He Left Wall Street for Hilton Head Island — and Brought the Secret to Real Wealth Transformation

He walked away from Wall Street’s chaos to find something the markets couldn’t measure — the secret to real wealth transformation.  In this episode of Real Talk Hilton Head, David and Dale Cross sit down with Thomas Dowling, Managing Director of Alliance Global Partners of the Lowcountry, a boutique wealth-management firm with New York City roots and Hilton Head values.

Thomas reveals what most people — even successful ones — overlook in their financial plans, and how simplifying your strategy can actually unlock more peace, freedom, and legacy.

🌴 You’ll learn:
• The hidden difference between financial planning and true wealth management
• Why simplifying your finances leads to greater freedom
• The “Wealth Management Formula” that ties everything together
• How the Virtual Family Office model (inspired by Rockefeller systems) works for real people
• The mindset shift that turns stress into stability

If you’ve ever wondered what “real wealth” truly means — beyond numbers — this episode will change how you see money, legacy, and life in the Lowcountry.

👉 Learn more about Thomas at AGPLowCountry.com

Transcript

 Welcome to Real Talk Hilton Head with David and Dale Cross, the real estate lifestyle podcast of Coastal Carolina. 0:07 Join us as we share stories from our community, insight into the local lifestyle, and the real scoop on real 0:13 estate. From market trends to home design, we dive deep into what it means to live and 0:18 thrive here. Discover the state of mind and philosophy of the Low Country that enriches life through personal growth, 0:26 health, and wellness, and human connection. Whether you're a local or thinking of becoming one, we're here to 0:31 guide you through the ins and outs of living this coastal escape. Tune in, relax, and enjoy the 0:38 conversation with Real Talk Hilton Head, the podcast of Coastal Carolina. This 0:44 episode is brought to you by the David Dale team powered by EXP Realy in Hilton 0:49 Head. Today on Real Talk Hilton Head, we're joined by Thomas Downing from Alliance Global Partners of the Low 0:56 Country, a boutique wealth management firm that helps successful business owners and affluent families make 1:03 thoughtful decisions with their wealth. Their mission to help their clients take care of the ones they love, the causes 1:09 they care about, and to make a difference in the lives of those around them. Let's dive in. 1:14 Welcome back for the third time to the show. Thank you. Thank you. And I'm going to 1:19 let the audience know. So, we've had a little gremlin in here in the studio today. So, when I say that, it's because 1:24 we've had to do this over what, two or three times. But hey, we just giving him practice. Yes, we are. That's all it is. 1:31 Well, giving us practice. So, we're going to start from the beginning from and and and again, we're 1:36 here to talk about simplifying the complexity and building legacy around the term of wealth management here in 1:43 the low country. uh because as we talked about before sometimes wealth management and we're gonna really dive into this 1:49 what that's different than financial planning and we'll get into that. Um but 1:54 it's we all want it to be simple. So type one if you want it to be simple. Number two if you're listening watching 2:00 whatever and you have questions that come up write them in the comments ask them. Thomas is gladly going to answer. 2:06 He'll get back to you and he would love to share everything he knows about all these topics. And this is your 2:12 opportunity to have a wealth manager answer all those questions you've been wanting to ask. Absolutely. And he's only charging. 2:17 Well, we won't talk. I'm just kidding. That comes later. This is a freebie. So, so with that being said, we're going 2:24 to kind of get back to you and your career. What drew you to your career and how did you end up here in the 2:30 little country to do it and start it here. So, let's fire away. I've always wanted to be in wealth 2:36 management and finance. Yeah. Right. That was that I knew. Um, but I have an interesting story about all this because 2:43 I use this as a life lesson for my kids. I at the time I went to New York City to 2:48 do some research. I was living there, but I went to the 42nd Street Library to do some research before the internet. So, you had to actually look at books. 2:55 And I had seen a friend of mine, an acquaintance from college across the the library. 3:01 You know, sometimes you just don't feel like talking to someone. You know, you're in the grocery store. Never been 3:07 there. Never. Even though you like the person, you're just not in the mood to talk, right? We're all like that. 3:13 Yeah. Yeah. Then he saw me and he came over and he said, "Oh, what are you doing?" We talked a little bit and I said, "I'm 3:18 doing some research. I'm trying to get a job in wealth management." Yeah. Interestingly enough, he had just gotten a job in wealth management. 3:25 Wow. So, he we exchanged numbers and he said, "Give me a call and I'll try and get you an interview at my firm." 3:31 And needless to say, he did get me an interview. And from there, I've been in wealth management my entire career. So, 3:37 I guess the lesson is is those times where you don't feel like talking or you don't feel like going to that event 3:42 because you just don't feel like it, push yourself because you never know what's going to happen. Y 3:47 happened to you the other day, right? Yeah. Didn't want to go to that event. That'd be awesome. Yeah. There was an event that I was It's 3:54 7:00. I was tired. Was just not in the mood to go, but there was something in me. They said 3:59 just go. And sure enough, it turned out to be so much fun and just just great way to connect with people. And I think 4:06 that's what's important. You just never know what opportunities it's going to open up for you. So I try and when I feel myself getting 4:13 like that I try and fight it and say, "Nope, remember that story? Why are you in this business? Why is your life the way it 4:20 is?" Well, then do it. Yeah. And it's so because we always I used to talk to Asher who's over here, 4:25 our engineer, and I always say to him, I was like, you know, life is always about 4:31 the people because that's where the opportunities come. you know, you just you never know where the door is going 4:36 to come, but it usually comes through a person and some sort of random thing. And that's exactly what happened to you. 4:43 Happened to me and how I met Dale, you know, same thing. So, you can't really pick and choose, right? You got to just try and do as much as 4:49 you can. Yeah. So, let's talk about your journey here, though. So, you were in New York and how like how long did you live 4:56 there? Most of your life. Oh, yeah. My whole life. Oh, your whole life. And then what was the catalyst that got you down here? 5:02 um I work and um I've been studying for a lot of exams, you know, you got to 5:07 increase your education in this business and I was running a business and I was commuting into the city from the suburbs 5:12 at that time and you know at one point my wife said listen you're done with all these exams you've barely been home let's go down to 5:19 Hilton Head because we had vacationed here beforehand you'd already known about it most people 5:24 right they vacation here that's how they hear about we actually had a condo here that we would come every summer and she 5:30 said look let's go down to Hilton Head, right? And you know, we'll reconnect and you can spend one week in New York and 5:36 three weeks on Hilton Head. Said, "All right, sounds like a bad No, that's not bad right there. Great." 5:42 She's very smart. She is. And then one year came up to the end of it and she said, "Hey, we can do 5:49 two years." I said, "Okay, this is great. Let's do it." Um, and then I think about threequarters 5:54 of the way through that second year, I was driving to my dad's. My dad lives in Sun City, by the way. Okay. So, he moved here just before I did. 6:00 Yeah. And you know when you're just you're driving and you're not thinking specifically, but you really are. 6:05 Yes. So something just popped into my mind and I called my wife and I said, "Hey, Dena." Yeah. 6:11 Is this permanent? She said, "Of course." What took you so long? Yeah. 6:17 So at that point, we made all the preparations the whole time. She knew it. She She just needed me. She knew what she was doing. She just 6:22 set you up. You do that to me all the time. She's always setting me up and then she's waiting for me to come around. My Big 6:30 Fat Greek Wedding. You ever see that movie? Yes. Remember the part where she says, "Well, he's the head, but I'm the neck." Yes. 6:35 And the neck turns the head. Yeah. There's a lot of truth to that. I would love to meet Dina. 6:41 She sounds like my kind of lady. She is the better half. No doubt about it. That's awesome. That's cool. 6:46 Well, I did want to just ask you about your team. So, you have a strong background in finance and and customer 6:52 care. So, how do you feel that that has shaped your business and what you serve, 6:58 what you offer folks here in the Low Country? Because it's all about people, right? 