1
THE BUSINESS NEWS Serving Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Menominee, Oneida, Portage, Taylor, Vilas, Waupaca & Wood counties March 5, 2012 www.thebusinessnewsonline.com Vol. 8, No. 3 $1.00 Reprinted with permission of The Business News © The secret to his success By Ed Wodalski [email protected] For hall of fame high school basketball coach and Wausau financial adviser Tom Weinkauf, March Madness can be a daily occur- rence. Up in the morning and out of the house by 7 a.m., he stops for a cup of coffee with friends before arriving at his fifth-floor office in the downtown Dudley Building by 8. Balancing business and basketball is a routine Weinkauf, first vice president of The Weinkauf, Tipple, Dolenshek, Schilder Group, a member of Robert W. Baird & Co., is not likely to change, even if it does mean for some long days. “As far as coaching and business, I’m at the age (68) when I should be considering retiring, but in both cases I really enjoy what I’m doing,” Weinkauf said. “I’ve never had any problem in the 29 years I’ve been in this business getting up and coming to work. I look forward to it. And I really look forward to going to practice because I enjoy being around the kids. And when it ceases to be enjoyable, then I’ll know that it’s time to get out.” Like basketball, being a financial adviser involves goals and objectives, Weinkauf said. “You have to have a game plan and stay with that plan.” Weinkauf said the greatest part about the financial world is that it changes every day; the toughest part is that it changes every day. As head coach of the Wausau Newman Catholic girls’ basketball team, Weinkauf is out the door by 3 p.m. on some days and 5 on others followed by two hours of practice. “On a normal day I’m leaving the school about six at night and getting home a little before seven, or like tonight, I’ll get home about 8 o’clock. So, it makes for a long day, but because I enjoy what I’m doing, it doesn’t seem like a long day.” A forward on the Wausau High School basketball team and quarterback under football coaching legend Win Brockmeyer, Weinkauf played basketball at Carroll College. After graduating, he took a job teaching at Boscobel where he also coached basket- ball and was head baseball coach. He later taught at Middleton and coached basketball and football for two years before heading to Marathon. There he coached basketball from 1971 through 1983, while assisting with base- ball and football. It was at Marathon that Weinkauf made his biggest mark, taking teams to state basket- ball titles in 1975, ’76 and ’77. Inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1977, Weinkauf decided to leave the teaching pro- fession for the financial world to provide a better lifestyle for his family. It’s a move he doesn’t regret, but sometimes wonders “What if?” having applied for several coaching posi- tions in Indiana, but finding no takers. “That would have been real interesting,” he said. “But who knows, maybe after two or three years, I would have been out of the coaching business there. I talked to several colleges — small colleges — there weren’t any big colleges coming after a high school coach. You hear what the big boys make, but the small college coaches, even the WEAC coaches, Division III, they coach for the love of the sport.” Financially, Weinkauf said coaching at the college level would have been a big step backward at the time. Taking a position with Piper Jaffray, Weinkauf remained with the firm for 23 years before joining Baird six years ago. Focusing on building his investment business, Weinkauf also took a 15-year hiatus from coaching before accepting the position at Newman 14 years ago, winning state titles in 2002, 2010 and 2011. As the defending Division 5 state cham- pion, Weinkauf said balancing a business and being a full-time coach can get a little crazy at times. “I’ve been very fortunate. Brad Tipple has been my assistant for 14 years at Newman. He’s also my business partner (along with Mark Dolenshek and Michael Schilder).” Weinkauf said the business and basketball relationship enables one of the partners to cover for the other when conflicts arise. “Theoretically, a lot of our business day is finished by 3 o’clock, although we might have personal appointments,” Weinkauf said. “I look forward to practice to get away from the business day. I relax, and it kind of rein- vigorates me to go to work the next day, so it kind of works hand-in-hand.” Weinkauf said that while business and basketball might be different in many ways, both involve a degree of coaching. “In the investment world you’re coaching your cli- ents. You’re setting up a plan and working that plan.” Being a well-known sports figure also can have its advantages when it comes to recruiting new clients. “Certainly name rec- ognition helps,” Weinkauf said. “Early in my career, people would talk to me, but they would talk to me about basketball. It took a few years to gain their trust and respect as a financial adviser as well.” Looking back, Weinkauf said the stock market was at 960 when he began his financial career. Considering it’s close to 13,000 today, for those who stayed the course, it’s been quite a ride. “We have a saying in basketball that if you keep working hard good things happen,” Weinkauf said. “There’s no shortcut in busi- ness; there’s no shortcut in sports. If you work hard, and maybe a little harder than the other guy, you’re going to have some success.” Financial adviser and six-time state championship coach Tom Weinkauf said business, like basket- ball, requires hard work, goals, and objectives. The Business News photo by Ed Wodalski Coaching clients and athletes both involve goals and objectives
