Welcome to the Vici Code, where we unlock real stories of small business owners who've battled chaos, crushed doubt, and conquered their challenges. Faith, family, and finances. No fluff, just raw, honest conversations that decode the path to victory, one story at a time. Good morning. If you've ever laid awake wondering how you're going to make payroll, Will your business ever actually pay you back? You're in the right place. This is the Veche code. So I want to get into, this is the first episode and I'm very excited and nervous, but I'm more excited than anything because I want to kind of explain, you know, where we came up with Veche. Most of you guys know, um, The Vici code stems from the name of the company, Vici Financial. And where does that come from? Vici is Latin for conquer. Most people think Julius Caesar, Vani Vidi Vici, we came, we saw, we conquered. This is about conquering faith, family, and finances. Um, every episode will uncover a story, uh, an underdog to victory story. We're going to bring on local guests, uh, who have, you know, been through difficult times and we want to bring some inspiration to some of the other. small business owners that are going through some things, some similarities and some likeness of what we've been through, what I've been through, what my guests have been through, to hope inspire you to stay in the fight. No fluff, just raw conversations and what actually works. We hope that this will be able to Also get anybody who is on the fence of wanting to get into business, have been thinking about it, make the jump. It takes just as much energy to procrastinate, if not more, than to just do it. So do it. A little bit about me, Joe Dunaway. I'm here locally, born and raised, Syracuse, New York. I started this business because I started to really figure out what my identity was, what my purpose was. For years, I had really no good identity of who I was. I kind of just blended in and went with the crowd. I identified as a bastard child, someone who who was a victim, poor me, woes me, and my actions spoke to that. I had a reckless lifestyle where drinking and drugs and irresponsible behavior, and I kind of hid behind the fact that, oh, well, poor me, I'm the victim, I can justify doing these things. Finally, after some sort of awakening in the early 2020s, I found God and I repented. Thank God that through God's grace, I've been redeemed. And I'm just making more purpose-driven decisions for the Lord and for my family. And now I'd like to carry that momentum into helping my clients and my community. That's where we're at with my journey. You're going to be able to hear a lot more of my journey as each episode unfolds. We'll dive into my experience, our guests' experience, and find what their inspiration is and their purpose. Sleepless nights, financial pain, spiritual testing, It's all on the plate. So there's going to be a mix of client stories, expert insights, and hopefully some more faith-centered financial wisdom. People have been through hell and back, and we want to hear those stories. So if this is something that you'd be interested in being a guest on, please reach out and let us know. We'd love to hear your story. We'd love to pass on that inspiration of what you've been through and how you can relate and connect and tell people to stay in the fight. There'll also be moments of where we share key business tips, you know, leadership, fiscal. So there's going to be some really good information that comes out of, you know, the stories that are told. Each episode will be short, sharp and actionable. You laugh, you cry, you know, but we hope you take, you know, you leave with some hope and have a game plan. If you, If you're able to, you know, subscribe to the show, the easiest way to do that is to go to the thevichicode.com. All the links you need to subscribe and follow us will be there. Also, you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook at Vichy Financial, and also our website, vichyfinance.com. I mean, if you want to follow my personal journey, it's a fun one, and I've got a lot to say. You can find me at D. Joe Dunaway. at thejoedunaway on Instagram. And remember, you don't have to be perfect to win. You just need to stay in the fight and find purpose. Let's conquer this together. Let's go. Thanks for tuning in to the Vici Code, where the underdogs rise and the numbers finally make sense. If today's story hit home, share it. And remember, faith fuels