How Tragedy Drives Purpose: The Journey of Tom Sutter

I'll never forget that night. Only child, wife, both in the hospital, different hospital with cancer. And then you can't afford the $2 because you lost your job. But it was that night is where I said, you know what?

This is.

This is reality. I go on the back end of all this. I want to do something. Had no idea what I said. I just want to do something to help people in the same situation.

Shift your mindset.

Hey.

Hey. Welcome back to the accelerate your insurance sales podcast. I am excited. Today I am joined by the one, the only Tom Sutter with one digital out on the west suburbs. Is that fair to say in Chicago, Tom?

Yeah, yeah, we're all west. Yep.

Well, welcome to the show, man. For the people who are watching YouTube watching this episode on YouTube, I'm going to need you to explain now. Now, before we get there, guys, I want to make a quick announcement. If you hear Tom, Tom's overcoming a little cold. So if you hear a cough or two, we apologize. Tom's getting over a cold right now. So thanks for jumping on Tom, despite that bump, but you're welcome, YouTube. If somebody's watching on YouTube right now, can you explain it is.

We're.

We're recording this in September. And yet behind you, I see a Christmas tree.

Yeah. So that's. I always tell everyone, I get questioned all the time. So my whole thing is Christmas is a feeling, it's not a season. So my kids know this and they all say, they're like, you know, you ever see the scene in the Santa Claus where they're asking Scott Calvin, what's your name? And he keeps going, papa Noel. Santa Claus. Papa Noel. He does all that. So that's kind of our favorite scene. My son's always like, dad, you gotta do that scene because you are Papa Noel.

Well, hopefully we can turn this episode into the gift that keeps giving, Right? So. Well, let's start here, man. You and I have known each other for a little while here, but some people tuning in may have no clue who. Tom Sutters, you've been in the industry for a few decades. You were a Crum Holstead before you guys merged or got acquired with one digital. Talk about, like, how did you find yourself in the insurance industry? Most of us did not get in by design. What's your story?

I told everyone. I got suckered into it.

I went through college, I worked for a guy. He was painting, wallpapering, carpentry. Got into it, started my own business, and I was actually going to do. That's what I was going to do for a career was the painting wallpaper and all that. And one day I was on a job site, and I'll never forget Jimmy. Guy named Jimmy. He's working. He's down on his knees painting the trim and all that stuff. And he got up and he made his groan. Yeah. He's like, oh. He's like, oh, you all right? He goes, tommy. He goes, you got to get out of this. You got to get out before you turn into me. And I go. He goes, how old do you think I am? And I was like, that's a trick question because he looked like he was about 80. And he goes, I'm 55. I feel like I'm going to fall apart every day. He goes, you need to get out and do something different. I said, well, you know, I go, hey, I got a college degree now. I got this business going. I'm going to have a bunch of guys working in the field, and that's what I'm going to do. And he goes, what if it doesn't work out? So that's what got me thinking. So I went back to a job fair at niu, and it said, financial planning. Mutual New York Financial planning. I said, oh, that's. That's what I want to do is financial planning, Right? So I remember, we get into the. The first meeting, sitting around the conference room table, Sitting Next to me is a football player from Valparaiso, big guy. And we're sitting there, and they start talking about life insurance. And I go, oh. I go, we're selling life insurance. He looks at me and he's like, hey, we're schlepping life insurance, right? I go, oh. You know, in my head, I knew what he's saying. But then the GM's talking. The GM looks over and he's like, you guys try something to say. I go, hey, he's not me. Mad as hell. And he goes, yeah. He goes, no one told us we're gonna be schlepping life insurance. And he goes, do you guys. He goes, hey, I understand. But do you get it? Life insurance is a cornerstone of financial planning, which it is. It is. But, you know, you're right out of college, and you don't know too many people with money. All my Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, we're all. We all spent our money during college, so we're, you know, give me a list of 200 people and start calling them. I go, I don't know anybody with money except my dad. So kind of got out of that and Got into, got into a brokerage after that.

Yeah, I, I don't share the story a whole lot, but I actually started my insurance journey in college which, with that Northwestern Mutual internship program, which I think is the greatest marketing scheme in the history of financial planning. Because they bring a bunch of people in, they tell you to write down your hundred family and friends and contact information, knowing 98 of these people aren't gonna make it. And now they got these huge lists of people to reach out to.

They take your list and that's what they do. I mean, you know, I got lucky. I sold a life insurance policy to a guy that owned an aviation insurance brokerage. And that was actually what I didn't know that was his interview process. He was looking for someone to run a benefits division. Sold him a policy. When I went back for the review to review the policy with him, he looks at it and I go, I start reviewing it. He looks at me, he goes, do you like the life insurance business? I'm like, yeah, yeah, it's pretty. He goes, oh, bs. He goes, nobody likes selling life insurance. He throws the policy aside. He goes, I did this. I want to see how you handle yourself and I'm going to hire you if you want to do it. He offered me a, you know, a job in the. I didn't know anything about benefits. He goes, you're going to run the division. I go, I don't know anything about, you know, employee benefits. He goes, you'll learn quick.

