Exploring Life & Business with Lee Baker of Claris Financial Advisors, Inc.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lee Baker.

Hi Lee, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and becoming a financial planner wasn’t even on my radar. When I moved to Atlanta to study Industrial Engineering at Georgia Tech, I still didn’t know what I wanted to “be.” I just knew Tech would challenge me and give me options. Life stepped in and gave me clarity.
My wife, Veronica, my high school sweetheart, lost her father while we were still in college. Overnight, we were two young adults trying to make major financial decisions for her younger siblings. I was working at an employee benefits firm and had just started my financial planning career, but even with that background, navigating the system was difficult. When I discovered a major error in her family’s death benefits, I found myself fighting to make things right. That experience pushed me to earn my CFP® and shaped the kind of advisor I wanted to become.
I come from a small‑town, community‑first world. My dad was a minister who served rural congregations, and the people around us were regular folk doing their best without access to financial experts. That stuck with me. It’s why I built Claris, to bring Wall Street‑level guidance to Main Street families and make sure people feel seen, respected, and empowered.
Atlanta has been the perfect place to grow this mission. This city is full of builders, dreamers, and people carving their own path. That energy shaped me and shaped Claris. Today, I get to help families, entrepreneurs, and everyday people make confident decisions about their future. It’s been a winding road, but it’s mine, and I’m grateful for it.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all. I don’t think anyone builds something meaningful without hitting a few walls along the way. Starting Claris meant walking away from the safety of a steady paycheck and betting on myself. There were definitely moments early on when I wondered if I’d made a huge mistake.
The first one hit almost immediately. Within the span of a month, I started the process of leaving the firm I was at, signed a lease for office space, bought a car, and then heard the words, “Baby, I think I’m pregnant.” That’ll make you question every decision you’ve ever made. But it also lit a fire under me. There’s nothing like becoming a parent in the middle of launching a business to sharpen your sense of purpose.
Building a firm from scratch, especially one that doesn’t fit the typical “wealth‑management‑only” mold, takes patience, resilience, and a lot of late nights. One of the biggest challenges was simply earning trust. The financial industry hasn’t always treated people well, and many people come in carrying past experiences where they felt talked down to or ignored. I had to prove, one conversation at a time, that I was different. And that the difference was more than skin deep.
Atlanta helped with that. This city is full of people who hustle, build, and root for each other. Being surrounded by other entrepreneurs who know what it feels like to take a leap made the hard days easier. The challenges shaped me just as much as the wins, and they pushed me to stay grounded in my mission: making sure everyday people have access to real financial guidance and feel confident navigating whatever life throws at them.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Claris Financial Advisors is a boutique financial planning firm built for real people navigating real life. I’m a CFP®, and I help families, professionals, and entrepreneurs make confident decisions through the big transitions; new careers, new babies, aging parents, marriage, divorce, loss, retirement, and everything in between.
What we’re known for is clarity. People come to us because they want someone who will explain things in plain English, walk with them through the messy parts, and help them build a plan that actually fits their life. A lot of firms only want to work with people who already have wealth. I built Claris to be different. We’re relationship‑driven, accessible, and focused on the whole picture, not just investments.
What sets us apart is the experience. Clients tell me they finally feel understood, respected, and empowered. Far too often the typical financial professional sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher when talking to people. That’s the heart of the brand. Clarity isn’t just our name, it’s the promise.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
If I had to pick one quality, it’s the ability to stay calm and clear‑headed when life gets messy; and to use humor when it helps people breathe a little easier. Financial planning is really about guiding people through transitions, and those moments can be emotional, overwhelming, or just plain complicated. If I show up anxious or judgmental, that energy spreads. But if I show up steady, curious, and willing to crack a light joke at the right moment, people relax. They open up. They feel safe enough to tell the truth about what’s really going on.
I watched my dad sit with people through some of the hardest moments of their lives. He had this gift for bringing clarity without ever losing his warmth. He could make someone feel seen, even in the middle of a crisis. I try to bring that same mix of compassion, clarity, and just‑enough humor into my work.
In this field, the numbers matter, but people matter more. Being able to slow things down, ask the right questions, and help someone see their situation with fresh eyes has been the key to everything we’ve built at Claris.
If there’s a “secret sauce,” that’s it: calm, clarity, and a sense of humor that reminds people they’re not alone in this.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.clarisfinancialadvisors.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clarisfinancialadvisors/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063753784857
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leebakercfp/