Leadership in Action

On this episode of Leadership in Action, we are joined by a financial mastermind and member of almost 10 years. He has 25 years of experience as an investment fiduciary and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Bloomberg, and more. Starring on the show this week is Partner, Chief Investment Officer at Antaeus Wealth Advisors, LLC, Evan Welch. Mark and Evan take this opportunity to discuss what it means to be an effective leader, some of the challenges of being a wealth advisor, and how to get started coaching youth hockey. 

Takeaways:

• A common misconception about entrepreneurs is that they are selfish. A good leader puts their team and employees first. 
• Making your employees feel appreciated is a key component of retaining your employees. Sustainable employee practices establish long term employee retention. 
• How you treat your employees affects how customers enjoy the experience at your business. Your customers can often subconsciously pick up on if your employees are enjoying their job, and that association will affect your customers enjoyment. 
• Many investment professionals have moved into the RIA space. RIA’s don’t work on commission, and are held to a legal liability. The combination of those factors make your clients feel more comfortable. 
• Technical skills are not enough to run a business alone. Joining a network like EO can help teach you business skills to augment your current knowledge. 
• A good leader needs to help their employees understand the why behind the business. Knowing the why will motivate your employees, and provide them with a better sense of direction. 

Links: 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanpwelch1/ 
• Website: http://www.antaeuswealth.com/ 

Quote of the Show

• “An entrepreneur can not do a good job if they don't have a good team behind them because you can't build a business all by yourself.” - Evan Welch

Ways to Tune In:

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• YouTube - https://youtu.be/MUtQY_l1aL4 

Transcript:

Mark Stiles: Hey folks. Welcome back to Leadership In Action, your Boston chapter of EOS podcast. Today's guest, a financial mastermind. He has 25 years experience as an investment fiduciary. He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal Investors Business Daily and Bloomberg, just to name a. Partner, chief Investment Officer at NTAs Wealth Advisors L L C.

Please meet Evan Welch. 

Evan Welch: Hi everybody. How you Ben? I'm great. I'm great. Well, I'm excited for 2023. 

Mark Stiles: Awesome. You ready for the question? I'm ready. What is a common misconception about leadership running a business and or being an entrepreneur? Go 

Evan Welch: so. I think a common misconception about leadership and business owners and entrepreneurs is that they are selfish.

Um, particularly among those who are not business owners or entrepreneurs. Um, I think that, you know, a good leader puts their team first, puts their employees first, and those are the firms that that really thrive because frankly, a good leader and a good business owner and an entrepreneur, Do a good job if they don't have a, a, a good team behind them because you can't build a business all by yourself.

It's pretty hard. And, you know, I think a good leader is curious and they help their employees understand the why behind the business. I know we've all heard about that with Apple and some other companies, not just, you know, here's what we do, but, you know, why do we do this? Like, what's the, what's the North Star?

Uh, and, and I think frankly, you know, the. The media is easy to beat up, but when you look at the larger companies out there, maybe you know, entrepreneur 2.0, you know, a lot of CEOs, right, are, are put in, are seen in the media as selfish, you know, stock options, their stock, their compensation as opposed to the company.

And you know, obviously a hundred thousand employee companies. A little bit different than most entrepreneurial businesses, but I think that that is a common misconception. Um, a lot of rank and file. Um, Feel or or believe, and I think it's, it's often incorrect. 

Mark Stiles: Often incorrect, but it is correct in a lot of situations still here in the 2023.

Evan Welch: Yes. I mean, but I think there are, I think there are selfish people of all jobs. Right? Right. And, and there are certainly, you know, most entrepreneurs. Pretty motivated people or else they wouldn't take the risk. Um, they're, you know, they're going to be pretty self-motivated typically, and, and maybe a little bit self-focused.

Um, but the entrepreneurs that I've met through many, many years who are successful, are in amazing people. And, and, you know, yes, they're leaders and go get it. And, you know, they, they're, they're self-starters, if you will, but they're not selfish. 

Mark Stiles: It, it's a really interesting conversation cuz it gets so deep.