Yeah.

And I did.

Yeah. It's, I think a lot of us, I don't know what your journey was like, but I started my career, actual career at Federated Insurance and I tell people transparently one of the reasons I didn't make it is I wasn't good at selling life insurance and that that was one of their key incentives to keep, to meet your goals and get promoted. And then I gravitated to benefits because I love the education side. I just felt there was so much education to be done in the employee benefits space. Do you find a similar feeling when you are talking about health insurance?

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just, and it's different. Doing commercial and benefits benefits is touchy feely. You're dealing with employees and families and hey, we're going to do all we can to take care of you. Commercial side usually deal with the CFO and they're looking for best coverage, best price.

That is a really interesting, I'd actually love your perspective on that because you, you sell both, you're still selling out, you're still selling both. How do you. Because I think a lot of producers do struggle that. I work with a lot of agencies, for example, that sell both. Right. And I don't. I feel like both sides of the house don't always understand each other because I think it is two very different kinds of sales and two very different kind of service models. As somebody who sells both, what's your perspective on that?

I mean, yeah, it is, it is completely different. Even internally, when you look at the staff and all that, how they think and work and operate, I mean, it is a totally different. You got, like I said, you got the touchy feely. And I started, like I said, life insurance and then doing employee benefits and then along the way, after I got out of the benefit, well, I didn't get out of benefits. I went to another agency at 24 years old and they were like, hey, you know what? We're going to. Since you already know health insurance, we're going to teach a property in casualty. It's no different. I go, oh, okay. I didn't know any better. I'm single, no kids. I'm like, okay. So that's kind of how I got into it. And then I quickly realized when you're dealing with the people is HR and CFOs and CEOs and they both speak very differently and think very differently.

Just had a conversation with a client this morning who's in a proposal this afternoon with a CFO and an employee benefit. Excuse me, an HR professional. And I told them your message is going to have to be very different for both of those people. And I think there's a lot of people who miss that opportunity in our industry from a communication standpoint because they're trying to speak to one or the other and they're missing the op, they're missing the boat with the other. And if you do not land, if that message does not land with both parties, your odds of winning are very low. This episode is brought to you by True Captive Insurance. What if you could take full control of your healthcare strategy with without the financial burdens of traditional insurance? At Trucaptive Insurance, they make that possible. As the only captive in the nation that puts up the majority of collateral on your behalf. They provide financial flexibility from day one, making them an advocating partner for their customer success. True Captive's fully customizable plans and cost saving strategies ensure you never have to choose between affordability and quality care. It's time to break free from the limitations of conventional insurance.

Take the next step today, visit TruCaptive.com and discover a smarter way to manage healthcare that is TrueCaptive.com what are your thoughts? Because I know when I look at your resume and again, you know, you were in a director, a principal role with Crum Halstead right before the, you know, right before moving to One Digital. And you spent a lot of time in your career in what I would call director type roles. Sales business. When you look for producers, what are you looking for today when you're trying to find a man or a woman who's going to go out and have what it takes to build their own book of business?

I mean, what we're looking for now, it's, I mean, obviously you like younger people. I mean, everyone can sell, but you're trying to get someone that comes in that you can train them and they're going to stick around for a long time and they just have that thought process and you're trying to make sure that they know how to communicate, number one, whether it's electronically, on the phone or in person. You want to have that competitive nature, but you also want to have people that kind of think outside the box. You know, you're not, not the, hey, I'm just going to do whatever you tell me to do. No, have your own ideas. You're creating a business within a business. Have your own ideas. You know, we're open for it. You know, we always tell everyone as a producer, as long as you don't do anything immoral, illegal, unethical, if you make a mistake, we can fix it. You get down to those three things. Yeah, okay, we got a problem and there's no, there's no second chance. You know, as a producer, if you can't win business doing it the right way, then don't do it. And if you're going to go down that path of one of those three, then we're done. You part ways, you can go somewhere else. But I mean, that's what we look for. Real people, conversation. And it's not only young people. I mean, you look at producers have been in the business for a long time. Maybe they've been a victim of their agency, sold to Gallagher or one of the big boys and they just don't like the model anymore. Because us at the onedigital reason why we went with One Digital, they still have the small business mentality and the small business model. I mean, they started one digital started in 2000 as a online benefits broker, one of the first ones in 2020. You know, you look at what they've done, you know, over the years. You go on the website, it still talks about helping individuals. We have a Medicare department downtown Chicago. All they do is help people enroll in Medicare. I think there's 600 employees down there doing it. I mean, it's a crazy amount of people down there. And small business, I mean, yes, we do have large companies. We have Fortune 500 companies, but that bread and butter where we started is what we still embrace.