7:03 Yeah. You mentioned before, it's about relationships and people. Yeah. So, as long as you can take care of the 7:09 people that are around you, you can provide a lot of value. Yeah. So, and then the team that you work with 7:16 has to have the same philosophy, right? There has to be those values that you have. And with our team that's we all 7:22 work in conjunction. It's all for the client's benefit and the behalf of the client so that we can make a significant 7:28 impact in their life. Right. And then the finance obviously there's a lot of complexity to finances as wealth 7:34 increases. Complexity increases right and I think we might even mention this at some 7:39 point. We have this philosophy that business owners which is really who we serve and affluent families you know 7:44 they're publicly successful but privately stressed. Yes. So people don't see that. There's a lot. 7:49 You guys run a business, you know, there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes. That's true. So, if we can create a process and we 7:56 can create a system where we can reduce that complexity for them and make sure 8:02 that their entire financial picture works in conjunction with each other because there's a lot of different steps. 8:07 Yeah. That relieves stress. And when you relieve stress, you have a better life. And if you can just get rid of that 8:12 financial stress, you're going to be much happier in all other aspects of your life. It's so funny too because you know most people are stressed 8:19 financially on the flip side, right? And they all think, "Oh, if I just my my solution is having more money." Exactly. 8:25 Well, ask a lot a lottery winner, right? Like, you know, they have all the money and then they don't have any clue. Yes. 8:32 And it's all the stresses that come with it. Yes. And then they crumble. Yeah. Yeah. No doubt. No doubt. But if they 8:38 had someone there to help them with it and guide it that they trust and care, it would make the process a lot easier. 8:44 And then that is where the stress would go away and they can really live the life they want. Yeah, it is because it 8:49 is super super complex with taxes and retirement and 8:54 and it's a very similar philosophy to us too is we've always felt like you know 9:00 ultimately as you're you're in business right I mean this is what you do for your career but when you flip it on the 9:05 head instead of saying hey I'm trying to get something for me which is what a customer you know client you said you 9:12 know no I'm going to build an experience for the for that person and I'm going to 9:17 add value as you said uh ultimately you always get in the end what you're looking for which is a good client you 9:24 know a client for life and so I think aside from that you get to add to them and see the change you make in 9:31 their lives I think that's what we love I mean people have been working their whole lives majority people to come down 9:37 here and then we get to be a part of their journey that's right that's that I think is more rewarding 9:43 I agree with you you know and to be able to look back over the years and say wow Wow. Okay. You started here, but look where you're 9:51 now. You are now. You know, we believe money is a result, right? Yeah. It's a result. It's not the main part. 9:59 It's the result. If you put in the work, okay, if you create value and provide value, 10:06 the rest will follow. You don't start at the end, you start at the beginning. Right. So, going back to the experience, 10:11 if you can provide that experience, if you can provide that value to the client, to that person who's there, 10:16 Yeah. the rest of it will all work out. Yeah, I agree. There's no doubt about it. It's keeping the focus the main thing the 10:21 main thing which is who you're serving. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, can I ask a quick question? So, what 10:27 are the top challenges you see for investors? Um, today they're facing today. 10:33 I mean, I'm going to so I'll answer that question. Investors is always about what's happening in the market, right? 10:38 Is it too high? Is it too low? and all that. But what we find is that there's a lot of stress or a lot of issues that 10:45 business owners because that's a lot of people who we serve and what we find a big issue with them 10:50 is and challenge is secession planning. Okay. According to the exe um exit planning 10:57 institute 70 to 80% of the people the business owners small business owners that want to sell wind up not selling. 11:04 What is the reason behind that? cuz they haven't put all the steps in place 11:10 beforehand. So they get to a point where now they're ready to go. So let's say and we'll just throw out any year cuz it 11:15 could be someone who's 60, 50, 80, whatever year it is you want. They start 11:20 shortly before that and now they don't want to put all that extra effort because they're trying to get out at that point, right? They want 11:27 to leave. um but they haven't put all the steps in place beforehand in order 11:32 to make that valuable to someone else. So then they wind up just because then 11:38 they can't find a buyer and then they wind up just letting the business fade out. And you know we find that a shame, 11:44 right? Because you've spent your entire life building that business and just for see it fade out. 11:50 Yeah. You should be able to watch that legacy. Yep. Right. Move on. And whether that's internally 11:56 with family, whether that's externally, but we find that that's a big issue with business owners is they haven't put the 12:02 secession plan in place. That's a great point. I honestly would never have thought of that. I think that's 12:08 Are you thinking about making a move to the Low Country? Whether you're searching for the perfect home or you're exploring vibrant 12:14 communities on the coast or dreaming of a new lifestyle, we're here to help. Contact the David Dale team today and 12:20 let's make your dream a reality. So if you're a business owner, you don't 12:26 have a succession plan, Alliance, Global Partners will help you. Global Alliance. 12:32 I'm sorry. Global. I do it all the time. By the way, just so you know, I am dyslexic. When we first when we 12:37 first did our journey home, David told everybody about disms and that would happen to be one. So I apologize. 12:43 There's a lot of Tomisms, by the way. so much. No, I love it because one of my favorite 12:48 authors is Steven Cvy and he wrote a book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. And one of the number one habits 12:54 was begin with the end in mind, right? You know, doubt and and you get I get it though. We get it. We're building. 13:00 You're building. Everybody's building. So, when you're in the middle of building, last thing you're thinking about is, you know, what am I going to 13:05 do? You're thinking about how am I going to build this next stage? Yeah. Yeah. How do I get through the first five years? Usually, you know, 13:11 that's the big mountain you want to climb, you know. Now, now just switch that back into what we were talking about before. So, that's you're right. 13:17 You're building your business, but think about that. If you're also worrying about your finances at the same time. 13:22 Yeah. So, maybe if you get those the stress of the finances out, you can also start paying attention to what's your next 13:27 step in the business. Yeah. Okay. So, that was leading me into the my next question. 13:33 How do you reduce that stress for people? So, and you know, well, we find what I just said, but also it's 13:40 when when when people understand that there's a process. Yeah. And that there's a plan, 13:46 they become less stressed, right? Because then they understand. So, we get a people that come in, we ask a lot of 13:51 questions when clients come in or prospective clients and you know, they have a lot of 13:56 questions for us. Yeah. And then what we find out is over and sometimes those are pretty direct 14:01 questions, right? Which are great. We love that because we want them to get it out, but then over time they have a lot 14:06 less questions because then they understand that the process is in place that there's a strategy behind it. We 14:13 find a lot of people that come to us over the years, they've built this wealth and they have something there and they've done this here and they've done 14:19 that there and they just don't feel as if it's all put in place. You run a 14:25 business and you want all your departments to work together so that the business runs efficiently and 14:30 effectively. That's a good finances are the same. Yeah. Yeah. Right. So, you want to make sure that 14:35 all parts of your financial picture are working together. Yeah. So that you feel less stress. So that 14:41 often times will reduce the stress when they understand that there's a there's a process to it, that there's a plan, that 14:48 there's a structure to it. Yeah. That helps tremendously. And that they've got somebody with 14:53 experience to help them do that. I think that half people probably don't start 14:59 with wealth management because it is so overwhelming to get all those pieces organized. 