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Introduction  0:00 

Welcome to the #PirateBroadcast™, where we interview #interestingpeople doing #interestingthings. Where you can expand your connections, your community, #kindnessiscool and #smilesarefree. Let’s get this party started.

Russ Johns  0:18 

It's beautiful day for the #PirateBroadcast™.  We are here, interviewing #interestingpeople doing #interestingthings again, and I just want to welcome you to the #PirateBroadcast™ and the pirate community.  if you're not connected, get connected.  If you're joining us remotely, or in the future, or at some other point in time, remember always RussJohns.com. You can always join in the episodes, listen to the replays and things like that. The podcast is also available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, all of the places that fine podcasts are presented, and also YouTube, Facebook, and also on Twitter. So, go track us down hashtag #PirateBroadcast™. If you're not following that, follow the hashtag.  Today we have Bill  in the room. Bill Bloom sounds like a pirate to me, Bill, how are you doing?

Bill Bloom  1:19 

So good. So, so good. I came up properly dressed for the #PirateBroadcast™. It's such an honor to be here. Thank you for having me.

Russ Johns  1:29 

Thanks. I really appreciate the fact that…you just got back from Disney.  You're in Chicago.  I think the weather is probably a little warmer here than it is in your neck of the woods, but you're hanging in there?

Bill Bloom  1:44 

Absolutely.  It's 70 degrees today already. I’m not complaining. We brought the warm weather back with us.

Russ Johns  1:52 

That's fantastic. That's fantastic. Well, Fall has a way of coming back and forth for us.  I have friends in that neck of the woods.  It's really one of those things that, one day it could be 70, next day it could be 30.

Bill Bloom  2:09  

We already had snow for a few days before Halloween, twice in a row. So, you never know.

Russ Johns  2:17 

That's right. So, we're gonna be talking a little bit about the financial industry and some of the things that are surrounding that industry around how business owners and how people can actually think about what is taking place. In this day and age, we just had a recent election. That's still kind of, we're still, I think, we're in political hangover. I think so many people are just so exhausted from all of this. Anxiety and things like that.  The financial world has a tendency to sometimes follow that trend.  I can really get a snapshot of how it's looking at this point in time in 2020. Since 2020, has been such an interesting year. So, what's your what's your snapshot going forward? Is it positive? Are these election results going to be making an impact on our lives?

Bill Bloom  3:21 

Well, the one thing that we need to be very cognizant of as investors is you need to stick to your plan. I mean, elections come and go. They're here every four years.  We're gonna go through this again, in four years. Last week, on Wednesday, you and I both woke up, we both had our coffee, right? We still had breakfast.  Did your life change that much? No. Mine didn't either.

Russ Johns 3:48

It doesn't change a bit.

Bill Bloom 3:50

Exactly. A lot of it is the media, it's the news, it depends on your level of anxiety of how much of the news you watch and how often you're checking your phone.  if we just slow down and stick to our plans from a financial perspective, and also from a personal perspective, remember your gratitude, still work out and take care of yourself, be cognizant of what you're eating. I mean, these are all very basic things, but that helps alleviate some of that anxiety. So, I mean, going back to it, yeah, we're gonna have another election and then four more years after that, so we just have to deal with it. It's part of why it's here.  You have to still continue to enjoy your life.

Russ Johns  4:36 

I love that attitude because it reflects so much about the pirate community. I don't watch a lot of television on purpose, and I don't try to watch the news at all. However, it's still out there and it's still prevalent in our daily lives. If you're on a computer at any time. It kind of pops up. I want to go back though, Bill and talk about how you made the decision to get into the financial industry. I have friends in the financial industry and everybody has their own story and how their journey took place and how they ended up where they are and what they're doing. So, walk us through kind of the backstory on how you decided to arrive at where you are today.

