Gary Scheer is a professional financial advisor in Morristown, New Jersey. He is known for his profound knowledge, business acumen, and diverse experience gained over more than three decades. Besides being a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and Registered Financial Consultant (RFC), he is also a nationally acclaimed Author, Speaker, and Financial Educator.
Gary is the CEO of Gary Scheer, LLC and a managing director of RedwoodTaxSpecialists1040, where he works with a phenomenal team of tax planning experts, financial planners, accountants, and bookkeepers. This warm and passionate communicator enjoys sharing his financial wisdom and insights through his presentations to CPA groups, his Public Seminar Series—Understanding Different Retirement Strategies, and his popular podcast, Your Money, Your Retirement with Gary Scheer.
He has also appeared on NBC, CBS, ABC, Pix 11 News, News 12 N.J., Fortune, Forbes, and U.S. News & World Report.
What is Gary Scheer, LLC all about?
Gary Scheer, LLC is a boutique financial advisory firm in Morristown, New Jersey which serves individuals and families throughout the United States. We specialize in creating tax strategies designed to protect the wealth of our clients with an emphasis on estate protection, family limited partnerships (FLPs), charitable gifting, life insurance strategies, tax reduction strategies for businesses and individuals, discretionary family trusts (DAPTs) that allow for greater asset protection while also achieving significant income tax savings – all using advanced legal and financial concepts.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I graduated from Purdue University, and early on I went to work for various financial firms. I worked at an insurance company and then at a boutique financial advice firm. Both played great roles in my learning process, but it was working at a financial advice firm that really got me interested in starting my own business. So I next started a venture called Financial Management Group, which I managed with a business partner and friend for over fifteen years. We each moved on to new pursuits and that is when I launched my own firm, Gary Scheer, LLC. By that time, I had gained all the skills I needed to run my own business and know that I was going to be able to deliver consistent and excellent results for my clients.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
I would say the top three skills you need to be a successful entrepreneur are: focus, discipline, and consistency.
- Focus is key because you must determine what your business will do that no other does or can do better than you. Then you must focus all of your efforts on becoming the best at this one thing and making sure that clients and others know it too.
- Discipline and consistency play a big role in every successful business. To be just disciplined enough to keep going but not so much so that it prevents flexibility, innovation and creativity will allow you to pursue new opportunities while also staying focused on the things having the biggest impact on your business. Consistency means embracing change, even when it might upset some people because positive change builds on itself and has a snowball effect.
- To be successful you must build your business around one or two key areas that you will embrace, then give these things your full focus, energy, and discipline to see them through.
What are your plans for the future, and how do you plan to grow this company?
My plans for the future include continuing to build and grow Gary Scheer, LLC. This means staying focused on providing consistent and excellent results for my clients – whether it is advising them on how to save more of their income or helping them protect more of what they have worked so hard to create.
I am also very interested in building a team here at Gary Scheer, LLC that can help our existing clients as well as bring new ones into the fold. And finally, we want to become even better mentors and advisors who can provide real-time financial management skills to those who need it most with a special emphasis on millennials.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
Gary Scheer, LLC is a boutique financial advisory firm that specializes in creating tax strategies that protect the wealth of its clients. We focus our efforts on developing advanced legal and financial concepts to achieve significant income tax savings while also reducing estate taxes.
Our clients have full trust that Gary Scheer, LLC will always put their best interests first and find solutions that work for their unique situations. And finally, we are all about building relationships but not at the cost of client confidentiality.
Our clients are confident knowing every detail of their financial situation is held in strict confidence between us – whether it be options to reduce or eliminate tax liabilities or to simply discover where they might be leaving money on the table with no tax consequences.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
The top three mistakes I made starting my business were:
- Not having enough working capital to take on anything outside of paying myself until revenues could support it.
- Not building a team early enough so that I had compliant legal documents in place.
- And hiring contractors without doing the proper due diligence.
The key learning points from these mistakes are to have someone who has your back throughout the entire process, even before you bring them on board as part of your team. Once you have the right people around you, trust but verify with regular check-ins that they will put your best interests first just as you do for them by creating an open line of communication where everyone can be heard.
Tell us a little bit about your marketing process, what has been the most successful form of marketing for you?
Our marketing efforts are multi-faceted. Some of the most effective approaches we use are: press releases, social media (primarily LinkedIn), as well as my podcast—Your Money, Your Retirement with Gary Scheer.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge I have faced is time management. It is a struggle for me personally to not be involved in every project that comes across my desk but timing and availability have been an issue on many occasions.
I have overcome this by getting better at saying no more often – it goes against my personal nature but letting go of some things has allowed me to focus on those tasks that provide the most value. As a result, we have been able to serve our existing client base even better as well as build new relationships with both our present and future clients.
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
I am learning how to delegate more effectively and letting go of some things to allow me to focus on those tasks that provide the most value. I have to keep reminding myself that we need to leave money on the table by not doing it all ourselves so we can serve our existing client base even better as well as build new relationships with both our present and future clients.
What’s a productivity tip you swear by?
The productivity tip I swear by is to create a daily task list each morning of what needs to be done. Prioritize based on time, urgency and importance then execute one item at a time in order of that list throughout your day.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
I would start by validating the business idea to see if there is a market need for it. I would use one thousand dollars for collateral to get an LLC started, which costs less than $300. If possible, I would look at leasing office space instead of renting because you will get more bang for your buck with no long-term commitment.
The rest of the money could be used for startup expenses including all necessary forms and fees that are required to operate your business throughout the first year or two, depending on what type of company you’re starting.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
The thing that helps me stay motivated and driven in my business is knowing that I am helping people reach financial freedom by managing their money, which is a personal passion of mine. The financial independence community has been growing tremendously over the last several years where once upon a time it was an extremely small niche market.
What is your favorite quote?
“I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.”
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
I would tell any new entrepreneur to not give up. Entrepreneurs are wired differently than most people because they are extremely driven, ambitious, and persistent—believe me, I know! You will have many ups and downs throughout the journey but if you stay focused on fulfilling your mission, you will eventually succeed.
Who should we interview next and why?
I think you should interview Scott Alan Turner. He is an inspirational speaker, author, and TV personality who after taking on over half a million dollars in debt, was able to become completely financially independent after four years.
What is your definition of success?
My definition of success is to be able to do what you love every day while helping other people accomplish their dreams.
How can readers get in touch with you?
The best way to contact me is through my website.
Founder Interview: Manuel Suarez -Overcoming Fear & Definition of Success
