Why I became a financial and tax advisor for small business owners
I have a passion for helping others become more knowledgeable about money. My belief is that every small business owner has a unique perspective on money and financial journey. One of my purposes in life is to help my small business owner clients become more informed about money, which provides them the opportunity to make better financial decisions that align with their personal and business goals.
As a small business owner myself, I understand the unique challenges that small business owners face. I know that running a business consumes so much time, which can cause small business owners to be concerned that they are not addressing all the financial and tax planning areas that they need to, stressed about potentially missing opportunities, and worried about whether they are doing enough to protect their family and company’s financial future. Knowing these challenges is why my firm is focused on serving small business owners to help them minimize tax liability, invest their money for retirement, and take care of their family's financial future.
To provide even more clarity on why I became a financial and tax advisor for small business owners, I will provide a timeline of my career starting from college graduation to now being the owner of Lasting Wealth Principles. So here is my journey!
Early career years (2000-2005)
After graduating from Cornell University in May of 2000, I really had no idea what I wanted to do. My degree was in Consumer Economics, and I had done summer internships in marketing throughout my years in college. I ended up finding a job opportunity doing marketing research at a small company here in New Jersey and was there for about one year. My desire was really to work in finance though, so I found a job opportunity doing financial analysis at a larger company in New York City while completing my MBA part-time.
Next phase of career (2006-2012)
Basically, this was a time when I continued working in financial analysis at a few other larger companies in New York City. I thought that by me changing companies when applicable to find higher paying opportunities was the way to “advance my career.”
Career change: start of financial planning (2013-2019)
As mentioned, I have always had a passion for helping other people become more knowledgeable about money, so I took a huge leap of faith and resigned from my job in New York City to completely start my career over. Instead of having a corporate job, I wanted to work with people directly to help them better manage their finances. I started at an insurance company (primarily life and disability insurance sales) and learned so much about wealth protection strategies, but realized the business model of selling financial products was not a fit for me. I knew there had to be more to financial planning, so I explored more learning opportunities and pursued the CFP® certification and became a CFP® professional in 2017, which led me to a job opportunity at an investment centric firm where I was a financial planner on their team. At this firm, I learned investment management strategies, which contribute to the overall wealth building for clients.
Business ownership: start of Lasting Wealth Principles (2020-Present)
After learning more about how advisors serve their clients with a flat-fee service model, I decided that this was the approach that I wanted to take so I launched my own firm, Lasting Wealth Principles. My firm maintains a transparent, fee-only structure, which means that no products are sold to clients for commission (clients’ fees are not tied to the sale of a product). Additionally, I do not receive any form of compensation from anyone other than the client. Small business owners are constantly reinvesting money into their businesses, which is why I use a flat-fee model that allows me to provide advice to them regardless of the amount of money they have in their investment portfolios. Also, the flat fee provides clarity to small business owners, who are always thinking about the most efficient places to spend their money.
Throughout my career in financial planning, I have noticed that taxes impact every area of clients’ financial plans and are consistently a pain point for them, which is why I decided to gain even more knowledge in taxation. I pursued the Enrolled Agent (EA) credential and became an EA in 2023. The EA is a credential awarded by the IRS, which means I can represent taxpayers before the IRS and provide tax advice as a tax professional. My reason for getting the EA credential was to deepen my knowledge about taxation to provide more financial planning value to my small business owner clients on the topic of taxes. This includes tax advice, tax planning, and tax preparation.
It has been quite a journey, but I am where I need to be right now, serving small business owners!