Money Matters with Greg
Needing guidance on finances, or just curious about investments? Join CEO and Owner of Farrall Wealth, Greg Farrall, as he dives into all things relating to money and often interviews interesting people he is fortunate enough to call his friends.
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Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC.
Money Matters with Greg
Goldman's 10KSB Program Transforms Small Business Outlook While Markets React to Job Numbers
Jobs reports often move markets, but few understand exactly why. Today's "Goldilocks" employment number of 144,000 new jobs strikes the perfect balance - strong enough to show economic resilience but sufficient to keep September rate cut expectations alive. For wealth managers overseeing millions in client assets, these details matter greatly for portfolio positioning.
The market' s reaction tells the story: a modest gain into the holiday weekend, suggesting investor confidence in the economic outlook despite recent warning signs. After yesterday' s alarming negative ADP report, today' s government data offered reassurance that we' re maintaining the delicate balance between growth and policy support. With the S & P up roughly 5% year- to- date, we remain on track toward our projected 8-10% annual return goal.
Beyond market analysis, I shared my transformative experience graduating from Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses program. Launched in 2009 after the financial crisis, this intensive 11-week curriculum provides comprehensive business education to established entrepreneurs ready for growth. Goldman Sachs has invested millions in this program, supporting education, services, and capital access through Community Development Financial Institutions. (CDFI's)
The curriculum, developed by Babson College (America' s top- ranked entrepreneurship school), guides participants through specialized modules covering financial analysis, leadership, operational efficiency, marketing strategy, and capital access. Each participant creates a detailed growth plan - mine focused on launching specialized wealth management services for student-athletes navigating NIL opportunities.
Small business owners generating at least $ 75, 75,000 annually with two or more employees should definitely consider applying at 10 ksb. com. The program yields impressive results: 72% of alumni increase their revenues within 18 months (compared to 53% of typical small businesses), and nearly half create new jobs within six months of graduation. Beyond statistics, you' ll gain strategic clarity, confidence, and access to a robust nationwide network of fellow entrepreneurs. #10ksb
As we celebrate America' s independence this weekend, I am reminded that understanding economic indicators and supporting small business growth are two sides of the same prosperity coin. Whether you' re an investor monitoring market signals or an entrepreneur seeking growth strategies, clarity and community are your most valuable assets.
Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC.
The opinions voiced in this podcast are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which strategies or investments may suit you, consult the appropriate qualified professional before deciding.
Welcome to Money Matters with Greg where we dive into the money conversations shaping your life, From investments to estate planning, insurance to taxes. We cover it all with a fresh perspective. Join Greg and his guests each week to get inspired and take control of your financial future. Let's get started. Securities and investment advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor, member FINRA SIPC.
Speaker 2:All right, good afternoon. The show's Money Matters with Greg. I'm Greg Farrell, ceo and President of Farrell Wealth. Owner of Farrell Wealth Management. It is a wealth management firm here, local to Valparaiso, indiana, and servicing clients in 22 states, and licensed advisor, and we talk money on this show anything to do with money and how things are going in regards to the markets, what's affecting the markets and, ultimately, how we can navigate the waters that are not only the stock market but also investing overall and a number of different things in regards to money.
Speaker 2:So excited to be able to be here today. First of all, I want to wish America a very happy birthday. Happy birthday, america. As we celebrate our independence, hope everyone's having a wonderful holiday or looking forward to a wonderful holiday, going into the day off the market's closed tomorrow, which is always a nice day off for all of us in the stock market world and then also enjoying the entire weekend. Happy birthday, keep on having them. And thank you for our independence, for sure in regards to July 4th.
Speaker 2:So with that, I want to be able to mention that the opinions just before we get started, the opinions voiced in this podcast are for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which strategies or investments may suit you, consult the appropriate qualified professional before deciding. I want to get that out of the way. And then also mentioned, july 11th is the WVLP celebration and fundraiser at Butterfield. Come on, come all. It's $20 a ticket. It's a Mexican fair. I guess we're going to do a little nod to Cinco de Mayo this year and it's at 5 o'clock next Friday. Come on out Butterfield's Pavilion in Valparaiso, indiana. It's a wonderful place. It's been redone and a great place. The show is broadcast on WVLP 103.1 at 11 o'clock on Thursdays and then again at 1 o'clock on Saturdays. So sorry, 1 o'clock on Thursdays and 1 o'clock on Saturdays, and very thankful for the opportunity to be a part of that. I also want to thank all the sponsors that helped out for the fundraiser coming up here July 11th as well and acknowledge all of them. Thank you for your support With that. Oh, and you can find us on Apple Spotify anywhere else you pod. Also our Fair Wealth YouTube channel will have the video up as well as we get this moving.
