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The Story of our Top Advisor - Meet Carlos Limon

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 Connect with Carlos Limon: https://www.smartprofinancial.com/pro/j-carlos-limon/

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In this episode of SmartPro Radio, we sit down with one of SmartPro’s most impactful advisors, Carlos Limon. He unpacks the mindset, values, and experiences that shaped his journey.

From moving to the United States and starting in the business part-time, to becoming a trusted guide for over 10,000 people, Carlos shares how putting people first changed everything.

We talk about:
• Why he refuses to turn anyone away (no matter their financial situation)
• Becoming a bridge for the Hispanic community and building trust where it’s often missing
• The role of humility, gratitude, and leaving ego behind
• Why hope is one of the most powerful tools an advisor can offer
• What “success” really looks like beyond money

This conversation is about more than finance. It’s about purpose, perspective, and choosing to show up for people in a way that truly makes a difference.

If you’ve ever wondered what separates a good advisor from a great one, or how to build real trust with others, this episode is for you.

🎯 Want to learn more about working with SmartPro or becoming an advisor?
Reach out to our team or follow us for more content focused on helping people find clarity, confidence, and hope in their financial future.

Discussions in this show are for entertainment and educational purposes only and should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC.

Advisory services through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Cambridge and SmartPro Financial are not affiliated. 

SPEAKER_02

You know, you know this story of me driving through Mississippi and I met with a young couple over there, right? You know, I went through the cup presentation with a husband and wife, and the guy was listening, and uh, well, I think I covered it all. Do you have any questions? And the father-in-law is like, are you legal?

SPEAKER_00

Discussions in this show are for entertainment and educational purposes only and should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through registered representatives of Cambridge Investment Research Incorporated, a broker dealer, member FINRA SIPC. Advisory services through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Incorporated, a registered investment advisor. Cambridge and Smart Pro Financial are not affiliated.

SPEAKER_01

All right, hey y'all. Welcome back to SmartPro Radio, where we love people and like finance. And I'm so excited to introduce our guest today. His name is Carlos Lamone, and I'm excited to introduce him for a few reasons. Number one, I've known Carlos for 15 plus years. We've worked together for quite a long time. But also, Carlos is the top advisor at Smart Pro Financial. Not only does he have the most clients that he works with on a daily basis, but he also manages the most money in our firm. And he has a quite the story. And I want to hear about it. I want people to know who you are and your heart and what makes you tick. So, Carlos, welcome to the show and tell our guest about yourself.

SPEAKER_02

Thank you. Thank you. Very exciting to be here. It's kind of weird because we started all this together, but uh, but thank you for having. I'm really, really grateful. Um, how did this start? I met uh a great friend of mine, still my friend today, introduced me to your dad back in 2006 and then seven, and um and I started with uh working with your dad with Rick, uh putting in order my finances, my personal finances, and then he popped the question. Hey, you would be great at this. And uh I didn't even know how to balance my checkbook back then. Uh but he took the time and took me under his wing until this date. I'm very grateful to him, and he taught me everything I know, and he developed in my lifetime career, uh, which I love. I love uh people and I like somehow finances, and they came together, and uh this is what I've been doing for the last going into 18 years, man. Yeah, this is uh yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So my question for you is that is somebody saw something in you, right? They saw this entrepreneurial side, they saw this desire to do something greater than what you were currently doing, right? Maybe that you didn't see in yourself at the time, or maybe you knew it was there, but you had this dream. Why did you think that you could succeed working in finance, especially at that time? Because you just mentioned the time frame, like that's right at the beginning of the global financial crisis. Yeah, you're learning something new. Yeah, what made you take that jump?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, actually, I didn't know I could do this. Uh never thought about finances or or working with money directly like this, but uh it was the little concept, and your dad made it made it look so so simple. And it was the little concepts that allowed me to kind of grasp everything and share it with people. I mean, one of the best, the first things, and we'll we'll extend in that, but one of the first things was the difference between, you know, permanent insurance and like and term life insurance, and then how we incorporate with investments, and that that I kind of fell in love with it and I started uh sharing with people. Uh, but most importantly, it was kind of like your dad always set the the the tone to uh do the right thing. And I realized, I mean, uh I I knew that we were doing the right thing. I think it was the base of everything. I was like, this is very marketable. Yeah, and just shared it over and over, and it became this. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So, what was the step that you took then to launch your career to be as successful as you have been? What has been the thing that has driven you to do that? Because you are the most successful advisor that we have at our company. You manage the most assets of anyone, you have a large organization, meaning a lot of people that are helping you, working with you, working with your clients.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

How did that that start morph into where you are now, not that far down the road?

SPEAKER_02

Right. No, I think it was um, you know, I I I love people, I love sitting down with people. So every time I do a plan and I help them somehow, and and I see that, you know, those eyes kind of like wow. And it doesn't have to be very, you know, complicated, it has to be simple. But every time that happens, and I've done it many, many, many times. So I have a lot of practice, uh, it's really satisfying to me. It's just I I fell in love with it, and it's been quite uh a journey.

