Parker County Today November 2017 | Page 52

our experts: FINANCE T op PC M oney G urus T hat C ount Wayne Garrett - Paint By Numbers Snow Garrett Wealth Management Hometown: Weatherford (born in Anson, Texas) W 50 ayne Garrett always knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. “I knew that I did not want to work for the other person,” he said. “I remember in high school I was always thinking, ‘What can I do where I don’t have to work for somebody all my life?’” Right after college he went to work for a mega accounting firm. “After a few months I knew that’s not where I wanted to be the rest of my life,” he said. “I like being able to map my own destiny. So we came to Weatherford. We had no clients. We are both from here.” When Garrett mentions, “we,” he’s including his wife, Sharon. Both of them grew up in Parker County. “A lot of people were waiting to see if we would stay,” Garrett said. “One professional told me, ’You need to go back to Fort Worth. We don’t need anymore accountants here.’” That remark served as a great motivator to Garrett. “It made me more determined. I kept thinking, ‘I’ll show you.’” And, of course, he did. Garrett built his practice one relationship at a time. The clients were loyal and with few exceptions, they’ve stayed with him through the years. Today, Garrett is one of those rare people that seem to have no enemies. Like Sarah Lee, nobody doesn’t like Wayne Garrett. Is there a secret behind his way with people? “You have to get up every day, determined that some- body’s day is going to be better because they worked with you,” Garrett said. “Because you’re making a differ- ence in their lives. It’s more than just the numbers and it’s more than the return. You’re touching someone’s life. I want them to say, ‘I’m glad I saw that guy’ or ‘He really did something good for me,’ or even just, ‘He truly cares about me.’ I think that that’s a really, really big deal.” Garrett is a partner of Snow Garrett Williams CPA’s, CEO of Snow Garrett Wealth Management, and he’s presi- dent of Garrett Wealth Advisory Group and PGA Financial in Fort Worth. “I started to work in 1976, and I joined Gary Snow in January of 1980,” Garrett said. “I guess you could say that we started our careers together.” A few years later, Kathy Williams joined as the firm’s third partner. Garrett’s clients tend to be intensely loyal to him. “There’s people out there who are not loyal to anybody,” he said. “But there are a lot of really, really loyal people out there. I try to find out who they are and work with them.” Garrett makes no qualms about it. He loves, loves