What are you working on right now?
Right now, along with my regular clients at Clarity Estate Planning, I am assisting with several pro bono matters for low income seniors who need help with estate planning and/or the probate process.
Who is your ideal client?
Everyone needs an estate plan! The majority of my clients are families looking to get things in order for the benefit of their children – whether this is setting up a trust, looking to make probate as easy as possible, or making sure the people you want as guardians for your kids are designated. Many people believe an estate plan is just doing paperwork in preparation for death – the clients I most enjoy working with instead look at it as a protective framework for their family in the event of a nightmare situation.
What is a common misconception about your industry?
That estate planning is depressing and unnecessary. It’s true that we deal with many areas of life that are somber and require careful thought, but planning this way should be looked at alongside planning financial planning, planning for retirement, etc. This is looking at everything you have built and will build and saying, how do we protect and grow your legacy?
What is a big picture for your business?
The big picture plan is to offer support from the beginning of life to the end. Adoptions and foster care, estate planning and incapacity planning for families, and at the end, a smooth and uncontentious passing of assets, with flexible night and weekend hours and virtual appointments to ensure we can offer access to as many people as possible.
What is your superpower?
Books are my superpower! I read fiction at 1656 words per minute, usually between 250-300 novels a year, and my favorite thing in the world is connecting someone with a new book that completely bowls them over.
What is your favorite productivity tool?
My reMarkable 2 – I am a big fan of handwriting my notes and thoughts, and having all of my handwriting instantly transformed to a typed PDF on my computer saves me time scanning and retyping, and lets my brain work the way it does best, leaving me more time and energy to focus on my clients.
What book should everyone read?
It’s not specifically about business, but I am very partial to Marcus Aurelius’ ‘Meditations’ – his views on finding one’s place in the universe, self reflection, and the pursuit of excellence form the bedrock of my attitude and philosophies on serving my community.
Why Alkaloid?
I wanted a communal space to work in, and Alkaloid appeals to me for many reasons – it’s not “corporate”, the leadership is here, local and deeply rooted in the community, as opposed to a faceless workshare in a high-rise somewhere. People join and stay here and it means a much more vibrant and connected experience than what I found elsewhere.
What is your favorite perk at Alkaloid?
The building and location! Natural light, lots of plants, a hop, skip, and a jump from the Beltline makes this a great place to get work done and stay connected to hundreds of other people of all walks of employment.
What advice would you give someone considering coworking?
Coworking spaces are not interchangeable – try different ones out, different seats, talk to the other people there if you can, and get a feel for who and what is going to be around you – you’ll soak up more of your atmosphere than you think, and it can make a huge difference in your work.
Can you provide a soundbite about your experience at Alkaloid?
If you want to work somewhere that really cares about their members, gets involved, has strong ties to the community, a fantastic location, and really good coffee, you’ll be right at home at Alkaloid!