Although the Weilage advisory Group has been successful since its beginning, the advent of the Internet has made it even more so. “With technology, I can be anywhere now, and do what I do. I don’t have to be in a large metro area to be successful. The Internet has leveled the playing field.” Weilage says being in a smaller community has now become an asset, especially a city like Mankato. The cost of living is less than in a big city, and the amenities are still within reach. For example, Weilage lives in the country, but is only four minutes from his office with only two stop signs along the route. Weilage also cites “access to great talent in Mankato with the local university and colleges.” That asset is underutilized, he believes. As much as Weilage draws success from the Mankato area, he also continues to give back. Last year, Weilage and associates put together a fundraiser that harvested $2,000 for the ECHO Food Shelf. This year, he’s raising
Up and Coming
their cash for back taxes that were owed, and my parents were facing foreclosure. Yet, it seemed like a perfect time to start our company.” The company they started was involved in the three things the business still offers: wealth advisory, employee benefit solutions and brokerage services. A year later, Weilage and his father were in Monte Carlo, Morocco, dining with Princess Stephanie. They attended as the guest of an insurance agency with which they did business. Their first year had been a resounding success, and things have been growing ever since. When Weilage Advisory Group started, they were in a one-room office above the Phoenix Restaurant where the Civic Center now stands in downtown Mankato. “All three of us were in there with a couple of beatup filing cabinets,” he says. Weilage didn’t really learn a lot about the business side of business from his parents, he says, but he learned a lot about how to be successful from them. “My mother taught me about compassion, and my father taught me to never give up.” Business acumen was learned from those he rubbed shoulders with in his early days, he says. One of his childhood friends was Todd Snell. “Watching the Snell family grow this little car dealership downtown was full of life lessons.” Other early compatriots were Curt Fisher, Tim Lidstrom and Randy Dombrovski, all successful local businessmen. Those three shared the upper floor of the Phoenix Restaurant with the Weilages. When the Phoenix was razed, Weilage moved to the Northwestern Mutual Building, also in downtown Mankato. “I used to look out my window and watch tumbleweeds blow across the block where the Civic Center is now.” Weilage credits much of his success to staying humble with a strong commitment to customer service. But another coup came when he hired the woman who is his office manager, Kathy Langdon. “She’d worked with successful bank presidents with upper management at a company called CWC. That she wanted to come and work with me gave me great confidence. She’s gold.” Weilage says when CWC “imploded” a few years after she joined Weilage, he had even greater confidence in her business understanding. Langdon has been with Weilage Advisory Group for 16 years. Kathy Langdon has been with Weilage for 16 years.
MN Valley Business • march 2012 • 37