Building Towards Wealth

Helping Gen X & Gen Y Business Owners Make Smart Financial Decisions

President

Strategic Financial Group

Chicago-based wealth management practice providing financial planning to business owners.

Financial Planner & Wealth Advisor

Christopher Clepp Financial Solutions

Providing financial solutions to the Chicagoland area. We specialize in two areas.
1)Helping small business owners plan for the protection and growth of their business. 

2)Helping high-income earners, above find unique ways to protect and grow their income for retirement.

Owner

ASUREA

Area Manager, representing 60 Life, Disability, Mortgage Protection, Annuity and LTC carriers

Chicago Area Manager

Integrated Financial and Insurance Strategies

Opened and developed 4 insurance offices across the country

Specialized in insurance solutions for high-income earners and business owners.

Partner and Business Insurance Specialist

Promark Financial

Sales Manager

Marriott

Phone sales for their Vacation Club division

Team Leader

I am a native Chicagoan, father of 3 wonderful children, and a 20 year veteran of the financial services industry. 

-I am passionate about working with business owners who would benefit from having an objective partner in their financial lives.   
-I am trying to help my clients realize their best selves. We use financial tools to help them achieve the freedom, control, or time that they desire. 

How do I know if I'm a good fit?

-Business Owners between 35&55 who want to have the ability to make work optional

-Household income of at least $150,000

-People who want to delegate so you can spend more time with the people they care about and doing the things they love


What is the benefit of working with Chris?

-Create an easily understandable 1 page financial gameplan so you always know what the next steps we will take are

-Knowing there will be a day when you can make work optional so you can have a defined goal to work towards.

-Optimize insurance policies to maximize coverage and reduce costs.

-Proactive tax planning to minimize your lifetime tax bill

-Provide financial partnership and help solve your financial problems so you can focus on the most important things in life

 I love working out, cooking, bourbon and cigars. 


Please note: While I appreciate endorsements of my services, I cannot accept endorsements or recommendations on my LinkedIn profile, as these are considered a prohibited testimonial under SEC regulations.

I can be reached at (312) 850 3600 x16 or you can schedule at https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=12813504&appointmentType=1941784

Securities offered through The O.N. Equity Sales Company, Member FINRA/SIPC, One Financial Way, Cincinnati, OH 45242 513.794.6794. Investment Advisory Services offered through the O.N. Investment Management Company

Christopher Clepp

Financial planning has a branding problem.

It’s been boxed into “retirement.”

But the real purpose is far more practical: it’s a roadmap to autonomy.

Autonomy means having the flexibility to walk away from a job that no longer serves you, pivot when your industry evolves, or say yes to opportunities without wondering whether the numbers will break your life.

If you’re a high earner who thinks planning doesn’t apply to you because retirement feels distant, ask yourself:

How stable is your field in the coming AI wave?

And if the landscape shifts, are you prepared—or exposed?

Planning isn’t about ending your career. It’s about protecting your ability to shape it.

President @ Building Towards Wealth | ChFC, Financial Planning, Wealth Management

If your business is thinking about growth, whether that means expanding into new regions, attracting international talent, or building a stronger global strategy, this upcoming session from Carl Kutsmode is worth your time.

Carl’s been advising executives and ownership teams on how to align vision, operations, and talent strategy for years. This webinar brings together those lessons in a practical way for leaders navigating expansion or transformation.

Plus, you get legal powerhouse SohYoon Atac and Togai Atac giving their great legal insights.

I’d highly encourage any founders, business owners, or growth-minded professionals in my network to register.

If you are an executive in a global company trying to make sense out your 2026 strategic plan for doing business in the US, then be sure to register for my upcoming webinar on Nov 12th below!  Registration link and video preview of our panel discussion topics are in the comments below. #globalbusiness #strategicplanning #usabusiness #ustariffs #usimmigration #b2b-vip #talentrise #praxialliance #praxi #aleroninc

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!

