Ep. 116 - From Corporate Boss to CEO: Black Woman's Journey to Financial Freedom

Tired of playing small? Ready to shatter those glass ceilings? Dr. Renee Baker went from pushing papers in a cushy corporate job to building her empire - all because her grandmother dropped some truth bombs before passing away. This ain't your typical success story.

In this raw, no-BS episode, Dr. Baker spills the tea on:

• Why she walked away from multiple six figures
• The real talk about entrepreneurship's lonely road
• How being a Black woman in finance shaped her hustle
• The mindset shifts that turned her into a powerhouse CEO

Listen up as this TEDx speaker, marketing genius, and corporate rebel shows you how to unleash your inner badass. Whether you're stuck in the corporate grind or scared to take that first step toward freedom, this episode will light a fire under your ass.

Warning: This conversation might just be the push you need to quit your job.

Connect with Dr. Renee Baker: LinkedIn: DrReneeBaker Instagram: @itsreneebaker Facebook: ItsReneeBaker Threads: @itsreneebaker YouTube: @DrReneeBaker

As always we ask you to comment, DM, whatever it takes to have a conversation to help you take the next step in your journey, reach out on any platform!

Twitter, FaceBook, Instagram, Tiktok, Linkedin

DISCLOSURE: Awards and rankings by third parties are not indicative of future performance or client investment success. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All investment strategies carry profit/loss potential and cannot eliminate investment risks. Information discussed may not reflect current positions/recommendations. While believed accurate, Black Mammoth does not guarantee information accuracy. This broadcast is not a solicitation for securities transactions or personalized investment advice. Tax/estate planning information is general - consult professionals for specific situations. Full disclosures at www.blackmammoth.com.

Chapters

• 0:00 Meet the Badass Dr. Renee Baker
• 3:21 Growing Up in Cow Town to Wall Street
• 6:01 The Truth About Money Mindset
• 8:56 Why Most People Stay Stuck in Fear
• 15:19 Grandmother's Last Words That Changed Everything
• 20:33 The Lonely Truth About Entrepreneurship
• 27:42 Building Your Dream Team
• 32:15 The Future of Financial Services
• 38:24 One Thing You Must Do Today

Transcript

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 0:00

A beautiful, bold, bad ass black woman on today. Dr. Renee Baker. I mean, TEDx own companies helping everybody on podcasts. Why wouldn't you want to listen to today's episode? I know I'm here for a ride. You might not even hear me talk that much. And you guys know, I love to talk without further ado. And Renee, welcome to the show. Um, thank you for everything that you do. I know we're going to get into that, but truly, uh, appreciate what you do for our industry and the people alike. So once you start with a little bit of your background, where you're born and raised, um, and how you got to where you're at today,

Dr. Renee Baker: 0:30

Oh, yeah. So it just, thank you. Thank you so much for having me on this podcast. You had me at hello with the title and that's how I live. No BS. Let's get into it. But just a pleasure to be here. So my story, I am from New Jersey. I am a Jersey girl. I am born raised and I stay mostly educated because I went to Rutgers under Rutgers University undergrad, but my family is still from there. But where I'm from in New Jersey, and I love to explain this. So listeners just stay with me for a moment. And if you're from New Jersey, you get it, but I'm from the garden state. And when people think New Jersey, they think, you know, North Jersey, they think about what they saw on the Sopranos, but I am from the Southern part of the state exit one on the turnpike. I am from Salem County. Most, I think most people know. If you're from that area, you know, cow town. So I'm from cow town and the flea market, the rodeo, and I'd say the best cowboy boots, um, out there, but you know, I'm, I'm from a small town and I grew up really insulated, very close to my family. So very close to my family relationships were always a big part of my life. And I always say I was born. On love and leadership. And that's just a, it's a nice balance between my two parents who both love me. But, um, my mom doesn't play talk about no BS. You need to have her on this, but my mother does not play. So being the oldest of two daughters and being surrounded by family, I just grew up super curious. You know, I was the youngest of my class. So, I mean, maybe humble flex, but I was just, I was a nerd. Like I was a nerd. the youngest of my class and just always operated differently. I'll say, I said, I was leaving my small town when they sit way before the internet, way before all those things. And, uh, they thought I was crazy, but here we are left my little small town. And, um, I feel like I've, I've done all right. Went on to Rutgers, majored in finance, and ultimately began this amazing journey working on wall street and in financial services before I made the leap to the voluntary leap, I'll say, to join the masses of creating wealth on our own terms and the full time entrepreneurship. So I skipped a lot of places. I'm a woman of a certain age, so I, we don't have all that much time to fill in the gaps, but we can fill in the gaps in this conversation.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 3:03

What made you want to get into finance? Like I know growing up it was because my mom didn't have any money. I grew up a lot around poor people and I was like, I want to get out of that. But I want to help teach that later too. So I need to go get the education. What, what made you determined to go to into finance in general, just to start?