SPEAKER_01

What made you fall in love with that? Because working with people can be difficult. Like that's the best part of what we do, but it can also be difficult because there's so much in behavioral finance. You're getting people, you're you're talking about their hopes, their dreams, their fears. They're they're coming to you maybe skeptic sometimes to go and I've never invested before. Right. Because one of the things that I just want our audience to know that makes you so different is that you work with anybody. You know, that's one of the things about our our company is we will work with anyone from somebody just starting with a Roth IRA to somebody with millions and millions of dollars, and there's a home for everyone that reaches out. We we believe in that. That's part of who we are as an organization, but you embody that and you embody it still to this day, yeah, right now, where you still don't push people away, say, Hey, you know what? Yeah, you're not worthy of my time. Like you still have that same heart when you from when you started. How why?

SPEAKER_02

Right? Well, it first first it helped me, right? And my personal situation. So I knew this worked. And then just you're sharing with people. Uh especially, you know, I'm I'm I'm from Mexico City, right? I'm a Hispanic. So there's a huge need in my community, Hispanic community, for this. I started in the American market, right? Um, but it's just just that uh feeling that I get when I sit down with people. And yes, till this date, you know, 22, 23-year-old uh kids call me, say, hey, can you help me with this, Mr. Carlos? And I I I just gotta do it. When I, you know, we know that other advisors might not uh you know think that it's worth their time.

SPEAKER_01

They got their minimums, they say it's not worth my they they spreadsheet the business to where they put people in boxes. Right, right. You still don't do that.

SPEAKER_02

No, no, no. We don't do that, we don't turn anybody away, and that's what we stand for here at SmartPro, right? So I just do it a lot. And I think I found a simple way of explaining. I think the industry, it's a little polluted in terms of getting too fancy. And uh talking about the Hispanic community, there's a lot of salesmen out there that don't necessarily know or or have uh you know the community's uh best interest in their mind, and they're just about commission. I see that a lot in the Hispanic community, and I think it was like that uh back in the day in the American culture, so I was kind of in the middle. So I was I like to think myself of myself as a bridge between the things that I learned in this wonderful country with great opportunities, but I knew that I didn't want to uh work forever, right? So you have to know and learn how the financial system works. So I wanted to be that bridge with my community, yes, even though I have a lot of American clients too, right? Which I love.

SPEAKER_01

So I have a few things that I want to I want to dive into there. The first one is how different is the investment world from where you grew up in Mexico versus what you know now in the United States?

SPEAKER_02

Yes, it's totally different. I mean, politically, and then and you can get very deep in it. But the most important thing, something that is very common, is that they don't give us any financial education at school or uh just growing up. Your parents just tell you go to school, get a good job, and just work, and hopefully you'll retire one day. And uh I don't know, I I just didn't like that system. Uh um, so when I came here, I learned I I grew up in Mexico City in a middle, you know, low-class family, income family, and um with uh two sisters, my mom and my dad, and a dog, and a little tiny apartment in Mexico City, and I always wanted more. So I was like to think of myself as ambitious in a good way. So when I came to this uh country, I just saw the whole thing uh fairly easy in terms of like there was more opportunity, people will listen to you, and you could develop anything. And that's most of my Hispanic community. I mean, they work hard, hard, but there's nobody who will sit down with them and teach them and um show them everything, how they understand it, take the the the time and the patience to do it, and I think I've gotten really good at it. Do the complicated, very simple, and I think is my my my strength right there.

SPEAKER_01

Because uh from what you're saying, most people's interaction, it's with the product. Yes, it's not with somebody giving advice and teaching how this works, yeah. How that you can achieve, you know, your your desired future by investing properly or setting up accounts the right way, being in the market the long term, you know, having a long-term growth mentality. It's more so here's a product to fix a need. But a lot of times you're saying those products aren't good.

SPEAKER_02

No, no, they're not good. That's that's for sure. And I started this uh career as a part-time, so I knew I didn't have to make that sell to put food on the table. So that allowed me to say the truth. Yeah, and I knew it was the truth, and I see you know, around all kinds of things that they just care about the sale, but also the night and the nature of our company, like we don't have sales quotas, we don't put pressure on the to sell it, and you have to bring so many sales by Friday. We don't do that, so because we don't want to fall into that, and most of the industry is like that, yeah, and I see it every day. I love replacing bad products with good products, but the most important thing for me is when they realize, oh, I made a mistake. So, how do we fix this, Carlos? What would we do? And they go very, very happy and they become very loyal. That's what I have a lot of.

SPEAKER_01

Do you find when you have those conversations that people go, oh man, I have hope now? Or do you find that there's more frustration and anger for what they did?