No alternative text description for this image

Honoring all that have served 🇺🇸


#financialplanning #businessowner #buildingwealth #financialplanner #wealth #smallbusiness #genx #geny #buildingtowardswealth #henrys #abundantwealthprocess #stability #financialfulfillment #highearner #strategicfinancialplanning

A lot of high earners dismiss financial planning because they’re not thinking about retirement yet.

Here’s the truth:
Financial planning isn’t about retirement.

It’s about autonomy—having the ability to choose your next step without being handcuffed to your paycheck.

And with AI transforming industries faster than most people realize, autonomy matters more than ever. Even strong careers are facing uncertainty, and the professionals with a plan will be the ones who stay in control.

You don’t plan because things will go wrong.

You plan so that if the path changes, you’re not caught off guard.

If you value control, clarity, and optionality, you’re the exact person financial planning is built for.

Most people hear “financial planning” and immediately jump to “retirement planning.”
 
But retirement is only one version of the real goal: autonomy.
It’s about having control over your decisions so your career, your family, and your life aren’t dictated solely by money.
 
If you’re a high earner who says, “Financial planning isn’t for me—I’m nowhere near retiring,” it’s worth asking a different question:
 
Do I want to be able to make decisions without fear?
 
We’re heading into an era where AI is reshaping entire industries. Even talented, high-earning professionals may see their roles shift faster than expected.
 
Having a plan isn’t about predicting the future. It’s about preparing for a future that might look different from the one you assumed—and keeping your options open if the path changes.
 
Autonomy > retirement. Always.

🚀 Are You Running a Business or Just Owning a Job? 🚀

Many business owners get stuck working in their business instead of on it. They’re buried in daily tasks, leaving no time to grow or strategize.

The Fix?
✅ Create systems and processes to delegate effectively.
✅ Focus on building a scalable asset—not just income.
✅ Plan for the future with an exit strategy that works for you.

Pro Tip: Stop being the bottleneck in your business. Build systems that let your business run even when you’re not there.

https://lnkd.in/g2TqT_8V

#financialplanning #businessowner #buildingwealth #financialplanner #wealth #smallbusiness #genx #geny #buildingtowardswealth #henrys #abundantwealthprocess #stability #financialfulfillment #highearner #strategicfinancialplanning

Open article: 5 Common Problems Business Owners Have by buildingtowardswealth.com

Long-Term Success Comes From Consistency

Success in financial planning, like anything in life, isn’t about one big decision—it’s about the habits built over time.

Small, consistent actions—whether it’s reviewing financial goals, planning ahead, or learning something new—lead to long-term results.

#financialplanning #businessowner #buildingwealth #financialplanner #wealth #smallbusiness #genx #geny #buildingtowardswealth #henrys #abundantwealthprocess #stability #financialfulfillment #highearner #strategicfinancialplanning

🚫 Not everything we hear about money is true.

There are plenty of financial myths out there. Some people think debt is always bad, or that investing is only for the wealthy. 

What’s a common money myth you used to believe?

#financialplanning #businessowner #buildingwealth #financialplanner #wealth #smallbusiness #genx #geny #buildingtowardswealth #henrys #abundantwealthprocess #stability #financialfulfillment #highearner #strategicfinancialplanning

Wealth isn’t built overnight.

 It comes from consistent, intentional financial decisions over time. 

Understanding how different strategies work together—such as savings, investments, and risk management—can help create a strong foundation for long-term success. 

Every step forward, no matter how small, contributes to financial security. 🏗️📈

#financialplanning #businessowner #buildingwealth #financialplanner #wealth #smallbusiness #genx #geny #buildingtowardswealth #henrys #abundantwealthprocess #stability #financialfulfillment #highearner #strategicfinancialplanning

Revalize

VP, Cloud Operations

Xipiho

Xipiho LLC is a pioneering retail importer specializing in sourcing a diverse range of products for direct-to-consumer and wholesale fulfillment. As a startup, we are committed to bridging the gap between global manufacturers and the domestic market, ensuring that our clients have access to the finest goods across various categories. Our mission is to redefine the retail landscape by offering unparalleled value, exceptional quality, and seamless service to our customers and partners alike.
o Crafting and implementing robust business strategies to foster growth, enhance market penetration, and ensure financial viability and sustainability.
o Actively seeking and nurturing strategic partnerships with manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors to expand our product offerings and enhance our supply chain efficiency.
o Engaging with our customer base and market stakeholders to understand their needs, anticipate market trends, and adapt our offerings to meet evolving demands.
o Ensuring operational processes are streamlined and efficient, from product sourcing and importation to fulfillment and customer service, to deliver quality and value to our clients and partners.

