A quick glance at the About page of this website will provide some context for who the firm serves, as well as some background information on yours truly. And while that bio is important for context, it does not really capture why I chose to open a financial advisory focused on entrepreneurs, small business owners, and independent workers. The About page does not capture the story of why I do what I do.
Allow a brief digression down Memory Lane...
For many years I gave only passing thought to personal finance. Growing up on a dairy farm taught me the importance of hard work and saving, but I had only a basic – and often vague – understanding of topics like debt, investing, and what to do with the money I had saved. I moved to Chicago after college and quickly began working full-time in a recording studio. Life was great: my expenses were low, my income was ... also low, but I could afford all the records and concert tickets I wanted. What could be better?
Things continued much this way until I started touring as an audio engineer. While the job description was in the same ballpark as a studio engineer, I quickly realized that a) the money was much better on the road and b) the work was wildly cyclical. Money piled up easily while on tour, but there was zero income – and zero structure – between gigs. The reliable, twice-monthly paycheck was gone, replaced by a boom-or-bust pattern of saving money on tour and spending it during downtime.
Along the way – and with a lot of trial and error – I developed simple strategies and habits that made everything easier: ways to manage cash flow between gigs; ways to responsibly handle debt; ways to invest in the stock market that let me sleep at night. Not only did these systems make day-to-day life easier, they were themselves easy to understand and implement. They saved time and reduced indecision; clarified what should be saved and what could be spent; and made investing approachable.
I discovered at nearly every step of financial self-discovery that doing the right thing – the smart thing, the thing that seemed so elusive from the outside – was always easier than I had imagined. Sure, some things were not "easy" – and others downright hard – but they were all easier than I thought they would be before I tried.
Here is the "a-ha" moment when I realized that I could do something bigger with my life: I looked around at my peers and thought, "I want other people to experience that same feeling of ease around money. I want them to see that they can make better decisions without giving up who they are."
And not just my peers in the music industry: everyone who finds themselves on an independent path – whether that path is artist, business owner, entrepreneur, or even just a free thinker – faces the same sorts of challenges when managing personal finances. This is a diverse group of people who are motivated, responsible, and intelligent, but don't fit neatly into cookie-cutter categories.
It's not just that I wanted to help: I felt compelled to help. To help people transform the role of money in their lives from one of stress & anxiety to one of ease & empowerment. To help them develop easy systems for managing money. To help people invest for their best versions of the future. And to help them avoid making mistakes along the way.
Starting a financial advisory focused on the people that other professionals – banks, lenders, mainstream advisors – find so hard to pin down was a leap of faith. The conviction to pursue a worthwhile endeavor, even when unconventional or difficult for others to understand, is at the heart of every major decision of my life – and the lives of those I serve.
The reward for that conviction – for believing that independent people deserve access to financial advice – is seeing the results in action. The diverse & dynamic individuals that we serve are making positive changes for their futures with the help of an advisor who knows exactly what it means to walk the walk.
We work together to Keep Money Easy, with an eye on the parts of life that are worth more than dollars and cents.
Schedule an introductory call to find out how Iseler Financial can help you make better, smarter decisions for the life you want. YOU can make that change. Iseler Financial can help you on the path.
Timothy Iseler, CFP®
Founder & Lead Advisor
Iseler Financial, LLC | Durham NC | (919) 666-7604
Iseler Financial helps creative professionals remove stress while taking control of their financial futures. As both advisor and accountability partner, we help identify current strengths and weaknesses, clarify and refine your long-term goals, and prioritize understandable, manageable, and repeatable actions to bring long-term financial well-being. Reach out today to take the first step.