Yeah, I, you know, it's interesting. Two years ago, I spoke at one of the one digital regional sales summits. And that night, I, by pure happenstance, found myself sitting next to Adam Bruckman, the CEO. And I didn't know it, but he shared the story of how they started. And it. To your point, it was basically he and a partner. And I view it this way. I think with one Digital, they just continuously thought bigger. And they literally started as this one agency that now has what, 5,000 employees?

Yeah, I think we're approaching 5,500 now.

5,500.

Wow. Oh, it's crazy. Well, I mean, you go from, think about it, zero revenue in 2000 to 1.5 billion or whatever we have now this year. Yeah. 25 years later, and it just keeps growing.

Well, it's that mindset, man, of thinking bigger. Right. I think a lot of people in our industry cap their own success just because of limiting beliefs. And I think that's what separates the people we've had the chance to coach, people who, you know, have seven, eight, $10 million books of business on their own. And I taught. I've been talking about this a lot lately. It's what they've done over their career is they continually reset their standard of what kind of business they go after. I bet you the type of business you went after 20 years ago looks very different than the type of business you're trying to target today.

Oh, yeah, yeah, it does. Back then, when you first start, you know, I always thought we used to say, they're like, oh, what is your niche? Or what is your target client? I said, you know what? I call it the fog. If I can hold a mirror up under their nose and it fogs up, they're a good prospect. Right. That was my. That was my. That was my gig back then.

That's awesome.

And, oh, by the way, can you pay your premium?

The best way I've heard that is, who cares if they're weird as long as their check clears, Right?

I love it.

Yo, we're going to get into a Couple things here with you and because we're going to get into your personal story as well, because I think it's going to be very impactful for people. But one thing I think you've done a really good job, man. You starting to put your brand out there more and more every week. One thing I know about you from getting to know you is you're just a down to earth dude that you get what you, you know, when you get Tommy, you get what you get. You know what you're getting.

Oh, yeah.

How do you feel that is played? You know, I say this because there's a lot of people in this industry who are trying to be some form of somebody to win business, but it's like if you can't show up as yourself, then you're not attracting the right people. Being authentic, humble and down to earth, how has that helped you grow throughout your career in this industry?

You know, I mean, it's, I'd say going back, it was by doing it that way, it kind of, you know, in the beginning I was trying to mimic others. You know, you look at your, you look at the guys that got the giant books of business, you're like, okay, I'm gonna try and be like him on the dress, like him. Oh, you have the button down collar, do you have the regular collar? You know, all that stuff, right? And then along the way, I started looking at the clients that I have and the ones I've become very good friends with over the years. And I'm like, you know, how are the interactions with these people? And I go, you know, it's, it's most just being genuine, right? And I, and it goes all the way back to always telling the truth. I mean, growing up, it's funny, my grandfather, he was, he was a character, we call him Pup. And so Pup was one of these guys, a truck driver, you know, salted the earth guy. And he always, I remember one of his great pieces of advice. He goes, tommy, he goes, here's the deal. He goes, don't ever lie. He goes, because lies are just way too hard to remember. He goes, I go, oh, okay. He goes, yeah. He goes, just tell the truth all the time. Because if you ever get in a bind and someone asks you and you got to go back and reiterate what you said, it's always easy to remember the truth. So that's kind of like the advice I got back in junior high and I just kind of followed it all along. And it is what it is. And if you don't lie, cheat or steal, tell people the way it is. And I mean, really focus on the clients in their own situations and look at where the problems are, what they have at stake, what do they have for. You know, I always tell them, what do you have for insurance? Why do you have it, what don't you have, and why do you need it? You just lay it out. I mean, and some don't like that story, but most people do. And that's just kind of the way I've always done business.

Yeah, you made some. You made a comment offline before we started that I thought was really, really good. Being that you are somebody who shows up as Tommy every day, you'll have some that don't like that because they actually want to be schmoozed. They want to, you know, be put up on a pedestal. And you just have to realize that's probably not a good client for you when you have people who want almost a fake version of you. As weird as that sounds, I think being that both you and I come from the Midwest, that's very true. Those are people you just don't. You don't gravitate to and people you can't do business with.

No. It's too hard to be someone you're not.

Yeah. And I think you said something that's very important for everybody to hear. When you lie so much, and I hate to say this, it happens a lot in our industry when you lie so much, you almost. When you get to the point where you forgot who you told what lie to, it can get really dangerous. Yeah. Yeah. Let's talk. You know, you were in the business for a Good, I think, 15, 16 years at this point. You had a son, California, who you've. You know, we're going to talk about Cal's Angels. Some people probably recognize you with Cal's Angels, but if you don't mind, share. Share Cal's stories a little story. A little bit, because we're going to go into a discussion about the work you're doing with Cal's Angels, because I think again, something you said to me when we first met that I loved was Andy. I got two employers. I help people buy their insurance, and I help kids with cancer. And I thought that was just awesome how you said that. So if you don't mind, share Cal's story with those listening.

