I can’t believe it’s almost Labor Day! This summer has just flown by. Now, who’s ready to kick it in 4^th Quarter? Hopefully, you’ve been getting some incredible inspiration from all these wonderful ladies this year and reading some new ideas on how to blow the doors off for your yearend. My dad always said, “80 percent of issues come down to the personnel” and these next ladies I’m going to introduce you to have figured that out. Please welcome, Bola, Morgan and Kelly into the fold. These ladies have learned it’s all about people, whether on your staff, in your sales territory or when you’re networking.

“Over the last 12 months, my biggest accomplishment growing my business has been hiring the right people to support our growth! The people that make up the Clever Girl Finance team have been instrumental in our scaling from one financial education course to now 35+ in the span of a year. As you know, hiring the is one of the biggest struggles businesses face and I’ve made many mistakes hiring the wrong people in the past. But this past year, I really focused on the culture I wanted to create and the values I was looking for in my team. My second biggest accomplishment was finally getting my first book out into the world, after working on it for two years!”

Morgan Franke, Principal Financial Group

“I recently led a grassroots marketing campaign in a new firm territory resulting from a strategic acquisition. The campaign consisted of a tactical phased email campaign complemented by a physical mailing campaign and targeted advertisements. Within the first two months after the campaign concluded, the firm had gained three new clients in the targeted territory and several scheduled meetings with other prospective clients. Leading this campaign gave me the opportunity to quantify our marketing ROI and show firm stakeholders the importance of crafting specific and targeted marketing initiatives with a call to action.“

Kelly Jackson Pastore, Kaiser Permanente NW Region

“Being a successful business woman has been a long uphill road that has shifted for me in the past 12 months and has become extremely rewarding.

In thinking about how I got to where I am today, it comes down to three basics: relationships, personal goals and character. Everyone says, “It’s all in who you know.” This is something that I found to be true in the relationships I have built within my network. When you build strong, successful relationships with others, you become a trusted source and people keep coming back. How did I do this? I got involved. I joined several boards, volunteered, and I started spending time with people I respected in the industry.

This led me to set some personal goals: 1) Start with small goals, then slowly add more, 2) Be very careful with commitments; you can say no and 3) Be truly honest with yourself when it comes to work-life balance.

As I worked toward these goals, I realized that while goals are great, it’s who you are when you achieve the goals that counts. For me, the last 12 months have been a journey which continues today and will continue tomorrow. Go thrive!”

As always, if you know of great women in the field who are working hard to make this industry even better, send me an email introduction to scombs@combsandco.com. I’d love to connect!

Instant Insights /

What’s the good news, ladies? August edition

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