Money as a Tool for the Kingdom - Frank Herman
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Episode Description
On this episode of the On The Rise Podcast, host Nick Stromwall talks with Frank Herman, CEO of Premium Holdings and a multifamily and student-housing investor, for the Faith Driven Leaders series. Frank shares how he left a 16-year residential career in Silicon Valley, moved his family to the South, and lived in a hotel for six months while stepping out on faith. He tells two contrasting stories — a costly deal he pursued after ignoring God's warning, and a 216-unit deal he prayed God would shut the door on, which went full cycle at nearly 2.5x in 18 months. A candid conversation on obedience, integrating faith and work, and using business as a tool for the kingdom.
Summary
Choose your community first, then build around it.
Frank and his family relocated to the South largely to be part of a specific church, sorting out where they'd live and work afterward. He frames it as a "God move" — when the family rallies behind a clear calling, hard decisions become easier.
Seek the source, not the sources.
Citing Matthew 6:33, Frank contrasts his earlier years chasing outcomes with his current posture of seeking God first. When he pursued "all these things" ahead of the kingdom, life felt chaotic; putting God first made the yoke lighter.
Faith is a Monday-through-Saturday job.
Frank sees Sunday as celebration and worship, but the real "plowing" happens the rest of the week through prayer, scripture, and fasting. People who only encounter God an hour or two on Sunday tend to struggle the rest of the week.
Obedience matters more than the projected payday.
In 2017, Frank felt God say not to pursue a Carmel flip but chased the projected $500K profit anyway. Hidden problems ballooned the renovation budget, doubled the timeline, and he wrote a $400K check to get out — a lesson to lean not on his own understanding.
Pray the door shut, not just open.
On his first Mississippi deal, Frank changed his prayer entirely: instead of asking God to open the door, he asked God to shut it if it wasn't His will. The peace he felt through 60 days of due diligence confirmed the deal, which went full cycle at nearly 2.5x in 18 months.
Treat God as your business partner.
Frank describes the shift from trying to figure everything out alone to genuinely submitting decisions to God as a partner. Stewarding investors' capital, he pauses to seek guidance on what the next three to five years might hold rather than trusting his own foresight.
Your success can be a tool for the kingdom.
A mission trip to Belize reframed everything: Frank isn't gifted in construction, but he's gifted at making money in real estate — so he began directing profits to missionaries and church planters. Business became a vehicle for impact, not just accumulation.
Work on yourself before trying to change others.
Frank's closing wisdom: leaders get frustrated waiting for employees, spouses, or kids to change, so focus instead on becoming the best version of yourself. He leaves listeners with a line that stuck with him — "when you're born you look like your parents, but when you die you look like your decisions."
Resources
Website: https://premiumholdings.llc/
