Happy (almost) spring!
As many of you know, 2020 was an exciting year for me. The stars aligned as I stepped into my true self and opened my very own financial businesses; Wealth Analytics and Divorce Analytics. I had enjoyed learning the industry ropes at Morgan Stanley and Mutual of Omaha, but I found myself wanting more. I had a burning desire to innovate the client experience and help people with more than just their investments. The time was right to take my entrepreneurial spark and make it into a white-hot flame.
I spent the last year relentless amassing licenses and credentials, building financial products and processes, and teaching Olliver how to pose for social media (by far the most challenging). To help clients navigate life more effectively, I racked up five more licenses and credentials. As the world determined what to do about covid, Ollie and I hunkered down with a pile of textbooks. It was a blistering pace but, as you know, I am a giant nerd and love to learn!
I am proud to have broadened my financial services education with the following: Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®, National Certified Professional Mediator, collaborative divorce process (financial neutral), and property and casualty insurance licenses. It felt like the academic version of Groundhog’s day, but I knew it was worth it (also what else do you do in pandemic). My persistence and laser focus has made my solutions one-of-a-kind.
My life has always been the inspiration for my business. Papa knew he would not be around forever and wanted to be sure the family was protected; so at a young age I was learning rigorous topics like the stock market and business development. I might have been a little girl in a frilly dress and white tights, but Papa made sure I was prepared for life with a well-rounded education. I loved every minute of it.
As I came of age, Papa moved me into a formal role in his business. We had a blast working together and I thought it would never end. But in the blink of an eye, everything changed when Papa had a stroke. Working without him was like death by a thousand papercuts. It broke my heart. I realized that I needed to forge my own professional path. So I traded in my steel toes for a pair of high heels and became a financial advisor.
I took to it like a duck to water. Everything in my life had been preparing me for this profession and I was ready for it. With Papa’s advice echoing in my head, I dove in and dedicated my life to the ongoing pursuit of understanding money. Money has the immense ability to create freedom in our lives by giving us the ability to make different choices.
I finally had time to confront the elephant in the room- my increasingly destructive relationship. We started out as college sweethearts, but our partnership was becoming toxic as he succumbed to alcoholism. I had to take action to save myself. After being together for 10 years we had intermingled our lives, had a gorgeous home together, and combined resources. It felt like an unsurmountable problem and I was overwhelmed. I also knew that the solution and action must come from me; my partner was not interested in change.
I broke our separation into several step plan, fired up my computer, and dove into our finances. I created what would be the first Divorce Impact Analysis Report. My numbers guided our discussion and the documentation was the basis for dividing up our shared assets. It made sense to his mathematical brain. What was anticipated to be a volatile discussion turned out to be peaceful meeting of the minds.
Sighing a breath of relief, I swung into action and took the necessary steps to uncouple. Free from the chaos, I began the painstaking process of rebuilding. As friends watched me go from a petal-less flower into a rose in full bloom, the requests for divorce help started to flow in. I realized that I had an amazing opportunity to take all the pain and turn it into meaningful experience. Divorce Analytics was born.
No matter what life has thrown me, I have always found a way to make lemonade out of lemons. My “bartender” skills are built on a two-step process; I steel my conviction to the belief that future will be better and I take action to make it so. It is simple as that. Naturally, the journey will be arduous, and you must make course corrections along the way. There will be setbacks and questions to be answered. I like to think that while our problems may seem unique, on planet with 9 billion people, they are not. It is just a matter of finding the right knowledge.
My greatest joy is amassing knowledge and disseminating information so those around me can better their lives. This newsletter is the first monthly installment in which I will be offering my hard-won wisdom.
Use it if it applies to you or pass it on to someone who could use a little help. We are all in this together which makes us unstoppable.
Take care,
Victoria