Financial planner plus former chef a recipe for success

Thomas Guyett knows a little bit about serving people.

That's what happens when you spend 13 years feeding area residents as the chef at popular places like Mill Race Inn, Riverwalk Restaurant and Erik & Me.

Michael Cantlon has learned a thing or two about service as well, being an investor for more than 30 years, and starting his own financial consultation business in 1984.

The two make a solid team at Cantlon Financial Planning in the St. Charles home of Cantlon, with an interesting "country antique" business on the Burlington Road property serving as a backdrop.

Guyett left the culinary world in 2000 to team up with Cantlon, who had been his financial consultant for the previous eight years.

"It was my idea, more than his, to bring him into this business," Cantlon said. "I was looking for help because I had been a one-man band for about 17 years and he really seemed to dig the financial business.

"Give me someone bright and interested, and that's 90 percent of the battle and Tom has more than fulfilled my expectations," said Cantlon, who made Guyett, his next-door neighbor, a full partner four years ago.

"It's very gratifying to take care of people," Guyett said. "That is the similarity in this business and what I was doing before."

Cantlon Financial has about 75 clients, all of whom have survived the investment anguish of the past few years because of what Cantlon describes as a conservative investment posture that takes advantage of diversification and safe strategies such as long-term call options, which minimize losses.

"We have a good track record of avoiding the bloodshed," Cantlon said. "If you don't take a bath during the hard times, you can really prosper during good times because you're not trying to gain back losses.

"This recession has been the final hitting of the wall from the debt created by everyone playing the game of spending more than they make," Cantlon said. "The economy is in neutral, and even though I am not against the things the government is trying to do, it is anyone's guess as to whether we get healthy or sick."

Cantlon's conservative investment philosophy allows him to fuel his addiction to antiques, particularly those of the farming industry in the mid-1800s. His property features a windmill, a large barn and an 1845 log cabin home - and literally thousands of antiques ranging from a Charley McCarthy ventriloquist doll to covered wagons and horse-drawn carriages.

"I just put the sign up in front of the property on the weekends that we are open to sell antiques, and sometimes I have a lot of visitors, other times not too many," Cantlon said.

It's a unique visit to yesteryear, and a chance to maybe learn financial strategies at the same time. Anyone interested in the antiques or financial advice at Cantlon's can call (630) 584-4508.

Smooches for everyone: I was glad to see Frank Neuschaefer of Geneva get out of "The Bachelorette" reality TV show the old-fashioned way - by simply telling the truth that he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend.

I was somehow convinced to watch a couple of episodes because this "Geneva guy" was in it. He ended up doing what many Geneva guys might do when facing the Hollywood spotlight and scrutiny - think of a way out.

It became clear rather quickly that this show was a flashback to high school hijinks. The bachelorette, a young lady named Ali Fedotowsky, was laughing with and kissing on four different guys in one episode. We had a name for a girl like that way back in high school.

I suspect Fedotowsky is being told by show producers to act like a happy-go-lucky nut. I was told she chose her career over possibly hooking up with Jake on "The Bachelor." Based on how Jake acted on "Dancing with the Stars" (yes, I do watch that one), she was lucky to bail on that one.

She is cute, no doubt. Her laugh gets tiring, but hey, you've got to laugh to get by in this world, right?

But acting so romantic with a batch of bachelors at the same time? And running up to each of them and embracing like they were returning from military service?

Seemed a bit much. Someone please explain what I am missing here.

Get the engineer's cap: There's something about model train enthusiasts that has always surprised me. It could be someone you've known for quite some time, and you had no idea they were fanatical about trains - until you go into the basement of their home, and the place has a full-scale city and railroad train setup. It's almost as if they are so intensely into their model trains, they never have a chance to tell anyone else about it.

Many such train-loving souls are out there in the Tri-Cities, so I will pass along this reminder about a model train show from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today at Blackberry Farm in Aurora. You get into the train show with a regular admission ticket, which is $7 for nonresidents.

Train enthusiasts may get excited in knowing that the Midwest Division of the Train Collectors' Association will have a central display and will also set up rails for hosting railcar races.

A tough road: It's tough to hear about a 2-year-old child who has to undergo surgery for a tumor and endure chemotherapy treatments. All you can do is hope for the best for Jackson Marquez of South Elgin as his family and friends stage a spaghetti dinner and dance fundraiser for him Saturday at the Elgin Moose Lodge.

Jackson was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in March, so it's been a tough few months for his family. More information about the fundraiser is available by calling Sandy at (847) 741-2679.

dheun@sbcglobal.net