The world of college athletics has entered a new era. With Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) now in play, student athletes are gaining access to real income opportunities earlier than ever, often before they even step onto a college campus. But with these new possibilities come major responsibilities around money, contracts, and long-term planning.

In this episode, Domenick Macri, NIL consultant and partner at Via Vitae Partners, breaks down what NIL really is, who’s actually earning money, and the biggest misconceptions surrounding these deals. He shares what families need to know before signing, how sudden income can impact young athletes, and why education and structure are critical in this fast-moving space.

Listen in as Domenick explains how young athletes can avoid common financial mistakes, develop smart spending and saving habits, and build a foundation that protects their future, whether their path continues in sports or leads elsewhere.

What You’ll Learn:

• What Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) means and how student athletes earn income from it.
• The biggest misconceptions about NIL and who is actually receiving large contracts.
• Why financial literacy is critical for young athletes managing sudden money.
• How spending habits, optimism, and lifestyle inflation can impact long-term wealth.
• The importance of saving early and planning for life beyond athletics.
• How personal branding and social media factor into NIL success.
• Why wraparound support systems can help protect athletes and their families.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• “Being too optimistic about the future sometimes can be painful in the current, and so if you get all this money and you think, ‘Oh, it's just gonna keep coming, or I can play my way to more money,’ you tend to spend more because you're optimistic that that's gonna happen.” - Domenick Macri
• “The best thing to do is set up a nest egg so that you have that for the future. That allows you to be a better planner in the future and have the ability to make decisions.” - Domenick Macri
• “Our goal… is to help them transition from high school to college to either professional athletes or into professional employment.” - Domenick Macri

Resources:

• Domenick Macri: LinkedIn
• Genevieve George: Website | LinkedIn
• Dreams2Elite
• Via Vitae Services

Connect with Us:

If you're ready to stop avoiding your finances and start building the future you deserve, schedule a free call with me at pelicanfinancialplanning.com and let’s create your personalized financial plan together.

And if you want ongoing guidance, clarity, and confidence as you grow your wealth, subscribe to our newsletter for financial insights delivered right to your inbox.

Generosity isn't reserved for the ultra-wealthy. Whether you have $50 or $5,000 to give, your dollars can go further and your impact can grow exponentially when you give collectively. In this episode, Lisa LaFrance, philanthropic advisor and founder of LaFrance Project, breaks down how pooling resources through giving circles is changing modern philanthropy and creating significant change in local communities.

Lisa shares the surprising statistics behind collective giving, how democratized philanthropy puts donors in the driver's seat, and reveals why supporting grassroots organizations can be more impactful than writing checks to large institutions.

Listen in to discover how giving circles create networks of learning, engagement, and community transformation—all while making your charitable dollars work harder than you ever imagined.

What You’ll Learn:

• How collective giving has mobilized over $3.1 billion from hundreds of thousands of donors since 2016.
• The difference between giving circles and traditional charitable donations.
• Why donor-advised funds represent a major untapped opportunity in philanthropy.
• How technology and data may reshape the nonprofit sector in the coming years.
• The "3Ms" of meaningful nonprofit engagement.
• How group decision-making offers education, transparency, and deeper engagement.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• “The wonderful thing about collective giving, which is it democratizes philanthropy. The people that are contributing to the pool of funds have some say in how that money gets distributed.” - Lisa LaFrance
• “Trust-based philanthropy is really about developing really strong relationships between the donor and the nonprofit, so that you can have a really open conversation and communication.” - Lisa LaFrance
• “If you give that $500 to the American Heart Association, it's great, but if you give that $500 to a small nonprofit that's just building, that maybe has a budget of a hundred thousand dollars, really impactful for them... You've changed their balance sheet significantly.” - Lisa LaFrance

Resources:

• Lisa LaFrance: Website | LinkedIn | Email: lisa@lafranceproject.com
• Genevieve George: Website | LinkedIn
• Giving Reimagined: Leveraging Technology to Transform the Way We Give by Randy Scheid
• Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong | TED Talk
• Sara Lomelin: Your invitation to disrupt philanthropy | TED Talk
• Cause IQ
• Grapevine
• Philanthropy Together

Connect with Us:

If you're ready to stop avoiding your finances and start building the future you deserve, schedule a free call with me at pelicanfinancialplanning.com and let’s create your personalized financial plan together.

And if you want ongoing guidance, clarity, and confidence as you grow your wealth, subscribe to our newsletter for financial insights delivered right to your inbox.

Most business owners pour their heart, soul, and every available dollar into building something meaningful, but few are thinking about how they'll eventually step away. In this episode, Bill West, Founder & CEO of ESOPable, shares a clear, grounded roadmap for building a business that is truly transferable.

Listen in as Bill breaks down the real differences between internal and external sales, how ESOPs work, why forecasting increases value, and the operational habits that make buyers lean in instead of walk away. You’ll learn how businesses are valued, what buyers pay attention to long before negotiations begin, and the structures that can maximize both liquidity and legacy.

Don’t miss this practical, candid conversation for business owners who want to ensure their company is strong, stable, and ready for whatever comes next.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why every business owner should “begin with the end in mind” from day one.
• The two primary exit paths and how to know which fits your situation.
• How buyers evaluate businesses and which red flags most commonly turn them away.
• Why forecasting (even just 90 days ahead) creates clarity, stability, and long-term value.
• The difference between asset sales and stock sales, and why the trend is shifting.
• How financing structures (SBA loans, seller notes, ESOPs) influence business value and deal terms.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• “Begin with the end in mind… If you're thinking about your business with the end in mind, you're going to do the right things from the beginning. The things that you do to make your business valuable are the right things to do for business.” - Bill West
• “The best thing somebody can do is get the business to operate without them… If you can very comfortably go on a couple of vacations a year, and you know your team's got it, you've really created a lot of value with that.” - Bill West
• "Listen to your counselors… Find somebody, get referred to somebody you can trust… If it's a business valuation, listen to it... Make sure you listen to that advice and follow it.” - Bill West

Resources:

• Bill West: LinkedIn | Phone: (772) 812–5530
• Genevieve George: Website | LinkedIn
• Acquisition Experts LLC
• ESOPable
• Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You by John Warrillow

Connect with Us:

If you're ready to stop avoiding your finances and start building the future you deserve, schedule a free call with me at pelicanfinancialplanning.com and let’s create your personalized financial plan together.

And if you want ongoing guidance, clarity, and confidence as you grow your wealth, subscribe to our newsletter for financial insights delivered right to your inbox.