No One is
Self-Made
Lessons learned on my journey to building a 1.4 billion dollar company. The people, the processes and the press. Take a look at how we did it.
Chip Munn has always been an entrepreneur.
As a kid, he would sell anything – lemonade, homemade fudge – you name it. He may have been the only kid to rent out his jean jacket (it was in the fifth grade and denim was in, don’t judge). Whether he wanted to be or not, he’s always been wired this way.
Chip is an author and entrepreneur with a focus in finance. After graduating from Clemson University with an Elementary Education degree and teaching sixth grade for a year, Chip made a big professional leap. Deciding that he wouldn’t be able to sit still in a classroom long enough to collect a pension, he resigned. At the time, he didn’t know what he would do, but he knew that ultimately he wanted to build his own future.
Fast-forward twenty years, Chip and his team have built a thriving wealth management enterprise, where he oversees more than $1.4 billion of client assets and leads a team of more than forty advisors and staff. Chip has been ranked among the top 10 regional advisors under the age of 40 by On Wall Street magazine. He’s been featured on Forbes.com and Fast Company and has been interviewed on popular industry podcasts, Mindy Diamond and Michael Kitces most recently. In addition to helping clients plan their future with confidence, Chip spends time teaching and developing young advisors and entrepreneurs and his book, Leap Before You Look, outlines his journey to starting and scaling an advisory firm.
In 2019 Chip published his second book, The Retirement Remix, (and launched a storytelling podcast with the same name) which suggests that the old school idea of retirement is broken and needs of more modern approach. Much like many of the great songs of the past, Chip says the melody was still appealing, but it needed a remix to make it more relevant. The Retirement Remix eliminates the dividing line between “working” and “retirement.” The book brings a fresh, flexible approach to retirement planning and goal setting, combining the mindsets and tools that can help you plan your unique journey with confidence, intertwined with inspiring stories of real people who are breaking the mold, and living life intentionally.
Chip lives in Florence, SC, with his wife, Trish, and their four sons - Christian, Carson, Hampton and Turner. His family is deeply invested in Florence, where they actively contribute to the revitalization of it's downtown area and volunteer to improve on the opportunities available for those in the community.
We're better together.
"You can’t do anything substantial alone, having the right people in your business (and life) is crucial to success. All of my best decisions have been a collaboration with others. We're truly better together."
-Chip Munn
One of the toughest moments of my oldest son Carson’s young life was tearing his ACL during senior football season. After a week off for surgery, he went to every practice to coach his younger teammates on their way to the state championship game. He was a great example of servant leadership (though not playing was tough)!
My dad found out he had multiple sclerosis not long after I was born, so we couldn’t always do the typical father-son things (my mom taught me to play football.) For his birthday one year, I took him to watch his favorite football team - the South Carolina Gamecocks. I’m not sure what he enjoyed more, the fact that I ‘d taken him or the fact that I was a Clemson fan in garnet and black.
My business partner, Scott Mitchell, and I have been together since our early twenties. I’ve always been the gas in our relationship - pushing us toward new things. He’s always been the brake that kept us from crashing. Partnering with him was the single best business decision I ever made, because our relationship has been the foundation of an amazing career.
My career has given me the opportunity to meet really cool people. One of my favorites was Mr. Wonderful - Kevin O’Leary from Shark Tank.
There’s nothing in life more important than family. They’re why we do what we do! My wife, Trish, and I love spending time with our four boys, Carson, Christian, Hampton and Turner.
When I was in Kindergarten, I sang The Gambler for my school on the last day of our talent show. It was my first time in front of a crowd like that and I dressed the part. RIP Kenny Rogers.