Peter Winovich III, a dedicated financial advisor based in Toledo, Ohio, has built a successful national practice primarily serving sports figures and business owners. With 16 years of experience, he transitioned from college football to a career where he tailors holistic plans encompassing estate planning and asset management. A recipient of NAIFA's Four Under 40 National Award, Peter embodies the characteristics of a driven individual in sports and finance, carrying the ethos of hard work, leadership, and accountability into his professional life. Recognizing the impact of financial guidance, he thrives on creating positive changes for his clients and aspires to leave a lasting legacy through his work.

               

 

 

 

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

• [03:49] Peter Winovich III discusses the transition from college football to a successful career in finance
• [06:44] Peter’s financial practice’s involvement with sports figures nationwide
• [09:44] Sports lessons people can leverage in the business world 
• [13:42] Peter’s future goals and career aspirations
• [20:45] Building trust with clients and overcoming early career stress
• [23:25] The parallels between athletic and financial career pressures
• [25:26] Peter's perspective on trusting the process
• [30:37] The value of personal growth and mentorship
• [34:16] The sources of Peter’s inspiration and work ethic

In this episode…

Transitioning from a career in athletics to the financial advisory industry might seem daunting, but it is a reality for many former athletes. As similarly competitive fields, financial advisory presents unique challenges and opportunities for those up to the task. So, what does it take to utilize the skills honed in the field and translate them into success in the financial world?

Peter Winovich III, a celebrated financial advisor, shares his journey from collegiate football to becoming a recognized figure in the financial services industry. He emphasizes the importance of building relationships, a lesson learned from sports, which has been instrumental in his ability to serve clients effectively. Peter highlights the critical role of mentors in his transition from athlete to advisor, underscoring the value of seeking guidance from those familiar with the rigors of sports. He also reflects on the integral role of stress in sports and financial advising as a catalyst for growth rather than an impediment.

In this episode of Advisor Today, co-hosts Chris Gandy and Suzanne Carawan sit down with Peter Winovich III, a dedicated financial advisor, about the intersection of sportsmanship and financial advising. Peter discusses the transition from college football to a successful career in finance, sports lessons people can leverage in the business world, and his approach to building trust with clients and overcoming early career stress.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Chris Gandy on LinkedIn
• Suzanne Carawan on LinkedIn
• NAIFA
• Peter Winovich III on LinkedIn
• Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Quotable Moments:

• "It's not how much you know, it's how much you care."
• "With our business, we have the opportunity to impact the lives of others." 
• "Stress can be bad, but just enough stress can be good."
• "Doing hard things really pays off."
• "Being held accountable to yourself — that's the type of standard that I try to live here in my professional career."

Action Steps:

1. Build trust with clients by putting their needs first: Focusing on client trust demonstrates care and can lead to long-term relationships and referrals.
2. Embrace holistic financial planning: Holistic planning covers all aspects of a client's financial life, ensuring that their comprehensive needs are met.
3. Seek mentorship early in your career: Having a mentor to guide you can offer invaluable insights and help you navigate the complexities of the financial industry.
4. Manage professional stress through positive practices: Implementing stress-reducing habits can help maintain mental clarity and improve job performance.
5. Take inspiration from your personal life to drive career aspirations: This can be a powerful driver to achieve and sustain high performance in any field.

Sponsor for this episode...

This episode is brought to you by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, or NAIFA, the #1 association for producers in financial services. 

At NAIFA, we enhance professional skills, promote ethical conduct, and advocate for legislative and regulatory environments.

By joining NAIFA, you gain access to a partnership that elevates your performance while providing greater purpose to your professional work. NAIFA members are happier, make more money, and stay in the business longer.

Get in touch with NAIFA and learn more about how to join NAIFA by visiting NAIFA.org.

Episode Transcript

Intro 0:02 

Welcome to NAIFA's Advisor Today podcast series where we focus on how financial advisors work, live, and give to their local communities and our greater financial services industry. Now let's get started with the show.

Chris Gandy 0:20 

Hi everyone. Welcome to Advisor Today's podcast where we focus on getting to know like-minded individuals like yourself, and bringing the best of the best to you over our wonderful podcast. And it's been over a year now, Suzanne, two years.

Suzanne Carawan 0:39 

Two years, yeah, we're two years, yeah, two years.

