Women Demystifying Money
Welcome to Demystifying Money, where our primary mission is to empower, educate, and elevate women in their financial journeys. We are dedicated to addressing the unique needs and challenges faced by women. We combine deep industry knowledge with a compassionate approach, ensuring that women gain the confidence and skills necessary to make informed financial decisions and achieve their long-term goals.
Women Demystifying Money
Empowering Women Through Financial Education: The Women Demystifying Money Conference
Unlock the secrets to financial empowerment as we bring you insights from the inaugural Women Demystifying Money Conference in Bentonville, Arkansas. Featuring industry leaders like Kate Verkamp of Arvest Wealth Management, Micy Liu from Life Mission Capital, Jody Dilday of the Arkansas Community Foundation, Becca Shaddock of Blue Marlin Partners, and Ifeoma Ibekwe, a wealth advisor and former estate planning attorney, this episode promises a wealth of knowledge. Discover the unique professional journeys of these women and how their passions drive them to create a dynamic learning environment for attendees.
Dive deep into the importance of approaching financial education with an open mind and why redefining philanthropy matters. You'll hear about the collaborative efforts that went into planning the conference, where seasoned attendees mentor newcomers, fostering a nurturing space for growth and learning. From demystifying investing basics to addressing the challenges women face in male-dominated financial sectors, this episode underscores the necessity of these conversations and gatherings, highlighting the positive impact on both attendees and sponsors.
Join us as we explore the journey of empowering women through financial education, emphasizing the importance of preparing for wealth transfer and the impact of creating a supportive community. Hear personal stories and anecdotes that illustrate the challenges and triumphs of women navigating financial spaces. Learn how this conference aims to eliminate money shame, encourage continuous growth, and build a resilient financial future for women at all stages of their financial journeys. Tune in and become part of a community dedicated to making informed financial decisions and achieving financial independence.
I'm so excited to be sitting here with you wonderful women and telling the world about the inaugural Women Demystifying Money and that's like a mouthful Women Demystifying Money Conference in Bentonville, arkansas. I would love an opportunity for everyone to go around the table and introduce themselves. You can start, kate, and tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do and anything else you want to add.
Speaker 2:Thank you, ify, you're so welcome. So my name is Kate Verkamp and I'm a client advisor with Arvest Wealth Management. I've been there about three years. I've been in the industry. I took a break for almost 10 years altogether and I just have a massive passion for helping women and with their money and understanding and feeling comfortable with it.
Speaker 3:So Macy Awesome. Thank you, kate. Hi Macy. Here, macy Liu, I'm the managing partner of Life Mission Capital, so we basically help investors passively invest in real estate, specifically more women even though right now I do have more men, but I'm working on bringing more women along the journey as well.
Speaker 3:One of the inspirations for what I do is my business partner. She actually replaced her Montessori figure and come through passive investing, which I never thought about. I know Montessori figure may be a lot for some people, may not be as much for some people, but just the fact that she did it and she had a similar story as me and she's able to focus on her family just made me super passionate about and do more in terms of helping people and being part of this Women Demonstrate my Money event. I've been in Northwest Arkansas on and off for 10 years and, you know, started with not knowing anything about real estate, to active investing, to passive investing. You know I came here 16 years old by myself, as a first generation immigrant. If I can learn all this and know all this, you can as well. So, super excited for the opportunity to be here. I'm excited to build this community together.
Speaker 4:Wonderful. I'm Jodi Dilde with Arkansas Community Foundation and I am a philanthropic advisor. I've been in that role for about seven years and I help generous people who care about this community as much as I do invest in our community by giving back through volunteerism, advocacy and through their financial resources. And I feel like I'm the lucky one who just stumbled into this by meeting one and then the other of these great ladies, and then they said, hey, we have this idea and we think you could bring the philanthropic piece to it. So I am thrilled to be a part of it because, as our attendees learn and go along the journey of demystifying money, building money, being empowered to earn more money and invest it and save it and multiply it, at some point they're going to want to give back and they're going to need a philanthropy concierge, and that will be me.
Speaker 5:So I'm ready to help. Okay, becca Shaddock's here with Blue Marlin Partners and we are a private equity firm that focuses on cash flow middle market businesses and I personally help support investors to invest in those operating companies and work together to create business growth and development. I've been in and around tech all my life, so this was a very big move for me into a more finance driven role and I'm just glad to be here to be able to share those experiences and talk through what it means to invest outside of public markets.
Speaker 1:Hi my name is Ife Abekwe. I am a wealth advisor at Arvest Wealth Management. I love to talk about money, and so the Women Demystifying Money Conference is right up my alley. I have been in wealth management for a few years, but prior to that I was an estate planning attorney, and so I like to talk to people about death too.