This gets a little emotional. I'm going to take a drink of water.

Very. Take your time. And again, we'll only go where you want to go.

Oh, yeah, I know. It's Everyone knows. I mean, I'm an open book with people. Everyone knows my story. You know, the thing is. So you go back with Cal and you'll go back. Like I always tell everyone, I have two. I have two jobs. You know, I have one that pays the bills, the insurance. Got the insurance gig, and I've got one that pays the heart, which is Cal's Angels. And it goes back to. Cal was the. Our oldest and oldest of seven. It's a blended family of seven kids. And so he was the oldest of seven. And when it was back in 05, May of 05, where he got strep throat. And now we'll go backwards. Cal was a big baseball player, played on the Angels, always made the All Star team. He was a center fielder and a pitcher. And, you know, he was. It was one where, I mean, this kid could throw at 11, 12 years old, throwing kids out from center field on a fly to home plate, right? And so his. He didn't get the arm from me. You know, I played ball, but I didn't have an arm. Like, I played catcher and I played shortstop. I. I was not a long ball. I was not a pitcher. His mom will tell you. She's like, yeah, get the arm from me. I'm like, okay, we'll just. We'll placator. Yeah, okay, that's cool. You okay? He got it from you, right? We just go along with it. Everyone knows. Everyone knows the truth. But so back In May of 05, he got strep throat. He has strep throat three times in two months. And I was going around our area at the time. We live in Elgin. That's how we're living in South Elgin, Illinois. And it was kind of going around the area at the time and like a big outbreak at one point, half the grammar school was out with strep throat. And so they kind of. That's why they didn't catch it at first. Like, they didn't think anything was. He was on it, on antibiotics. It came back, Back on antibiotics, went away, came back. Well, when it came back for the third time, they were like, okay, whether it's an outbreak or not, we got to do something about it. We got to check this out. I'll never forget that day. I'm sitting in the office in June of 05 and first phone call of the day, the All Star coach calls and says, hey, great news. Cal made the All Star team again. I'm like, it's awesome. You know, I mean, that was cool, right? We were Expecting that call. He tried out. He made it again. Second call of the day is mom calls and says, hey, you know how Cal had strep throat three times over the last two months? Well, we got to take Cal for a bone marrow biopsy. They think he may have leukemia or lymphoma blood. Can I go, what quack did you take him to? Right? I go, I go to kid, we just got the call on the all star team. I go. And then, you know, now you're calling with this. I go, okay, fine. So I met him, you know, I go, I'll go, we'll meet at the hospital. Drove on down and, you know, as my mom was in the room, her, her mom, my wife was there and we were all. And they did. I don't know if you ever seen a bone marrow biopsy, but.

Wow. It's not easy. Yeah.

Oh, it's like a 16 penny nail. They stick it in, it goes right into, right into your, you know, your butt bone back here. Right, right into the, right in the back of the femur and all that. And it just, it's just awful. And they did that. And you know, to watch your kid going through something like that, it was brutal.

Yeah.

And then they go out and I'll never forget when the doctor comes back in the room and he looks, he's like, hey, you know Cal, he's like, can you hang out with grandma and grandmas and I gotta talk to mom and dad. I go, oh, I mean, right there is when you go that this is not good. And I remember we walk out of the room, we had to go down three doors down. It felt like we were walking a mile. And she's looking at me, I'm looking at her, and I'm like, this is, this is not a good. I know this is not gonna be good. And we go in a room and that's where, you know, he goes, well, I don't know how else to say it. He goes, but Cal is coming back positive for leukemia. And not just leukemia, but the adult form of leukemia as a child. So 12 years old, he gets diagnosed with the adult form. Back then, we didn't realize it was a. Basically a death sentence back then. Like, it's high risk leukemia in a child. And when they have the adult form, like, you know, we didn't know it, they didn't say anything about it. But as we went through it, we started realizing we're like, oh, this is. I mean, he went in, they put a guy into remission once. Relapsed remission a second time, and then he relapsed. And then we ended up in an experimental program up in Minnesota, University of Minnesota. An experimental program where they're doing. Using natural killer cells, umbilical cord stem cells. I mean, the things they were doing. And they actually did get him back in remission, but they said, if it ever comes back, he's had a lifetime of radiation, everything. He cannot have anything else. And within a couple weeks, started as like a little scab on his face. No, he didn't think anything of it. Right. Two weeks after that, he passed away. And. Yeah, that was. Talk about throwing your life into a. That's why you won't just give up, right?

Yeah.

