Brooke Barnett

The last two United First Financial Super Regionals in Las Vegas and Orlando were incredible events. For the first time UFirst has implemented break out rooms. I, Brooke Barnett, was able to do 2 1.5 hour long course at each event on internet marketing. Other speakers were David Montgomery, George Veronis, Ken Melby, Juan Hernandez, Bill Walton, Tom Keener, Steve Smith, Jason Brown, Gregg Stroud, JoLynn Saizan, and Todd Skousen.

My question to all of you that attended is do you like the breakout rooms better or would you like to see UFirst go back to a single room format? Leave your opinion below in a comment.

It was late 2006 and there was a storm of publicity going on about the new CMG Home Ownership Accelerator. Just as there is today, many people were blogging and reporting incorrect information about the program and the core concepts attached to it. My business associate Kim Kline forwarded me an e-mail containing a link to a MSNBC.com question and answer to what is a mortgage accelerator. The question was targeted at the Home Ownership Accelerator and the answer responded with information about a bi-weekly program.

I thought to myself here is my chance to steal a bit of media so I e-mailed the columnist who answered the question. In addition i searched for more of these expert forums. In doing so I can across Dr. Don Taylor of Bankrate.com. Dr. Don writes a column on bankrate discussing and answering everything financial. While I never heard back from the MSNBC columnist, Dr. Don wrote me back in a quick manor. After a few weeks this was published  ‘Mortgage Accelerator’ loans come to U.S. I had no clue what I was in for. For the next few weeks my office could not answer phones fast enough.

But this odd question continued to be asked, “Can I offer this product?” I would politely ask if they have a mortgage license and the conversation would end with a “NO.” After about the 50th call like this I finally had someone ask me if this was the same as the Money Merge Account. I had no clue what they were talking about. So as a good business person I Googled the name and found there was a live presentation that night right in my town of San Diego, CA. I quickly got dressed in a pair of board shorts, t-shirt, sandals and a backwards hat and headed out the door for a recon mission.

That night Mac Saunders, Director of Sales and Don Jorgenson, Co-Founder gave the presentation for local agent Keith Eisberg. Unfortunately for Keith, Mac and Don had to leave and catch a plane back to Utah. Keith was left to answer questions and unfortunately was a fairly new agent with UFirst. To make a long night short I answered many of the questions that night. Upon completion of the event I asked Keith how to get started. He gave me his card and said to call. I was so anxious I called Keith the night and for some reason he said that this business was not right for me.

Well I embarked on a journey to find a sponsor and back to Google I went. The first person I found was on myspace.com and had his number posted. Jarrett Holmes out of North Carolina was the next up. Jarrett answered his phone and instantly was brutally honest with me. He said I am brand new and cannot answer your questions. So Jarrett put me in touch with Richard Schaffer and after a few days and hours of conversations later I was set to fly to Florida to meet Richard, Jarrett and the owners of United First Financial.

The rest is history and today I am proud to be associated with Jarrett, Rich and many other mentors. I might not be 1 of 9 Senior Executive Branch Managers in the company without this chain of events. Today, I do not know where Keith is but I can tell you I think this business is somewhat right for me and I think Jarrett could argue that point also.

But the moral of the story is at the end of the day you have no clue who has the passion and desire to make a difference. I was not then a believer that the Money Merge Account was for everyone, nor am I now I can show you real life results on what is has done for my clients and myself. I do not care what walk of life you come from or what you have or have not achieved, if you are coachable you can learn to help others get out of debt with the Money Merge Account. Donald Trump knew nothing when he was born and he still knows nothing about many things but what he focused on he succeeded at and you can do the same.

I wanted to write this post for over a year now so here it is. I cannot speak highly enough about the innovation of the founders of United First Financial for what they have achieved so far. But that is only the start of the story. As a business minded person I am always looking to brand something unique but have the ability to expand upon it. This is exactly what the founders of UFirst did. Take a step back and think about the name United First Financial or UFirst. First we have the full name and it is United First. We stand united first. Second we have U First. So U come first. There are many different ways this corporate name can be spun but the versatility fits the mission and objectives of the company perfect.