Speaker 1:And it's incapacitation and all the other things that come in life and how to plan for those things. And so I'm thrilled to be part of this conversation, particularly because I am very passionate about educating women on their financial options and helping elevate the money conversation and make it a norm, and I think this is going to be a great event for doing that, and I am just very excited to be here with all of you. Well, that's just a little tidbit of who we are, and I think it would be really helpful just to what is this women demystifying money thing. We have this snazzy logo and we've been putting all of the information out there to the world. We have a sold out conference, which feels incredible to know that at least 150 women are going to be attending a conference on financial education for women. Let's talk about what to expect at this conference. So I'll start with you, kate. What can someone expect? What are you presenting on?
Speaker 2:Well, we're going to kind of do soup to nuts right from very beginning to very advanced things, and my portion is the very beginning, right, everyone has to start someplace. So we're going to talk about how do you get started investing in all the things that you have to kind of or should have in place before you take that leap, and then maybe go through a couple terms, just so you're a little bit more familiar, and then I've got a roundtable of some really experienced, really really wonderful financial advisors that we're going to kind of debunk a couple of myths about investing and how do you get started and just kind of a couple resources for people around the area.
Speaker 1:And then I go next, actually.
Speaker 1:So the next part of the program is talking to the audience about caring for aging parents, everyone's favorite subject.
Speaker 1:Just by way of background, I'm an estate planning attorney, even though I'm not practicing, and one of the things that comes up as people progress in their lives and in their careers is that they find themselves sometimes in this sandwich generation, where you're taking care of people who are ahead of you your parents, older loved ones and then you're also maybe taking care of kids as well and trying to manage your career and your finances and their finances sometimes, and so I thought it would be wonderful to put together a panel of experts. We're going to have estate planning lawyers, we're going to have a trust officer on the panel and then a woman here in town who helps elderly people downsize as they start thinking about what's next they want to get rid of their stuff and just having those conversations and helping to facilitate that transition in life, and hopefully that'll leave you with tools to deal with that if that's happening in your life or in a loved one's life as well.
Speaker 3:I'm super excited about the real estate investing section. It encompasses both passive and active. In real estate investing, active just means you know you're kind of the person who finds the deal, secures the deal, finds the loan and managing everything, even with a property manager. And passive is more like hey, I figured out the deal, people are doing all the work. I just wanted the money and after I confirmed this is a deal I want to invest in, did my due diligence and I just received updates or distributions from it.
Speaker 3:Obviously, there is pros and cons on both sides and sometimes it's perfect for people to do passive investing. Sometimes it's not so good idea. So we're just going to share a little bit about hey, what are the pros and cons on both sides? Good idea, so we're just going to share a little bit about, hey, what are the pros and cons on both sides, which may or may not be a good idea for you.
Speaker 3:Just kind of learning from my personal stories of active investing and then went into passive investing. That's my business partner who went into a similar path, but she has a big family and how passive investing helped her focus on what matters. So I felt like we'll have people with interesting, different backgrounds, along with a few other panelists with corporate career background or non-traditional background just women from all walks of life, I can. I think with that, women in the audience can really take away what could work for them outside the traditional stocks and bonds. You know the men in Wall Street, you know what's in the men's street, right, so I'm excited to share the knowledge on that so other people can have the awareness to create their legacy. That sounds exciting.
Speaker 5:So yeah, so I'm next. So I'm going to talk a little bit about. We have a keynote speaker and she is a dear friend and I worked for her at Walmart as well, kat Terrell. We're going to go back, we're going to call her Karen, karen Ann Terrell, but yes, so she is going to come and talk to us about what her experience is. You know how does she go from, you know, just starting her career doesn't have, you know, hand-me-down wealth and is looking to. You know really focus and build her career. And as she builds her career, you know that wealth starts to build. And then you know what do you do with that, how do you deal with it and how can you make it make more for you? And so she's going to share you know really rock star story about how she did it, what she thought and how she is looking back to help support women as they create their journeys as well, and so it'll be a great success story for you to hear.
Speaker 5:And then we're going to go into something a little bit more advanced from an investing standpoint and a little bit more risky category as alternate investments. So I work for a private equity firm, so we look at very small middle market companies, and that's an area that I think we don't hear enough about. So I've got a panel of women who are going to come and talk about their experiences in investing investing in companies that may take up the real estate that Meecy is talking about, but really are working towards creating that operating capital. I also am bringing in someone from the University of Arkansas to talk about the companies out there. You know what does it look like, not just to invest, but you know, you think about entrepreneurship and maybe you don't want to start from the ground up, maybe you want to look at a company that already exists. So there's going to be a lot of information at the 30,000-foot view to talk about alternative investments as you look at your portfolio and think about what you may be interested in. Jodi, do you want to share what you're doing?
Speaker 4:Sure, I'm going to talk about my favorite topic, which is investing in your community.
Speaker 4:So I've been serving as a philanthropic advisor for the last seven years and I work with individuals who really care about our region and they want to leave a legacy, like Misi spoke about, and they have done well for themselves in investing.