Chris Gandy 0:42 

So something that came out of nothing was we wanted to create the voice of you, the advisor. So with that being said, we have a great guest today, but Suzanne, before we get to our guest, can you share with us our sponsor, who our sponsor is for today's podcast?

Suzanne Carawan 0:58 

Sure, Chris, I'd be delighted to so today's sponsor is no other than Advisor Today, we are celebrating our four under 40 National Award winners. We're having a series all of these people will be showing up to celebrate with us in person and get their awards at Apex, which is happening September 19 through the 21st at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix. And today's award winner that we're focusing on is Peter Winovich III, so he is our special guest. And if you haven't registered for apex, Chris and I will be there. Pete will be there. We'd love to see you. You can register at apex.naifa.org and we're delighted to have you and get to know you today.

Chris Gandy 1:39 

Wonderful. Welcome, Peter. How are you?

Peter Winovich III 1:40 

Hey, great. Happy Monday. Thank you so much for your time today.

Chris Gandy 1:45 

All right, so, Suzanne, you mentioned that there's 40 under 40. Can you give NAIFA nation a little bit background of what that is and how guys like Peter, or individuals like Peter can qualify.

Suzanne Carawan 1:59 

Sure. So Advisor Today is NAIFA's flagship media platform. It's inclusive of a magazine, a blog platform, our podcast here, we have webinar series, etc. We've got over 82,000 subscribers. So, you've got a big audience out here. And the magazine has been in existence for 40 to 50 years, and in that time, they started creating the four under 40 National Award winners to really highlight those people who are 40 years or under in age and are doing amazing things to move the industry forward. So each year, we get nominations and applications come in, and a committee goes about doing the hard work of selecting just four people to win this national award, and then we showcase them and we appreciate them. And of course, they have to be NAIFA members and doing kind of kicking on all cylinders, right? They got to be doing stuff in the industry, doing stuff in the community, being good citizens and the like. And so we're delighted that Peter is part of the class of 2024.

Chris Gandy 3:01 

Nice. So, Peter, those are wonderful accolades. So, Peter, do you happen to know why you got selected? I'm just curious.

Peter Winovich III 3:13 

That's a good question. I think it's because of Lou Holtz’ famous quote, “It's not how much you know, it's how much you care.” And I care for people, and I think that that is emphasized by the clientele that I work with and the relationships that I've built for the last 16 years. So it has been an exciting time, and I thank you for the honor, and I'm excited to receive that award.

Chris Gandy 3:44 

So Peter, tell us a little bit about your practice, where you're from, and how you got into the business.

Peter Winovich III 3:49 

Yeah, it was 2007 and I was a senior at Bowling Green. I have a couple Bowling Green helmets in the background, and they had built this building in the end zone, and the corner, like suite lounge area, was the Wilcox boardroom, the Mike and Jan Wilcox boardroom. I thought that was really cool. Looked him up so I was financial advisor, and I asked my coach if I could get his contact information. I reached out to him, and about 40 interviews later, he said, we don't have a training program, but want you to come on board and we'll figure it out. We don't normally take kids in, right from college, because we're so boutique. And it was a great experience. And that was going on 16 years, 17 years, actually, in September. So that's where I've been.

Chris Gandy 4:51 

So tell us a little bit about your practice, Peter.

Peter Winovich III 4:56 

So I would like to say it's a national practice. I work with a lot of sports figures, as you see with the helmets in the background, etc, but also business owners. So, I have a good geographic footprint across the country that I could go anywhere and just work with people that need help, and really focus on holistic planning from the top down. I just had a call this morning from somebody looking for help on an estate plan. We talked through that, going to connect them with an attorney to walk them through that, work on the titling, etc. And we also do a lot of asset management, and really just try to be hands on with the client.

Chris Gandy 5:46 

So you mentioned the fact you went to Bowling Green, right? Bowling Green State University? Yes. Okay, so share with us. How did you get into this space of, I see a Michigan helmet up there too. I see that Indiana basketball.

Peter Winovich III 6:03 

My little brother played at Michigan for a number of years as a defensive end. So that was one of his helmets. And so football is running the family for a number of years.

Chris Gandy 6:16 

Got it so. So you mentioned sports figures. That's a space I know other NAIFA members wish or would consider. How did you get into working with sports figures or in the entertainment sport? I call sports the entertainment space, because at the end of the day, that's what they're doing, entertaining people full-time. Share with us how you got into the space, and then what are you doing to stay relevant in the space? Because it's a super consistent competitive space.

