Helping the Next One in Line 

Helping the Next One in Line 

By Natalie Fernandez Lee | President at Meridian Wealth Management, LLC 

Being a small business owner isn’t always sunshine and roses. The challenges businesses face day after day are not isolated to any one industry or size. Due to the fast pace, and sometimes volatile, nature of our business, it’s often easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget to look at the big picture.  

When I myself get too caught up in the daily challenges of being a business owner, I find it helpful to take a step back and reflect on the opportunities I have been given as a member of the Tucson community.   

Educating our Tucson youth 

I was fresh out of high school when I took a summer job as a door-to-door bookseller. As I sat in a room at the University of Arizona with a handful of college-aged students, a recruiter shared advice that would forever stick with me. He told us to deposit $2000 of our summer earnings in an IRA and continue adding $2,000 each year for the next eight years. He insisted that with the compound growth in the market over time, following his advice would possibly make us millionaires by retirement. At 18, this task seemed impossible, and I often wonder how many students heeded his advice.  

The advice I was given during my summer job has stuck with me and influenced my career. For more than a decade, I have spent time in public and private middle and high schools, community colleges, and universities, teaching our youth the value of personal financial responsibility. Learning the importance of compounding in investing is a crucial lesson in preparing young people for their futures. 

Several weeks ago I took a Zoom call with a 17-year-old high school senior and her mom. She had attended one of my Young Investors’ Presentations and learning about the impact of investing young resonated with her. She works part-time after school and in summers and is now contributing $50 a month to a ROTH IRA for her future.  

A quick Google search for financial literacy statistics in our youth will yield staggering results. But the solution is fairly simple. From my experience, our students are eager to learn, but are often overlooked and underestimated. At Meridian, we strive to lead all our clients to financial wellness, no matter their age. 

Creating opportunities for the next generation 

If you are a fan of country music, you’ve likely heard Tim McGraw’s 2016 chart-topper “Humble and Kind.” The lyric “when you get where you’re going, don’t forget to turn back around…help the next one in line… always stay humble and kind” has stayed with me since the first time I heard it.  

Each semester, we strive to provide internship opportunities for our local college students. Through this program, we can both give back to the next generation of financial professionals, but also learn from the way they see the world. Not only do I learn a lot from the young adults around us, but it puts us in a place to provide an opportunity to so many that are trying to discover their talents and ambitions.   

I’m continuously impressed at the professionalism, drive and talent that exists all around us. Though we are not always able to permanently hire each intern after they finish school, we commit to helping them in their job search, future growth and create relationships they can rely on in the future. We’ve all had those “people” that made a difference at some point in our lives. If I can be that “person” to just one young adult, then we are doing something right. 

Giving back to the community allows us to thrive 

Lead by example is a motto I live by. Over the years, I have been blessed with the opportunity to volunteer with organizations like The American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women, the National Charity League, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Integrative Touch for Kids and serve on Boards with The Catholic Foundation and Community Foundation for Southern Arizona.  

As a native Tucsonan, I’m raising five children and running a business in this city I care about so dearly! I have a personal and professional goal of ensuring I give back to Tucson as much as this city has given to me and those I care about most. As a wealth management firm, Meridian and its advisors strive to provide the best experience for our clients, while also prioritizing positive change in the communities that support us.