Right? So, you know, we can go down the path of culture and the evolution of business and where people were in the 1980s and nineties. Where, where, what, what was the motivation? You know, what was the perception? What were you striving for as a business owner, right? Like there was a certain perception that you had to carry with.

the suit, the really expensive suit and shoes and expensive watch and you know, that perception was part of the job. It's, it's interesting when you see that gap kind of closing in a little bit too, right? Between ownership and contributors. Somebody on this podcast actually referred to as contributors and I was, I loved it.

You know, cuz I al I always hate that, you know, when someone's like, oh, he is my boss, or I work for, it's like, no, no, no. , we're in this together. You, we work with right. We work together for a common purpose and goal. But, um, but it wasn't that long ago that that was something that was almost being taught.

Right. 

Evan Welch: Absolutely. Um, and, and, and I think, you know, part of that is probably the pandemic. You know, that's part of it. And, and as you mentioned, I mean, things seem to be. Slightly less formal, I guess. Um, and you know, I think, I think with what's happened also in the last couple years with the pandemic, I think a lot of business owners have realized how key their employees are.

Mm-hmm. not just having them on, you know, as a part of the team and, and, and participating and engaged, but, but actually having them. , right? When, when, obviously a lot of businesses are run predominantly virtual and online. Um, but I also think it's, it's, it's rec, it's helped people understand how important those interactions are with their team and how much their team really brings to the table.

Um, and of course then we have the, you know, the, the more. I guess global, national changes that we've seen with, you know, labor getting more involved and more active and, um, all of that as well. And, you know, I I, one of the things I heard that was great when we were, you know, I was talking, this was, this is totally from a financial background, I think I was talking to some of one of the big investment houses or BIT or banks and they said, well, COVID was a, was a turning point where the minimum wage worker who was doing 70 hours a week at Applebee's or.

you know, job like that said, I'm not doing this anymore. It's just not worth 

Mark Stiles: it. It's not worth it and I'm not being appreciated enough. I went into a coffee shop, um, right around the holidays and, you know, everybody's in that spirit of giving and, and, and this, this coffee shop, for some reason you had to actually tell them you were gonna tip them before you ordered so they, the system wasn't updated.

I'm like, can you please get your ownership to update this so that we can. Appreciate what you're doing. I walked in there on December 23rd and there was a sign on there that said, we are open December 24th, 6:00 AM to two, December 25th, 6:00 AM to two, December 31st, 6:00 AM to two, January 1st, 6:00 AM and they were proud of that.

But then I see how they're treating their people and it's like this is not a long-term sustainable business model At. . 

Evan Welch: Yeah. I mean, I, I, yeah, I, we, you know, we certainly, uh, we were not working on Christmas , no. Uh, Christmas Day and, and, uh, yeah, I mean, I, I, at this point, I mean, I'm so used to just tipping. It seems like, as you mentioned, it seems bizarre when there's not a, you know, an opt out to tip as opposed to an opt-in.

Mark Stiles: But it's amazing to see a business these days. And you mentioned Covid, right? Coming out of Covid. How important. Humans simply showing up, you know, for a job, how they could continue to, to treat them that way. And it's, you know, it's refreshing to know that, you know, those are actually the outliers now, the anomalies, you see that and you're like, whoa.

I actually took a picture of the sign. I didn't know why I was taking a picture of it, but I, I took a picture of it because it was, it, it hit me so hard that it's like pe you're making people come in, but yet everybody. Who wants a cup of coffee on those days could actually make it at home. They could sit back and say, I don't need to go to that coffee shop and make certain that somebody is away from their family making me a cup of coffee.

You know? But the owner, it's very shortsighted and, and it's like, I'm gonna be the one that's open. Well, there's other factors involved here. There's collateral damage when you, when you market that. Right? 

Evan Welch: Absolutely.

Yeah, I think we, we go to coffee houses for the experience. That's a big part of it. Yeah. And if the employees there are not happy. You're gonna feel that, and I dunno about you, but I've been to many coffee houses and it, it could be some of the national chains or it could be a local place and you can tell when the employees are enjoying your job.

Right. And it just feels, it just feels more comfortable. Like when, when I do business travel and I go to a coffee shop and I find a place that's got that kind of energy, you know, it, it, I don't know, it just, it just even makes me more productive when I'm sitting in there. Isn't amazing what 

Mark Stiles: you're talking about.

It's contagious. It's a contagion. Right. So it's like, but I don't want to go back there if I don't feel good about it. Right. So it's, it's very shortsighted. Tell me what anthes means. Anus wealth advisors. 