Next let’s take a look at the name of the product, Money Merge Account. While this program started as a mortgage acceleration program they chose not to call it the Mortgage Pay Off Quicker Program. They named it appropriately the Principal First Account. Yes, you heard me right. The very first name of what we now cherish as the Money Merge Account was the Principal First Account. Now Principal First Account is a pretty darn good name also but unfortunately the word principal is trademarked in the financial services area. Is that crazy or what? You can trademark the work Principal? Maybe I can trademark the word THE.

Anyway after they realized they had to change the name they decided upon the Money Merge Account. The specific nature of this is spot on perfect and yet very vast and universal. As we just merged to the new version 4 of the Money Merge Account program it now can focus on debt for a person who does not have a mortgage and the name still fits perfect. I have wanted to share the forward thinking of those who are behind the scenes making decisions that impact thousands of agents and thousands more clients.

United First Financial held an invitation only golf tournament at St. Ives Country Club in Atlanta, GA preceeding the 2008 International Convention. In a previous blog named: UFirst Golf Scramble Tournament 2008 St. Ives Atlanta, GA

I layed out the day and the details about my specific foursome. I had speculated with how good we shot that we might have a chance of winning with our handicap(Chip Robinson.) Well yesterday on the Branch Managers Call all of the winners were announced.

In second place with a total score of 59 was: Richard Schaffer, David Montgomery, Todd Skousen, tbc.

In First place with a total score of 58 was…you guessed it: Brooke Barnett, Kim Kline, Hugh (Chip) Robinson, and Sheryl Andrade.

There were also awards for closest to the pin and longest drive. I will add them when I recieve that info.

Tied for the most honorable award, best dressed, was Tom Keener and yours truly. Enjoy the clip.

I would like to take a moment and thank the Wealth Accelerators who are Senior Executive Branch Manager’s Michael And Dave Montgomery for taking me in over the past week. They accommodated me in a true southern style and made sure I had a place to sleep and work. While spending time in the UFirst Baton Rouge, LA office I was privileged enough to participate in a few of their meetings and interact with the incredible team there. There are too many to mention but if you happen to get in the area of Baton Rouge make sure to stop by and say Hi to all the great people there.

In addition to all the hard work I was able to slip away on Sunday with Jimmy Saizan, husband and partner of Jo Lynn Saizan and do a little speckled trout fishing. I must say he was an incredible guide and placed us on the fish. I could hardly get my live shrimp back in the water and I had another one on the line. There is a pretty good fish story mixed in here also that involves a 40-50lb red fish with a head the size of a basketbal but I will save that one for anthoer time.

For Immediate Release

United First Financial Co-Founders Take Home Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Regional Award

The company’s co-founders were awarded for entrepreneurial success in the financial services category; qualify for national awards

BLUFFDALE, Utah – July 3, 2008 – Skyler Witman, John Washenko, Matt Lovelady, Jonathan E. Bonnette, and Don Jorgensen of United First Financial™, a financial software services and support company, were recently awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2008 Award in the financial services category in Utah. An independent panel of judges selected their work with United First Financial from a group of finalists, and the award was presented at a gala event at the Salt Palace Convention Center on June 27, 2008.

United First Financial’s (UFirst) innovative Money Merge Account™ program utilizes existing banking tools, one-on-one coaching and a Web-based software tool to help consumers pay off their mortgages and consumer debt in about one-half to one-third the time.

“When we started United First Financial, we didn’t just want to help people get out of debt and improve their financial situation eventually, we wanted to help them do it fast and with little to no change in their current spending habits,” said Skyler Witman, co-founder of UFirst. “The Money Merge Account solution has done just that, and more. It helps homeowners pay off a traditional mortgage in as little as one-half, to one-third the time, it helps clients without a mortgage eliminate other consumer debt and it helps clients without debt build wealth.”