15:04 Have you ever read the book The E-Myth before? Oh, you never read that? It's a fantastic I mean Reader's Digest 15:11 version. It just talks about the entrepreneurial myth and how typically most entrepreneurs are starting off with 15:17 some sort of core function technical skill that you have that you're really good at. You start off doing it, you 15:23 start getting clients and then you you're doing this technical thing and very few people sit in the vision stage, 15:29 the you know that's the entrepreneur like what am what is this going to look like? What am I trying to build? And 15:36 then even fewer get into the management stage which is the process systems everything you're talking about. They 15:42 just get stuck in technical and the grind and because they're producing the money. So you're you're actually 15:47 basically really helping them be better entrepreneurs and be better business 15:53 owners because you're helping them in those two core areas that the vast majority fail in. That's the the gist of 16:00 the book. Yeah. And that's great. I'm going to read that book because I'd be interested in that. But it is about reducing some 16:05 of the other because look as a business owner you also have a family you're trying to take care of. You're trying to run your business. You friends you have 16:12 a lot of things. If you can reduce some of those that you are thinking about all the time, it allows more. Look, I have a 16:19 small amount of brain capacity, right? And the more I put in, the more comes out, right? And I'm sure a lot of people like that. So, I want to make sure that 16:25 some of that stuff they can let out so they can let the other stuff in. Yeah. So, does that go into the fuse 16:32 wealth management formula and process? Does that kind of because let's talk about that because when we read on the 16:38 website the fuse formula and process are designed to integrate every piece of wealth management into one clear 16:43 strategic path. So let's talk about that formula and how it differs from say is this something 16:50 that's unique. Did you develop this? It is unique. You won't see many adviserss that do this. 16:56 Okay. Um and we we've done a lot of re I've been in this business 30 plus years, right? So I've talked to a lot of 17:01 clients. We know what their biggest concerns are and they come up with the five biggest concerns. Number one is 17:07 making good decisions with their money, right? That's what they want to do. Yeah. The second one is minimizing taxes, wealth transfer, wealth 17:14 protection, charitable giving. So, we've put this together into what we call the wealth management formula because we 17:19 find that the finance industry in my opinion has done a horrible job at 17:25 explaining what wealth managers, financial adviserss, investment advisors, there's so many different names out there. they've done a hor a 17:31 horrible job at explaining what they do. And then oftent times the advisor themselves don't fully understand it. 17:38 So we put what we've created what we call the wealth management formula. Right? So it's um uh wealth management 17:43 is investment consulting. Okay. Plus advanced planning plus relationship management. 17:49 Right? The investment consulting is the number one concern. So that's why people often will go to a wealth manager. They 17:55 want their investments managed. Right? So that's the investment planning, that's the retirement planning, that's 18:00 education planning, cash flow, all of that, right? So that's number one. But then it's the it's gone beyond that at 18:07 this point. You can't in our opinion, you can't just do that because the complexity and integration in the 18:13 finances, especially as wealth increases, you know, it's it's gotten it's gotten more complex. So the next part is wealth 18:19 enhancement, right? Wealth enhancement is minimizing taxes. Yeah. It's about how much you keep. 18:25 That's what I was about to say. It's about what you keep in your bucket. It's funny cuz you don't realize it and it's it's it's everywhere. Like the tax 18:32 bleed hits you all over the place. Yeah. Yeah. So, if you can minimize taxes and 18:37 also increase overall cash flow, business owners have loans. If we can figure out ways to have a lower interest rate, you know, there's all of that, 18:44 right? And then the next one is wealth transfer. Okay. So, that's making sure your assets are transferred to the ones you love 18:50 in the most costefficient and effective manner. Okay. Wealth protection. making sure your 18:55 assets aren't taken from you unjustly through a frivolous lawsuit, right? You have wealth. People hear that, but it's 19:02 also protecting the family against the death or incapacity of a major benitter or or caregiver in the family, right? 19:09 And then the last one, which is number five, and this varies per family, right? But in general, this is what it is, is 19:15 charitable giving. And people are at certain stages in life charitably inclined. Some people aren't, 19:21 right? Some people believe and there's there's truth to it that charity starts at home, right? But then others want to 19:27 give. So for those that do, we want to make sure that every dollar they give is maximized for the charity. 19:32 Yeah. But also for themselves, why can't you do well or do good for the 19:38 uh the charity, but also for yourself? Yeah. Right. So you want to integrate all that because all of that needs to work in 19:44 conjunction together. Yeah. And that's what the wealth management formula is. And then the last part is the relationship management. And that's 19:51 what is the process, right? How do we interact with clients? But then it's also what we call the professional 19:56 network. So the professional network is these clients have or may have estate 20:02 attorneys. Yeah. A business attorney. Yeah. Personal attorney, an insurance adviser, 20:08 investment advisor. I mean, you name it, right? And they're trying to manage all of these together. Again, going back to 20:15 with your business and all the family and all that. So we try and put ourselves in the middle to manage that 20:20 professional network, right? So as if it's a wheel that flows well and if that means working with the 20:26 client's existing professional advisor because they have the capacity or the the skills to because we find that often 20:33 times these business owners have grown their wealth and their buddy that they 20:39 used as a CPA that they went to college with even though they might be a good person they just don't have the capacity 20:46 and haven't grown with the client. So if they have, great. We will work directly with them to make sure they understand 20:52 the full picture. Yeah. Yeah. But if they don't, we have professionals locally that we would work with that we 20:58 would recommend and say this person is is good and and the client goes out and sees if that's the one they want to deal 21:03 with. And if it does, we will deal with that professional directly to make sure they understand all the aspects of the 21:08 finances. Are you thinking of selling your home? With our exclusive Elevate package, we 21:15 combine over 50 years of experience, cuttingedge data analytics, our unique 21:20 marketing strategies, and our extensive network to help your home rise above the 21:25 rest while maximizing your sales price and minimizing the time on the market. 21:30 So, contact the David Dale team today to learn more. 21:36 Is there any friction in that? Because I can only imagine that you got to really be very probably very skilled, 21:44 you know, cuz you know what I mean? Because you know, because we actually just had a client in Sun City 21:49 and as a matter of fact, they sold their business. They had a very large business. They sold and um but their CPA 21:58 who'd been with them for years was the intermediary who basically handled everything. And I thought to myself 22:03 like, boy, you know, that's that feels like it could be, you know, you could be leaving something on the table. No 22:09 offense to her, but you know, just to be like, you know, she's a CPA, you know what I mean? And they they did very well for themselves. So, how how do you do 22:16 that? H what does that look like for the client? Because I'm sure they're loyal, they got friends, 22:21 you know, is that um how's that process work? Um it's education. Okay. You you you 22:28 need the client needs to understand. We don't push them to not use 22:33 the professional especially if they have a very good probably going to anybody listening like okay no way because we will work with anyone 22:40 that has the the competency or the ability to handle what the client needs right and we're not an expert in all of 22:47 that we are not CPAs so we don't know everything about taxes but we know enough so that we can work 22:54 with those professionals when we make recommendations to clients we will work with the professional to make sure that 23:00 specifically works with the client. So if that person, that professional 23:06 doesn't have the capacity to do it, the client does recognize that. Maybe not right away, but over time they do 23:12 recognize that without us pushing the issue. Well, and especially if they're moving from a different state that has 23:17 completely different income tax laws to South Carolina. That's important. Y 23:22 to be able to move and know that. Yeah. What we also find, by the way, is that the professional has the capacity and 23:30 the ability, but they've never really interacted with the client about these specific things. 