Clients, it’s Caitie here. I’m so thrilled to introduce you to our newest teammate, Allison Bauers! In a small business, we tend to wear many hats, so this week, we’re chatting about how our roles and duties will change in the coming months.
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Friends, it’s been a season of change for Leibman Financial!
As many of you know already, Mark will be focusing on client work and research—and less on administrative duties—starting January 1, as Caitie takes on the front-facing CEO role.
Caitie has been serving as Director of Communications full-time since 2020, and our communications program has only grown in those years.
The team has committed to making our messaging more accessible, adding more audio and video in addition to our blog posts. We take pride in making our ideas available in multiple formats, to fit a variety of clients’ lives. We’ve been working to make our contact with you more timely, relevant, and consistent—without clogging up your inboxes!
As Caitie starts to flex her leadership muscles, it’s time to introduce our newest addition: a dedicated Director of Communications who can continue to foster our important connections with each of you. On that note, we’re pleased to introduce Allison Bauers as Leibman Financial’s next Director of Communications.
Allison is a Nebraska native, growing up on a farm near Auburn and moving to Cass County in the mid-1980s. She and her husband Larry raised their children in Louisville, where they were involved in the school system, community theater, and other endeavors over the years. Now they split their time between Nebraska and Arizona spending time with family and making their best attempt at exploring all of our National Parks and the wonders of this country.
Allison’s work includes decades in roles across the fields of education and communication, and her skills suit the demands of this role well. She tells us she is excited to join the team and grow in the specialty role that Caitie helped establish.
We’re already confident that Allison’s attitude and energy will bring fresh possibilities to the firm, as we work to continue to serve our clients in thoughtful new ways.
Communications will remain a team sport here at 228 Main, and we are thrilled to add Allison to that team. We hope you get a chance to meet her soon.
Welcome, Allison!
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It’s an exciting development! You may have heard our announcement already, but effective January 1, 2026, Caitie Leibman here will be serving as CEO of Leibman Financial Services. Mark Leibman isn’t going anywhere, so what changes and what doesn’t with a new person in the front-facing role? This is a must-watch to get the latest from 228Main.com—online or on Main!
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by Mark Leibman, President
Friends, we’ve reached another milestone in the life of Leibman Financial Services. Since I founded the company back in 1996, I’ve been fortunate enough to see LFS through many chapters and changes already.
I wrote recently about how I spend my working hours, and my teammates are helping me get more time for my favorite work activities: talking with you and researching the opportunities and challenges that might impact your portfolios. To do more of what I want, I need to be doing less of everything else.
To that end, we are pleased to announce that Caitie Leibman will succeed me as the next CEO of Leibman Financial Services, effective January 1, 2026.
I’ve long believed that we are all better off working from our passions and values, and we’ve got a chance to reshuffle what goes on each of our plates.
We believe Caitie’s strengths are well-suited to this role. There are tasks that stayed on my plate for years only because once upon a time, mine was the only plate! Many of these tasks require the type of logistical thinking and eye for detail that Caitie has brought to all her work.
Since 2020, Caitie has served LFS full-time as the Director of Communications. She added client work and investment research to her plate after becoming licensed in 2023.
It was that year we split ownership of the business: many of you are already aware, but I co-own this business with Caitie, Greg, and Billy. We work as a four-person management team. Decisions will still be made in this collaborative way moving forward, no matter who has what title.
Instead, the hope is that I get to spend more time doing the parts of the work that are most gratifying to me, and Caitie has a chance to shine in a new way.
We’ll talk more about what this news means in the coming weeks. For now, know that I’m excited. I’m still aimed at working until age 92, and this change may be part of what gets me there.
Thank you all, for everything, always.
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Each of us may be the star of our own show, but think about how long the credits would be! You don’t have to be Wonder Woman. Be in a Wonder Woman movie: rally your crew, pick your favorite director, and gather your favorite cast members around you. That’s how things get done. Together.
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by Mark Leibman, President
We live our lives minute by minute, day by day, and only in hindsight do the broad patterns emerge.
And sometimes, it helps to think through those patterns out loud.