Peter Winovich III 6:44 

Super competitive and it started with my CEO working with a couple different coaches, very high profile coaches, and that led to more coaches, and then now university presidents, athletic directors and conference commissioners all across the country, and I work with a lot of them, across the board from there.

Chris Gandy 7:06 

So share with us. So physically, where is your practice now?

Peter Winovich III 7:10 

Here in Toledo, Ohio.

Chris Gandy 7:12 

Toledo, Ohio. Okay, that is right down the street, not too far away. So you're in Toledo, Ohio. You're doing a deal day to day. And are you still connected to sports at Bowling Green?

Peter Winovich III 7:27 

Yes, very much so, especially with the football team and through annual golf outings and going down to practices and just having a close relationship with the coaches, etc.

Chris Gandy 7:40 

So did you play sports growing up? I mean this emphasis on sports, I see tons of sports. Did you play sports? I heard you say your brother played.

Peter Winovich III 7:48 

Yes, I played at Bowling Green. Yep, played football at Bowling Green.

Chris Gandy 7:52 

Was there a position that you were good at, or did they move you around? Tell us a little bit about you.

Peter Winovich III 7:59 

I came in as a quarterback, actually, and then I decided that, I was wearing a blue jersey, and I was fed up being like, fifth or sixth string as a freshman, so I ran down and knocked out one of our star receivers on a kickoff return going through to tackle. So everybody on the team was all the coaches were like, oh, we want them on defense. We want them on offense. So that was after I ran the hill twice because I was too aggressive on a play. But I got noticed. And then I played my first game at tight end at Oklahoma. So Adrian Peterson and I were the same age, and he had two touchdowns that game, and I was on the offensive side for BG, we had a good game against them. Didn't win, though, fun. So two year starter there, and had a great career. Played every one of my games there, and then met my lovely wife there, and my sister ended up joining us at Bowling Green, and she met her husband there. So between the both of us, there's six other human beings that were brought into this world because of my decision to go to Bowling Green. Pretty crazy to think that.

Suzanne Carawan 9:19 

Yeah. And you had the courage to go out and get that spot right, get go out and say, well, I got to do something about it. Yeah, absolutely.

Chris Gandy 9:30 

So, Peter, let's rewind it to what did you learn during sports that you feel, what trade did you learn in sports as you feel helps you in your day-to-day, or in this business, do pretty well.

Peter Winovich III 9:44 

Yes, I would say leadership and being accountable for yourself. So take care of yourself first, and then I would also say teamwork, right, making sure that you communicate effectively to the people around you. I just always remember the 5am drills and how frustrated we would get when somebody would do the wrong move while we were doing Up Downs. And that's important, being held accountable to yourself, and that's the type of standard that I try to live here in my professional career.

Chris Gandy 10:24 

Interesting. You talk about Up Downs. You got to remember, Peter, most people don't know what that is. I mean, you got to remember. You're throwing around athletic terms: the hill. Can you talk about what those things are? Because the average person doesn't know, I know what they are, but the average person doesn't know what those things are or why you have to do those things, and what consists of those things?

Peter Winovich III 10:50 

Yeah, the coach will blow a whistle. You get down. You got to get back up, get down. And it's just mental toughness, and the type of drills that we would do at five in the morning would be to tire you out, but then you'd have to do a mental skill where you'd have to think about something because in the game, you're going to be tired, and you got to push through it. And same thing with being in a financial advisor is that you got to pick up the phone and call that person that maybe might have said no two or three times they said no because it was inconvenient for them at the time, they might say yes, that next time it's that, picking up the phone and calling when you think somebody has a question on their portfolio, did you have a gut feeling, etc. So it's doing those types of things and can be inconsistent that really make you successful.

Chris Gandy 11:47 

So Peter, go ahead Suzanne.

Suzanne Carawan 11:50 

I just say it's that next-play mentality. You're not holding on to what just happened. You got to move on to the next play.

Chris Gandy 11:57 

Absolutely. So, Peter, I have a question. You never had the, every kid out there has the dream of potentially playing and if it's football and NFL, if it's basketball, the NBA, if it's soccer, Major League Soccer. Share with us a little bit. Did you try and chase that dream? And if you didn't, or you did, either way, why not?

