We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rhonda Noordyk a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rhonda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Eight years ago, I discovered there was a huge gap in financial support for women. It was clear that women going through divorce needed someone on their team. Someone to help guide them through their financials and beyond. Someone to empower them with the education and clarity to make the right decisions. Someone to help them get through to the other side with the lifestyle they deserve, and so much more.

That someone was me.

I became an advocate—just for them.

WHEN I BECAME a CDFA® (Certified Divorce Financial Analyst), I wanted to do more than simply run the reports and provide the data. Along with the numbers, I knew it was important to deliver an explanation of what it all means. The reports and data don’t help you if you don’t understand them. And if you don’t understand them, how can you use them to make decisions? I knew that women make great decisions when they are provided with all the information.
I wasn’t all about the data. I was all about making sure women had the data AND everything else they needed to go with it to make their decisions.

Seventeen thousand hours and 565 clients later, we have a tribe of women full of success stories who had the support they needed, made the right decisions, and are living the life they deserve.

THE ADVOCATE. Today, I love being the advocate to teach women what they need to know to not only come out on the other side with the financial outcome they deserve but also to empower them to continue to have the clarity and knowledge to make the best decisions to keep getting everything they deserve.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Rhonda Noordyk, CDFA® is a well-respected divorce financial strategist. She is known internationally for her work in pioneering a path for women to navigate through the financial aspects of the divorce process. As a strategist, Rhonda helps her clients determine their next best financial move.
Rhonda is the host of Divorce Conversations for Women podcast. To her show, she brings a unique blend of casual conversation, strategic insight, and positive energy. She uses her interview experience to help women ask the right questions, so they get the right answers.

The divorce process is like a chess game. To be successful, you must first know the rules of the game. Then you must take care of your mental and emotional health. And finally, you must not underestimate the financial threats or risks from your opponent. Rhonda has developed a signature system to help her clients show up prepared, assess financial risks and take their next best move. In fact, Rhonda typically helps her clients 10x their results. What does that mean? Well, for her clients it often means… being able to provide a great home for her family, continuing to send the kids to private school, investing in causes that are important to her, buying a rental property for income, starting a business, and living her best life.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience. For me, this is a daily choice.

In the words of Brene Brown, What Makes Up Resilience? If you look at the current research, here are five of the most common factors of resilient people: They are resourceful and have good problem-solving skills. They are more likely to seek help. They hold the belief that they can do something that will help them to manage their feelings and to cope. They have social support available to them. They are connected with others, such as family or friends.

The biggest contributor to my work-in-progress resilience is having a small, but mighty inner circle. I am part of a monthly mastermind. I am willing to be vulnerable – share the successes and the struggles. I am willing to cry. I am willing to laugh.

Who also want to be on the resilience journey with me? We are not alone!

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

Wow! There are a lot of lessons that I have had to unlearn. I think the biggest one was my communication style.

I am a recovering passive communicator who knows what it feels like to avoid conflict (at all costs). Growing up in a dysfunctional family situation, I learned at an early age to be passive. Don’t talk about difficult things. Don’t rock the boat. Don’t ask questions.

Then in college, I took an assertive communucation course. I liked the concept and wanted to be a confident communicator, but just the thought of communicating assertively was a huge trigger for me.

But, like many things in life, this lesson wasn’t going anywhere until I learned it. So, I had MANY opportunities to make a choice… do I force myself to face my greatest fear or do I continue to avoid difficult conversations. I knew something had to change because what I was doing was not working. It was impacting my self esteem, my confidence and my relationships.

Ten years ago I decided this needed to change! I actively started taking steps necessary to change this deeply ingrained programming. It has taken years of courses, training, and practice to reprogram my fight or flight response to conflict.

Today, I am grateful to be able to use my assertive communication training, experience and success to empower clients so they too can experience results (in less time than it took me!). I have also used these skills to purchase a commercial property, to gain the respect of my male colleagues and to be an example for my three teenager daughters.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wfwcdivorce.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rhondanoordyk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhondanoordyk
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhondanoordyk/
• Twitter: @RNoordyk
• Other: My podcast called Divorce Conversations for Women. https://open.spotify.com/show/1eCiVO5wIhILAX4UqC3Xmr

Image Credits
Katie Soyka, Soyka Photography