And I mean, along the way it was. I mean, we met. I remember going into the hospital when people said. They go, look, don't feel sorry for yourself. There's always going to be someone that has it worse. And I said, how can anyone have it worse? My kids got cancer, right? And they're like, well. And so I met that guy, you know. Cal was diagnosed in June of 05. And in August, his roommate, only child, 14 years old. And the dad and I were playing PS2 with the boys. That dates it right there as to how long ago I was playing PS2, right? And the dad, after a couple hours, he's like, hey, you know, is it all right if my son. Because we could have pulled the curtain down back then. You shared rooms. And he's like, can my son hang out with you? He goes, I gotta. I gotta, you know, go. And I go, oh, where are you going? He goes, well, I gotta go to.

Down to a Northwestern because my wife has breast cancer. Now, you think of that. Only child has leukemia. Wife has breast cancer. And then he tells me how he parks about a quarter mile away to avoid paying for the parking garage. And I said, you know, when you get that ticket, it's only $2 when you get the ticket. And he goes, well, you know, along the way, I lost my job and I need that $2 to eat. And I'll never forget that night. I mean, I tried giving the guy money, and he's like, I'm fine. Don't worry about. I'm like, there's no way this guy is fine. And I don't care what he says. I go, only child, wife both in the hospital, different hospital with cancer. And then you can't afford the $2 because you lost your job. But it was that night is where I said, you know what? Like, this stuff I Mean, yeah, I know this stuff happened to people and. But I said, that is reality. You know, you face. I. I met that guy that they talked about, and I go, this is. This is reality. I go on the back end of all this with Cal, hopefully with Cal, but I go, even if it's without Cal, I want to do something. Had no idea what. I said, I just want to do something to help people in the same situation. And. And then we kind of, you know, for another year and another year or so, Cal fought it. We were in and out of hospitals. He was inpatient 11 and a half months out of 14. So his mom and I would switch off every week in the hospital. And, you know, we got to witness all these. You know, Cal had a Make a wish. He had bare necessities. He had all these different organizations help. And I'm like, that is really cool, because like I said, I'm trying to process what to do. And I go, there's not one organization, though, that does everything like what we do. I said, you know, you got wishes, you got financial assistance, you've got, you know, you know, other organizations, just different things, they do some fund research, some do other things. I said, not one takes it and puts it all together into one program. And so kind of like, that's where it kind of started. But, you know, we're in. Out of hospitals. And then when he passed away in August of 06, that's when. I mean, I just kind of. Right away, I gave up. You know, I did the whole thing. I put Barry. I tried to forget about it and not think about it, but that just gets worse. That's just the worst thing, when you don't. When that stuff's in your head, you know? So I kind of. I didn't work. Not proud to say it, but, you know, alcohol was my friend for a while. And, I mean, everyone tells me, they're like, yeah, I don't blame you. I go, no, that wasn't good. It wasn't good. But I just remember waking up one day and I go, man, what am I doing? I go, I'm throwing everything away. I'm not working. I'm not doing this. I go, I need. I want to go back. And I remember my wife at the time, she. She goes, well, what do you want to do? And I go, I have no idea. I'm going to figure it out. She goes, well, you know, you've never done anything charitable in your life, right? And I go, yes, I have. I go, anytime anyone asks me for money, I go, how much you need? Oh, hey, here's your hundred bucks for your marathon team. Make sure I get that receipt, though, because I need to deduct it. Right? That's how I was. Right. And I told her, I go, you know what? I'm going to figure it out. I'm going to figure it out. And we just kind of. I just kind of like started Googling everything. I said, what? You know, what nonprofits, you know, who makes it, why do they make it, which ones don't make it, and why don't they make it? And I saw the biggest thing was not so much the mission or anything else. It was transparency and it was being. It was like kind of goes along with that whole thing about being honest and upfront with everything. There's a lot of charities. Leave that question. And that's where. Because we've always, when we started this thing, we've always said from day one, always going to be a completely transparent. You're going to know where every single dollar goes. And one. And I said, you know, it's an open book policy. And we always told people, I support us. We said, look, if you ever want to come by and see the books, they're wide open. And one guy, only one guy, took us up on it, came by back then, we were running out of house, and he came by, I had all the books sitting out, and he looks and he goes, tell you what, if you've got those all sitting out for me and you're willing to do this, I don't need to go any further. I'm in. And he became, you know, he's a decent donor and one of our bigger ones, and he still is today because of the fact that he says, you know what? I looked forever for an organization where I knew what was going on. He goes, I finally found it. And that's what a lot of people say, you know, it's. They all know exactly where it all goes.

Well, what I love about what you guys are doing with Cal's Angels, and for clarity, it is focused on pediatric cancer, right?

Yes. Yeah.