Peter Winovich III 12:31 

Yeah, by the time I was done, I was ready for a new adventure. I needed a fresh start, and I wanted to use my head for its brain, not for smashing into other human beings. So that's what I decided to do. Whereas my brother, he played five years in the NFL, got drafted by the New England Patriots, so now he's on that same journey as I was when I was done. So that's where I was at.

Chris Gandy 13:02 

So, like me, you're a recovering athlete, I understand.

Peter Winovich III 13:06 

Yeah, and I think also, like in our space, financial space, is that it's competitive, extremely competitive. And that's like sports, right? So competition makes you better, and that's why I really love this career.

Chris Gandy 13:25 

So let's fast-forward the tape a little bit. So share with us five years from now, we're having this conversation about your career, and you look back, share with us a little some of the things that you would like to accomplish over the next four or five years with your career?

Peter Winovich III 13:42 

Great. That's a great question. I think just some things going on now are very transformational. So with my professional career, so I would say, being in a spot that I feel extremely empowered to be able to impact the lives of the people that I want to work with, and do it in a way that provides for my family, and I can do it with great mental health and clarity. So I would say, five years from now, that's definitely one thing that I hope I could look through, look back on, and say, I was able to accomplish that, I'd say the second is just, really just being clear and concise with the things that I want to do and the people that I want to work with, and being selective with that, because I have the fortune to work with so many wonderful people. But, you know, can't you can't help everybody either. So just being more selective with the clientele that I work with.

Chris Gandy 14:53 

Peter, as a former football player, I have a lot of friends and associates that played either Canadian football or played in the league, played in college. My son played in college. He was a cornerback at Northern Illinois, which played Bowling Green for a while, but a couple times. But here's a question. Do you have? And guys I'm a part of, we support the NFL Players Association here in Chicago pretty closely, and we know a couple of presidents, as a person, do you have concerns about, like, your health going forward? That things you maybe don't know about that are out there that you're like, huh, I wonder if those things are going to apply for me. Is that something that concerns you, and how does it play into the planning that you have for you and your family? Because obviously it's important.

Peter Winovich III 15:55 

Yeah, I think a lot of us are fearful of what happens when we're out of the four under 40 demographic. And I think there was just a report that just came out about, like, you don't age linearly. You age in some of that, like 44 and 60 or something. So, yeah, pretty wild. But no, you just don't know, with all, I look at the helmets that my brother had and versus the helmets that I had, it was vastly different. And had several nerve surgeries, just because that's how I played. So, yeah, but fortunately, I was able to get through college with relatively minor injuries, unlike some of my teammates. So, knock on wood, that keeps going, but it's a good scary, and I think also like looking at future generations, like my kids, like I am. I want them to be active and play sports, but I don't know if I necessarily want them to play football at this age. Certainly, I didn't play. I didn't end up playing until Seventh grade. And then once I did, I loved it. I was addicted.

Chris Gandy 17:12 

Peter, that's interesting, because, yeah, I'm on the concussion, the National concussion coalition in a, dealing with CTE and Chris Nowinski and ski and all those guys. And one of the things that's relevant is the fact that, if you ask all those guys that play, hey, would you let your kid, yeah, and 98% of them say not until they're in high school. And that's interesting. That's interesting because when Peter was coming up, he was a little Pop Warner right around, even though you don't know what you're doing, just run around and hit each other. And that's how it works, right? And remember, Peter used to say the cobwebs, hey, you get the cobwebs, get up and you shake it off, right?

And so the world has evolved, has changed. Kudos for you for getting out when you did, obviously, and giving yourself an opportunity to live a healthy life going forward. So what advice would you give for athletes, specifically that don't make it, I love that NCAA commercial. Everybody's going pro, yeah, I love, I used to love that. I need to bring it back. They need to bring it back. But that's a great commercial. If you were giving advice to someone who was trying to transition whether they played the big leagues or they transitioned from sports into this business, what advice would you give them?

Peter Winovich III 18:53 

Well, first thinking that most athletes that play collegiately and professionally often started when they're younger. So you identify as an athlete, so Peter Winovich athlete, or student-athlete, when you're done, it's really hard to transition to the professional career, your professional career. So I think, look to find mentors in the athletic space, that could help you transition. And it's no secret that if you hire an athlete or a former athlete, they often are competitive and they want to win. And when somebody wants to win, they take the time and the effort to prepare, and when you prepare, you have a greater chance of success, and so I would say, seek mentors, and also realize that you'll always be an athlete, but now you have to rebrand or put a new cap on moving forward.

