about Me Sarah Blömer
Dear client,
people who know me, know that my range of business expertise is very versatile, that I am the founder and manager of two successful companies and that I am passionate about sharing my knowledge and insights. Of course my different career steps play a very vital part in my work as a financial health consultant as well. If you want to learn a little bit about me, my work and my values, my inter-linked thought and action personality, I invite you to read the following interview which my intern has lead with me some time ago.
SArah Blömer About Money & Goals
One is not born an investment advisor or entrepreneur. What led you to it?
Oh, I think I have to begin with a little personal background information. First of all: I was lucky to grow up in a family that was good with finances. I had parents who, in a very natural way, educated me to become (financially) independent. I think how to deal with money properly one can learn from scratch, and without suffering major losses or limitations. And although I always got less pocket money than others, was driving my brother’s old bike or did not get a car of my own at age 18, I was able to actually save up a decent amount of money every month. Something that set me apart from lots of my peers. Not getting everything I wanted right away, fired my motivation to achieve goals. No matter if it was the new, self-financed bike or an upcoming trip – I was eager to put some sweat into getting it myself. For me the best prerequisite for my financial independence.
I’m 25 and already overwhelmed by all the financial and “life issues”, what’s your opinion on that?
When working with young people or start-ups today, I hear this quite often. Yet I don’t think one needs to be overwhelmed, one just needs to be well informed. Many people ignore their financial issues because they somehow feel insecure about this topic or simply because they think it’s not of any interest to them. As a consequence, they put these topics off for way too long. By the way, this fear of financial issues is completely independent of age. As I said before: in most cases it’s just the basic information that’s missing – as well as the right approach. I think learning about financial topics should be fun. And the first step to make it fun is to find out, what goals one has. And of course what kind of relationship one has to money.
What do you mean by “relationship to money”?
For some, money means “security”. There are people who always want to “see” their money, who’s heart starts to race once their checking account falls below a certain amount. And then there are others who have no idea about prices or recklessly spend money without thinking about the consequences. People’s attitude to money is very different. This is what I need to find out in the first meeting with my clients: how do they deal with money and savings.
If I were to describe my own relationship to money, I would do it with the term “freedom”. Working alongside school and saving money has enabled me to travel to Australia and Canada. At age 18, a backpack on my back, I started my journey off into far away places. In my home village this lead to heated discussions whether or not this was suitable for a girl my age or not. Something that feels unthinkable today.
When I studied at the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt, I was very determined about my goals: to completely concentrate on my studies and this way to graduate earlier than my peers. My strategy: To get the most out of the little money I had. Instead of wasting my precious time on part-time jobs, I was very picky on where I spent my money on. After all, I wanted to travel again before life’s seriousness (i.e. my professional life) would begin. That’s what I experience today as a consultant as well: If one has a certain goal that he or she wants to reach, then saving becomes easy.
What were your goals?
To spend a year in Canada was one of my big goals. A very formative time during which, among other things, I also worked for the German broadcaster ZDF at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. Something that gave me the chance to experience professional athletes and their motivations first hand. I have got to know them as fascinating artists, who under no circumstances would get distracted from their goal like winning a medal at the Olympics. Only certain health issues can stop them. This is something I had to learn once or twice myself in the last couple of years. This is when I had to rearrange myself, when I had to change my planned path. These experiences triggered me to start “FINGES”. For me this was the only right way to achieve my goal, namely to be financially healthy, to live a life in balance with my values and needs. And last but not least of being independent – which in my case also meant: becoming independent from an employer.
You do not only help others today to become self-employed, since 2010 your are also a financial advisor. What do love about this the most?
First of all, that for me working as a financial advisor is not a mere “job”. I do what has always been meaningful to me, my “PFE – Purpose of Existence” if you will (a term that stems from the wonderful book “The big five for life” by John Strelecky), namely to pass my knowledge to people in a way that they will directly profit from it. What could be more fulfilling than helping people build a life they want to live, a life that matches their dreams and aspirations? As long as I was employed myself, this was not something I could achieve.
Luckily my mentor Jochen Schuler encouraged me to make this step into becoming self-employed at an early stage. He told me: “Sarah, empathy, kindness and honesty one cannot learn, know-how on the other hand one can”. So I put all my energy into becoming a financial advisor, I went to night school and did trainings at the Deutsche Vermögensberatung. This time was not stress-free, this one is for sure, but if you really want something, things become easy.
The investment counseling was not just an education that I completed, it has deepened what I could do best, namely choosing the right tools to use money in the most efficient way. Something that had already worked for myself. For instance when I came back from two years abroad without regular income and had more money on my bank account than before. For some this might seem like a magic trick, but actually it is based on my very conservative Swabian education and my healthy way of dealing with money. Tips on how I do that, I have already passed on to others at a very early stage and without thinking of making it a profession. Through the training I have thoroughly examined financial issues and I am proud to say that today I understand my craft.
Would you do it all over again?
A clear “yes”. The training at the Deutsche Vermögensberatung was the best basis I could get. Not to mention that great exchange I had with my team and learning on the job. Further licenses through the IHK rounded off my education. Today I am someone who compares, understands, calls into question and builds financial concepts, that will enable people to live their life in their individual way. I am a facilitator who offers concepts that are easy to understand and transparent.
Never standing still is important, especially for a financial advisor. In my further career steps I feel supported by the DVAG in a way I could not have imagined. Every little piece of knowledge I acquire, I can pass on to my customers first-hand and let them profit from it. Because I am given the right tools, I can really concentrate on the essentials: taking care of my customers’ needs. I chose DVAG because, with over 6 million customers in the market it is not only the largest German financial service provider, but as a family business, it also represents the same values I convey. The financial power and innovative spirit of this company are really unique.
How can you offer so many different services?
My partners and I have our individual backgrounds and experiences and characteristics which contribute to our consultation – my focus is as a strategist and managing director of an agency. As a business woman I know all the ups and downs of building a company. Hence I do not only have specialist know-how, but can give advise on an equal basis from the practical experience I acquired. Based on my former business contacts and my passion for working in a creative field (something I never want to miss), I started the agency ELSA&Co (ELSA GmbH) in 2014.
For me as financial consultation, however, there is much more than bringing together competences, it is about our heartfelt passion. And because of this involvement, i am really keen on taking care of this passion. Because if you love your job, you will always strive for improvement, sometimes 24 hours a day. And where we lack skills or do not have enough time, we work together with trustful professional partners. Over the years we have built up a competent network we can rely on, cooperations and good partners like a tax advisor who’s specialized in professional athletes, or parental benefits consultants or start-up coaches. All these experiences, networks and partnerships are the reason why our service areas are so extensive.
Interested in an initial consultation?
FINGES brings together the competences and experiences of a businesswoman and of a professional athlete. Two consultants, whose main interest lies in achieving „financial health“ for each and every one of their clients.