Bill Bloom  5:25 

Well, this really started when I was a kid. I saw the magnitude of lack of planning from around me. We had a friend's family member pass away when we were in eighth grade. Not having those really important items in place to help with an event like that. It really hit home because I saw it happen firsthand. It was a family that we were really close with and played sports with all years. So that stuck with me.  Then when I got into high school, and then into college, and we saw…I graduated in 2008 of all times during the financial crisis.  When I started in the financial industry, it was really a blessing because people were looking for someone that was going to listen to them. Most visitor’s kind of hid behind the phones, they weren't picking up the phones. I mean, there were people who were proactive and taking care of their people. But I was just starting out, so, I was speaking with a lot of people. I was working 80 hours, 100 hours a week, I was just working, right. That's what you need to do. Yeah. My journey came full circle, because it's still in the evolution process. But we're always trying to make progress, not perfection. Because that's really where happiness comes into play is when you're making progress daily. That's the fun part. But yeah, we've seen over the past 12 years being in the industry, that it's more about being consistent.  being aware of where your money's going, then saying, I'm going to save up $50,000, and then I'm gonna invest, it doesn't work like that. No monthly automate, things make things simple. I really learned from an early age in my career, that I wanted to work with people who are 50 and older, and really help them figure out their purpose and their passions, and figure out how much does that truly cost? Now, what people don't know that.  that's where I come into play, I help people create income streams, that can, , hopefully last their lifetime, but it encompasses their passions, their purposes, and really helps them decide when they want to leave the workforce.  that's really what I do on a day to day basis.

Russ Johns  7:52 

I don't think about retirement in the same way that a lot of people think about retirement, because I number one, I love what I do, and I've designed my life around things that I love to do.  So, it's seldom that I think about, okay,  I want to check out and stop doing this at a certain time in my life.  I don't think about that. However, I do think about continuing to develop revenue streams that don't require my time. When you hear about that, a lot of people may not understand or really appreciate what that concept means.  maybe we could go deeper in that because there are so many opportunities. I see opportunities all the time as an entrepreneur. My biggest goal is not getting distracted by all of the things that I could do, and focus in on a few things that I can do very well.  I think that’s going to continue to develop my revenue streams. However, not everybody thinks along those lines. So, what are some revenue streams that somebody could think about or consider as they're still working? Or they still have a regular employment or they're working for an employer that contributes to their 401k or something along those lines. I know that a lot of people these days, talk about side hustle. ,

Bill Bloom 9:31 

Absolutely, that could be one of them. That may be one of them. I mean, why not? If you have extra time instead of watching TV at night, why not try and do something and generate revenue? Don't you agree?

Russ Johns  9:43 

I totally agree. I'm a support her. Totally support that.

Bill Bloom  9:49 

Absolutely. So. So let's dig deep into your statements here because you made some really prolific statements in my mind, and I really agree with that a lot of the entrepreneurs that I work with, they're not going to retire. That's okay because they have their teams in place, they have their people already in place to hopefully run a self-managing company. That's important. As an entrepreneur, you need teams, you need people to help you and delegate things out. So, from that standpoint, when I'm working with an entrepreneur, it's more about having those purposes and your passions in place, because those cost money. Yeah, maybe you can afford those things, whether it's some classic car or traveling or golfing or knitting or gardening. I mean, you name it, right? I mean, it could be anything. It could be podcasts; it could be whatever you like to do. But you still need revenue to do that. That's where, whether you're a business owner, or an individual who's still working for a company, there are investment vehicles that do create cash flow.  We're not going to get into the nitty gritty of that right now, but being independent, I'm able to look at what's going to fit your need, whether you want an extra 5000 or $10,000 a year to travel on a budget, or how do we create that, and I'll listen to them.  We'll figure out ways to do that from their resources. That might be from their side hustle, investments are moving a small amount of their money into one of these income generating vehicles. Then we also have to look at taxation, how does that look at the big picture? Are you on Medicare, yet? There's so many moving parts that go into it. Then for the people who don't have businesses, their passion, and their purpose might be their grandkids, that first story, that could be their purpose and passion, and that's why they want to leave the workforce, and that's okay. But, the word retire comes from basically the 40s, it was like retire machinery, if you put it out of use, and that's not the case, you still have a purpose in your life to go do things,

