64. Small Business Owner Discovers The Infinite Banking Concept – Client Series – Cory Chittenden

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A small business owner celebrating 25 years of experience.

Has a lot of wisdom to share and we're going to talk about that today on Wealth Without Bay Street. We're joined today by Corey Chittenden and Richard Canfield, our amazing co host hailing from Chilliwack, Alberta, also known as the wac. And we've got Dan Allen, an authorized infinite Banking practitioner with Ascendant Financial. Great team over there at Ascendant, and Dan is going to also enlighten us today with some of his wisdom and the journey that he's had with Corey. And so, gentlemen, I want to welcome you all to the show. And Dan, maybe take a moment and introduce us to your client, Corey.

All right, thanks Jason. That was a really good introduction. And yeah, so here's what I'll tell you about Corey. So I think it was the winter of 2018 and 19, some point Corey reached out to me. So what I do every week is I put this little article in a weekly publication. It's called the Weekly Being here and in Lloyd Minster, Alberta, Saskatchewan. So that's where I'm at. And Corey happened to be driving through town. I suspect you were going to a hockey game somewhere, were you, Corey?

Yeah, that's right. I was actually going to my first game in the new Rogers Stadium.

There you go.

So, yeah, and you're right, it was the Weekly Bean where I got your.

Advertising or your name and that from.

So that's how I got introduced to Corey. Like he was, he reached out to me and just asked for information. So you know, I was, it was great. I just responded, give him some information to read. And then that started a relationship where, you know, the one thing I really appreciate about Corey and the thing I've got to know about him over the last couple of years is that he's a bit of a sponge when it comes to information about the infinite banking concept. Like I don't know how many books he's read, but I know he borrowed all of my DVDs. Like.

The 10 hour Nelson presentation like Corey's, he's, he's taking that in. It's just like that's the kind of client that Corey's been, he's just been one of those people that just Keeps trying to learn more and more about this concept that we've all grown to love. And so it's been a real honor of mine to have a client like that that just so engaged and so looking for how does this work? How can I utilize this in my life? And so all I can say, it's been a real pleasure to get to know Corey. And I know he runs a very successful business.

Down in Saskatchewan in a place called Momont. And it's got a couple of divisions to it. But I'll let Corey maybe give us a little insight as to what he does. I know it's a professional side, and then there's a community division, our consumer division, I think it's called. And that's where they do a lot of things with it and systems. So he puts in healthcare kind of systems that we'd see in different facilities. But yeah. So my journey with Corey has been just one that has been a real pleasure for me because when somebody wants to. So eager to learn about what we do, it just makes our job that much easier. And I've learned a lot from him too. Just the questions that he pushed at me. It's been a great journey. That's what I can say about Corey. Just.

That's great.

Honored. Honored to know him.

Corey, 25 years in business.

Yeah, 25 years.

Congratulations.

Thank you. I'll give you. Believe it. Believe it or not, my business started off as a radio TV repair business. I actually made my living cleaning VCRs and fixing TVs and video cameras, et cetera. And then that kind of went away of the dodo bird when things got. Got disposable and the price of electronics came down. So we ventured into the cellular side of the business. We actually bought a dealership that was retiring just down the road from us in a little village called Kipling. And we grew that business. So that is the consumer side of our business now, where we sell mobile devices, iPhones.

Internet, Sasktel, which is the company we represent, our crown or owned telecommunication company has a pretty big umbrella and we're authorized distributor of theirs. And then the. The professional side of my business, which is healthcare communications. That's kind of what I. What I had up here. And we do life support, code blue systems, resident elopement tracking, synchronized clock. So pretty much all the technology that you can think about that's in a hospital, we. We dabble in it. Wow, thank you for that. Yeah, it's been, it's been. It's been very good, very enjoyable. And Constantly changing. So I always have to be on top of technology.

So you're literally saving lives basically every day with the systems that you put together. And I'm sure there's many people that would owe the, the robustness of the technology and the pieces you work with in the healthcare. They owe their lives to what your help put into place for those healthcare facilities.

Yeah, no, for sure. Exactly, exactly. And it's very important that I handpick a lot of my employees that work for me. If someone's having a bad day and something's not done right, someone's life could be in jeopardy. So it's very important to be on your game all the time. And attention to detail.

