Guidant Financial Group Blog

At Guidant, we pride ourselves on our connection with our community. Over the last several years our employees have participated in numerous local, national and international charity events. Never before, however, have three of them fallen on one weekend!


Recently, Guidant employees had the joy of participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a Miracle League baseball game and presentations by young social entrepreneurs with Youth Ventures.

Although three philanthropic events in one weekend may sound like a lot (and it is), for many Guidant employees it was one of the best weekends of the year.

“We started attending the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure after one of our employees, Susan Brunk, was diagnosed with breast cancer,” says Guidant CEO Jeremy Ames. “Four years later, she’s a survivor and an inspiration to us all. We continue to attend the walk each year in support of her and the millions of other courageous women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.”

In Seattle, more than 13,000 men, women and children participated in the Race for the Cure and, even though we have participated for several years, watching that many people walk for one cause is still breath-taking.

“This race and walking with my Guidant team is something I look forward to every year,” says Guidant employee and cancer survivor Susan Brunk. “It is awe-inspiring to see tens-of-thousands of people walking for the ‘cure’ and having so much fun. As a cancer survivor, participating in this race and walking in the Survivor Parade is one of the highlights of my life.”

Following the Race for the Cure, Guidant employees had the pleasure of playing baseball with several “Miracle Leaguers.”

“I feel great when I see these kids out there laughing and having fun,” says Guidant Consultant Troy Brockway, who introduced the company to Miracle League. “One of the most rewarding things about this program is how excited these kids get when everyone is cheering for them. A majority of the time these kids are the ones that are left in the stands watching siblings or friends be the players on the field, but on this day they get to be the ones playing and cheered for.”

If you, your attorney or your CPA have questions about the 401k Small Business Financing structure, please contact us via phone at 888.472.4455, or via the contact form on our website.

NextBigFranchise.com, recently conducted an interview with Guidant’s cofounder, David Nilssen.  NextBigFranchise.com, a unique franchise site, which connects potential franchisees with franchise opportunities via video (think “video dating service for franchises”!)—has named Guidant as its preferred financing advisor. So a video interview about Guidant’s services was the natural result.


In the interview, David talks about Guidant’s work as a full-service financing firm for those hoping to purchase a franchise or small business. Some of the topics he covers are:

• Unsecured Loans: An increasingly popular way for business buyers to borrow up to $100,000 for less than 10% annually without using their home or other assets as collateral

• Equipment Leasing Packages: Ideal for those not yet ready to invest in depreciating equipment

• Debt- and Equity-Based Financing Solutions: Including Guidant’s ever-popular tax- and penalty-free 401(k) funds investment into a business purchase or loan down payment

• SBA Loans: Guidant’s national network of lenders who help with SBA loans

It’s a short but informative interview, so take a minute or two to watch the video.....

We came across a good article the other day in NuWireInvestor.com: “What Small Businesses Can Learn From Big Companies.”

In the article by Mitch Free and reprinted from The Street (an investment news and analysis site), entrepreneurs are encouraged to “consider the lessons offered by the successes and mistakes of America's largest companies.”

The article goes on to suggest ways to improve your focus, market smartly and how to adopt a service mentality without offering too many products or services.

When Guidant started out, our co-founders studied the winning characteristics of successful companies—no matter how large or small. But they didn’t stop their studies there. They continued to learn from others . . . and from their own successes and their own mistakes. And, as a result, Guidant has survived the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression.

One of the keys to helping your own company (or your own life, for that matter), survive the hard times is to be a continual learner. The minute you think you know it all, you’ve only proven that you don’t!

Are executives of mega-corporations overpaid?

Before you answer, think about how hard they work and how much money their companies earn for their stockholders. Then think about how hard you work, the contributions you make to the profits of your employer and the salary you earn. (Oops. Did we just lose you there? Did you just go screaming from the room?)

Obviously, the instinctive, response to the question of whether these execs are overpaid is “Darn right they are!” While common sense seems to dictate that employers with the multimillion dollar salaries are overpaid, it’s hard to quantify it beyond a visceral “I-feel-sick-to-my-stomach” response.

Now a salary compensation expert with advanced statistical tools has done just that (quantified the overpayment, that is, not gotten sick to his stomach . . . although maybe he did both). Graef Crystal compared the 2009 pay of 271 chief executive officers against their shareholders’ returns.

Crystal’s answer to “Are CEOs overpaid?”—according to Bloomberg News, which requested the study—is: “No matter how he sliced the data, the answer was no.” You can read all about it, along with cool, interactive graphics, at: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/10/05/0506_overpaid_underpaid_ceos/index.htm)

We all, of course, suspected this, but it’s good now to have the proof.

So what can Guidant do to help you deal with this situation? Well, honestly, other than “feeling your pain,” there’s not much . . . other than one possible thing: If you happen to work for one of these CEOs with an obscenely bloated salary, then consider quitting and going into business for yourself.  Guidant's 401k small business financing plan can help.

We can help you make it happen. And, while we can’t promise you’ll earn a multimillion dollar salary, we can promise that, as your own boss, you’ll never feel again like an underpaid underling to an overpaid CEO.

According to The New York Times and other media outlets, April was the fourth consecutive month in which the country saw job growth. President Obama pronounced the data “very encouraging,” while others crossed their fingers and prayed that these figures would provide the momentum to spur even more employers to expand their workforce with confidence again.

Is it . . .could it be . . are we really looking at a positive trend? Call us crazy-eyed optimists, but we think so!

Back in October 2008, we watched in near disbelief as the economy melted down and our potential clients suddenly froze like deer in the headlights. And we did what a lot of other smart companies did: consolidated our resources, narrowed our focus and got rid of our leased espresso machine. (Something our employees are still moaning about. This is Seattle after all.)

And we not only survived, but now we’re thriving again thanks to some sound business acumen and the confidence the public is slowly regaining in the U.S. economy.

Already we’ve watched our number of 401k small business financing clients increase as potential small business owners regain their financial footing and their IRAs/401(k)s start to grow again. And as for our own workforce, we’re hiring new people to handle the increasing numbers of new clients.

All of this keeps us hopeful about Guidant’s future, our clients’ futures, and the future of the country as a whole. We’re not yet dancing in the streets, but we’re dusting off our moves in preparation for that day . . . which surely can’t be far away.

Guidant is featured in a video profile on Small Business Television (SBTV.com), the first television network on the Web devoted exclusively to the small business market. Content on the site is produced by professional journalists and savvy industry insiders who (obviously!) recognize that Guidant is a great resource for entrepreneurs and others buying or investing in a small business.

After you’ve watched the video, which you’ll find about 1 ½ minutes into it, take some time to check out the rest of the SBTV.com site. It’s packed with valuable information, and the site boasts some top small business partner organizations, like the SBA, International Franchise Association, National Women’s Business Council, The Entrepreneurs’ Organization, National Association of Manufacturers, and even the IRS!