Founder’s Message – Winter 2012

Sheryl Garrett, CFP®, AIF®

We are really ringing in this New Year and – in a way – our second decade with some wonderful additions and enhancements at the Garrett Planning Network. In a sense, it is a launch of our second decade even though our anniversary was in the summer of 2010. We’ve been preparing for some necessary and very exciting improvements on the “home-front”… behind-the-scenes. And now we’re unveiling the results.

Our new private online community, known as the Garrett Knowledge Bank, is a delightful and much needed improvement to our original private Intranet that served us well since 2000, but has grown painfully out of date. Beginning January 3rd the new Knowledge Bank will commence. Jamie Breeden has spearheaded the extremely time consuming (and carpal tunnel creating) process of migrating us to the new platform. For more information on the new Knowledge Bank, check out Jamie’s column in this newsletter. If you are interested in potentially joining the Garrett Planning Network, visit our website for more information on our virtual tours and we’ll give you a quick peek at the new Knowledge Bank platform, as well as answer your questions about the Network.

We are also updating and enhancing our website once again. Web 2.? here we come! The site adds new features and functionality with the primary focus on helping visitors find what they are looking for as efficiently as possible and maximizing our search engine optimization. More people than ever are learning of the Garrett Planning Network through web searches, and the new site will make their search much easier. The information provided will be focused and valuable with a clean, fresh look and functionality. It will attract visitors of all types; individuals looking for providers of our brand of advice, do-it-yourselfers looking for educational information and opinions, prospective advisors looking for a community that shares their values, and personal finance journalists looking for resources and assistance, to name a few. This project has been progressing in stages over the last year and we anticipate the new site to go live in the spring.

Also, the Garrett Investment Advisors, LLC, SEC registered investment advisory firm is officially launched. For more information, check out Justin Nichols’ column in this newsletter.

As I mentioned at our 2011 Retreat in October, we are also exploring group employee benefits that would be available to members of the Network, their employees and/or their dependents. We still have some important due diligence to complete before getting too excited about this potential offering, however I can say that it is intriguing enough thus far that we will continue our due diligence with great enthusiasm. I anticipate providing an update to Network members within the next few weeks.

We are launching into a whole new phase of business life, formally and informally. Our second decade launches now! I turn 50 and will become a first time mother this year too! Everything in my world feels good and is exciting! Thanks for joining me on this ride.

I wish you the Best of New Years!

Sheryl Garrett, CFP®, AIF®
Founder