Before I started Playbook Wealth Partners, I spent eight years working behind the curtain in the investment industry. My job was helping financial advisors select and implement strategies for their clients — basically, I got to study hundreds of approaches up close and see exactly what worked, what didn't, and why.
I saw advisors who treated every client like a real partner. They built thoughtful, process-driven plans and actually followed through. Those clients were in great shape. But I also saw the other side — generic recommendations, misaligned incentives, and plans that collected dust in a drawer. High-achieving people carrying risks they didn't even know about.
But before I could build the firm, I had to build my own playbook. I was a W-2 earner making good money with a wife and three kids at home — and most of our savings were locked in accounts I couldn't touch without a penalty. Not exactly launch-ready. So we paused the 401(k) above the match, paused the 529s, moved every available dollar into the brokerage, saved every medical receipt in case I needed to tap the HSA as a pseudo emergency fund, and set up a box spread to borrow at a low rate and put that cash into risk-averse, income-generating assets. Basically, I went through the exact same process I now walk clients through every day.
That experience is a big part of why I do this the way I do. I'm not giving advice from a textbook. I've sat where you're sitting.
We built this firm around one idea: high-achieving families deserve more than a plan — they deserve a Playbook. One that's personalized, actionable, and actually gets used. The pages should get wrinkled. The corners should get dog-eared. That's how you know it's working.
We're based in St. Charles, IL, and we work with clients who are building wealth, going through transitions, or sitting on a concentrated position and wondering what to do about it. If that sounds like your situation, I'd love to have a conversation.
