Business

Innovative Australian entrepreneur continues to disrupt the automotive industry

Published

4 years ago

October 9, 2020

Simon is the founder of a leading provider of innovative car products and accessories. Simon has been able to build a name around selling four-wheel drive products. He literally took the challenges he faced all through his life, found a solution to tackle the problem, and made it available to millions of people having a similar experience.

“So all my whole life, I have been tripping over by accident and falling into new things. In 2009, we put out our first product, designing for a 4-wheel drive on eBay and nobody else was doing it and it just took off like *3’47*. We were invited to four-wheel drive forums and tons of people heard about my product and they wanted to buy the product. So, yeah, it just built from there and the reputation,” Simon said.

The automotive industry has continued to grow over the years, with the market putting out tremendous figures in recent times. According to a report published by I. Wagner on Statista, the auto industry’s most important segments are commercial vehicles and passenger cars. While there are several solutions offered by different manufacturers and brands across the globe, many of such products do not meet the needs of consumers. This is where Simon and his team have been of immense help over the years with their range of ground-breaking products.

Simon has seemingly disrupted the automotive industry, thanks to the fantastic solutions offered by his company. The passionate entrepreneur stole the heart of different stakeholders in the industry over a decade ago doing 4-wheel drive shows, where customers and members of the public stroll in to see the solutions on display.

“At the very first show, my friend and I hired the tiniest booth you could get for $2000 and we sat there for 2 products. Now, our products are different for every single vehicle out there, so we just took the two that we made. We sat there all weekend and wrote down the car type and email address of those who wanted products like ours. I spoke to 24,000 people that weekend and rang back every single person over the next 2 months asking what product of ours they wanted to be built for their car. To do that I used my spare time from my day-to-day job packing shells for a souvenir company,” said Simon.

Simon has continued to grow his brand over the years thanks to exceptional service delivery.

Business

Retire Smart, Save More: How MDRN’s Virtual Planning Model Can Slash Retirement Costs

Published

6 days ago

October 8, 2024

Rosario Farell

The media is calling it a “retirement crisis.” Millions of Americans are arriving at retirement age woefully unprepared.

Some studies suggest that 45 percent of the Baby Boomers have no retirement savings, while 28 percent of those who have started saving have less than $100,000 put away. Consequently, many Americans now living in retirement or approaching that season are looking for ways to cut back on their expenses.

Aaron Cirksena, founder and CEO of MDRN Capital, has a solution for those looking to retire smart and save more. His firm’s completely virtual model increases retirees’ spending power by decreasing the fees associated with retirement planning.

“Our unique approach to providing retirement planning services allows our clients to experience significant savings when compared with the traditional model of investment management and retirement planning,” Cirksena shares. “When we did away with the overhead expenses that stem from operating a brick-and-mortar office, we were able to create a fee solution for our clients that is lower than the typical advisor. On average, our fees on the entire client portfolio tend to run 30 to 40 percent lower than the typical advisor operating under a conventional model. Additionally, we can provide services like estate planning, tax planning, and tax preparation at no additional cost.”

MDRN Capital is revolutionizing retirement planning by offering a comprehensive range of services, including income planning, investment management, tax planning, healthcare, and estate planning, in a setting that exceeds the efficiency and effectiveness traditional providers are able to offer. Unlike traditional firms, MDRN Capital leverages the power of digital tools to deliver comprehensive services without the need for in-person meetings, allowing clients to enjoy their retirement while their financial needs are expertly managed.

“My goal with MDRN Capital was creating a completely virtual firm that could more efficiently provide the convenience clients wanted while also meeting their ongoing investment needs,” Cirksena shares. “MDRN Capital’s virtual model empowers an environment in which we could serve our clients with less costs to the firm and pass the savings on to them.”

Financial planning for the new normal

MDRN Capital’s innovative approach to retirement advising emerged as a result of Cirksena’s experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to social distancing, advising during the pandemic shifted to virtual appointments. When social distancing was no longer necessary, Cirksena expected his clients would resume their pre-pandemic patterns. He was wrong.

“My clients let me know they preferred the comfort and convenience of virtual meetings to the hassles associated with having in-office meetings,” Cirksena says. “They didn’t miss sitting in traffic and searching for parking spaces, and I couldn’t blame them. Even the clients who lived only a few minutes away decided they would rather meet via Zoom than have a face-to-face meeting in our nice Class-A office space.”

MDRN Capital was designed to meet the client expectations that emerged during Covid. By leveraging technology to take his services to his clients rather than expecting them to come to him, Cirksena made advising more convenient and more cost-effective at the same time.

Financial savings for struggling retirees

Recent studies show the high inflation the US has been experiencing has a larger than average impact on many retirees. In response, many are looking to tighten their belts by cutting back on spending, but reducing the fees associated with retirement accounts is something few consider.

“For retirees, lower gas and grocery costs are certainly helpful,” Cirksena says. “However, cutting their investment management costs in half puts dramatically more money in their pocket over time than lower prices on goods ever could.”

To understand the impact MDRN Capital’s approach can have on retirees, consider that $250,000 earning seven percent over 20 years will grow to $967,421.12. Factor in a 1 percent fee, and growth is limited to $801,783.87, but raising the fee to 2 percent causes earnings to fall to $721,034.70.

Cirksena points to his industry’s failure to embrace modern technology as one reason why investment fees remain high.

“Unlike many industries that have used and adopted technology for decades to help lower costs and make services more efficient, the financial services sector has lagged behind,” he explains. “Many firms continue to incur unnecessary overhead and expenses, which their clients pay for in the form of elevated fees.”

The virtual investment environment Cirksena has created moves retirement planning into the future. It provides a financial service experience that is convenient, comfortable, and efficient while also ensuring that none of its clients’ investment potential is wasted on unnece