I love that. Tell us about your journey with ibc. So what compelled you outside of. So you saw this article, your interest was piqued, you connected with Dan and what has your journey been like up to this point with IBC and how has it changed your thinking?

Okay, so my, my journey began, I think it was in 2008 and it was at about three in the morning because I actually, I wanted to go to watch the hockey game in Edmonton. And just before that I was actually.

A dear friend of ours who's, whose son was in that humble bus crash. We were actually, we were, we were putting together a screw warm up shack in his name and I was doing the solar panels on the roof and I actually fell off the roof and, and twisted my back so I couldn't sleep. So when I was up during the night, I went down to the lobby of the hotel in Lloyd Minster and I was going through all of the magazines and I picked up the one with the bean which had Dan's article in it. And I read through it and I forget what it was but it said something about if you want to take the banking system into your own hand or infinite banking. So I remember taking a picture with my phone and I'm going to give this guy a call. And I. When I got back to Walmart and got into my office, I had sent Dan an email and he actually reached out to me right away. We had a really good conversation. He sent me R. Nelson Nash's book free of charge. So thank you very much for that. And then I read through it and it was funny because I actually, I wasn't even past page 20 and I understood the concept and it was really sinking into me because all this time I thought that I was irrational in a way. I was thinking, I'm kind of the oddball here. Why do I think this way, and. And a lot of the stuff that was in the book was making perfect sense to me. And I've probably read the book 50 times since then, but it just made perfect sense.

And then, poor, poor Dan. I. I was. I was a sponge. I know it was almost a full year. I was going back and forth, and he kept sending me books, and not only sending me books, giving me references to other books to read. And as I book just complemented the other one, and it made my. My financial literacy that much better. And even the concept of IBC made perfect sense. And at the end of the day, at the end of the year, you're only making so much money, and it's very important to have that money work as efficient as possible for you. And all of this stuff that Dan has been helping with over the years has definitely complemented that. So I've been practicing IBC now for a little over a. I think we started it in January of last year, just before COVID had hit. And I wasn't a big reader, honestly, before this came in. But now I read probably a book a month, and instead of me just listening to music in all my driving in Saskatchewan, we drive a lot now, I listen to podcasts.

That's great.

One thing I could say, too, about Corey is not only has he been taken in reading a lot, he's reached out to me about sending books to other people, and he's covered the cost just to send byob, the becoming your own banker book to other people that he knows. And to me, that's just a person that cares about other people and trying to help them out.

Yeah, well, I've seen in the little bit of time that I've been practicing it, the benefits that it's done to me personally already, and I have conversations.

For just the general public. I find that no one really talks about banking.

They don't. And everyone is just kind of stuck in their rut, the way they've done things. And even if I've brought the concept up about infinite banking, they say this is a really good idea, but it usually stops there. So I figured if I give them a book, maybe they'll read through the book and absorb some stuff out of it. And a lot of them have read it. I just don't know if they've. It seems like it's a really big next step to start practicing the IBC.

Concept, when in fact, it's the ultimate in simplicity.

It really is. Once you know how it's common sense.

What would you Say, Corey, what would you say to other business owners who are so they've landed on this wealth without Bay Street? They're tuning in, they're researching, they're on their journey of learning. What advice would you impart on other business owners that are tuning into this episode?

Well, I think the first thing they have to do is draw up a annual plan, find out what your overall expenses are in a year and find how your any business owner is going to be in the same position as me where you work incredibly hard for your money and either what you've built up in equity in your business is going to be your retirement or taking your money or savings and have it work for you. So I would say obviously get a hold of one of you guys to talk to you, come up with a plan plan and start it as soon as possible. One of the I haven't brought this into the business part of it. In fact.

