In this episode of The Good News, Angie Austin and Jim Stovall share insights on creating a positive workplace environment and the importance of valuing employees. Jim discusses how his team is more than just employees—they’re a family—and the impactful ways this loyalty has benefitted his business. Explore how you, too, can foster a business culture where employees flourish personally and professionally. Later in the episode, Angie and Jim delve into smart investment strategies for everyone, drawing on Jim’s extensive experience in finance.
Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now, with The Good News, here’s Angie.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey there, friend. Angie Austin here with the good news along with Jim Stovall. Hey, friend. Hey, it is great to be back with you. You know, you always talk great to be with you. You always talk about your employees. I’m all excited to tell you this and how long they’ve been with you and how great they are and how really all of them have ultimately become millionaires over the years because you want them all to own their homes and you’ve been very generous because you appreciate them so much. Well, Beth, who answers your phone every time I call, I realized today that She’s so warm and nice when you just chat with her briefly, which I do every week when I call you, if not more than once a week. And she’s an animal person like me. I realized the second she says hello and she says, you know, you know, good morning or good afternoon. Narrative Television Network. This is Beth speaking that I automatically smile. And I told her today, I said, the minute you start talking, I smile like there’s something so likable about her and about like your people, you know, that you surround yourself with people that like make me smile.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, you know, I always tell the young people at the Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship at the university that one of the great things about having your own business is you get to work with people you like.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 05 :
And you get to eliminate what I call the jerk factor. Yes. Which means, you know, everybody that’s had a job working for someone else, sooner or later you’ll be stuck with somebody that you don’t like. It doesn’t click or whatever it is. And, you know, I spend as much time with these people as I do with my family. So, you know, it’s important to me that we all like one another. And, you know, it’s been so long since I’ve hired anybody because everybody comes here and never leaves.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, my gosh, that’s so crazy.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, but, you know, before I hire someone, you know, I get the team in. I said, I feel good about this person, but I want each of you to interview them yourselves. Because, you know, you work here too. And so it’s kind of one of those things, you know, we want to make sure it’s kind of like meeting the family, meeting the in-laws or something. But it’s great. And Beth is certainly one of those treasures. And she, yeah, every day is a great day.
SPEAKER 04 :
I love that. I love that. And how long have you had your longest employee? What’s the longest you’ve had one?
SPEAKER 05 :
I had one nearly, let me see, 38 years when she retired in her mid-70s. And then the shortest one is probably 22 or 23 years. 22 or 23 years, that’s the employee that’s been there with you the least amount of time? Yeah, yeah. We stay together and we add people. We have over a thousand television stations that carry our stuff, but they’re contractors. I’ll hire people to do things, but as a blind guy, I don’t like that many people around. When I was selected as the Entrepreneur of the Year by the United States Chamber of Commerce, Wall Street Journal sent a guy here for a whole week to walk around with me. And he said, how come you only have seven or eight people here? And I said, because I haven’t figured out how to do this with five or six people. I mean, you know, I mean, I go on the road to arena events where I have to talk to huge crowds. But I like this small group of people around here and the people are always in their places and the furniture never moves. And I can have a fairly functional time.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, and you do your walk every day that is exactly the same, you know, the number of steps. Yes, you like routine. As a blind person, that is routine and people you can count on that you feel comfortable with makes it, you know, work for you.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, yeah. It’s like when you’re at home at your house, you can get up in the middle of the night and get a glass of water, and you don’t have to turn the light on. Don’t try that in somebody else’s house.