Russ Johns  12:18 

Yeah, then it could be philanthropy as well. Go out and doing good work and volunteering at different locations, or serving the community in some way, shape or form. I know, there's a lot of people that do that. A lot of people in the pirate community, that's one of the things that I really enjoy and love about the individuals in the community is that they're so willing to contribute back. A lot of what I do is teach others on how to navigate the technology and it's just because I love giving back. When you can return that favor and return that gift that you've acquired over years of service and support for others, it's really nice to be able to do that and bring that to the table.  I think like, you said, in addition, you do have to actually have some revenue there.  Building systems, I think, is really a key focus that a lot of people don't really understand or appreciate, because there's so many systems that you can build. The best companies in the world have a lot of systems in place that allow people to work without. They know what to do next. They know what the process is they know what the workflow is, and everything. Everything runs smoothly because you build systems. So, if you can build systems in your own life, that automate a lot of these mundane tasks of saving money or putting money into certain vehicles, then it makes it a lot easier. There's so much automation now. That is probably much easier than it was 20 years ago, I would guess.

Bill Bloom  14:17 

I mean, from banking to sending someone money from an app or depositing money into your investments. I mean, it's so incredibly simple now, and we live in such an abundant country. I mean, here in America, we're really lucky to have all these tools. You could almost set it up where you don't have to think about it. We help our clients with that. It's really powerful. So that way, if you stick to your plan, that's better than picking the right stock or the right mutual fund ETF. I mean, there's 10s of thousands of them, right? In the grand scheme of things, it's really difficult to pick that best performing one so it's more about being consistent and don't get me wrong, it matters where that money is going. But again, consistency is the most important thing here.

Russ Johns  15:08 

Well, I want to give a shout out to a few people that are in the room today. Mike Baker's in the room. Mike says,  morning, Bill and Ross. Angie says, Good morning, everyone. Thank you so much for being here. Jeff. Jeffrey Berger. Hey, Russ catch you both live city in Pittsburgh. Baltimore shut down due to weather. Looking for today's live. Wow. Baltimore. Hope everybody's okay there. I turned my air back on yesterday, Angie says. She's near Chicago. Hi guys, joining you both from Edinburgh, Scotland. David's over there doing some great work. Jeffrey says votes are still being counted, still counting. Lots of noise for sure. Hiett says, here from Houston. Good morning pirates. Then David said, as I said the other day, I don't mind who wins the election, but I do enjoy the drama of it!! It's I just stay back. Gabriel's here. Good morning, gentlemen. hello to my fellow pirates. Happy morning. It's a wonderful day. Then Justin, check it out. Justin in the room, two legends. Absolutely amazing people here.

Bill Bloom  16:37 

What's up, Justin?

Russ Johns  16:38 

Hey, what's happening? Purpose of passion. Nick Gemmell. Up from Canada. Morning pirates. Thank you so much for being here. Nick. I really appreciate you. Then Jeffrey says, yes, systems are definitely important.  There's a lot more comments.  For the sake of the conversation, I really want to be able to think about how you personally think about the financial process of building and growing sustainable revenue. When I no longer want to turn the mic and the camera, what do I need to think about and, I mean, I've had things and lost things and had things and lost things It's not uncommon in this economy in this day and age for people that really are risking things and going out and doing things to have ups and downs One thing that I think is going to be consistent is having a plan and having something in place that works. So how do you think about that? How do you approach that? Today's economy,

Bill Bloom  17:56 

In today's economy, those things that we strove for….it could be a car, a lot, a house, I mean, you name it, right? It could be anything, could be a boat, it could be whatever you like, whatever your mind dreams of. The happiness that is associated with those things, those things come and go, those things change in life, that once you get that shiny new thing, life moved on. Having your recurring revenue streams in place, whether it's business or from your financial resources, it's all about being calm again, and knowing that you have confidence, and you're able to do the things you want to do with your life because it comes down to our time. If we're able to spend our time with the people who we love and the people who give us energy, which is so important to understand who you're surrounded with. Are people draining your energy, are people giving you energy. Justin is a perfect example. We talk almost every single day, even if it's just like one text, it's like going on, how are things going? So, the way that I envision everything from our economy, our lifestyle standpoint, and we live in such an abundant world, and we went through this really crazy week with the election. Will things get contested? We don't know. Stick to your plan, stick to what you're good at and try to avoid those distractions. I think the key is a voice..