Speaker 4:Some of them have done modestly well and some of them have done extremely well, but no matter what somebody's net worth, there is a desire to give back, and whether that's through volunteering or advocacy or supporting an organization with your finances, I'm kind of there to talk to people about aligning their investing in their community with their own personal values.
Speaker 4:So we're going to talk about some charitable giving tools that are available through a number of companies and as well as the Community Foundation, and on my panel I'm going to spotlight an individual who has been giving back for a number of years. I'm going to also have a panelist who has a corporate giving fund and how that company aligns their business values with their employees' values and uses it as a way to retain their employees by engaging them in the community, and then we'll also have a financial expert on our panel. Kate Bergkamp will also be talking about why it is smart to give back from a tax perspective and from when you have an investment portfolio that has done well, there are ways that you can give back in a really tax efficient way.
Speaker 3:So that's a little sneak peek of what I'll be talking about, even though Jody talked about philanthropic giving, impact investing, like you know, through giving. But also in my panel, I also have someone whose focus is impact investing through actually, you know, investing for profit companies and the backlash portion also is tied to real estate to some degrees, with the operating companies, and you know, at the end of the day, most people have families and to deal with aging parents, and all of that is not possible if you don't have the right mindset. I know which, if you will talk a lot more about as well, so I'm super excited to hear more about that too.
Speaker 1:I'm just excited hearing y'all talk about it and I kept smiling at you, becca, and I was like, don't make eye contact, don't smile at her too much, because I'm getting excited just thinking about you. Know how awesome the event is going to be.
Speaker 4:So it really is going to build throughout the day and there has been so much synergy already in the various components that we each bring to the table.
Speaker 5:And I want to go back to some excitement, because I think we all get very excited every week after we have our Friday morning meetings, which we have been doing for months.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was going to say weeks and weeks, at least since May, since May.
Speaker 5:Yes, so it's been quite some time. And so when you think back to those very first few meetings, and hey, we've pulled this group together, you know we looked at this from a like let's have a couple hour event in the afternoon, and you know, then we were like, okay, we want to talk about this, and we want to talk about this, this, and people need to know this, and and so now we have a almost a full day. I'm going to call it a um, a mom's school day. Yes, right, um, you know, a 30 to 30.
Speaker 4:We know our audience.
Speaker 5:It really is so now it's become this this much more broad. Um, we thought, okay, if we can get to 150 people, that would be like golden two weeks in and we're there. Three weeks in, we're there, and so that's gone really fast. But if you talk about, you know, when we look at setting the day, how do we want people to come and show up?
Speaker 1:I want people to come show up and kind of put aside all your assumptions or all of your judgments that you have on yourself about money, right? So, whether you should know more, whether you should have more, whether you should have done more, all the what a shoulda, couldas, don't should on yourself, no, don't shoulda not yourself at this conference, so just leave that all at the door. Y'all shouldn't knock yourself at this conference, so just leave that all at the door. And when you walk into that beautiful space and it will be a beautiful space at the record just know that you are amongst co-collaborators. I would like to say that the people in there are people that everyone has different goals, but we're on this journey together. Right, you're co-laborers on this journey. You're coming in there to to get information, to give information, to make connections, to network whatever it is you need. I want people to feel like there's something on that agenda for them. Additionally, if there's something that we've just discussed that just sounds like I, that is way path. Just come with an open mind, because the first thing in financial education is just being educated. Right, there's so much that I don't know.
Speaker 1:I used to think that in order to be a philanthropist, you needed to have lots and lots of money. You need to be a millionaire, you need to have made it. But how do you do that where you are right now? How do you give in your community where you are now? That's something that's personally very intriguing to me, and maybe you're already doing that and you just don't call it that. And so how do we redefine philanthropy? That's also something that's super important to me, and so I want people to come in there and feel like you can get fed and you're also going to get fed.
Speaker 5:And you're also going to get fed.
Speaker 1:Because we've been going back and forth about the menu and the desserts and the treats and eats and the breaks are going to be great. So we're not going to hold you hostage and you're going to have a good time. Just come in there knowing it's going to be a good time and no judgment.
Speaker 2:There's no judgment from anybody who's going to be there, right? And we will have basically financial literacy 101, 201, 301, 401. And so, even if it doesn't apply to you today, maybe it'll apply to you then.
Speaker 4:Absolutely Well. And I like to say too, if you think that some of this content might be beneath you, don't think that either, Because they say in sales, if you've had a good meeting, the meeting needs you, the meeting needs you.
Speaker 2:So if you're doing really, really well and you've got things figured out, come and pour into the other women that are just beginning their journey and be somebody that they can reach out to, and that's I think that's what women do best is we can pull, pull a friend along or someone up along. Look at the five of us, right, I mean we're here to be philanthropic right.
