Meet John Carrigan, Regional manager of purpose1, visual marketing group

Where I Met with John

I initially met John at my first MOAA meeting at the Warehouse restaurant.  We set up our more personal meeting at Gold Hill Java on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs.  This was my first visit to this coffee shop and it was comfortable, the coffee was good and there was a nice array of goodies. (I liked John already at this pointJ).

What I Really Like About John

John immediately grabbed me as a very centered and thoughtful person.  As we sat down he asked great questions about me and my background.  I was comfortable talking with John and we established a good rapport quickly.  The more I learned about John the more interesting he became to me.  After we talked for a few minutes John explained that he liked to “pay it forward first.”

Background

John is a Vietnam veteran and flew helicopters in the Army and came out of that experience with a real appreciation of life.  He has a wide variety of value adding experiences from the military to some financial planning to manage in the electronics industry.  John also has experience in benchmarking and top-notch business performance most notably the Malcolm-Baldridge award.  John could easily be a business coach with his understanding of marketing and business planning.  John knows sign language and he started a non-profit called Veterans Resource Central (myvrc.org)

My Ideal Client…

John is currently a regional manager for purpose1 visual marketing group.  His company provides support for trade show displays, logistical support to include storage, shipping, set-up and design. Purpose1 has also created a unique video kiosk to display in different lobbies and spaces.  The best clients are government educational arms for both state and federal agencies.  On the civilian side any business that does multiple trade shows can benefit from Purpose1’s services.  More examples of great clients include pharmaceutical companies, parks and wildlife, museum displays and military displays. An additional unique service is their ability to make plastic models so instead of shipping a 2-ton vehicle or large engine across the country, a company can have a realistic mockup produced instead.

4 SECRETS of my Personal Success

1.        Very happy to be alive after Vietnam and as a result, the opportunities that were available to me.

2.       Strong communication and leadership skills.  John developed good communication skills in his high school days and he discovered that he was one of the smaller percentages of people who want to make decisions and be in charge.  John used his strengths to succeed.

3.       Feel great satisfaction in helping other people, mentoring, supporting internships and teaching others to succeed.

4.       The greatest rewards in life are not financial, but you have to be financially sound to achieve most goals.

1 Great Recommendation for the Next Person        

Don’t be afraid to ask for guidance. Build a great team of experts around yourself to include a CPA, attorney, and financial advisor.  You should develop a business relationship with a local “business” bank.  On the marketing front, take time to create a marketing plan that supports your business plan. It should have a budget and measurable goals. Finally, get to know your community!  Talk to local businesses and non profit organizations and volunteer to give back.

My biggest financial question/concern

John’s biggest financial learning moment was about 401k plans.  He went through the transition from pensions to 401k retirement plans and was introduced to the concept of company matching.  What John quickly realized was the 401k was only going to be a great asset if he always maximized his matching and left the money alone to grow and compound.    John and his wife smartly decided to pay for their kid’s college tuitions out of their salaries to let their retirement accounts compound.  Their #1 priority was providing their children with a good education, then having dollars available for emergency purposes and then enough to support them throughout retirement.

I enjoy discussing financial strategy for investing and you can reach me through my website www.taraenolan.com.

Contact John

(719) 445-0054

john@purpose1.com

www.purpose1.com