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, my gosh. Did I tell you my dad in his, like, 80s, he was at camp. We did this family camp, and his – His roommate, Ralph, was blind. And so my dad went into the bathroom, you know, in the dark, you know, to go to the bathroom. And, of course, Ralph doesn’t turn on the light when he’s in there. My dad about had a heart attack as he walked into the bathroom. And, you know, it was a little small one in a cabin. And there was Ralph, you know, going to the potty. And my dad said he thought it was the death of him. He thought he was going to die. He was so scared that Ralph was in the dark in the bathroom.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, you know, and I try to remember when I have people to my home or my office to turn on the lights just as a courtesy, but I don’t always get it, I’ll tell you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, gosh, that’s funny. Okay, so this week we’re talking about your Winner’s Wisdom column titled Invest Like a Billionaire, and who wouldn’t want to invest like that?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, there’s this misnomer out there, I think, that people have that they think, you know, you’ve got to have money to make money. And rich people were born rich and they don’t. You know, the important thing to remember is over 90 percent of millionaires are first generation. They made their money all in their lifetime. And, you know, they’ve got it the hard way. They saved it. They invested it. They earned it. And I started my business career as a member of New York Stock Exchange. managing people’s money. But back in the 80s, mid-80s, the world was different. I mean, back then, we didn’t all have computers and all this stuff. So, you know, billionaires had what are called family offices. They still do today. And they have an office either near their home or somewhere where they are. And they have lawyers. They have accountants. They have investment people. They have estate planning people. All these people work for them. And they do nothing but work on their stuff all day, every day. Well, you know, so back in the eighties, those people had their own quotes and they were connected to the exchange. And they could do all this stuff. But little investors like you and me, we, you know, if you wanted a stock quote, you got it out of the newspaper the next day. And so, you know, you were investing like driving, looking in the rearview mirror. You don’t know what the market’s doing today. You know, tomorrow you’ll know what it did today. But, you know, and now we all get instantaneous quotes. We all have access to every investment. Used to be a lot of mutual funds and private equity things were only available to millionaires today. and billionaires. Now we all can. And we all have the greatest tax advantage ever in our lifetime, which is the opportunity to invest in a 401 that’s tax deductible. And in most cases, your employer will match. I mean, it’s like free money. I just cringe when I hear about people that aren’t maxing that out, because, you know, it’s like it’s raining dollar bills out there, and they’re out there with a pair of tweezers. I mean, get yourself a stem shovel, and, you know, you’ve got to take advantage of this, because it’s just ridiculous. What a great, you know, the fastest growing group of millionaires in America are teachers, and they invest in their retirement plans, and, you know, we all know that they’re not well paid, but… If you’re diligent at it, anybody can succeed now because you’re investing dollars that you would have spent in taxes already, and then it grows tax-deferred, and then someone else will match it. Man, you’ve got to grab that. So there are so many things available to us now that really weren’t available in previous years. The research is available. You can go online and get world-class investment research. that only used to be available to millionaires and billionaires. And now we all can do this. I mean, we can all invest like a billionaire. And, you know, there have been a number of books out, like Invest Like Warren Buffett. You know, and when I first read the first one of those, I thought, well, why invest like Warren Buffett when I can invest in Warren Buffett? and I really wanted to go to his annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. It’s kind of the Woodstock for entrepreneurs and investors, and people come from all around the world once a year, and I thought, I’ve got to check this out, but you’ve got to be a stockholder. Well, at the time, one share of his stock, Berkshire Hathaway, cost $115,000. Well, I took a deep breath and bought one share, and went to his meeting and did all the stuff, and I just bought the share so I could do it, Angie, and That’s been 10 or 12 years ago, but today that one share is worth $672,000. What? When did you buy it? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
How long ago? Yeah, one share.