That is the mission when I look at even the programs you guys offer. And feel free to go through some of these, you know, comfort kits, fantasy flights, warrior wheels. Like you guys, you guys, it sounds like you're creating a lot of opportunity for these kids, their families. You know, this isn't just one, a one stop shop type charity. Like, there's a lot of cool things you guys are doing with it.

Oh, yeah, it's. It's funny. I had someone tell me a little while ago, they said, cal's Angels seems like it's run by somebody with adhd. I go, because you got so much stuff going on, they go, but you keep it together. That's the craziest part about it. And I go, well, it's not me. I go, it's the whole team that we have. I go, we've had, you know, from day one. I mean, it's odd to say it this way, but it was almost like this was supposed to happen.

Yeah.

Just because of Cal was one of those kids. Everybody loved Cal, awesome baseball player, but he was one of those kids that he was the friends with the best kids on the team, but he was friends with the worst kids on the team. And, you know, people, Some people would make fun of, some of the other kids make fun of him for being friends with, you know, this guy because he's not cool. Cows like, oh, I don't care. He's my friend. You know, he's our teammate and he's my friend. And so that kind of. The people that knew us from the beginning, they all knew California. And so you kind of get that going. So he was a kid that was loved by everybody, I think everybody. Or maybe it's a couple that didn't, but whatever. But he kind of. You go along. And so we started this thing, and it just took off from day one. You know, we had a meeting in our living room in March of 07, and I remember, just family and friends, we said, look, this is what we want to do. We want to do wishes for kids. We want financial assistance for the families. We want to do create awareness for pediatric cancer, because a lot of people don't understand. Of federal funding for cancer research, 4% goes to pediatrics, only 4. And to me, I think that's backwards. I mean, you're talking about the future of our country and the future of our generations that you're going to donate. You're going to, you know, 4% goes to research. I mean, not that adults don't need research as well, but adults have 900 and some odd drugs for chemotherapy drugs. Kids have less than 30, and there has not been a new one for kid for Pediatrics in 30 years. So that's kind of. That whole research through clinical trials is where we get involved with, too.

Yeah, I was totally unaware of that statistic.

Yeah. Yeah. A lot of people, they don't. They don't. You know, that's why our golf outings call more than four now. We spell It F O R E, but it's more than four is like, you know, we're hoping to make that difference of getting, you know, others. Now if you start looking at major league sports now, the teams are starting to do the yellow ribbon because September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month with the gold ribbon.

And that's hence why we're doing this interview in September.

Yeah, you're starting to see a lot of sports teams now are starting to. White Sox just had a big thing back two weekends ago. Pediatric cancer awareness event at. At the park. You know, so it was. That was pretty cool.

That's. I love your perspective on this, man. I mean, what you've done with Cal's Angels is so respectable. As a guy who struggles with volunteering and charity myself, because when I think volunteering or charity, unfortunately, sometimes I go right to, like, donating money. That's it. What are your thoughts, like, for people who might be listening in, who are like, yeah, I need. As you. You know, you were the guy that said, I will donate, but give me the receipt. And it's gone. So much more than that for you now. All right, what advice would you give somebody out there who's listening that might be like, yeah, I know I need to add more charity work or whatever to my. To my life. But it struggles to figure out how to do that. What. Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for them?

You know, I always like, we'll put it back on. The people we know who have volunteers. And, you know, a lot of volunteers we have, have. Our organization has one of the causes. It has commonality, unfortunately. Commonality. A lot of people, you know someone. Most people have either maybe most likely not experience themselves, but know somebody so and so you instantly have that. So that's where you know, it's that passion where I tell people, I go, look, what are you. What are you passionate about? Whether it's kids with cancer or, you know, it's the paws with the dogs or it's pads with the homeless. I got. Everybody has a purpose and a cause. What is it that, you know, when you look at it, what would you want it? What's your pet. Who do you want to help? You know, that's the first thing. And then, I mean, yeah, we all need. I mean, we've got. I don't know. I mean, this year we're going to do $5 million in fundraising. And that's, you know, you look at all the people we have donating, and then we have so many volunteers. Like, but back in the Beginning getting volunteers. I remember we learned early on when you have volunteers that nothing against volunteers because I was trying to do that and I would do the same thing. Hey, we got this 5K event. We need about 20 volunteers. So we'd ask 20 people, 20 people say they show up on the day of 10 show up and then of that 10, five are gone before it's over. So now you're, you're at this event where you need 20 people and you're down to my wife and I and you know, a couple people and you're like, oh, we're going to be here a long time. So then you start going out and asking 40 people for a 20 person job. And then you get, I mean, yeah, sometimes you have too many, but it's better to have too many and not enough. And. But every single person we have as a volunteer all has a passion for what we're doing and somehow, some way they know somebody that went through it, you know. Now if you're looking for someone that hasn't had a touch with it, I mean we have so many events. We have a golf outing every year. We have our gala every year. We've got all throughout the year coming up at the end of the month. We have. It's called a glow Walk where over at the minor league ball ballpark we do. Families just come together and it's just a fun event. There's kids activities and there is a walk at the end of it. But it's all about that, creating that awareness and just supporting the families that we've helped all along the way. It's a pretty cool event. It's at the King County Cougar Stadium here in Geneva as at the end of the month. And then you know, like I said with, with all these different events, I mean it just. My advice is look for what you want to do. But then you have to have the mindset of doing it.

