“The real question is are you positioned now to be work optional later?”, was the question Michelle Gordon, Founder and CEO of Investably posed that hit me like a brick on the forehead in this episode of I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY. When I shared my desire to continue to work only on passion projects and advocacy when I reach retirement age, she explained that I can do that as long as I fully understand what I have to work with now and learn how to protect and build upon it.

As a mom and business owner who identifies as Latina, Michelle launched Investably, a registered investment advisory firm to help women-led households with financial planning and investment management after working 18 years in the Corporate sector. “Working in Wall Street, I realized that there was a need for guidance among women who look like me on how to be purposeful, strategic, and tax-efficient with their money,” Michelle states. “The end goal is to shift from working for the money and to get the money to work for you, and that requires knowing how the system works,” she adds.

Michelle grew up under the watchful eye of her hard-working immigrant parents. She understands firsthand what it means to not have the benefits of generational wealth, of passed-down knowledge, and objective advice on financial planning and investments. So, she became 'that' teenager who created cashflow budgets, traded stocks, mapped out early retirement and real estate acquisition strategies, and opened a retirement account at 19. It’s no surprise that she pursued a career in investments and wealth planning.

Today Michelle is a Stevie Award for her fiduciary work with clients, and has developed a 4-week Financial Vitals Masterclass to help guide women who are heads of household in assessing their current financial status and create a roadmap to safeguard and grow the wealth they are creating, effectively and efficiently. See details here: https://investably.com/4-week-master-class. BTW, men are welcome, too!

Something I learned in the conversation with Michelle is that wages earned by working for others are the highest taxed form of income. Since Latinas experience the largest pay gap when compared to White men (57 cents to their $1 for doing the same jobs) it’s no surprise that before the pandemic, Latinas were creating businesses at a rate six times faster than all other groups, and some data suggests that trend has continued. This said it’s just as important to learn the ropes with regards to running a business as what to do with the revenues you make. Asi que yo me voy a apuntar para tomar el curso de Investably.