Finance to Philanthropy: Lily Fallah's Inspiring Journey

Episode Transcript
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Intro (00:02):
Carlsbad, people, purpose, and impact, an
essential podcast for those wholive, work, visit, and play in
Carlsbad.

Bret (00:14):
Good afternoon, and welcome, everyone. My name is
Brett Schanzenbach. I'm thepresident and CEO of the
Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.I'm your host today, and I'm
very pleased to have with meLily Fala. Lily is a financial
planner from Guide My Finances.
Good afternoon, Lily.

Lily Fallah (00:31):
Hi, Brett. How are you?

Bret (00:32):
I am excellent. How are you?

I'm wonderful. Thank you for having me here.

Bret (00:35):
Very happy to have you down here. So I was doing some
background checking. You know?Oh, that sounds weird. Not
background checking, but justresearch.
And, I saw that you are a SanDiego State grad here in Aztec,
which is awesome. Were you bornand raised in San Diego area or
no?

So I was not born in San Diego. I was actually
born in Torrance, and then Igrew up in LA for about the
first 10 years of my life. And Icame down to San Diego, and I've
been here ever since I was 10. Ihave a big Persian family. Nice.
And family is really importantto all of us. So my parents
uprooted and came to San Diegoso we could be close to
everyone.

Bret (01:14):
Very cool. I'm I'm like you. I was born in Orange in
Orange County and got down hereat a young age too. So similar.
I love that.
And out of college, it lookslike you went into, financial
wealth management, whatever thephrase is, fairly immediately.
Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, nowGuideMyFinances. So tell us

(01:38):
about why did you, go intofinancial advising planning, in
college, or or why was that yourfocus? And what do you love
about it? What's kept you there?
Tell us about your littlejourney.

Yeah. Thanks for asking that question. I feel
like there were a lot ofdifferent things along the way
that really inspired me to getinto finance. I have a funny
story when I was a kid, youknow, as all kids do. I think
parents try to bribe their kidsa little bit, give them a few
dollars here and there.
And as a kid, I I'd like tothink I was always really good
with money. And so, somehow, Ialways had more money than my

(02:12):
sister.

Bret (02:14):
Wait. Okay. Is this an older sister or younger? Oh.

Older sister. And significant then. Yep. And so my
dad would always say, I'll giveyou $5 to clean the closet. I'll
give you $5 to peel apomegranate.
Just whatever the random taskwould be, and I would jump at
it. I would always jump at it.And my sister was like, I don't
care. Yeah. It's not worth it.
Kind of thing.

Bret (02:34):
Like a.

And I remember 1 year so I mentioned, you know, I
come from a big Persian family.So we have Persian New Year
every year. And it's typicalthat, you know, the adults will
give the kids some money.

Bret (02:45):
Okay.

And I remember 1 year, you know, I probably had
$40 from the family. And I justkept telling everyone I'm rich.
I'm rich. And and so my dadsaid, okay. If you're so rich,
why don't you pay for everyone'sdinner?

Bret (02:59):
And they're like, oh.

And I'm like, okay. Gladly. So that was the quick
the quickest $40 that ever leftmy bank account or cash,
whatever you wanna call it, atonce. And so I learned the value
of money really soon and reallyearly, and I always wanted to be
in business. I always thought ofmyself as an entrepreneur when I
was younger and wanting to gothat route.

(03:20):
And then when I got intocollege, I I declared a business
major. And as I got, you know,throughout different programs
and classes in college, Iactually joined a professional
coed business fraternity, whichwas one of the best decisions I
made in college. And I wouldlook in the room, and I would
ask myself, who in this roominspires me the most? Mhmm. And

(03:42):
it was always the people thatwere studying finance.
It was the finance majors. And Isaid, okay. I really wanna
emulate those around me whowould really inspire me. And so
I declared finance as my major,and I just dove right in. I
started working at MorganStanley.
I was at Wells Fargo Advisorsfor over 6 years. I had an
amazing experience there. Andthen I've been with

(04:03):
GuideMyFinances for a littleover a year.

Bret (04:06):
Yeah.

And what's been really amazing about that too is
I've been able to really puttogether my passion of working
with, you know, people who needit the most in terms of
financial plans Yeah. And, also,working with families who also
really need the help in terms ofif they have kids with special
needs. It's also a big passionof mine of working with those
families. So I've been able tointerweave both of those

(04:28):
passions together.