SPEAKER 05 :
When? Oh, I bought it 10, 12 years ago. What? Last week. It’s $672,000 a share. If you want to invest in it, you can. There are holding companies out there, and you can own part of one share. So if you just have a few thousand dollars to invest, you can invest in a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway and get the exact same thing, but you don’t have to invest like Warren Buffett. You can invest with Warren Buffett, and it’s a great opportunity that I think everybody ought to take advantage of. And there are many, many other mutual funds out there and great investment vehicles, but you can make it just with the index funds. I mean, if you just max out your 401k and buy an equal part of the entire stock market through an index fund, you’re going to be a millionaire if you’ll just stay with it long enough. You know, there’s never been a better time than now. And, you know, I know we’re in a political season and everybody wants to tell you how bad the economy is right now. No, it isn’t. I mean, these are the golden days. And I know, hey, for people that lost their jobs or supply chain thing after COVID, hey, I get that. I know it’s tough. But, you know, get back on track and, you know, max out that 401k and it won’t take long and you’ll be where you want to be.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow. All right. Well, that’s pretty. OK, so that’s pretty impressive. I’m a little bit mind boggled by the increase on that. I had told my husband to invest in Eli Lilly and, you know, the drug companies making that weight loss drug because I knew being in the news business that that new weight loss drug or now drugs would be, you know, very successful and that the stock would go up. And he sold it when it went up 30%. And I was like, why did you sell it? And he’s like, well, it went up 30%. I’m like, bro, this was like a long-term investment I wanted you to make, like a big chunk of change. So I didn’t convey my wishes very clearly, and he sold it pretty early on. But my kids, he holds an investment class, and he invites… the kids and their friends to come up to his office, and then he does a formal investment class for them. So anyway, he put the girls’ lifeguard money in this summer, and he opened investment accounts for them. Now, keep in mind, my son has had his investment account since he was probably… He started his business at 12. He probably started his investment account at 13, and he has a… rather large chunk of change to put a down payment on a house in Boulder, Colorado, where he’s going to school, which we’re going to do in the next six months to a year, because we obviously have to get the loan. But with that said, the down payment’s all him, and the property there in Boulder is similar to the prices in California it’s very expensive to buy a house in Boulder like the shack that my grandma I shouldn’t say shack my grandpa’s house was a shack it’s about 1.2 million now it’s 700 square feet and then my grandma’s little three bedroom one bathroom is about a million we don’t own these anymore but I just kind of tracked them because my family my mom’s family did not have money But I can’t believe how much these properties have gone up over the years. So with that said, Riley has been investing for years. And there was an investing class at school. And he did in the class with mock money exactly what he was doing in his own account. And he came in first place in the investment club or competition that he had in his business class. But anyway, my point about the girls… We’re really trying to teach them not to go out and get Starbucks every day. I’m like, look, if you’re going to go to Starbucks, get a coffee and put in the milk that’s sitting there and the sweetener that’s sitting there on the counter. Don’t get the $6, $7, $8 drink. Get the $2, $3 drink and then just, you know, mix it up yourself. Add your own cinnamon or get one shot of sweetener. You don’t have to get that. expensive drinks so anyway he said the girls have already made 62 and he just started this account like i don’t know a month ago he’s like if they can just understand you know compound interest and if they can start putting money in rather than these kids with the fast food and the starbucks you would not believe how much they lose in that mr wonderful from shark tank kevin whatever his name is he said these people going out spending 10 and 15 bucks on a sandwich and 10 bucks on a coffee he if they could just make a dollar sandwich at home and make their own coffee, they’re like throwing away a million dollars, you know?
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, yeah. It’s unbelievable. In one of my financial books, uh financial crossroads we wrote about uh the million dollar cup of coffee at starbucks and it just uh it’s true you go in there five days a week and get your coffee and uh and then there it is and i’m not telling people don’t go go get starbucks and don’t go get coffee i’m just saying know what it costs you and somewhere you’ve got to save that money i i got my brother when he was very very young and i was a broker and he had just started working got out of college And I got him into a retirement plan that he maxed out. And I said, don’t ever look at the paperwork. Don’t get confused. Just leave it alone. Let it go. Well, in his mid-30s, he had a construction company of his own, and he needed to get a bond to build this business. And it was a half-million-dollar bond. Well, he goes to his banker and says, can you write a bond for this, insuring this deal? And he said the banker was a little confused and said, Mr. Stovall, I’ll write you a bond if you want one. But why don’t you secure it yourself? And he said, what are you talking about? I said, well, you got well over half a million dollars in that retirement plan of yours. And my brother said, what retirement? That thing my brother got me? And he could not believe. He said, Jim, this is like pizza money once a week. And now I’ve got over half a million dollars. And that was years ago. I mean, and he didn’t even realize he did it. You know, it’s kind of like paying your taxes or your Social Security or whatever. You know, it’s a big bite. But once you get used to it, you don’t even miss it. And if you’ll just do that with your retirement, you’ll never know what’s gone. And someday you’ll look up and say, wow, look at that pile of money.
