S1 Ep10: She Can Prosper CIC – Redefining Financial Power for Women

What if true leadership meant leading your finances—not just your team?

In this powerful conversation, I’m joined by Diane Watson—award-winning financial advisor, entrepreneur, and author of She Can Prosper. Diane shares her mission to empower women at every life stage to take control of their financial future. From navigating money mindsets to challenging outdated societal norms, Diane’s insights are practical, personal, and deeply inspiring.

Together, we explore:

• Why even successful women can hesitate to plan financially
• The hidden risks of outsourcing financial responsibility
• How to build confidence around money—no matter where you're starting from

Whether you’re building a business, balancing family life, or stepping into your next chapter, this episode is packed with encouragement and tools to help you prosper—on your terms.

Connect with Diane on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianewatsonsjp/

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 ✨ Produced by Mary Gregory Leadership Coaching

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome to She Leads Collective podcast. I'm Mary Gregory and I'm so glad you're here. This podcast is a space for honest conversations about what it really means to lead as a woman today and how we can all show up with more courage, care and clarity. You'll hear from inspiring women, powerful allies and bold truth tellers who are changing the game, not by playing tougher, but by leading smarter, softer and stronger. Hello and welcome to this episode of She Leads Collective podcast. So what if the most empowering act of leadership isn't at work, but in how you manage your money? Well, my guest today is Diane Watson. She's an award-winning financial advisor, entrepreneur and author of She Will Prosper, a brilliantly practical and empowering guide to help women take control of their finances at every stage of their life. Founder of She Can Prosper, Diane is on a mission to challenge the outdated narrative that says women shouldn't, or can't, take the lead when it comes to money. Her own journey is proof that financial independence isn't about where you start, but how you choose to show up. So in this episode, what we're going to explore is why so many high achieving women still delay financial planning, the risks of abdicating financial responsibility in a relationship, and how to shift your money mindset and develop lifelong financial confidence. Whether you're in your 30s, juggling business and family or rethinking the next stage in your 50s, Diane brings a powerful blend of real life experience, professional insight and actionable advice. So let's talk about money, not as a source of stress, but as something that can empower us and enable our freedom. Diane, it is so good to have you here today. Thank you for giving up your time. Well, I'm delighted to be here and talk about something that's so important. It is so important. And yet, you know, we all have different stories going on about money. And I know I was brought up in a house where my mother used to say, oh, it's rude to talk about money. So, you know, that completely limited the conversation around it. But you do an incredible job supporting women and you're definitely on a mission to empower women financially. But let's talk about you, first of all, and a bit about your own personal story. So, you know, was financial planning something... that you thought you'd end up doing when you were growing up? Did you actually imagine you were going to do it? What actually led you to being a financial planner and doing what you're doing now?

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Well, I had no mind around being a financial planner when I was growing up. In fact, I decided quite early on in my life that I was going to be a vicar or a hairdresser. And I know those professions are very different. But financial planning definitely wasn't on the agenda. However... I've always been very interested in money because both my parents were from very poor backgrounds. But my mother was very aware and conscious of the need to plan. And she talked to me a lot as a child about that. And also my father was... in the building trade. He was quite a militant shop steward. So he was out on strike quite a lot. So my mother drummed into me from an early age that one should be responsible for one's own financial security and not rely on a man.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Very good.

SPEAKER_01 3:39

And that messaging, I guess, stuck in my conscious mind, my subconscious mind, because I remember people knocking on the door as a child and they were collecting weekly savings so that I think my mum had a fear about dying and not being able to pay for her funeral. So it was just always there and she managed the money. She was a great role model.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

She was a fantastic role model. And not not everyone had that role model from the age where we were brought up for sure. So it sounds like she had a real influence and shaped your attitude towards money. What were some of the early financial risks or decisions that you made that helped you build your own confidence?

