Today we’d like to introduce you to Damon Gonzalez.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started my financial planning career in 2000 with American Express Financial Advisors. In the beginning, it was getting referrals from my natural market, giving seminars to anyone who would listen, and cold calling. Over time I built up my client base and am fortunately in a place where I can spend all my time loving on my existing clients.
In 2016, I decided to start my own Registered Investment Advisory firm to better serve my clients and have complete control over the direction of my firm.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I often look back on the beginning of my career and wonder how I survived. My mentors told me that starting my business would be a lot like going to law school without the debt. They said that I would be poor for three years and if I worked hard and finished, I would have a great career ahead of me. It was difficult working late hours and on weekends for the first three years and making very little money, but they were right. It helped a lot that I had a paid for car and lived with two roommates to keep my expenses very low to allow myself the chance of success.
Somewhere between year three and five, I had finally built up a large enough client base that I could live comfortably. I wanted to quit several times because of the trials I went through. I am very glad I stuck with it 17 years later. It has been a rewarding career and it hard for me to imagine working in any other field.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Domestique Capital – what should we know?
Domestique Capital is a comprehensive financial planning firm. We help people make smart decisions with their money by determining where they are today and helping them build a plan to get to where they would like to go. I am a Certified Financial Planner™ Practitioner and Retirement Income Certified Professional. My wife, Kim, is a Certified Public Accountant. We have the technical knowledge to help clients calculate their retirement, build a portfolio that they understand and can stick with, and distribute assets smartly once they are retired. We are really good at educating clients and simplifying their lives so they can focus on more important things.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I definitely didn’t build my business alone. Learning tax strategies and working on investments was always more interesting to me than marketing. I knew if I could just stay in the business long enough, good things would eventually happen. Meeting Brad Thompson and Jed Bernstein at American Express was a huge blessing. They had more established businesses and paid me to help them with their clients when I didn’t have enough clients of my own to sustain me. I am not sure I would have survived without the extra income. It was also great to bounce ideas off of them and learn from their experience. Brad has moved onto work at JPMorgan Chase and Jed passed away at 42 on the first day of 2014. Unfortunately, bad things happen to good people.
Pricing:
- Most clients choose to pay us by assets under management. We charge 1% till $400k and .75% if you are >400k.
- We also work on a fee basis where we charge $1 to $2k to build a financial plan and then monthly fee for continued advice and service.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1413 E 15th St.
- Website: www.domestiquecap.com
- Phone: 214-556-8904
- Email: damon@domestiquecap.com
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GonzalezDamon
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/domestique-capital-plano
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