Speaker 2:I want to talk about two things mainly. One is jobs, jobs, jobs. Today is the jobs report I want to talk about that, how that looks and what that looks like for the economy. We've been watching this number. It's a big number for us this month, specifically because it looks like for the first time, we've really got a chink in the armor in regards to the economy. I want to talk about that, and then I want to go over the program that I just finished.
Speaker 2:I graduated from just a few weeks ago, the Goldman Sachs 10KSB so 10,000 small businesses nationwide. It's a program that was started in 2009. I was lucky enough to be in the inaugural class in the state of Indiana with a number of business owners throughout the state. I want to celebrate that. I want to celebrate I met some amazing people, some great people, and I just want to talk about what that is and I highly recommend it and that sort of informed the small business owners out there that they should absolutely give it a shot. They are coming back to Indiana in a couple of years, but they also host multiple different programs nationwide. With that being said, I think I've gotten all the housecleaning out of the way.
Speaker 2:I want to talk about the jobs number for the first time. As I mentioned, in the last few months, the market has really been susceptible to a disappointing jobs number jobs report, as far as anything that kind of pushes back the idea of looming rate cuts which we're looking for in September. Certainly, july was about 25%. It's down to almost zero now. But that's really for two reasons the economic data that's really kind of been coming through to us has been very lackluster and we've been concerned about some of the things that are out there. This is what we're watching and this is why I'm including this for this podcast. So when we're managing hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients, we want to be able to make sure we're ahead of the game and we're trying to find the trend and then ride the trend, see the trend ahead of the time that it actually is there and is delivered to the mainstream media. We're way ahead of this, watching the data coming about here, and that's why I bring it up today to you to kind of just keep your eye on.
Speaker 2:So today's jobs report came out and what we were looking at was really sort of a Goldilocks type scenario of of the three bears Like is is the number going to come in cold, is it going to be nice and warm, or is it going to be too hot. And too hot would mean the economy is is rolling and there's no issues. Too cold would be. We really are in dire straits and the Fed's slow and has missed the opportunity. So a too hot number would be over 250,000 job ads overall. And what would happen with the market reaction with that? That would be a likely hot number would push back the idea that the September rate cut would happen and the market's looking to that. That's why we've had this sort of this rally into the summer is we've, we're fully expecting a rate cut that would push the S&P down. It would definitely decline sharply and there'd be a lot of economic anxiety in the form of higher rates. You know, although you'd expect sort of all 11 sectors of the S&P to be down, you know it would be basically a tell to see kind of what happens.
Speaker 2:So if that would be over $250,000 to 250,000 jobs added would be too hot. If we come in too cold, that's under 75,000 new jobs added. So a number that shows weak jobs ads or job losses, which had actually happened. The ADP number yesterday was negative 33,000 when they were expecting over 100,000 on that. That was a bad number. It was not very good at all. But what's going to happen with the market reaction? Under 75,000 jobs is this number would be negative for the market as well.
Speaker 2:But in the short term sort of a bad is good sort of reaction wouldn't shock us as investors really just potentially kind of figure out that the rally that this market has had is going to basically come into a software report and that we'd bounce back so we might sell off early. That would be the end. You know, who knows in the crystal ball we might sell off early and then come back if the number is too hot or too cold, right. So too hot, too cold. Now what about just right? Well, just right would be anywhere between those two numbers. $75,000 to $250,000 would be pretty much just, especially after this ADP number. Anything over 100,000 would be good and if you push even further towards the 250,000 job number, that would be probably even better because the ADP number was terrible. So we're looking at what that might be.
Speaker 2:What just right number would be would be a market reaction, would be an extension of this rally. We'd expect a broad equity strength across the board. All cyclical sectors, including super cap tech, would take off. The 10-year yield would likely be changed a little. Changed overall because basically the market gets what it wants and we're probably going to get a September rate cut. So that's really big.