23:35 So, that's why they've never come up. Not because the CPA or the estate attorney doesn't know it. 23:41 Yeah. They just haven't had their lane. They just they just haven't had that ability or conversation. And it's not 23:47 always a professional's fault. Sometimes it's the client. I mean, we don't always tell all the professionals we deal with because we might not realize that 23:53 something's important. So, it's our job to make sure that information is relayed and oftentimes they have the ability to 23:59 handle it. See what I'm hearing when you talk about how I envision this is it's sort of bringing a cohesive congruent 24:06 philosophy strategy to it's like having multiple business units in a corporation but you're all pulling understanding 24:12 with the the global philosophy of this entity which is this person's family 24:18 wealth all that and it's it's getting everybody on board so that same page yeah everybody and that's you're sort of 24:24 quarterbacking that if you will and being the visionary behind it would you say is that a pretty accurate listen why do think we deal with 24:30 business owners because the way we run our business is the same philosophy. We want to make sure that within our office and offices 24:37 that the culture is there. Yeah. And then you need to translate that back to the culture of the professionals that 24:42 are dealing with that particular client and that's different for each because they've got all sorts of other clients too. You're not the only one, 24:48 right? So they're they can kind of get stuck in their sort of this is how we do things. Yeah. And this is a very important in my mind 24:54 a very important point that you're bringing up to say, well, look, yeah, that's great, but we need you to 24:59 understand like where we're going with all this and what how you fit in. So, it's you're playing nice and everybody's 25:05 doing, but it's it's to the benefit. I think I think it's awesome. I think it's a really good vision for what you guys 25:10 are putting together. I think it's amazing. It is. Yeah. You got to see Well, we'll have to get her over cuz he started 25:15 giving me a little presentation. I was getting sucked in. I was like, I love it. Oh, because it's like it's so 25:22 well, you know, because we've tried to do similar things from um you know, real 25:29 estate, mortgage, all that, you know, because we understand there's so many insurance, so many things that touch our lives in this piece. And we've even 25:35 developed a little boutique sort of thing. Um where we tried to say, hey, look, it's not just buying a house, but 25:41 you have all these other things you got to think about. So yours is on a much grander scale, but as we were going through it, I was like, this is like so 25:48 good, you know? Well, I mean, what would you say resonates the most with your clients with the when they go through 25:54 the process? Yeah. That that there is actually a process there because they're so used to it being a 26:00 bit haphazard, right? You know, where they've done this piece or that piece and the idea that it does 26:06 all work together and it can work together and then it's more efficient and more 26:12 effective. And I think that that's probably if you want to talk about an aha moment, it's that aha moment where 26:19 they feel as if what they were doing was okay, right? Oh, it's okay. Yeah. Yeah. But there could be better than okay. 26:25 Yeah. Right. Yeah. But they don't know that until they actually see. You know how many times you something happens or someone says 26:31 something to you, oh that that that's interesting. I knew it. But for some reason it just it clicks more now. Yes. 26:37 And in some ways, it's one of those moments where they've heard that it could that it does integrate, they don't 26:43 really know how, but when you can put it in the process and you can explain it in a in a in a manner that is 26:49 understandable and not financial jargon and all that, right? There's that aha moment. Yeah, it's great. And then 26:54 and that there's so much value in that, too, because you know, we keep talking about wealth and all the material side of things, but there's I've the older I 27:01 get, the farther down the journey, I've come to realize the most precious thing in life is peace. Yes. It is that sense of peace and 27:08 tranquility within your soul because you've worked so hard and the last thing you need to be doing is stressing 27:13 especially when you're here. Exactly. Like this is not be stressing when you're here. You're stressing here. You got problem 27:18 stress move here. Right. We try we have a philosophy and it's simple and elegant. Right. We want to 27:25 make your financial life simple and elegant. Oh, simple and elegant. I like you need to trademark that. Hey, if you 27:31 want your life to be simple and elegant, type one in the comments, you know. And also, 27:37 let me ask you a question out there. If you are listening or watching, do you currently have an integrated plan or one 27:43 that's sort of segmented? Segmented and, you know, pull apart and we'd love to we'd love to know about 27:48 that, you know, and get your philosophy on that. Um, you want to go dive into 27:54 Yeah. Well, let's talk a little bit about advanced planning. Yeah. because we want to talk about that in a little more detail because you talk 28:00 about and and here's here's the areas we're talking tax strategies, wealth transfer, protection, charitable giving, 28:05 preservation, you sort of broke them down. Um, what areas do surprises the clients 28:13 the most on the impact in these areas? Which one do you think kind of jumps out and says, "Whoa." 28:18 Yeah, that one because every client is different, right? There is no one. And then I'm going to go back to the same answer I 28:25 gave before in the sense that it's the idea that they're all there, right? Because everyone knows that you want to 28:31 make sure that your assets are transferred to the ones you love and cost, but when they realize that there's 28:36 a way to do it and a process to do it and that it could be even more effective if you combine it with another part of 28:42 your finances, that's probably more. There's no one particular because some people come in and they want to just 28:47 save on taxes. That is their focus. Some people are very worried about transferring their wealth, right? They 28:52 want to make sure because they have dealt with something in their life where someone's past and the complexity of 28:58 dealing with that was overwhelming and they don't want that to happen for their family, right? So, it really varies per 29:05 person. Um, and also they want to make sure that their assets are protected, right? They don't realize that those could be taken pretty easily. So, 29:12 anyway, all of that and some people are just more charitably inclined, you know, and they want to make sure that's done well. So I think it's the idea that all 29:17 of that is out there and that it's explained in a way is really the more of the So for people who relocate here because 29:23 we get a lot of relocation is that affect like does it matter by the state 29:29 you live in that everything's set up or is this sort of uh transcend you know 29:35 it's all federal you like hey if you're state always makes a difference right so without getting into specific details 29:41 now I'm not in a state attorney but to give an example to ask your your answer your You want to make sure if 29:47 you're living in South Carolina that your estate plan and your trust is according to South Carolina rules. So 29:54 the answer to your question is there are state rules and that's just with the estate planning. There's a lot of 29:59 federal stuff, but the idea is you want to get that local feel. Okay. So if they've moved and they haven't done it and they're here and 30:05 you're listing, you're in South Carolina, this is something you got to think about. You should start thinking about it. We find that anywhere between the second to 30:12 third year, okay, is when clients decide cuz maybe they're not so sure that they're going to stay 30:18 because it's a new I'm not 100% sure of the reason, but we're just throwing that out. Yeah. But then after 2 to 3 years, you know, 30:24 you know, you're going to love the place. This is it. And I guess I'm an example, right? After second year, we 30:31 So, and then I made all the plans to to make sure everything was set up down here. And I think that's probably, you know, after 30:36 Dad's still in fun city. He is. Oh, awesome. My theory, everyone's having too much fun those first couple years. 