SPEAKER_01 4:23

So I left university. I mean, going back to what we talked about, not really minded about where I wanted to end up. You know, I kind of always knew what I didn't want to be, but I didn't know what I really wanted to be. So I had three corporate jobs when I left university, quite diverse. I was in journalism in-house working for a company. Then I moved into training journalism. consultancy, and then laterally sales, selling training and consultancy. And during that period, I came into contact with quite a large number of financial institutions, so insurance companies. So I then started to get a feel for, and also my ex-husband was in financial services as well. So I was able to see from the outside what it was like. And, you know, I guess for a novice was quite knowledgeable about it. But the turning point came for me after I had the children because I realized that working away as I was was not going to fit in with being a mother of two small children and that I would have to find something that would work for me as a mother. And that's when I had this idea that I would set up my own business and And why wouldn't it be in financial planning? Because I kind of knew it. My ex-husband was also in it. And so I did my qualifications and set my business up in 1994. Okay,

SPEAKER_00 6:01

great. And what was the moment that made you realise that women needed more tailored support?

SPEAKER_01 6:08

I think pretty much from the get-go, the stories and the people that I've encountered, some tragic stories really, have made me realise that if women don't understand their own particular situations, which to be clear, is not that much better now than it was then. Really? So you've not seen that much change? I mean, not as much change as I would have expected. I think there's a number of reasons for that. But I suppose once you start to experience what happens when women aren't aware... and aren't knowledgeable and the consequences of that. It just became a bit of a passion for me really, because I wanted women to have the same experience that I was having where they were properly secure financially. And it's been a bit of a battle cry really throughout my whole career. And, you know, I've succeeded with some people more than others, really. And a lot of that is because I think women feel fearful of money and maths. They equate maths and money together. Lots of people say I'm not very good at maths. Well, I don't think I'm very good at maths either. But I've been able to have a career in financial services. A lot of women have... Messaging in childhood around money being what men sort out. So they're not confident. They're happy to abdicate responsibility. And so they're already in that mindset when they grow up. And then, as you know, as a working woman yourself, we are juggling a lot of balls in the air, aren't we? We're wives, we're mothers, we're entrepreneurs. And often it's easier to let someone else sort that stuff out for us.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

I can totally relate to that. I mean, not now in my current, you know, with my partner now, we're pretty equal. But when in my marriage, I totally abdicated the finances. There was too much else to think about, you know, looking after a young baby and all of those sorts of things. It was actually really convenient to say, oh, thank goodness he's looking after it all. But it actually left me, and I'm sure this is the situation for many women at that time, it It left me very vulnerable.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

It does leave, I mean, we are very vulnerable. Whilst I understand why it happens, you know, being like touch around your finances, not understanding your situation, letting someone else make those decisions does leave you feeling vulnerable. And it seems like, for example, lots of my clients actually work for big companies. They're not all entrepreneurs, right? I very rarely meet anybody who understands. If I ask somebody, what happens if you get poorly at work? They have no idea. They don't know how long they get paid. They just

SPEAKER_00 9:17

don't know. So it's a case of educating as well as empowering then. Yes. As well. Okay. So She Can Prosper. I mean, that's your book. It's your business. It's a really powerful name. So I'm curious about what does prosperity mean to you?

SPEAKER_01 9:33

Well, it means being able to live the kind of life that I want to live and not to be constantly worrying about money. It doesn't necessarily have to be an affluent lifestyle, but it means that you aren't spending time every day thinking about how are you going to be able to put food on the table or how are you going to be able to do the things that you want to do with your life. That might be having more holidays. It might be taking more time off to spend with your children. I think for some people, prosperity is almost not, it's not a very attractive word. It sounds like we're being aspirationally working towards something that means we've got lots and lots of money. And I don't feel that that's necessarily the

SPEAKER_00 10:20

case. Because there's something about wealth and being rich. You can be emotionally rich as well as financially rich. There are all sorts of different types of wealth, aren't there? It's not always related to finances. So in your work, what do you think are some of the most common blind spots that you've come across for some of the women that you work with?

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Well, I mean, there are lots of them. So, I mean, one of the big ones is not understanding things. So one in two marriages end in divorce. So not understanding that and not understanding the implications of how that will play out in terms of your finances. Being very ignorant about things that are actually really important is a big one. And following on from that, more and more people cohabit. They have less protection than someone who's married. Again, lots of women don't have any idea that that's the case. So they are more financially vulnerable, that there is no such thing as a common law wife, for example. So if you live in your partner's home and you split up, you're not going to be entitled to a share of that. I mean, there are exceptional circumstances, but all of this lack of awareness and knowledge leaves people vulnerable when things go wrong. Not having a will to and not understanding what happens if you die without a will, whether you've got children or you haven't got children. They're all things that most women and men, but obviously my passion is women, actually have a clue about. I did a talk in January in Hertfordshire and I asked for a show of hands. They were all female entrepreneurs, most of them with young children. How many people in the audience have got wills? And there was a very small number of people. And I said to them, okay, so how many of you that haven't got wills have got children? And there was a big show of hands. Well, if you die without a will and you haven't specified guardianship for your children, do you know what's going to happen? And they had no idea.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