Speaker 2:That's what we're watching and so you are lucky that today is the day and this morning it came out, and this radio show is going to broadcast at one o'clock today, because I can give you the number Drum roll please. What was the number? It came in at 144. So right in line, really solid. The market's up just marginally going into the weekend. It's a half day for trading. Anyway. There's not a lot of volume in regards to today. I would fully expect that we sort of trade sideways, if not just a little up for the day. We will see.
Speaker 2:Most people are already in the Hamptons, they've already left New York or they've already left for their holiday weekend and they've moved on. So, that being said, jobs, jobs, jobs. We talked about that. Too hot, too cold. Goldilocks is just right and the number came in just right. So, feeling really good about where we are in the first half of the year We've gone six months. We're looking for the second half. We are optimistic about the second half because everything's kind of falling in line. We've gotten through a lot of different things. We'll see what happens July 9th with the extension of the tariffs, but it looks like we've calmed and we'll see what happens with that. I think there's definitely going to be a reaction to that. The big bill looks like it's going to be approved and moving forward, so that's big news before July 4th.
Speaker 2:So, look, it's been a volatile six months. It's been a crazy six months. It's been news every hour, not even every day, not even every week, but it looks like we've gotten through the last six months pretty well. Uh, the s? P 500 is up a little over five percent for the year and, uh, we're sort of plugging along where we kind of said we would be towards the end of the year. It would be, uh, between eight and up. Eight, eight to ten percent in the on the year for the S&P was our expectations and we're kind of following along as long as earnings come in here in the second quarter. We're going to be watching those and I'll update you on all of that going forward. But pretty solid six months. You know, for everything that we've had to swallow and basically absorb here. You know for everything that we've had to swallow and basically absorb here. I'm pretty happy with how things look OK, so that's that.
Speaker 2:Next, I want to be able to talk about the Goldman Sachs 10K SB. All right, again the show's Money Matters with Greg. I'm Greg Farrell, ceo and owner of Fair Wealth. It's a wealth management firm here locally in Valparaiso, indiana, and we are broadcasting today on WVLP FM 103.1 and also anywhere you pod Happy to have you. Thanks for being here today.
Speaker 2:What I went through with the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program was through with the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program was, to say the very least, intense. It was 20 to 25 hours of work that none of us, as small business owners, have in our daily lives, but we found it. We went through a number of modules. I'll explain all that in a second, but it was 11 weeks of intensive work and what it is exactly is. This was launched in 2009 by Goldman Sachs and the Goldman Sachs Foundation. The 10K SB program was really developed sort of as a response to the 2008 financial crisis. That crisis really highlighted the critical role that small businesses play in economic recovery and overall job creation. So this was modeled after a very successful 10,000 women initiative.
Speaker 2:Gaps that were in like to access not only business education but capital and networks for established business, small businesses that are really poised for growth. So the program began in the U? S with the LaGuardia community college in queens and new york and uh. That was their first educational partner that they partnered with and uh has now grown into over 50 states. They've gone to over 50 states business schools they use. They include non-profit organizations everywhere from washington dc to puerto rico, and in launched a UK version of this in partnership with Oxford University and the US program represents $750 million investment, including a $200 million for education and support services, $550 million for access to capital through the Community Development Financial Institutions, cdfis, and a number of different grants. As of 2025, 16,000 business owners have graduated the program. Actually, it's closer to 17 now, with notable expansions into the rural communities. And that's how we qualify in the state of Indiana through a $100 million investment announced in the state of Indiana through a hundred million investment, a million dollar investment announced in the last recent years.
Speaker 2:The UK has a similar program supported by small businesses as well. So how it works this program really targets small business owners and established businesses generating between seventy five thousand dollars in annual revenue or higher, with at least two employees, including the owner. And all of these businesses are ready to scale, they're ready to grow and the program is fully funded by the Goldman Sachs Foundation and there's no cost to the participants at all. That's why I highly recommend, if you get the opportunity to apply, you can apply at 10ksborg and send in your application accordingly and get first in line for when they come back to Indiana or if you're in another state. You know locally. I know they're going to Charlotte next, so that's something to consider as far as in the future.
Speaker 2:But you apply and then you must demonstrate a passion for growth. You must meet the eligibility criteria. I went through semi-final after semi-final and then the finals and then ultimately the announcement that you become what's called a cohort and then, when you go through the program, you ultimately graduate and become an alum. So there are 17,000 alumni that are in an alumni group that's amazing to be able to be a part of. I feel like I'm now part of a new fraternity. That is just fantastic.
