Ben Batiste, a veteran and financial services expert, is no stranger to hardship. Despite loads of odds stacked against him early in life, he maintains a positive mantra and lives by it daily.
“I believe if you put good out into the world, whether religious or not, if you put good out, good will come back,” he says passionately.
Ben entered the U.S. Marine Corps to escape the horrors of homelessness and abuse. As a child, his normal was divided between a trailer with no running water, at the whims of food pantries and clothing donations, and a home where abusive behavior was part of everyday life. Being raised in equally challenging environments, Ben sought an outlet that would give him a chance at a better life.
“It was like from one extreme to the next,” Ben explains. “That’s what kind of led me into the military.”
He joined the Marines for five years before transitioning to the Army National Guard as a medic in the 36th Infantry. From there, he was deployed to Afghanistan, where he was injured and spent over a year rehabilitating at Fort Sill. After recovering, he began his federal service career, but soon realized that he could help others through financial services.
“My practice is based on helping others with reducing their taxes as well as creating wealth more efficiently, including retirement planning,” Ben says. “And we do this with no fees.”
His mantra of “no fees when learning” stems from his belief that fees create a barrier that precludes people from learning something new.
“Why have to learn something on your own when someone out there who is an expert can actually teach for free?” Ben asks. He believes that his early family life could have been different if they had been equipped with the financial knowledge of how to succeed without worrying about the costs associated with learning those essential skills.
“When it comes to building wealth and retirement, the longer we delay, the more time we put off and the less amount we can actually build,” Ben explains. “I want to prevent that by saying, you can learn for free. You can sit down, learn something new, get a strategy, get your analysis, all for free.”
He goes on to say, “When I was looking at the transition, and if I look back on my life, my entire adult career was based on service, whether it’s military, law enforcement, being a medic–all those different things. It’s 100% service-based. And so it’s like, how do I still help people, but in a different way?”
Ben found a new calling that promotes service through his business. If it turns out that they want to work with him further after the initial discussion, then that's great; if not, he knows he has passed on essential knowledge without a hefty price tag.
Still, he takes giving back to the community a step further by working with non-profit organizations, including the Buckley Spouses Alliance and Heart2Hand.
As a board member of the Buckley Spouses Alliance, they operate a food pantry on Buckley Air Force Base and host community events, such as diaper and clothing drives, for military families.
“About 25% of military families are facing food disparity,” Ben explains solemnly.
While the military provides an allotment to soldiers and their families, people who come on hard times and need to support other family members are left needing more food, without the money to buy it. The Buckley Spouses Alliance works to ensure that service members dealing with struggles can still provide for their families without judgment.
This non-profit organization has merged to support multiple military bases throughout Colorado and is kicking off its efforts soon with a baseball tournament at Buckley, called Bases Loaded.
Another non-profit organization he supports is Heart2Hand, run by his good friend, Rob Nelson. They do a turkey drive every year for Thanksgiving, as well as diaper and food drives throughout the year.
“The community, when I was growing up, did a lot and donated a lot,” Ben says regarding helping his own family. “And so there’s a part of me that’s like, I received a lot from our community, and it’s time to give back to my community.”
He extends his giving back to his community even further through his business, as he sees it as a way to help prevent some monetary mistakes that people often don’t realize they make.
“Maybe if I’m that one person that’s willing to do the free stuff, to donate the time, more so than most professionals, then maybe not only can we help with the hunger, the clothing or the diapers, but ultimately maybe prevent the situation to begin with,” Ben explains.