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"How do you go from being a dentist to being a financial planner?" is a question that I answer quite often. It's not that much of a transition, and if you read on you'll see exactly why... My family and I immigrated to the US from India. With a lot of hard work, my parents were able to achieve the success that everyone hopes for when coming to America. But that success did not come easily. It was achieved by having deep core family values, values that I still continue to practice today. Those are: a strong work ethic, a sense of responsibility and fairness, and finally an appreciation of the opportunities that life can provide. I attended dental school at the University of Pennsylvania and went on to practice dentistry for 17 years in Southern California. During this time, I was not only a dentist, but a businesswoman, and had the opportunity to grow two thriving practices. In 2000, after 17 fulfilling years working as a dentist, I decided to pursue my other passion, finance and investments. It isn't as unusual a career change as one might think. Many of the qualities that make an excellent dentist are the same qualities needed to make an excellent financial planner. Some of these are people skills such as empathy, explaining options and guiding clients to the option that is right for them, listening to what the client's concerns are. Other qualities needed are more diagnostic, such as analysis of the concerns and issues that a client has and addressing them with a comprehensive, holistic plan that focuses on the whole client, not just their IRA or 401k. |