Me and Dan and yourself, Jason, have had a couple conversations about the next step with it. And I'm at the point where I'm ready to pull the trigger and implement the IBC on the business side of it. And one of the biggest benefits, if anyone that runs a business will understand is it's cash flow challenges that you have. And we, we do a lot of work for the government of Saskatchewan in the healthcare industry. And it's just the way it is. You don't get paid within 30 days. You get paid within 60, 90, 120 days. So you could be as busy as can be and have all your cash flow come to a halt because of payments or someone didn't, didn't sign off properly on it. Where what I want to start leveraging the IBC for is to have all of my, my manufacturers paid at my own terms through the IBC part of it. And then, and then that will eliminate that stressful part as far as paying my, my manufacturers for my equipment. And then when, when the money comes in from the health authority or cash flow comes in, then I can start paying off some of my creditors.

That also keeps the relationships going really strong and tight with those manufacturers so that you can also probably improve on those terms. And that's a relationship side of the business. And so you're going to be able to control that because it's already been demonstrated that you don't always get those payments on time or when anticipated. So what an incredible way for any business owner listening to understand how you can navigate those adjustable waters of money flows coming in and coming out because you have employees they still need to be paid and they have no sense of humor about that at all if they don't get the paycheck. So you have the ability now, as you move forward to be able to control that throughout those adjustable cash flows, which is great. Love that. Thank you for sharing.

Yeah, no, for sure. And then putting any windfalls that you do get into a well constructed IBC fund is very smart. And then it's always there for future opportunities. And what I found on the personal side since I've been implementing the IBC is as soon as you start having a little bit of a windfall, it just seems like opportunities are just surfacing all the time.

And then your money just starts working more efficiently for you. So.

I have great expectations that over the next five to 10 years it's just going to get better and better and better.

It's gotten better today, it has been better than it was yesterday and it'll be better tomorrow and the day after. And we tell business owners all the time, this process, the infinite banking concept, the process of becoming your own banker gives you cash flow confidence.

That's music to a business owner's ears. Cash flow confidence. Where is that? How do I book a ticket to go there? And this process enables the business owner to achieve cash flow confidence. There's no better feeling in the world than when you have that in your company.

Yeah, yeah. And what I've done historically, up until I started implementing the ibc, is I've been taught to put away as much money as I can can and RRSPs. And you know, that's fine and dandy until you start looking at your succession planning and when you're going to retire. And that's dictated by how your RSPS are doing.

Right.

And if, and if they're not doing good, well, then you got to work. Well, I can't work till I'm 90 years old, if that's the, if that's the case. So the insurance company that Dan has set me up with, they're really good. On my first anniversary, they actually did projections on what my expectations with how it's going to be and with that, just, just by that alone and doing it for one year, within 20 years, which is my time expectancy of being in business, yet I would say that the IBC is going to perform three times better than what my RSPS would have. And the best thing about it is everything is tax free. Wow. I don't know what the RSP rules are going to be after this pandemic is done. And I guarantee they're not going to be benefiting the RSP contributor.

Well, you heard it there straight from Corey and it's so interesting to hear your perspective up to this point in your journey. You've clearly done a lot of reading and you've clearly done a lot of research. You've had a lot of interaction with Dan and you said something earlier about when you have windfalls or what we call readily accessible capital opportunities track you down. And it's just every client that we bring on at some point in the conversation brings that up. And Nelson, God rest his soul, he shared that with us all the time. And it is so true, so true. Right Dan?

It is, yeah. That's one thing I remember him saying multiple times and it's just great to hear Corey say that. And Zora recognized that that's one of the great attributes of becoming your own banker is that you will find that there's more opportunities that come your way based on the capitalization that he's doing within that system, which is his banking system, which is private and he controls it and it's going to serve him well.

On that note, Corey, I think it'd be really helpful. Let's assume someone's tuning in for the very first time. They've never heard about IBC or they're just beginning their exploration of that and they're not familiar with what a windfall is. Exactly. Maybe describe an example of one you know that, that you've discovered in the past or that you're anticipating maybe in the future and then you identified that you've almost started to see these opportunities arise. So could you give us maybe just a quick example of something like that that's ex. That you've experienced?

