What makes you want to work with someone performing a service for you?
At that…how about someone you want to help manage your life savings?
…
It’s really hard to nail it down to just one thing.
You could say “Well, they seemed like the best person for the job,” which is fine for more transactional relationships.
But for long-term relationships built on trust, it’s deeper.
Personally, I like that fact.
While I strive to be the best financial planner I possibly can, most clients choose to work with me because we can relate to each other.
My “why” is truly the backbone of my business.
It’s also the reason I didn’t want to spend an entire career in corporate America.
Where It Started
I grew up in a suburb of Raleigh, NC, that was just starting to blossom when I was born. Me and my firm are still based in the Raleigh area and it’s been pretty incredible to see the area grow as I’ve gotten older.
Research Triangle Park, or RTP for short, (often called the “Silicon Valley of the East Coast”) was new and driving huge local growth.
I was lucky enough that my parents had lived here for 20 years beforehand. My dad’s family owned a local printing business, which he eventually led with a few other family members.
As the area grew, so did our business and I reaped the benefits of being a kid in a successful entrepreneurial family.
I’d work shifts there doing bindery and packaging as a teenager. I even set up an e-shop for us in the early days of e-commerce.
This was a real-life education in working with others and in corporate America before I ever hit high school.
I loved going around with my dad to greet all the employees in the mornings. With conversations from how their families were to a bit of friendly trash talk, it was influential to me to see the great relationships they all had.
It wasn’t until years later that I realized most people actually didn’t like their bosses.
From that point on, it’s been a dream of mine to own a business.
When It All Changed
But as they say, good things can never last and once 2008-2009 rolled around our whole world changed.
The crashing economy forced my family to close our business, foreclose on our home, and file for bankruptcy.
I want to help everyone I can from having to go through something like this.
My parents worked really hard to make sure me and my brother’s lives didn’t change drastically. We still went to the same school, played sports, and moved just down the street.
Seeing the hard work my parents put in to get back to square one is still inspiring to me.
My dad started a landscaping business a year or so later, which gave me and my brother a place to help out too.
How I Got Here
As cliché as it may be, I wouldn’t change a bit of that.
Fourteen-ish years later I can say I’m right where I want to be. I honestly didn’t think I’d be building my own business this early in my life. So, to say I’m thankful is an understatement.
The pandemic was another wake-up call in this light.
During the 2020 lockdowns, I started streaming on Twitch at night.
I’m playing videogames anyways, so why not? It was also pretty much a necessity just to have human connection.
I’d mention on stream that I’m a CPA and a surprising amount of people came on just to talk about money. The occasional stream would even be 100% Just Chatting personal finance lessons.
It became abundantly clear that the content creation industry had a severe need for personal finance management and planning. But this was not a lightbulb moment where 1Up Financial Advisors immediately came to me.
I started working with a business & leadership coach for a year or so after that. I tested out various ideas and eventually landed on starting a financial planning firm.
During our work together, we tuned into my core personal values which helped me define what a fulfilling life & career look like to me.
It's All History From There
In January of 2022, I started 1Up Financial Advisors and three months later we were registered with the state of North Carolina. So I went full-time self-employed in June 2022 and haven’t looked back since!
I’ve met so many great people since then and I’m honored to work in their lives in such an intimate way.
I wanted to write this so my current and future clients could see the full picture of why I do this and what it means to me (while also not taking up all of our precious meeting time talking about myself!).
1Up’s mission is to financially empower content creators – and we do this by creating a sound plan that allows you to enjoy the money you earn, while protecting it to ensure you’re building a secure future.
I've Told You My Why - What's Yours?
I’d love to show you how financial planning can help you in pursuing it.
To get started, grab a time for your free consultation HERE.
