Sheryl Clark, EA, ATP

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"I change their lives," says Sheryl Clark, speaking of her clients. We think that's a claim that all financial advisors would like to make, so we asked Sheryl for more information.

Sheryl's background is construction accounting. She began working in the financial planning field in 1991, first running administrative operations for her employers, but quickly moving to paraplanner duties and then to advisory responsibilities for her own client base. In 2000, she bought out her clients and opened her own practice, working from her home three days a week.

A part time practice, yes, but with full time earnings. Her annual gross income exceeds $150,000. An Enrolled Agent, $30,000 of that comes from her 110 tax-only clients. She also works with 42 comprehensive financial planning clients on an open-retainer basis and takes on the occasional project or hourly client. With no office rent to pay or employees to support, her overhead is minimal. "I very occasionally call in a computer consultant, but that's it," she shares. "I keep it simple, and do it myself."

Sheryl credits much of her success to her own innate efficiency and the efficiencies of the Cambridge System™. "I love getting the work done right in front of the client. When I do taxes, ninety-five percent of the time my client walks out the door with a finished return," she states. "When we're doing investment strategy, we place the trades right then. When the appointment is over, most of my work is over. I do very little behind the scenes. It's a great system."

She also credits her success to her commitment to living a balanced life; a commitment born out of much personal pain. Her daughter, Katie, died in a car accident in 1997. As Sheryl put the pieces of her life together again, she knew she wanted to create a different picture. "My goal is not to make the most money, or work the hardest, or work the longest hours, but to have time for relationships and experiences," she says. "Everything else has to fit in around that."

The relationship that matters the most to Sheryl these days is the one with her adopted daughter, Galina. Her clients understand and respect her priorities. "My clients struggle with the issue of finding balance in their lives. I show them a model of how it can be done. If we're giving clients advice on how to achieve what they want out of life, we must also look at our own lives."