SPEAKER 04 :
Look at that pile of money. Jim Stovall dot com. I’m going to go see if I can find a pile of money. Thank you, Jim.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
Hey there, friend. Angie Austin here with the good news. I thought I’d start off with some good news today and this segment because I saw a story on the CBS Evening News that I thought you might get a kick out of. I just love the idea of pursuing your dreams, you know, no matter your age. And, you know, Beatrice Bruno, who’s on our program a lot. She is going to college, and then she is pursuing her law degree because she is a veteran, and she has really wanted to help out other vets. And so that is what she is doing now, and she is swamped with school. She’s taking the school – remotely it’s Grand Canyon University Christian University based out of Arizona and yeah and she’s in her 60s she lost her husband several years back all of her children are grown she’s a grandma and she decided to get her degree and then to go on to pursue a law degree which I was extremely impressed by and Because, I mean, that’s a lot of work. And the fact that she’s so passionate about wanting to help veterans as well is very inspirational to me, too. So good luck to her on that. All right. So I wanted to share with you the good news story of a man who was 66 years old. And you may have seen this with Steve Hartman on the CBS Evening News. He does that on the road segments. And this man’s name is Kent Broussard. And he had a dream that never died. Even after a wife and daughters and a decades-long career as an accountant filled up every aspect of Kent Broussard’s life, somewhere deep in his mind, the dream still survived. Now 66, he still remembers when it first took root in 1968 as a nine-year-old attending his first Louisiana State University football game. The golden band from Tiger Land marched onto the field playing songs that rang out in the Louisiana air. The music and movement and pageantry of the college football band struck a permanent chord with him. And he just said, you know, someday I want to be in that band. And he never lost that feeling. So, you know, he’s getting ready to retire. He has this dream and he starts running and working out. and he had to basically learn how to play the tuba i mean he had played it many years ago like many of us had an instrument like elementary school or something like that but so he had to relearn how to do that and then he started marching through the neighborhood i’m sure the neighbors really appreciated that he started marching through the neighborhood um you know practicing the tuba and practicing with the marching because you have to be in really good shape you have to try out for the marching band And you also you have to also be a student. So he had to take 12 credit hours of classes because you can’t just be in the marching band and be any old 66 year old guy. And so I just was so inspired by this guy pursuing his dream. And his wife, when he first told his wife, she’s like, oh, is it like a special group for old people? You know, like. He’s like, no, like I’m talking about the real actual, you know, marching band, like with students, you know, like and my tuba. And she’s like, what on earth? Are you kidding me? Like, for real? So, yeah, he meant for real. So let’s take a listen to Steve Hartman explaining this. Kent’s dream. And this is the CBS Evening News On The Road with Steve Hartman.
SPEAKER 07 :
Finally, tonight, tuba or not tuba? That was the question. The answer came late in life for the man Steve Hartman met on the road. Now, here’s something you don’t see every day or any day for that matter.
SPEAKER 08 :
Unless you live in this formerly quiet neighborhood in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where for the past year, 66-year-old Kent Broussard has been marching toward a dream. A dream he’s had ever since he was a little kid, when he first saw the Louisiana State University marching band. Someday, he’d play tuba for them, he thought. And that day never came. It did not. And at some point, you get too old.