Evan Welch: So, Anthes uh, is, is the name of a mythological Greek giant. And what happened was a bunch of us formed this firm and at the end of 2010, and we, we were coming, we were all coming from large publicly traded organizations where most of us cut our teeth and we wanted to start, 

our own business, right? And, and doing it the right way and building it from the ground up as opposed to trying to fit into some large company's model. Um, and ultimately the way we came with NTAs is a large part of what we do is, is financial planning. And what I mean by that is we help people. Kind of stay focused and grounded and nudges them in the right direction because there's so much out there, whether it's, you know, the markets or taxes or stuff happening in the news, um, things happen in their lives, you know, people getting sick or divorced or whatever may be happening.

And so the way the, the, the myth about Anthes was, the way he kept his strength was by staying grounded. So if you actually, if he actually was removed from the earth, he got weak quickly. And so our, the analogy for us is that if we can keep our clients ground, and focused on what they can control, then the rest of it will work out, you know, regardless of what happens in the markets and so forth.

And they will get to where they're trying to go and they will not run outta money, hopefully. And they will, you know, reach financial independence, which I think is the goal for most people. And, uh, the, the irony of it though, is if you read about Anthes. He actually wasn't a very good or nice person. Uh, or nice God if you re if you read about it.

Um, but we still think the analogy really is sound and, and it's a lot of, of what we do. 

Mark Stiles: What's the difference between an R I A and A C F P or some other financial advisor? 

Evan Welch: So an r a a a registered investment advisor is registered with either the, uh, security exchange commission on a national level or, um, with the state and registered investment advisors.

They're, they are fee only, so they cannot charge commissions and so forth. They have a fiduciary standard, which a lot of people hear, which in plain. For you as an attorney and for doctors and other people in those, in those advisory roles is you have to put the needs in interest of your client or your patient first at all times.

Um, and of course confidentiality and all that, but that, but that, that, that's regardless. So that's what a registered investment advisor is. Um, a certified financial planner or c f cfp, that's a, what we call a designation. So that's not actually a license to practice. Investing or planning, but it's someone who goes to typically an 18 month program and learns a lot about the basics of financial planning.

So think tax estate planning, insurance, investment management, cash flow, retirement planning, all that kind of stuff, and how to. , um, build, you know, from, from a, from a client comes to you and how to take all their information, synthesize it, you know, into an analysis based on their goals, and provide them with objective, unbiased advice on what steps to take to, to achieve their goals.

And so that's what, you know, the C F P is definitely one of the. Probably most respected designations in our quote unquote industry because it's so focused on putting the client in the middle, in the center of the center of the engagement. And, uh, and it's, it's based on these, these principles and also CFPs like a lot of, you know, like being an attorney.

you know, you need to have a clean record because if you don't, they're gonna pull it from you. Right? So there's a lot of reason. It doesn't mean that there aren't good advisors who aren't CFPs. I mean that that's not true at all. But if someone has a cfp, it's usually a good sign. 

Mark Stiles: So it's almost like a degree where an R I A is a license.

Evan Welch: Yeah. And r and r AA is actually the, is actually the a a, a company that's, that's, that's registered. And so what Aass have it, if you wanna get real technical Yeah. Are irs, which are investment advisor representatives. So those are the individuals you interact with who work at an r a, they're the ones giving you the advice under that.

that umbrella. And this goes into securities laws in the 1930s, and it gets a little, we could, we could dive very deep and um, I'm sure, I'm sure well, I of course, I curious. 

Mark Stiles: I'm, I'm curious, so of course, I assume the listener is curious, but what I'm always curious about is when you, you talked to an r a and we're bound to act in the best interest of our client, and you sit back and you're like, isn't everybody, aren't all advisors, but.

Evan Welch: No, I mean, there's, you know, I mean, I, I look, I, I believe it's difficult to regulate ethics. I mean, I think, I think just like your friends and people you do business with, you know, you do business, you're gonna, some people are gonna do the right thing and others will not. When, if, if it's in their best interest and if, if, if they can get away with it.

That all being said, an r a a, um, there was actually legal liability. Um, and, and so it's, you see a lot less. of that. Um, that being said, I mean, remember Bernie Madoff and that wasn't r i a, he wasn't being regulated very well, so, so one could say he was the regulators, but he wasn't r aa. 