Dr. Renee Baker: 3:21

You know what? It wasn't even something that I planned to. I was a biology major. I wanted to be a doctor. I became a doctor in a different way, but I was going to be a doctor and me and my best friend, we said that we were both going to be doctors and she is a doctor still in New Jersey. And I joined finance. And the reason I got into finance is because see, I was a biology major. I was going to go that route, but it came to a point where we had to work with cadavers and I'm inquisitive. I'm curious. I had questions. I care about people. I just shared, that's how I grew up. And I just always had a lot of questions about the people, but like, what was their story? What happened? What was their life like? And I carried it with me. And I remember having a conversation, looking back to that conversation and thinking about it and the, the counselor at the time was like, you're so involved with, with people, uh, you care too much, um, maybe you should consider more business. And since you're really good in math and science, have you ever thought about finance? And while probably back then, and if you're a Gen X like me. We've seen and heard a lot of things that we weren't sensitive. It didn't hurt my feelings. I didn't think at that time, like, oh, how dare you say that to me? Um, but looking back on that guidance now, that probably was a really good turning point for me because guess what? I ended up going into finance, which I absolutely loved and she was wrong. This, this industry has been all about people. It's been all about relationships, but I am, I trust the fact that life happens. For us and not to us. And I went on this journey and it, and it has given me an amazing opportunity. So while I didn't know that I wanted to be in finance, I am glad that I have this opportunity to, um, have enjoyed this career, still be a part of the conversation and bring a different perspective. You bring a perspective as a CFE. P and what you all do a certified financial planners can be augmented and supported by those of us that have been in the industry. I have different life experiences that can help augment and support the totality of the population and helping them get more informed about financial topics. And it's not as complicated. We make it harder than it is, but let's try to break down those barriers to access and to entry so that we can have more of these conversations.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 5:42

I agree. What do you think is the biggest hurdle right now? Is it access? Mindset, is it societal, you know, norms and stuff like that? What do you think is the biggest hurdle for our population? Like the majority of the population actually having financial education and making good financial choices.

Dr. Renee Baker: 6:01

Oh my goodness. This is such a great question because I think there's a couple of different things, right? And it depends, you know, some of the people that I've spoken to, if you've grown up without money, I'd say the biggest hurdle. Is mindset and scarcity mindset. You don't think that you deserve it. You have all these limits and beliefs about money. All of these childhood conversations have come out that told you that depending on where you're from, money is the root of all evil. I heard money doesn't grow on trees. So where does it grow? Where does it grow? Tell me that. Um, and a lot of those decisions when it comes to mindset leads to a lot of fear. Like I said, scarcity and your decision making process. Is not necessarily aligned. And I know people who and just like you, I'm sure there's people who make a ton of money. You think you have more money? Like what? They say more money, more problems. So more money, more problems. And sometimes there are people who might not be. wealthy or rich when it comes to their salary, but yet they have an ability to build a nest egg. So I think that the hurdle sometimes is it always just a technical knowledge. It's a mindset and understanding that we all, we all have the ability to create wealth and build financial independence as we defined it. And as I say, abundance, which is my word for 2025 is our birthright. And we all have the ability to have access to access to it. So mindset and the technical piece, we can, we can help the shift. I can't change your mindset. I can only help you get there.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 7:40

Amen to that. And I, that's how my career kind of went. I went with like, Hey, we lack financial literacy from a technical perspective. When I first got into the industry 14 years ago, that transition to, okay. Now we don't, I call it, we don't, we're not financially educated and that's more of the mindset perspective. I've now not shifted, but aligned that with, we need a team. Humans are built on community. Right. It's in our nature, our emotions, things that we need help with, all of those things, and as I look back over kind of how I've. And how we've grown as an industry from there used to be very hard ways. You couldn't even know what a Roth IRA is. It was hard to Google it. Now you see it every other post. Right. And then now we're getting into where people want to take control of their lives, which is that emotional and like mindset perspective thing is you can't do it alone.