As it has been for decades now, working to age 92 is a cherished goal of mine. With a goal like that, sustainability is key. To that end, I work four days a week, and I spend some weeks at a time working from afar, enjoying other scenery while I stay connected with you and with my teammates via the wonders of the internet and mobile telephones.
My partners and I have been putting some energy into thinking about how I spend those working hours.
A few months ago, Billy, Greg, and Caitie asked me what I wanted more of, so I told them about what I enjoy most. I love our business objective: striving to grow your buckets. My favorite activities are talking to you as well as researching the opportunities and challenges that might impact your portfolios.
So then, we realized: to do more of what I want at work, don’t I need to be doing less of everything else?
Clients, that was a moment when I realized how blessed I am to have the partners I do. They asked me that question, and I could almost feel a load lifting from my shoulders as I shouted, “Heck yes!”
You see, there are tasks that have long been on my plate because once upon a time, mine was the only plate. Parts of my role have included a lot of logistical overhead, the type of detail work that I don’t always enjoy having to do—especially if I could be talking with our clients or researching investments instead!
All this is to say, there are some exciting organizational changes on the horizon. I’ve long believed that we are all better off working from our strengths and passions, and we’ve got a chance to reshuffle what goes on each of our plates.
What will not change is the four-person collaborative ownership and management team that shapes the enterprise that works to take care of your business. I simply will get to spend more time doing the parts of the work that are most gratifying to me.
We’re looking forward to less stress, and more joy, all around. And I’m excited. Stay tuned in the coming weeks: details are on the way!
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by Mark Leibman, President
What a journey thus far!
I started at the kitchen table. Bought the office building at 228 Main when I could neither afford it nor afford to pass it up. Struggled and juggled for years. Fit a snowbird lifestyle into the middle of it. Survived personal tragedy, a cruel disease that slowly took the life of my high school sweetheart.
And through it all, we grew. More and more people entrusted more and more wealth to our care. More and more teammates helped me hold up my end of the deal.
They say it is not the strongest or the smartest who survive and thrive, but those who adapt and adjust to change.
But then, there are the things that have not changed. We are a team of four advisors—myself, Greg, Caitie, and Billy—along with two full-time service team members, Whitney and Brenda. All of us serve one book of business. Everyone gets access to the same set of services. One story, one philosophy, one book of business.
You may not recognize how different this makes us. (But you also know I’ve never been one to follow the crowd!)
Many financial advisor shops, however, are a collection of sole proprietors, each on the prowl for new business all the time. There may be other four-advisor shops that work more like four separate teams that happen to compete nearby each other—not like teammates who play together, toward the same goal.
We believe we are organized differently—and better.
With a team set-up, any client can call any one of us. Four advisors, two service team members, one team. No matter who picks up the phone, we’re committed to getting you pointed in the right direction.
That’s what the team means to me, today.
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by Caitie Leibman, Director of Communications
As a parent, I’ve noticed a lot of messages out there telling me that “moms are superheroes.” (Seriously, you can get it on t-shirts and coffee mugs and wine glasses and keychains and anything else you can think of.)
There’s this idea that a woman today is someone who can handle anything and get it all done. She’s strong. She’s always ready. She basically needs to be Wonder Woman: fight for what’s right, get the job done, and somehow avoid a wardrobe malfunction!
Whether it’s parenthood or my personal life or my career, I know I don’t need any superhuman expectations piled on me. Regular, everyday expectations are plenty, thank you.
Instead of comparing myself to a superhero, I prefer to think of myself as a superhero in a superhero movie.
I never have to go it alone. If this is a superhero movie, then I get my own stunt double! I get a makeup artist and an assistant and a crew and editors—and we’re all in it together. Same goal. We’re all part of making the story happen. The production only comes together when we each pitch in.
These things are true of my real life, too. I bring my time and talents to work so that I have a chance to use them in service of my clients. I get help from my teammates when I have a question or could benefit from someone else’s strengths. I don’t have to do it all, and neither do my teammates.