I think it's also that I can't remember the first time I wrote my will. I think I was in my 40s. But there was a certain denial there. going on before I did that. Oh, why am I going to do this? It's not going to happen because I'm still, in my eyes, I was still young. But actually, yeah, there's something about how. So how do we break through some of these mindsets that actually, I'll just put that off for another day. Well,

SPEAKER_01 12:54

I love telling stories. And I think that talking to people about these issues is always quite challenging. So if you can tell stories that help people relate to them for themselves, then that's a good way of getting people engaged in the message, really, which is one of the features of the book is that there are lots of stories that women have bravely shared, some positive, lots of them not positive. around where not having been aware of their own situation has given them a problem. And so, you know, you saying, for example, Mary, well, I didn't want to write a will because I thought I'm only 40, you know, and I'm in good health. Well, I mean, you know. You just never know what's around the corner. Absolutely. You can have a car accident. You know, people don't just die of illnesses.

UNKNOWN 13:49

Right.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

accidents happen. So trying to help people understand that making a comment like that, which they in all good faith, they believe to be true, I don't think there's anything wrong with me, I'm not going to die at the moment, I'm only 40, is not necessarily a very good way to view things. And so, you know, one of the great one of the stories that I've used a lot is In the last few years, I mean, it's actually, it's the Kate Garraway story because, you know, her husband gets COVID, he's not old, you know, she doesn't have power of attorney, she can't access any of his finances, you know, she's in a real pickle. And, you know, she was in her 50s. when that happened so again people saying well powers of attorney are for when you get really old and you might have dementia absolutely not you know and if you can share a story like that that people can think oh yes I can see that

SPEAKER_00 14:48

yes and what I get as well is it's about being responsible but it's also thinking about what she must have been going through when her husband was dying and then on top of that she didn't have any access to anything to be able to sort anything out that almost added to the stress that she must have been going through at the time. I mean, 100%

SPEAKER_01 15:07

that would have made things a lot worse. And so kind of following on from that, you know, I'm passionate about life insurance, protection for illnesses, because I've seen so many people in my life who have become poorly and for whom worrying about money is... an added problem in a very difficult situation in any land. So some of the stories in the book are women who've shared their experience. And, you know, I do a lot of work here in Yorkshire with a charity called Maggie's, but they're all over the country and they build centres in near hospital oncology units. And they were telling me that, you know, for example, during the cost of living crisis, some of their patients who were self-employed and therefore, you know, anybody that runs their own business is more vulnerable, right? Someone that works for a big corporate. You know, they were saying they weren't sure they could keep all the chemotherapy going because they needed to get back to work. If you can sort of share a good experience or a bad experience for somebody with other people, it can really be a bit of a light bulb moment. Hold

SPEAKER_00 16:28

on. Yeah, I think because it isn't front of mind, is it, most of the time? So we've talked about power of attorney. We've talked about writing wills. What's one small financial habit that women could start today that's really easy and really doable that they could, you know, they're listening to this podcast, they could start it today?

SPEAKER_01 16:49

Well, I mean, the first thing for me that my big thing is writing. is your family going to be okay? Are you going to be okay if you're ill or you die? Because, you know, planning and putting money aside for the future is important. But if you're not able to work, you're not going to be able to do that. And it's very cheap to put life insurance in place because we've got so many more women now running their own businesses and so many women starting businesses but thinking, oh, well, I'll do that later because... I'm in the infancy of my business. You know, these things get overlooked and then, you know, things happen. So, you know, a good sort of look at what would happen and put some stuff in place that would really, really... make a difference. I've just been to the gym this morning and I've been told about a young woman in her 40s who's just had a stroke. And because she had some critical illness cover in place, there's quite a large amount of money that's going to really make a difference. So that's important, definitely. I think understanding your numbers, looking at what you're spending and getting into the habit of putting money aside. So

SPEAKER_00 18:13

keeping,

SPEAKER_01 18:14

living to your budget and living to your means. Definitely, definitely. You know, small amounts of money saved early are much better than trying to throw lots of money at it when we've got a shorter window for it to make a difference.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

So it's very small practical steps there that people can take, which I think is really, really useful. You mention in your book about money and relationships and you touch on how financially a relationship can become abusive. Can you just share a bit more about that, about what happens in relationships and how to spot the signs?