Chris Gandy 20:00 

Yeah. The idea of using your head for something other than a battery RAM, the idea of using your body for something other than entertainment, so to speak from an athletic perspective is always good. Let me ask you this, Peter, what was one of the hardest things you had to do when you started it in the business? I think so many people started a business and they say, oh, I'm gonna go out and make a million dollars. I get it right. But we all struggle, whether it's our year one, year two, year three. We all struggle with things. What were the largest struggles that you had in the business, and you overcame them to have this, some of the success you're having?

Peter Winovich III 20:45 

Yeah, I would say, first, is just finding somebody to trust you when you're younger, just to take a chance on you. And one of my first clients, it was like a snowy December, and I went down, had this beautiful plan crafted, and it was right at the end of the year. And I needed it to make it to New Year's, essentially. So they needed the plan as much as I needed the plan, essentially. And I remember that little bit of stress ultimately created hundreds of 1000s of dollars for that individual, through the plan that we put in place. And had I not fought through that stress, that wouldn't have generated that, and that was my first experience from there, so trying to stress, too much stress can be bad, but just enough stress can be good, and that's how I try to work through that.

Chris Gandy 21:50 

Managing stress. Suzanne, let me throw this to Suzanne for a moment. Suzanne, how do you manage stress? Because, again, you're running a high-octane team to make part of NAIFA. And it's like, it's like a sports team, like, how do you manage stress? And then Peter, I'm going to go back to you is, how do you manage stress successfully? So we'll go with Suzanne first. Suzanne.

Suzanne Carawan 22:16 

Well, I tell you, I learn a lot from all the apps. I surround myself with athletic people like the two of you. I'm in a house of athletes myself, and so I also have to come back and say, wait, I'm an athlete too. So athletes, to your point, I make a lot of lists. I do a lot of positive affirmations, right? And you got to stay disciplined. It's consistency. So I just try to be as consistent and tenacious as possible. Because then I say, I control the controllables, and then I don't worry about it. If I've done it, it's kind of like putting it all in the field. Like I was just saying, I just became an empty nester. Some people know, a lot of mothers are out there crying. I'm, like, victorious, because I left it all in the field with those two kids. Like I've done everything I can.

I know that they're ready to go out there. And you can't worry about it, right? The outcome will take care of it. So that's what I try to focus on, and control the controllables, yeah, and then surround myself with good people, yeah.

Chris Gandy 23:06 

I think people look at stress so they look at it as bad. So we're saying stress can be good, yes.

Suzanne Carawan 23:11 

Oh, yes. And stress is the motivator, right? And you don't want to get complacent. That's death, right?

Chris Gandy 23:17 

Okay, so kick it over to you, Peter. Peter, so how do you deal with stress on a day-to-day basis?

Peter Winovich III 23:25 

I would say, anytime that stress gets too much, I try to do a change in temperature. And what I mean by that is like, do a cold plunge or do a sauna or go in the hot tub or go in the shower, anytime you have a change in temperature, I find that that helps with stress and then I like to read a lot of stoicism as well. So that's but I would say probably my greatest weakness is stress slash overthinking at times. So that is something that I'm always constantly trying to work on, but doing hard things really pays off, and it when you look back on it. And those periods of stress were ultimately a period of growth.

Suzanne Carawan 24:19 

Yeah, one of the things I always say and a lot of our super successful advisors who have been athletes and versus those who aren't, is that at Game Time is game time like you can't, still be worried about work. If you either put in the work and you're ready for game time and game time you got to play. And the advisors who come through that mindset do well, because the people that don't, they're still worrying about what they're doing while, performance is performance, right? Gentlemen, like, that's it. You either put in the work or you didn't, but that's not the time to practice. Yep, right, exactly.

Chris Gandy 24:53 

This just comes back to the ideal, that preparation, you've mentally prepared. And the reason why you're mentally prepared is because physically you've prepared so much that you don't have to think about, yeah, right, so muscle memory and understanding. And Peter knows this. Peter, what does it mean for you to trust the process? Of course, your coach always said that trust the process, trust the process. You got to trust the process. Just trust. Trust your instinct, trust the process. Peter, for you, what does that mean?