Dr. Renee Baker: 8:27

Right. And I'm glad that you said that because we also, as much as we have information available to us at our fingertips, we. We one don't always take advantage of those opportunities and two, we think we need to know everything we don't and having a team of individuals to help us fill in the gaps and bridge the gap from the knowledge that we have. And sometimes, you know, there are many things that I know that I just don't want to do. Right? And I don't have the capacity to do it. So I think kind of just filling in that gaps while we are the most technologically advanced as we've. Ever been just filling it out about just filling in the gaps with people who can help us is is idea. We don't have to to know everything and we don't have to be everything to everyone. And that takes some time for us to get comfortable with. And for me. It was also asking for help. Sometimes we're so strong. We don't ask, but I'm operate now. I've shifted into a ask for what I need because we don't, we don't do anything alone. We just don't. So we just have to embrace that as an industry, but also as individuals.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 9:40

We really do, and I try to preach on as much as possible. It's like the most wealthy, rich people in the world, they don't do it alone. Mm-hmm So why are we, whether it's in our own communities, and really we can get into it, but I think the divide in America is, is less about race per se. It's rich versus poor. Right. It's, it's a socioeconomic divide that is greater, in my opinion. Right. Not saying that race isn't, but it's just, it's just, I think that one divides a little more, those poor demographics, those of lesser, those minorities have this mindset of we've got to do it ourselves because there's no one out there to help us. Right. We repeat that. Like that's how I was raised. That's how currently most of them are raised. Um, you know, let alone what's going on politically right now. Like that's just what you enforce to us is we got to take care of ourself. Thing is you can't, that's not possible if you want to be successful at it. Otherwise, it's going to be the same kit and caboodle paycheck to paycheck. What do you say to those and to help them come through that mindset of like, get a team, whatever that makeup looks like of that team. You need a team to help you through. How do you help guide them in that, in that journey?

Dr. Renee Baker: 10:46

Well, I'm a big believer that teamwork does make the dream work. Right. So I'm, I'm a big believer in that, but what I think that people mean when they say they feel like they have to do it alone is I, I say, and you may disagree, but no one is coming to save you. I do believe that. I don't believe that anyone is coming to save you. I do believe you have to get up there, get up, and you have to get after it. But when I say that, it doesn't mean that you need to isolate and that you need to be on this journey alone. What that means is, nobody wakes up. For the most part, nobody wakes up and just says, You know what? Let me come in and help you. I'm a mom, so maybe I'll do that for my children. But they also have gotten to the age where I'm not You have to get up. So I recognize that. I also recognize that there is a socio economic divide. And it's so much greater than some of the, you know, there's the barriers to entry for so many different things. And there's a systemic inequity and there's reasons why we're here. But fine. Find your people. I think thinking we have to do it ourselves is a trauma response and I'm not a psychologist. So if you are, don't come at me. Um, but I do think that it's also a scarcity mindset because we feel like we have to do it ourselves because people have let us down. Folks that we've trusted didn't show up for us. We've been ingrained in communities that have generational struggles, and that's kind of been normalized over time. So we have to normalize this new idea of survival, of thriving and not just surviving, of collaboration, of community, of understanding that we can find our people, and we actually can choose. I think in some cases, We get stuck and some people get stuck because we've been conditioned to believe that, you know, you make a decision, you know what, you can't change your mind now with more information, you can change your mind. And since success is never real, it's never a solo act. We have to stop being afraid and normalizing, asking for help. Helping challenge our blind spots because I've seen a shift where individuals and I'm trying to, you see me kind of trying to find my word. So I say, but this is no BS. So I'm going to just say it for it to live in the internet, but we have to challenge those buying spots. And we, we can't always just surround ourselves with people who agree with us, you know, disrupt the status quo. We need to find people who support us. Yes. But we also, I like to operate with people who are going to tell me. The truth and not sugarcoat. No BS, no sugarcoat. You don't need to overly package things for me, but help is not a weakness. So we have to reframe that. So yes, I say to people, if you were building, um, a house, would you only use a hammer? What kind of house are you going to have with just a hammer? Like, so, you know, bring in, bring in the toolbox. And what that toolbox is, is like that, that personal board of directors you hear so much around when you're building your personal brand and having your personal board of directors, but in your toolbox. You have people with different perspective, different skills, things to be more ideas, to bring things, to be more efficient, to help you work through it. So I like to guide people through a team by explaining it in that way. And also remind folks that burnout is a real thing. And when we take on too much, we're not even our best selves. We can't be our best selves. So looking at it in that way, and it doesn't need to be overly formal or expensive. A team could be. Not people necessarily let you hire. That's my point. They can be your mentors. They can be your friend, financial advisor, a coach, someone that's going to hold you accountable and help you see things through a different perspective. So, I think that there's a, a bunch of things and I'll, I'll sum it up knowing that you can't build a house with a hammer. Let's know that, um, low that teamwork. It makes the dream work and we can bring in people to help complete us, complete our skill set or whatever challenge we have. And it doesn't need to be formal and expensive. And lastly, normalize asking for help because it's not a weakness. I truly believe that is a strength to help us get better.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 15:08

