September started with a long weekend. There was no RGBBN meeting on Friday, September 4, and we hope every member and their families enjoyed the Labor Day holiday. We made up for it over the next three Fridays with a month that ranged from tree-crew safety gear and flooring samples to compound interest, the caregiving journey, and a special meeting where members pitched each other’s businesses. If August was about protecting what you already have, September was about knowing your stuff: knowing your floors, knowing your numbers, knowing your options when a parent comes home from the hospital, and knowing your fellow members well enough to sell their business for them.
Our September 11 showboat spotlight started with Luis Ortega of Heartwood Professional Tree Management, Inc., a CSLB-licensed (#1039923), bonded, and insured tree care company serving Placer and Sacramento counties, including Roseville, Rocklin, Granite Bay, Loomis, Citrus Heights, and Auburn. Luis walked us through the multi-point safety protocols his crews follow on every job. Tree work is one of the most dangerous trades in the country, and Heartwood treats it that way: crews are certified in CPR, first aid, and aerial rescue, work areas are secured before a saw is started, and professional rigging is used to lower heavy limbs under control rather than letting them fall. Since 2018 the company has completed more than 1,000 jobs and earned a 5.0 Google rating across 300-plus reviews, and it offers 24/7 emergency storm response.
Ideal referrals: Homeowners, HOAs, and commercial property managers who need pruning, hazardous tree removal, or storm cleanup from a licensed, safety-first crew.
Eric Cornick of Freestyle Hardwood Floors brought flooring samples and put the group to the test with a question a lot of homeowners get wrong: do you know your LVP?
LVP stands for Luxury Vinyl Plank. It’s a layered synthetic flooring built on a rigid backing, with a printed layer that mimics the look of wood or stone and clear wear layers on top for protection. Eric had samples available so members could feel the difference for themselves, then laid out the real tradeoffs between LVP and genuine hardwood.
The right floor depends on the room, the household, the budget, and how long you plan to stay. That’s exactly the conversation he has with clients before any installation, and it’s why the group walked away a little smarter about what’s under their own feet.
Ideal referrals: Homeowners deciding between hardwood and LVP, anyone with hardwood floors that need refinishing, and realtors whose sellers need floors handled before listing.
Kable Doria, Managing Director and Financial Advisor with Ameriprise Financial, opened his presentation with a line that reframed the whole topic. Most of us are good at earning. Far fewer of us are good at turning that income into wealth, and when Kable talks about wealth, he’s really talking about freedom: the freedom to live the life you want in the future.
He made the case with simple math. Put $100 a month into an S&P 500 index fund and leave it alone. Using the market’s long-run average return of roughly 10% a year, that $100 a month grows to about $20,000 after 10 years on $12,000 contributed. Leave it for 30 years and it grows to roughly $226,000 on $36,000 contributed. Nearly $190,000 of that is growth, not savings. (Even using a more conservative 7% return to account for inflation, the 30-year figure is still about $122,000.) The lesson isn’t the specific number; it’s that time in the market is the single biggest determining factor. Every year you wait is the most expensive year you’ll ever skip.
That’s why Kable pushed back on a phrase he hears constantly: “I’ll start saving next year.” When someone says that, he pointed out, they’ve already set a mental limit on themselves. The plan can start small, but it should start now.
Kable also addressed the question every do-it-yourselfer asks: what does an advisor actually add? He cited industry research showing that investors who go it alone tend to give up roughly 3% to 5% of portfolio value over time, largely through poor timing, emotional buying and selling, and tax mistakes. He illustrated it with a client story that ended with a strategy in place and freedom to live the retirement life they want to live.
Ideal referrals: Anyone with cash sitting in a checking or general savings account who isn’t sure what to do with it, and anyone who has been “meaning to” start investing. A quick text or email introduction is the best way to connect someone with Kable.
Lena Takahashi of Age In Place Sacramento asked the group a question most of us will face sooner than we expect: what do you do when a senior parent is discharged from the hospital after a fall, or when dementia starts to change who they are? Age In Place Sacramento is caregiving and chronic illness management service specializing in geriatric care, including post-hospital and post-rehab recovery, movement disorders such as Parkinson’s and stroke, medication management, and in-home caregiving by certified aides and companions. Lena serves families across Northern California, including Placer County, El Dorado Hills, and Yolo County.
