How to Build Wealth on Any Income
45m | Jul 16, 2026🎙️ Sponsor the Brand Builders Podcast: https://www.howdy-media.com/brand-builders-podcast
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He walked away from a big financial firm to build a 100% fiduciary wealth management company from scratch — and five years later, Cedar Gap Wealth Management is on pace to double every four years.
In this episode of Brand Builders Podcast, Michael Hull (Co-Founder of Cedar Gap Wealth Management in Abilene, TX) breaks down what it actually took to leave the safety of a big firm and go independent: the "golden handcuffs" corporate firms use to keep advisors from ever leaving, why he and partner Ben McAnally chose fee-based fiduciary pricing over commissions, how sponsoring rodeo athletes and the National Finals Rodeo became an unconventional but high-ROI growth strategy, and the 10-10-80 rule he teaches clients for building wealth on any income.
We also get into his path from banking, to pharmaceutical sales at Johnson & Johnson, to wealth management — and how his wife's support was the deciding factor in whether Cedar Gap ever got off the ground at all.
If you're an entrepreneur, business owner, or W-2 employee thinking about going independent, this episode is a real, unfiltered look at what it costs and what it's worth.
🔑 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
- The "golden handcuffs" strategy big firms use to keep employees dependent
- Why 100% fiduciary + fee-based pricing changes the advisor-client relationship
- How Cedar Gap turned rodeo sponsorships into a real client acquisition channel
- The 10-10-80 rule for building wealth (tithe, save, live)
- Why hiring an assistant came before hiring a salesperson
- Cedar Gap's 10-year growth plan and expansion into the Fort Worth market
- What Michael would tell himself before becoming an entrepreneur
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 – Why most people never learn how to actually run a business
00:35 – Welcome Michael Hull, Co-Founder of Cedar Gap Wealth Management
01:30 – What wealth management actually involves
03:00 – Michael's path: banking → Johnson & Johnson → wealth management
05:30 – Why he and Ben McAnally started Cedar Gap in 2021
07:30 – Biggest lessons from 5 years of entrepreneurship
11:21 – First hires: why an assistant came before a salesperson
14:00 – How Cedar Gap actually gets new clients
16:00 – Fee-based vs. commission-based advisors — how they get paid
18:30 – Crypto: is it worth it?
19:00 – The 10-10-80 rule for building wealth
21:30 – Paying off business debt vs. building a financial plan
33:18 – Why Cedar Gap sponsors rodeo athletes and the NFR
35:31 – The "golden handcuffs" that almost kept him in corporate
37:02 – Why his wife's support made Cedar Gap possible
39:27 – Mentorship over books: how Michael actually learned
44:02 – Cedar Gap's 10-year goal and Fort Worth expansion
44:49 – Where to connect with Cedar Gap Wealth Management
CONNECT WITH CEDAR GAP WEALTH MANAGEMENT:
Website: https://www.cedargapwealth.com/
Location: Abilene, TX
🤝 Thank you to our sponsors:
Empire Management Group — https://www.empire-management-group.com/
Better Business Bureau of Abilene — https://www.bbb.org/
Graze Craze Abilene -- https://www.grazecraze.com/abilene-tx