Bret (04:31):
Fantastic. And I'm gonna I'm gonna circle back to the
special needs part. But I wannaask you to kind of share you
know, you started with MorganStanley, then you spent a few
years, 6 years with Wells Fargo.Those are pretty big names in
the financial world. Right?
And now you're with what is likea boutique, you know, financial

(04:54):
planning company. I mean, welove GuideMyTinances. So I mean
that with all respect. Yeah. Buttalk why come to a small like,
what's the difference for youand, you know, you're here and
you seem super happy here.
So what's the difference betweenthese big brand names that we've
all heard versus a small, youknow, intimate local based

(05:17):
company?

That's a good question. You know, my time with
Morgan Stanley and Wells FargoAdvisors, I was within boutique
teams within the big name.

Bret (05:26):
Okay.

And you can kind of think of that as very similar
with GuideMyFinances. We're aboutique team with the backing
of, you know, Ozaic. So we dohave a larger, you know, parent
company supporting us and thingslike that as well. But what I
would say is the reason for thetransition that I made, and I
had such a wonderful time inevery experience, was when I

(05:48):
started to, you know, serve morefamilies with special needs. I
wasn't able to promote that asmuch before.
Mhmm. And I was allowed more ofthat flexibility and freedom
within GuideMyFinances to do,you know, what I really wanted
to do was help more familieswith with kids with special
needs.

Bret (06:05):
Very interesting. So I saw in 2020, it looks like that you
became a chartered special needsconsultant. So why don't you
tell us what that is and andwhat drew you to to take that
route?

Yeah. So as I mentioned, having a big family,
one of my cousins has autism.Mhmm. So that was very prevalent
my whole life, just seeing thatand being surrounded by that.
And I don't think that Irealized just how much of an
impact he made in my life untilI look back.
You know, I was always part ofBest Buddies and

Bret (06:40):
Oh, yes.

Different organizations like that. And so
when I was in high school, I wason the varsity basketball team.
And one of our team managers,you know, she has Down syndrome.
Mhmm. And I held her hand atevery basketball game.
Oh. And I made sure that she waswell taken care of. And I looked
after her, and we would gettogether on the weekends. And
that was in high school. And somany years passed.

(07:03):
I just started my career. And,and out of nowhere, she reaching
out to me. And she said, Lily, Imiss you. I wanna talk to you
and see you. And so I startedpicking up, you know, every
phone call, every FaceTime.
And her dad hopped on the phoneone time and said, Lily, please
don't feel the need to answerthese calls. I'm sure you're
really busy. I said, it's a joyand honor talking with your

(07:25):
daughter.

Bret (07:26):
Yeah.

He asked me what I did for work. And then the very
next day, he said, you're sogood to my daughter. I'm gonna
come and bring my personalinvestment accounts to you that
I want you to manage, and I wantyou to become an expert in
special needs.

Bret (07:40):
Wow.

And it was, you know, one of the first accounts
that I had opened up. And I wasreally racking my brain of how
does one become an expert inspecial needs. I've never heard
of a financial planner with thisspecialty.

Bret (07:51):
Right.

And so I did what everyone might do, and I did a
lot of googling. And I foundthat there was the chartered
special needs consultantdesignation through the American
College of Financial Services,and I thought this is exactly
what I need to do. That was mynext step. And it was kind of
this light bulb moment where Irealized, wow, this is an
incredible opportunity to mixtwo passions of mine and to make

(08:17):
my my job and my work andeverything even more fulfilling
than it already was. Yeah.
And so I got that designation.And then soon after, I became a
board member for The Arc of SanDiego, which is a nonprofit for
families with disabilities. AndI'm their treasurer now, and
it's been an honor serving them.And I think that's just really

(08:37):
what catapulted everything wasreally that, you know, my cousin
and then also that, you know,that family friend member as
well that really inspired me.And that was the start of it,
and it's been very rewarding andfulfilling.

Bret (08:52):
That's amazing. We are gonna take a quick break. We're
talking to Lily Fala. She is afinancial planner for Guide My
Finances. And when we come back,we're gonna talk a little bit
more about her specialty with,in working with families with
special needs.
And we're gonna talk about heractivities at The Arc of San
Diego. So stick with us. We'llbe right back. So, Lily, before

(10:16):
we took a break, you were justkind of explaining your journey
into the special needs, which isamazing. One of our, adult sons,
young adult sons, is anAsperger's, young adult.
So, yeah, it is a it's a scarything as a parent, you know,
when you're it's one thing whenyour kids are young because you

(10:36):
you wrap a lot of servicesaround them and they're you're
very involved in their lives,but then when they become
adults. And he he worked, hegraduated Cal State San Marcos.
He worked for Qualcomm for 4years and then got laid off,
which he survived, like, 2rounds of layoffs, and then, you
know, it just is what it is.But, you know, now looking for
work because it's been, man,it's been almost a year since

(10:59):
the layoff. But my wife and Iknow, like, he's gonna outlive
us, and, like, how do we makesure, like, he's cared for?
So I I can relate to that thatdad that you were sharing about
and how he appreciated yourattention to his daughter. And
I'm I'm guessing there's lots offamilies out there with special
needs, kiddos, and whetherthey're kids or adults or young

(11:23):
adults or whatever, that wouldbe very motivated to work with
somebody who's taken the time tospecialize.