SPEAKER_02

That's ultimately what we do, right? We we give hope to people. You know, uh people come to me, they work two jobs sometimes, and they make good money, but they are drowned in debt, they don't have an emergency fund, you know, the financial life is kind of a mess. And you just need a little bit of education and a little bit of discipline, and and it's great. But yes, the way I uh I try to do it uh to with them is like building a plan together. I become kind of part of the family, the husband and wife, uh, you know, whoever comes around and and they are they see the plan and I they see the light. Oh, okay. So you give me these baby steps, I follow them, and I'm gonna get here. And it happens over and over, and then they tell their their cousins and their family, and and I come over and and do it. I I love it, man. It's been a journey.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So one of the things that always fascinates me, and I think it's because I've I grew up in the United States. I grew up, you know, right there down the road, middle America, and I'm always fascinated by somebody that can make the decision to leave everything they've known, to leave their country, their culture, their family for something better. I've never had to make that choice. I've had to do things that were uncomfortable, but not to that level. What made you say, you know what? I don't want I don't want the ordinary, or I don't want I don't want what I'm used to. Right. And I want more, and I'm gonna go somewhere. I have to learn a new language, a new way of a new culture. Living your family and friends there's obviously terrifying at times, but also you had something in you that made you make that bold, decisive choice.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, my first time ever coming to the States, it was in summer 20 2001. Summer, and I got this little job because I thought, well, I come here. I had no idea about anything, right? How things work. So I got a landscaping job. So I started uh mowing grass and they pay me, I think,$10 an hour or$12 an hour. That's a lot of money in Mexico. Uh so you don't see that. So I was like, this is the place to be. So I just got this grass and they pay me 20 bucks. It's amazing. So it it wasn't as traumatic as now I think of it. Because I was young, I was 22 years old. It was more exciting to me than anything else. And you know, I had a good support system, and then I became a father, and everything it worked out the way it did. I wouldn't change it for the world. I don't know what it was. I guess, yeah, it's very fearful to think about you're gonna move out. But um, I mean, I always say you replace that fear with a bigger fear, right? And I just didn't want to be average and ordinary.

SPEAKER_01

What was your bigger fear?

SPEAKER_02

Uh being average and ordinary. I wanted to have a great life, and I just wanted to position myself in a place where it allowed me to succeed and and give me the opportunity to grow exponentially in my efforts. Uh I like to think of myself a hard worker, having work ethic. That comes from my my parents, and then I just put a little bit of brain into it, and you became we're partners today.

SPEAKER_01

What what does a great life look like for you?

SPEAKER_02

Okay, like success. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Just in general. What is it? General. You know, a lot of people they want they want more, and I think that they assume that that means maybe money, uh, maybe that means opportunity. What did it what did it look like to you? Yeah, it's it's about balance.

SPEAKER_02

You know, I also learned early on, you know, having balance in everything. You can have a lot of money, but you have a crappy family, or you can have a good family, but you don't have a spiritual growth. So for me, it's uh, you know, God first, right? Family second, and then business third, and you know, work hard at uh three of them and try to find a balance. Success to me is that your family loves you, you know, and at the same time you can provide for them with no hesitation, with no struggle, and uh just have a healthy life, man.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. How have you seen the the you mentioned three things just there of what you feel like is success, right? How have you seen those three things change over the years from your getting started in a business, learning something new to where you're at now? A highly successful advisor, not only at our company, but just in the industry in general, you're in the top you know, 1% of advisors. How have those things, that hierarchy of things of importance of of God and family and business, how have they changed? How has your perspective on that changed over the years?

SPEAKER_02

Wow, that's a uh that's a good question. But the way I see it is like people before, a friend told me this, they were a skeptical, right? But now I feel that because of the lack of hope and opportunity out there and the things are going in general in life, now they're more cynical. So you not only you have to overcome and gain that trust, but at the same time, they are yeah, cynical. Like they cross their shoulders, so it becomes an environment of lack of hope. And I mean that's one of our missions here at the firm, giving people hope in all senses. And you know, unfortunately, well, or fortunately, money is one of big big factors. Uh, kids are graduating at 22, 23, they don't know what they're doing, and and they they feel there's an entitlement mentality around it, and we gotta change that. Yeah, it's very, very important. But yeah, it's changed. I think uh it's a lot easier in many, many ways now to develop and start a career. I mean, we know it back then. I mean, it took me close to five years to get everything off the ground, right? Uh part-time and doing different things. But um, now it's a lot easier in a way. We have more resources, it's never been easier to become an advisor, but uh the personal touch has been lost. So there's a lot of work to do, and that's what we love coaching young cats.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. How you know, during that process, from where you started to where you're at now, how did you make sure things didn't get in the way of your of your success, of the freedom that you were building, of your family? Things like ego that slows a lot of people down or pushes a lot of people away and elevates yourself over others. And I've seen that in our industry a lot. I think a lot of a lot of clients have probably seen that when they go into a financial office where there's big minimums. You have to have a million dollars to meet with me, you have to have$500,000 to meet with me. Or it's the idea that I'm going to an environment that I'm gonna be intimidated, I'm gonna be looked down on. It's gonna be, you know, the three, four, five thousand dollar suit and the ten thousand dollar watch. And it's a very it it kind of can put people off to where they feel like, well, I'm not worthy of getting help from a financial advisor, I'm not worried, I'm not worthy of going to a company and reaching out because I don't have enough or I don't know enough, or I'm gonna be looked down upon. How did you make sure that you didn't ever have that way about you as you've built an incredibly successful business? How did you put the ego and shove it aside that so many people, successful people in any industry, struggle with?

SPEAKER_02

Wow, I think the key ingredient uh for me is having some kind of gratitude, right? I mean, just the fact that I had the opportunity to come to this crunch, you you gotta be grateful and you have to give back. Uh, the ego thing is super important because that can fuel you, you know, to do great things or it can drown you. And yeah, I've seen it. And I try to teach it every time I talk how talk about the good ego and bad ego, right? I love it. But uh, these guys who don't want to talk to you unless you have you know half a million dollars. Uh I don't know. I think it's in your heart having that spiritual growth or or anchor in you, and being grateful will will help you that. Because I've been uh in the position that I had to drive a long distance to just help a single mom, right? Um get out of debt. There's no product for it. I just gotta just she doesn't have money to invest, and we don't get paid for that. But I mean you have to have a little bit of compassion. That's another thing that we're lacking nowadays. You have to give compassion for people and being authentic and put others before you. I believe that's why the world is a mess right now, right? But uh, but do that. I don't know if you weren't born with it or you didn't develop early on, you really gotta get to it because it's it's gonna get back to you.