Speaker 5:This is us giving our time on something that we're passionate about and want to lift up our community and the women in our community and really showcase women that maybe you've never heard of, maybe you've never seen, but you know that whole. If I can see it, I can be it, it you know. I hope that it sparks something in everybody, at whatever stage they're at, to do something different or to put a plan in, because I think that's, you know, part of what I wish I had done sooner and known sooner is that I should have put a better plan together.
Speaker 5:We're not good at what it could have. Right, you're right, we're not. So I'm going to, I'm going to switch to. I'm putting in a better plan now and I hope others are able to do it earlier than I did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I think it's.
Speaker 5:it kind of brings all of that back together in a sense. I mean, those days, these planning days, have been a lot of fun and I've learned a whole lot, if you had told me we're going to meet every Friday morning ahead of time.
Speaker 1:I'm like absolutely not.
Speaker 1:That would be too much of a lift, right. But as the conference grew and the speakers and the possibilities even when we didn't have the funding but the idea was there it was like must see TV Friday morning at 830. This is what we do. Like must-see TV Friday morning at 8 30. This is what we do. We've had members here on vacation out doing amazing things. They're like I'm just calling in, I'm in the car, I'm heading to wherever. It was just appointment, you know, that couldn't be missed and for the most part, that's really what we've just decided. We're going to invest in this and that was, I guess, our philanthropy to the community. It's like let's put this on and see what happens. We don't have an agenda. Where this came about, it really was. I met one person, I worked with one person, they met somebody else. They followed up with that person. Next thing, you know, here we are. We're a committee.
Speaker 5:That is exactly what happened.
Speaker 1:I was like wouldn't it be nice if we had this? And Macy's like well, I'm going to go meet with these people, met with those. And it's like well, I think we're about to do this. I just thought about talking about it for years, but from the different roles that we all have.
Speaker 2:We all felt that there was a massive need for this information and a massive need for the gathering.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and I think the response from the people that have signed up was the same right. For it to go so quickly is a big reinforcement that the conversation is necessary and also from the sponsors too.
Speaker 3:I mean the sponsors. They were really eager to help the type, the variety of sponsors and Becca did a lot of work on that.
Speaker 5:Well, I think the team has done a really good job of figuring out what areas, like who benefits most from helping support this conversation. You know, when you think about a foundation piece and then companies that either are part of the real estate journey or part of the alternative investments or part of the aging parents Making sure that we fill the room with great sponsors and companies, but also fill the room with people that are not all the same company, not all the same roles, right? So there's really, you know, a good cross conversation that we expect to come out of this. That you know. I think I'm excited to see it.
Speaker 5:And you know, when we talk about our Friday morning meetings, I hope that this event becomes that for people Like it's a I can't miss. You could have 50 other things come on your calendar that day, but I hope that you choose this event because it is going to be well worth your time. And and we talk about the value I think Jodi Jodi is our value person. Jodi, talk to us about. Talk to us about what value these women would will be getting.
Speaker 4:And some male allies we have some, a few dudes, yes just from the cost perspective of what we have invested in the conference and I'm not talking about the intangibles or even the um, some of the in-kind contributions that that our, our attendees, will receive it's a 200 per person value already that's crazy so that's crazy, it's going to be nice it's going to be so.
Speaker 5:So maybe we um talk a little bit about our why. I know that that's, you know, really important for us as we walk into this is you know why we're doing this, what is it, what is our philanthropic um passion for this? And so you know, let me see you want to talk about your why?
Speaker 3:Yeah, sure, that's always a great and can be a touchy subject, but for me, you know, when I started in real estate in 2019, doing kind of active investing and then later on got into passive investing, whenever I went to investment conferences I was probably like one of the five women there and like one of the only two Asian minorities there and it just made me wonder, like, are women just not wanting this? Are women like not equipped for this? Like what, what? Why is there not enough women? So I dug deeper as I got engaged more locally, met people like you know, all of you guys here and I really shared kind of the answers to my question. You know, we kind of was kind of limiting belief right to even have those questions. So like, hey, women, we can do it. Some of us want to do it, some of us didn't know how to do it, some of us don't have any inspiration to look up to. I mean, I didn't have those. So for me, it's really about creating a sisterhood of like you guys and girls, gals or others as well to learn about investing together. Do investing together. Educate each other together. Do investing together. Educate each other together. Also, to help break limiting mindset around creating legacies.
Speaker 3:Growing up, I spent the first 16 years of my life growing up in China. It was all about doing well in planning and save and not much of investing. But you know, inflation can eat everything. And, most importantly, like what you do with your money isn't not just about growing numbers but the value it creates for the community. But you know, also in yourself, we're a family as well.
Speaker 3:So after seeing how others have done that, like how my business partner has done it for her family, so that she could focus more on her family versus just doing maintenance and toilets it was really, I think yeah, it is true, it is very traumatic actually because in the past year she's been working on offloading her properties and she has like the worst, worst stories. One time she had a leak that cost like $30,000, $50,000. She detected. One time a trio found her house. It's all in the past year and most recently there was a fire.