Peter Winovich III 25:25 

Yeah, so one is first identifying what that process is, so you have the confidence to trust it, right, and saying, hey, there's going to be periods of time that you're going to have doubt, and you got to trust what you're doing is, is going to get to the end zone, not to bring up a football term, but that's so when I hear trust the process, it's goals are great, but it's all the little things in between that make it to that goal. So that's part of that process.

Suzanne Carawan 26:00 

So are you still like, a miracle morning guy, like, do you still have your time management completely structured out and to stay successful because football's so highly structured?

Peter Winovich III 26:11 

Yeah, that's a great question. I would say it's not as structured as some like, time blockers that I know, like they put, like, when they're going to have coffee and stuff. But I'm pretty consistent with, I don't even need an alarm clock, and I wake up at the same time every day from there. So yeah. And the more organized you can be in this profession, especially is really important. I got a lot of papers on my desk because we got a lot going on right now. But trust the process. Chris, where did you hear, asking you a question, where did you get the trust the process? I know my coach at Bowling Green, a guy named Matt Campbell, talks about that. He's that Iowa State head football coach. He says, trust the process. So where's your experience on that asking you a question?

Chris Gandy 27:10 

So my experience on trust the process is, our coach used to say, I played at the University of Illinois, and our coach used to say is that, “the best thing about being a freshman is one day you'll be a sophomore.” Yeah, the best thing about being a sophomore is one day you'll be upperclassmen. And so he used to tell us, even if you're as skilled as the seniors, the seniors just get it. And we never really understood that, right? And there was the unmeasurable, the things that you can't measure with, how many rebounds did you get, or how many blocks did you get?

You can't, the Immeasurables. And so those things, he's like, you have to trust the process in which we're going to put you through so that when you get there, you're prepared. We thought we were prepared because we're like, you know what, I scored on that guy more than practice and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And there's more to it than that. There's more to it. There's the professionalism there. There's the ability to be a good teammate. There's the ability to be, your ability to work hard in a weight room and be an example, your ability to work hard to practice. All those things that go in a good student. All those things that go into those things. And if you're not a good student, you attend study hall and you show up to classes. You're not a distraction. All the things that go into being an athlete that, again, the fan only sees, yeah, right. And so I heard it.

I heard something when I was drafted, so I was actually picked up as a free agent in Chicago with the bulls, and one of the things that they were big on was the psychology of the game and part of that was you don't know what you don't know, and even when you know it, there's still more for you to know. And so we would look at plays and understand how they were run, and then there was the alternative to that play, just like you guys were calling audibles and things like that. There was an alternative to those plays. But when you got to the league, those alternatives, like in college, became multiple alternatives, versus just one or two, right? And so you learned that, okay, got it, you got to trust the way in which they're going to teach it to you, because they taught it all to you one time. Be like, drink it out of a fire hose.

So, we got back to the basics, and that's what I mean by this, is, I think it's kind of cool for you as an athlete, to come into this business and to excel, because you've got some of the tools that were innate in you and was built inside of you and in honed those skills were honed as a young professional before you even got here, right? And so if you could teach those to others, or share some of those experiences, people can live vicariously through your experience, I have a question for you, Peter, coaches, let's talk coaches. All right, so you played high school college. Who is your favorite coach to play for and why? Ooh, a guy you just run through walls. You're like, you know what, that's my guy.

Peter Winovich III 30:37 

Love him and hate him at the same time. But Hall of Fame high school coach, Bill Cherpack, my high school coach. I think he's the fourth-winningest coach in Pennsylvania History still going. So he made me a better person and player. Then I would say Coach Campbell and I would also stay Coach Drawa. He coached at Ohio State for a little bit. He's a great guy as well, but so were many other coaches during that time but the coach would make such a big impact on you, just from a mental standpoint. And the best coaches that had that blend of being supportive but also critical, and the ones that were overly critical caused a negative experience. So yeah, I don't know, did you know any of those coaches that I mentioned?

Chris Gandy 31:44 

No, but I'm gonna go old school and new school, right? So how do you feel about well, Suzanne, we got to ask him, just like we asked somebody else, who's so Peter, how do you feel about the NIL deals and what they've done to college football.

Peter Winovich III 32:01 

Oh yeah, it's wild. It's created a huge, huge opportunity for 18 to 22-year-olds. And there's an entire ecosystem of new professions now for NIL. I mean, that's probably what's kept the job loss market figures down here, but it's probably overdone, though, right now, in the sense that the pendulum always swings one way or the other too far. And I think, it was like, hey, let's throw it out there and see what happens. And then the pendulum comes back here from there, so yeah, it's very interesting, though.