SPEAKER_01

I one of the things that I think scares me from what you said in a in a in a way that's positive, not not scares me because you said it, but scares me in general is when people don't have that, they don't they don't have the compassion for others. They in our industry, they love finance and they not people. That's why we say at the beginning, we love people, we like finance. It's not because we're not great on the financial side, it's because we put people first. And the reason that that to our company is so important is because I don't want to live in a country where people go, there's no opportunity, there's no hope. I'm always gonna be in debt, I'm always gonna live paycheck to paycheck, I'm always gonna have student loan debt, like I'm I'm always gonna be behind, and there's others that aren't because they're lucky or whatever. And my question to you is do you still think something like the American dream, is that still alive and it's still is it still achievable to people?

SPEAKER_02

It is alive, very much, and it's gonna get better, uh, you know, over the next few years. But uh, you have to be ready to receive it. And I think is now there's this mentality that they just wanna be handed to them. You gotta work hard, you have all the discipline. But yes, uh, and sometimes, you know, I'll find people, maybe couples that one wants to do a plan and the other one is kind of uh hesitant. Uh I focus on the person who doesn't want to do it, and I focus on capturing their heart, whether I show them a vision, help them. I always say just paint a picture and try to put the client in the picture so they can see themselves succeeding. And if they don't have that vision of that hope, you gotta lend them a little bit. And uh you can so I've gotten to people where uh you know I've talked to people with like I I didn't understand what you said in terms of the terms, but but I want that. Yeah, I can't they kind of see it through your eyes. Yeah, but that to do that, you have to have hope, you have to believe in yourself, you have to believe it's gonna get better, you have to have hope so you can give it out. Yeah, that's what we're about.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, my hey, if you've been listening for a while, you know that we care about doing things the right way and helping people make choices that truly matter. But here's the thing you don't have to do it alone. At Smart Pro Financial, we build a custom step by step plan that has the potential to help you today. Also guides you into the future you're hoping for. We use Ramsey inspired investment models. So your money's invested the same way the Ramsey team talks about. And get this there's no account minimums because we believe that everyone deserves trustworthy financial advice no matter where they're starting. If you're ready to get started, then click the link below to meet with a smart pro financial professional today. So you talked about, you know, when you started and and now that you have kind of a distinct client base of people that are native-born in the United States, and then people that have immigrated to the United States, people that have come here and they have a similar story to you, and you're helping educate them because where they came from might not have the same well doesn't have the same economic system as the United States. And those people can get taken advantage of with products and whatnot. My question to you as someone that that's come here from Mexico City, somebody that, you know, your your native language is Spanish, you learn English. Did you ever feel like you were discriminated against when you worked with clients?

SPEAKER_02

No, never. And I and this is hard because you know, again, the whole environment, but I think it's a state of mind, a personal state of mind. You know, you know this story of me driving through Mississippi and I met with a young couple over there, right? And uh it was husband and wife, and the father-in-law.

SPEAKER_01

Uh he was like watching over the appointment.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, yes, he was like this, you know, with his US hat and uh big beard. Yeah, you know, I went through the cup presentation with a husband and wife, and the guy was listening. And uh, well, I think I covered it all. Do you have any questions? And the father-in-law is like, Are you legal? I just laughed, and you know, the wife is like, Daddy, you don't ask those things. And uh, it was just a big laugh. And I was sir, that was a great question, and I will be glad, uh, I will be glad to answer it. Yes, I'm legal, uh, you know. I love this country, and I'm doing this because I, you know, I want to help people, yeah. And everything I've said to you is truth. Just allow me the time to show you that I can I'm telling the you the truth. He just laughed, chuckle, but he asked you questions. Yeah, that's that was that's a question. That's great. Yeah, no, that's perfect. But a lot of people would get offended by that question. No, if you do you know, when people offend, it comes from a different place, it doesn't have to be about you. I mean, again, it's an ego. I didn't make it about me. I mean, he might where are you from? I mean, I just any question. But uh, if he had bad intention, good, it doesn't have anything to me. Uh I don't know how to polish that. I was just born like that, and I was there to help him, and uh, and I have many, many examples like that. Uh but discriminated, no? I've been pulled over, I've been asked questions, just normal. Yeah, no. And that doesn't that didn't change your mindset? Never, never. Still grateful, still grateful that I was able to to visit them. They became clients and everything. And I have the other side, you know, where people, you know, my first million dollar client was an older couple, and uh, I was the fourth advisor they interviewed, and the youngest. I was like, you know how you feel that at first at the beginning, I'm not gonna get him. And then I got him. So I was doing paperwork and everything, and I asked the guy, uh, sir, can I ask you a question? Yes. Um, why did you pick me? I know you told me I was the youngest, and yeah, I was in the you went interviewing. It's like I just felt that what what you were telling me was the truth, and that's all I care about. I was like, that's darn true. He's still a client till this day, uh, and then some of his family members. It was great. I had great experiences, man, great clients. Uh, we love them. Uh, I mean, I can do a review, and 30 minutes, 40 minutes is talking about the family and life and everything, and then the last 10 minutes is review because they they they trust uh me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So I I want to paint a picture for the listener. Uh-huh. Because you've worked in two distinctly different markets. What's the biggest difference for you? Oh, wow, the biggest difference. Some of you might not realize because I didn't realize it until you told me, you know, hey, my appointments are much longer in the Hispanic community. And I'm like, well, well, why? Why, why is that? And what's the I because I didn't understand it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. That's a good question. Because I I just love both sides so much, right? They need the same, right?