Did you always have this philosophy when you were on wall street working through that? Did you always have that philosophy in the background and that's what led you to do in your own business or how did that all work into your career path

Dr. Renee Baker: 15:19

around having a team? Yeah. So I would say I'm, I'm a team kind of person. I'm a, I'm a community, I'm a community person. I, as much as I'm very independent, I like community. I was talking about, I probably was really talking about community before it was community. I mean, I'm a sorority, like I like to lead, but I also like to be surrounded with individuals. But I also believe that we need to create a foundation to build on. And as a young person, I was a master delegator. I was a leader as a child, I would have lists. And I would be like the manager of my cousins and my sister, and I would give them tasks and, and delegate. I thought I was just trying to get out of my chores by encouraging them, by giving them money, because I would make money because I got good grades, I'd make the money, and then I would use it to help be more efficient. Like if I want to read a book, then I don't have time to read the book if I need to clean the bathroom. But if I pay my cousin 5, they'll do that and I can free up my time. So I didn't realize that I was doing it at the time, but my cousins will laugh and they'll say, that's why you're so, that's why you're not low maintenance. That's what I'll say. But I, I knew that I could get, I could empower people to do things by freeing up my time. I don't know. It sounds really bad as I'm saying it, but I'll say that I have always been this way and I truly believe. And even when I created my, um, when we launched this company, I didn't even do this alone. I have a business partner. We have a team, you know, people might see me and they'll think for the unleash life podcast, there is a team for the RBI group. There is a team. And I, I try to operate where I'm I have the best friends and while I step out of the box sometimes, and I try to do things that disrupt the status quo, I think there's true power in teamwork. And I've always felt that way. And you know, I micromanaged some of my projects, you know, but that's, you listen, you can't just break out of things. Yeah, it's gonna, it's gonna happen. I try not to do too much, but I just think that. Teams and this idea of teams just gets a bad rap. Sometimes. I mean, even at the university, I teach at a university and whenever I talk about projects with teams, you hear a collective side, like, uh, but we just have to be more intentional. And I say, let's not talk about it as teamwork. Let's talk about it as relationship building and less use as an opportunity to build stronger and tighter relationships. It goes a long way.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 17:53

It really does. Did I answer your question? No, yeah, yeah. It did. It did. Let's talk about your RBI group. Let's talk about launching a firm a couple of years ago. Talk us through why the decision to do it, the emotional. Decision behind that and kind of some ups and downs you've had over the last couple of years.