Speaker 3:I'm like you got the. You got the worst stories to share. I mean, I haven't had anything like that one without any of my active portfolios, but it's like hey, if you're spending time chasing out that right, like if you've never been exposed to about the possibility of leveraging other people's time on talent. You know it could be philanthropic side, it could be financial planning side. If you're trying to do everything on your own, if you're not building a community whether it's sisterhood or just community with similar mindsets and beliefs and values it's very exhausting to do it on your own. So I just want to create that sisterhood and break limiting barriers in their beliefs and do things together that could be fun and value-based.
Speaker 4:Wow, a sisterhood of empowered investors, I like that, yeah, yeah, Mine's very, very similar.
Speaker 2:I think you guys all know the story. But a couple years ago my husband got really sick and at the time we didn't have an estate plan. He had accounts and I had accounts and we had to pull it all together and when he was finally on the path to getting better, it was literally like that light bulb moment that I had been waiting 40 some odd years to have a. You know what was I going to be when I grow up? And I was like, oh, why am I not helping other women put these safety guards into place? Why am I not helping other women explain to them some of the things that are very confusing or just intimidating, and why am I not being a resource to other women to help them grow their wealth? And so I started on a path to kind of get back into the business, grow a business, and it's been awesome.
Speaker 2:I've had some great stories. I've helped a lot of people from zero and I've had people come and bring me millions and it's great and it's a collaboration and I like people to be involved. People, they should know where their money is. They should know how it's invested. I have one of my most favorite clients is 80 plus, and she says Kate, if I can't understand it, I don't want it. So you know, it doesn't have to be difficult, it doesn't have to be difficult, it doesn't have to be complicated. You know, you need to know where your running is, and so I find it really important and, like I said before, this is a dynamic group and I think doing here is going to be great.
Speaker 1:I'll go next. I think everyone here, everyone in the world, has a money story and what that means is somewhere, somehow, some way along the way, you've figured out how you feel about money. It was influenced by your parents, by your community, whether you had money or didn't, whether you saw your parents talk about money or it was very taboo and disrespectful or rude to speak about. And that influences us as adults and onward. So there's no age barrier to that money story and we're all on a money journey. And that concept really started to intrigue me about probably about five years ago when I used to own my own law firm and then I would do all of this planning and try to figure out you know ways to increase revenue and all that. And I ended up taking this course where we had to talk about our money story and I was like, well, what's my money story? And there were all these exercises about really digging deep and saying what was your household like when you were growing up? How was money talked about? Did you use credit cards? Were loans considered bad? And I had to do like weeks of work on my money mindset and then I got very intrigued by that and how, regardless of how much money you make, regardless of whether you think you are where you need to be or not. You're carrying your money baggage, your money story with you, and how do we leverage that?
Speaker 1:And I think that one of the things that we have to do is, when menace talk about money, we just have to talk about it. We can't keep it as a taboo subject or one filled with shame. I know earlier I mentioned people feel, oh, I should have learned this in school or somebody should have taught me, or I've made bad mistakes and all that. Bring that all to the table and talk about it, because there's likely to be someone who's gone through what you've gone through, who's experienced it, who can give you their wisdom and can show you another path forward. Or just say, hey, I went through it and look, I'm still alive and I'm on the other side of it, here's what I did right. Or keep you from making similar poor choices or decisions.
Speaker 1:And, honestly, that's what makes me very excited about the work that I do as a wealth advisor. I get to see all kinds of people. I get to see people who have millions and millions of dollars and I get to see people who you think have millions and millions of dollars, but they don't. And it's one of the most eye-opening roles is that just because someone has money doesn't mean that their money story doesn't right? Or it doesn't mean that they don't have money shame. Or it doesn't mean that they don't feel guilty about having money or not having money. It's like, hey, we're all in the same boat together. Why don't we talk about it instead of feeling so isolated? And I think that this conference just aligns with that. And Kate used my favorite term, soup to nuts, which is basically the beginning of a meal, starts with the soup and ends with the nut, especially if you like Masterpiece Theater, like myself. But it is so exciting to get in a room because, like Karen Ann, you don't know where you're going to end up. Nobody knows where they're going to end up. You might come into a whole lot of money.
Speaker 1:We are on the precipice of a huge financial transfer. I estimate, say, up to $84 trillion will be passed on in the next 20 years. What does that mean? Practically, it means that women are going to have more money than they've ever had before. Women are going to have more money than they've ever had before. So think about your parents and your grandparents and all the people who have assets and how they don't. No one lives forever right.
Speaker 1:And so what is the plan for that wealth transfer? To continue to do the ostrich method, where you put your head in the sand and just hope for the best, or be empowered and start making decisions now about your financial education so that you're able to steward if you have money coming to you and you may not but if you do what you're going to do with that or what you need to do in order to prepare yourself for the next level, or to prepare it to transfer it to the next generation, because this is a multi-generational conference. This is not a conference for just young women or for women that have hit executive status. This isn't every. If you are interested in learning about money, this is a conference for you, and so that makes me so excited, and I just think it's just very, very important work that we don't see enough of globally.
