Make the Connection

Meet Randy

Randy Johnson Randy is the co-owner of Ash Johnson Private Advisory Services (originally The Johnson Company), which he founded in 1971. He is committed to providing his clients comprehensive strategic planning, both business and personal. A maverick in the industry, Randy never enters a prospective client meeting until he's completed Colombo-type reconnaissance about the prospective organization and the culture of its people. Johnson rarely goes to a first meeting without an agenda filled with questions that get to the heart of what really matters to a business owner.

"My job is creating intimacy – clients tell me things they don't tell anyone else. In most successful, closely held businesses, the complexity is not in the size of the owners' balance sheet but in the dynamics of the family. We're dealing with incredibly successful human beings. Other people are going to drink from the well they've created for a very long time, so getting clear direction, input and feelings help us architect a plan that fits into the client's dreams, fears, goals and heartfelt objectives"

Getting to Know Randy

Professional Background: 40 years in the profession, 31-year member of the Million Dollar Roundtable with 8 years Top of the Table qualifier, 14 years Forum 400 member
Family: My wife Carol has been my business partner for 38 years; 3 children, 2 stepchildren and 11 grandchildren
Hometown: Waverly, Nebraska (population 2,600)
Hobbies/Interests: Traveling with Carol, spending time with really nice people, reading, planting trees and being a grandpa
Something few people know about me: I've almost never touched a computer. I'm low tech but high touch.
Career before financial services: Turkey farm laborer
Dream job: Heavy Equipment Operator
Favorite item on my desk: Motivational message from my son
Best advice to share: Ask lots of questions – and listen. The "best of the best" might not know the answers, but they know the questions!
Favorite thing about the industry: The incredible value we add to people's lives... If we don't, who will?
Interesting fact about my business: The Ash Johnson Private Advisory Services operates out of a barn on 40 acres of paradise. The natural setting is affectionately called "Within the Wild."
My business model:"I made a vow 15 years ago that I would not work with a client without their most trusted advisor at the table. We've partnered with the top tax, legal, Property & Casualty, investment, benefit and trust professionals in our state, and that group refers 100 percent of our business. The business model didn't happen overnight, but it's put us 100 percent in the business market."

Our area of specialty is Business Succession that dovetails with a family's wealth transfer planning.