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Yeah, I mean, money is obviously can be used as a coercive control tool. So I think any woman that is not involved in her own financial planning and situation is making herself vulnerable to somebody taking advantage of her. And I've had situations where I've had friends and clients where the husband has had a gambling problem. He's remortgaged the house without them knowing about it. If you're very, you know, light touch with your own financial awareness of your situation, then you do make yourself more vulnerable. Outside of that, I have lots of experience of women, and some of them extremely successful, who allow someone else to make the decisions for them about what they're going to do and what they're going to save and even when they're going to retire. And really, You know, we all ought to be making those decisions for ourselves, not having somebody else make those decisions for us. And I think what was really interesting to me is obviously before lockdown, all of my meetings were face to face, sitting around a table with, say, a couple. And then obviously we switched on to Zoom. So what was interesting on the Zoom calls is obviously people sit side by side. So you don't get the same interaction and engagement. And most of those conversations during the lockdown period and beyond, because a lot of those calls have stayed as online calls, the husband or the partner, the male, let's say in the relationship, is doing all the talking and making the decisions and the The female is just sitting there not really saying very much. You know, and I found that quite disappointing, really. You know, we have a lot of relationships where it's not equal in terms of financial planning.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

So something about how do you get it onto an equal footing? If it's not equal, how would you suggest you shift it?

SPEAKER_01 21:03

Well, you have to have difficult conversations, but you also need to be more mindful of your own situation. Because if you're letting somebody else manage all of that for you, you are putting yourself in a vulnerable situation. So you need to know, you know, I mean, there's this whole debate about joint accounts, single accounts, you know, how people roll, what works best in relationships. You definitely need to know what's coming in and out of your household and have a say in how yours works. how the money is going to be spent.

SPEAKER_00 21:39

So work collaboratively together on your finances is what you'd recommend. I

SPEAKER_01 21:43

mean, definitely. And you would be shocked at how many women I meet who are, their marriage has failed or it's failing. And they say, I have no idea about anything. I don't know how much money we've got. I don't know how much money he earns. You know, I'm clueless. I don't know how much the mortgage is. So when they come to you, what's your advice to them then? They need to go away and find out.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:07

You know, I mean, if they are getting divorced, then I obviously work with some very, very good divorce lawyers that can help them with that. You know, what happens when relationships break down is it's, you know, I mean, and I've been divorced myself, so I can speak from personal experiences. You know, money becomes a very divisive issue. Everybody's out for themselves, really. And everybody's trying to protect as much as they can for themselves.

UNKNOWN 22:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:34

And there's a lot of ignorance around how divorces play out in terms of who gets what and how it works. So, you know, I'm always encouraging people to go and have an hour's worth of advice with somebody to just understand how it's going to work out and what information they're going to need. You know, I've had conversations over the years with men, you know, I'm not going to tell her about that, you know, whether they're... almost thinking that the more evasive they can be, the better that's going to be. And obviously, if you're in a marriage where you're having those proper grown-up conversations, not at the point necessarily of getting divorced, then you're going to be more aware of what your situation is. You're less likely to be sort of hoodwinked. Because there is still, I know it's a terrible thing to say, but I've sat in conversations where men have said to me, well, it's my money, I earned it. And she's been at home looking after the children.

SPEAKER_00 23:34

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 23:35

And they don't see that. They don't see that.

SPEAKER_00 23:37

As a

SPEAKER_01 23:37

contribution, my goodness. No, they don't. And so that also plays out. But money can bring out the worst in us, can't it?

SPEAKER_00 23:49

Well, I think it's very linked to our survival, isn't it? And it's how we get by in our society. And I think it's time of divorce. Everyone's in fear, aren't they? The future is so uncertain. So it's not surprising that people go into panic around their money situations. So let's move on, though, and think a bit more about mindset. What would you say? What does a prosperous mindset from your perspective look like? You know, it's not just all about having a spreadsheet, is it?