Thank you. I appreciate you for saying that,
and I appreciate you for sharingas well. And, you know, 1 in 5
Americans has a disability. Sowhether that's, you know,
autism, Down syndrome, ADHD,depression, you know, it's such
a wide range. And what I like tofocus on is not the disability,
but the person that has thecapabilities behind that.

(11:53):
And just like anyone, you know,everyone's so unique in their
abilities, and so that's why welike to plan for everyone's
unique situation. So it's it'svery different for each
individual, and I appreciate youyou sharing that. And I hope
that, you know, he gets a jobsoon and does exactly what he
wants to do.

Bret (12:09):
Yes. Exactly. Thank you. From your mouth to god's ears.
So tell us about The Arc andthat you're on the board there
and, you're engaged there.
Tell us what The Arc of SanDiego does and how amazing they
are.

The Arc of San Diego has been really life
changing for me. I remember thevery first meeting or the the
very first event that I went to.They had this building, and they
had an event called our place.And I remember I walked in. And,
you know, when you're in middleschool or high school, you have
the special education classes,and so you're kind of surrounded

(12:43):
by, you know, people that maybehave different capabilities
around you.
And I think as we get older,sometimes we don't really see
those individuals as muchanymore. And I remember I walked
into the building, and I wasbrought to tears because I just
saw so many people around mewith different types of special
needs that were doing Zumba.They were dancing. They were

(13:04):
doing music and art. And I wasfighting back tears because it
was the most beautiful thingthat I experienced, and I knew
right then and there I need tobe part of this.
Mhmm. I need in some capacity tovolunteer more with them. I
would love to be on their board.And so every single Saturday for
probably a year or more beforeCOVID hit, I was volunteering

(13:26):
with them. And it was reallybeautiful.
And then I was able to, youknow, get on their board and
things like that. So they theydo a lot with individuals with
special needs, all the way frominfancy to senior citizens. They
provide housing for individuals.They provide, you know, job
training. They provide classes,you know, online Zoom classes.

(13:50):
They they do it all. And it'sbeen really wonderful to be part
of an organization that Ibelieve in so strongly.

Bret (13:57):
Oh, that's wonderful. When I was in between college
semesters this is going backaways because, I am old. No.

You're not.

Bret (14:10):
I'm seasoned, maybe. But I did, so for 2 2 different
summers, I did, 1 week longcamps that were for special
needs. You always wanna saykids, but they were they're
probably older than I was at thetime. You know? Young adults.

(14:31):
And so we were up in where wewere in the Julian area
somewhere, in the mountains upthere at a cool camp, you know,
and so we do these week longcamps. And it was it was really
great because it was, like, onevolunteer like myself per camper
because you really you you know,they they needed that, and so
you would go with them on allthe different activities. And

(14:51):
there was, you know, getting ona canoe on the lake, and then,
like, you were just saying danceclasses and all this stuff. And
I remember this one time, I hadthe same camper for both years.
His name was Robert, and he wasa Down syndrome, adult.
And I was late. I I got kinda Igot kinda stuck on the lake, you
know, paddling some peoplearound, and our group

(15:12):
transitioned to, like, a diffdifferent activity. And so I had
to catch up. You know? They werethey were ahead of me, and they
were already there.
And I got there, and I thought,you know, Robert was out there.
It was a dance class of somesort. And, I thought he was mad
at me because I was late, and Iwas trying to figure it out. And
he wasn't mad at me because Iwas late. I was, infringing on
his time with the ladies, and hewanted me to kinda take a step

(15:36):
back.
He was fine. Oh, man. When Ifigured out what was going on, I
laughed so hard. He was he was ajoy.

That is too funny. And he was a little brat. Yeah.

Bret (15:45):
Oh, man. The fun memories.

Absolutely.

Bret (15:48):
Yeah. Great experiences too. So you've had, in your
professional life as a financialplanner here for
GuideMyFinances. Now I don'tknow previous, like, when you're
with Wells and more MorganStanley, but at least in the
last year, you've had somepretty cool recognition. I saw I

(16:09):
mean, for us, for the CarlsbadChamber of Commerce, you're one
of our top 40 under 40.
But I also saw for the San DiegoMagazine, you are a financial
rising star. So congratulationson those different
accomplishments. It's gottakinda, you know, feel good in
the professional world.