Dr. Renee Baker: 18:10

Yeah, so the RBI group, um, was let's just let me just set the scene 2023. Um, I had a, I, I came into 2023. Thinking, okay, I had this great job. There's some really big things that we want to do and I'm really excited. March of 2023. my grandmother who my father's mother were very close. We're very close and she passed away. And 1 of the last conversations that I had with her, I sent her flowers every month and every month she would get these flowers and she would act as if this is the 1st time that she's gotten the flowers. Um, and so I give her get the flowers. We have a call. And 1 of the conversations that we were having was about, I'd always had, like, a. Like a side hustle, I believe in diversifying income streams and I've been talking about it, but I never really did it. Right? Like, I thought that my former firm needed me. I thought that the advisors needed me and I just, I was afraid quite frankly, and she said, you don't get more time. But you can always get another title and she passed away in her sleep that night and we had the funeral and I had a mentor who was in London and he and I were talking about that same topic and, you know, he was checking in. He was like, you know, I told him what she said. And he said, you're right. And what is the worst thing that, that could happen? Like you're not going to get more time. And the longer you think about it, the more time is going to pass and you're never going to get that time back. Just go for it. And he died in his sleep about a week or so later. So, while the decision wasn't made lightly, I wasn't going to have that conversation with another person. And the reality is, when you lose the two, two really important people in your life, and you realize how quickly that life can shift for you in an instance, and it happens in an instance, in an instant, it could happen for anything, right? For me, it was an awakening that you're right. You're right, whatever that is. And for me, it was wanting to do something entrepreneurial, um, wanting to step out of the box and focus on building something that was more aligned with my purpose. And what was the worst thing that was going to happen? So when I came back from bereavement leave, which my former friend was so good about, I mean, we had the time I never, ever needed it until that moment. And I made the decision when I came back to submit my resignation with the Just taking some time. I had just been going nonstop while everybody in 2020 and for years, I mean, I'm a overachiever. So I was going, going, going, going. I had never just paused. So it was, was a period of reflection that I wanted. And when I left, when I made the decision to leave, it just became clear to me about, okay, what is it that I want to do? Um, and what I'll say is I didn't know for sure. And it was hard to walk away from multiple six figures in a career that you love. That's not easy. But what I do is I stepped out on faith. I also learned that not for nothing, this is a big world and somebody, if it didn't work, somebody would want me. I'm actually really good. Like, and I'm likable and I'm really good at what it is that I do. And I just needed to define success in a different way. So I say all that to say that. The decision came, um, and it wasn't emotional, right? But it was more that it had been a reflective point. It was just time to stop talking about it and be about it. So that's what I did. And I left, I went to Italy in June. I got full of pasta and wine and I came back. And while I hadn't started RBI group until August of 23, I had a conversation with my business partner. We decided to pull together in July. And on August 8th, eight weeks after I left my job, we launched the R. RBI group, which is results based initiatives. And yes, it's close to Renee Baker, but it's a results based and allow me to, you know, what it taught me to just go for something. So I went for it and listen, I think the most rewarding thing of entrepreneurship is the ability to step into your vision, your purpose, and your power and to execute. Nothing was going to get in the way. I love working with financial advisors. I love this industry. So it gave me an opportunity to combine my passion of marketing and finance and help. Advisors grow their businesses and also I love financial education. So we have a huge focus on financial education. So there was that and that's been tangible and building something. I'm not the same person I was when I left. I'm more aware and I would encourage if you have it in you to do it. If I could go back, I wish I would have done it. sooner, but I think this journey is something for everybody to experience. And I've had also the opportunity to create the Unleashed Life, which just really the platform to empower professionals and entrepreneurs to break free from those limitations. All those things that held me back and live life unapologetically. So it's been a passion project. But when I went back into my diary and to my notes, I had used that word. The reason we came with Unleashed, I had used that word so many times. And I remember getting a performance evaluation and the leader said, What is Renee Unleashed look like? And I was like, Oh, oh, you don't want to know is not for this audience. But it also taught me to step into my power and not be afraid. But, and I'll say, and there's the other side of that. Let's be honest. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone and it is not for the faint of heart. So when I talk about entrepreneurship, it is not to disparage my amazing years in corporate because, because of those years, I feel like I have been equipped to be able to stand in this space and own it, but it's not for everyone. And another thing that I hadn't planned for. It's a transition from being in a corporate space to running your own business, which can be very liberating, but it's also terrifying at the same time. The amount of things that I had to unlearn, like, okay, we're going to have a meeting every Monday at 8 30 a. m. And I was like, no, or let's follow up the chain of command. Who is the chain of command right here? There's nowhere to go. So I had to be able to trust the fact that I was building sustainability on my own and I wasn't creating a job. I'm building a company. And that was another mindset shift that in order for me to To get things done, I had to be comfortable going and when I don't go in the beginning, when I don't go, we're not getting new clients. And now we have a team, right? We have individuals. So that it gives us more flexibility. So other people can have their strengths and I'm a relationship builder. I'm a rainmaker. I'm a strategist. I can focus on that, but it's also very lonely. Most of my friends were in corporate. I had to meet other individuals that were in as entrepreneurs. I also had to get uncomfortable with the folks that are watching. To see what was going on because you know, everybody is watching they might not admit it Oh, but they're watching what is she doing? Is she crazy? Yes. I'm crazy crazy enough to be audacious crazy enough to believe in my dreams and here is to the crazy ones or when people would think that everything had to be perfect like I wasn't perfect in corporate. I know they're not perfect. That's for sure. So why did everything I do on my one little company had to be so perfect? So I had to learn this philosophy of let them, let them think what they want, let them be who they want because it was getting in the way of what I wanted to do. And I had to understand that for me to do this, I had to, to own it. Um, but yeah, but it's a lonely, uh, but you, you have to get. Comfortable building a team and community of people who are going to support you and learn as I'm building and I'm learning and I did that a lot in corporate. So, for me to do it now, it's fine. Um, but it's just different. I don't have also the purse strings of my corporate, um. Um, so, you know, balance of that. And as I said before, I'm not low maintenance. So looking back, I wouldn't change anything. I think that the ups and downs have shaped me to be, you know, where I am. And the journey, right. Of being on this journey has never been about avoiding challenges. It's really about embracing them and getting better every day. And ultimately, I'm, I'm so happy that I. Took the risk because a lot of times people defer their dreams. And, you know, as long as I have breath, as long as I have life inside of me, I always want to see those dreams come into fruition and learn, yeah, fall down seven times, get up eight, it's going to be, what's going to be, it's going to be, what's going to