Mark Stiles: It makes a lot of sense, right? I mean, it, it makes total sense. And it's funny you bring up Bernie Madoff. I, um, recently. Watched that limited mini-series that came out on Netflix. Anyone listening, highly encourage it.

Really well done, really well explained, really, um, a really interesting look at human nature, right? They saw him as a god-like figure, like they're not gonna look at that guy. Margolis from Boston, I think. Yes. Who kept whistle blowing, kept sending in, this is not right, this isn't right. It can't be right.

And they're like, not Bernie. Bernie started the Nasdaq, not, you know, so it's, it's really interesting that, that that monster, but they did a really good job with it. So I, I definitely would encourage checking it out, but, um, I, I can't imagine again, you, you think it could never happen again, but I can't imagine that it could happen the way it happened 

Evan Welch: with, uh, I think it would be, I think it would be much harder today.

But look, there's been Ponzi schemes since Yeah, the guy Ponzi probably before. . Right. And it's not just in finance, it's in all sorts of industries. Um, and, you know, there are, there are bad actors and that, you know, that's why we need regulation. And unfortunately the, the, the lion share of those of us who are ethical and do it's right.

you know, we have to deal with a lot of regulation, right? Which I think is necessary to protect all of us. Um, and also to protect the financial system in itself. Um, but you know, just like, just like being a doctor and attorney, I just keep going back to those two cuz they're highly regulated. Um, it, it can be a little frustrating sometimes, um, dealing with all the regulation.

Cuz sometimes you're saying, well, we're already doing all this, you know, and why wouldn't we? But you know, it is what it. , 

Mark Stiles: right? Do no harm. Act ly best interest of your client, right? Mm-hmm. like that should be a, a stamp of every adult. , right? As you pass into adulthood, as childhood, right? Mm-hmm. , this is the staff that you receive.

But you're right, there's bad actors. They're everywhere. What motivates them? You know, I always say those people who are doing the, um, the hacking into the computers and the malware and, and the ransomware, it's like, ugh, they're so smart. It would be great if they actually did something for humanity, you know, instead of, uh, for their own self-interests.

Evan Welch: Yes, they are. Uh, they are definitely, uh, it's frustrating and, and look at all the security and all the dual authentica authentication we have to deal with and changing passwords and all that. And that's all. Because if there weren't any bad actors, bad hackers, we wouldn't have to do any of that. I know, 

Mark Stiles: I just heard, let this morning LifeLock got hacked.

Right. I mean, LifeLock, you know, they're gonna actually go after the big ones just to send a message. Right. So let me ask you about eo. How long have you been a member at E. 

Evan Welch: I've been, I've been in, you know, we were trying to figure this out the other day. Um, I, I, I think, um, I'd have to look it up to be exact, but, but it's, it's close to a decade now.

Yeah. Um, it might be, it might be eight years or nine years, but, but we're, it's, we're getting, it's getting up there. It's, you know, time is, time is flying. Oh, 

Mark Stiles: yeah. So fast. So how has it helped you? 

Evan Welch: Oh, it's, it's been amazing. I mean, I'm, I'm a big cheerleader for eo. I mean, I think it's one of the best decisions I ever made.

Actually, one of my business partners, he was a member before I was, and, and, and. Kind of recommended it to me. And back then the reason why was, you know, I'm, I, I, I'm so technical. I historically been so technical in my job. I love to manage, manage money, build portfolios. I love financial planning, but I wasn't very good at running a business.

Um, and you know, I was one of those kind of. entrepreneurs who had trouble delegating and so forth. And it really helped me start to look at how to be a better, you know, business owner and leader as we were. We started the podcast talking about, and, but, but what has actually happened is, you know, one of my favorite experiences that it went to Global University, that was in New York, and I'll never forget, there were, think about 1100 entrepreneurs there.

over 800 of them were not Americans. And just getting exposed to these business, you know, leaders from all over the world and countries that these days, with all the stuff going on in the world and Covid and wars probably can't even interact with these people right now and their perspectives. And it just made me realize how many blind spots I have just from growing up in America.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. I mean, I'm very grateful to be in America. But it made me recognize, um, how much that has impacted me. So some of these global universities have been great. The speakers are amazing. Um, I've been to EO Nerve, which I think is fantastic. Uh, I'm probably gonna go this year as well.

