Many small businesses are wrestling with how to stay afloat during this time of economic uncertainty. Federal, state, and local governments plus some private organizations have created relief programs to aid businesses at this time.

We’ve rounded up information on the major financial relief programs available for small businesses and self-employed workers. Top options include the “Paycheck Protection Program” as well as the “Economic Injury Disaster” Loan. This past week, we’ve helped our small business owner clients prepare their applications and details for submission to their respective PPP lenders. You can reach out for a personalized virtual session if you need support. 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27th, 2020. The law includes many provisions that impacts both the personal and business finances of Americans as we navigate an unprecedented situation. Since majority of our clients are high-earners in their 30s and 40s, this article has been written to address the components pertaining to that particular group. 

As the COVID-19 lockdown to prevent the spread of the disease goes into full effect, many dual-career families like mine are grappling with working from home while also caring for children during school and daycare closures. This is particularly stressful for those who have young kids and are away from extended family who could help, while employers still expect us to be just as productive during this time as a normal day in the office.

Making the situation worse is the need for young kids to stay away from their grandparents who otherwise might have been able to visit and assist. With those over 60 being particularly vulnerable, families with young kids are having to make do without external help even if they do have older relatives nearby. You can also forget about alternating childcare coverage with the families in your neighborhood. According to pediatricians, even play dates are ill-advised.

As an entrepreneur, mom, and one half of a dual career couple, here are my best tips for working from home with young kids.

Sometimes, we need to be patient. But sometimes, waiting is to our detriment.

In my line of work, I’ve seen my fair share of women having collected a steady amount of savings and waiting until they meet “the one” to use it. It’s not uncommon that I hear, “Well, I don’t want to buy an apartment now, what if I meet a guy who (insert reason not to buy an apartment).” 

And I get it. There are all kinds of things we dream of! A little one to care for, adopting a rescue pet, a beach house, a world-class trip. And so often, we put them off until we feel settled, already successful, or have found the right person to pursue our dreams with. 

This is my PSA for those beautiful, accomplished women (and good looking, successful guys) who are using singledom as an excuse to delay financial adulting. 

Fear of the unknown shouldn’t hold you back.  And in the case of your finances, waiting until the right time or for the right one could have a negative effect on your entire future. Don’t postpone your financial growth out of fear of intimidating guys (or girls) with your success or because you are paralyzed by what-if scenarios.

Most of the people who ask me for financial advice have a similar goal: gaining financial freedom. 

They’d like to get to the point in their lives where work becomes optional; where there’s plenty of cash to cover living expenses without fear of running out of money.

And there’s good news: a wise plan can use your financial resources to achieve that financial freedom. 

If you’re younger than 55, there are still a good number of years to work toward that goal. 

However, there are several ways you could be sabotaging your success. Building wealth means strengthening your financial resources, rather than diluting them. 

You’ll have a much harder time building wealth if any of the following sound familiar.

How are you going to start off in 2020?

Improving personal finances is always in the top five New Year’s resolutions, according to research. 

But 2020 isn’t only the start of a new year, it’s the start of a new decade. And while I encourage goal setting, especially in the personal finance arena, I have a challenge for you: Take the long view and set a 10-year goal. 

Who Am I?

Hello! I’m Kaya Ladejobi, and I’m a financial advisor and planner, depending on what people are calling folks who do what I do. I’m the founder of Earn Into Wealth, a boutique, fee-only financial planning firm based in New York City. I work with clients locally and virtually across the country. I’m so excited to have a space to share helpful tips, tricks, and life hacks on topics that will bring value to your lives. I’m a personal finance and productivity junkie!

Other fun facts:

• When I’m not working, I’m hanging out with my family and keeping us active.
• A big goal I have for my family is to spend at least one month each year living and working from another part of the world.

What I Do:

I’ve been passionate about personal finance for a long time and started working in the industry in 2006. As a practitioner, I’m actively engaged in helping individuals and families receive and implement financial advice relevant to them. The information I share is from real-life experience working with actual people and their hard-earned money.

The segment of the market I serve are the folks known as HENRYs (High-Earners-Not-Rich-Yet): Individuals and households with income ranging from $175,000 to $1 million dollars or more. I work with women or dual-career couples in their 30’s and 40’s who are either rising leaders/executives or business owners. Some of my clients are first-generation high-earners or first-generation professionals. They might be the first in their family to unlock a certain career path or level of earnings.

Why I created Earn Into Wealth:

Despite being the first in their family to reach the level of success they’ve achieved, many of my clients were under-served by the financial advisory industry. This is either because of low dollar amount investment accounts, their gender, or their race. For far too long, the financial advice industry has been overly focused on gathering assets to manage over cultivating relationships with younger clients, women, and people of color. Clients in those categories who are just starting out discover that they don’t have a place, or can’t get unbiased advice to navigate important financial decisions.

This is what ultimately inspired me to create this kind of firm to serve my clientele.

I graduated with my MBA from Cornell in 2013, and as a dual-career household, my spouse and I were earning more money than we ever felt comfortable disclosing to our friends and family. People can get carried away with a top-line number and not understand the financial, career, and lifestyle obligations that come with being a high-earner. It’s not always easy to seek advice on how to navigate decisions when your household income puts you in the top 1 to 2 percent of earners.

I looked around and could see many of my highly educated peers in a similar situation. In the years after you exit a graduate program, you might start earning six figures, but you also likely have six figures in debt. Many lawyers, doctors, and MBAs can attest to this. In addition, you may be at the life stage where you want to get married, buy a home, or start a family.

These big decisions will have an impact on your finances for years to come. You shouldn’t have to navigate them alone.

What I’ll Share on This Blog:

The financial advice you can find by Googling is not meant for high-earners. It’s not relevant to you and, most importantly, it doesn’t take into account the nuances of your values and your goals. That’s one of the reasons I created this space: so I can write and share on topics relevant to this segment of clients. With this blog, I hope that my clients and others like them can get the reinforcement they need to build a wealthy and happy life. At the end of the day, wealth is just a means to an end. It’s supposed to give you the freedom you seek so you can focus on what matters most, whatever that might be.

I expect to share a new post every two weeks. I’d love to hear from you if a topic particularly resonates (or doesn’t!) or if there are topics you want me to touch on.

If you want new posts delivered to your inbox, please sign up for our newsletter here. And if you are reading this and curious about working with an advisor, don’t hesitate to schedule a free consultation or shoot me an email with your questions.

It’s nice to meet you and I hope to get to know you better!