If somebody wanted to get involved directly with Cal's Angels, what is the, the easiest way to get involved on the website?

So we've had to go. This is an insurance company thing. We've had to vet out our volunteers. Now you know, you have to go through. So we have a spot on the web. Cals angels c-a l s a n g e l s.org CalSangels.org as well. Yep, yep, yep. It's on. So it's on the website. There's a volunteer section so you have to sign up through there. You know, you list your interests and what you want to help with, they may ask a few other questions, but then we also vet them out because like I said, you're involved, you know, direct contact at times with kids. And so, yeah, the insurance company side of it, they're like, hey, you can't just have anybody coming in. Which we know. I mean, in the beginning we did, but you know, now it's a formal process.

Oh, you think about that, how times have changed and how that process even impacts something like volunteering. We definitely live in a different world than we did 20 or 30 years ago. Right. And so I got a two part question I'd love to ask you as we start to bring this home. Since starting Cal's Angels and going through the experience you've gone through, I'd love to know what has been the biggest impact on you as a person, but also the biggest impact on you as an insurance professional?

Yeah, I say the biggest impact on me as a person was slowing me down and kind of enjoying life. You know, it was, I was so fast paced, you know, back then. You're, you start out, in the end, you, like I said, yeah, they had the fog test. You're out trying to sell insurance. You're just trying to build that book of business as fast as you can and not really being concerned about. Like I said, oh yeah, you want money, it's great, I'll give you money for your, you know, your cause and all that stuff. But, oh, you want me to come out and volunteer? I'm not sure. And then you kind of do that, ghosting them on the response and. But no, it's, it slowed me down and gave me new perspectives on life, just enjoying people and creating those friendships. Like I said, like the clients I deal with, I love meeting people sitting down and you can gauge within a first meeting when you're sitting down with someone for the first half hour if you can actually become friends with this person. And that's one of the biggest things that I gauge when I'm out talking with people. You know, is it someone I can become friends with, number one? And then is it someone who is a genuine person? Because that's what it made me be going through this become more genuine. And that's where that's kind of transitioned into my insurance career. It's like, hey, life is what it is. You know, you're going to beat around the bush or whatever. No, let's cut right to the chase. This is what it is and this is who I am and this is who you are. You know, I mean, it's kind of. And let's, let's just get along. Let's do this. I know you built up a business. I want to make sure what you have is protected and made me care a lot more about other people, you know, their feelings and, you know, feelings and needs and just, you know, being there to help people. I love, I love the whole thing. You know, this is people I don't even do business with that. It's funny because they'll call me. They're like, oh, my brother's my insurance guy. But I got this question on insurance because he couldn't answer it. You know, he couldn't answer it correctly. I go, that's cool. I go, just remember, if he ever retires, who are you going to call? Right?

Well, I guess that's a great perspective. You know, when we think of charitable work, we immediately think of organizations like Cal's Angels and the things that support people in need. But what you described there, I think is actually a good perspective to have in business. Be charitable. You know, we talk about when you post content and you're creating content for platforms like LinkedIn, give away the good stuff. That's a form of charity. To me, like that. I am trying to just, just help you get better. Whether you end up deciding to ever work with me or not, my objective is to help you get better. And I think that's what you just emphasized there with, hey, my brother's my, my insurance broker, but he can't answer this. Can you help? You're not going to turn that guy away because you're just here to help people be better. Yep.

Yeah, that's, that's kind of what it's done. And, you know, I tell people, I go, I love helping other people and thinking about other people. Yeah, but you always go back to the core. And I think you said something about it, too, in one of your podcasts where, you know, what if you're not healthy? I mean, how are you going to take out? How are you going to take care of other people? You know, you got to eat right, you got to sleep well. You know, basically make sure you're healthy first before you can take care of other people.

Absolutely. Without health, we have nothing.

So that's always been my, my go to, like when I'm eating lunches. Now every once in a while, some of the people watching us that know me, they may be like, okay, wait, I saw you eat that two pound steak. So I go, hey, you know what? That's, it's not all the Time.

It's all protein, brother.

Right. It's not all the time. I go, normal lunch is fruits and vegetables and, you know, things like that.

Is it out of curiosity? I mean, you know, Cal was. Was hit with something that I guess we could say wasn't necessarily tied to his health. You know, he didn't do anything to promote that. But has that had a big impact on how you take care of your health?

