We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Meunier recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jessica, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Starting my financial coaching business during the pandemic was simultaneously the easiest and hardest decision in my career. While I’ve always known I wanted to create something meaningful and close the gap in the personal finance industry, I’m also a structured, Type A person with a family, mortgage and responsibilities – so this was a scary leap in a lot of ways. These were conflicting feelings when I decided to leave a steady job at Stanford University and pursue my dream of providing approachable financial wellness guidance accessible to everyone, no matter where they’re starting from.
A few things helped me finally make the jump and be (mostly) ok with my decision. First, the support of my husband and close group of friends. Most weren’t surprised this was something I wanted to do given my long-time interest in this area and the chaos the pandemic was having on my family schedule and mental health. The ease of online tools and some business coaching I received early on were also immensely helpful. Entrepreneurship is full of wearing all the hats, all at once which is challenging, but there are so many tools like Flodesk, Canva and Wix to help you start from scratch. I was able to learn to do all of these functions while building my business and then outsource for help when I really started to grow and need it.
Taking this risk has had many intended and unintended consequences. I have had more flexibility in my life as I wanted, but I find ways to fill the time or my kids/medical needs do that for me. I miss co-workers but I work from home and only have to answer to myself. My business is largely referral-based which is so rewarding but also uncertain. I’m still learning as I go and leaning into what entrepreneurship means to me and how I can continue to find balance with my personal life and building a business from the ground up.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Jessica Meunier, and I’m passionate about all things finance. I’ve always loved working with people to reach their goals in life, career and with money. Now I do it full-time!
I have 15+ years of experience in financial analysis and strategic planning. I’ve worked in tech, higher education and with non-profits. I bring a wealth of knowledge across many areas to my work as a financial coach. The pillars of my practice include: being your accountability partner, brainstorming scenarios to meet your goals and focusing on building a positive money mindset.
I provide as needed financial guidance, charged by the hour, so clients know exactly what they’re paying for. My focus areas include:
Taxes: I’m a former CPA and have experience preparing taxes, bookkeeping and minimizing tax impacts.
Diverse portfolios: I have my Series 66 & Series 7 licenses and work with clients to understand the best practices of investing, how to get started and maintain their plans.
Real estate: I own out-of-start rental properties as well as invest in real estate in the stock market and through crowd-funding marketplaces. I’m passionate about getting more real estate investments into the hands or more people.
Wellness: I focus on the whole person, your career, your driving values and your long-term plans rather that just the numbers in your accounts. We work on affirmations, positive money beliefs and letting go of money baggage.
My mission is to empower others through guidance and education to achieve optimal financial wellness. My vision is to see a world where everyone can reach their version of financial freedom, regardless of circumstances or background.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
One thing I love about numbers and math is there is a right and a wrong answer. I find some kind of comfort in knowing that there is a clear solution. I tend to think this way a lot in my life: there is a right way to do something and everything else is not the right way. In starting my business, I have met so many people from diverse backgrounds and with a wide range of goals they want to achieve. In order to really meet them where they are in their journey and empower them to reach their full potential, I needed to learn to be more flexible in my view of the personal finance journey.
Not every person was going to want to fully fund retirement according to my desired strategy, nor should they if that was not in line with their goals. The same goes for budgeting, investing and really any personal finance topic. Each client I meet has a different money background and emotions around their relationship with money. They also have their own goals, family situations, lifestyle preferences, so their financial plan needs to be specific and personalized to them, rather than any kind of cookie cutter approach. Of course, I always balance this out by laying out all the options, benefits and risks and making sure clients are planning ahead for any emergencies or big life events.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I’ve always loved helping others and the idea of building your own wealth. But, the real reason I decided to become a financial coach and advocate was my mother. My mom was a software engineer in the Bay Area and a single mom who worked hard to give us a middle class lifestyle. However, money was always a negative and stressful topic. Spending money seemed scary and everything we had to buy felt like a burden. I never thought money could be a positive thing in my life.
When my mom was laid off, her alcoholism took over and she burned through a career’s worth of savings and retirement. Things got so bad that I acquired power of attorney over her and sold our home before it could go into foreclosure. I was able to get her into an apartment that she could live in for the rest of her life without ending up on the street.
This was a very traumatic time for me, but also pivotal in that I was about to leave for college. I realized very quickly that I needed to learn a lot more about personal finance to survive the next part of my journey, and that I never wanted myself or anyone else to feel that kind of financial insecurity. This phase of my life required all the grit and resilience I had. I majored in economics and accounting, starting budgeting and investing and have been on a mission to help others with their money mindset and financial plans ever since.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.empoweredpersonalfinance.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/empoweredpersonalfinance/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Empowered-Financial-Wellness/100069327052602/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicameuniercpa/
- Other: https://www.google.com/empoweredpersonalfinance