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 27:09

be so thankful that you, you just told people that you don't have to be perfect in your business. Things don't have to look the best. They don't have to sound the best, get them out, change as you go develop, because. I, uh, business being a business owner is probably the quickest way for personal development, in my opinion, because you got to learn a lot about yourself real, real fast, because you're making all these decisions that are going to affect. Multiple things and multiple and I simplify that with telling everyone there's not one business owner on this planet that has their shit together. None of us do. We're all learning and we're continuing to learn and we're trying to get better. So give yourself that do give yourself that credit of damn. I'm a badass. I got a long ways to go, but at least I'm doing it right. I'm doing it. I'm not going to sit back and regret it at all.

Dr. Renee Baker: 28:01

Yeah. And I love that you said that at least you're doing it. And I've, you know, I've said that to people, the people who talk to most of the ones that's not doing it and no one has their stuff together. Not one person. And if in the people that are talking, I was like, listen, we didn't have ourselves together in corporate. We just we just had a bigger net that to cover it. But the reality is business ownership is the as a crash course. A masterclass in personal development. And I just, I don't know any entrepreneur that isn't better, but yeah, just, just get after life is too short to keep hiding from yourself.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 28:38

Absolutely. So we do have advisors that listen. We also just have prospective clients, you know, business owners that listen. That all are looking for a planner of some kind. Talk to us a little bit about what you do for advisors. And then I'm going to tee it up. I'm going to give you the question now, but I want you to explain what you do is where do you think our industry is going from where it came from? But first tell us what you do for advisors.

Dr. Renee Baker: 29:04

Okay. So I like to say I help the RBI group. We are full service marketing agency for financial advisors. Um, we also work with, um, asset managers and wealth managers, but to the core, I just help advisors level up and grow. I just help them be great. Um, we are very, we're much more customized. We're not one size fits all. I just don't believe that advisors are one size fits all people are not. So we have do marketing for advisors, uh, coaching. I love empowering advisors and working with advisors. I did that in corporate. And while I started my career in the institutional space, I was like. Wealth management. Like I, I love advisors. I, I talk to them all the time, not just only for the business, but because I just enjoy the conversations. Um, but yeah, um, we don't get more time, right? So advisors don't have unlimited time. I want to be the, we want to be the company that saved them time. So they focus on what they do best and let advisors focus on serving their clients and let us help you save as much time as possible. So that's what we do. And, um, the, you know, the advisors are building their businesses and we're just helping them manage their time. So that's what they do. So that's. That sums it up for me. Sorry, I had to sneeze. This is no BS. I got to see. Don't

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 30:26

you

Dr. Renee Baker: 30:27

think

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 30:28

about it? So back to the question now, right? Where we come from in our industry, where do you think we're going in terms of the services provided since you do in all the marketing for advisors, where's that service going and where, what messages are being saved per trade to end user, then client nowadays?