30:41 Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. It's true. They don't want to think about that stuff. I'm just 30:47 I don't want to think about finances. That's the last thing I want to think about. You think I want to ruin my day? 30:53 Don't want to talk to a guy about finances. Yeah. Me with a pin. Right. Exactly. 30:59 It's true. You're right. So, do you find people are more ch 31:04 charitable? I mean, I know it's kind of a broad question, but do most people like to set up the charities and to and 31:12 leave a legacy. Um, I do believe and we do find that our clients want to leave a legacy. 31:18 Yeah. Some that legacy could be just internally within the family. Yeah. Right. Some of that is outside. So, we 31:26 find in general, I can't say that they are more charitably inclined lately, but 31:31 locally people are charitably inclined in one way or another. That doesn't mean you have to be giving $10 million to a 31:37 charity. You could be giving small amounts here and there, but they are very charitably inclined. They want to 31:43 help the community. It's a it's a it's a it's a community atmosphere as we know, right? And that's what we all love about 31:48 it. And they want to make sure that community is still thriving. And so they always and sometimes that's not just 31:54 financially they give back. They give back in other ways by being on boards or working with the town or volunteering. 31:59 So we just find locally and we get the same thing in New York, but locally it's it we find that people want to help the 32:06 community in whatever way they can. And I asked that because specifically because I feel we've been in Charlotte, 32:13 we've been in Columbus. I've never felt such a community as we have here. And obviously it's smaller, but there seems 32:19 to be more of this heart to give back. It's one of the things we love about the Low Country. We tell people about all 32:26 the time. You know, there's there's plenty of ways to give back to the community if you plenty. Exactly. Not just financial 32:32 correct. There's volunteering is a great way to give back to the community and people people do that all the time. I mean, even like turtle 32:38 patrol, stuff like that, you know. I mean, something as simple as that, you know, protecting and it's also built into the lifestyle 32:44 in some ways cuz my kid goes to prep and you have to have community service hours. I believe they do that in the 32:50 high school as well and other schools. Do they? Yeah. Community service. They have like the best friends with like special needs 32:57 and the Special Olympics. Like they have football players go with them like teach them sports. 33:02 See, that's great. Building good humans. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I agree with you. You got to be wellrounded, right? It's 33:08 not just always about money. That's the philosophy of the Low Country. That's why because you know when we did the show because it was on 33:14 the real estate low country, the lifestyle low country, and the philosophy of low country, and everybody's like, "What do you mean the philosophy of low country?" like it's 33:21 it's just differentially when you move here it really it it it's it's just embedded it's part of it and 33:28 goes all the way back you know so very much here so um did you want to ask something about we he already talked 33:35 about some of this about charity you were right there yeah well he's we've already you 33:40 actually kind of went into we were going to talk about some of the relationship side which I thought you did a great job of explaining now we did see on the site 33:47 it says your your virtual family office brings brings the Rockefeller style family office model to today's client. 33:54 I want to hear all about that. So what is that? Yes. So a family office, we'll start with 33:59 explaining a family office. People hear it but they don't really understand what it is. So the family offices were 34:05 started years ago with the Rockefellers and the JP Morgans and the Carnegies where they had amassed so much wealth 34:12 that they needed to have people working the professionals or we talked about 34:17 working for them and the family. So they needed their own attorneys, they needed their own accounting departments, they 34:23 needed their own bankers, they they they had to work for the family, right? So that was called the family office. So all of those people were working for the 34:30 benefit of the family, right? And that's usually 500 million plus where you can where it it's cost effective. So we've 34:37 taken that philosophy and we've called what is called the virtual family office. Okay. So that's where we work with the other 34:43 professionals. Got it. To make sure that all of that is put together in one cohesive congruent plan, 34:49 right? Because all of those professionals and experts are working for that family and they all understand 34:55 what each one's doing. So if they're going to make a recommendation or do something for that family in that family office, they know what the attorney 35:01 thinks about it, right? So if the if it's a tax thing, well, the attorney's got to understand that and vice versa. So there's all of that put together. 35:07 Okay? So we've taken that concept and created what we call a virtual family office with technology today. And we believe a 35:13 lot in technology because it's about the experience for the client. With that, we've taken, you know, the 35:19 virtual family office philosophy and be able to use technology and integrate all the professionals to make sure. 35:24 Break that down though. But how? So because technology has changed everything about life and it continues changing everything. How does that what 35:31 kind of technology are you talking about and how does it let's start from the most basic zoom. Yeah. 35:37 So let's say the client has a attorney a business attorney that they've used for 35:43 many years. So maybe they live here but their business is so I have a friend who had a business in Michigan. Yep. 35:48 Lived here. So there's a business attorney. We don't say that's the name not to be 35:54 mentioned here. Sorry. We got We got to cut that one. Edit. We're going to put a big Buckeye. Every 36:00 time he says Michigan, Veruda shows up. Okay. Sorry. I mean, I'll have I digress. 36:07 Um, so just being able to put that professional together with the other ones. So, even if it means getting the 36:13 other professionals locally in the office and then having a Zoom, having the other professional there, that simple. but also being able to use the 36:20 proper planning software that the other professionals if the client will allow can access that. I 36:26 was going to ask that everyone sees that if the client will allow obviously you know sometimes they don't want them to 36:31 see everything we try and make sure they do but that's up to the client. So if the client wants access to that then 36:37 we'll give it and then it's the rest of the technology that goes along with it. So it starts from the most simple Zoom. 36:43 Yeah. To the more complex because I was gonna, you know, speaking of because we just did a u a podcast 36:50 recently just talking about technology with AI blockchain. I don't want to get into specifics, but like blockchain is a 36:57 technology in which you know these open ledgers and stuff and you're going to have contracts and properties and 37:03 businesses and all this stuff on that. Do you see that? How do you see that changing the industry? Is it is it 37:09 Well, I'll tell you this. When I talk to my compliance department, yeah, they say, "Shut up." Okay. Okay, that's fair enough. Sorry, I 37:16 don't want to go there. No, no, no. It's it's it's the finance industry is a very regulated 37:23 industry and at this point they're they're not with the blockchain. Yeah, we're not there yet. Yeah, cuz you 37:29 feel it. But and AI, I I just wonder where things are going. But yep, obviously we will not go there because we do not want to get in trouble and we 37:35 do not want to get Thomas in trouble. So, hands off on that one. Um um what 37:41 were you going to say ask? Well, I mean I think you've kind of answered this, but I'm going to ask you. How can you share how clients respond 37:47 once they see everything that's when it comes together? Obviously, we talked about reducing stress. Success stories. 37:53 Yeah. Do you have any success stories to share with us? Yeah. There's a recent client that we just brought on board who asked a lot of 37:59 questions and felt very stressed right on all that situation. And we would explain everything. We go 38:06 through everything. And now we've gotten to the point where she sees that there's a process. Yeah. And now she comes in with pictures. 38:12 She had won an award. I don't know if you remember Dan, the one uh the one that she won an award showing in school 38:18 when she was in high school about finances. And she came in and said, "See, look, look, I know what I'm doing. 38:23 I high school from high school." So she was going through her old stuff somehow and came across it. So the point is is 38:29 that she felt comfortable, right, and relaxed to now bring that in and that's more of a personal thing to talk about. 