Lena framed caregiving as a journey with recognizable stages rather than a single crisis, and the research backs her up. The California Caregiver Resource Centers describe five common stages: the Expectant Caregiver, who sees the need coming but hasn’t started; the Freshman Caregiver, who begins helping with rides, bills, or appointments; the Entrenched Caregiver, in the full swing of daily care; the Transitioning Caregiver, who recognizes a loved one’s needs are changing or coming to an end; and the former caregiver, rebuilding life afterward. Each stage comes with different decisions, and most families don’t realize what stage they’re in until they’re overwhelmed. That’s where a geriatric care manager earns her keep: coordinating discharge plans, arranging the right level of in-home help, keeping medications straight, and giving adult children a plan instead of a panic.
Her message was simple: don’t wait for the fall. The best time to have the conversation about a parent’s care is before the hospital forces it.
Ideal referrals: Adult children of aging parents, especially anyone whose parent has a pending hospital discharge, a recent fall, a new dementia or Parkinson’s diagnosis, or who lives far away from Mom or Dad and needs someone local to coordinate care. Age In Place Sacramento answers the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Referrals don’t come from the people who’ve heard of you. They come from the people who know you.
Benita Tadena of Team Tadena Home Lending (NMLS #265422), powered by Answered Home Lending, brings 25 years of mortgage experience to the greater Sacramento and Tri-County areas. Benita leads a team dedicated to guiding buyers through every step of the home loan process and making homeownership feel achievable, informed, and stress-free. Her team is known for clear communication, competitive rates, expedited approvals, and lending options tailored to each buyer’s situation rather than a one-size-fits-all product, whether that’s a first-time purchase, a move-up home, or a refinance.
Ideal referrals: First-time and move-up homebuyers, anyone considering a refinance, and real estate professionals who want a lender who returns calls.
Daniel Perez of Global Painting Solutions (CSLB License #1024996, bonded and insured, EPA certified) brings more than two decades of industry experience to residential, commercial, and healthcare painting projects across the Greater Sacramento region and the San Francisco Bay Area. His team handles interior and exterior painting, staining, and cabinet refinishing, along with professional cleaning and pressure washing. Daniel’s crews are known for meticulous attention to detail, finishing on time to minimize disruption, and treating a client’s property with respect. As the company puts it, “Our team will collaborate with you until your complete satisfaction is achieved.”
Ideal referrals: Homeowners ready for an interior or exterior refresh, property managers and businesses with commercial or medical-office painting needs, and anyone considering cabinet refinishing instead of a full kitchen remodel.
We closed September with a special meeting. Instead of the usual presentations, every member was tasked with sitting down with another member, having a real conversation about their business, and then standing up to deliver that member’s one-minute commercial as if it were their own.
The results were some of the best pitches we’ve heard all year. Members discovered sides of each other’s businesses they never knew existed, and more than a few realized they’d been describing a fellow member’s services too narrowly for years. That’s the whole point. RGBBN is built on trust and relationships, and the reason our referrals work is that members can speak confidently and accurately about what the person across the table actually does. When you can give someone else’s commercial, you can give someone else’s referral.
September was a month about knowing your stuff. Eric taught us the difference between hardwood and LVP. Kable showed us the math behind starting now instead of in three years. Lena gave us a map for a journey most of us will take with a parent. And on the last Friday, every member proved they know each other’s businesses well enough to sell them. That’s what makes a referral group work: not just showing up, but understanding one another well enough to send the right client to the right member. You can find every member mentioned here in the RGBBN member directory.
The Roseville Granite Bay Business Network has been connecting local business owners in Roseville, Granite Bay, Rocklin, and Placer County for more than 30 years. We’d love to have you join us as a guest. Come learn more about our members, our Friday meetings at Granite Bay Golf Club, and how you can experience the power of relationship-based referral networking.