That's been very helpful. I've gone to chapter events over the years. The last few years it's been more difficult because, as we talked about earlier, I've got three daughters who are very active in sports, and now that they're older, , you know, it's not in the town, it's all over the place. So, um, it's been a little harder for me to engage in some of those, but I do plan to go to more as they get older.

Um, and lastly of course, um, you know, the forum itself and the skills that I've developed and the trust and the friendship, and I'm just a happier person because, you know, once a month I'm basically, and we, we interact a lot more than that, but once a month we're formally putting our personal 5% out there and our professional 5%.

And, you know, I'm managing through life and, and I just, it's therapeutic to me, you know? Yeah. I, I honestly think it's one of the best things they ever did, and, and I did, by the way, have to cut out a couple things to make EO because of course. , you know, for a forum to work well, it's gotta be a, you know, other than your family, like one of the biggest priorities, like, you don't miss forum and, you know, we have an amazing forum.

So yeah, I'm a, I'm a big cheerleader and I know part of that is just, I have a great forum, but that's because we've worked hard at it and people are committed. 

Mark Stiles: You know, I, I agree with you. And it's, it's that, um, you know, as a business owner, even if you have partners, um, you're kind of on an island. , you know, so you look around and you're like, who do I talk to about this?

Right? Who doesn't have a financial stake in this question that I have, right? Who doesn't have an emotional, uh, reaction to this question that I have. And, um, I found that in eo, both in the forum and as I get to know a lot of the, uh, local Boston members and, and like you said, nerv was great. So you're going to Tampa.

Yeah, 

Evan Welch: that's the plan. I, I, I, I'm actually pushing to get our, our whole forum to go, uh, cause we do a, a retreat and then a mini retreat and, and we're hoping to, I'm hoping to get that com you know, one of those combined into that. Cuz I think we went to Charleston before Covid, I think it was 19. And, uh, it was, I thought it was phenomenal.

I was very impressed. And, um, some of the speakers and, and, and also of course just the Interac. and even with EO Boston, I mean, because like I mentioned, like I haven't gotten to a ton of events here, and I ended up spending so much time with members in our chapter down there, and it was great. And of course, everyone's more relaxed because they're not at home and you know, they're unplugged.

So. Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I'm really hoping to go this year and I, I think it's quite likely I will. 

Mark Stiles: so help me understand how you found your way into owning your own business. Like, give us the journey there.

So, outta school, I'm gonna be a financial advisor. Here we go. Game on. Well, 

Evan Welch: so I, I mean, I guess scroll back a little bit. Yeah, scroll 

Mark Stiles: back as far as you want. 

Evan Welch: Yeah. So I, so investing, you know, I started investing as a teenager. Um, I just was fascinated by it. And, you know, I started, you know, I opened a brokerage account at one of the wire houses when I was 12.

Uh, and, uh, bought some shares of Coca-Cola and ge, actually, I remember specifically. And, um, back then it was pretty expensive to buy stocks, and. that got me first kind of, you know, piqued my interest in this space. Um, and then, um, I had some really amazing internships in, in college. One in Europe and, and one in Boston.

Uh, which, which, which helped refine that. But, but I actually, when I graduated from college, um, I was going to open a carwash down in Atlanta, Georgia, with two of my buddies from growing up. And we were trying to basically, you know, elevate from. What you think of a carwash to a very high end experience.

And my, we, we, we even worked at car washes around Atlanta and pretended that we were, had no other options. And I think, you know, um, some of the owners were a little like, why are these guys working here, kind of thing. And with all due respect, people work at Carwashes and, but you know, we were literally doing, like, I was out there like drying the cars and, and that kind of thing.

Doing your due 

Mark Stiles: diligence, right. Doing the 

Evan Welch: due diligence, doing due diligence, learning, you know, learning the business. Yeah. And learning, you know, the, how the employees and how they work. And ultimately I just, I just wanted to go into investment management and financial planning so bad and, and I was very close to going to Wall Street.

