Alumni Spotlight: Xerxes Nabong
Xerxes began his financial services career in 2005 with American Express Financial Advisors later spinning off to become Ameriprise Financial. In 2010, he co-founded Maliniak & Nabong Wealth Advisory Services doing business as Wealth Avenue Advisors* and has been a Registered Representative with United Planners' Financial Services of America since 2016. He works with individual and corporate clients, focusing on retirement planning, investment management, life and disability insurance, and business retirement plans.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in management from Old Dominion University in 2005, the Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM (CRPC®) designation for pre- and post-retirement planning needs in 2006, and a Professional Financial Planner designation from Old Dominion University's Executive Development Center in 2008. Xerxes is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional making him uniquely qualified to provide comprehensive financial financial advice, piecing together your financial puzzle to give you confidence.
Xerxes continues to give back to his college alma mater, sitting on the Executive Advisory Council to the Strome College of Business, speaking multiple times each year to the business school and entrepreneurial center. Since 2017, Xerxes has created two scholarships, the Xerxes L. Nabong Competitive Endowment Award awarding an annual scholarship to Old Dominion University students studying in business and the Xerxes L. Nabong Scholarship Award awarded through the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce to a high school student pursuing university studies in business.
A lifelong resident of the Hampton Roads region, Xerxes was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia. In his free time, Xerxes is an avid golfer, fitness addict, dog lover, and traveler. He's an active member of the Golfweek Amateur Golf Tour, Philippine-American Golf Association of Tidewater, and Topgolf. An escape room enthusiast, Xerxes is owner of Escape Room Virginia*, with locations in Virginia Beach and Hampton, and has received over 10 business excellence awards. Xerxes lives in Virginia Beach with his two dogs, Bogey and Lily, and has a home in Scottsdale, Arizona where he visits and conducts business frequently.
Was there a faculty member that had a lasting impact on your time at ODU? I grew up at a golf course where all my friends were considerably older than me, 30, 40, and 50 years older. As a 14-year-old spending my summer golfing from sunrise to sunset with no idea about the concept of retirement, I always wondered why these guys were golfing instead of going to work. They told me about how they saved and invested and had enough money where work was an option. Maureen Stiner and her Finance 323 class introduced me to investing and the time value of money and thinking back to my golf course friends, I was inspired to pursue a career in finance and help people improve their financial well-being.
What resources, if any did you take advantage of or wish you had taken advantage of? Why would you recommend students take advantage of the resources Strome is offering today? The Entrepreneurial Center wasn't around when I was a student from 2001 to 2005. The environment of the center and the ability to surround yourself with like-minded people and the welcoming of speakers to share their story would be something I wish was around when I studied at ODU. I would spend all my free time if I were a student today.
What skills did you realize you needed to develop that weren't necessarily taught in class? Such as networking, negotiation etc. Networking and online presence is key. Most people do this without knowing they are doing so... having conversations about job opportunities, industry trends, places to live. I would like for students to be given direction on things they can do to improve their chances in connecting with others. I've been invited to speak to students over the years and have stressed that students volunteer with organizations, seek various odd jobs, take a leadership role in any club or hobby group they're involved with, and being active on LinkedIn.
What are 3 things you would tell your younger self going into college and right after graduating? Going into college 1) challenge yourself to study or take a full schedule, work, and volunteer (the balance is great for your resume, keeps you focused, and is great for organizational skills that you can carry into working), 2) if there's a hobby or skill you have, make time for it (I wish I didn't give up golf during college, I certainly could have made time for it), and 3) utilize all the resources available to you (talk to people, ask to hear everyone's stories, get involved with career and/or entrepreneurial centers). Graduating from college 1) be open to seeking opportunities anywhere around the world (I wish I traveled more and moved sooner) 2) stay in close contact with your classmates and 3) remember that life is an experience and live in the moment - there's a grind that we seek when it comes to the career, and I find especially in my work as a financial advisor that too many folks get into this grind and all of a sudden they seek life and freedom at retirement. Don't miss out on things you can experience during your working years and have that mindset right away.
What has been your greatest failure and accomplishment and what did each one teach you? In 2014, I made a small $25,000 investment into a cafe that resulted in an estimated $85,000 loss. The silver lining in this failure... I met Kristen Sill, who worked at this cafe for a short period of time. Her infectious personality struck me so greatly that when I decided to open Escape Room Virginia Beach, I hired her as my general manager to run the business. We turned a profit in 45 days from the first day we had our first customer. Kristen worked for me for two years and moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia. She said that she learned so much from working with me that she opened her very own escape room business. To this day, seeing her blossom from a cafe employee, to a general manager, to a business owner has been one of my greatest business accomplishments.
Who opened doors for you and how do you plan to do the same? With an open mind, there are always doors that are open. It's about the mindset you have to see what's inside and your drive to do something with the opportunity. Whenever I have the opportunity to work with someone or share my story, I hope to always inspire someone to do something different, something uncomfortable, or pursue something that can elevate them to something better than where they stand today.
What kind of leader would you consider yourself to be and how do you go about developing future leaders? I'm more hands-off than anything and that's because I believe experience allows people to learn. As a leader, yes, your word and your guidance impact the direction of your business or project, but at the same time, you hire people so they can tell you what needs to get done, especially since they're in the trenches doing the work. Chime in when you absolutely have to. Let your team skin their knees from time to time. Communicate the desired direction and allow others to experience and learn, with success and failures, but reel them back when needed.
Starting a new business can be hectic, as you know. What advice would you give for maintaining a work-life balance? Every business is a different but with any business or task, there's always a process. Do the things that you absolutely have to do by way of skill or the things where you have the greatest positive impact. Delegate everything else and trust that the people you bring onto your team are competent. If you feel the need to do everything in your business, you'll burn yourself out. If you start your business with the idea that you will be off by a certain time each day or you will take a certain vacation in the future, you will structure your business, processes, and delegation of tasks to your team so that your business will run efficiently. If you have the mindset of being a workaholic, your structures and processes will be as such.
What goals have you made for yourself now? I'm fortunate that I've built and continued to grow my financial planning business, Wealth Avenue, in Virginia Beach. 15 years into the industry I've grown very close with many of my clients. As I begin to get grounded in Phoenix, I have goals to grow my business in working with people that I enjoy being around - golfers, sports lovers, foodies, fitness enthusiasts, world travelers, dog lovers, etc. The personal relationships with clients and the lives I'm able to improve (financially) are the most important aspects of my professional sphere to me. I've also grown to love playing golf again and will work diligently to become a scratch golfer.
Why Scottsdale? I wanted to live in a city that had great weather (translated as no cold weather, although I can handle the Phoenix heat), professional sports, and an abundance of golf courses. Scottsdale checked all the boxes with the dry weather, the major sports with Phoenix, and over 200 golf courses in the region (I've played 30 so far). I also didn't realize that I love seeing mountains on the horizon wherever I go.