Speaker 2:And to that point, 90% of all women will be in charge of their own money at some point in time in their lifetime, right, whether it's through. You know you are in charge of your money for your family, or you have a spouse that passes or a parent that passes but 90% of all women.
Speaker 5:So you got to know you got to know. Well, I think Ify's points kind of lead to you, jodi, so I'm not going to comment, but I will.
Speaker 4:Well, as a nonprofit person, one of the things that we always do is, you know and I think you did this in regular business too a SWOT analysis. Right, and who else is already doing this, and do we need to offer something? I am a big believer in not duplicating services. I'm a big believer in not duplicating services, and we looked around and there's just really nothing out there that is focusing on this target demographic of women, that is providing this level of education and this ambiance of bring your whole self and this is a safe place and we can learn together and we can ask uninformed questions together. No dumb questions, no stupid questions, but we can ask uninformed questions and we can learn together and we can ask uninformed questions together. No dumb questions, no stupid questions, but we can ask uninformed questions and we're there to support each other along the way, and so that just that makes my heart happy.
Speaker 5:I love hearing all the stories and, misi, you talked about being in a room with only like four women, and you know, I went to a conference last year and I thought this was like one of the best conferences I've been to. During that event, the people that started it talked about how they created this conference so it's three days, so not just a one day but that they created this because they didn't see anything out in the market that gave them the information all in one place with the same like-minded people in the same room, and so as we started to talk about this, I kind of went back to that conversation because that's exactly what this is for me, right? This is the conference that I wish we had had years ago, full of women to talk about money, wealth and not have the money shame or the money guilt. You know, I'm sure that a lot of our audience and any listeners here today will probably have felt that at some point. I mean, I haven't talked to many women that haven't had some of that in their lifetime, and to get rid of that is super empowering and freeing. So that's really why I want to do it is that it's bringing the information that I wish I had and I think that the continuation of the conversation is what I really want to see for myself, and if I need it then I'm sure there's other women out there that need it, and so that was the passion for me to get involved At that event.
Speaker 5:There was very the conference I went to. There was, I don't know, there was probably, I don't know maybe an eighth woman, don't know like maybe an eighth woman. I mean, there was a lot of people and so it was definitely a lot harder and I'm a short female and men in finance, I guess, are really tall. So I felt not only not represented in the room, I felt like walked over and pushed like because I was just, I was an eye level right, and so I'm anxious to get into a room and watch women really empower each other, have conversations, and not feel that pressure to not speak or to shy away because it feels dominated in another way.
Speaker 4:Thinking about both of you. In the field of wealth management, I mean, that has been a male-dominated field for so long and as I have worked in nonprofit and have partnered with professional advisors, wealth managers the women have been few and far between. But an 80-year-old donor came to me one time with a significant gift to the organization I worked with and she said you know, my husband did all of our financial planning, all of our life, and he did very well for us. And then he passed away and she went into the financial advisor's office who sort of talked down to her and patted her on the head and she said I took that money and I moved it to a woman who would speak to me as a peer and an equal and I followed her example.
Speaker 4:We didn't have a bad financial advisor, but when we were looking for one, I told my husband. I said you always tell me that you're going to go out with a splat before I leave this earth and if that is the case, then I'm going to be in charge of all this and I want a young woman working for us. I didn't want somebody older than us because when I retire I don't want her to retire and be looking for somebody new. So you know, I think it's really important. I think the room will be filled with people that you can look around and find. You know who do I connect with and who is best for me, because you're great and you're great and I know about 50 other great advisors. But you have to find the person that makes you feel most comfortable, that you can sit in that seat and ask your uninformed questions and have no money shame.
Speaker 1:And get eye contact and get eye contact and respect you are the customer.
Speaker 1:And this is such a great point because this is actually something that's being discussed widely in the field of wealth management. We talked about that wealth transfer. That's happening. All this money is going to be transferred.
Speaker 1:Women tend to live longer than their husbands if they have male spouses, and what's going to happen if you have no relationship with that person inheriting the money? It's such an opportunity for just in the field. It is an opportunity but especially as women, you know to have that power and say no, I demand respect, this is my money, this is what we built, or these are our assets or my asset, and I want the courtesy of. I don't understand this. Please explain that to me again. Is this in the best interest of what I'm trying to achieve? And hopefully this conference will give people the ability to know no, you're in control of your money. You get to say yes or no or say you know what we're going to pull it. That's not working for us. I don't feel like you're accessible to me or that I have enough to be considered a key customer, Because you have to trust your instinct when it comes to money and the money decisions. If something doesn't sit right with you, believe that and trust that there's somebody else that can help you too.