Clients, I want you to know that we go to work for you. We want your story to come to life, and we feel lucky to be part of the production process. If it was reasonable to expect everybody to just figure it all out on their own, we wouldn’t be in business—and a lot of life would probably get more stressful, trying to tough things out alone.
Each of us is the star of our own show, but think about how long the credits would be.
Clients, reach out any time. We’re glad to be fighting for you, together.
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This time of year often invites some reflection. We’ve said goodbye to 2024 and are welcoming 2025. We’re thinking about beginnings, endings, and transitions.
In Roman mythology, Janus is the god of these things. He had two faces, one looking forward and another looking back. His purview included doors, archways, and gates.
It feels natural at this time to take stock of where we’ve been—and think about the best way forward. That’s what we’re doing at 228 Main.
When Mark founded this enterprise decades ago, it was just him at a kitchen table. In 2000, he moved the business to the digs at 228 Main Street in beautiful downtown Louisville. He knew that he was on to something, that he could keep building something special on a simple but powerful foundation: if he took care of his clients, their business would take care of him.
And the work kept growing. In those intermediate years, he hired staff to help him manage. Among their ranks were family and friends who provided administrative and service support.
Since 2020, the staff has continued to transform. Today, the team is both more specialized and more interwoven. The three of us “next-gen” advisors are co-owners with Mark, with three portions of 24.9% of the shares to his 25.3% portion.
Now we’re in transition, preparing for the decades ahead. There are six of us total on the LFS team, each one still growing and learning. But it takes all of us to make sure our three key activities can happen: 1) We talk with you to sort out what you are trying to do in life. 2) We research investment opportunities. 3) We manage your portfolios.
As we do these things, we’re planning a structure for the enterprise that is collaborative and collegial, where every generation and every teammate puts their gifts on the table for the benefit of all: the wisdom of experience, the energy of youth, and all the diversity of talents and interests we bring.
Many of you know from company lore—and your friendships with Mark—that he intends to work to age 92. (It’s a whole thing for him, a vision that he gleaned from some important mentors early in life. Ask him sometime.) We can’t know the future. And some of us may actually have more years ahead of us in this line of work than there are behind us.
But it’s fair to say that we are all indeed in this for the long haul. So how do we make this thing more sustainable?
We’re all committed to some important things: continuing to build on our strengths and what’s working and staying open to the future and all the opportunities ahead. We learn and grow from both perspectives.
Like the Roman god Janus, we’re looking back and we’re looking forward. Working with the foundation of our history and the road ahead—that’s the superpower of this team.
Want to talk about this or anything else? Call or write, anytime.
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We’d like to think that with age comes wisdom. But it’s not just racking up the years. We try to learn from our experiences—and integrate those lessons into our thinking.
I can’t speak for anyone else on our 228 Main team, but I can say that I am still a little surprised I’m here.
And I mean that in every way. I didn’t know the turns my career would take, and yet the path I took here is still the one that made the most sense. It’s led to the best possible outcomes. I didn’t know my current neighborhood even existed until we found a place to live in it. I didn’t know the mental health struggles I would explore in my early 30s, but I wouldn’t be who I am today without them.
What’s it all mean? The lesson I take is this: I couldn’t have called any of this ahead of time, so, therefore, maybe there are more surprises ahead.
We’ve heard from a few of you about the unexpected turns in your lives. One of them was, “I never thought I’d own a yoga mat.”
Another one was, “I never thought I’d be living in a house again.”
Big stuff, small stuff—you just never know. It’s possible to feel like you’re in the driver’s seat and that the road will keep bringing us twists and turns. Sometimes we crest a hill in the sunshine, and it’s like our whole future is laid out before us.
And sometimes we can only see as far as the headlights reach.
Having a team to support us along the way can make such a difference. I wasn’t alone through any of my own twists and turns. My team included professionals and specialists, everyone from my primary care doc to a new accountant to help my household.
It included my loved ones, friends, and the people in my life I knew I could text any time, day or night.
Who’s on your team?
Let’s assume the twists and turns will continue to surprise us—and sometimes delight us! We’re here for all of it. You just never know.
And we’re glad to share it with you.
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