The Priceless Support of a Spouse
Dad’s Letters
by Kyle Mast, CFP®
Letters for living life on purpose.
To my sons,
Several years ago, I was sitting in my hotel room in Bozeman, Montana, looking out over the mountains. I was there for a financial planning conference retreat with a small group of very intentional business owners.
As I sat there, I reflected on the many amazing conversations I had had over the past couple of days and noticed an incredible recurring theme. Many of us would not be where we were without the unwavering support of our spouses.
Building a business from scratch is daunting on so many levels, and the support of a loving spouse is absolutely priceless.
I want you to know that your mother is very much the hero in the story of the financial planning firm we built. I often refer to her lovingly as my “venture capitalist” when speaking with other business owners.
When I launched the firm in 2012, my income was less than $13,000 for that year! In the second year, it was still just only $17,000! Those numbers are small today, and I imagine that they will seem much smaller by the time you read this in the future. Your mother, the love of my life, continued to work during those early years at employers she didn’t enjoy, which drained her emotionally. We lived very, very simply in order to pay off a large amount of student loan debt in those early years as well.
It brings tears to my eyes as I think of how your mother never wavered during this time in her support of my dream to build the business so that she would be able to stay home with our kids and so that I would have the flexibility of time to be with the family often.
Every year, we do a planning retreat getaway to talk about our goals and what we want our lives to be about. I still remember a planning retreat in one of those early years when we were staying in a small cabin in Central Oregon. We realized during the getaway that your mother would likely need to work a year longer because the business was not building as fast as I hoped. There were a lot of tears between us. I felt incredibly disappointed in myself that I wasn’t holding up my end of the bargain.
However, even amid the tears, your mother never wavered. Her immovable support was inspiring! It pushed me forward, and the firm began gaining real traction the next year. Your mother was able to quit her job to be home full-time as a mom, which was a deep desire for us both.
This is my best attempt, but I don’t really have the words to describe what your mother's support meant to me in those early years. I don’t really know why she had such faith in me, but it made ALL the difference. I often thought, “She’s really smart, and if she thinks I can do it, then I must be able to!” The next five-plus years were years of excellent growth for the firm, with long client waiting lists and good work-life balance before eventually selling the firm and moving on to our next journey.
As you grow into the men you will become, never underestimate the value of your spouse as an unwavering partner in times of need. I have learned so much from your mother about what it means to walk alongside someone, especially in the low times, in pursuit of something wonderful.
With love,
Dad
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