Good Neighbor Podcast: Cobb County

E54: Retire with Confidence: How Melissa L. George's Fiduciary Practice Is Changing the Game for Entrepreneurs

• Milli M. & Melissa L. George • Episode 54

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Money matters can be intimidating, but Melissa L. George is changing that conversation one client at a time. As founder of InvestHer Fiduciary Solutions, she's bringing nearly three decades of financial planning experience to those who need it most—particularly women and entrepreneurs who often fall through the cracks of traditional financial services.

What makes Melissa's approach unique begins with her journey. After seven years as a captive agent at a large financial firm, she launched her independent practice 19 years ago, ultimately rebranding to reflect her mission. The name "InvestHer" serves a dual purpose: highlighting her focus on serving women while also representing "Helping Entrepreneurs Retire." Unlike many advisors who set minimum asset requirements, Melissa built her practice on accessibility, recognizing that "the people that need the most help usually can't get it."

As one of the few Black women in financial planning, Melissa addresses a critical gap in the industry. "I might be the only female, but more often I'm the only woman of color," she shares, noting how representation impacts client comfort when discussing sensitive financial matters. Her practice deliberately creates space where clients—particularly women and people of color—can discuss money with someone who understands their unique challenges and cultural contexts. This perspective has become her superpower in an industry not originally designed for someone like her.

Perhaps most importantly, Melissa emphasizes her fiduciary responsibility—a legal obligation to put clients' interests first, unlike the suitability standard common throughout the industry. "Something may be suitable for you, but it may not be in your best interest," she explains. This commitment to transparency, coupled with her relational approach, empowers clients to make educated decisions about their financial futures. Whether you're approaching retirement or building a business, Melissa's mission remains consistent: helping you retire with confidence, knowing you won't outlive your money.

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Millie.

Speaker 2:

M. Hello everyone, welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, millie M. Are you in need of a financial planner? Well, one might be closer than you think. I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, melissa George of InvestHer Fiduciary Solutions. How are you, melissa?

Speaker 3:

I'm well, Millie. Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. We're excited to learn all about you and your business. Tell us more about InvestHer.

Speaker 3:

So I've been in the financial services industry for about 28 years and started out as a captive agent working for a very large firm could only sell their products and services, and after about six or seven years I decided to branch out on my own, put my own shingle out, and that's when I opened my registered investment advisory firm about 19 years ago now. And then I rebranded two years ago to the name InvestHer Fiduciary Solutions.

Speaker 2:

Now it's spelled a little bit different. It's spelled InvestHer H-E-R. So tell us about how you came up with that name and why is it specific to women? Tell us a little more about that.

Speaker 3:

Well, it has multiple meanings. So her is female founded, female focus, but her is also an acronym for helping entrepreneurs retire. So a lot of my clients have side hustles or have full blown businesses, so I like working in that space where I'm helping them with their personal finances as well as their business.

Speaker 2:

Perfect, because you know entrepreneurs don't have a lot of the luxuries that maybe a W-2 might have and they might need some more additional direction. So how did you get in? You said you got into the business because you worked with another company first. What was it about financial services in general that drew you?

Speaker 3:

Oh well, interestingly enough, I was working in retail as I was finishing my degree at Georgia State and I didn't even know what a financial planner was. I just knew I loved math, I love numbers, I love talking about money, and so I ended up talking to a mentor of mine and I was actually interviewing for anything I could find in the paper around money or banking. I didn't even know what it was, and he introduced me to his financial planner and that's how it all started falling into place, where I was really able to ask her what actually do you do and what does that look like, and how do you get your clients and all those kinds of things. So in the first six years I actually worked at the same firm that she did. So I got a lot of mentoring there and then eventually went out on my own.

Speaker 2:

Mentoring is so important. Tell me about some of the myths or misconceptions about your industry or what you do in particular.

Speaker 3:

There's a couple of them. One of them is that people need to be wealthy or have a lot of money in order to get the services of a financial planner. That's one of them. That's not always the case, although a lot of people in this space do have minimums. But you know, for me, my, my goal was always that the people that need the most help usually can't get it, and so I don't have any minimums. The other thing is there's a big difference between an advisor and a planner. Very often, people will come to me and they have one or more advisors, they have a stack of investment statements, they have some insurance statements, but they don't know how all those things fit together and, particularly as they're approaching retirement, they want to know how all those things come together. They want to know if there are any gaps and, at the end of the day, my tagline is retire with confidence. Everyone's going to retire, but everyone's not going to make sure that they don't outlive their money.

Speaker 2:

Love that. So who are your target customers and how do you attract them?

