Right before I graduated from college, I had a meeting with one of the school’s career counselors, Mr. Snooks. He was an older man who shook my hand harder than it had ever been shook. If I’d been wearing a ring, I most likely would have cried.
With my hand still throbbing, he sat down and asked, “So, what do you want to do with your life, kid?”
Being young and stupid, I told him what I was really thinking, “Sir, I want to become a game show host.”
As I waited for Mr. Snooks’ jaw to drop, he threw me a curve: “Son, that’s terrific. You’re going to have to move to California, you know. Not many game shows here in Macomb.”
It was now my jaw that dropped. I hadn’t really thought that far ahead. I hadn’t thought about moving far, far away from all my friends, family and favorite tavern. Mr. Snooks sensed an opening, “Mr. Miller, if you’re serious about this game show thing, you’re going to have to dig where the potatoes are.”
I got it. “Hmm, this guy might actually have a point,” I remember thinking.
For some reason, that hokey old “dig where the potatoes are” thing has been cemented into my cerebellum. Just the other day, it reared its ugly potato head once again.
While putting in the countless hours of thankless research that go into this column, I happened to come across an article that listed the top 10 states with the most millionaires, per capita. It also compared their present ranking in millionaires to each of the past six years.
While analyzing the data, I couldn’t help but say to myself, “These are the states where the potatoes are.”
As financial advisors, it is imperative that you dig where the potatoes are. So, if your practice is floundering and twisting in the wind, you’ll want to keep reading.