Yeah, so. So a win, a windfall for me through my company is we were fortunate enough that a year ago we were awarded a very large RFP for our province for the product that we, we represent, me and three other vendors. And with that there's depending on how our economy does but they're going to be spending X amount of dollars with our firm over the next three to four to potentially 10 years. So that gives me the ability to predict cash flow so that I know how much they're going to be spending, how many. It helps me, it helps me adjust my expenses very confidently. So with that us being awarded this big contract, we're able to take extra money that we weren't expecting before and then put it into ibc, a well constructed one which we're working on right now. Which is going to help us when I need extra cash instead of going through the banking. If I want to expand my business, I want to put another building up. And we've really outgrown our business here in the little village of Walmart. So now that once the pandemic's done, that is something that if I decide I want to expand or put an addition on, we can leverage that extra capital that we've built up in there and benefit from it being in the ibc.

So good.

And I understand, Corey, so, and I, you have to forgive me, I didn't know this when we had met previously, yourself, Dan and I, your family has a tree farm and it helps subsidize the kids extracurricular activities and.

Yeah, actually, so, so when, when I read Nelson Nash's book and he started talking about trees and tree farming, I related to him directly because in our province we have. It's a type of hybrid poplar tree. It's called an okinaes poplar. And it was actually designed in a little village called Indian Head, which is right beside. Beside us. So we started planting these trees and then taking little clippings from the trees and then replanting those. And sooner or later, within about two years, we've got a couple hundred trees. And then those hundred trees went into a thousand trees. And now my son takes the clippings on my daughters, the clippings from those trees and sell them throughout their communities. So they average about 2500 to about 4000 trees per year. So they're helping reestablish some, I guess, some green communities. And, and they sell out every single year. Wow. They sell out every year.

That's a great.

So, yeah, it's really good. And then it teaches patients too. So growing trees is just like your, your money, your money growing. And, and that's exactly how I look at it. So throughout the year I get to rotor tail and pick the weeds on these trees and they get to reap all the benefits from them. But it gives me good exercise and I love doing it.

That is so good. And you know, the, just the education that the kids are getting from that experience is going to be with them for the rest of their lives.

Yeah. Yeah. So. So my, my son, who wanted to be an architect, now he's really, really interested in becoming a financial advisor or stockbroker or, or something. And, and, and I think I kind of spoiled him because he can make a lot of money.

By trimming trees. And if he, and if he goes and works.

Just as A labor. It takes a lot of time to do that. And in fact he, he actually worked for a cementing company in our town and they, they gave him the ability of jackhammering in mid July.

So he worked for two weeks and he, he basically said, yeah, this, this isn't for me.

I don't like before or after the heat stroke that was, that was after.

He would, he would get, he would start at 6 in the morning and at 6 o' clock when he was done, he was just done. He went to bed. He was just exhausted.

Yeah, yeah.

So it teaches him that he's got to work hard for his money, but his money has to work for him also.

That's a really, really good point. And, and you know, so true. Especially. Again, taking us back to what Nelson used to say to us. He used to say that you should be in two businesses.

What were they? Rich? The business in which you earn your revenue and the business of banking. Of the two, the business of banking is more important.

Yeah.

Yeah. Now for anyone watching us on YouTube, anyone watching us on YouTube, for those listening on audio, won't be able to see this, but what's really amazing and I'm very excited to see is that Corey even has a copy of Nelson's book up on his wall in the background, which I think is pretty phenomenal. So I'm guessing, you know, I'm not sure if that's a boardroom or if you have people come into the office, but I would imagine every once in a while that must come up as a topic of conversation when people show up to, to come and see you.

Yeah, yeah, it does. It does it. I, I actually have four, four copies of the, the book. One's One's here in my office, one's in the, the console of my truck, one's in my laptop, my laptop case, and the other one is just in my rec. That just every once in a while you'll, you'll. And that book, although I've read it several times, the more you read through it, the more you'll actually ingest some of the topics that he's talking about.

Yeah.

You'll always see something that you didn't see the last time that you read it. And the same. Corey, the same thing happens with us.

Oh yeah.

Every single time we read the book we see something that we didn't see. Right, Dan?