But then I had an interview in Atlanta that I love with this firm that was more of a financial planning boutique. And that's kind of where I started. And one of the three of us, um, one of my good friends, he did end up starting this carwash. It was extremely successful. They opened a few of, Um, and he eventually sold out of it and, and he's, he now lives down in Florida, but it actually was a, was a resounding success.

And they, they opened it next to a, uh, Ferrari dealership in Atlanta, outside of Atlanta, Georgia was the first one and, um, did very well. Um, but I, of course, you know, took a different route and, you know, and I, yeah, so, so here we are. 

Mark Stiles: Well, it's interesting because, you know, you had the idea, you, you dug in, you knew, you knew it would.

But you chase the passion and that I love, like, you, you were like, okay, I could make money at this. I bet I can. I mean, in fact, I know I can. I've already done the proforma, I've done the spreadsheet, I have processed, we have, uh, we understand, you know, the assets and all of that, but. , you know, ever since I was 12, I just love me that stock market

So how you can't do that Now, Mike, I have a 15 year old who's, who's working to, you know, get a Robinhood account open. I'm like, mm-hmm. I don't think so. I think they wait till you're 18 now, right? Mm-hmm. , like, there's some, there's some, uh, big barriers to entry now, I hope. 

Evan Welch: Well, you know, it, you know, the gamification, as we say of investing is a slippery 

Mark Stiles: slope.

so, well, let me ask you this. You know, we started to talk, uh, earlier about your kids. Tell me about some of the private life. So you've got eo, you've got your business, you've, you've got your successes. Tell me about the rest of the balance. 

Evan Welch: Well, you know, I, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm a pretty active person, like a lot of entrepreneurs.

I guess if there's a stereotype, um, I. Play a lot of, I play a lot of, I play hockey, play ice hockey. I coach ice hockey. Um, I coach a few teams and, um, you know, I, I, I, I cycle ride my, you know, ride my bike. I, I, I swim. I'm, I love to snow ski. That's a big passion of mine. As is traveling. Um, actually I'm going to Austria in a week to go skiing.

Nice. So that's a, that's, that's a big focus. And, you know, COVID was hard for me. You know, I, I also love to be in the air. I'm actually, um, almost got my pilot license when I was 28 and I'm 48 now. And the deal my wife and I made was when I'm 50, got my pilot license because she's convinced that something's gonna go bad.

And, you know, the kids are getting older, nothing's gonna go bad. But you know, that, that was the deal we made and. Yeah, so, so I. What else? I, uh, grew up originally from Belmont, Massachusetts, but I actually grew up in Connecticut, cuz we moved there when I was five. My father transferred from Mass General to a hospital down in Connecticut.

And then I went to a, a, a prep school in Connecticut and then ended up at Colgate in upstate New York. And, uh, I loved the snow, but you know, it was pretty gray up there. And I said one. This weather's awful. And I was thinking about moving to New York or Boston, and then my buddy kind of said, Hey, Atlanta's up and coming.

And I actually had gone to the Olympics in 96, so I graduated college in 97. And I said, all right, well why not? Like, let's, let's go down there. And, and, and that's how we ended up down there. Um, then, uh, fast forward nine 11 happened and some other things, and I kind of woke up and said, what am I doing in Georgia?

And I moved back to Boston in oh two and. You know, met my wife at a bar a few months later and the rest is history, so I love it. Yeah. Tell me about coaching. I can tell you a lot more, but, 

Mark Stiles: well, tell me about coaching because I, that was one of my, my big, uh, needs is, you know, my business part of, you know, owning your own business.

You know, people, we have the. The, the myth busting that we talk about, you know, what perceptions are and all, but the reality of it is, is you control a lot, right? So I decided I was gonna move my office to the town. That we are raising our kids in so that I could be at any field at any time, whether that was good for my kids or they'll be seeking a lot of therapy in the future for my, my coaching extravaganzas.

Um, time will tell, but that was super important to me. But it was really interesting to me. to watch, you know, the youth of that time. Right. So we're going back 10 years up until, I think the last, last whistle I blew was probably three years ago. But also like the, the dynamics between the parents who all think everyone's gonna be a division one athlete, or a professional or Olympian or what have you.

How is it these days? Is that tempering are people, is that starting to finally, pendulum starting to swing back to normalcy yet, or. 