The UFirst co-founders were among the founders of nine Utah-based companies to receive Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year regional awards. According to Ernst & Young LLP, the award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic, growing businesses.

“Ernst & Young is pleased to honor outstanding business leaders such as United First Financial,” said David Jolley, Managing Partner and Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Program Director for Utah. “Winners of the Entrepreneur of the Year award build leading businesses and contribute a great deal to the communities around them. Their success helps Utah grow stronger.”

The co-founders will travel to Palm Springs, Calif. to compete for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 national program Nov. 15, 2008. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award winner, will be announced at the annual awards. The awards are the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

For more information concerning United First Financial and its highly-rated Money Merge Account program, please visit www.MathNotMagic.com.

About United First Financial:
United First Financial (UFirst) is a financial software services and support company. Its products, tools and coaching services enable consumers to pay-off their mortgages, eliminate their debt and achieve financial independence in a fraction of the time. For more information about United First Financial or the Money Merge Account system, please visit www.UnitedFirstFinancial.com.

About the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The award makes a difference through the unique way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 135 cities in 50 countries.

About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Worldwide, our 130,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve potential. For more information, please visit www.ey.com.

Today Mac Saunders, International Director of Sales of United First Financial presented the new Money Merge Account V4. The Money Merge Account V4 had the entire audience of 5000+ on their feet. The program is no longer mortgage centric and encompasses all debt. In addition there are multiple focus points a client can pick to track. No longer is it just a countdown till they are mortgage free. This is a huge just for United First Financial and will definitely set them apart from any potential competition.

The Money Merge Account System will still be for all homeowners or non-homeowners with more than $80k worth of debt or 10 creditors or more. The Money Merge Account Express is a new version of the Money Merge Account and is for non-homeowners with less than $80k worth of debt and less than 10 creditors. The Money Merge Account Express will retail at $1,795.

Both programs encompass a factorial payoff system to strategically pay off all debts and save the client the max amount of money. Clients using the Money Merge Account Express are required to use the optimizer package.

The optimizer package is a new automated system that pays bills, moves money and send alerts via e-mail and text message to clients. The optimizer package is $24.95 a month and is factored into the Money Merge Account Analysis.

Both version of the Money Merge Account can now be financed. For the Money Merge Account System a client will have to have $2,000 down and pay $99/mo for the next 24 months via auto draft or credit card. The $99/mo includes mandatory optimizer for the financing period. The Money Merge Account Express can be financed for $995 down and $99/mo for 12 months including the mandatory optimizer package.

This is absolutely incredible for all income earners. I look forward to what lies ahead with United First Financial.

Todd Skousen, VP of Marketing presented the Money Merge Account V4 analysis inside of Utracker. All agents will now run all analysis through the UTracker system. The analysis will now incorporate….

Multiple Properties

Multiple Mortgage per Property

End Dates for Liabilities

Cash back rewards for credit cards

Float days for credit cards

To finalize the Analysis presentation, creator and founder of UFirst, John Washenko told the crowd that the analysis will not be beat by a standard amortization schedule. It is a comprehensive tool and its job is to determine which version a client is qualified for. 

Atlanta is proving to be everything it was claimed to be. The production setup is top notch and the owners of UFirst plan to deliver on every promise. I can not explain in words the energy in this room with over 5000 motivated agents in the room. Carly Robinson, the daughter of Senior Executive Branch Manager Chip Robinson opened up the event with the National Anthem. Take a look.

There are wil over 400 Branch Managers packed in a room for an absolutly incredible event. Each Branch Manager recieved a white hard hat with the UFirst logo on the front for some event to be held tomorrow. We have seen incredible new advancements today at the Branch Manager Meeting. Unfortunatly I am limited on what I can share until the official convention kick off. Keep an eye on this post as I am going to update it with anything I can throughout the day.