Thank you. I really appreciate that. I I think that
I take a lot of pride in, youknow, doing always what's best
for our clients and, you know,making sure that their goals are
top of mind. And so it does feelreally good to get that, you
know, acknowledgment. So thankyou.
I appreciate that a lot.

Bret (16:43):
Yeah. Absolutely. And it's been fun since you, joined the
team there at guide my fanfinances, having you come to our
various networking things hereand there. And you've had a
significant development in yourpersonal side of life. Those of
us who are fortunate enough tohave met you and got to know you

(17:03):
over the last year, it wasn'tlike a shock that this was
coming, but you got engagedrecently?

I did. I did. It was really, really special. We
got engaged in August, and hedefinitely threw me off a little
bit because we had a tripplanned to Greece which we just
got back from. And so I thoughtit was gonna happen in Greece.
Uh-huh. So he threw me off, andit was so lovely. He took me to
Sunset Cliffs, and he had ourfriends, they were there. And a

(17:32):
couple of our guy friends, theyhad gone to the fabric store,
and they had gone to, like alike a furniture store. They
they built an arch

Bret (17:42):
No. Hang on.

For us. They built the arch, and then I had some
girlfriends, you know, get allthe champagne and everything.
And it was the most beautiful,experience at Sunset Cliffs. And
my parents were there, so it wasit was really lovely.

Bret (17:53):
Wow. That's wonderful. That's great to hear your
parents were there because,like, you talked about how
important family is to you guys.That's fantastic. So is there is
there a date set?

There is. Come on. It's happening 4th July.

Bret (18:06):
Oh, wonderful. Yeah.

So we're deep in planning, and it has been so
much fun

Bret (18:10):
Oh, good.

To kinda go through this experience together. And
it's been a really greatjourney, and I love wedding
planning. It's been really fun.

Bret (18:19):
Good. Good. Well, hopefully, it stays that way.
Obviously, there could be partsthat are stressful. But,
hopefully, for the majority ofit, it stays super fun.
So what other, hobbies do youand your fiance have? Do you
have, what other things thatthat did I was I unable to
uncover?

Let's see. What are my hobbies? Well, I love my
people. I love to connect with,you know, my people at all
times. And so a 100% of the timewhen you see me driving, I will
probably be on the phone withsomeone.
I'm either on the phone. I'mvoice memoing. We love to
travel. You know, we just gotback from 9 days in Greece.

(18:58):
Uh-huh.
And it was an interestingexperience. It was an amazing
time. But day 3 of day 9, wewere riding the scooters.

Bret (19:05):
Oh, yeah.

And, I don't think we should ever be allowed on the
scooter again because last yearin Italy, I rode a scooter,
crashed into a wall, andfainted.

Bret (19:14):
Oh, no.

And then this time, he crashed the scooter and ended
up, fracturing his ankle.

Bret (19:22):
Oh, golly.

But we still had an amazing time. Oh, that's good.
Yeah. We made the most of it. Hedidn't skip a beat.
We love to travel. We love to bewith our people. I love to, as
corny as it sounds, long beachwalks. Yeah. They'll find me
there.
Nice. Yeah. So and and justbeing active. Every summer as a
kid, we would go to Yosemite

Bret (19:42):
Yeah.

And spend the summer there with all the
cousins, aunts, uncles,grandparents, everyone. And so
nature is really important to metoo.

Bret (19:49):
Oh, that's fun. Very fun. Well, if somebody is listening
in today and is meeting Lily forthe first time, how would they
contact you if they want tolearn more or talk about, your
services and all that you do?What would be the best way to
get in touch with you?

Great question. Send me an email. My email is
lily, lily,atguidemyfinances.com. They can
find us on the website, guide myguide my finances.com or my
LinkedIn, which is my name, LilyFala.

Bret (20:23):
So lily@guidemyfinances.com or Lily
Fala on LinkedIn, f a l l a h,if you're, like, challenged the
way I am.

I

Bret (20:35):
had to practice three times to get her name correct
before we went on the like

You crushed it.

Bret (20:40):
Yeah. Thankfully. But, well, that's great. Thank you so
much for taking the time to comedown today and share. Thank you
for all your engagement with ourchamber and for all that you do
for our community too.
It's a great service. We loveGuideMyFinances, and we love
having you part of our familyhere.

Oh, it's an honor and a and a privilege. Thank you
so much.

Bret (21:02):
Thanks for joining us today on our Carlsbad People,
Purpose and Impact podcast. Ifyou got value out of our episode
today, please hit the followbutton on your favorite podcast
app and please tell a friend.Can't wait to see you next time
on Carlsbad People, Purpose, andImpact.

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