Evan Welch: I mean, I think it, I, I think a lot of it depends on, , you know, what, what kind of league you're in and, and what the age of the child and, and, and so forth. I mean, uh, part of it of course just depends on the personality of the parent, right.

Um, you know, I'm co you know, so, so I'm coaching, I'm coaching ice hockey. I, I coached soccer when I coach, coached all three of my girls in soccer when they were very young, like think third grade and below. Yep. Uh, which I really enjoyed. Um, I w I w I'm not a huge soccer player. I, I mean, I played. . But in high school I played a different fall sport.

Um, and, and in college as well, I played, I actually played water polo, um, at a pretty competitive level. Cool. But I, I wanted to, you know, I wanted to spend more time with my girls because I, I just, you know, and, and once you coach one of 'em, you feel like you need to coach 'em all. And I ended up, it ended up being very rewarding because now I do you of course interact, you know, get to know people in your, where whatever town you're in, um, , I loved seeing the girls.

And by the girls, I mean all of them not Yes, my daughters, um, go from maybe being timid and nervous or distracted or whatever to being. , you know, pretty good athletes. And then seeing them go out to travel and club sports and things like that. Some of them now are, you know, playing at a varsity level in high school.

And so it's, um, that was really rewarding. But, you know, ice hockey, I just have a love for, a love for the sport. So, you know, just being, it's not work for me. Being on the ice. I love it. And, you know, again, same thing. Um, Love seeing the kids get better and better. And as they get bigger it's, you know, they start to, they start to challenge you and which is meaning on the ice, which is fun.

And um, as far as the parents, you know, again, like the soccer was, Pretty easy peasy because I wasn't once, once they went to travel and, and club, I just handed that off. I didn't, I didn't wanna be part of that. And, uh, you know, I was just watching their, watching the games like any other parent. And then the, um, although I must say I've enjoyed interaction with a lot of the parents who made a lot of friends and with hockey, you know, I lo I love the, the parents in our hockey community.

I mean, they're, they're generally pretty down to earth. I mean, you definitely get, um, you know, a couple parents who. , you know, maybe think that their kids' entire college is gonna be based on. Athletic prowess and you know, I mean, it's not for me to say, but you know, I mean, you know, the percentages, , there's a lot of competition and uh, and certainly in, in, in hockey.

I love the sport, but you do get, you do get some rough folks, you know, at some of the games. And we've had, we've had some games. In some towns where it's gotten a little ugly in terms of the fans or the parents. Um, I mean, I think you get that with all sports, but hockey's pretty notorious for it. And 

Mark Stiles: why do you think that is?

Why do you, why do you think it comes from hockey? Is it, is it so deep rooted in the culture of professional hockey where they used to drop the gloves and fight? Like is it that barbaric and that. 

Evan Welch: I, I, I think that's part of it. I think the culture of hockey, but I think anyone who plays hockey knows this.

I mean, it's, it's a game of, it's a game of, of speed, uh, and intensity and, um, you know, and of course there is, you know, it's very physical and so, you know, when you're on the ice, most people, uh, or a lot of parents who. whose kids play hockey. They played hockey just like any sport. Yeah. I mean, if, you know, if you loved tennis, it's pretty likely that your child's gonna be exposed to that at a young age or you love golf or whatever.

And I think a lot of these parents like me, you know, especially if they played at higher levels, you know, it, it, it's a rough sport and there's a lot of talking under the breath. And you know, I was, you probably know when you, when when you're, um, you get out of when, when you get out of breath and you're.

you know, you're, you're, you're pumping on all cylinders and you're tired and you've got, you know, all those chemicals in your body. I mean, you. , you can get angry pretty quickly. It's almost, you know, it's, um, it's kinda like being hungry and having someone goad you. Right. And I, so I think that's, I think that's part of it as well.

But, but the sport in itself is, you know, it's just ne it, it's, it's of course less dirty than it used to be. I mean, there's a lot less fighting anyone who watches, you know, professional level hockey. I mean, we will see that, uh, I mean the, they have purposely gotten rid of a lot of that, which I think is good for the game.

But it's still, it's still a chippy rough game. And you still, you still have that. But I would, I would actually argue that it's getting better. , uh, you know, than what it used to be. And certainly what I remember as a kid, it's, you know, you still, obviously, if you go to an NHL game and people have a few too many drinks, , but you could see that at a, you know, an N B A game and N F L game as well, right?