Oh, I totally agree. And I, there's times where I've gone back to a portion of Nelson's book and I go, how come I haven't been here more often. That's what I asked myself, because it's just like, okay, now I understand that a little better than I did before. And I think that's a key piece that I always try to encourage people to do is just go back to that book and then if you think you understand it, read it again to make sure you understand it, because it's. There's so many I'd really. And again, that's one thing I miss now and is not being able to ask him some questions specifically about why did you put it this way? I knew there has to be a reason why he wrote it the way he wrote it, but it was a gift that he had. And how he put that book together never ceases to amaze me. So I appreciate the fact that Corey's got four of them on the go. That's exceptional. I don't know about the rest of you. I've got one that I just carry with me. But that's an exceptional way to. To manage that book and appreciate that when I hear it.

This is the Never know when inspiration.

Will strike, right, Dan?

Yeah, exactly.

This is the original copy. And this. This book has. Has logged more air miles than most human beings. Like, I won't travel without.

Doesn't matter where. Where I'm going on planet Earth. This, this book comes with me because every single time I read it, that there's some new aha moment for me. And you would like this, Cory, because maybe one day you'll join us at the annual Infinite Banking Think Tank conference that happens each year, the week after Super Bowl. And when we all fly down on the airplane, the stewardesses in the airplane get shocked sometimes because somebody in our group at some point during the flight is going to go, oh, my God, this is great. And then start running up and down the aisle, showing you the page, highlighting where it is in the book. And the stewardesses are like, what are these people doing? And it's just those aha moments. And you're going to have so many more of them throughout your journey with this process. And so what excites you the most about the future of your journey with implementing the process of becoming your own banker and your family and soon to be your business. What excites you most about the future of that journey?

Well, I think the biggest thing is now I don't have the uncertainty of how it's going to perform. So I know once I've put that money in there and I'm contributing, I can just turn the page on that because I know it's going to get better and better. Where before, if there was a big catastrophic event that went on in the world indirectly I was going to be affected. And if I'm affected by that as a business owner, that could mean another year of me being in business.

I don't know. So it's just the peace of mind of knowing that once I work hard for it and I put it in there, it's done, it's over with and just let it do its magic for the next 15, 20 years.

And I really, I like to promote the infinite banking but it's been a real challenge for me. So I'm trying to put things into perspective and what I've been telling people is we live in Western Canada, we've got an entity called the Co ops. And what I try to explain to people is this is no different than how the federated co op works. You take all of the stuff that you use during your, your life in, in the year, like all your expenses, your food, your groceries, et cetera, and then at the end of the year they calculate it up and they send you an equity check. And that equity check is, is similar to the equity that you get out of using the IBC system. So the more money I can filter through the IBC bank, the better the reward is going to be at the end of the year and I just reinves and then every year it's going to grow and use the compounding effect and that's one thing and it takes a little bit to get that mindset but the more I look at it and the more I put in there, the more rewards I'm going to see. That's.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Really good, thank you. That certainty, I think that's a part that I really grasp there that you can get as a, as an individual or a business owner like the certainty of value, like it's there and you can, you can look forward and down, you know, you're going to have a really close idea what your value is going to be years from now through that system and it's just a great way. And I like the analogy of the old co op system and you know, it is just so powerful for us to see how when we all get together in something that's private, as we're all part of the same private company where we're pooling our money and those profits are going back to all of us, that's going to be beneficial in the long run. So appreciate you using that analogy, Corey.

Free Contract with Other Free People.

Now you read a ton of books, Corey. You've been on this journey. Now you've mentioned a number of them are on ibc. It sounds like you're reading a book a month pretty much.

What's another book around the subject that has resonated really well with you that you think that, you know, someone's listening in. A reader might also want to consider on top of Nelson's book as a primary source material. What else would be a beneficial one.

So the one that I that had the most impact to me was by Caleb Gwillim, I believe. Is that his name? It's about the efficiency of money. I forget what the title was called. I can see it. But I just. Anyways, it was really, really good and it was just common sense approach that whether you're practicing IBC or not, it just made perfect sense about having your money. And it increased my financial literacy just by reading it and making me more aware of decisions I was making. And if you make a good decision now, you can be paid dividends for but if you make a poor decision, it could cost you also. So that was a really good beneficial one. I've read the Case for the IBC or the one about business owners and it made perfect sense. I got it right away. And the next thing is just to start acting on it. Like we can sit here and talk about it all day long for months and months and people just have to take that next step and get into it and start practicing it. I don't think it really matters when you start. Obviously the sooner the better. And I wish I would have started 20 years ago when I started my business, but I never. I can still make a really good case for it now in the way that Dan engineered my policy makes perfect sense and it's going to meet and exceed anything that I would have done historically the way I was thinking.

