Following my passion

After spending 10 years in the wealth management industry working for some great companies alongside some great people (most notably my father at Morgan Stanley & Smith Barney for 6 years) I decided in April 2011 to put it all behind me and follow my heart. For the past several years I knew the wealth management industry wasn't the right place for me since I lost the passion and no longer enjoyed the work. The only real time I enjoyed this business was at Smith Barney working with my father, it really helped build a solid relationship between the two of us and I learned an incredible amount about the financial services industry from a 30+ year veteran. These past few years I stayed in wealth management & fiduciary services industry because I was doing well, making alot of great connections around Boston, building my client book of business and getting a bi-weekly paycheck. However, at some point in your life and your career you need to look in the mirror and ask yourself, "am I really happy". I did that and the answer was a resounding "NO" which meant something needed to change. Over the course of 3 months I met with 12 of the top private banks & multi-family offices in Boston thinking that maybe I should stay in the business but move to a different firm. I knew many months prior to looking around that I had outgrown my company and needed a more robust platform of products and services to offer my high-net worth clients. Going to a private bank or multi-billion family office would have solved that problem but at the end of the day, I wanted to be an entrepreneur and build something substantial for myself, my family, the community, and the consumer. I want to be remembered when I'm dead but before that happens I want to do something remarkable, change lives, create something special, put people to work, get involved with charities and most importantly provide for my family and loved ones. This was not going to happen as long as I stayed in the wealth management industry. I didn't care about managing someone else's wealth, I wanted to create my own wealth. Then came April 29th when I woke up and basically said to myself, "today is the day" so I spontaneously printed up my resignation letter, waited until 2pm in the afternoon then walked into my office and took everyone by surprise. I don't regret that decision for one minute and probably never will - the time had come to be an entrepreneur and follow my heart.