We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Weaver recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jessica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Please tell us about starting your own firm and if you’d do anything different knowing what you know now.
After being a part of my father’s firm for over a decade, I decided to break away to create something special and unique in the financial industry, a female financial firm: the Women’s Wealth Boutique. When I began in the industry, I joined my father’s firm which was all male advisors. Seeking a female mentor, I reached out to many successful female advisors, who all said they did not have the time for me. I desperately wanted to be a part of a community full of collaboration, education, and inspiration for female advisors, clients, and investors. Since I could not find one, I decided to create it myself! A place that would give women freedom to be who they want to be, invest where their heart is, and to have their own voice and platform in the industry. With very little guidance on how to do this, I began researching, interviewing other female advisors, and moved forward with creating our own RIA, Registered Investment Advisory Firm from scratch. within 1 year, we have onboarded 7 female advisors across the United States with a waiting list of more advisors to join us. I walked away from everything I’ve ever known in the industry, from a paycheck, from one day taking over a multi million dollar business, and from family in order to build something that was much needed in the space!
Jessica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I have been a financial advisor for over a decade, but I also grew up in the industry! My father has been an advisor for over 40 years, I even remember stuffing envelopes for him on our family room floor growing up. When I joined my father’s firm in 2010, I did what most people do, I worked hard, did what was expected of me, and I did what I was told to do. In the end, I felt like I just blended in with everyone else and I had lost my fire, my passion for the work. At the same time, I noticed how the financial industry instills a lot of fear on our clients and investors. It also doesn’t fix the root issue of people’s money problems. More investments won’t fix why you are in debt, more income won’t fix the fears you have around money, investments, risks. I took a stance to find a better way, a deeper way to help my clients overcome money trauma, debilitating money stories, and paralyzing money mindsets. I’ve created a community full of education, collaboration, and support for women at all stages of wealth. Women become engaged with us through my books, the most recent one Confessions of a Money Queen, our events, our podcast: Women Behind the Millions, or through one of our incredible financial advisors at the Women’s Wealth Boutique. At WWB, we support women through building out wholistic and thorough financial plans, managing their assets, protecting against their risks, and now with our new estate planning division.
Any advice for managing a team?
At the Women’s Wealth Boutique, we are a virtual platform so building out our community has been our first priority from day one! We accomplish this through our brand and marketing efforts. We connect daily through our group chat, we meet for training and accountability check ins every month with a reward system, and we do semi annual events in person and virtual to deepen our connections. The ladies love to collaborate, and we seem to attract women who want to collaborate not compete with one another. We begin all events with a centering exercise such as a meditation, breathwork, or releasing/healing journal work. The women know right away the brand’s mission, keeping our endeavors transparent with them, and giving them a voice to support the growth of the firm. We take into account their views, their experience as we build out our firm.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Many of the female advisors who join our Women’s Wealth Boutique have taken a risk on themselves. They left a cushy job, a partner, or the only support system they’ve ever known. But they have also walked away from being underpaid, unheard, and undervalued. I am one of them, and we are pioneering a new path forward for women in the industry to stop settling, and start claiming! Claiming what is fair and right for them, claiming their own way to success, and even redefining what success is. I walked away from a multigenerational business to start the Women’s Wealth Boutique, I’ve invested my own money into it, and even giving new advisors a way to build their business with our financial support, coaching, and leads.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jessicaweaver.com and womenswealthboutique.com
- Instagram: @pinkfixmymoney and @womenswealthboutique
- Facebook: @pinkfixmymoney
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-weaver-cfp%C2%AE-cdfa%C2%AE-cfs%C2%AE-76538733/
- Youtube: @pinkfixmymoney