SPEAKER 1 :
You’ve got a job. You’ve got a family. Exactly, right? You’re not going to go play for the LSU band.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, I wasn’t going to do that. No, I wasn’t going to play for the LSU band when I was 50. But 66? He thought, maybe. At least that’s what he told his wife, Cheryl.
SPEAKER 02 :
And at first, I was like, do they have, like, a senior band? I mean, I wasn’t sure what he was exactly talking about. And it was the real, real band.
SPEAKER 08 :
And so, this year, this retired accountant went back to school, just in the hopes of making the band. He did play tuba as a kid, but had completely forgotten. So he relearned. and trained hard for what was to be a very competitive audition process. Band director, Simon Jalowiko. You didn’t cut him any slack. He doesn’t get any breaks for being a senior citizen.
SPEAKER 02 :
No, there are no breaks when you come here, and we follow that process to get the best possible group we can.
SPEAKER 08 :
Which is why Kent was never really expecting to make the cut, and why he was this excited when he did it. Kent is now the oldest person in the band by 41 years.
SPEAKER 1 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 08 :
His first game is tomorrow, and he hopes his little dot on the field will punctuate the importance of high-stepping out of your comfort zone. Try it. The only thing you can do is fail. Your only failure is not trying. And your only risk, annoying the entire neighborhood. Steve Hartman, On the Road, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
SPEAKER 04 :
I love that story. And, you know, obviously his neighbors have put up with him. And the thing that I think is really cool is seeing him, well, obviously him making it, but the excitement of his fellow bandmates who really were rooting for him. I just thought that was like one of the coolest parts of the story because they were so behind him and what he was doing. I feel, you know, that kind of excitement for Beatrice going to law school in her 60s. Well, not even law school yet. She’s got to finish her degree for us to do that. And the fact that his wife backed him, I think a lot of people are dismissive of people’s dreams. You know, a spouse or even parents, like when our kids come up with ideas. I remember when my son at 12 wanted to start his shoe business, which is now his vintage business, which has been highly successful. Eight years later, he’s still running the business. He’s got two big events this weekend. He has. events every week he does a a thrift event on thursdays up and up at school but college and you know this is enough to support him you know and his college education and his uh you know uh home and his food i mean it’s a legit career so i’m super proud of him uh for everything that you know he’s done but i didn’t really i don’t know that i supported him in the I’m not buying $300 shoes for you to resell. And so he had to save up his own money for, you know, and he would shovel driveways or mow lawns and get money for Christmas. And he saved it up and he started buying shoes and getting the drops, you know, when they drop the Nikes and it’s kind of a lottery and you get a pair. So he started off really slow and then he built his inventory and then he switched over to thrift because he really learned how to look at the tags and figure out which bands and which, um, you know, years were really, you know, good for resale. So I thought that was pretty neat. All right, changing gears now, if you’re just joining us, this is Angie Austin with the good news. Angie here. Well, autumn may bring crisp air and colorful foliage, but it also creates some eye health problems due to, you know, the indoor heat, the ragweed allergens, and the increased screen time. I love going up. In fact, I am going up to YMCA the Rockies, and I’m going to see the fall colors and see the elk rut, but sometimes, especially my kids, I’m going to see the elk rut. We have allergy reactions, and it makes your whole day miserable when your eyes are all itchy. Well, joining us today is optometrist Dr. Elise Kramer, who is teaming up with Theratears to share timely tips for dry eye sufferers. You’ve got that allergy reaction. Dr. Kramer specializes in ocular surface disease and specialty contact lens design and has lectured worldwide on eye health, and she’s been involved in a lot of research. Welcome, Dr. Elise Kramer.