Chief Executive Officer

Call One, Incorporated

Hired to manage the corporate digital transformation from three decades of wireline POTS resale to a cutting-edge UCaaS, SD-WAN, and SDN provider with a fully automated and integrated back-office platform and customer-facing systems.
o	Complete a multimillion-dollar technology outsourcing project to develop a fully integrated customer, agent, and employee portal for service management.
o	Facilitate the migration of primary ERP, moving off a legacy siloed platform to a cloud-based solution with deep integrations via API to enable interoperability.
o	Deploy a state-of-the-art CPQ system for telecom product sales, weaving together carrier APIs for availability and pricing, revenue assurance audits, order process automation, and provisioning automation.
o	Deliver a total hardware refresh, leveraging IaaS and Azure Cloud to replace legacy systems and saving $3MM in capital expense through OpEx conversion.
o	Lowering time-in-flight for orders from over two months to under two weeks using integrated automation, speeding delivery while cutting human error.
o	Implement a Data Lake and Data Warehouse running on Snowflake to guide strategic business decisions, finished early and under budget.
o	Develop and launch the first internal PMO function for Call One, overseeing our program management function's day-to-day management and execution.
o	Plan, direct, and manage technology development and infrastructure as a part of the executive leadership team, ensuring our technology solutions meet corporate strategic objectives.
o	Manage on/off-shore developers and infrastructure, help desk, and PM team.
o	Design and meet multi-million dollar technology capital and operational budgets for Call One Services and Call One Resold Services business units.

Director of IT

Deft, a Summit company

Brought on to build out the first in-house IT department for ServerCentral and migrate from legacy SOC1 to new SOC2, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS compliance programs. Launched the internal help desk, IT systems team, and ITIL-based management of SCTG's information technology resources as a part of the corporate leadership team, reporting to the CEO.
o	Governed all aspects of in-house technology adoption and implementation, from on-premise hardware and software to third-party vendors with Cloud-hosted applications and services. 
o	Led conversion of corporate ERP systems to Netsuite cloud-based platform, including the automation and sync of vital customer data from the ERP into line-of-business applications to enable update and editing at point-of-contact.
o	Converted legacy financial systems to include automated processing of customer payments, integration to portal, and overall quote-to-cash management of transactions across the organization. 
o	Supervised internal compliance and security functions under AT-101, SOC 2 and the Trust Service Principles, industry-leading security and compliance program unmatched by competitors and vendors alike.
o	Enabled the transition from a hybrid virtual environment with siloed workloads on local storage to a highly virtualized central compute and storage stack in a primary and DR location.
o	Deployed VMware Horizon View desktop cluster to replace the aging Microsoft Terminal Services cluster. Utilized VMware vSAN and all-flash array to ensure high speed and performance for end-users.
o	Introduced redundant network routing and infrastructure utilizing BGP and L3VPN to provide on-the-fly deployment of new systems in various datacenters worldwide with little to no involvement of network engineers.
o	Executed annual security and compliance testing, from review and update of Risk Assessment, BIA, and BCDR plan, to spot-checking DR fail-overs for compliance and operational purposes.

