About | Somnium Advisory

The Company

The motto comes from Clan MacMillan's family crest

(my ancestral lineage).

It means, in plain English, "I learn to help the distressed," taken from a passage that went something like, "Not unacquainted with misfortune myself, I learn to help the distressed." It resonates with me on two fronts.

The first is learning. It embodies a deep sense of curiosity, of open-mindedness, a drive to never stop asking questions. The second part, to help the distressed, has been a north star. My favorite saying, "happy to help," comes from a commitment to leading a life serving others, and that's where I draw my inspiration.

Somnium, is a Latin word that translates to "dream." My wife originally chose the name, as a reflection of pursing our dreams, for our first foray into entrepreneurship by investing in multifamily long term rentals. I then chose to continue the name because entrepreneurs at their heart are dreamers.

A dream is that mysterious place where we struggle to manipulate our unconscious environment and grapple with the struggles and joy that our conscious mind has endured.

My vision for my firm is to help others build and protect their dreams & legacy - as such, I found the name fit perfectly. Combining the symbolism of our name and motto, you'll find this: my pursuit is to learn how to help others fulfill their dreams. To use my experience to help you ease your struggles on your journey.

The Advisor

Born and raised in Massachusetts to civil servants, I grew up with an sense of duty and fulfillment in helping others. The consummate Boy Scout, I learned from an early age the reward that comes from hard work and figuring things out along the way. A south shore native, I graduated from Braintree High School, where I ran track and cross country all four years. I went on to Boston University, participating in Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. Working nights at the university hockey arena I was also somehow lucky enough to find my future wife.

After undergrad, I spent the next four years as a Surface Warfare Officer leading some of the hardest working sailors I have ever met. The diversity in people and experience, at a pivotal time in international relations and my career development, continued to build on my foundation of compassionate service to others. I deployed three times in four years. I travelled almost every ocean, and experienced highs & lows that looking back on, feel like a different life.

Wanting to come home and start a family, I transitioned from active duty service into the civilian side of the federal government, where I worked for a bit as a civilian in the Navy and then for the Social Security Administration while attending law school in the evenings.

After successfully enduring four years of night classes, I passed the bar and joined the IRS as a trial attorney in their small business/self-employed division. Thus began my calling of focusing on small businesses and their owners, learning from the inside out what it takes to get the back office and financial setup correct, to properly run a business. I had one last stint before truly starting my solo journey, and that was at a startup where I was privileged to help hundreds of solo entrepreneurs run their back office and advise on everything from taxes and retirement to cash flow planning and compliance.

Finally to bring it home, literally, I transitioned to my solo firm so that I could bring my experience to helping small business owners directly in my community.

I share all this so that now you have a little background on me and my mission. I hope you understand the context and experience I bring to help you. When I'm not spending time with my wife, daughter, and 7 year old yellow lab, you'll find me jogging around my town, at the gym, or working in my other business: flying drones for Northeast Drone Works.