SPEAKER_01

It's the same, it's the same mission, same product, same future, same desires that people want. Yeah, right. They want their family to be taken care of. Yeah, they don't have to worry about it. They want somebody that's got their back, they want freedom, right? They they want to be part of this of the greatest wealth-building tool in humanity, which is the stock market. Right.

SPEAKER_02

It's a little different, you know, the way you get to their heart. It's a little different. So you go with American family, and you have to be sensitive and read very well how the environment is gonna devolve. Sometimes they just want a transaction, you know, transactional, and and and I have to detour myself to try to get to their heart, right? But uh, it can be quicker, you know. When the Hispanic community, they'll invite you to the barbecue on Sunday, and and you know, which you're going to. Yes, this Sunday actually, you gotta meet grandma and have a corona with her, right? And then later we talk about business. That's how it develops. Some American families are like that, some Hispanics are the opposite, it's quick, serious, right? But uh the but the foundation, the being authentic and and capturing the heart, it's always the same. A little different, different eye color.

SPEAKER_01

Is there a level of skepticism that you have to combat differently?

SPEAKER_02

I guess so. In the American culture, they are uh more used to uh the system, they trust the system. It's a little bit easier, you don't have to go as basic as before. Now you have to get a little bit more complicated, uh, which is okay because we have a great team of uh investment research here in Smart Pro. And uh, I just gotta do the connection. But uh and the Hispanic uh community sometimes they don't know what to ask, or they might feel a little bit embarrassed to ask certain things, so you have to be able to read that and explain it with grace, you know, to not make feel anybody bad. So it's all about uh the emotion and the thing and then returns and the math and standard deviation, all that stuff uh takes care of itself at one point, but it's about the relationship. It's really hard to teach that, but we do it great here, Smart Pro.

SPEAKER_01

As your business has grown, as you've built something fantastic, has your relationship and your spiritual life grown?

SPEAKER_02

Yes, definitely.

SPEAKER_01

And I don't think I don't mean that they have to be correlated. No, no, I just mean has that been something that has helped drive you in your success, keep you grounded, reduce that ego.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, yes, definitely. I mean, the love of uh for for God and my family, you know, helps a lot. Um when you don't have to worry so much about money, right? Because that's a topic that everybody worries about, and and and that's taken care of. You can focus on other things to grow and uh and but the gratitude will also be uh kind of like a rail, you know, for to to for you not to detour uh from you know, because money just amplifies what you already are. Yeah, so you have to make an intention every day to be a little better than yesterday, right? Surround yourself with good guys and um uh help you grow and uh it's balance again, man. It's a scary thing to uh it scares me today to lose it, yeah, you know, because I'm sure if another time of my life had the resource I have now, I would have made a mess of myself. But uh, you know, uh God's timing is great. Yeah, yeah, love it.

SPEAKER_01

Have you found that you have people reaching out to you, and you know, they've come from, especially here we're based in Florida, they've come from terrible situations, you know, they've they've fled Cuba, they fled Venezuela, yeah, and they're going, I just need someone that's got my back that can show me how to do this. Like they have that same fire and passion for the American dream, more so than people that are born here a lot of times. Oh, yes. How have you been able to work with that? How have you been able to support those people? And if they're listening to this right now, is that like can you still work with them? Do you still is it still something that you're bringing on new clients that you can help with this with this path that you've kind of showed us and talked to us about?

SPEAKER_02

People from Venezuela, people from Cuba, they inspire me. I want to learn about them, and uh and I'm grateful to them to trust me and say, hey, you don't have to worry about these things anymore. Yeah, I got your back, I've been doing this for this long, and I will teach you. You and I will learn, and I will try to teach you everything I know, and then you'll take these decisions. Uh there's there's just uh full of joy to be here. You know, other people have it a lot harder, and so I'm just grateful.

SPEAKER_01

So I want to ask you another question that's that's a little bit touchy. In your career, you've had times to where you've been an ambassador for our country, for the American dream, from politics to what you believe, yeah. Um and you want to inspire others. And I think that's from a place of giving people hope. Right. And I guess my question for that is um do you feel like right now there's still hope out there for people? Do you feel like you can still instill that with people right in and just the environment that we're in where so many people are just going, oh my goodness, what what's going on? How do I make this how do I make this work for me and my family? And you know, and that doesn't that's not an administration thing, that's that's politics no matter what, on both sides, people get worried and fearful. Yeah, and we've seen that with with our company, with our clients, but how do you navigate that?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. With a lot of grace. Uh you say, hey, we cannot control what happens in Washington or what happens in Mexico, but we can control our personal economy in our house. So if I could just teach you or give you a little hope, or you can just help you see it yourself, that at the end of the day, when you punch out from work, a little piece of that can grow over time. Um, and you see it, right? Um, it will give you hope. You're getting somewhere. Yeah. Instead of like, oh man, this is like a uh how do you call it a rat wheel and never ends, and then I just leave because of them here. So that gives a little bit because my clients call me after two, three, four, or five years from being with me. They're excited. Yeah, Carlos, the market is this, and and they understand now with the market dips, they don't call me as much. They know Carlos, it's time it's time to buy, right? So they become very knowledgeable and hope and hopeful and joyful, and then they share it with others. Yeah, so yeah, we just need more people uh with a good heart to spread the word, and that's what we're doing, trying to expand.