Speaker 3:

So my target is generally between 45 and 65. For the most part, they're primarily women, although I have many men clients as well. Where I get most of my clients is a couple of different places. I do get a lot of people from Google, from Yelp, from LinkedIn, from speaking engagements that I do, and I do get a lot of them from client referrals as well. I don't do a lot of marketing. I like it to be a little bit more organic and obviously word of mouth is always the best. But people, a lot of people really are looking for women and women of color in this space on the internet, and a lot of people will find me there.

Speaker 2:

Is there. So money is money, you know. It's not black white, it's green. So why do you think that certain people seek out a woman and a woman of color for these services?

Speaker 3:

I think they seek out women because we have a very different communication style and, you know, this is a very white, male dominated industry, and so very often people feel like they're being talked at instead of talked to. So that's one way. Another one is people need to see people that look like them, that have had similar experiences, that have similar cultural backgrounds, and so Black and Brown people often are more comfortable with other Black and Brown people. So it doesn't mean that all of my clients are that. I have clients of every hue, every nationality, but the bulk of them, because I do think that people just feel more comfortable. Same thing in the Hispanic community, same thing in the Jewish community and in the Asian community. Sometimes people feel more comfortable with someone that looks like them, that they can relate to.

Speaker 2:

Especially talking about something so sensitive as money.

Speaker 3:

You know this.

Speaker 2:

Right. So outside of work, what do you like to do for fun? So, I love to salsa.

Speaker 3:

I love to eat, do for fun. So I love to salsa, I love to train and I love to. I like to eat, but currently I'm in a boot. I'm going to be having some foot surgery, so I'm a little sidetracked right now.

Speaker 2:

You got to get you healed up and back to salsa, baby.

Speaker 3:

Yes, ma'am, I got to be back out there salsa dancing.

Speaker 2:

I love it. You got to give me a referral of where to go when we get off, absolutely For sure. So let's switch gears a little bit. Can you describe a hardship or a life challenge that you had to overcome and how it made you stronger?

Speaker 3:

I think one of the hardships for me was coming into this industry and really being like a unicorn. Many, many spaces I would go into. Even today I'm the only one. I might be the only female, but more often I'm the only woman of color. That hasn't changed a lot. I think that is unfortunate, but I do see it moving very, very slowly. But you can imagine going into spaces where very often people are wondering if I'm somebody's wife or I'm somebody's admin, until I open my mouth and then when they find out, oh no, I'm here just like you're here, and I've owned my company probably longer than you've owned yours it changes the conversation. So that tends to be really, really hard. But also the other hardship is understanding that I wasn't supposed to make it in this industry.

Speaker 3:

The industry, as is a lot of the things that happen in America, were not designed for people that look like me, and so to still be here after 28, 29 years is a testament just to the resilience, to the commitment, to the passion and, more specifically, because women of color in particular, particular at the bottom of the wealth gap. It is a space that I enjoy spending most of my time because we don't have the same access to resources. We don't have the same um, uh, there's just a lot that we don't have access to. It's the struggle is a little bit harder for us, and so I love working in that space because I want to help us. I want to help us women and women of color, but women in general, and so when you know, when people see my banner, I have women of all nationalities on there, because that's that's my target market.

Speaker 2:

I love that you are able to turn that hardship into a passion point moving forward with your business. So, Melissa, can you tell our listeners one thing you would like for them to always remember about InvestHer?

Speaker 3:

Well, the thing I want them to remember, which is the second name in my company name, is fiduciary. This is a term that is gaining a lot of traction right now. Most people still don't know exactly what it means. That is gaining a lot of traction right now. Most people still don't know exactly what it means, but the financial services industry is built on the suitability standard, not the fiduciary standard.

Speaker 3:

Something may be suitable for you, but it may not be in your best interest. A fiduciary is always gonna do what's in your best interest and, because my firm is registered with the state, I not only have the ethical and moral obligation, I also have a legal obligation, and I think that puts people at ease, knowing that I'm always going to be transparent, I'm going to mitigate risk, I'm going to always talk about conflicts of interest, because I really want people to know and understand and I want them to be able to make educated decisions about their financial future. I think that's one of the things that sets me apart, and I also try to remain relational not transactional and relatable.

Speaker 2:

I bet your clients really enjoy that protection and that relationship with you. Tell our listeners how they can find you.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely Well, wwwinvestherfiduciariesolutionsisamouthfulcom. But if they look up Melissa L George, they'll find me, they'll find the website, they'll find LinkedIn, they'll find Instagram, they'll find Facebook. Melissa L George only because Melissa George is also an actress, so I had to add my L in so people could differentiate. But easy to find if they just look.

Speaker 2:

That's all right, cause you're a rockstar in the industry. I'm pretty sure you got Google on lock with 30 years of experience. We appreciate you being here with us today. Thank you so much and best of luck moving forward with you and your business. Thank you so much.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpcobbcountycom. That's gnpcobbcountycom, or call 470-470-4506.