Legacy Planning – The Simply Retirement Podcast

Preserving Family Stories and Legacies with Zoe Martin (Ep. 77)

By The Simply Retirement Podcast | November 5, 2025

Our financial legacy is important, but our stories and memories are priceless.

This time, we go beyond numbers to focus on preserving the voices, photos, and experiences that define a family’s history.

In this episode, I sit down with Zoe Martin, founder of The Zoe Martin, to talk about the importance of capturing family stories and portraits before it’s too late. She shares her deeply personal journey that inspired her work and offers practical ways anyone can start preserving their legacy today.

Zoe discusses:

The personal story of her sister’s passing and how it inspired her mission to record life stories
Why families shouldn’t wait to capture stories and memories before they fade
The role of legacy in retirement and estate planning beyond finances
Practical advice on how to start recording family stories, even with simple tools like a phone
The unique process she offers families, from multi-generational portraits to legacy video interviews
And more!

Resources:

Connect with Eric Blake:

Connect with Zoe Martin:

About our Guest:

Zoe Martin is a personal historian who’s passionate about helping people and organizations preserve their most important stories. With a heart for visual and narrative storytelling, she creates portraits and videos that document people’s lives into lasting treasures, including heirloom albums, custom wall art, coffee table books, and life story videos.

As a guest on various podcasts and community stages, Zoe shares her insights on why it’s so important to capture and preserve legacies while we still can. Her passion for storytelling is deeply personal, inspired by the memory of her late sister, Kristina. A portion of every project supports The Bridge Breast Network, which provides breast cancer resources to underserved communities in the DFW area.

Zoe’s work helps clients reflect on their lives, strengthen relationships, and leave a meaningful legacy for future generations by encouraging people to make every moment matter. Because Moments Become Memories™

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More

Exit Planning for Business Owners: Preparing Financially, Personally, and for Legacy (Ep. 72)

By The Simply Retirement Podcast | October 1, 2025

Exiting a business is more than just a financial transaction. It’s a life transition that can affect family, legacy, and the future you envision.

In this episode, I sit down with Renita Wolf, MBA, founder and CEO of Poe Wolf Partners, to discuss how business owners can thoughtfully plan for a smooth and meaningful exit. We explore the importance of preparation, both financial and emotional, and what truly defines a successful transition.

Renita discusses:

Why over 80% of businesses never sell, and how to avoid being in that group
How emotions and identity play a big role in preparing for life after selling a business
The importance of early planning and cleaning up financials before going to market
How family members can influence and support exit readiness
Why a successful exit is about freedom, legacy, and choices, not just the sale price
And more!

Resources:

Connect with Eric Blake:

Connect with Renita Wolf:

About Poe Wolf Partners:

Poe Wolf Partners is a boutique advisory firm that helps middle-market business owners, particularly those with companies generating between $10 million and $100 million in revenue, prepare for and navigate business exits. We specialize in aligning financial outcomes with personal and legacy goals, so owners can exit confidently and on their own terms.

About Renita Wolf:

Renita Wolf is the founder and principal advisor at Poe Wolf Partners, a boutique exit planning ﬁrm serving middle-market business owners. With a background in corporate ﬁnance and M&A at Fortune 50 companies like Wells Fargo, HP, and Cray Research, Renita brings over 20 years of strategic and ﬁnancial expertise to business transitions.

At Poe Wolf Partners, she guides owners through complex exit planning, helping them deﬁne a clear vision, build a tailored strategy, and assemble the right advisory team. Renita’s approach is holistic and client-focused, addressing not just the ﬁnancial side of an exit, but the personal, emotional, and legacy-driven aspects as well.

She is especially passionate about supporting women business owners and those navigating life transitions, such as widowhood or divorce, to ensure they exit their businesses with conﬁdence and clarity.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS | More