Good morning. Below is the business newsletter I sent to my subscribers. These newsletters were a monthly check-in from my consulting company, True North Disability Planning. Some of you may have already received this, I apologize for the duplicate sending. Over the years many have come to rely on my Roadmaps, and I’ve talked about them quite a bit here. As of 30 March 2024, they will be going away. Not forever, but I don’t have a set time of when they’ll be coming back. So if it’s something you think would be useful I would like to encourage you to get yours now. The same is true for my Free Tools.
I'm sending this newsletter early, because come 1 April 2024 True North Disability Planning will have gone away. It's been quite the journey. It started almost 8 years ago as a "hobby", something I felt I needed to do to fill the gap left in Financial Planning. Special Needs Navigator was born from the frustration of a dad who felt there had to be a better way. In my opinion, it's ridiculous to have professionals ask families "What do you need" without providing context and choices. How are we supposed to know? We "need" sleep, a break, and the knowledge that our children are going to be ok when we're gone.
That side business has branched into a YouTube channel, Waypoints, ABCs of Disability Planning podcast, and True North Disability Planning. I had no idea how large it was going to get, with me becoming an internationally recognized expert and having calls with people in South America and the Middle East. Candidly it's surreal. After all, it was "only" about (12) years ago that I retired from the Navy as a Chief Interior Communications Electrician. Fast forward to today and I have the incredible fortune to be merging with an amazing company, Visible National Trust.
It's a bit disconcerting, to "give up" total control and become an employee again. On the other hand, it's also quite freeing. I didn't enjoy some aspects of being a business owner, in particular marketing and selling. I'm much happier working away in the background. This merger will allow me to do just that. I can already see it expanding my impact within the Disability community.
Way back in 2016, the CDC found that 1 in 4 people had a disability, and I don't think things have gotten any better. There will never be enough Financial Planners who focus on "Special Needs Planning" to serve everyone, those firms without specialists on staff need support too. Visible is positioned perfectly as a Trust company to serve as their back office AND provide a vehicle for families to fund their children's future needs into perpetuity.
We're also well-suited to allow family member Trustees to hand over the reins and get their lives back, shifting back into their roles as siblings and loved ones. Keeping up with legislative changes and making sure distributions don't threaten public benefits can be a full-time job. And does anyone really want to be the person to tell a family member or dear friend "no"?! As I meet with these families we'll review my Roadmaps and ensure the beneficiaries have at least applied to receive all the benefits they may be eligible for. Sadly no one can guarantee a benefit will be received, even if funded, given the country's significant lack of qualified staffing.
It's a lot of work, merging two different organizations into a new whole. There are still some details being ironed out, like what my consulting services will look like post-merger and when the Roadmaps will be available again. For now, the plan is to have me focus my energy on assisting Visible's clients and the Advisors serving them. My Roadmaps aren't going anywhere. I'm retaining the IP, although I appreciate all the interest from others about taking them over.
Right now the plan is to keep Waypoints and the ABCs of Disability Planning podcast separate from Visible. I will continue to publish my Waypoints articles weekly. I'm taking a hiatus from the podcast. I haven't concluded what I want to do over the long term related to podcasting - it's a lot of work.
I appreciate all of you who have supported me over the years. I hope you'll continue to stay in touch and connect when you need help. This feels like a significant milestone to me, a huge step in the right direction for my career and Disability Planning as a category.
If you're interested in keeping in touch, my new email is ejorgensen@capitalmotionllc.com. Thank you again for your support!
The photo is from my 2005 deployment aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, CVN-71.
Wow! Congratulations, Eric! You're amazing and inspirational. We'll miss your thoughts here! lmckenna11@gmail.com.