38:36 So that we find that a lot that the the relaxing nature comes in rather than the 38:41 stress. So you know, you find out you go and like I said earlier, someone wants to talk about finances, stick me with a pin, right? Yeah. you know, just just 38:48 I'd rather get stuck with a pin for five minutes than that. But then they realize that it's not so complex that it can be simplified that 38:56 there can be a process and then the relaxed nature is is what shows us 39:02 that we're doing the right thing. This is why you belonged in the low country. The relaxed nature. 39:08 Well, then tie back to because you have offices in New York. Yes. Okay. So how does this how does that 39:13 work with here and there and you know sort of the influence and is there a 39:19 difference in the way they approach it versus how you approach it? Yeah. So the the firm Alliance Global 39:25 Partners has 250 advisors, right? We are Alliance Global Partners of the Low Countries which means we're a specific 39:31 office. So we have our own philosophy and so forth. I happen to also be the 39:36 head of wealth management for the overall firm. So we do try and help other advisors with the same process, 39:43 but they have different types of clients and whatever works for them. So that is more the New York office and 39:49 we have offices in Florida and we have offices in in in Michigan I believe and all over. So each philosophy would be 39:55 different but the ideas about helping clients is all the same. It's about serving your clients. However 40:02 that method is that you handle that your clients want that could be different per adviser. 40:07 Okay. But for find that that vast network helps you here. So, I mean, are it helps your client, right? 100%. 40:14 Yeah. Because they've got access when you when you interact like I don't know everything, right? Right. Well, wait a minute. That's surprising. 40:20 Sorry. I tell my wife that should be surprised to hear wrinkled. 40:26 We'll give her I sort of feel like I know everything. No, I'm just kidding. Oh, no. Oh, no. Well, look, I was just in New 40:33 York at some conferences, right? and and you hear things, you interact with other adviserss that maybe are doing things a 40:38 little bit different. Yeah. You know this business because people are constantly evolving. This business 40:44 is evolving. So if you're doing the same thing today that you were doing as a wealth manager, 40:50 financial adviser 10 years ago, you're probably doing something wrong. Oh yeah, we feel the same way about real estate. 40:55 I was just going to say it's exactly the same. And unfortunately, you don't have that. I mean, you have you have a lot of 41:02 people that are still still approaching real estate like it's 1990. You know, might as well put on the old gold jacket 41:08 of Century 21. No offense, but yeah, I feel like that that applies across the board. Like if it's all moving so fast 41:16 that you do have to keep up with it. Yeah. And if you're not, then you know, maybe you could survive for a while, but 41:22 you're not going to thrive, right? And what we're looking to do is build a practice. We want to, you know, 41:27 eventually have an office in Bluff and have other offices all around the Low Country and, you know, we want to build 41:33 an enterprise where clients can benefit from that because we we'll have clients that do certain 41:40 things that can help other clients. We want to create that community so that just like we're living in a 41:45 community, we want our client base to be a community as well. You know what's interesting too cuz I almost feel like 41:52 you are uniquely positioned because I don't know what it is but it seems to me like in the low country it's like 41:59 because we don't have big industry. We're not Charlotte. There's not major corporate so many business owners. 42:05 Yeah. Like everybody you know owns a business. You know it's crazy. I mean would you 42:11 say it? Oh I I agree. And why we love that is because we're business owners as well, right? And we understand what they're 42:17 going through. We understand the stresses and all that stuff, but yes, this is that's why we have been known to help business owners. 42:25 So, all you bluff in folks, all you Hilton Head, all you local low country folks, give these guys a call. You need 42:31 help, right? Well, let's I wanted to ask a couple shorter questions on some strategic 42:39 um things, planning themes. So, if we do if we talk a little bit about tax 42:44 mitigation, right? Just a little snippet for people out there. Um, do you help 42:49 your do you help your clients anticipate and minimize taxes before they become an issue? 42:54 Well, yeah. Stupid, right? That was your question. 43:00 My question. I came up with the question. Your fault. I'm like as I'm reading it I'm like 43:06 you know but but to be fair to you though there are a 43:11 decent amount of situ look people will go when there's a problem right when they feel that there isn't a problem 43:17 they feel that they don't it's like the doctor yeah so um you know so a lot of times we have to un help unwind so we don't do it 43:24 all ourselves again we are not CPAs right we don't do we don't do tax returns but we know how to read tax 43:31 returns we understand what can affect ffect your taxes. So, we'll work with the CPA to do that. And sometimes it's 43:37 unraveling something they've done on their own that they haven't even really explained to the CPA. Yeah. Well, I appreciate you helping me 43:42 out there. Yeah. Sorry about that. I really do. I set you up with that. That's my bad. I'll take the I'll fall the typical 43:49 husband. Take take this one right here. Take that one cuz I want to know this easy one. Why should clients start 43:54 estate planning early? That's a good one. Yeah, it's a great one because it's when 44:00 it's too late, it's too late. Yeah. Right? So, if you start early, first of all, you get it into your 44:06 philosophy, right? And you should redo it. And I know people will say, "Well, I'm 50 years old. Why do I have to do an 44:12 estate plan now?" Well, because anything could happen. Yeah. You want to make sure that's all in place. And then you can update it five 44:20 years later, right? But you want to start early just like anything in life. If you would have started investing X, 44:25 you hear that that term that if you started investing X amount when you were, what would it be worth? 44:30 Compounding. Yeah. put that extrapolate that to estate planning, right? How can you make sure 44:37 that your assets are transferred effectively and efficiently? And and if you're in the position where there could be an estate tax, you want to either 44:43 eliminate that, which is very hard, or minimize it or find ways that that extra 44:49 estate tax they might have to pay. Yeah. Doesn't burden the family that's getting the money, right? So, you want to start 44:54 that early and then it'll it'll evolve over time. And then what we also we find out, sorry to keep jumping in, is 44:59 No, good. is that that's why you're here. Yeah. Go Thomas, go. 45:06 Is that when they start it early, it becomes part of their thought process. Yeah. And then when something happens in their 45:13 life, they recognize, oh, I should really be talking to someone about this rather than not recognizing 45:20 that this could be something that needs to be considered in the estate plan. So, when you start early, it becomes part of 45:25 your philosophy. I think that's I I think that's huge. What what is what is early like oh 45:31 it's the beginning could be yeah put it this way if you're an entrepreneur who's 45 years old and has a business worth $40 million 45 at that 45:39 point is too late or I shouldn't say too late it's should have been done early so it's different per person right you know 45:45 that's a hard question it's situations I I think if if if the core philos you hit on the head is 45:52 is look you're starting off as a business usually you're just trying to survive pay the bills right acquire clients but What what I hear you saying 45:58 is it's in your mindset like hey if I'm going to start a business you're starting a business because you want to be successful. You may not believe 46:04 you're going to be successful but you want to be. So if you want to be successful then you have to say all right well at some there's going to be 46:11 some trigger or some moment where I'm need to make sure that I'm at least 46:17 getting the basics in place and it has to be at the forefront. That's what you're essentially saying is at the very 46:22 beginning know that these are going to be issues and if I'm going to be successful I need to do it now you know 46:29 and then recognize if something occurs. So let's say they want to sell their 46:34 business in five years. Yeah. Well maybe that's a conversation to have with your wealth manager, estate advisor, whoever it may be because there 46:40 might be ways to do that which is a more effective way than just five years from now just selling the business. Right. 46:46 Right. Yeah. I heard like um when the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs died, uh Hunt or 46:52 whatever his name was, that like his kids were almost going to have to sell it the team because they couldn't absorb 46:59 the Yeah. the And I thought to myself, how did you not I mean, they almost lo I like was 47:05 one of the main core guys in the NFL. Almost lost his team because of he didn't have a Thomas Dalling 47:13 because it's an asset. He wasn't around 1969. A little bit later. 