That was, I mean, a little bit, you know, I mean, when I wanna, like, I've always done that, eaten well, but when I want to not do it, I kind of think of that stuff. But then I also think about, you know, all these families that we help through Cal's Angels. I mean, we touch over a thousand families a year in one way or another.

Yeah.

And you know, when you look at that, it's when you touch that many people and you do 5 million a year in fundraising, I mean, that's why people are like, oh, why do you have a paid staff? I go, well, we got what, six, seven people on staff now, full time employees. I go, how are you going to help a thousand people a year with volunteers? It just doesn't work out.

Yeah.

And I mean, I've never taken a paycheck from cows. And from day one, that was my pledge. I go, hey, I got the insurance gig.

Yep.

Like I said, cows pays it hard. Oh, yeah. I mean, and then the people that, you know, we come in contact, you know, helping all these people. I run a dad's group through Cal's Angels too. And in the dad's group, it's. I mean, dad's. Dads deal with it differently than moms. You know, there was always moms had all these Facebook groups. They have, you know, all their separate groups and all that. One day, one of the dads, you know, we're at an event and he goes, hey, why don't we have a dad's group? I said, I don't know why we don't. I said, because dads just think differently. We act like it's no big deal, we don't need to deal with it. But I go, but it is. And he's like, okay, you need to start it. And I go, that's great, you got a great idea and I'll start. But I did. I mean, I was like, because, you know, you think about the concept, talking with the dads, there's nothing that I have not experienced that they have, you know, and that was one thing, you know, anywhere from being diagnosed to relapsing to losing your child. You know, I mean, there was I the whole gamut. And so I've had some hard talks with them. You know, a lot of them want to give up, and it's just a typical. Ignore it. And they go, don't ignore it. You bury your head in the sand. That's going to rear its ugly head. At some point it's going to be ten times worse. Or, you know, you want to, you know, just be like, give up, right? And I go, I've had conversations with some of them. I said, look, don't be selfish. You know, and instantly when you tell someone, don't be selfish, they kind of look at you for an instant. What do you mean? I go, well, look, here's the deal. When you're. You've got this going on, you want to give up. I go, okay, so you got a wife, you've got another child. I go, I work. I go, you told me you're a sales guy. I go, how many people are in the company? He goes, ah, you know, we got like a 20 person. So small business, two salespeople. He's one of them. I go, okay, so you give up and your company loses half the revenue. I go, so now they got to go and fire the single mom at the front desk who's got a daughter in college. And I go, so she's not getting a college degree because of you. It's a hard conversation, but it's a real conversation. And I had. And one of them goes, you know, he goes, I. I've had conversations with the social workers. He goes, they all mean well, but most of them have not experienced life in this way. So what? He goes, so. But you, I cannot say any part of what you said that you don't know what I'm going through. So we all. And he's like, I'm speaking for all the dads in this group. We all love that you're running this thing and that you don't beat around the bush. You just kind of say, look, that's the way. Don't be. And yeah, I mean, that's. That's just kind of what?

Well, and I got. I gotta believe this journey for you has also taught you, don't sweat the small stuff. I'm sure. I'm sure you sweat the small stuff a lot less than you used to.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It's, you know, like I say, you know, people will make mistakes when we're doing our business. And I go, look, don't worry about it, because everybody get freaked out, they're gonna get in trouble or, you know, and I'm like, don't worry about. We'll fix it because you didn't do it. It was not illegal and moral unethical. Will you fix it? We just got a man up to it and say, hey, look, I made a mistake. Yep, this is what happened, but this is what we need to do. And I've just learned to deal with people in general just differently. And, you know, every once in a while, you know, someone will rub you the wrong way. I say bad time comes out, but that's not. That's not too often.

Well, Tom, it's been an inspiration to have you on, man. This is. It's just a amazing story. So I'm sure this episode will inspire a lot of people and I hope there are people who, who've experienced, maybe experienced similar things. And I hate to say that they may have because they probably have, but. And I hope. No, nobody has to go through it, but if they do, I'm sure they'll be reaching out to Cal's angels. So thank you for sharing all that. Like I said, I think this is going to be a big inspiration to people who tune in.

Yeah, thanks for having me on, Andy.

Awesome, Tom. Anytime. Everybody else, be good. That's all we got for this episode of the Accelerate your insurance sales podcast. One of the most valuable things you can do to help us and other new potential listeners find our show and is for you to rate the show and leave a review. So as a special bonus for you if you leave us a review, take a screenshot of your review and send it to me as a DM to my LinkedIn profile. I will send you a free copy of our LinkedIn Diamond Playbook, our proven four step strategy to grow your business on LinkedIn. So go right now, leave us a review, screenshot it and send me a DM on LinkedIn. Also, please share this podcast with anyone you think would enjoy it. That's it for now.