and be ready for my phone calls when I need an extra set of eyes on a case. I will always value your input and advice.