We love this topic of “Building Up and Supporting Women” as that is a basic foundational principle of our financial planning and wealth management practice. In our work with our clients, some of our women clients may be experiencing a life transition, such as widowhood, divorce, or a business or career change. As many of you may have heard me say: “Your wealth is more than your money- It’s about your family, your friends, your community and the causes you care about deeply”. And most importantly it is about YOU and how you step forward and through a life transition.

May we share one story of a professional woman, mid-career, who wanted to make a change in her lifestyle and her career. On the personal front, she was single and open to a relationship that seemed to elude her while she was so busy sharing her talents and skills with her non-profit employer, who she loved. However, Laura wanted to build her own therapy practice serving young families and children. With her full-time work, she could not find enough time to plan, manage and execute a complete transition. Couple that with the fear of losing a stable  paycheck, health benefits and the unknown of being a business owner. She had some clients that she served on a part time basis, but not enough to sustain a lifestyle in Northern California.

We began to work together to build her potential new business, from the ground up, one client, one business tenet at a time. Laura really knew what she wanted in her practice, who she served and how she served. We supported her with an initial business and marketing plan, which then we integrated into her personal financial plan. We brought solutions for health benefits and retirement planning as well, so she was comfortable and confident with her future.

She took fast action and decreased her hours at the non-profit and opened her Saturday mornings to serve families with two working parents. She immediately had success through her physician referral network. She also raised her hourly rate, which was challenging at first, as she is a giver and wanted to share her talents. We reminded her that she is in business to serve her clients, but the business needs to serve her as well.

She left her nonprofit 5 months early as she had built a firm schedule of clients and had confidence that her marketing and business development would sustain her practice as clients completed their work. We were thrilled for her success and in the interim, while she was managing her transition, she met a prospective partner, who now is her husband and they are enjoying life together.

The lessons learned are many: Know what you truly desire. Put action plans in place to reach your goals. Ask for support to reach your dreams. This is a recipe for success and a lifestyle of abundance.