MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDER, DAN DONIHUE
Growing up, my family never had much money, so I was expected to earn my own. I was 11 years old when I first started working in jobs; as a paperboy, as a gardener, and even as a janitor at my school. I've always had a great work ethic! I was 14 years old when I got my first job as a dishwasher in a local restaurant. I was really bad at it but, over time, I learned to become more efficient and developed a better sense of attention to detail. Within the next couple of years, I recall having the desire to be the best dishwasher at the 24-hour restaurant where I worked (The Starting Gate in Auburn, WA).
My desire to do a good job led me to being promoted to cook's helper, and then cook. Over the years, I worked for several different restaurant companies in variolous positions of increasing responsibility. Twenty years from the time I started as a dishwasher, I was responsible for the kitchen operations in 17 restaurants. I had finally hit, what I believed to be, the top of the food chain - so to speak. This was good, but it was also bad in the respect that I was working all the time and didn't get to see much of my young family. It was during that time, in July of 1998, that I decided I wanted a new gig.
After much due diligence, I joined forces with a firm in Seattle that specialized in estate, financial, and insurance planning. By that time, I had very good business experience, but knew very little about the financial services industry. So, I went back to school while I worked full time - which ultimately led to a great education, some very esteemed financial designations, and, eventually, my master of science degree in financial services (MSFS) in 2004.
After a few years of working with the Seattle financial firm, I broke out on my own and started my own firm and, in 2002, I relocated to Castaic, California. I knew enough about business to know it was extremely important to surround myself with good, quality people who specialized in the services they provided. I had worked in that way from minute-one, and I continue to develop those types of relationships to this day. I operated under the philosophy that I didn't want to try anything new unless I'd taken the time to talk with experts who had already done it. This provided good mentoring for me, and those relationships helped move my practice forward. It wasn't easy, in fact it was very challenging, but my practice continued to grow - locally and, eventually, all over the country.
My goals, in the financial services industry, are very similar to what they were in the food service industry for all those years - to be the best that I can be and to provide excellent products and services to our clients. Just like when a restaurant server sets a nice plate of food in front of you, and you say "wow," I've always strived for that same "wow factor" at American Lifestyle.
On a side note, I'd like to share of couple of other areas of success that I'm proud of and grateful for:
The first is my many years of involvement in the sport of soccer - administrating, playing, officiating, assessing, teaching, and coaching. A big believer in "positive coaching," I have a long track record of successfully coaching teams, oftentimes to championship victories, in multi-day tournaments all around California, in Nevada, and in Hawaii, as well as matches in my own region, area, and section. I've obtained the coveted certifications as a National Coach, an Advanced Referee, a Referee Instructor, and a Referee Assessor. I've also served, for multiple years, as my region's Director of Referee Instruction as well as serving on the regional Referee Council. I've also served multiple years on the AYSO soccer 1441 Regional Board, Executive Board, and Area Board (covering 4 regions). At one point, I was even honored to be the recipient of The Volunteer Of The Year Award for the SCV Area (which covers 4 soccer regions). I'm now retired (at least for now) from the game of soccer. My family and I are big fans of Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) and the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team.
The second area of success that I'm proud of and grateful for is my history in the music world. I grew up with parents that were pastors and, therefore, us kids were expected to be the praise and worship team, at our church and other places. From a very young age, I recall playing and singing songs on stage at church, at camp meetings, in nursing homes, etc. This led to a love of music which ultimately led me to have a desire to excel in writing, recording, and performing. Through middle school, high school, and college, I had taken many music classes and had put thousands of hours of practice into learning, writing, recording, and performing songs. In my senior year of high school, I was honored to be one of only about 60 students to be selected and involved in All-State Choir in the state of Washington. At the end of my senior year, I was also voted "Most Talented" in my senior class. Beginning in my senior year of high school, I was fortunate to sing and play keyboards for a popular band that often had gigs around the western Washington area. This, along with a music scholarship and working in the restaurant industry, helped me to pay for college.
I tell you all of these personal things to let you know that I'm a person who strives to be the best I can be - whether it's in music, soccer, my relationship with my family, or even continually and proactively developing my relationship with God. That desire to do my best and provide excellent products and services has also carried over into the investment world since starting my practice in 1998. Although nobody's perfect, our objective has always been to exceed the expectations of our clients. All these years later, to me, every client is still very special. Each family is unique with their own set of needs and goals. I'm confident that I, our staff, and our associates will always work hard for our clients, as we've done for so many years, and I hope and pray that we continue to be perceived as serving them well! God bless you, and thank you, so much, for working with me and with American Lifestyle!