Celebrating Women in Financial Services

Joanna Ehresman [00:00:00]:

 

What aligns people listening and people engaged in our community is just creating this space where we want to achieve more balance in our industry of, you know, women having a platform, having a voice, not to take away from our male allies and counterparts. Right? This is not a zero sum game.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:00:28]:

 

Hi there. Thanks for joining us. I'm Leah Alter. And I'm Joanna Ehresman. And this is WomenShare, a celebration of women in financial

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:00:46]:

 

the why behind it and why we're making this small, but we feel significant change from WomenShare, a marketing guide for women in financial services to a celebration of women in financial services.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:00:59]:

 

But first, Joanna and I are so excited to announce a new partnership with Axtella as our presenting sponsor of WomenShare. Axtella is dedicated to helping financial professionals take their practices to new heights. So if you're ready for a firm that goes the extra mile

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:01:18]:

 

for its advisers, check out Axtella today at go.axtella.com/womenshare. That's go.axtella.com/womenshare.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:01:32]:

 

We are celebrating 20 episodes.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:01:36]:

 

Woot. Woot.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:01:38]:

 

Yes. And excited to talk about the future of WomenShare and that all the different topics that we have on deck, conversations that we're just really, really excited to have. We are making the update from our, subtitle, a marketing guide for women in financial services to a celebration of women in financial services. Given our careers in marketing, it was the first area of, like, a common ground between Joanna and myself. But where we really clicked in meeting one another, even from our first conversation a couple of years ago, was really around our passion for supporting women in this industry.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:02:24]:

 

Yeah. And I think, you know, when we're launching the show, we knew we had that shared passion, but I think I don't know if it was, you know, just wanting to stay where we're comfortable, but we're like, I at least from my perspective, I'm like, okay. If we're marketers, there has to be the marketing angle. And we have actually had a lot of great conversations and insights on the marketing front, and this shift in the subtitle does not mean we aren't going to have those conversations. Right. Right. But I think, really, the being following our own best practices, right, of paying attention to what our audience was reacting to and where we're seeing the most traction. It was around these conversations of these amazing women in the industry or even sharing our own personal stories of our careers.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:03:09]:

 

And that's where we're seeing the most engagement, and that's really what led us to consider this. Right, and to think about it. And this wasn't a decision we came to lightly, but we're we're really excited to to take our show, I'd say, to open the aperture of the show a little bit and take it in that direction.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:03:27]:

 

Yeah. Absolutely. And we were actually meeting with our producers, Sara Lohse and Larry Roberts of The Branded Podcast, which if you guys aren't listening to them, you should be listening to them too. They're pretty smart.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:03:41]:

 

Yeah. So good.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:03:42]:

 

And Joanna just kinda threw a little a little bomb. She was like, I've been thinking. And, immediately, just, like, things started to tingle. And Sara suggested the updated tagline, or subheading. And when she said a celebration of women in financial services, I had goosebumps. And, like, you know, I'm not, like, super emotional about things like that, but, I mean, it brought me to tears. So for me, it was just such an instant absolutely yes. I wasn't even expecting to have the conversation.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:04:25]:

 

Joanna dropped it in. Sara came in with, like, the boom, and I was like, yep. I am absolutely on board. And this refreshed value proposition really invites broader conversations and stories from even more women in the industry. Many of them are marketers or advisors who are really focused on growth. So, yes, we're gonna still have those conversations, but it may also offer more conversations around operations or, different leaders and investment organizations with experiences that we can all learn from.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:05:01]:

 

Yes. And, Leah, credit to you. I've in our friendship and cohost ship, you've taught me a lot about just really paying attention to your intuition and knowing that it won't guide you wrong. And here's exactly what happened. Leah got goosebumps, got emotional, and she was in. Joanna, the other side of the spectrum, was like, well, I need to think about this for a couple of days and analyze this from all angles. Right? And with a ton of grace and openness, Leah and and Sara and Larry were like, take all the time that you need. Right? Absolutely.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:05:35]:

 