Dr. Renee Baker: 30:48

So, I think that the business has always been a relationship business. And when I talk to, you know, advisors, you know, advisors, they're, they're planning, they're helping with advising, but I would say it's more human to human. Even like in marketing, you say, Oh, is it, is it B2B? Is it B2C? I say it's H2H. It's human to human. We're talking to people. So while advisors are managing portfolios. They're not, that's not it. They're managing lives. They're managing people and clients are looking for partners. They're looking for partners who understand their goals. They're looking for partners who understand their values, their emotional relationship with money. And the best advisors I know, yeah, they have the technical skills, but they also have the emotional intelligence and the ability to connect at a deeper level. It's not just about the money and we have the ability, I feel like. Technology and the onset of A. I held some streamline task to help us better understand client engagement. We get to see people even better than we ever before and quicker. So, advisors who went in the future are the ones that are going to understand and adopt technology and use it to help balance that personal input the empathy that's needed. They're going to help that. So I don't see a is replacing advisors, but I see it as enhancing. So again, it goes back to leveraging the power of technology to help to improve your human connection. I also think that, you know, personal branding, sometimes people used to think of personal branding as, Oh, as a flex, you know, like don't talk about yourself, be humble, but it's not about that clients want to work with people who they know and guess what? They, they find you, they, they Google you, you know, I'm sure before you. You called before we had this conversation, you went to LinkedIn, you looked up some things, right? You talked about the TEDx. So you've seen some things, but clients want people who. Who they can work in it, not just what they offer. We all offer the same thing. People don't forget how you make them feel. So that, you know, showing your expertise, and this is not just for advisors. This is for people. Keep your personal brand intact. People build trust before the first conversation happens. I was having dinner with an advisor last night and she made me laugh because she said, The camera is before I do, because it was the visual of like the, of the food. So clients build trust before the first conversation even happens. So think about that. And I think that values, values, you might say, what does that have to do with the future has always been there. I think it's more important of a conversation, given the times that we're working, that we're dealing with right now, we want people who, who align with who we are and wherever you are. We see that and while I said earlier, don't just surround yourself with people that only who you are, but we want people who can help us be better versions of ourselves. I would say so you can get into some of the topical parts of it. Like, okay, wellness, right? And if your advisor or an individual financial wellness, holistic wellness, right? Whatever that is responsible investing, whatever that is, but can you adopt and personalize? Your solutions to help me thrive. So, you know, I think that there's more, the industry is going to be more dynamic. It's going to be more personalized. It's going to be more tech forward. And the onset of AI, if corporate, when I was in corporate, we didn't have AI, like we have it today. We weren't using it as it's shaping it's unique in its way of helping shape. But I think that we have to embrace that change. And those that don't are going to get left behind. Don't be afraid about. What's coming? Be afraid by what you're not doing to prepare for it. And no matter what I will tell you, this is still in a very exciting time to be in this industry. This is even a more exciting time to be a part of it because it's so much more education. When I was in college, when early in my career. We weren't talking about it like this. There were no podcasts like this to help these conversations come to light. So we didn't have the perspective. But nonetheless, um, I think there's more impact to make and I'm excited about it. There's a litany of barriers and litany of concerns too. Like I'm not DeLulu, right? I, that's, I see that too. Um, but if we focus on the things that are within our control, it is the be showing up when your personal brand show up, show out. Connect to humans at their level, meet people where they're at and align with values, but understand your clients by leveraging the power of the tools that are available to us.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 35:34

Yeah, I truly believe the industry as we knew it, right, it used to be all about some money solely. That was it. Like investments money. That's all we cared about. How do we move? How do we make more in this shift now is to each stage, which I'm going to steal by the way, I'm going to tell you,