47:21 Just saying. So, so I I I saw this phrase. I don't know where it came from, but elaborate 47:26 on the term professional trustee services. And what are those? 47:33 To be a trustee. And again, without getting into specific details. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um to be a trustee 47:39 there's responsibilities and the person who is taking those responsibilities needs to understand 47:45 what needs to be done and sometimes it's better to hire a bank or a separate person who's not related to the family. 47:52 Okay. Or is it a person in the entity? Okay. It's both. It's usually an entity that hire that 48:00 employs people. I got it. Okay. To do that. And so they do that for on behalf of the the family. So you're not having a 48:07 mom, dad, whoever it was. Okay. But it's usually if you're at a much higher wealth status, you would do that 48:12 because the assets are much more complex and you might want someone else handling that than Plus, you don't want the greedy uncle 48:19 Joe. No offense and they pop up. Yeah, they do. Out of out of the woodworks. 48:24 And I'm actually going to give you go back to your estate planning question, right? I just recently had a friend of mine who passed away, right? And he had 48:31 set up done his stuff, right? need trust and he's not a client, he's just a friend. He set up his trust. He had all that 48:37 stuff put together and then he he was going through a divorce and it was almost done. 48:42 And the one thing he didn't change was the executive of his will. Oh no. So, and by the way, it was a very 48:49 contentious and it was the X. It's the X. Oh no. So now the sister who's the one 48:57 on the trust and is named on a lot of other things has to deal with the ex 49:03 because she's the executive of the estate and there's things within there 49:09 that she deals with. So now they have to try and work together which by the way is not going to happen. 49:14 Not going to work. So he tried and this is I guess you can say doing it early or just making sure 49:20 you know he didn't think about that. He didn't think about he made sure that the trust was was changed. He made sure that 49:26 the insurance policies, the right beneficiaries, he did all that, but he didn't change the executive of 49:31 the estate. That's crazy. Yeah. Yeah. That's why you need a team. Yeah. Yeah. No doubt. 49:36 V a virtual office, team office. Now, if he would have told mentioned to me, I would have said, "Hey, yeah. 49:42 You got to do this family office." Exactly right. Exactly right. All right. So, well, we're almost 49:48 through here. So I want to touch on the second opinion service, right? So you 49:54 offer a complimentary second opinion service for friends, family, and colleagues. So talk to us about that and and why 50:02 people should think about that. We've found especially during co we're getting a lot of questions from clients, 50:07 okay, whether their family member or friend was being taken care of properly, right? 50:12 And we decided to offer this complimentary second opinion service for the people they care about. So what we 50:18 essentially do is it's similar to the process that we do with a new client that comes on board is we have our initial call. Okay? Where we ask some 50:25 questions to make sure that we can help them. Okay? Right? And if we can then we do a discovery meeting. So we ask them a lot 50:30 of questions and then the next meeting would be giving them solutions to some of those gaps that we see. Right? And sometimes 50:37 by the way in that complimentary service they're in great shape. Yeah. Their people have done a great job and 50:43 hey listen good for you. You're one of the few. Congratulations. If you need anything, call us in the future. Got it. 50:48 If we feel that they have gaps, but we can't help them because of whatever reason, we know other people that we can 50:53 refer them to. Okay. Or if they fit, then we can take them on as a client and and start to fill those gaps. 50:59 And and that's what we've done with a complimentary second appearance. Okay. I like that. Did you have something? 51:04 Nope. I'm good. So, I want to switch. We're going to now get to you. Uh oh. 51:10 All right. We're gonna We're shut it off now. No, no, no, no. We're going to do some rapid fire. We're going to do a couple 51:16 things. So, you you've served on boards. You're This is about We want to talk about the Low Country Lifestyle because 51:21 you've obviously fallen in love with it. You're here. Um and that's what we want to So, a lot of folks 51:27 part of the real estate side, they do their big homework. You know, they're especially retirees, they're kind of like, where do I go? And they're looking 51:34 everywhere up around the coast, you know, the southern states. So, that's why we want to talk about this segment. 51:39 So for you uh what makes this place so special and what do you love about it? 51:46 Well, I love working in the community I live in. Okay. Okay. Because you can see in in a nonoff 51:54 environment the people that you're serving and helping. Yeah. Right. And that you it creates that 52:00 relationship. So I love that community. I didn't get that in New York because it was commuting to the city. There wasn't that 52:06 community atmosphere. I love that. Right. And and so you're able to see and 52:12 create relationships with people that first came to you and didn't know you, trusted you with their money, and now 52:17 they consider you a friend and vice versa. Going out to dinner with them, seeing them at the grocery store and not avoiding them. 52:23 Yeah, I was going to say bring that up. Not avoiding them. Do you find that you're Because I I 52:29 don't know what it is. We've lived in a lot of places and we've always known a lot of people. We've always had big 52:34 network, but there was something about here. We both would agree that it feels deeper 52:39 like the the relationships especially when those around you realize that you're staying. 52:45 Yes, I that's a real thing. And we have we have a homegrown over here camera. 52:51 He'd probably agree with that, right? Cuz we've noticed that actually Billy Schilling, who you know, he was one of our clients. Remember we 52:59 um a guest? Yes. Yeah. He was actually like our first guest and uh he's been here his whole life. is his 53:04 grandfather built Skull Creek both house, right? And the restaurant. So he's got a history. Oh yeah. Like deep roots and and he's a 53:11 quiet guy. He's a really just an awesome guy. Like just just soul of the earth guy. But he even said we'd been friends 53:16 now for years playing baseball together. And then even last year he said, "I was still sussing you out." 53:22 Yeah. Still. Still. Oh yeah. You know, so we're like you're on the outer ring here, you know, 53:27 because even though we do have a community, we have people that move in and move out. Yes. Yeah. And and as people, we only have a 53:35 certain amount of capacity. Maybe it's just me cuz I'm a simple guy, right? But I have a certain amount of capacity, which I want to make sure that that 53:41 capacity that I have is on those that I care about and that the relationships. 53:47 So, you can't have a relationship with everyone. So, you want to make sure that they're going to stay. And I think it becomes even no, it's no longer 53:53 conscious. It becomes unconscious where you do that. Yeah. But I find that and what made me realize that is I have friends that live in 54:00 Florida and in Florida you actually for him or maybe in the area he is he's been there for 54:05 many years but because there's so many people that come and go it's hard for him to find that community here there 54:11 aren't as many people that leave when you come here you stay in a decent amount of cas but there are still people that leave. Yeah. 54:16 You you create once you know they're staying you create that community. Yeah. We actually have a lot we get a lot of those floor New Yorkers who go to 54:23 Florida. We call them halfbackers. I was just going to say, yeah, they should come back, they come back here and then because it's that's 54:29 one of the complaints. They're all and we always tell them they're all looking for community and connection, you know, and that's what we always try to 54:35 encourage. Actually, we do a thing where we take them out. We try to we call it crosspollination where we'll invite 54:41 different clients onto the boat together and let and kind of smash it together, you know, great community. 