Speaker 2:So these applications are all submitted online through the program sites and there are deadlines in there that typically last about three months before the cohort starts. There are deadlines in there that typically last about three months before the cohort starts. There's a lot of things you had to do as far as your financials, getting your numbers ready and delivering ultimately this you know all of your, your numbers to then ultimately be selected. So the program is delivered through these partnerships with community college and in the state of Indiana they used Ivy Tech. Down in Columbus Indiana, they use a number of different Cincinnati State or business schools. Babson College is the curriculum that it's run through and we had a number of different professors from Babson help us. So you have these. You have local cohorts which are in-person sessions at these regional sites, and then you have this hybrid model which is a national cohort which is actually through Babson College and the business school there, and then everything else is hybrid. So it is an 11 to 14 week program including all the numbers. It's more than a commitment of 100 hours easily. I think it was close to 15 to 20 and maybe 20 to 5 hours, some weeks of work Every weekend. There was some sort of work to do and you know it's just. It was an intense program.
Speaker 2:The growth plan is another thing that is added to is you have this growth opportunity that you go through. That is, you ultimately pitch and you have a three minute pitch at the end with all of your cohorts and all your now your friends that you've gone through this through with, to show what you're going to grow. Our growth plan, my growth plan, was the Ferrell Wealth NIL endeavor that we've launched to help student athletes manage their NIL money for their name, image and likeness, and it went over pretty well. I was able to get through the pitch and everyone seemed to like it well enough. Looking forward to launching that program here in the next few weeks, actually by endorsing the Valparaiso University basketball team on TBT. It's a TBT tournament. That is the national tournament. That is a basketball tournament. It's going to be at Hinkle Hall for the regional side here and Valparaiso University will play Butler University to start, and then there's Indiana University and Purdue University as well as far as alums. So that's our growth mechanism that they force you to do inside this program and basically build that up as to where you're going to grow, how you're going to grow, what's your endeavor to do that.
Speaker 2:The key components on all this is look, first of all, education. You know, having a hands-on curriculum designed by Babson College, which is the top-ranked US school for entrepreneurship. You know advising this one-on-one business coaching advising from these professionals that we had as far as our peers, but also we had an advisor that was helping us and putting us to task. But also we had an advisor that was helping us and putting us to task. The networking was incredible. I met some incredible people. To this day I can't wait to network with them and see how they can help us and how we can help them. And then also access to capital. This gives us a chance to be able to get our numbers right, that if we want to be able to go out to market and get loans or get help as far as building our businesses, that we have our numbers correct and that we're not embarrassed standing in front of a banker asking for a $100,000 equity line or whatever it might be.
Speaker 2:So all of this is structured into modules. So we start off with our modules overall and they have the orientation, this growth opportunity module that starts. And then you have your financial statements workshop and then you go into your money and your metrics, which covers financial forecasting, key performance indicators as well, and you really create a dashboard that helps you monitor growth, that helps you monitor growth. Then they go into money and metrics which really you know that really goes through that monitor of growth. And then you go into you are the leader. You are the leader as it explores your personal leadership style and how that impact impacts, how your style impacts your team, your culture and your overall business strategy. And then you go into another module called it's the People, and this focuses on employee management and hiring and firing and building a strong organizational culture overall. Then you go into marketing and selling and then that develops strategies for branding and customer acquisition and sales growth.
Speaker 2:Then you go into operations and processes and it really addresses the operational efficiency of your business, the scalability of your business. Is it going to be profitable if you do grow and how does that look? So the operations and the processes are so key in all businesses, but especially more so in others than you know. Let's say, ours is a wealth management, but we do have our processes that you need to follow. But there are a couple of groups that were in food service, you know, and they're talking about being able to make sure that every employee knows exactly how to make the sandwich that is going to be delivered that day or whatever it might be. As far as you know, if this person was new and let's say you know the person is normally there to make that sandwich is sick. How does someone come into that job and know exactly what to do without too much or very little training and do it right? So, and then ultimately we go into the being bankable guide, and that was the next module. That guides participate in accessing capital, improving your credit worthiness, really preparing for any sort of loan, getting ready, and then ultimately you do this action for growth, which finalizes your entire business growth plan, and it integrates all the lessons all together. And there's a number of different clinics that go on after this too that we have to participate in to show that our growth is.