SPEAKER_01 24:21

No. I mean, a prosperous mindset, I mean, especially if you're in business, is about being very open to the possibilities and opportunities that you can find yourself in. So it's been quite expansive in terms of how you view your business and how you're going to do well in your business. You know, when I set my business up, I... kind of went all in really I'm an all-in girl I thought if I'm going to do it I'm going to do it well I'm going to put the money in to to make it work I'm going to commit to having a what I perceive to be a proper business so I'm going to employ somebody I'm going to get an office I'm going to do it like it was a proper job because a lot of people sometimes don't feel that they're doing proper jobs if they're running their own businesses. And the noise, certainly from my ex-husband, was why are you doing that? Why would you put yourself? Because I wanted to give it the best possible chance to be the best business that it could be. And I've never shied away. So I'm always of the opinion that in order to grow a business, you need to fund it properly. And that kind of mindset has worked well. for me and i've seen it work you know for other people um but you need to be brave and you need to be bold to do that and a lot of that does involve understanding you know the numbers of your business and what you want to get out of that business because you know that's Let's be realistic. Some people go into business and they're very happy just to poddle along and, you know, have a small business. It's not for everybody. I

SPEAKER_00 26:06

suppose it absolutely depends on what you individually want and what your own ambition is, really. And some people will choose to stay employed throughout their lives and love that. And other people want to be more independent. Some people want to build a huge multi-million business. Other people just want to have something that gives them a lifestyle choice. So there are different things that motivate

SPEAKER_01 26:27

different people. Well, yes, absolutely. But it's about understanding what your motivation is for you, your business, isn't it? And getting under the bonnet of it. I mean, I am quite shocked at how many women business owners I've met, certainly in the last 10 years, who aren't really running businesses that are really financially viable, you know, for various reasons. So I suppose you've got to decide what it is that you want to achieve from your business.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

Absolutely. And if you were to come across someone who is feeling overwhelmed about their finances, where would you advise them to start?

SPEAKER_01 27:06

Well, sitting down with a financial advisor is always a good thing to do, in my opinion. I know that lots of people now think that they can do it all themselves. they can invest their money themselves and quite clearly they obviously can but if you get a good set of advisors around you or at least one advisor around you they can really make a difference and really help you because they're working with other business owners as well they can bring you know advice to the table that you're not necessarily going to have at your fingertips just by yourself you know they become a really trusted person to have in your life and to work alongside you. So the starting point for me would always be do an audit of your finances. If you're running a business, you're wearing two hats anyway. You've got the personal hat, then you've got the business hat. And sometimes that's quite blurry. So it's important to kind of separate those out. And, you know, just do... Do things slowly, but in a way that, you know, is the most efficient. You're not going to be able to do everything all at once. But, you know, identify the small things. Try not to be overwhelmed by everything. Sometimes people will say to me, well, often actually, oh, I'm so overwhelmed. I just, I'm paralyzed by an inability to do anything. And I completely get that. But you can make progress. small things happen and start the journey.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

Just start is what I'm hearing and small steps. And is it ever too late, Diane?

SPEAKER_01 28:49

I mean, it's never too late to do something. Obviously, the earlier you do something, the better, because for every five years that you delay making a decision to save, you have to double the amount just to stay the same. So what does that, I'm trying

SPEAKER_00 29:07

to work out what that looks like. So let's say,

SPEAKER_01 29:10

I don't know, let's say you wanted a pension fund of half a million pounds when you retired and in order to do it and you're 30 and you've it with your financial advisor. He says, we need to put£100 a month into your pension. I don't know what the number would be, but let's say. If you don't take advice at that point and then you're 35, you're going to have to put£200.

SPEAKER_00 29:30

Oh, wow. Gosh, that is quite a dramatic difference, isn't it? Which means by the time you're 40, it's£400 a month. So smaller

SPEAKER_01 29:39

amounts earlier are better and more manageable. Yeah. And then it's about, you know, obviously people will say to me, well, I'm not going to worry about the future because, you know, it's way in the distance. But it's amazing. And you will concur with this, how quickly you get old, right? Oh, completely. Completely concur with that. And I always, one of my favourite lines is, you know, I've never met anybody that I've worked with who's ever said to me, I am so disappointed that I've got this pension fund. Because quite clearly, you know, we're all living longer. And, you know, you need money to live on in retirement or in semi-retirement. So

SPEAKER_00 30:20

always put something away, even if it's just a small amount, just put something away.

