Backstory

Joel was a non-traditional student at the University of Nebraska. Were you to take a look at his college transcripts, you’d see some of the prerequisite courses he completed had titles like Wheels & Tires, Transmissions, etc. That’s because Joel’s career upon initially leaving college was as a motorcycle mechanic.

He soon realized, however, that he wanted to spend his time working directly with people, helping them to solve problems. His wife suggested he return to the University of Nebraska, which he did in his mid-20s. This in turn led to a chance encounter at a career fair with someone he knew who worked for Waddell & Reed and who encouraged him to join their internship program.

While reluctant at first (he envisioned the position as selling insurance to family members), Joel gave it a try. As he found his rhythm in what he discovered was an ever-changing work environment, Joel realized he’d found a career that would allow him to serve others while encouraging them to live lives of service as well.

Rhythm Financial Group

At Rhythm Financial Group, Joel and his team determined their company name after asking clients to define how the financial services had benefited their families.

“Working in this industry was exciting and interesting from the start,” says Joel, who adds that the most rewarding part of the job is when a client says, “‘I can actually do this because you helped me. It’s the direction that you’ve given me, the rhythm that you’ve put us in.’ Of course – that’s why we branded to our name Rhythm Financial Group.”

“There’s so much disconnect and fighting in the world right now – I’m even keel. The market tanks, and I’m like ‘we’re going to be ok’. Land a huge client, and I’m like ‘let’s just keep moving on’. My highs aren’t so high, my lows aren’t so low. I just try to remind people we’re all trying to do the same thing here. If I can create unity and flourishing in our community that’s what I’d like to do. I manage emotions more than I manage money.”

This rhythm Joel aims to help his clients find is similar in some ways to how he approaches staffing. “When I hire people, I say, ‘Here’s the thing, we’re going to spend a lot of time together, we gotta go to work, so I would like it to be as enjoyable as possible. I would love it if you really like going to work every day.’ So, I invite them into this family that we have. I don’t expect everyone to jump out of bed going ‘Yay, I get to go to work’ every day. But, I do want them to like the people, like the atmosphere”.

Joel has a personal goal to do something above and beyond for his employees every single week – whether it’s coffee, treats, lunch, or something else. His care for his employees is evident, and that care, in turn, results in clients getting close to his employees as well. Joel says, “It gets to the point where clients don’t even ask for me a lot of the time because we’ve built this community where they like to work with our employees. Each of us covers for each other as needed – I’m very open to covering the phones, greeting clients. We are truly a team that will pick up the slack for each other. I want to demonstrate to my employees that I am willing to do anything we need in order to continue this relationship as a group”.

Putting The Unity Back In Community
Joel goes above and beyond to improve the lives of those living in his community. He volunteers on multiple committees and boards including the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the TeamMates Mentoring program, as well as mentoring young business owners through peer advisory groups. Joel tries to help others getting started in business as well as in their faith journey. “It wasn’t that long ago I was in their shoes worried about what business I was doing tomorrow, trying to figure out how this business thing works”, he notes.

Joel also volunteers his time and donates to his local homeless shelter (People’s City Mission). Joel and others on his team recently showed up to sort shoes for their shoe drive, something the Mission just needed bodies for, but which Joel felt was important.

He also encourages his employees to take one paid day off per quarter to volunteer for a cause of their choosing (though he does ask that they volunteer somewhere they haven’t already been giving their time in order that they might provide further benefit to the community). He is a member of the Hickman Chamber of Commerce and volunteers his time at many events throughout his small rural community, including Hickman Hay Day in the summer, sponsoring families in need at Christmas, and Easter baskets for community kids in the spring. A Rhythm employee tells us he also helps elderly people move, and sometimes sponsors free coffee days at a local coffee shop.

As Joel sees it, “We have opportunity, not just as business owners, but as people in general who want to help our communities, neighbors, employees, friends. Sometimes this involves disadvantaging ourselves to advantage the community, losing time, money, whatever it is, in order to advantage others. That’s part of my personal mission: helping people recognize there is more than just themselves. I’m so thankful for the way God wired me. One of the reasons I love my job so much is the freedom and flexibility to do what I need to do when I need to do it. We truly just get excited looking for new ways to help the community. It probably sounds corny, but it is true. Where much is given, much is expected.”