6 minute read
A CEO’s journey of faith and success: Clifton Ross
Clifton Ross
Submitted
Letting God run his life and business
By Nancy Cawley Zugschwert, ’19 M.A.
In 1992, Clifton Ross had two “almost miraculous” experiences. The first was that a kid from the South Side of Chicago, who grew up seeing his hard-working single mom only a few hours a day, graduated from high school. The second was that he was accepted into college. He didn’t graduate from college, but Ross sees his time at North Central as a turning point for the rest of his life. “I barely graduated high school, so it was really almost miraculous. After high school, a friend of mine got shot. He had a full-ride scholarship and everything, and then he got shot.” Ross didn’t have college—or anything—planned at that point but knew he had to get out of Chicago. “I wrote to colleges—I had graduated in June and this was July and August—and was getting laughed at, with a 1.3 GPA and school starting about two weeks.” Ross received the basic response, “We don’t think college is for you.” But then North Central Bible College let him in. “I think that’s really remarkable,” Ross reflected, “that someone in admissions … looked at this kid from the South Side of Chicago, inner-city kid, 1.3 GPA, obviously not college material and [must have thought] ‘He’s trying to get out.’ And they admitted me. That person really changed my life and put my life on the course that it’s on today.” Not your typical student
Today, Clifton Ross is President and CEO of Guardian Resources, a Minneapolis-based retirement planning company. While North Central was pivotal in changing his life trajectory, it was not through the typical four-year process most go through. Upon arrival just a couple of weeks after being accepted, Ross made a big discovery: “Apparently, they still want you to study and do homework and all the same stuff I did in high school. My grades were not impressive.” But he was learning that he had the heart of an entrepreneur and believed God was calling him to build businesses. However, at that time, North Central Bible College did not have the robust programs in business and technology that NCU has today. Ross loved everything about North Central, especially the spiritual and social aspects. He was even elected Freshman Class President. Even so, he left after one year. He went back to Chicago briefly but returned to Minneapolis to stay with friends and hang out with North Central students. When his roommates asked him to pay rent and he couldn’t, they asked him to leave.
Five words that saved his life
Ross knew he needed to find a place to stay quickly. “I called my grandma, the secret weapon,” he recalled. “Without fail, your grandmother will never let you fall, or so I thought. I called her and said, ‘Grandma, it’s not working out; they’re not letting me stay here,’” anticipating an invitation to stay with her. Instead, his grandmother said five words that changed everything: “Have you called any shelters?” “Those five words saved my life,” Ross said, “because I realized, this is it. There is no home. There is no going back. There’s just me and now, period. me the opportunity to buy the company. “I had no money, but I believed I could create revenue with the business model. I drew up a business plan and secured enough investors to generate the capital needed to buy the company within one week. Amazingly, I became a business owner!”
Timing is everything, however, and in this instance the timing was not on Ross’s side. “Along came 2008,” he explained. “My business suffered the same fate as many businesses—especially mortgage companies—in the Great Recession. Not only did I lose the business, but I lost my job, my income, and many of my possessions. It looked like the lights were out for good.”
A plea and a prayer
“Faced with that and no more exit routes, I did the only thing I knew to do. I hit my knees and I said, ‘God, I don’t know who I am. I don’t know what I’m doing, but you created me. And if you created me, you must’ve had a purpose. Whatever you created me for, obviously I don’t know it. So I’m just going to give my life to you, and you do it.”
Suddenly, things seemed to fall into place. “Within 12 days of hitting my knees,” Ross recalled, “I went from being 19 years old and homeless to having an apartment and a roommate and being asked to be a supervisor at two different jobs.” It was a turning point in his faith and his life. “I said, ‘God, you did more in my life in 12 days than I have done in 19 years; you can keep it. I’m good.’ And so that’s what really set my trajectory up for faith, business, and discipline.” “Looking back,” Ross reflected, “North Central got me here and it gave me an environment that I could be comfortable and be confident in. My grandma telling me to call a shelter woke me up and caused me to hit my knees, and then God put me on a path of leadership and business.” When business is your ministry
Acknowledging God’s role in his success has continued as a norm in Ross’s life. When he lost a job in accounting, it cleared the path to an open door as an entrepreneur. “Finding myself unemployed, I tried to imagine where I would look first for my next job,” Ross said, “but I felt perplexed and had difficulty visualizing what that job would be. I helped a friend organize the financials for a mortgage company he managed. Soon after, I became a loan officer there. When that manager eventually left, the owner offered Listening in the dark
In the darkness of that season, God spoke to Ross’s heart. “He reassured me that he would use this dry season to work on my character,” Ross said. “In due time, I became confident He would restore me. And that, He did.” The same financial meltdown that ended Ross’s business became his next opportunity. “A friend who’s an attorney invited me to find financial solutions for his retired clients hurting due to the financial collapse,” Ross recounted. “This led me to start the financial advisory firm where I now serve as President and CEO. I assembled a team of attorneys, accountants, advisors, and a host of other professionals who help clients navigate the retirement landscape while managing their investment accounts.” Keeping God at the center
Still holding tight to the belief that God could run his life— and his business—better than he could, Ross has continued to keep Him at the center of all he does personally and professionally. His weekly meetings with key team members always start with prayer—something they have done for eight years without fail. He has had opportunities to pray with more than a few clients about the issues of life, even some on their deathbeds. “Nothing has given me more joy and honor to lead a client to Christ,” Ross said. Ross's goal is to simply live out his Christian values dayto-day. He has had the joy of seeing employees come into the company disconnected from faith of any kind and later having Scriptures taped on their office wall, or discovering employees have developed a personal relationship with Christ and with other believers in the company. “My vision is to make more so that I can give more,” Ross said. “We want to grow our company to attract more people so we can change more lives and families—from the inside out.”