SPEAKER_01 30:24

Yeah, just try and work smarter with your money. I mean, a really good example of this is I've worked in offices with people my whole career. How many people waste money on coffee, lunches? You know, I've always taken a salad to work.

UNKNOWN 30:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:43

And people are going out and they're spending seven pounds a day. Guilty. I love a Pret. You add that up, Mary, and it's a lot of money over a year. You know, when stakeholder pensions were launched in the early 2000s, I think, they ran a series of articles where they said, you know, give up your coffee every day. And if you did that, you'd have a pension worth 300,000. It was a huge. Well, that is really, really grounding,

SPEAKER_00 31:10

actually, to hear that. Because it is about the choices we make, isn't it? On a day-by-day, moment-by-moment basis. So I'll certainly be thinking about that next time in London. And I'm drawn towards PrEP. I will certainly be thinking

SPEAKER_01 31:24

about that. I love a PrEP. But, you know, I would not eat, I would not buy a lunch every day. I mean, listen, I can spend money on other things, but it is all about realising that small things can make a difference.

SPEAKER_00 31:39

That's what I think I'm getting through this whole conversation, is don't worry about taking big actions. It's small, regular. It's developing new habits, actually, isn't it? Making it habitual. And actually, I remember reading some book years ago. The whole thing was pay yourself first. So we get... however we earn our income, we get money coming into our bank and we start spending on all sorts of things. But pay yourself first. And that is putting it into your savings, basically, and into your pension. And you'd be amazed by if you just, even if it's a small bit, it'll add up. It's as it accumulates. It accumulates very quickly. And compound interest. Compound interest is

SPEAKER_01 32:23

so key.

UNKNOWN 32:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:25

So that's important. But the big thing is, you know, if you are running your own business and there is a chance for all of us, one in two people now get cancer, that you may get ill, you have to make sure that your family is going to be OK. Because you wouldn't dream of driving a car around without insurance. The biggest thing that can happen to destroy a family's financial well-being is illness. And because we're all living with chronic... We can live longer than... Fewer people die early now. More people do get serious illnesses. I've so many friends and clients who have been ill with various... I mean, I had a lovely client lawyer who was diagnosed with Parkinson's when he was 39. And he's never worked. So... Things

SPEAKER_00 33:23

do happen. Things come from nowhere, from where we least expect as well. So it is like preparing for the worst all the time, isn't it? And making sure that not just ourselves, but our loved ones are going to be okay. Diane, I'm mindful that you're in your own transition at the moment. So tell us a bit about that.

SPEAKER_01 33:44

So I actually sold my company in 2018 and I carried on working within the business that bought the company. And so I've been carrying on advising and seeing clients. But when I sold the company, I had a mind that I wanted to do something else. I wanted to give back really. And obviously my passion has been women and finance. So I set up She Can Prosper just before lockdown actually. And we've been doing a lot of events. We've written the book. I do quite a lot of podcasting, talks, things like that. But last year, I think, going back to what you said at the very beginning, I mean, I'm a grandmother, Both my parents have had dementia, so there's been quite a lot going on over the last few years. I'm divorced, so living on my own. I've just decided last year that I wanted to change, and I wanted to stop doing what I call the job that I've been doing for 31 years, which is being a financial advisor. So I stepped down from advising at the end of April this year, 2020, 25. And now I'm looking at, and I've also been doing a coaching qualification. So I'm, because I think limiting beliefs around money is so powerful. And it changed those beliefs, you know, that often stem, well, always stem from childhood. I'm not worthy. I'm not good enough. I shouldn't have this, all that stuff. You know, I'll never do well for myself, all that negativity. So I've done that. And I'm currently looking into, um, converting She Can Prosper from a limited company into a community interest organization so that I can qualify for funding and take the work that I've done into the community where women who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford to pay for training, coaching, whatever, to give something back really. because it is something that is so important

SPEAKER_00 36:02

to me. That is fantastic. What a thing to be doing. That is great. And how far along are you in that process?

SPEAKER_01 36:09

So I've just– well, the coaching qualification's done. I'm just in the process of setting it up. That's the easy bit. Then obviously the next step is to look for funding. I'm quite confident about that because I think– You know, there's a great message out there. And I'll be reaching out to organizations who would work with the kinds of people that would benefit from it. And I think that there is more of a mind now around the sort of stuff that I'm doing than there was before, definitely. You know, somebody said to me when I wrote the book, why the hell have you written a book about helping women become more financially empowered? And I said... to the man who said that, because people like you were asking that question. And that sort of dismissiveness, which I have had from a lot of my male cohorts, is exactly the reason why I'm so interested in it.

