Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathan Schorsch.
Hi Nathan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I switched careers to finance in 2016 and started at a large multinational company that primarily sold insurance and some expensive financial products. After about 6 months of that, I realized that I had no interest in continuing with this type of financial services company as it felt like I was simply being asked to sell unnecessary products to people I knew, and to cold call as many people as I could. I did find a lot of value in helping people navigate financial decisions and avoid pitfalls, but knew that this company was not the right fit.
I left that company and started looking for other jobs that would be a better fit. After coming up empty for quite a long time as the places that were hiring were the same type of company and the places I wanted to work weren’t hiring, I decided to start my own firm. Most people told me to build up a book of business and then go independent, so against their advice I started my own firm in the beginning of 2018 with no clients. My wife was incredibly supportive which made the difference as I felt able to create the kind of business where I would want to be a client. Despite an understandably slow start, I was able to bring on friends and acquaintances now that I wasn’t simply trying to sell life insurance. By focusing on holistic financial planning and investment management for fair prices, I’ve been able to grow from the tiny firm in 2018 to one that is continuing to grow and provides me with the satisfaction that I’m doing right by my clients.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I mentioned previously that I started my firm with no clients, and I think it was about a year before I started have any income. I was operating on as lean a budget as I could, and it was probably in year 2 that I was breaking even and able to afford upgrades to software and processes. That first year was quite tough to hold onto the idea that I wanted to make this work on my terms, as there was simply not much happening. However, once I started getting a few clients a lot of the pressure eased off and some of the imposter syndrome that I think all small business owners deal with at certain points started to dissipate a bit. There are always little bumps and challenges that come up, but starting and just hoping your message resonates was the biggest hurdle I’ve faced.
As you know, we’re big fans of Head to Toe Financial Planning. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I’m a small, independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) in Hillsboro that primarily serves those in the medical, legal, and engineering fields. Both of my parents are doctors, my wife is a nurse, and her parents are both doctors. Aside from that, most of our family members are in the medical field so it’s a situation that I understand very well. I also work with a good number of lawyers and engineers, so I’m quite comfortable with those financial situations and understand their career trajectories. Given my chosen client, I have specialized in student loans and working to get clients on the best possible path to getting out from under student debt. The student loan world is crazy now, so it’s been a great feeling to set people on the best path to either pay off their loans or be eligible for forgiveness.
In terms of service offerings, I work with clients in essentially two ways. The first is holistic financial planning that focuses on making sure the client’s priorities and goals are thought out and clearly defined. Once that happens, we work on following the most effective and efficient path towards realizing those priorities, while being aware of trade-offs that may have to occur. The second is simply investment management, which is backed by evidence-based practice of investing and global diversification. It may not be the most exciting approach, but it’s one that helps clients reach their goals, whatever they may be.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
When I started my firm I obviously wanted to approach matters differently than the large company I started with had. Instead of cold calling people and hoping that the person on the other end would A. pick up, and B. actually be interested in financial advice, I wanted to foster closer relationships with my clients. So what matters most to me is that I like the people I work with, and vice versa. It didn’t make sense to me to create a business and run it the way I wanted and then work with people where we didn’t mesh. It would make my life far more difficult and it wouldn’t benefit the client to pay for my time when we were always butting heads. This has led me to working with those who couldn’t afford my services for free until they get to a point where they can afford to work with me. This is typically done with medical residents who need help and have a bunch of complicated financial decisions but usually don’t get much help. The idea of working with people I like has been the guiding principal of my firm since I started, and I’m most proud that I’m able to continue that today.
Pricing:
- Financial Planning fee is charged quarterly at either $900 or $975 depending on single or dual income household
- Investment management is based on assets I’m managing, with a maximum fee of 1% which has breakpoints as assets increase
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.headtotoefinancial.com/