Mm-hmm. . So 

Mark Stiles: yeah, hopefully the parents aren't having a few too, and they're smashing the, the glass to get the physicality up to a higher level, right? Yeah. So I was always kind of, um, taken aback, you know, at some of the reactions and some of the behaviors, but it was really an interesting. You know, an interesting study in humanity too, as a coach, and it was super, super rewarding because I think it actually was more than, you know, obviously more than your kid, more than the team, but it, that community piece of it, like when you could get.

Parents and families to band together. One of the things we always say is, if we keep the, if we could keep the parents happy, then the kids are gonna be happy because they're gonna drive to the game with a positive, uh, attitude about it, and they're gonna be supportive and all that. Really, like, there's so much more there.

That's a, that's a show in and of itself, I think. But I agree. So how do you, how do you do hockey and. 

Evan Welch: Well, so the skiing, so the skiing is, you know, it's, it's a little tough. It's funny, I was talking to one of my buddies about this who was a hockey player growing up with me, and he basically chose, he is like, he loves to ski and he is like, you know, so his, his daughters are race, you know, so he's up and from on every weekend.

and what, you know, what, what we do as a family generally is part of what we do, uh, is we take a week and we get out of dodge, typically go out west like a lot of people, and we just ski every day, you know, versus kind of the weekend warrior kind of thing. Because the reality is in hockey and like a lot of, a lot of other winter sports, you're playing hockey.

You can't go away for the weekend because you know you're playing. all weekend. So it's, uh, it's just reality. But we exposed our kids to skiing at a really young age. They got a lot of lessons and been a lot of trips, and they're very, they, they love it. Um, but they don't race, you know, they just, they just love to ski just for leisure.

Um, but they're pretty good skiers because they started young and, and I love it. And so I always joke with my oldest who's, who loves to ski, I'd say, You know, you're gonna have to hang out with your old man for a long time because I'm gonna go to these amazing places and I'll pay for it if you come with me.

Yes. But you have to spend time with me. Yes, 

Mark Stiles: yes. I'm in dad. I'm in . So, so friend. Most important question of them all. Um, you know, someone's hearing this for the first time. They're meeting you in essence for the first time. And they wanna, they want to hook up with you. They want to connect with you, they want to network with you.

They wanna work with your company. How would they best get in touch? . 

Evan Welch: Um, I, I, I'd say probably two ways. Uh, one would be, you know, I'm on LinkedIn like most people, and of course, if, you know, message me there, I'll respond. Um, I'd also say email. Um, I mean, I'd g I could give my phone numbers, but like most people, I'm tied up a lot.

And if you email me wherever I am in the world, I'll get back to you. So, , um, my, you want me to give you my email address? Yeah, let's do it. Let's do it. So my, I, I guess I'll give you my work email address. My, it's, uh, e Welch, so e w e l c HTAs wealth.com. And to spell that, it's Alpha Nancy Tango Alpha Echo under Sam wealth one word.com.

Mark Stiles: I love it. I love it. You know, Evan, it's been, it's been a pleasure. I really appreciate. Coming on, sharing your time, sharing your experience, sharing your stories. Uh, really, really, really appreciate it. I'm looking forward to seeing you at some of the Boston events, maybe even nerve, um mm-hmm. . But, uh, thank you.

Thank you very much. 

Evan Welch: Thank you for having me. This is, this, this is great. I felt, I felt very natural and, and I, yeah. Mark, I won't definitely wanna meet you. Let's hang out sometime. And, um, this, I'm, and thank you for doing this. I think it's, I think it's so great and I think it brings the ch makes the chapter closer and.

you know, we, we all want this chapter to get better and better. So thank you for 

Mark Stiles: doing this. Well, thank you for saying that. I appreciate you. I, I hope that people listen and watch and walk up to you and say, Hey, I saw your podcast and I want to talk to you about coaching, or I want to talk to you about ria.

So that's really cool. That is really cool. So thank you for saying that. And folks, thank you for listening. That's it. If you learn something today, which I'm sure you did, cuz I did, or you. Share this with somebody forward this to them, share it with them, let them know who Evan is. Thank you again, Evan. Thank you. And folks, this has been another exciting episode of Leadership in Action. We will see you next time.