Career Woman.

       Wife.

Mom.

Converging Paths …

Single, Vice President and Partner of a boutique wealth management firm, doing well financially and enjoying life as an independent career woman.

Then he came. His name is David Witter. We met in the spring of 2008, and life would forever be changed. We married May 1, 2010, and so the journey began.

David, a Certified Financial Planner™, had started his own firm, Financial Harvest Wealth Advisors, in 2006. We shared goals, philosophy and vision and had a combined 20 years of experience in the investment advisory industry. Were we a partnership meant to be? After much prayerful consideration, we partnered as a husband and wife advisor team working with high net worth individuals, and now co-own the firm. I went from thinking independently and individually to working and living in a world of interdependence:  becoming one in marriage and business, combining finances, making joint decisions, budgeting as a couple, planning for retirement. We endured a crash-course in converging paths that I silently titled “juggling with rapid velocity.” It wasn’t all about me anymore.

One of the top reasons couples argue is money. Opposites attract – I am the spender; my husband is the saver. Meeting in the middle can be a tremendous challenge, as it requires discipline, hard work, communication and a strong commitment to the same financial short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals. We found ourselves practicing the same principles we teach our clients, following the adage, “live like no one else today so you can live like no one else tomorrow.”

David and I were blessed with a son, William Alan Witter, born on August 13, 2011. No matter how much you read and educate yourself, nothing prepares you (or at least nothing prepared me) for the actual experience of bringing and raising a new young life into this world. Having a child of my own has changed my priorities – the way I love, the way I look at life, the way I work. I believe life has meaning, and we all leave a legacy, a road map for the future, a memorable and enduring imprint of life.

As I transition back to work after maternity leave, I wake with a greater sense of purpose and meaning in my every day. I no longer advise from the outside looking in – rather I now understand the tremendous impact wise investment decisions have on families, now and for generations to come.

Juggling a career while being present as a wife and mother can be extremely overwhelming at times. It is the hardest job I’ve ever had, but I couldn’t ask for a more rewarding and fulfilling journey. Can women truly have it all? I want to be remembered by my husband as his Proverbs 31 wife, by my children as a nurturing and loving mother, by our clients as a consummate professional holding their concerns as my own, and by the community for engaging, giving back and trying to make a difference.

“Having it all” may be just be a myth, as there are bound to be challenges along the way, but there hasn’t been a single moment so far that I haven’t felt unbelievably lucky to be engaged in the struggles necessary to attain that goal.

All we can do is make the best, most fulfilling choices as life’s paths converge, sacrifice what we must and hope that we’re doing the right thing for ourselves and for the people we love who depend on us. As far as I’m concerned, this is as good as it gets.

Katie Miller Witter, co-owner of Financial Harvest Wealth Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisor Firm located in Winter Park, has more than ten years of investment advisory experience and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) Candidate and Certified Financial Planner™.  She obtained her Bachelors of Science in Business Finance & Marketing from the University of Florida and her Masters of Business Administration from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College.  She serves on the Crummer Alumni Board, Downtown Orlando YMCA Board, and is a graduate of Leadership Winter Park and Leadership Orlando.  Katie is married and lives with her husband, David, and son Will, in Winter Park, Florida. Katie can be reached at 407.937.0707 or katie@financialharvest.com