The Go-Giver in Action: How Rich Waigand’s SFW Partners Was Built on Service Before Sales

🎙️ From Staff Accountant to Managing Partner: Rich Waigand’s 30-Year Bet on Relationships at SFW PartnersRich Waigand, managing partner of SFW Partners in St. Louis, spent 11 years at his first firm, made partner, and walked away when it became clear they were heading toward an outside sale. He joined SFW as its fifth partner when the firm had 12 people. Twenty years later it has 74. In January 2025, his partners elected him managing partner. The transition from client-first to firm-first has been the hardest thing he’s done professionally. Outside of work, he and his wife co-founded Wagon Wheels — a nonprofit delivery and skills training organization for people with developmental disabilities — while their nonverbal son Lance was recovering from life-threatening complications after back surgery.✨ Key Insights You’ll Learn:Why Rich left a partnership he’d worked 11 years to earn — and what he saw in his first partner meeting that made the decision clearThe summer of 2005: onboarding so many clients at a new firm that it became one of the busiest of his careerWhy the managing partner role required him to stop serving clients and start serving the firm — and why he resisted itHow Nancy Wotley Blaine transformed SFW’s internal culture and then became an advisor to other firmsThe M&A advisory work that gets Rich in early — and how he helps owners capture value that traditional accountants missWhy private equity acquisitions are driving high-quality clients away from larger firms and toward SFWThe Go-Giver philosophy that has shaped Rich’s entire approach to networking and client relationshipsWagon Wheels: how a nonprofit delivery organization for people with developmental disabilities was born in a hospital roomThe Hot Wheels Racing fundraiser that went from $25K in year one to $120K in year twoWhy Lance comes to the SFW office every day — and what Rich finds in his desk drawer every time🌟 Rich’s Key Mentors:His Father (Yugoslav Immigrant & Small Business Owner): Showed Rich what resourcefulness looks like — and why business owners deserve real support, not just compliance workHis Mother (Kitchen Table Bookkeeper): The original trusted advisor — and the reason Rich understood from childhood what it means to help a business owner surviveLance Weiss (SFW Partner Who Made the Introduction): Invited Rich into the partnership conversation that changed the trajectory of his careerNancy Wotley Blaine (SFW People & Culture Leader): Transformed the firm’s internal development and gave language to what Rich had always done intuitivelyBob Burg & John David Mann (The Go-Giver Authors): Wrote the book that articulated Rich’s entire worldview back to him — the one he now gives to every new hire👉 Don’t miss this conversation about what it really looks like to build a career on service, why the best M&A outcomes are planned years in advance, and how one family turned the worst week of their lives into something that now serves 70 people a week.🔗 Connect with Rich Waigand:Website: sfw.cpaWagon Wheels: waigandwheels.com📎 Transcript Available: The Go-Giver in Action: How Rich Waigand’s SFW Partners Was Built on Service Before Sales📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast📎 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency: Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com