Chris Gandy 32:47 

The one thing I would say is that it changed the dynamic of sports altogether, right? Because each year, unlike when you and I were going through Peter, what year did you graduate from, you finished Bowling Green. 2008. Okay, so I finished in 99. Finished playing right and the dynamic of sports has changed so much since then. The landscape of sports, uh, have changed so much since then, but I would say that there's so much opportunity now for people that are coming out to get into businesses like ours, and this is, if those people are listening, this is an opportunity that you can use some of the skills that you've been taught and learned along the way, some of the coaching skill sets and coaching mental toughness.

I'm gonna call it that, as some of the coaches implore on you, and you can utilize that to create just as much money as they do playing, right. And that's what I loved about this industry, is it gives us the opportunity to compete on a different field, yeah, on a different court. So it gives us that space. So your inspiration, what does your inspiration come from and your work ethic?

Peter Winovich III 34:16 

I would say, first and foremost, my family, making sure that I could provide for them is by far the number one thing, and doing that every day is what I want to do from there. So that's number one, and just trying to create a legacy from the actions that I take moving forward.

Chris Gandy 34:41 

So I have to ask the question, Peter, you say you don't you need a clock. What time do you wake up in the morning?

Peter Winovich III 34:47

Somewhere between 5:30 and 6:00, usually. So it's pretty consistent around like 5:30 or 5:35 ish, I'd say. It's weird, how, like, your Circadian rhythm can match that. And if I sleep in, it's exactly seven o'clock. So, like, literally seven o'clock every time.

Chris Gandy 35:09 

So Suzanne, breakfast of champions.

Suzanne Carawan 35:12 

Yeah, yeah, that's right. I know, Miracle Morning, man, right there.

Chris Gandy 35:14 

Yeah, breakfast of champions, get up there. They get up early. They get up often. They get it done before people even start thinking about the day. So Peter, thanks for all those wonderful nuggets that you were sharing with us.

Peter Winovich III 35:27 

Yeah, hopefully it was enjoyable for you both, and for the listeners and I apologize if I sound a little stuffy. My entire family had been sick for like, the last four or five days with some type of flu or something. So it's been anytime you got little kids and they get sick and they cough.

Suzanne Carawan 35:47 

Yep, you petri dishes, all of them.

Peter Winovich III 35:50 

Those early mornings are really early because you're all night.

Suzanne Carawan 35:54 

They love to share. They'll just share all their little germs with you.

Chris Gandy 35:57 

Yeah, exactly. Let's take him to the speed round, Peter.

Peter Winovich III 36:04 

All right, let's go.

Chris Gandy 36:06 

This is like ESPN getting bigger. So we're going to take you to the speed round. And the goal of the speed round is just to kind of get to know you. People may actually see football, okay, so I'm on the podcast, got it, but they need to get to know you before people usually approach you know, people like people talk to people that they feel like they know a little bit. So we're gonna ask you some questions again. It's not a crazy thought, just whatever comes to mind first, that's kind of how you answer. Okay, so we'll go with your favorite food Peter.

Peter Winovich III 36:41 

I would say second is pasta from Jefferson hills, Pennsylvania.

Chris Gandy 36:47 

Suzanne. You hear how specific that is like.

Peter Winovich III 36:53 

Yeah, it's a little restaurant down at the bottom of the hill where I grew up and I always say that if I was on death row, that would be my last supper. And I actually heard that the owner has not been doing well. So I just picked up the phone and called us out and told him that he got an absolute chuckle out of it. So, but, yeah.

Chris Gandy 37:19 

That's cool. So let me ask you, so that that was easy, are you an only child?

Peter Winovich III 37:25 

No, I'm the oldest of four.

Chris Gandy 37:27 

You're the oldest of four. So as the oldest of four, what is it that you want all your siblings to see in you and replicate in you?

Peter Winovich III 37:37 

Wow, that's deep. Well, being the oldest, just naturally from a leadership standpoint, I just hope that they see belief, make a belief in the things that I do, but also encourage them to do things that they need to do moving forward. So I just want to be a positive and encouraging role model for all three of my siblings.