I love it. And the book that you're describing from Caleb is titled the End Asset.

Yeah, that's it.

The end asset for Canadians. The first stockpile of inventory has already arrived and so we're going to wow you a little bit, Corey, and we're going to make sure that you get a copy hot off the presses courtesy of the Wealth Without Bay street team. And we just wanted to share it with you and.

It is really a great read. And of course we agree with your recommendation that just taking action, getting started. And we have to remember our Nelson Nash, the developer, the pioneer of this process didn't begin until his early 50s. And so I think that for most people, that's one of the questions that come up is that is it too early, is it too late, is it for as long as you're going to need the use of money? This process applies to you. And the longer you wait, the more you penalize yourself, regardless of what your age is.

Right, Dan?

Exactly. Yeah. Because as Jason would know, I, I didn't start until I was 55, 56 almost. And I'm glad I started then. Sure. I think all of us have said, wish we'd have started 20 years ago or more. But, you know, it's working well for me and I know it's going to serve anyone that just like Corey put it so well at some point now I think about page 65 and becoming your own banker. When Nelson talking about what does it take to get started? It's, you know, you got to have the desire that's right to do it. And once you get that desire and just take that step, that's a key piece in starting that journey. Because I still, you know, I always get a kick out of that. It's how many times I watch people like Corey said, they, they, they go, okay, that's a great idea, but they just don't take that next step. They just can't make that commitment. And that's a, What I appreciate, appreciate about what Corey said is that's what it takes. It just takes the, the desire and the commitment to do it. And then you start, you got to get after it. You got to get after it.

It's almost like when the Canada geese are flying from Texas up to the north. There's the one person that's leading and every single one of them follow. And no matter what happens, they will follow and follow.

That's right.

Every once in a while, one will veer off and find a good feast.

Rich, take us home, my friend.

Well, Corey, we appreciate you so much for, for, for sharing your story, for imparting some wisdom on our list here about your journey, about what this process has meant for you, and for just, just being a steward of Nelson's message and being a voracious learner. We just appreciate that so much. And you know, you may not think of yourself as a hero I see here from the notes is that your idol is actually Terror Fox. So, but when you, when you think about all the things that you do do when you're sharing this message with others, someone gets started with the process, whether you know they've done it or not. You might be a hero to them for just imparting this wisdom to them, letting them know this even available to them. When you set systems for health facilities and you're. You're making sure that things are working so that lives are being saved by the virtue of the stuff that you're putting together, you really are that unsung hero for what you do with your business and your team. So when you think about that, we know that all heroes wear capes, but who would you like to be a hero to?

Oh, geez. You know, any business owner that's out there that has. That has cash flow challenges, that, that struggles. You know what? I'd love to have a conversation with them. If you have any business owners that are. That are talking about it, that want to talk to another business owner, I'd be honored to talk to them. I know we all face the same challenges. Every book I read, it's deja vu all over. Everyone runs into the same problem. So, no, if I can help one person or two people or three or 100, hey, it would be all good.

Wow.

Thank you.

So actually, Dan's my hero. He's the one who got me into this. Well, Dan.

Dan is an incredible, incredible teammate and consummate professional and a great part of our ascendant family. And Corey, sincerely, thank you. I mean, this is again, another sharp example of the type of clients that we attract because of the shared values and being aligned with, serving and being of service to other people. And so, Corey, thank you sincerely for being generous with your time and, and joining us here today and for all of our viewers on the YouTubes, what you'll see right up here is some additional video content that we would encourage you to continue watching, continue your journey of learning, and if you're on the podcast platforms, continue to stay tuned in. Subscribe to the Wealth Without Bay street podcast. We have great new content that gets released every week. We want to wish all of you who are tuning in, who are viewing just an outstanding rest of your day. And so, gentlemen, thank you. Thank you for such a great episode today. It was a lot of fun.

It was a lot of fun.

Thank you, guys.

All right, thanks for listening to the.

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