SPEAKER_01

That's right. And I want to go into what you just mentioned of people being used to the market, the ups and downs. Right now, just an estimate approximate with you and your team that you have. How many families do you think that you're helping right now? I think we're stretching 10,000. 10,000?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

How many people moved money out of the market because of fear and the last downturn in 2022? That's right.

SPEAKER_02

No, I think the first, well, 2008, and I think it was 2017, right? When the market went down. Uh, that was a lot of education. That was when it started expanding in the Hispanic community. Uh, but to answer your question, is none. And I'm very surprised because the the last down year was well right now, it's a little iffy, but 2022 was pretty rough. No one, no one called, panicking or anything. Because I tell them the truth. So, one of the parts of the presentation, my first presentation with them um when we interviewed the first time, is telling what could be the worst it can happen. I I try to scare them. I thought this is the part where I'm gonna scare you, I'm gonna tell you, because one of the questions in your brain is like, Am I gonna lose my money? So let's cover that. And I go like that. So at the end, they're like, So this is the worst it can happen? You see, that's something that I don't think it's uh covered very much. You know, most advisors out there focus on returns and low fees and products. That's it's just no. I mean, when you empower the client with knowledge, general knowledge of what could be, they will appreciate it, they won't question your fees, and uh and they'll be prepared for these downturns. Some clients and a lot of clients get excited about the downturns. It's coming back, right? I mean, do you see Walmart opening this morning? Yeah, that's right, it's coming back. So it was we make it fun and we make it uh uh sarcastic. I mean, yeah, it's it's very very very good. Uh but yeah, no one, no one touches money. I don't have those hard conversations. I move me here, move me there. No, so because I we set a foundation. Remember that graphic of uh mutual fund of 40 years, and uh and then we replace, I mean, the life insurance industry, that's another whole animal that I I hate, but yeah, pretty much, and uh, but yeah, education, discipline, and uh a lot of grace.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, what makes you hate the life insurance industry?

SPEAKER_02

Oh, that's that's my uh that's what got me going to the business, just knowing that they're selling these products that they're not good for clients. And and when I tell the client I could sell you this and make 10 times commission on this, and I explain the commission and I teach them uh what to ask, the insurance company. Don't call your agent because your agent is like me, so don't believe us. Just allow me to teach you what questions to ask, but call directly the company, and they like that. I mean, I disarmed every single doubt, I guess. I mean, clients have called me. Carlos, are you free? Yes, what's going on? Well, I have a life insurance salesman right here. He's trying to sell me an IUL. Can you explain to him why it's not good?

SPEAKER_01

Oh my goodness, put you on the spot.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, yeah, but that you know, they've called me from the bank, any financial decision you want to take. They call me. It's really great. And I have a great team. I mean, we have a great team here, Smart Pro 60 Plus, right? Staff, and uh and uh but I have an immediate team that helps me and my clients, and they're great. And and you know, they they are what I'm about, yeah, and they know, but yeah, I hate the life insurance. So do you sell life insurance? Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, it's I take it, but I do it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I do it, and I only exactly just one type is the term, cheap, just covered, and I and I go over the whole thing. But yes, if I find a client that I have the wrong kind of policy, I will teach them how to ask and then convince themselves that this is the wrong product and give an alternative. Like, I want that, yeah, and I want that, but I don't sell it, yeah. Ask for it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's a whole different that comes back to that product, right? It's a pro it's a sell of a product that most people don't understand.

SPEAKER_02

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01

Right? If something comes with you know a giant phone book to explain it, yeah, it's it can be it can be too much or too much.

SPEAKER_02

Explain my presentation, don't believe me a word I say, yeah, just take the time to prove it because I could sell you the same, but I'm uh I want to be asleep at night. Yeah, there's a bunch of crooks, man, in the industry industry in the industry industry.

SPEAKER_01

What right now excites you for the future?

SPEAKER_02

Just um just spreading uh all these things, man. I just want to you know uh grab um find more people with good heart that can spread this hope that we're talking about.

SPEAKER_01

You mean like training new advisors to do what you do?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, training new new good hearted people. We call advisors, yeah. But yes, I think there's a huge need out there, yeah, especially in the Hispanic community. That's what moves me, right? Because I was there once, it's part of my story, it's part of me, and uh, but anybody pretty much, and then try to find a way to get to their their hearts, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

When you look for somebody that you think would have the right heart posture that would put people first, that would love people and like finance, do you look for people that are already in the industry or do you look for people that have those qualities and then train them how to be an advisor?

