Clearly Organized Wins Small Business of the Month Award

Ronda Walsh Schwab, Edward Jones Investments
July Small Business of the Month
Sponsored by Lafayette Savings Bank

Life is about people for Ronda Walsh Schwab. They include her clients at Edward Jones Investments; her Hills and Dales neighbors, where she’s serving her third term as the neighborhood association’s president; volunteers she works alongside in local organizations; children who benefit from the Purdue Women’s Club Ready-to-Read program; and her family.

“I really enjoy people and helping them,” says Schwab, an Edward Jones Investments financial advisor with a three-employee office at 211 State St., West Lafayette (743-6484 ), and the July Small Business of the Month at the Chamber.

“I found out 20 years ago that I was good at developing relationships with people and helping them do and deal with things they didn’t want to, getting them to talk about their life insurance, to save for retirement,” she says. “I would like to feel that I make a difference.”

“She runs a good business. We enjoy our relationship with her,” says Mike Menefee. He’s especially appreciative of the educational seminars offered, which give him a chance to learn about estate planning, educational planning and long-term care coverage. “The meetings are very good. They inform you on things you should be thinking about, and I really appreciate that.”

For Carol and Bob Bloom, “We required some initial hand-holding in understanding how we should invest our money for retirement,” Carol says. “Ronda described our options by telling us the benefits of each one, often using her sense of humor to put us at ease. We now feel comfortable asking her any question.”

An acknowledged questioner, Mark Thompson says he appreciates the time Schwab spends with clients. “She’s very easy to work with. Very detailed. She gives the pros and cons. I ask a whole lot more questions than many people, and she’s very, very patient.”

Thompson, who knew Schwab first as a Feast of the Hunters’ Moon volunteer, says, “She’s certainly involved in the community.”

Besides her neighborhood association and the Ready-to-Read program, where she coordinates volunteers who read at local daycares, Schwab is vice president of hospitality for the Association of Women Business Owners and past president of Lafayette Noon Optimist.

A Frankfort native who attended Purdue University in the early 1970s and has since taken several classes, Schwab headed to the San Francisco area in 1977. By 1980, she’d settled in Santa Rosa , where she had two sons. In 1986, she began her financial services career with another company, and in 1995 transferred with that company to Indiana to be close to her family of origin.

“I moved to West Lafayette with the intention of living here the rest of my life,” she says. She likes the people here. “My experience is people are more family-value oriented, honest and community-minded—a lot of people here are doing volunteer work for others. And I wanted to live and work in a safe environment.”

One of those community-minded people, in fact, is her husband Jeff Schwab, whom she met in 1997 while he was volunteering, taking tickets for a Friends of Bob concert. “He’s so supportive of my community involvement and my work with Edward Jones.”

She was drawn to Edward Jones Investments by the company’s culture, depth and range of investment and insurance products. “Edward Jones is owned by its employees, so there is a culture to help each other. I like the research analysis and information I can get to help my clients with their investments. And the training is just superb.”

Schwab is quick to share her business success with Jane MacEachron, branch office administrator. “We look at this as a partnership. She’s indispensable,” Schwab says. “We’re so in tune with each other, some days we wear the same colors.”

Working with clients begins by learning about them—what brings them in, what’s important to them. “Some people think they have to have a lot of money to get started. That is not true,” Schwab says. “We work with all types of clients on a one-to-one basis, from students to people who are retiring. We build relationships with people who are interested in their financial future.”

Her relationship with her family, now grown to include five-year-old granddaughter Rayna, is her hobby, Schwab says.

The Small Business of the Month Award is open to Chamber members who own or co-own a business that has 25 or fewer employees, been in business for a minimum of three years, and the business or it’s owner has a history of community involvement. Nominations may be submitted to the Chamber of Commerce for consideration by the Small Business Selection Committee. Nomination forms are available on the Chamber of Commerce website or call the Chamber, 742-4041 . All monthly winners will be eligible for the Small Business of the Year Award presented in January.