Speaker 2:It's not easy, it's not Find the right person, and I think that's part of you know. Another thing we're going to bring some resources. You know, I just had a conversation with a friend who is an advisor for a very large company in another city and her minimum client has to have five million dollars. Right, and I said really, and she said I know I hate it because there's so many people that have less than five million that need that help, and so that's part of the problem with the industry as well. Right is that we've got these very lofty goals and some people just don't know where to, and everybody has to start somewhere. Yeah, everyone has to take their very first step.
Speaker 5:So yes, when I think that also, you know, when you think about the type of people that need and crave this information I mean, probably half of them are just starting out right and so you know you can't expect to be at those levels. Yeah, when you're just starting out.
Speaker 2:It removes people from the conversation because you're like this is not for me right, and that's part of the problem is how the conversation comes but and and we helped a client who has a um, a blue collar job like right, and, and sent money back to his home country, brought his siblings over and he just saved, and saved, and saved, and he had millions and millions, and so we don't have to have these very lofty jobs that pay hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's the consistency, it's the discipline of saving and putting money away and investing and building.
Speaker 5:Well, and also, you know thinking about your salaries right and how you negotiate, what you're bringing in and or benefits, right and I think that's something that I know I wish I had more information about. Is that and what to do with those things? Because you know you just take his money and then what do you do? It burns a hole in those things. Because you know you just take his money and then what do you do? It burns a hole in your pocket and so you want to spend it, and you know that's a piece that you just don't think about. And moving from job to job, like what are the values of those, what are the benefits? And then what are some of the consequences too, because every dollar made, every dollar spent, has some type of impact, and I don't think that there's a lot of conversation around that either. Right, and how to plan better.
Speaker 3:And also following along with what you said about from job to job and sometimes from job to no job.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly To reality a lot of people like financial planning for cushion funds or even having side hassles or passive income, whether from stocks and bonds or real estate or other assets, operating companies. I mean you want to have that cushion right, because when it stops coming, how, what do you do right? Your mortgage payments don't even be made, your kids, education and all these different things just being half lose, just being access, having access to all this knowledge. You don't have to, you know, go make an investment today, talk to financial advisor right away, but you should at least start thinking about what are the pieces you have missing from the conference, hopefully, and what can and cannot work for you so that you have more cushions and what I call is peace of mind and freedom, so you can focus on what matters.
Speaker 3:That's one of the reasons my company is called Life Mission Capital, because I feel like everyone has their own life mission. If you help them, give enough cushions and I see that in the wealthy versus non-wealthy a lot Like people make choices in their career and habits and et cetera because they're not wealthy or they don't feel like they have enough, but the ones who feel like they do, they pursue their hobbies, their passion. I mean, it's also mindset you don't have to have the money to live a good life, but it does help to a good degree. So how do you continue to introduce that cushion, that income, to help you live a more meaningful life? So I feel like that's the core of what gets me excited. And going back to the why and what we're doing this Right.
Speaker 5:And I think the demystification and demystifying was really our key word, right.
Speaker 1:How did we come up with demystifying in our scripted time?
Speaker 5:So Karen and I have had this conversation a lot and she wanted to do a dinner with some friends of hers to talk about private equity and doing this demystifying investment dinner. Right, you know, 10, 12 women get around a table and talk about what they're doing or not doing or here, and so really that that was kind of what started the passion. And I know I think we talked a little bit about it, Ibi, when you came to the office.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because I met with you together the first time Talking about women, and I'm like, oh, this is good and great, but like, like, where, where can this go? Yeah, and here we are.
Speaker 5:Here we are, um, and so here and so we you know, ours was very specific around, you know, private equity and investing, and then, as we started to talk together, we we kind of, you know made it that broad women, um, instead of you, just yeah. So that also as we thought about, like what does this look like? We've come together, we're like this thing has gotten really, really big and you know what happens next, and so we really wanted to leave it open to make sure that you know it could grow however it needed to grow.
Speaker 1:So the organic after when you said a three-day conference, I had the first flash that oh my god to read in conference like fully, I would intend it.
Speaker 5:You know what I mean absolutely where is that happening? I was like oh, no more friday morning, more friday mornings, um, yeah, maybe, maybe I can reach out to them and see if they lend some some time and support no and so yeah, that's how we we created that demystifying because it is right, it is, it is. And to debunk the myths around money and the, the shame and guilt.
Speaker 1:But to acknowledge that those things are there, but not let them be limiting factors in moving forward. You know, right, there's still something that can be done from wherever you are. Today, you know, we've had people come in. We ended up helping them consolidate debt and we were like, oh, this is a great prospect, oh, okay.
Speaker 1:Well, she will be a great prospect after we get some things, and that's also very satisfying to help someone because if they're not sleeping or they feel like the burden of just their money issues like let's give people a chance to. Okay. Here you are today. What can we do today?
Speaker 5:How many of you have had sleepless nights because of money?
Speaker 3:I mean right, Usually around the big purchases and those decisions, and is this right or not right?