SPEAKER_02

No, I've done both. I think it takes too much time to um detox uh uh already train advisors.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, so you think it takes too much time to bring somebody in with experience to train something? Yes, yes, so that's the opposite of the industry, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Because that was me. I mean, I didn't have anything to do with the industry, and somebody took the time to train me, and it was just easy. But I've had both. It's it's good, and we develop a system here at Smart Pro that if they're not good, apples, they filter out themselves. Yeah, so we're very protective of that, but um, yeah, there's tons of good people out there. Just gotta, I guess it got a little extra harder because you know, people now believe that there's not an opportunity really, and everybody's in for their each other's money, yeah. So you just gotta overcome that when they became cynical. So you gotta overcome that. But once you find it, I mean we have great advisors here at the firm. Yeah, yeah, I love it. I I'm never gonna retire, I don't think.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I think a lot of our listeners have probably been able to see your heart through this conversation, but I want them to know a few things about you that are a little bit outside of the financial world. Are you ready? Yeah, you might I don't know if any of these they probably won't embarrass you because they're things that you you like and enjoy. So they asked me if I was legal, man. So fine. The Beatles? Yeah, guitars, yes, Legos. All right. All right, so explain how explain to the audience how somebody uh from Mexico City can fall in love with the Beatles, right? Be in a Beatles cover band, yes, as who? John Lennon? Yeah, and sing in perfect English, even with an English accent.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, how does that how does that even work? Well, I mean sometimes in our performances, people would so you're singing, but where are you? Um Mexico? I'm from Mexico, so you're gonna sing in Spanish? No, sir. No, but it's very cool. I I was I met the Beatles when I was eight years old. My dad had worked in this uh uh Capitol Records back in the 70s, and he loved the Beatles, so he presented to me the Beatles, and I just fell in love with their music, man. So I always liked them, right? But they also became kind of like a mantra to me, kind of like um, you know, you talk about moving countries and and uh doing different things, right? You know, maybe unconsciously when I felt a kind of loneliness, maybe or doubt, and I could go back to the music because it's always there and kind of recharge myself, kind of like a mantra. And then, you know, I when I was 17, I learned how to play the guitar, and I just wanted to play uh Beatles. I had my band in Mexico and they moved here in Atlanta. I had another great band there. We were together for nine years, and uh we played uh for Shaquille O'Neal, uh Frank Darkington. Uh for it was good people, and uh then I came here and I found this little band. We're taking a break right now, but uh yeah, collect guitars, all the Beatles gear, you know.

SPEAKER_01

So if you're if you're listening to this on podcast, make sure to go to YouTube because we're gonna put some pictures up of you performing so that people can believe this and see it. Um and I I think it's gonna be it's it's a fun thing to see because uh you're you're a fantastic musician. Thank you. Thank you. What okay? Somebody ask you a few questions. Number one, so you talked about your your love of the Beatles, getting to know them. What's your favorite song? Can you even ask that question? Is that an okay question to ask?

SPEAKER_02

It's hard to see by seasons, but I'm a I'm a John Lennon fan. Uh but I I I like the the the song Help and In My Life. That's my yeah, yeah. I think your kids like in my life. Yes, everybody likes it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. I I once had to I had to um borrow your truck. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And they were in the back, and you had the the Beatles station on, and like you didn't know how to change it to anything else. Right? And they're like, What is this? And like I don't really know, but and then it just kept going and they kept listening to it and listening and uh and liking it. So that's awesome. I I find it interesting too because you have this this side of you that's highly creative, uh artistic, you know, you love music, you play all different instruments, you love creating things, and a lot of times people will put the financial world in a box to where they go, oh man, that's very, you know, head knowledge, very analytical, very spreadsheet driven. And a creative person would say, I I'm not for that. And then a lot of times, I don't want to, I don't want to uh put a whole uh group of people's interest in a certain category, but a lot of times that group isn't motivated by by growing, you know, uh a big business, or you're very capitalistic, you're you're very entrepreneurial, and those things a lot of times uh a more artistic personality doesn't jive with that. I mean, that's that's an interesting thing about you that makes you tick.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, I've I've been told that before. It's really weird because some of my best friends are very Very artistic, like you said, uh writers, you know, philosophy, uh teachers, right? That kind of uh human humanity uh side. And then some of our first friends they're engineers, they're very you know, square and numbers and stuff. So I have a kind of like a mix of both. I don't know why. It's it's weird, and I just it's industrial engineering, and uh I don't know. I don't know why. It's a good combination. I guess I'm kind of practical, so whatever works, you know, the the guitar work, the music works, so let's do it. Oh, and this the the the money thing. Oh, it works. I need it to. So I just uh I just do a combination, but yeah, this is it's it's strange. I've heard that before, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_01

So you also have an amazing guitar collection that you've been accumulating over the years. Oh, yeah, yeah. If you're somebody that's into guitars, what are three guitars that you have in your collection you're most proud of?

SPEAKER_02

Gibson, Les Paul, you know, Lucy, Epiphone Casino, 1965, and maybe the last one, the J200, Elvis Presley uh model. Yeah, 1957. I have those, they're great guitars. We 35 guitars.

SPEAKER_01

35 guitars. We recently went to Nashville and you got lost. Yeah, for a couple of hours.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, right. Yeah, I went to the Gibson factory. Yeah, a couple of hours. I was supposed to go in and come back with a guitar. You know, Joe told me, I'll pick you up in 20 minutes. Sure. He called me, Are we ready? No, man. No, no, just just go to the hotel, I'll take an Uber. It's gonna take a while. I can't leave this place. Now it's a beautiful place when guitars rolling around. It was great.

