I'm going to talk about something most business owners avoid in public. Faith. Not in a preachy way. Not in a "you should believe what I believe" way. But in the way it actually works in my life and in how I run Top Tier Investment Firm.

This is personal, and I'm not going to apologize for that.

I brought this topic up on a recent episode of the Freedom Fighter Podcast because Ryan and I were talking about what drives decision-making when the numbers alone aren't enough. When the spreadsheet says one thing but your gut says another. When you have the chance to make more money by cutting a corner, and the only thing stopping you is who you want to be.

That's where faith shows up in business. Not in the logo or the mission statement. In the decisions.

Stewardship Over Ownership

The biggest shift in how I think about business came when I stopped viewing myself as the owner and started viewing myself as the steward.

There's a real difference. An owner says, "This is mine. I built it. I deserve the returns." A steward says, "This was entrusted to me. My job is to manage it well and create value that outlasts me."

That shift changes everything.

When I think about the properties we manage, I don't just see a portfolio. I see families. People who are trusting us with the roof over their heads. Investors who put their capital in our hands. Team members who depend on the company for their livelihood. That weight isn't a burden. It's a responsibility I chose.

Stewardship means I make decisions based on long-term value, not short-term extraction. It means I don't cut corners on maintenance because a tenant deserves a safe, functional home even when fixing the problem costs more than ignoring it. It means I don't inflate projections to raise capital faster. It means I tell an investor "this deal isn't right for you" when that's the truth, even if it means losing the investment.

I didn't always think this way. There was a season where I was chasing growth for growth's sake. More units, more revenue, more deals. And I was miserable. Not because the growth was wrong, but because the motivation was wrong. I was building for my ego, not for my purpose.

Integrity When Nobody Is Watching

Real estate is a business with a lot of dark corners. There are moments in every deal where you can take advantage of someone who doesn't know what you know. A seller who doesn't realize their building is worth more than they're asking. A tenant who doesn't know their rights. An investor who doesn't understand the fee structure.

Faith doesn't give you a rulebook for every one of those situations. But it gives you a framework: do the right thing, especially when it costs you something.

I have corrected sellers who underpriced their properties. I have told them, "You should get a second opinion on this valuation because I think you're leaving money on the table." That isn't good negotiating. It's good character. And I sleep fine.

I have had tenants who were behind on rent and clearly struggling. The easy business decision is to file for eviction immediately. The right decision, in many cases, is to have a conversation, offer a payment plan, and treat them like a human being going through a hard time. Not because it always works. Sometimes it doesn't. But because that's how I would want to be treated.

I'm not saying faith makes you a pushover. It doesn't. I still enforce leases. I still collect rent. I still make hard business decisions. Stewardship doesn't mean being soft. It means being principled. There's a big difference.

Generational Thinking

Nicole and I have seven kids. Seven. When I think about why I'm building this company, it isn't for a lifestyle upgrade. It isn't for a nicer truck or a bigger house. It's because I believe I have a responsibility to build something that my children can inherit, learn from, and build upon.

Generational wealth isn't just money. It's a model. It's showing your kids what it looks like to work hard, take risks, serve people, and manage resources with integrity. It's teaching them that wealth is a tool for impact, not a scorecard.

The Bible talks about a "good man leaving an inheritance to his children's children." That isn't just about a bank account. It's about leaving a legacy of character, competence, and stewardship that compounds across generations.

Every decision I make in the business gets filtered through that lens. Will this matter in 20 years? Will my kids be proud of how this was handled? Am I building something that can sustain beyond my involvement, or am I building something that depends entirely on me?

That filter kills a lot of bad ideas. It also validates the hard ones. Building a business the right way is slower, more expensive, and less flashy than building it the fast way. But the right way is the only way that lasts.

First Fruits

I'm going to be transparent about something that most business people don't discuss publicly. We tithe.

Not when it's convenient. Not after the bills are paid. First. Before expenses, before payroll, before reinvestment. The first portion goes back.

I know that sounds counterintuitive when you're running a business with thin margins. When cash is tight and every dollar matters, giving away 10% feels reckless. I get it. I have felt that tension.

But here's what I have experienced, and I'm not going to pretend I can prove this on a spreadsheet: when we give first, the rest stretches further. I don't know how to explain it in business terms. I'm not going to try. It's something I have experienced consistently enough that it has become a non-negotiable part of how we operate.

This isn't a prosperity gospel pitch. I'm not saying "give and you will get rich." I'm saying that generosity, practiced as a discipline rather than an afterthought, shapes how you view money, scarcity, and abundance. And those views directly affect how you operate a business.

People who operate from scarcity make desperate decisions. They cut corners. They squeeze tenants. They oversell investors. They hoard.

People who operate from abundance make patient decisions. They invest in relationships. They deliver more than expected. They play long games.

Faith, for me, is the foundation of an abundance mindset. Not because I expect God to drop money out of the sky, but because I trust the process, I trust the purpose, and I don't have to manufacture every outcome through force of will.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Faith in business isn't a Sunday morning thing. It's a Monday morning thing. A Wednesday at 2 AM when a pipe bursts thing. A Friday afternoon when a deal falls apart thing.

Here's what it looks like practically at Top Tier:

We don't misrepresent properties. Not to buyers, not to investors, not to tenants. If a building has problems, we disclose them. Full stop.

We honor our commitments. If we tell a tenant their maintenance request will be handled in 24 hours, we handle it in 24 hours. If we tell an investor they will receive quarterly reports, they receive quarterly reports. Our word is the foundation of our reputation.

We treat people with dignity. Every person. Tenants who are behind on rent. Vendors who are waiting for payment. Competitors in the market. The way you treat people when you have leverage over them reveals your character.

We make decisions we can defend. Not justify. Defend. There's a difference. You can justify almost anything with enough spin. Defending a decision means you can look someone in the eye and explain why it was the right thing to do.

Not Everyone Will Get This

I know that posting about faith in a business context will turn some people off. That's fine. This is who I'm. This is how I operate. I would rather be honest about the foundation I'm building on and lose some people than pretend it doesn't exist and gain everyone.

The Freedom Fighter Podcast exists because Ryan and I believe that financial freedom should be built on a foundation that can support the weight of it. Money without character creates problems. Wealth without stewardship creates entitlement. Success without purpose creates emptiness.

I have seen all three. I have experienced some of them personally.

Faith isn't my marketing strategy. It's my operating system. And everything we build at Top Tier is built on it.

If you own rental properties and you're not sure they're hitting their ceiling, let's talk. Reach out at Tanner@TopTierInvestmentFirm.com.

Tanner Sherman is the Principal and Managing Broker of Top Tier Investment Firm in Omaha, Nebraska. He co-hosts the Freedom Fighter Podcast with Ryan of Avara Investments.

How Faith Shapes How We Do Business