Russ Johns  19:31 

Totally the key. Another thing that I think is really surprising is a lot of people and I've been in this place before is like, okay, I want to make a certain amount of money a year, right?  Then you make a certain amount of money in the year and think, I don't feel any different. The happiest time, Bill, the happiest time some of the most amazing experiences I've had in my life is when I was playing music traveling on the road. I wasn't making anything. However, I had everything I needed. All my needs were being taken care of.  I was full of gratitude, I was doing what I loved. I was really enjoying life, as it was.  I still do. I mean, to this day, all my needs are taken care of. I wake up with gratitude. I'm blessed beyond recognition.  I just feel that there's…and by some standards, it's like, well, don't you want more of X, Y, and Z?  it's like, that would be great, at some point in time.  Like you said, as long as I keep working my plan, and I have a plan, because a lot of people don't have a plan. As long as I keep working on my plan, life is going to be fine.  If it doesn't work out, ideally or exactly, like I imagined, it's like, I still am working my plan, , still working toward that goal and making sure that things are things are in place, moving along, at the pace I've imagined. So, while you're making a plan, life happens at times. You just make adjustments, however, the big scheme of things, making that plan. So, what do you do to encourage people to continue with their plan, or at least create a plan?

Bill Bloom  21:34 

From an encouragement standpoint, it all comes down to writing down your goals. I mean, I've got my journal here, I do it every day, right? That's the first step, something magical happens when you write things down. If you don't know how to set goals, which a lot of people don't, we're not taught these things. We're not taught money in our educational systems. I can go on and on for days about that. But we all know it's true. We want to do a little college for some of us, and you don't learn money. That's part of the problem. That's a big problem. But from a setting goal standpoint, take out a sheet of paper, grab a pen or pencil and just start writing. Yeah, nothing's perfect. You're gonna say, I want to do this by this date. Maybe it'll happen. Maybe it won't. But really, the key for that is, are you growing as a human being? Have you expanded your capabilities? Have you expanded your knowledge? Have you put the TV remote away and read a book every night, instead? For an hour? That's where you're going to see progress.  You're going to see growth, and that's going to give you new ideas, and those new capabilities lead to action.  At the end of the day, you need to take action. Write it down, set your goals. It could be anything, it could say, I want to save $1,000 and that's an awesome goal. You have to start and take action.  if you don't do that, you're just gonna go through life unconsciously and that's a sad way to live. My opinion. It’s truly my opinion.

Russ Johns  23:14 

Yeah, I share that opinion with you. As long as life moves forward, and you're applying some activity to be better than you were yesterday, make some level of improvement. You can always live in an abundant world and a lot of people have scarcity mindset, they say, okay, I made $5 today, I'm gonna keep my $5 and I'm not gonna spend it, and they don't enjoy the world around them.  That's the other side of the coin is the people that don't see abundance, they don't sense abundance in their life. I've always been, hey, it's all gonna work out, even when it's like, I had no idea how it's gonna work out. I know that it's gonna work out.  I have the ability and the opportunity to go out and create great income and help people out, add value and it seems to always work. I just think that there's more people that need to learn and educate themselves more about the financial process. I know that I want to improve my financial process all the time, multiple revenue streams and get all of that stuff in place.  I just think that people like yourself that are doing great work, I really appreciate what you're doing and helping others around you. So, keep doing it.

Bill Bloom  24:48 

Thank you, my friend. Yes. It's so fun to help.

Russ Johns  24:51 

Yeah, even though there might be some challenging moments, once people see that there is hope, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and you can make a difference, there is something that can be done. I mean, it's much easier to live. So, having a support system, I think is really important. If you don't have somebody like Bill in your life, find somebody like Bill.

Bill Bloom 25:18

Absolutely.

Russ Johns 25:20

So, Bill, how do people get ahold of you? How do you want people to track you down?

Bill Bloom  25:30 

Our business website is the best. My email is bill@bloomfinancial.us. Our company website www.bloomfinancialco.com . Lastly, this is a shameless plug. We just had a book on Amazon, It's called, Money Habits for Success.  That's where I wrote a book that helps people, whether you're a high school student, all the way up to a baby boomer, learn the foundations of money, about mortgages, credit cards, just like the little things that you're doing every day, that is affecting you negatively from your financial life, because we live unconsciously, a lot of times. So that's another great thing that I would highly recommend that you pick up that's available on Amazon right now.

Russ Johns  26:29 

The name of the book, again?

Bill Bloom  26:31 

Money Habits for Success,

Russ Johns  26:34 

Money Habits, by Bill bloom?

Bill Bloom  26:36 

Yes.

Russ Johns  26:37 

I love that. So, an author. So, are you out speaking? Are you doing virtual events, again?

Bill Bloom  26:46 

We've been…oh gosh, we have a meeting today with my team to set up all of our virtual events through this year into next year. For instance, next Saturday, we're doing a purpose driven coffee event on Saturday morning,  from some financial advisors who have retired and they created the purpose of retirement because there's a big transition in life, whether you do leave that workforce. So, once you get your plan in place, it's all about your purpose and your process. It's really amazing. But we have some really powerful speakers coming on, from past professional golfers coming to talk about their short game and business and then women's health. We have so many great things coming up for next year. Send me an email, if you'd like.  We could add you to our list of fantastic virtual events. Because we might still be in this pandemic. So, we'll see.

Russ Johns  27:44 

Yeah, it's a global thing. I don't see this going away anytime soon. But that's just my opinion. This is not endorsed or supported by anyone else that I know. But the reality is that if we're resilient, and we adapt to the circumstances we're living in and just recognize it for what it is, it's like, life still goes on. We're still doing what we desire, and what we love. I love the idea. I've helped a lot of people do virtual events recently, and I'm producing shows for other people. So, if you need any assistance in that arena, please let me know. Also, if you're following Bill, get on his email list. So, you do a newsletter every so often, still?

Bill Bloom  28:32 

Yeah, we do. We don't send anything out generic. I actually write everything and make it personal. That's so incredibly important. I say this all the time. There's almost 8 billion people on this planet. We don't work with everyone, right? We want to work with people who are grateful and they have gratitude in their lives. They’re happy people. So now we're happy to send you the events and things that we're doing in our newsletters and market update all this fun stuff.

Russ Johns  29:06 

Yeah. Keep me on your list.

Bill Bloom  29:08 

We'll do

Russ Johns  29:10 

Well, Bill,  I know you have a young one and life in Chicago right now is a somewhat…the weather's changing, getting ready for the holiday season again. Just enjoy life and stay in touch.  if you're not connected to Bill in the pirate community, connect with Bill, connect with the pirates. Anyone that's been on the show is connection worthy, open up dialogue and have a conversation. It's just amazing to see what kind of things can take place. I mean, my life has changed drastically in the last year. I'm approaching 300 episodes on the #PirateBroadcast™ and it's just really meaningful and important in life to make these changes. Especially right now. There's a lot of people that are not able to reach out. They normally would go to a networking event or go to a social activity or connect with individuals in some way, shape or form. So, Bill, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate you and I'm glad that we got the opportunity to know each other a little better.  I look forward to future conversations and, and maybe have you back on the show after your next adventure. Your next book.

Bill Bloom  30:33 

It’s been an honor. Thank you so much for having me today. It's great to meet all you pirates out there.

Russ Johns  30:40 

Thank you so much, and everyone else. Also, remember that #kindnessiscool, #smilesarefree and you #enjoytheday. Take care. See you soon. Thanks.

Exit  30:55 

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