SPEAKER_01

And then I I gotta mention the last one because uh to me it's the it's the most Legos? It's the funniest one, not because it's maybe it's because it's Legos a little bit, but because you just got you you I gotta share the story because recently happened, right? Oh, okay. You're gonna blame it on somebody else. I yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_02

Well, in 2010, 2009, my son, my son was uh you know young enough to like Legos, right? 2012. But you know, I was saving, I was developing my career, and you know, I didn't have a lot of money to go and buy big sets, and he was about eight years old, seven years old. So we would buy the little sets, I mean sit on the mall in Atlanta and put it together. And he was just, you know, ah, look at the Death Star, right? Yeah, well, it was$250 back then, a fortune, right? Yeah, like oh man, let's buy this little one. So kind of I I got a little, I guess, chip on my shoulder because of that. Yeah, so yes, we went Saturday to Disney Springs, right, at the Lego store with Jude. Now he's in college, he's 19. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And you you had so many, you had so many Legos on you. You're walking out that people would stop you because they thought you had a TikTok channel about making Lego.

SPEAKER_02

We got we got 22, 23 sets, they're huge uh boxes, and and you know, all the Lego salespeople. I guess they make a commission, I didn't know, and they all got together, like, whoa, whoa, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He was everybody, and then uh uh a guy, you probably an Asian guy can say, Hey, how much, how much, how much? I was like, a lot, and then we got all these bags and started walking to the parking lot to stop us for pictures and ask Jude if he was in TikTok or something. I was like, Whoa, no, I just like the sets. So now I have seven and a half years to put them together.

SPEAKER_01

There you go. Yeah, is that chip gone now officially, or is it still there?

SPEAKER_02

Uh no, it's a few other sets. We we build this this uh display shelf system. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my goodness, that's so fun. I think it's it's cool to see the other side of people versus just the business.

SPEAKER_02

And it helps you with business. Sometimes he connects with people. Yeah, many, many clients love the Beatles. When I tell them, it's like, what? Do you have a video? Yes. Oh my god! And then you know it breaks the eyes like one use of my advisor. Yeah, they come to the show. It's really great. That's it's really great.

SPEAKER_01

Well, as we conclude here, I I want you to take a moment and I want you to just look into the camera and give the advice that you would give somebody right now that's going, man. I I don't feel like I don't feel like I'm gonna be able to make it when it comes to finance. I don't know what the future is gonna be. I don't know how this is gonna work.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

What advice do you give that person so they can actually win? So they can get to that desired future that we all want. They want whether it's financial freedom, whether that's more time, whether that's just not have to worry about the day-to-day. What is it to give them hope? Wow.

SPEAKER_02

In English, right? You can do both. I'll do both. Yeah. Well, I would tell you that um there is hope. And if you don't see it or it's blurry right now, I could let you borrow some of mine, and I will sit down with you and I and and we'll make a plan to find that hope. And it's there. We just gotta work together. A little bit of d education and a little bit of discipline goes a long way. That's what I would say. Yeah. I'll give it my all.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. What would you say in Spanish?

SPEAKER_02

Oh wow. In Spanish. Okay.

SPEAKER_01

Can people still work with you right now?

SPEAKER_02

Yes. I like that. I would like for them to. If you think that you can you have it in you to help people, and you love people, and you like somehow numbers, I can teach you a system to do a great career. Very, very satisfying for sure. Yeah, call us up.

SPEAKER_01

So you're in the business right now of helping people spreading hope. Yeah. Develop a career as an advisor, but also helping people with their investments, with their future, with the retirement. That's right.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, that's what I do. That's my career. Advisor, uh, show you a way for you to retire with dignity.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. If you're wanting to work with Carlos, work with his team, if you feel inspired to take the next steps and your journey of financial freedom, we're going to make sure that you have all the tools to be able to contact him, to contact Smart Pros so that you can do that. We encourage you to reach out. We encourage you to take that bold step and say, you know what? I want to work with somebody that's got the right heart, somebody that loves people, that likes finance, that's going to be truthful, that's going to guide me through this experience and has the right passion and heart for this business for me and my family. This is the guy, and there's many more advisors at SmartPro that share that same mentality. So we're here to help. If you're somebody that feels like, you know what? I want to take another bold step. I want to become a SmartPro advisor. And I want to be mentored by somebody like Carlos or Carlos. Take that bold step as well to reach out. We're always wanting people that have that heart because we have a big mission out there. There's so many people that need what we have, that need hope, that need to know that they can still win. The American dream's still alive, that they can get out of debt, they can't have financial freedom, they can pay off their student loans, they don't have to live paycheck to paycheck. You don't have to be normal. One of our core values is leave normal behind. There's more out there. And that's what we hope that you got out of this conversation. Ladies and gentlemen, Carlos Simone, thank you so much for joining us.

SPEAKER_02

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01

Hey, thank you all so much for tuning in to today's episode of SmartPro Radio. I hope you enjoyed it. And if you did, please take a minute and subscribe and share this episode with friends. We really do appreciate it. And make sure that you don't miss any future episodes. We put them out on the first Monday of each month. We'll see you then.

SPEAKER_00

Discussions in this show are for entertainment and educational purposes only and should not be construed as specific recommendations or investment advice. Always consult with your investment professional before making important investment decisions. Securities offered through registered representatives of Cambridge Investment Research Incorporated, a broker dealer, member FINRA, SIPC. Advisory Services through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Incorporated, a registered investment advisor. Cambridge and SmartPro Financial are not affiliated.