By Dan Danford
Family Investment Center

“We live here by accident, not on purpose,” is how I often explain that we came to spend our lives in St. Joseph. True, we both grew up here and – more astonishingly – remained here as adults. We’ve raised three outstanding daughters here, and we’ve both enjoyed rewarding careers. But, the truth is, we never intended to stay.

I share this point only because it helps explain why St. Joseph is special and unique. Our life experience highlights some of the interesting qualities that render this town a worthy site for living. And investing.

There’s an old John Fogerty song where he sings (screams, really), “…put me in, Coach, I’m ready to play…”  If you follow sports at all, you hear this theme repeatedly. “I just want a chance to play,” prays every athlete who ever graced a proverbial bench. It’s the universal song of aspiring athletes.

But I think it applies to most of us. A fulfilling life requires opportunity. I think that’s what most of us want more than anything. It applies in our families, in our work, in our play. We just want a chance – a genuine opportunity – to do better tomorrow than we do today.

St. Joseph sports some frustrating quirks. The place is stodgy, and cliquey, and maddeningly slow to adopt anything resembling change. Stay here long enough and you’ll likely develop one of those love-hate things for this aging river town. There is stuff you’ll surely love, but – just as surely – other things you’ll come to loathe. It’s a complex relationship for most of us that live and work here.

But those exact frustrations create some terrific opportunities. And that’s what keeps us in St. Joseph.

We were prepared to leave several times. When we graduated from Missouri Western back in 1978; then, we both found challenging jobs here. Later, in 1983, I finished my graduate degree and we prepared to leave again. Another good opportunity came along. Chris finished her Masters degree - and then entertained a challenging new offer from her former employer.

St. Joseph banking saw tremendous turmoil in the 1980s. I endured major transition points back in 1983, 1985, 1987 and then another in 1998. Every turn along that rocky road came with some discussion of a family move. At every bump, a new and better opportunity came along. Today, I couldn’t be happier with the furrowed path we took, or with the results. It wasn’t always easy, but both the challenges and opportunities were very real. They are still very real today.

St. Joseph faces some perplexing challenges, but there are some wonderful people living here. St. Joseph has a prime location, a low cost of living, and a terrific laid-back lifestyle. Good schools, fun parks and thriving amenities. St. Joseph also enjoys a long and proud history.

More than anything else though, St. Joseph offers exceptional opportunity for anyone willing to learn, grow, work and lead. Just look around. Find something that could be better. Go to the library or visit the Internet and craft a workable solution. Tell people about it and enlist their help. Start working today.

That simple step-by-step process describes how we’ve started two successful companies here. It describes community service and our work with our church and various other organizations. It describes how we completed our formal education and how we encouraged our daughters to complete theirs. Honestly, it describes opportunity.

I happen to believe it also describes a remedy for much of what troubles St. Joseph. A local marketplace crafted on entrepreneurial spirit soars in the face of slumping national economics. Plant closings and volatile stock markets take a back seat to hardworking, educated, entrepreneurs toiling away at local issues and challenges. In my book, ten smaller businesses are always better than one large one.

That’s one reason we helped organize and present the annual Small Business Summit with the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce. This year’s program will be Wednesday morning, October 24th, at MWSU’s Fulkerson Center. It will be an inspirational, hands-on and inexpensive lesson in entrepreneurship. Another solid opportunity for anyone looking.

In a nutshell, that’s St. Joseph’s attraction for me - opportunity. It couldn’t be simpler.

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Dan Danford, MBA, CSRP® founded Family Investment Center in 1998. He began his investment career as a bank trust officer and has been advising clients on how to preserve and manage wealth for nearly 25 years. Dan is a graduate of Missouri Western State University, and also holds an MBA from Northwest Missouri State University.