In an industry where many firms seem cut from the same cloth, Brumbaugh Wealth Management stands apart from its peers in more ways than one. The firm’s uniqueness may have something to do with the atypical “origin story” of its founder and managing partner, Kimberly J. Brumbaugh, LUTC. Brumbaugh got her first job at the age of 14, working for a privately owned Mercedes-Benz dealership in the Philadelphia area. A strong work ethic, attention to detail, and interpersonal skills helped her quickly ascend the ranks; by 21 she became the assistant manager of the service department, leading as many as 40 employees. At night she took college classes and cultivated a budding interest in investing, instilled in her by her father. Eventually Brumbaugh came to the realization that she wanted to lead an enterprise of her own making. For her first venture, she launched a consulting firm devoted to coaching service managers at car dealerships, which she ran while becoming licensed to sell securities and insurance. She founded Brumbaugh Wealth Management in 2004. The rest, as they say, is history. Brumbaugh believes her unusual path to founding her own wealth-management firm has worked in her favor. Given the fact that the boutique firm is following a sustained upward trajectory more than two decades after its inception, she’s likely onto something. Brumbaugh Wealth Management provides customized wealth-management strategies for personal retirement planning, tax planning, investment management, and estate planning, as well as a full suite of financial services for business owners. She and her team have worked hard to nurture a culture of empathy in which all clients feel welcomed, heard, and valued, vastly different from the stodgy firms of yesteryear. “We consider ourselves to be goo