Speaker 2:But, uh, really it does. It adds a. It does add a world-class education. I mean access to baps in college was amazingized. Advising, the one-on-one guidance, was incredible. Peer learning was really the best thing I think out of the whole program was just working with everyone and learning their businesses and trying to understand what they're trying to do versus what we're trying to do and how it all works together. So those networking opportunities were just absolutely amazing. They have these summits that actually are nationwide. Also, there's one in Washington DC in October that I certainly hope to be able to be able to participate in.
Speaker 2:And then, really, guidance on the securing of securing of loans is key. I mean addressing the one point five trillion dollar credit gap for small businesses that exist out there today is huge. For small businesses that exist out there today is huge. So some of the benefits have been is just seeing that. You know there's a Babson College report that is that was put out that 72% of alumni grew their revenues 18 months after graduation, compared to 53% of US small businesses on, you know, on generally. And then an additional 44 to 50% of graduates graduated and created new jobs within six months, which is huge.
Speaker 2:I mentioned the alumni network. There's mentorship in regards to that. There's a LinkedIn page. There's also a webpage that allows us to be able to communicate with each other as graduates. You know.
Speaker 2:The other thing is it really increased confidence? I mean, I think every single one that went through the program walked away with more confidence in their numbers, more confidence in their admission, more confidence in their core as well as far as their core beliefs or core philosophy, knowing that they're doing great things and they're just doing them better. So I think that really helped. That strategic clarity of what we need to do as business owners and how we're going to be able to further our mission is really, really important. Also, the community impact. I mean these are all business owners that are all community members and their own rights and they're going back to their community. They're taking these lessons, much like what I'm talking about here and doing this podcast, but also helping their community and helping others with now what they've learned. All of these people have amazing hearts and are very interested in helping others, so that ongoing support is going to be very, very impactful, I think, just grassroots-wise throughout the state of Indiana, which is going to be phenomenal.
Speaker 2:Many graduates have described that. They've basically said and there's one quote says you know, we're more strategic now about how we expand. We have a process map for growth in a place that we didn't have before. Another said that the program shouldn't be. Nobody else knows this stuff either. We're all asking questions and we're all here to figure it out. That is very, very, very true. Both of those are very, very true. Both of those are very, very true. You know, you think, you know your numbers and then you realize, well, I really don't but but you have help, you know it's not, you're not out there alone, and so you know.
Speaker 2:Basically, overall, in conclusion of this whole thing, I just want to say you know the program has been widely praised and the intensity of the hours is challenging. For sure it's worth it, it's absolutely worth it and so I highly recommend you do it and you fight through it and just know what you're in for. You know there's no good time to do it as a business owner. There's no good time to wait and see If they come to your town and you have an opportunity to jump on, jump in with both feet. I don't know how I recommend you do. Overall, that offers just a rigorous, practical education and personalized advising, access to capital and networks at no cost. Like you would take that if you, if it was handed to you, and with this design curriculum too, it really has this. You now have the skills to grow your business after you go through all of these, all of these modules and ultimately graduation. So I want to congratulate all of my fellow cohorts and now graduates, um, on the 10ksb uh goldman sachs graduation. It was just a few weeks ago in columbus, indiana. I'm looking forward to working with all of you and many more in the inside the program. As far as the alums and I think if you get the chance as a business owner to do it, you should you go to wwwgscom, backslash 10ksb or 10ksbapplycom for your application. Okay, so get to it.
Speaker 2:Thanks for everybody. I want to welcome everybody. Thank you for being here today, but also happy birthday to America and keep on having them, and I hope everyone celebrates their July 4th with their family and friends in wonderful ways. And we will catch you next week. The show's Money Matters with Greg. I'm Greg Farrell, ceo and owner of Farrell Wealth Management financial advising firm in Valparaiso, indiana, and then helping clients nationwide in over 22 states. We are broadcast on WVLP 103.1 at one o'clock on Thursdays and one o'clock on Saturdays as a replay, and we also are on any podcast, wherever you pod, whether Apple, spotify, you name it. Thanks for being here today and we'll catch you next week, see ya.
Speaker 1:Thanks for tuning in to Money Matters with Greg. We hope you gained some valuable insights today. Remember your financial journey is personal, but you don't have to go it alone. If you enjoyed. We hope you gained some valuable insights today. Remember your financial journey is personal, but you don't have to go it alone. If you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe and share Until next time. Here's to making your money work for you. Securities and investment advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor member, finra, sipc.
