We recently connected with Laura Cook and have shared our conversation below.

Laura, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

A few years ago, I felt that I had hit a dry spell in my financial planning career. Like many, I turned to podcasts during my 1 hour commute, hopeful to hear something that would reignite the spark that I had always had. It was here, that I heard the word, “Flourish” mentioned. Having a desire to help women exclusively with their finances, and more importantly with their relationship to money, I heard this word with renewed enthusiasm. Being a woman of faith, I really felt a connection to the word and felt like God put it on my heart. But I didn’t know exactly what to do with it, so I just kept it close to my heart and meditated on the many ways it related to the life of women. Occasionally, I would think of different ways to use it professionally or creatively. I created a folder on my computer called Flourish- and it was here where I would store ideas for helping women find peace financially, spiritually, and socially.

Despite my “Flourish” file, I still felt unsettled in my current professional situation. It wasn’t all the time, but it continued to bubble back up to the surface, as different situations would occur. When I felt unsettled, I would try to sit up straighter and work harder assuming I needed to refocus.

Since my early twenties, I have been drawn to helping women feel comfortable around their money. This calling grew even stronger and more personal when I saw my own mom handling her finances after my father died. My career as a financial advisor has allowed me to connect with other women and educate them in a way that is understandable and approachable.
Over the years, my conversations with women would start out about money but they would often lead to more personal topics as there was almost always something else top of mind. Money touches every area of our life in one way or another. For me to feel that I was a good planner, everyday life had to be part of the financial planning conversation. The more conversations we had, the more unsettled I felt in my own heart. I had a good life, don’t get me wrong. Hence the reason, I would just try to work harder, or be more productive anytime I felt unsettled.

As a woman of Christian faith, it has been easy for me to look at the good things in my life, and assume that because everything is good, it must be God’s best plan for me. But in the midst of feeling unsettled, I started to question my own logic. I began to wonder if I was using “Everything’s good” as an excuse, one that could be holding me back from a plan that was even greater. As I meditated on this question, I truly felt that I had become complacent and comfortable in the good life. I began to sense that the unsettled feeling I had been experiencing was God calling me to something. I ignored it for a long time, asking “why would God call me out of a good situation?”

“I am doing good work. I am trying to honor Him. Is it really possible that He would call me to something even greater?” This is the conversation I would have with myself.

As family needs changed, so did my heart for the good things in my life. Through a lot of prayer and providential conversations, God gave me a clear vision into the unique values He had given me. Once this became clear, He provided an opportunity for me to reorganize my life accordingly. For so many years I have tried to help women flourish and find the freedom to live their life in peace. But I had neglected to find that for myself.

In 2023, I left the corporate world and founded Flourish Financial Life Planning, a financial planning firm helping women of faith align their money with their values to create a life of peace, passion and purpose. Although I had dreamed of having a business that could be exclusively designed for women, it is very out of character for me to leave an employer behind. I am loyal to a fault when it comes to employment. But sometimes the fear of making a change is overshadowed by the fear of nothing changing. And that is what happened to me. I knew that God had more for me, and He needed me to step into it so it could be shared with others.

This last year, the first year of owning my own business, has been a very hard year personally. I have often chuckled at God’s sense of humor. “Flourish” I would say, shaking my head. Despite our dog dying unexpectedly, my mom diagnosed with a brain infection and a tree falling on my car, I have flourished. I have learned that flourishing doesn’t mean that everything is fine and dandy. Flourish is an approach to life, a response to the life God is calling me to, regardless of what circumstances come my way. To flourish, one has to choose it.

Flourish Financial Life Planning exists to help women make this choice. When women understand that their worth is not tied to their money, they are free to become the women they were created to be. Women who can live a flourishing life peacefully, passionately and purposefully.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

26 years ago, I graduated from college with an art degree and I hit the ground running. I quickly landed a job in my field and was excited to learn and do more. However, long hours with little pay and little support had me wondering if this was the dream job I had hoped for. Shortly after, I was laid off during a company downsizing. I was already feeling that I wanted my to have more of an impact in the world. I took a job as a teller at our local credit union, just to pay bills while I looked for another design job. But, I quickly fell in love with greeting people every morning, learning about their family, and solving small financial problems for them. After six months as a teller, I had forgotten that I was supposed to be looking for a design job because I was so content with the work that I had found. There was so much to learn and so much to teach.

When my dad died two years later, my eyes were opened to the particular needs of women who lose a spouse and find themselves in the financial driver’s seat. I started working with widows to help them figure out their bills and make important financial decisions in the wake of their loss. Helping them was an outlet for my own grief but working with these women felt like a ministry. It allowed me to show love and kindness to women in need. For the next 20 years, I dedicated myself to helping women with their financial matters: from obtaining loans and mortgages to estate planning, purchasing insurance, and investing.

The more we would work together, the more these women would open up about their money fears or mistakes they had made in the past. By this point in my life, I had made my own mistakes—not necessarily around money, but in areas that left me feeling similarly vulnerable and insecure. I could relate to their feelings and was able to listen with an empathetic ear and offer them grace and kindness.

I have been blessed to have experienced many different scenarios with clients that are often out of the ordinary. Because I am a creative at heart, I like to find new ways to explain complicated concepts. Because I love puzzles and challenges, I have taken on projects for clients when it seemed like all avenues of resolution had been previously exhausted.

Although Flourish Financial Life Planning is a financial planning firm, it is about so much more than traditional financial planning. It is really about planning for life, now and in the future. I get to know each and every client personally in order to understand what matters most to them. Then we implement their values into the financial plan, allowing them to pursue their passions and live peacefully. My goal with every client is that by working together they see that they are worth so much more than their net worth. I want every woman to leave our meetings feeling more confident and truly enjoy living out her financial life plan.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

There has been an emphasis on monetizing in the financial planning industry. I have been told that I give away too much. Service and generosity are two of my core values, so I have often felt out of integrity with myself when I felt led to monetize at every opportunity. I firmly believe that if I work from a place of service that I will always be taken care of. Owning my own business lets me lead with generosity and make a living at the same time.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

“The Art of Money” by Bari Tessler – This book introduced me to the idea of intentionally incorporating your values into your financial planning. It gave me an idea of how to incorporate more grace-filled conversations into my planning conversations and help women (and men) understand their relationship with money is often formed at an early age and heavily influenced by others. She helped me see how to lead people to forgive themselves for past money mistakes and move forward.

“Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz. Lots of good tips for business owners on how to run the “money” side of your business. As a new entrepreneur it is easy to get carried away with “all the shiny things” you need to run your business and expenses can add up quickly. This book really drove home the point to keep expenses low and focus on profit first.

“The Selling Staircase” and other resources from Your Sales Maven, founded by Nikki Rausch. She is the first woman I heard speak about how to make sales and grow your business in an authentic way. Being a part of her community has heavily influenced how I approach new sales opportunities and present myself to potential clients. She promotes service first.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://flourish-planning.com/
• Instagram: @your_path_to_flourish
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Flourish.planning/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurakcook/

Image Credits
Bonfire Visuals