Listen to their conversation here!
Check out Elena’s website to learn more about how she can support you in seeing and using the power that resides within you.
Who else feels a little anxiety when they talk about finances? Depending on your background, the topic of money can unearth feelings of stress, shame, or confusion. These emotions can be exacerbated according to the state of your accounts. However, you don’t have to be bound by your past—or your present—financial situation. By taking action now, you can step forward onto a path that builds wealth for you and your family.
Gretchen Meyer is an amazing woman who decided to do just that. She is an entrepreneur, financial advisor extraordinaire, and mentor to hundreds upon hundreds of women. Her story is one of vulnerability, courage, strength, and inspiration. Through her journey, you’ll be encouraged that a financially tenuous past does not equal a financially unstable future, financial independence is attainable on your own, and your setbacks can be what propel you to the life you always dreamt of.
Creating Your Own ‘Happily Ever After:’ How Gretchen Meyers Empowers Women to Seize Financial Independence
Gretchen Meyer did not begin her career in financial advising. In fact, her relationship with finances had a rocky start.
When she was 9 years old, her parents quit their jobs to start their own business. Certainly, this bold move instilled within Gretchen the courage to become an entrepreneur later in life. However, when her parents’ business later went bankrupt while she was in high school, it created a sense of vulnerability and embarrassment around finances. “It didn't feel like I was secure,” she says.
Gretchen worked hard through high school and was able to attend college on a full scholarship. There, she met a handsome law student, who came from an affluent family. “I thought he could give me the quality of life that I didn't have growing up, and so he swept me off my feet.”
However, she, like so many women, realized years later that that is not the way to achieve financial independence. After eight years of marriage, her husband divorced her, leaving her with tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt at the age of 26.
During this time, she was a TV producer and also began working in money management as she organized non-apparel consumer products for the NFL. At that point, the NFL was working to target its female audience.
“Finances and football have historically been a man's genre until more recently… At the NFL, I learned that women wanted their own stuff. They wanted diaper bags and hair ties and wine glasses—things that were not necessarily men's products or goods,” she explains. “By developing a product line that was specifically for women—that wasn't dumbed down for women, but specifically for women—the NFL essentially doubled their consumer products business.”
Alongside this, Gretchen worked to attain two advanced degrees. Upon finishing business school, she received a call from a recruiter, who asked her to consider becoming a financial consultant. Armed with the experiences she had personally and through her work in the NFL, she decided to take the leap and use her skills to help other women thrive financially.
Now, Gretchen leads a financial consulting team as they work with over 800 clients across the United States.
The Disruption: As Gretchen helps her clients seize financial independence, she encourages them to start with their “why.” “It starts with intention. It starts with your ‘why.’ And I often find that what people want and what they're doing is not in alignment,” she explains.
For Gretchen, her focus is changing the prevailing thought that investing is a man’s domain. Interestingly, the majority of her clients are couples, and the women are the ones who are initiating the conversation. This is particularly important, because women’s financial needs are different than men’s. “We don't have the same resources. We just aren't afforded the same resources,” she says. “To me, it takes one person at a time coming to that realization and saying, ‘All right, sleeves up, let's just roll with it’… If we create this movement all over the world, we will change how women handle their money and learn about investing.”
Weekly Coaching Tip
What are you doing to create generational wealth?
Many people do not even consider this, because 1.) they do not know what they are doing, and 2.) they believe that they will never get where they want to be.
When it comes to finances, conversations can be stressful, confusing, or depressing. If you come from a background where you were not taught about financial planning and money management, seeking advice can bring feelings of shame. But, it doesn’t have to be that way.
There are action steps you can take to stabilize your finances and build generational wealth.
- Find someone who is in your corner and wants you to succeed financially.
- Take the time to read and understand your present budget and accounts, as well as what’s possible for your future.
- Think about the vision that you want to create for your family. What do you want to leave behind and why? How does your vision tie into what you’re creating in the world? Are they aligned, or are you simply working a job to stay safe and create more of the same?
- Look at the limiting belief that might be holding you back. Is there some story that your family taught you or that you saw growing up that you're still buying into?
Your financial journey can change when you start taking action.
How are you going to take action today?
Let’s Get Social!
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Learn more about the amazing Gretchen Meyer on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Take a look at Gretchen's financial services here!
This podcast was produced by the following amazing team:
John Biethan, President of Imagine Podcasting
Sam De Santo, Creative Director
Rye Taylor, Podcast Design Strategist & Producer
Meg McCarley, Brand Designer & Social Media Manager
Raejan Noh, Content Writer
Aaron Boykin, Musician & Artist (Get updates about Aaron’s music via Instagram)