SPEAKER 09 :
Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER 04 :
You’re welcome. Well, let’s just start off talking about why it’s important to address eye care, particularly during this fall season.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah. So, you know, eye health really connects directly to our overall well-being. And as you mentioned, the fall is so beautiful. I love the fall. It’s one of my favorite seasons. But it also does create challenges for dry eye sufferers. And that what you mentioned exactly that dehydrating air from heating system that ragweed allergies and increased screen use even in kids like you said your kids. that can all trigger irritation, dryness, and fatigue. And that’s why I’ve partnered with TheraTears to remind everyone that caring for dry eyes isn’t just about comfort, but it’s also about finding solutions for long-lasting relief.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, let’s talk about how eye sufferers can find that relief, because I know people often try lots of different things trying to get some relief, and they think that they have to go to the doctor and get a prescription, but that’s not necessarily the case.
SPEAKER 09 :
Right. And, you know, TheraTears actually is an over-the-counter dry eye drop, and it has five vital electrolytes. And that formula restores moisture and balance to the ocular surface. So, you know, I think most people don’t understand that electrolytes are the unsung heroes of the natural tears. And so think of your tear film as a delicate ecosystem. And when it’s out of balance and your eyes lose water, that’s when you feel the burn. So These drops don’t just mask symptoms. It really replenishes what eyes are missing. And for people struggling through dry fall air, that can really mean lasting comfort.
SPEAKER 04 :
Now, when you talk about this, you know, science, I didn’t know that about the electrolytes. And when your eyes are bothering you, it just ruins your whole day. You’re just miserable. Are there other benefits in using science-backed eye care?
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah. So when eye care is science-backed, like with Farateer’s, there’s key ingredients that work together to support hydrated and balanced eyes. And that can leave the eyes feeling nourished, comfortable. So without them, sometimes the eyes don’t produce enough tears. And sometimes they do produce enough tears, but the tears evaporate too quickly. And that can leave this tear film instability or salt imbalance. And that causes more inflammation. And then the inflammation causes more tear film instability, which causes more inflammation. So it’s just a vicious cycle. And TheraTears gives patients peace of mind knowing that they’re using something that’s created by experts, that’s proven in studies with long lasting relief. And that level of science gives you more than just comfort. It really gives you that relief that you’re using something that’s truly effective.
SPEAKER 04 :
Is there anything else we should know about in particular, you know, fall eye care or anything else that will help us so that we should know about other solutions or anything?
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah. So I think, you know, everyone’s different. Every eye is different. Every patient is different. And TheraTears addresses that with different options. There’s preservative-free drops. There’s gel formulas for like a thicker, you know, more viscous solution for overnight relief. There’s products for everyday, all-day relief. And that range really allows people to choose what works best for them and their lifestyle. So whether you’re working or studying or you’re outdoors or you’re going out. And also, I think, you know, don’t wait until discomfort becomes a really big issue. I think addressing it early and preventing discomfort. you know, further problems really makes a difference. There’s also simple steps that you can take at home or at your office, like adjusting indoor humidity, staying hydrated, so drinking water, right? Blinking your eyes frequently, taking breaks from your screen, super important. And also, you know, for persistent dryness, options like their tears can make a really big difference. So to everyone listening, you know, I think prioritizing your eye health now is means like long-lasting comfort and protection all season long.
SPEAKER 04 :
I love it. All right, Doctor, where do we go to get more info?
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, so you can check us out at Theratears.com. There’s a lot of information, resources about dry eye, about Theratears, about the unique formulation and the science-backed formulation that I’m super, super excited about.
SPEAKER 04 :
Excellent. Well, thanks so much, Dr. Kramer. Thank you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
In this episode of The Good News, Angie Austin and Jim Stovall share insights on creating a positive workplace environment and the importance of valuing employees. Jim discusses how his team is more than just employees—they’re a family—and the impactful ways this loyalty has benefitted his business. Explore how you, too, can foster a business culture where employees flourish personally and professionally. Later in the episode, Angie and Jim delve into smart investment strategies for everyone, drawing on Jim’s extensive experience in finance.
