08/23/2002
Fulton Sheen is in the business of helping people understand finance. "With the advent of 401k plans and very few companies offering a defined benefit pension plan, people are looking for advice on those plans and on the personal side," Sheen says. "Where should they invest? How much? As taxes and retirement become more complicated, people have to make more choices. And they want to make sure they're making the right choices."Sheen Financial, based in Plainwell, Mich., has spent the last 13 years helping people make the right choices, working with everyone from small startups to established executives ready to retire. "Our clients are professionals and blue-collar workers. A majority are middle-income people," Sheen says.
If he enjoys working with small businesses, Sheen also enjoys working his family. "My wife Cheryl and I are absolutely a team here. She started out simply helping me as my assistant, and she eventually became a licensed financial planner. And our daughter Crystal has been handling part-time administrative work since she was about 14. She's in college now but still comes into the office two days a week."
When he isn't busy running his small business, Sheen applies his in-depth experience to his other role: politician. "I was elected county treasurer in 1996 and again in 2000, and I just won the Republican primary for state representative. Our district is 80 percent Republican, so it's basically a done deal." Still, Sheen knows politics won't last forever. "With term limits, you can only be there for a while, so I'll definitely continue seeing clients."
Not surprisingly, Sheen's post-November legislative agenda is quite simple: "I'm going to be a very strong proponent of small business."
Quick Facts:
Name: Fulton Sheen
Business: Sheen Financial
Location: Plainwell, Mich. (pop. 5,000)
Founded: 1989
E-mail: fjs777@aol.com
How did you get started in business?
I've always been involved in small business, from high school on. Whenever I needed something, my parents would say, 'OK, let's see what we need done around the house.' Once I painted my house, and my neighbor liked it and hired me to paint his house, too. Before I knew it, I was running a painting contracting business. For a while, I was involved in both the painting business and the financial planning and eventually had to stop painting. So I've been in business for myself from the time I started working.
How active are you in the NFIB?
I was at the White House Conference for Small Business in 1995 and ended up meeting NFIB/Michigan State Director Charlie Owens, who asked me to be part of the NFIB Michigan Leadership Council. I've been on the council ever since. I'm a very strong, active proponent of small business because 80 percent of the working people work for small businesses. Here in Michigan, we want to create the most fertile small business environment we can.
What issues most concern you?
I think we really need to get a hold on the regulatory environment. We've got to stop passing knee-jerk legislation because some company decides to break a law. We don't need new regulations; we just need to enforce the ones we've got. Instead, we're putting too much authority in the hands of regulatory agencies, and it's making it difficult to compete, particularly when different states have different levels of regulation. We just need to find a good balance.
What do you respect most about small business owners?
A lot of people are afraid to take a risk. When you're a small business owner, you take a risk every day. Running a business takes having the faith that you can make it. It's a lot of hard work, but I think the payoff is great. Good or bad, you're in control of the working part of your life.