But the more I thought about it, the more I was realizing that the shift, you know, it's so exciting, and and it doesn't mean we are going to, I don't know, have a lower perception from as marketers. Right? Like, there's still a lot that we can bring to the the table, but I just again, hearing from our guests and the engagement we're getting on LinkedIn, in our emails, that sort of thing. It's like the topic of just what women are doing in the industry, how we're linking arms, this the episode we had with Deborah, Brennan, Tagg of just there's a lot of women doing interesting things. Right? And

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:06:12]:

 

Yep.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:06:13]:

 

The it feels like this is the conversation that needs to be had, even more than marketing best practices.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:06:20]:

 

And and quite honestly, like, if I'm, if I'm just being open and honest and vulnerable, which we've always promised each other and you all that we would be. This is something that I'm very passionate about. It's just thinking about it, it just fires me up, and it makes me so excited for the future. It makes me so excited for deeper conversations. It makes me really excited about connecting more women who are like minded. Yeah. I I you know, back to what you were saying about that intuition, that was that's something that's taken a long time for for me to to trust. Quite honestly, it's been a a relationship of trust.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:07:10]:

 

But I also recognize that, like, everybody has their own process and takes their own time. Right? So it's and I think that's why you and I work so well together. You know, sometimes it's an immediate yes for both of us and sometimes it's not. And we're able to discuss that and take our time and give each other as much space and time as we need so that this platform, this space continues to be one of openness and connection and safety, and that's most important to me personally. And I know it is to you too.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:07:49]:

 

Yes. Yes. And I just, again, a credit to so many of our guests who have also been vulnerable and shared, you know, their stories and their perspectives. I think that is what really inspired me even if it was someone who's talking about a marketing topic like Yolanda Melamed of CatchLight. Right? Like, who's deep in AI and, you know, lead scoring and lead route, like, all the things that help you from a marketing standpoint, but even just the diverse conversation we were able to have with her about her career journey being in Fintech. So I'm like, it's so I anyway, there I'm I'm very excited as well, and and can't wait to see what the future holds. If you've been a listener of the show, you know how passionate we are about the next generation of women advisers and investors.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:08:33]:

 

We are so proud to be partnering with Axtella, who is providing resources for professionals through efforts like their Nova Women's Collective, which enables members to network, connect, and gain insights from their peers.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:08:49]:

 

So if you want in on that, check out all they have to offer at go.extella.com/womenshare. That's go.axtella.com/womenshare. Alright. Should we shift gears a little bit? I wanna talk a little bit about we were talking about our wonderful guest, but, Leah, I'm curious to hear. I mean, we're at the 20 episode mark, which I have to laugh. We learned about a phenomenon called pod fade when we started working with Sara Palin.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:09:21]:

 

Know it.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:09:22]:

 

I Yeah. They're like, oh, yeah. A lot of podcasts will make it 6 or 7 episodes and then kind of go dark because, you know, it's it's a it's a side hustle we both love, I would say, a passion project. Yes. And and what are some of the the common themes that you've noticed in the show so far?

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:09:41]:

 

Well, just I mean, 20 episodes. We're almost, you know, a year into this, and, it has I've said it before, I'll say it again, has exceeded any expectations that I had. And it just seems like every conversation just, I don't know, turns the dial up a little bit more. So that's really exciting. The fact that Accela has come on as a sponsor is such an amazing validation that what we're doing is exciting and important, and these are conversations people wanna be a part of. And that to me is just it that's just, you know, that's the little cherry on top, which is just so wonderful. I would say our guests share a lot of our passion, especially around mentorship and sponsorship and how important it is for the next generation. The last episode we had with Deborah, she talked about what a wonderful industry we have and that we get to be a part of and affect people's lives in such a positive way.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:10:52]:

 

And I think a lot all of our guests that we have had on are really excited about telling those stories and about hopefully inspiring that next generation to come and join us.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:11:03]:

 

Yes.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:11:04]:

 

How about you?