Dr. Renee Baker: 35:49

yeah,

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 35:49

take it. It is. It is about human to human, which is more like holistic financial planning, but. You can actually coin the term modern family office. I think it's taking those old school single family office ideas where, you know, if anyone's listening that they don't know family offices, essentially a very rich family would have everything in house from accounting to travel to legal to everything. They would know how this family works inside and out every which way emotionally, not emotionally, what the next moves are, legacy, everything. I think we're shifting to that, but modernized meaning you don't have to be worth A hundred million, 250 million to have one. You're able to have this through your planner. And so really I think the terms change where we don't call ourselves advisors anymore. It's going to be something new at some point because we are taking on more of the emotional side. We are learning more about the person, which by the way, is more on the psychology side, which is why the CFP has it in their studies now, which is why it's more heavily regarded in that way, because the investment part is just a small piece of your pie. That's right. It's so small. Now everyone thinks that's how you get rich. No, not really. It's when you are in tune with your star player, right? When you're in tune with your star player, your health, your mental health, your physical health, and your wealth will come along. Then the opportunities present themselves to help you make money. But if you don't have that in line It don't matter how much you have or don't have in terms of investing, because I could guarantee you come out and say, Hey, I got this idea. This opportunity for you, Renee is going to give us bottom 1, 000, 000 return in the next 2 months and you're not in the right headspace. The opportunities you're just going to miss out, right? That's what happened to people,

Dr. Renee Baker: 37:38

but I love that. You're you're having that that conversation and I think to your point, we're seeing. The democratization of that model used to be, you, you don't have a hundred million, you don't have 250 million. I'm not getting out of bed. I don't want to talk to you. You're not getting this level of holistic support at all, but planners today, you know, or advisors today, maybe they become more architects because they're helping you build. And I'm not saying that that's going to be the word, but you're helping clients build wealth. You're helping clients get aligned with their. Their values are goals, their legacy, right? The philanthropy component of it, integrating all these pieces of your financial world, like your investments, your cashflow, your, your estate planning, your needs, like your, your wants, like your, your cars, your time pieces, like, you know, there's, there's signs that, that have that. And the emotional and the relationship component of money is so, is so critically, um, important and it's starting to shift, but I think that there's a tremendous opportunity for us to evolve our way of thinking. To embrace more of that, we don't need, we can have that multifamily office approach and life is evolving to be more inclusive of all the different dynamics and all the different sources of wealth and income. So I just think that it's a, it's an exciting time because we do get to give advice and we get to partner with individuals that better understand us, not just as portfolios, but as people. That's where that human to human comes in because it used to be, it's all about your money, but now it's about you as a person.

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 39:08

Absolutely. Yeah. As we wrap this up, always ask the one last question, and that is, what is one piece of advice or idea that you want to leave the audience with that they can implement today to take that next step on their journey?

Dr. Renee Baker: 39:24

Hmm. That's a good question. So let me. Let me think about it. Okay. So they said 1, I think the biggest thing is you don't have to have it all figured out to take the next step. Just do it yesterday, you know, with this MLK. So, for Martin Luther King Jr. He says, you know, faith is you don't need to see the whole stairwell. You just have to go for it. So, whether it's your finances, your career, your personal life, the biggest barrier to that. Is the ability to just do it, to get out of our head and to go for it. So know that just go for it. Every time we build up in our minds, we build up the feel of all the things that could go wrong. But what if you start shifting them to all the things that can go, right? So step into your power and your purpose because action builds clarity. We don't know. We don't know until we do it. So I live by this mantra that the best is yet to come, but I know for it. In order for me to even show up for the message yet to come, I have to take action. So I encourage everyone that's listening, whatever that thing is that you haven't done, because you're worried about what people think and you're worried about what you don't have, you're worried about perfection. Don't worry about it. It's about progress. So take the next step, go for it and watch your world open up for you. In the best way, because even when we fall, we don't fall. We fall forward as a lesson, but imagine that the best is yet to come for every single person is listening, but you don't know until you take action until you start,

Stoy Hall, CFP®: 40:58

well, you heard it from the doctor with the Unleashed Life podcast as all, as well as the RBI group, go check them out. We'll have all the links and all that stuff in there, but I leave everyone with this as well, like share, comment, do all that stuff. Not for the algorithm. We don't care about that, but it's because we want to help you. And the better way we can help you is by you reaching out and having communications and conversations with us. We also learn from those questions and can create more content to help you on your journey. So without further ado, help us help you and go forth and do it. Oh, by the way, human, human, uh, contact that's human, human, not B2B, not B2C, human to human.

Dr. Renee Baker: 41:34

Love it. Thank you.

Black Mammoth: 41:37

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