We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hope Sullivan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hope below.

Hope, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Starting from the beginning…
In high school I knew by tenth grade I wanted to be a teacher. I loved learning, had a desire to help people in some capacity, and was really good at math. I put all three of those things together and decided I wanted to be a math teacher. Throughout the seven and a half years I was an educator, I had so many amazing moments that I was able to experience. Being a mentor for my students and witnessing their growth over the years was truly rewarding and words can never express the happiness that gave me. My love for educating will always be a fire inside me. However, the burn out was real. I knew I needed to transition my love of educating and mentoring into something else, even though it destroyed me to leave behind the students I loved. I eventually decided to morph my love of teaching math into educating as many people as I can about finances. I had no idea what this would look like. I was scared and nervous beyond all belief when I realized that to start this new journey it meant giving up a guaranteed salary and transitioning to something that was not guaranteed. Talk about anxiety!! During my transition, I worked both as a teacher and a financial professional. I wanted to make sure I could sustain a new career like that. After three months, I decided it was time to hang up my teaching hat and chase after my new passion of becoming a financial planner. There were many ups and downs, moments of “did I make a mistake”, and joyous moments of “holy crap, I did this!” For the two years I have been on this new journey, I have created a client base filled with amazing people, established my own business, Hope Financial, and was voted as “One of the best financial planners” by Mount Pleasant Magazine. When I think about leaving teaching and where I am now, I never dreamed I would be where I am. This industry is definitely not for the faint of heart. To be able to look back and know that I took this risk and made it work… I am so thankful and so happy I didn’t let the fear and anxiety hold me back!

Hope, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

A little about me.. 

I was born in Ocala, Florida where I lived for 11 years. I moved to a small town in New York called Au Sable Forks at the age of 11 and stayed there throughout middle and high school. I attended college at SUNY Plattsburgh where I received my master’s in secondary education of mathematics and as soon as I graduated, I made my way back down south to Charleston, SC where I taught high school and middle school mathematics for seven and a half years. After feeling the burnout from teaching, I decided to transition my love of teaching students about math to teaching anyone and everyone about their financial journey. 

I offer needs-based services, money management services, and financial planning services. For needs based think… a person comes to me with a financial need like protecting their family from and unexpected death or disability, I provide a product to cover that need. When working in money management services, I provide asset allocation and rebalancing, innovative risk management, portfolio enhancements, and work on tax planning strategies with my clients. And finally, when working in a financial planner capacity I provide comprehensive, in-depth analysis of some or all of the following areas: net worth and cash flow, investment planning & asset allocation, risk management, income tax planning strategies, retirement planning, and estate planning strategies. 

A lot of the times when it comes to financial planning many people say, I don’t even know where to start. Our education system has not done a great job at preparing people to take control of their financial situation with confidence. We learn very little about finances growing up and then as adults are just expected to know what to do! I help my clients with this disconnect. It’s okay to not know. It’s okay to seek help and guidance! My background in education has given me the tools I need to make sure I’m not just telling clients what to do, I am educating them along the way. Providing this foundational information to someone helps them to feel confident and empowered in their decisions. 

My goal and mission is to instill hope for the future for as many people as I can. Finances can be intimidating and daunting. I want people to know and understand that it doesn’t have to be! I love helping others and educating them in the process so they can feel at ease with everything going on. 

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

When you think about a restaurant you love, what’s your first instinct? To share that with everyone you know so they can experience it too! 

The same goes for business. A huge part of my practice comes from referrals. I love meeting with people, building relationships, and creating an experience that they are excited to share with others. When you’re building a brand for your business you want it to be something that people are excited to be a part of. Building your business around creating and fostering relationships will go a very long way. I am so thankful for the relationships I have built with my clients and the support that is given on both sides. 

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Transitioning from teaching into my financial planning journey was the biggest pivot I’ve had to make in my careers. I went from being a teacher who didn’t need to build a brand, network, or find clientele. It required a total shift in my thinking and planning as it relates to my career. I had no idea how to network, how to approach people, or how to get my name out there for others to see. But like with anything else, I decided to dive right in. My first approach was to ask others! Why recreate the wheel? I was very lucky and fortunate to have friends who were already networking and had already built a brand for themselves. After speaking with LOTS of people I tried a little bit of everything, BNI, Chamber events, creating my own networking events, attending vendor events, connecting with people on social media. You name it, I’ve probably done it. With all that exposure I took what I needed and left the rest. Different things will work for different people. My ability to just dive in and go for it was a huge thing for me and required a very substantial shift in how I went about my day-to-day living.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hopefinancialllc.com (coming by the end of November 2022)
• Instagram: Not allowed to have a business one because of compliance reasons, but my personal is @h_lauren23
• Facebook: @hopefinancialllc https://www.facebook.com/HopeFinancialLLC/
• Linkedin: @hopefinancialllc https://www.linkedin.com/in/hopefinancialllc/

Image Credits
Stephanie Selby (Headshot Photo)