Following his father into law was always an option he considered , Ambrose said , but the money and time investments that went into the law profession seemed daunting to him at the time , along with the oversaturation of the market . For a time , Ambrose mentioned , he even considered going into ministry and pursuing employment as a pastor .
In 2007 , he attended Southeastern University in Lakeland , Florida . and pursued a major in psychology with a minor in business .
While psychology felt less and less like what he wanted to do , the macroeconomics and microeconomics he learned about , along with the various styles of accounting , resonated with him .
“ That was a lot of fun ,” he said about the courses , “ There was a little bit of something being stirred in me with those courses .”
Still studying psychology , Ambrose dropped out of college in 2009 , realizing that he was making a bad investment of his time and money .
“ I was spending $ 10,000 a semester to study something that I wasn ’ t really that interested in and didn ’ t see much of a return on ,” he said .
And so , Ambrose began to search his soul for answers , moving to Kansas City and working various jobs , including in international insurance brokerage , while taking a few courses on the side .
And then an old friend from Thomasville called and asked him to work for Big Oak Benefits Group , a health insurance agency .
“ I moved back in 2015 and got my insurance license , and did the whole group – the small business , large business , group benefits ,” Ambrose said , “ But I realized there was something to me that was lacking and that was the personal touch between me and the employees and their families .”
In 2016 , Ambrose married his wife , Christina Ambrose , and returned to Southeastern University , transferring his courses and , in one year , got his bachelors in organizational leadership with a focus in business , nine years after he originally began attended the university .
In 2018 , Ambrose joined a new firm , finding a more personal connection with advising his clients financially , and in 2019 , he joined the Rosenberg Financial Group , which was recently rebranded into Rosenberg , Alvis , & Ambrose . At these firms , he finally got the connection he sought .
“ With this job , I realized that I get to counsel couples , families and being able to bring peace to them and bring hope to them , just as a minister would , but , on their finances ,” he said , “ which is one of the most personal things that we have .”
The independence of the firm , he said , has been a great boon , allowing them to do what they think is best for their clients .
“ And I love it that way , it means that we get to choose the best investments for our clients without any interference of , you know , some higher ups saying that we need to sell this or we need sell this ,” Ambrose said .
After joining the Rosenberg Financial Group , Ambrose went onto begin his certification to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM , which he completed in 2021 . The certification gives clients more confidence that he is in it for the long run , according to Ambrose , and that he is held to a higher standard by CFP Board officials .
Ambrose said that he encouraged anyone in need of financial advice find a professional rather than try to handle it alone . He said his own experience with eschewing professional help , involving an old lock at his office , ended in being locked out for an entire afternoon and paying twice as much as a professional would have required .
“ Spend a little bit of money , if you have to , to hire a professional to take an overview of your business , of your finance , whether that ’ s me , whether that ’ s a CPA ,” he said , “ That ’ s what I tell business owners along the way , take the money to do it right the first time instead of trying to guess how to do it , because that ’ s not your forte .”
42 April | May 2022 Thomasville Scene