The short answer: Because I enjoy doing it. It gives me a sense of meaning and purpose to help people with their finances.

The long answer…I used to be a Software Engineering Manager at Google. I quit Google in 2019 as I did not feel fully aligned with what I was doing. My job at Google had many great benefits like working with smart and motivated people, freedom to explore and take on different types of challenges, great compensation and benefits, and a fairly flexible work schedule. But somehow I did not feel that I was making a difference. I lacked purpose and meaning. So, when I quit Google, it was an open-ended exploration to find a job, a vocation, a hobby, a project, or something that would help me find this elusive thing called “purpose”. Knowing the open-ended nature of my break, we had set up our finances to be able to afford this extended loss of a paycheck.

So what exactly is ‘purpose’? As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here is a picture that captures the concept of purpose.

After years of education and a 15-year career in software engineering, I knew my strengths were in numbers, logic, problem solving, and analysis. I knew I could be paid for it as well, as I had made a successful career out of it. The question really was where and how do I apply these skills that would meet my other needs for contribution and growth.

Shortly after quitting Google, I sent an email to my friends with the subject line ‘Do you need a financial buddy?’. I was offering to chat with my friends about personal finance - money, investments, real estate, and our relationship with money. I had spent more than a decade learning and applying this knowledge to my own finances. So, I thought sharing it would be a good way to connect more deeply with my friends, while also contributing to their financial wellbeing.

Over the next several months, several of them took me up on my offer and I had very meaningful exchanges. These conversations brought two very important realizations for me:

1. That I really enjoyed sharing my knowledge about personal finance. I liked listening to people, understanding what they were trying to achieve, and applying my knowledge to help them achieve it.

2. That I had something of value to offer. The overwhelming feedback was that I had helped my friends discover or learn something that they were not aware of.

At this point, the gears started turning and I knew I wanted to take this to the next level. I started taking courses online to fill my knowledge gaps, and at the same time I started thinking of how to better serve and reach more people. It took me a year to finally decide on launching an independent practice. 

I wanted my practice to reflect my aspirations and values, so I had to think keenly about its design. What would be the core principles of my service? Here’s what I landed on:

1. Comprehensive financial advice - Personal finance can never be planned in isolation. They are deeply entwined with other parts of our lives - career, family, values, and life goals. So, it is critical for me to fully understand my client’s context before I can help them.

2. Empowerment - My goal is not only to help people solve the financial problem immediately in front of them, but to educate them by providing a framework to think about their finances. This is a primary reason that I chose to be an ‘advice-only’ financial advisor, and not manage my clients’ investments for them.

3. Access - I chose to charge my clients a reasonable hourly rate. I hope to serve all types of clients, no matter their income level, their net worth, or the scope of their problem. Furthermore, I intend to offer my services at minimal cost to the socio-economically disadvantaged.

4. Simplicity - Handling one’s own finances is simple. It might seem intimidating at the outset, but that’s where I come in. With a simple yet effective plan - a plan that works for you, managing one’s finances should take no longer than few hours in a year.

5. Fiduciary - A fiduciary financial planner always puts their client’s interests first. I believe the above principles lend themselves to an offering that’s free of any conflicts of interest and enable me to focus solely on my clients and their best interest.

So, all this brings me to where I am now - launching Empower Financial with the primary aim of helping people in their financial journey. And I’m certain that if I am able to achieve that, I will also have met my own goals of finding purpose, growth, and contribution.