Chris Gandy 38:04 

If you were giving young advisors advice and you were able to stand up and they say you only get one word, what would that one word of inspiration be?

Peter Winovich III 38:15 

Passion.

Chris Gandy 38:17 

Passion. I like it. Couple last questions. Do you have a favorite quote or a favorite book?

Peter Winovich III 38:23 

Ooh, so many quotes. But by far, my favorite book is actually Jurassic Park, and everybody laughs at me when I say that. But I was seven years old and I went to the movie theaters when my parents with my parents, and I watched Jurassic Park, and I was scared ridiculously, and I jumped in my parents lap during that Velociraptor scene, but I loved dinosaurs, and I found out about a week later that there was a book, and at seven years old, I forced myself to read it, that novel, because I was so interested in it, and by reading that gave me a lifelong love for reading, reading that book, Jurassic Park and so, yeah, hopefully that answers it. This isn't a speed round. I'm talking too much.

Chris Gandy 39:20 

That's pretty good.

Suzanne Carawan 39:20 

That's good. That's interesting, yeah, force yourself into doing that. That's good. Yeah.

Chris Gandy 39:25 

Last question. You ready so well, no, I actually will have a football question here in a minute. So what was your favorite part about football?

Peter Winovich III 39:39 

Favorite part about football, wow, I guess I would say, the excitement when you're in the locker room and you put on your pads and you hear the crowd outside, and all the whole week leading up to that and all that preparation, you get to actually go out and play. That was always just so exciting to me, that initial moment in that first snap in the game.

Chris Gandy 40:10 

Suzanne, I used to call that the cold chill, where you go out the hair on the back of your neck stands up. Smell the popcorn. You listen over and you see, hey, look, you come out, and they're like, it's just deafness, noise, and all it is just silence, noise. And you're just like, this is it. Like, let's go to work. So yeah, last question for you, Peter, we'll see you in Arizona. But if you can go back in history and have dinner or have a meeting with anybody in history, whether they're alive or they passed away. They could be famous, not famous, whatever. Or you could be somebody in your life. Who would you go back and have dinner with and why?

Peter Winovich III 40:51 

I would go back to and, I'd probably go back and see my Gigi, who passed away 24 years ago. I think actually what's today? I think actually today, interestingly, no tomorrow. So crazy coincidence. But just ask her, just so that she could see all the things that I was able to do and also see and she had a love for science, like I did, and so that's yeah, just to see my grandma.

Chris Gandy 41:29 

Awesome. All right, Suzanne. Well, before Suzanne goes Peter, is there anything that you want to say to NAIFA nation? Now you got all the years of NAIFA, not just the new advisors, but now you have all the ears. Are there any words of wisdom you would like to share with our Advisor Today's audience?

Peter Winovich III 41:55 

I think the number one thing is, with our business, we have the opportunity to impact the lives of others, and it's a really special profession, and when I initially got introduced to it, I didn't realize the full impact that you have by going out and meeting with people and getting them to do things that are not easy for people to do, like buy life insurance or put together an estate plan or get them to set aside money for college education, but that's so incredibly important, and creating those positive impacts, you are special, and it's a very rewarding career.

Chris Gandy 42:40 

Yeah, awesome. Peter, we look forward to seeing you in Arizona. Suzanne.

Suzanne Carawan 42:45 

Yeah, yeah. So Peter, do you know Patrick Scott? Because he's one of the other 4 under 40 winners, and I didn't even realize that he's another football player. Didn't even try to two of the four of our class of 2024, there. You guys can all talk all day long. Yeah, he started at Stanford, and then he went to Florida A&M. And so anyway, you guys can chit-chat when we get there in Arizona. But yeah, Chris, we're excited to see everybody in Arizona a couple weeks now. Well I'll be there and being able to award our 4 under 40.

Chris Gandy 43:22 

Awesome. Thanks Suzanne. Thanks Peter for being here, and thanks all of you for listening to Advisor Today podcast where we focus on the voice of you the advisor and we come together collectively to make the industry a better place for those who we care about and those people that we serve our clients. So thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next week. We'll see you at Apex. Thanks for being here.

Peter Winovich III 43:46 

Thank you.

Suzanne Carawan 43:47 

Thank you. Bye.

Outro 43:52 

Thanks for joining us for NAIFA's Advisor Today podcast series, make sure to subscribe to get future episodes, and if you're interested in coming on the show let us know.