SPEAKER_00 37:13

And as you're just hearing you talk, it won't just benefit the individuals who come for the coaching, those women who can't afford it, who come for the coaching. It'll benefit the whole of the community for women to be more financially savvy and more financially empowered.

SPEAKER_01 37:29

Definitely. And their children as well. Yeah. You know, if you had my daughter on this podcast, she would say that she has benefited from having, you know, a very strong maternal grandparent. mother in her life who again gave her all those messages about being confident and you know being in control of your money and all that sort of thing and then obviously myself and I think there's something that you know that appeals to me if we can engage more women to be creating the next generation of confident women.

SPEAKER_00 38:03

Completely, yes. Because so much of it has to do with our upbringing. So much. And I mean, you know, your story at the beginning about your own mother and how she was and the influence she's had on you and how you are an empowered woman financially as a result of what she started, the seeds that she sowed.

SPEAKER_01 38:21

And that was all because she lived in fear. I mean, my mother was the eldest of nine children. Right. You know, lived in Liverpool, you know, born in just 1932. You know, lived in abject poverty, really. You know, nine children. My grandfather was a merchant seaman. You know, there was no money. And, you know, no new clothes, shared a bed with a sister. You know, it was pretty awful. And she was determined from when she met my father that they were not going to have that life and her children were definitely not going to have that life. And I didn't really appreciate it until much later. In fact, much of what... She did. I only appreciated when I started doing my talks and I was working with Stacia, we were putting together stories that we could share that people would be interested in around understanding more about why they needed to be more financially empowered. I thought, you know, actually, my mum really did make such a difference, but I hadn't always appreciated

SPEAKER_00 39:34

it. Very powerful. It just shows you as a parent, you're such a role model for so many different things. And our finances is one of those foundations to us being able to not just survive, but thrive in this world, aren't they?

SPEAKER_01 39:47

Yeah, I mean, I see examples in people I know where you can see that intergenerational trait of whatever that is to do with money, maybe not owning a home, therefore you... don't own a home you know where you you're setting the you're the role model for what happens down the line um so it's very very important that we as parents understand that um And I think my daughter alludes to that a little bit when she does the forward in the book, because she feels that she does quite a lot of that with her friends.

SPEAKER_00 40:24

Well, it's wonderful she does the forward in the book and she's passing the message on to her friends as well. So finally, what does prosperity make possible for women, do you think, beyond the numbers? I think it gives them choice.

SPEAKER_01 40:39

Choice is to do many different things. Which without it, you don't have. And with choice comes power, of course, doesn't it? Totally. Yes. The power to say yes to things, the power to say no, but the confidence that prosperity brings to you in terms of you being able to make good choices for yourself.

SPEAKER_00 41:00

Really, really powerful message that you've brought today, Diane. Thank you so much. How can people connect with you?

SPEAKER_01 41:06

So people can connect with me through www.shecanprosper.com. That's the best place to connect with me. Or they can find me on LinkedIn or Instagram, Facebook. I'm on all of those platforms. They can go and buy a copy of the book. Of course. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 41:23

That's on Amazon.

SPEAKER_01 41:25

Amazon. It's in various bookshops. They can reach out to me anyhow. And yeah. You know, I'm happy. I'm doing quite a lot of talking at the minute. So if people want me to come and do a talk, anything

SPEAKER_00 41:40

like that. Yeah, very happy. Diane, thank you so much for joining me today and for sharing not just your expertise, but also your mission. I think you've left us with a really powerful reminder that your message is about financial empowerment. It isn't just about the numbers. It's also about taking control, creating choice for yourself, building your confidence and ultimately developing freedom. And to the listener, to you, the listener, whether you're starting to just think about your financial future or you've been putting it off for years this is your invitation to begin it's never too late thank you once again diane thank you mary it's been a pleasure thank you so much for listening to the she leads collective podcast if this episode resonated with you follow the show or share it with a friend and leave a quick review below or leave us a comment change happens through conversation so let's keep this one going listen out for the next episode and join me as we keep lifting the lid on the stories that matter take care and keep leading with heart