Speaker 4:Or when the markets go or they're looking at the house and your interest rates, yeah.
Speaker 5:Oh, okay. So I mean, you know, if all five of us have, then you know, I know we're in the right plate and we talk about money as part of our work.
Speaker 1:So it's almost we are like unicorns in our profession and being able to just talk about money every day, Right?
Speaker 1:Like we're talking about people's money every day and there are so few of us in our respective spaces that do that kind of work, much less a regular, you know, I don't know. In the law we call them lay people, but it's. It's always sounds so like demeaning, but someone who's not in that space, just trying to get whatever they have to get done done. How do they enter that conversation and feel like, okay, I have a seat at this table and that this is something I need to really press into and really focus on?
Speaker 4:And often lay people just don't even know where to start. Like, who do I call first? Do I call a brokerage firm? Do I call a bank for the wealth? I'm not eligible for private banking.
Speaker 2:I don't have wealth. How?
Speaker 5:do I find there's no yellow pages really anymore to just flip through.
Speaker 4:So how do you even find that person? And if you haven't been told from your you know the folks who gave you the money, oh well, we use so and so you know my mom would talk about where some of their money is, not that they're just very average, but they would talk about and I'd say, why are these all men's names? You know, all these investment firms were just a bunch of white men's names and I'm looking for the day when there's going to be, you know, good mix.
Speaker 5:Yes.
Speaker 3:Women owned investment firms.
Speaker 1:You know More options.
Speaker 4:Yes, we need more.
Speaker 5:Yes, and I think there's more options out there that we don't even know, and so I hope also this conference brings forward resources.
Speaker 1:Yes, that we haven't, that haven't in our community Right.
Speaker 5:That we haven't even discovered. Or you know, I mean we have the five of us have a very large network of women in these spaces, but even sometimes we ran into some, hey, we don't have anybody in these spaces and we don't know anybody in these spaces, and so I hope that you know, with this type of conference and conversation it brings forward more resources.
Speaker 3:Which they will get, will have a QR code with resources in our community that they can hear more about. So they have to attend the conference.
Speaker 5:You have to attend the conference. Must be present, must be present, but what about?
Speaker 1:people who are hearing about this and we've said we've sold out our conference and it kind of feels a little hopeless. What would you say to someone like that, who's jazzed to hear about it, wants to sign up and then finds out we're sold out?
Speaker 5:Well, I know that we are going to continue the conversation for a little while, you know, through podcasts. We are going to continue the conversation for a little while, you know, through podcasts. So I know we're going to have a couple of people, a couple of speakers, come in and talk a little bit and then we're going to have some interviews with some sponsors. So I know that we've got some information out there and as soon or I guess it's probably already happening We'll have a LinkedIn page. So you know, people could ask questions and we'll just see organically how it goes.
Speaker 1:And I think that if we provide a space for people to share ideas and maybe they want to hear about a specific topic that's something that we'd be very open to seeing what happens after this conference and then also we have a wait list, we do.
Speaker 5:Oh, yes, yes, the wait list. Um so don't just despair.
Speaker 1:Um, you know, people register and things happen, and so if it's something that is important, make sure you register, put your name on the list in case there's a spot that opens up so that you can yeah, and next, to make sure you register early, yeah we don't even get to open it up to the pub now, so much.
Speaker 2:now you know what this all reminds me of. Have you ever gotten like a great recipe from a friend or a recommendation for a hairdresser or a landscaper? And if you know who that person is and you appreciate who they are, you're like great. I don't need to check any reference, I'm in. Right, this is kind of what we're offering to people, right, like we're giving you the resource. Yeah, it's a great recipe that we're giving it. It's a great recipe.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yes, so that's exciting.
Speaker 4:So, speaking of people that were really grateful for sharing recipes and sharing a vision, our sponsors shared our vision. They caught on early that this was something that we needed in our community and they were willing to invest in us and the planning of this initiative and also the logistical expenses that come along with planning a really nice event. So thank you to Arvest for stepping up right away, and to Blue Marlin also, and Life Mission Capital. And then we also want to thank PodcastVideoscom, who's graciously allowed us to come in and record today and we'll be getting it out there on the interwebs everywhere, and, of course, ingeborg Initiatives, because they really understand the importance of women having the power and influence and access to their own financial resources.
Speaker 5:And to Arkansas Community Foundation, Jodi as well, for helping support us from the nonprofits.
Speaker 3:Well, I can't believe this conversation is coming to an end. What great chemistry we had in this room here. All five of us are super excited to host this event on September 17th and we believe you all get great value from the event, and also we're super excited for other sponsor and attendees as well. If you want to follow along our journey how we help women domestic buying money, please follow us on LinkedIn. Women domestic buying money will also share our waitlist information for those who couldn't make it into this round so far. Please follow along and please. Women love sharing, sharing is caring and for that too, a friend, anyone you know that could benefit from this. I would love to see you on our future steps of our journey. See you next time, thank you you.