HBR Consulting LLC

Helped to combine the business operations of the legacy Information Technology Services group and the Document Management Technology group into a combined technology practice under the new Executive Director. Worked directly for the ED to help create a matrix reporting structure for field consulting teams, technology experts, and project managers worldwide.
o	Offered strategic consulting to law firm and legal industry clients, concentrating on technology initiatives and implementation of information systems for end-users. Primary duties focused on project and program management, implementation planning, and strategic consulting on technology roadmaps. 
o	Piloted help desk outsourcing for Am Law 200 firm, including developing SLA requirements and final RFP submission.
o	Composed disaster recovery runbook for Am Law 75 firm with operations on three continents, including reviewing current DR capabilities and developing remediation lists to meet desired recovery time and recovery point objectives.
o	Administered client resources at multiple firms, from temporary Director and CIO positions to PM and implementation manager roles during various projects.

Manager

Compushare

Managed the final stages of the acquisition of a Midwest technology services firm into the Compushare brand, converting all customers to corporate-approved runbooks, contracts, and account management practices. Worked for the COO to operationalize the corporate vision for service delivery while increasing customer satisfaction and engagement in two regions.
o	Extended strategic planning and execution for service delivery in the Midwest and Southern regions, guided daily client service management, new client on-boarding, and new service turn-ups along with quarterly technology reviews.
o	Directed a centralized Managed Services team in deploying and managing large-scale distributed monitoring and implementing patches for over 120 banking clients from our Dallas Network Operations Center.
o	Managed three distributed teams of field technicians and technology experts, along with call center operations staff.
o	Imparted strategic direction for dozens of clients, serving as CIO and VP of IT to all fully outsourced clients in the region.
o	Responsible for reversing trends of underperformance in productivity, including an increase in client-facing time from 60% to a weekly average of 90% in the region and raising NPS from 26 to 89 in two years.

Service Delivery Manager

Riverside Consulting Group

Expanded existing ERP consulting to include cloud-based delivery of Microsoft Dynamics products and infrastructure services.
o	Championed client engagements valued up to $2 million, including implementation projects for Microsoft Dynamics ERP systems, BI, and the first Microsoft Hosting Program solution in the industry leveraging the consolidated server architecture.
o	Deployed an integrated Microsoft CRM and Microsoft Dynamics NAV installation for Bodine Electric, the largest manufacturer of brushless DC motors in the US.
o	Accountable for securing $15,000 in additional monthly revenue within 12 months of a project to develop a hosted services program for MS Exchange, MS Dynamics CRM, and MS Dynamics GP.
o	Spearheaded development of structured IT processes and architectures for a young company, focusing on organizing and standardizing key business and systems operations. 
o	Organized project planning and execution for initiatives that expanded IT operations and systems needed for Echo to grow into a publicly traded company with global clientele and more than 1,000 personnel.

Consultant

JMDN.net

Launched a successful independent consulting firm focused on OEM hardware supply, which later transitioned into business technology consulting. Established business operating procedures and managed daily operations. Recruited a team of 37 independent consultants and 15 full-time employees, building a pool of qualified talent focused on multi-scale, multi-site project implementation. Planned and executed high-profile HATP solutions for global MS Exchange deployments. Architected security solutions using cost-effective hardware and software to provide maximum business security. Retained local contractors to provide additional client services.

- Drove business to achieve $17.5 million in overall revenues.
- Overcame the collapse of the OEM computer industry caused by the advent of $500 mainstream systems. Restructured the business model to remain sustainable by offering technology consulting services.

Managing Director / Founder

As a VP, Cloud Operations at Revalize, I lead the digital transformation and optimization of cloud-based solutions for the company's customers in the manufacturing, logistics, and supply-chain sectors. With over 15 years of experience in IT operations, consulting, and project management, I have successfully delivered enterprise systems, process improvements, and strategic plans for leading organizations across various industries and markets.

My core competencies include cloud transformation, ERP implementation, project delivery, and technology strategy. I have deep expertise in SAP, Dynamics, and NetSuite platforms, as well as Agile development and project methodologies. I have managed teams ranging from one to 100 members, across three continents, and involving onshore and offshore resources. I have also built, deployed, and consolidated technology platforms in acquisitional environments for both private and public organizations. My mission is to enable business growth and efficiency through innovative and scalable cloud solutions.

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