I entered the financial planning business right out of college in 1986. I majored in mathematics and took a large concentration of courses in financial planning and risk management.

My first job in the industry was with a local firm that hired me to help them design cases for their wealthy clients. Now, my definition of wealthy and their definition were two vastly different things.

Their clients were successful business owners, doctors and lawyers. They had a couple of successful “inheritors” too.

We would provide a very high level of service for these clients. We would coordinate with their attorneys, bankers and accountants to make certain that their every need and goal was covered. We rolled out the red carpet for them and gave them the sort of concierge service that they wanted and demanded.

However, also among this firm’s clientele were people who were not uber wealthy. They did not own Rolex watches or yachts. They did not have an attorney on staff. They did not have a personal banker. They just had their pension, a 401(k) and their Social Security benefits.

While the firm never stated that these clients were not entitled to the same level of service as their wealthy clients, the fact remains that they received nowhere near the level of care. These were retiring teachers, electricians, cops, nurses and many others.

After a short time working there, I realized that this firm, like most in the financial planning industry, was geared toward helping and serving the wealthy. They had little interest in working with people who did not have multimillion-dollar accounts.

It was with this realization that a plan started to form in my head. I wanted to create a firm that gave concierge-level service to all of our clients — not just the wealthiest.

You see, most people do not have access to the tools and advice that the wealthy do. Hence, they do not take advantage of the opportunities that are out there because they do not know about them. They do not have access to an accountant for tax questions or to a lawyer for questions about a will or trust.  They do not know if their current advisor is doing a good job or if they are paying too much in fees. And, in many cases, they do not even know IF they can afford to retire.

So, in 2004, I started First Coast Financial Group with the guiding mission of providing top-notch financial planning to all our clients. We strive to give the same level of service to every client we work with, regardless of how large or small their net worth is.