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:11:05]:

 

Yeah. No. I I I agree. I think that's been really interesting. And the concept of mentorship being different than sponsorship

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:11:15]:

 

Yes.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:11:16]:

 

Clicked Yeah. For me. Yeah. But I maybe had heard that before, read it, or that sort of thing, but realizing the actionable difference, I think, was really, really powerful. And it does seem like the work that, you know, firms like Carson Group are doing in this area to study these things and help provide education are starting to take root in that others, you know, are I hear it. I hear that concept being called out a lot more. But I would also say the the importance of male allies in the industry, of which there are so many. One one concern we had in launching the episode or the podcast or I would say commitment we had in launching this is that because it's sure.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:12:00]:

 

Is the title focused on women? Absolutely. That doesn't mean it's anti man. Right? We have both yes. We both had such powerful, relationships with men who have sponsored us and been our allies and mentored and that sort of thing. And so I really think this collective action, regardless of gender, to drive change in the industry is one of the big themes that I've taken away from all of our guests and their stories. I don't know that we're yet in a coordinated state of saying, okay. We're clear on who's doing what, how, but we're getting there. At least the conversations are happening.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:12:39]:

 

There's energy. So that has been just one of the highlights from our time on this podcast.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:12:47]:

 

Well and and and a lot of our guests have

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:12:50]:

 

had

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:12:50]:

 

those male sponsors

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:12:52]:

 

Yeah.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:12:52]:

 

And, are, you know, still have those really strong relationships and are are pa paying it forward and passing it on too.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:13:01]:

 

Yeah. Yeah.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:13:03]:

 

You know, also the the commitment to this, you know, this idea of community over competition, and I love seeing it on LinkedIn. I've now seen, like, our guests commenting on each other's posts and engaging with each other. You know, some of our guests knew each probably knew each other, before they were part of Women's Share. But I think a lot of people be have become aware of each other because they have been on the show. And that to me, you know, every time I see it, I'm, like, liking those comments on LinkedIn because Yeah. I mean, it's just so great. Right? Like, one of the ethos, one of the things that was so important to us from day 1 was this idea of community over competition. And, you know, specifically for women in an industry where there is only 20 to 25% of women advisers, for a long time, there was a lot of competition.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:14:08]:

 

So Right. It's so wonderful to see everyone connecting and engaging with each other in that way. It's really so it just it warms my little heart.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:14:20]:

 

Well and it's like an abundance mindset. Right?

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:14:22]:

 

Yes. Yeah.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:14:24]:

 

Someone sharing what works for them doesn't mean others are gonna come and eat their lunch. Right? It means, hey. You could probably apply this. We can help more people. So there's something around this, like, full circle of realizing the impact that financial advice has on people's lives, helping others to do more of it and reach more people at all just as, like, this virtuous cycle. Although we are you know, we've talked a lot about the the career themes and kind of more of the community aspect. I would say too from a marketing standpoint, it's been really interesting, to hear again and again from our guests of just the importance of building a really authentic brand. So that's Yeah.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:15:06]:

 

You know, where it's really based on their origin story or who they are as advisers or as a team and reflecting that in their brand because, you know, the energy you put out is what you're going to attract, which makes a lot of sense. And so I would say coming from a corporate marketing background, I was a little skeptical because I very much come from the background of this is our corporate brand, and everybody fall in line, reflect our brand values. Excuse me. But I am a little bit of a convert where I'm realizing the importance of this community engagement, this local feel. Even if you are serving clients remotely. Right? Like, it is that relationship with the people actually providing service that's so critical to the clients. And so I'm reflecting a lot a lot on how can these large organizations that have a master brand also support these advisers with their building their office level, team level brand, whatever it may be, because it just it's working. Like, Kathy Fish, Fish and Associates, Kathy and Carrie, Anne McCabe.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:16:12]:

 

Like, they just had such great stories of how their brand is so unique to who they are and their Yeah. Personal experience.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:16:21]:

 

Well and, I mean, that was what I would say kept me in the industry.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:16:28]:

 

Mhmm.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:16:29]:

 

When I started getting to do that work and work directly with advisers and get to see and work with people like Kathy and Anne, which I had the opportunity to. You you want to help more people do that. You just do because it's so authentic. The clients feel it, and the business grows because of it. Very authentically, organically with a lot with no feelings of sales ease or being marketing or anything like that. It's just being able to to position themselves in an authentic way so that people can learn about them. Because once you learn about them, there's like, of course, I wanna work with you. Yeah.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:17:18]:

 

It it reminds me when I was launching my consulting business, I went through, you wouldn't be surprised knowing my, like, more process oriented self. I went through this launch your consulting business course. Right? And one of the phrases from the branding portion was your vibe attracts your tribe. And I'm like, that's so true. Like, that's that's the phrase I was looking for earlier. Like, your vibe attracts your tribe. But I would say same too for our show. Right? And I think as people are getting used to, like, learning more about women share in the community and seeing our guests, then it's it's so fun that it's attracting more people to the show.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:17:53]:

 

And, you know, I I believe them when they say they're excited about what we're doing, our guests. You know? And they come on. Because I think it's I think it's real. Well

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:18:02]:

 

and that's, I mean, that and that's the other thing too. Right? Like, they're telling us that in the same kind of sentences they're saying, like, and I wanna connect with the other women that are doing this work, that are on the same mission. And that's been really inspiring too, is I think, you know, Deborah talked about, like, I thought I was on an island doing this by myself. I had no idea when I started to do this work if if anybody else was even interested or gonna listen or, you know, whatever. And I think a lot of people are feeling that way, which is one of the missions of why we even started this podcast. It's like a place where people could come, and we want we wanna continue that. Right? Where people can come and and learn about what women in the industry are doing, both from, like, from their practice level, but also on the collective. What we're doing for the collective women in the industry to have that bigger seat at the table, have that more influence.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:19:07]:

 

Yeah. And I would say too about around you know, we haven't we didn't intentionally say, here is how we're going to facilitate this community, but what's coming to your to mind when you're talking about that, Leah, is a great way for someone who wants to find like minded women in the industry is, honestly, look at the followers of the women share podcast on LinkedIn and connect with them. Follow them. Right? So there's a reason why they're like, our our LinkedIn page, obviously, it's not the only place that this community is built, but it's a great place to start. And like you said, those interactions, those engagements, that's where you can see who are the other, like minded people in the industry. Again, regardless of gender, we you know, our follower demographics are very diverse. And so I think, that's a great place that people can get connected. And, again, we don't know.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:19:56]:

 

We don't have some, like, master plan of how we're orchestrating all these things. We're just happy to own our little piece of this conversation or create this space, right,

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:20:04]:

 

where

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:20:04]:

 

these conversations can happen, but it's a to make it actionable. That's one way that someone could, you know, find allies in this.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:20:12]:

 

Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, okay. So that's a little reflective of our last 20 episodes and everything we've heard and learned and been inspired by. So let's talk about, like, the future of Women's Share and what we're excited about, what's coming, in the near future.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:20:32]:

 

Yeah. Well, I'm excited again as the everybody who's listening to the show, thank you, first of all, for listening and and spreading the word, because what has been so fun to see is that we're gaining some, you know, momentum with the show and listenership and and attracting more more guests. And we have some, you know, some great leaders in the industry, coming up on some episodes. So I'll speak to a couple that are from, you know, in my my realm of experience, and then, Leah, I'll let you comment on others. But Terry Carlson, who I crossed over with at Wealth Enhancement Group, she is now at RISE Growth Partners, which is the new venture in partnership with Joe Duran and others to, you know, back RIAs who are looking to grow that maybe aren't ready to merge with with other large platforms, large platform RAAs just yet. Terry's got a wealth of industry experience, and just personally working with her, she was a huge champion for advancing women and facilitating connection and collaboration for women at, at Wealth Enhancement Group where we work together. So I'm very excited to have her on an upcoming show.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:21:49]:

 

And in that kinda same vein, really excited to welcome Abby Salome to the show. She's gonna be on an episode. And if you're not familiar with Abby, she's an industry veteran, another marketer. And she and I crossed paths a long time ago. I don't even know what to say then. Like, fairly early in in my career in financial services, and I just looked up to her so much. She was so she's so smart and she's so dedicated to helping advisers grow their business. I mean, she really is such a, stand for financial advisors, and I'm just really excited to to have her on the show.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:22:39]:

 

I will bring her my question of how do we have, if you're under a corporate master brand, still support advisors growing, you know, and doing that. Yeah. That would be an interesting conversation. Leanne Rasceshock is a connection. She was actually in marketing, yes, at, RBC Wealth Management for a number of years, but she is now the CEO of a nonprofit called Women Venture, and this is a nonprofit that helps women entrepreneurs launch their businesses. And the reason why we thought of Leanne as a guest is the number of guests and people in our community who talk about the power of providing financial literacy, supporting women business owners. So we are so excited to have Lianne join us and talk about what she's seeing, how women venture or other organizations like women venture could be an outlet for those who really want to take action in this space, but maybe don't quite know how. I she's gonna have some great insights to share with us.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:23:38]:

 

Well and I'm I'm a total fangirl, Mollie Anne fangirl. I cannot wait to have her on the show. I wanna be Leanne

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:23:47]:

 

when I grow up.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:23:49]:

 

We're also excited to have Dana Rhodes from Axtella come on the show. Dana and I worked together almost a decade, and she is she is amazing. She works directly with Kristen LeClaire who was a guest very early on when we first launched. Dana is just doing some incredible stuff over at Stella and really involves in the evolution of the value proposition of traditional broker dealers so that we can attract that younger generation. So that we can be telling a story about being in this industry that will resonate with the younger generation so that they'll come in and join us. So I'm just so excited to continue to have those conversations. And that's just a few. Like, we have so many amazing guests coming up.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:24:45]:

 

You guys are not going to want to miss an episode. Just saying. Just saying.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:24:51]:

 

Well and to that point, I think, you know, if if you have found this to be a space, like, whether it's, listening to the show and also engaging in our LinkedIn community, like, a great way that you can help us continue forward on this mission. Again, we don't know what 9 months from now looks like or how this kind of contingent contingent of of people interested in this will will kinda organize or band together. But you know what? We're we're doing this intuitively back to what Leah, mentioned earlier. But we just ask, like, share your thoughts, engage in our community, and tell others about the podcast. We'd love for you to spread the word, for womenshare.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:25:33]:

 

Yeah. I mean, I think a lot of times people think that the only way that they can help is monetarily. And but the truth is, like, there's a lot of ways that you can help us grow our community and grow this podcast. Make sure that we're still around in 9 months or longer. And, you know, that's connecting with us on LinkedIn, following the podcast, subscribing to the podcast. Mhmm. You know, join our email list. Write a review if you've listened to a particular episode and it really resonated with you.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:26:05]:

 

All those things are free and very easy to do and make a huge impact on the work that we're doing here. Like Joanna said, this is, a side hustle for us. However, as it grows and becomes more, it becomes less of a side hustle and more of a main focus. And so Yeah. For us to be able to continue to do that, it's going to take the tribe. Right?

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:26:32]:

 

Yes. Yes.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:26:33]:

 

It's gonna take all of us to do that. So, you know, if if you've got it in you and you've got an extra, like, 2 minutes in your day to do any one of those things that I just said, just know that we see that. We and and we really do feel the impact of that.

 

 

 

Joanna Ehresman [00:26:48]:

 

Yes. Absolutely. And, again, what aligns people listening and people engaged in our community is just creating this space where we want to achieve more balance in our industry of, you know, women having a platform, having a voice, not to take away from our male allies and counterparts. Right? This is not a zero sum game, but we're just so excited about all of the progress that we've seen and are thrilled to continue moving forward and are super excited about what's in store in the coming weeks months. So with that, that is our show for today. We hope you are as excited about where we are going as Leah and I are.

 

 

 

Leah Alter [00:27:29]:

 

And thank you to our sponsor, Axtella, a network of firms that go the extra mile for the next generation of women advisors and investors. For more information, please visit them at go.axtella.com/womenshare. That's go.axtella.com/womenshare. And with that, I'm Joanna Ehresman. And I'm Leah Alter. And we'll catch you on the next episode of WomenShare.