54:47 Yeah, it is. Well, and I I think I resonate exactly with what you were saying about building that relationship and they become 54:52 friends. You go to dinner. We were just saying the other day, we don't have enough time in the day for the amount of 54:59 people that want to hang out with us. And I'm not for that to sound bad at all. That's not intended. It's 55:06 we want to. We just don't have the capacity to. And yeah, so that's why we 55:12 But there's so many like in, you know, even in Charlotte, you didn't feel like you had the people to do it, but here 55:17 you feel like, gosh, there's so many people I want to get to know more. You know, I don't know. There's something about it. All right, let's break down. 55:24 Um, so I do have I do have a question for you. So, if you had the perfect low country weekend, 55:30 no phone, no work, what would that look like? Well, personally, I love working, but I get I get off the work. 55:39 Okay, but I'm going along with you on the question. You know what? I sort of identif because 55:45 we're we tend to like work all but I enjoy the the the process of working, 55:52 right? I enjoy the the accomplishing goals and all that stuff. But to answer your question, for me it would be 55:59 get up in the morning, going to the gym. So let's say it's a Saturday, going to the gym, coming back home, going to the 56:04 beach with the family or going to play golf with my now my wife is playing golf. 56:09 My younger one likes to play. And when my older son is in What's your go-to golf course? Yeah. with them. We go to shipyard 56:15 because it's close, right? And they're just especially my wife is just learning. So, we want to keep it nine holes and we keep it 56:21 um short. But then after that, going back, eating dinner and watching football. 56:27 College football. All right. Who's your college team? Notre Dame. Notre Dame. Sorry, we put the beat down 56:32 on you. Sorry. Northeast. Sorry about that. Listen, did you know 56:38 that's the truth at all? Did you know that coach of um Hilton Head High is his 56:43 best friend's the coach of Notre Dame? Notre Dame. They're like, "Well, there's a player." Yes. BJ. 56:49 Well, there's a player on Notre Dame. Yeah. Sneeed. Yep. Yeah. It's pretty cool. All right. Uh 56:56 Yankees or Mets? If I had to choose Yankees. Okay. I'm not a big fan. I'm not a big pro 57:02 sports fan. Okay. I'm more at like the college, but if I had to pick, it's the Yankees cuz 57:08 my youngest son is a huge Yankee fan. My older one is also. Okay. And my father-in-law is a huge Yankee 57:15 fan. So, we tend to watch the Yankee games. Okay. So, so you Notre Dame all the way through. 57:21 Um, no. In basketball, the Villanova now. Villanova. Goes to Villanova. 57:26 Oh, okay. Okay. I remember when Raley Masamino was there and they were super good. Remember those? You probably are much younger. 57:33 Yeah. So, much but a little bit. Are they good? They are not. Okay. 57:38 Um because they lost their coach. He left. Yeah. And they had a new coach where they just fired. So, the new three he was there 57:45 for three years. They fired him. Now, they got the coach from Maryland. Okay. So, there is more excitement again about 57:51 uh about the basketball program. All right. So, Notre Dame. So, I'm going to take you gentlemen off 57:56 of sports. Sorry poor viewers. No. Um, favorite restaurant. 58:03 Where would you go? Um, I like Well, first of all, I go wherever 58:08 my wife tells me to go. Smart man. Very smart man. She's not watching. So, tell us where 58:13 you go. I told you I better be watching. I'm going to make her watching now. She might be our only one watching. 58:20 She might not get past the first two minutes of anyway. So, she wouldn't even get this. Um, 58:25 we'll give her a short. It's specific dishes, right? It's there's a dish of pomodori that I like. 58:30 Pomodori. That sounds good tonight. Pomodori is an Italian restaurant. There there's two. There's one in Bluffton and 58:36 one in Hilton Head. Yeah. On the south end. And then I guess the others are basics. We like Charb Bar. That's another one 58:42 for for a burger. I almost died at Charb Bar. Don't go there. I knew that was coming. 58:48 It's being recorded. Sorry, Serge. Oh, sorry. Charar. Sorry, Serge Group. I'm trying to I'm 58:53 trying to, you know, give a little kudos to I'm just teasing. See see why he as a wife to keep him. 59:00 I won't tell. I'm the ops manager. Yeah. You're the one that gets things done. Exactly. You know it. 59:08 So, no. That's great. What about seafood? If you would go for seafood. Sushi. 59:13 Sushi. Yeah. Which sushi restaurant? Oh, yeah. This is a big one. Um, well, just because it's easy and 59:19 simple, I go to Asian Beastro and take it home. My wife doesn't like sushi, which means we don't go to a lot of sushi places. If 59:25 we do, we might go to um what is it? Hanogi. Hanoki. That's 59:30 favorite. Daniel's not I have heard since you're from New York. We have the roots there. 59:36 I've heard the sushi from Haninoi is better than some of the sushi in New York. 59:41 It rivals it. No, I don't know if I'd go that far, but but it is. 59:47 He is from New York. Just don't go there. Those are my roots. 59:52 I've had two bad questions today. Let's say it's equal. 59:57 Okay. All right. Diplomatic diplomatic. It's diplomatic. 1:00:03 You've been trained very well. Oh, I've been married for for quite a while. So, what's your favorite beach to go to? 1:00:08 Uh, the one right down the block. We live in Sea Pines, so right down the block. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. You have you always lived in 1:00:13 Sea Pines in? No. When we first moved here, when it was going to be temporary, we lived in North Forest Beach. Okay. So, we bought a house there, 1:00:20 expected that we were going to spend a year fixing it up a little bit, then go back to New York and rent it out. And then when we finally realized it was 1:00:26 going to be permanent, then we built a house in Se. I bet you wish you would have kept that North Forest beach house. I did. 1:00:32 Rented now. Amen. You see? Yeah. You got to have the financial 1:00:37 vision there, my friend. I'm kidding. That's why we have that. And we built the house of Sea Pines in 1617 before 1:00:43 all the costs went away. That was good. Yeah. Seines, man. That is like some 1:00:48 prime over there. It's beautiful. It's such a beautiful plantation. We enjoy it. So, if someone wants to get a hold of 1:00:54 you, how would they do that? Uh, our website was AGP Low Country. 1:00:59 Okay. Okay. We'll put that on the screen. AGP Low Country for those listening. 1:01:05 On there, you can see we have an email address. They can contact us on the website. That's the best way because then they get all the information as well. 1:01:11 Yeah. And and to your point earlier, if if they're not here and they happen to see this somewhere else and they're interested, 1:01:16 do you service other areas other than the low country? So, okay. Because you're big network. So, yeah. And also, look, there are certain 1:01:23 things that you want locally and there certain things that you can do outside. So, we have some clients in Texas cuz 1:01:28 look, people move, right? You live in New York. I'm here because I moved. Yeah. So, clients move to other states 1:01:33 and you get referrals and so forth. So, we have it really all over. Okay. And you can do virtual and all that, too. Yeah. I was actually doing 1:01:40 virtual or Zoom before Zoom was Zoom. Zoom. Really? Because when I first moved down here, I 1:01:46 was doing Zoom calls. Oh, yeah. Because you were going back and forth. Yeah. So, I was a little advanced on the whole 1:01:51 technology thing, which we try and do. There you go. Um, but then when the co happened 1:01:56 and everyone was doing Zoom, I had so many people say, "Oh, this is Zoom." Yeah, you were using Zoom 1:02:02 beforehand. Yeah, I will admit for some clients it was a little harder for them to get to understand how to use the zoom 1:02:08 in those days, how they get it more. Better when you see them trying to like click and figure it out. 1:02:15 Look out like this. You see or you can't see them at all. I don't 1:02:20 know why I can't see it. And you just want to help them like I can go through. 1:02:26 All right. You too. So anyway, all right. Well, listen, it has been an absolute pleasure having you and we'd love to have you back on too 1:02:33 down the road is, you know, um, you know, it's so funny because I know you sort of narrow what you're you with 1:02:38 compliance and all that, but if there's anything down the road that you think would be relevant, topical that you 1:02:44 you'd be able to touch on, get a hold of us. We'd love to share it cuz we are all about disseminating this and helping 1:02:49 people with low country connect and grow and and Yeah. Yeah. And if you have questions, ask and that 1:02:56 could lead into Hey, this can this can be a nice um um session or podcast that we have. Absolutely. 1:03:01 So, we're happy to answer whatever questions. Sounds good. Well, you're going to have to bring I hear you got another guy in the office. I you know, so maybe he'll 1:03:08 come on, too. You never know. Maybe we'll come on this side. If you start losing viewers because of 1:03:14 me, we'll have him come. I'm trying to save the show by throwing it in. Okay. All right. Let's do that. 1:03:19 Listen, Thomas. Thank you for being our guest. Thank you. Appreciate the time. Thank you. 1:03:25 Don't forget to follow, like, share, and subscribe to Real Talk Hilton Head and leave us a review to help others 1:03:32 discover the Low Country lifestyle. out.