441: Victoria Woods on Women, Money, and Our Future

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Andi Simon 00:00:02  Welcome to On the Brink with Andi Simon. I’m so glad you can join us today because we have an extraordinary woman here to share with you her own wisdom, both about life and about money and about women and money and all kinds of interesting things. Remember, my job as a corporate anthropologist is to help you get off the brink. I want you to see, feel and think in new ways. And the way we do that is to bring people to you who can help you reflect on your own life’s journey, think about what you’re doing and what you love about it, and what you might like to change. The times they’re changing so it gives you opportunities for a new part of your journey. And there’s no destination here. You’re at a pivot point. So what comes next? Victoria Woods is here, and she and I met at a wonderful conference for enterprising women. So the first time we met, and I said, I must share your story.  She’s a wonderful storyteller but also has a great story to share. Let me tell you a little bit about her and then I’ll tell her to share her story. And the things that we’re going to talk about today are money, women and money, business and money. I loved her motto. the one who says it cannot be done should never interrupt the one doing it. Please hang on to that thought, because we’re doers and move out of the way because here we come. She’s been doing it for many years now. Her vibrant personality and boundless energy are her trademarks. And I like to read her bio because it captures her. But she’s going to tell you more. Victoria is a Founder, CEO and Chief Investment Advisor to Millionaires Billionaires for Chappell Wood Financial Services in Edmond, Oklahoma. And she has clients probably globally. a successful entrepreneur and investor, she mixes wit and wisdom as she shares practical, easy to understand advice on the world of finance. She has books. Her book is called It’s All About the Money, and it’s a good book, speaking engagements, a radio show and through her website, somebody named her The Financial Diva. I will use that briefly, but you’ll begin to see why it fits so well. It’s a great brand. She was elected as a White House conference delegate and a member of the President’s Advisory Board. She’s named the National Association of Women Business Owners Best of the Best and one of the journal’s 50 most influential women. She was initially appointed by the Governor as a Commissioner and served as a Financial Chair. And she serves the State Chair for the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women. This is really a very wonderful woman to share with you and my audience both, whether you’re watching or you’re listening. You know, there are times where I just empathize and you begin to say, Victoria, come talk about yourself. This is something wonderful that I know my listeners are going to smile about as she’s smiling. Victoria, thanks for joining me today.

Victoria Woods 00:02:54  I am delighted to be here, and I’ve looked forward to this since we first met. And then we talked on LinkedIn, and you said, would you like to do my podcast? Yes! So I don’t know, we just when we met, it was just one of those times where you felt like you’ve known somebody for a very long time.

Andi Simon 00:03:11  And we just talked, and we talked. Share with the listeners your own journey. It’s a really interesting one because you didn’t grow up saying at ten, I want to be a financial diva. I’m sure.  Nikki Lynn, as her mother might have called her, probably had a different idea of what she wanted to be. But who are you? How have you come along this way, please? Your journey?

Victoria Woods 00:03:31  Well, first of all, I came from very humble beginnings because we didn’t have anybody to talk about money in our world. It was paycheck to paycheck. I didn’t have lunch money. So, I mean, we were humble.  I always in my book and I talk about, you know, I came from humble beginnings. So let’s just be honest. It’s very poor beginnings and negative. So because of that environment, I was abandoned by my father at 11. So that has a really profound effect on any child, but particularly, I believe, women. so, you know, dealing with all of those things. Everybody said she lives with rose colored glasses, and she’s always so positive. And, you know, it’s just who I was, and  I was just born that way. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to be in fashion. I love fashion, and that is actually how I was a preteen model for Montgomery Ward. So that’s how I got clothes for school. and shoes. I would do whatever they wanted because they gave it because they couldn’t pay you. They gave me outfits. I dressed so cute in high school because, you know, I started in junior high, and then I was like, this is the best gig ever because I get free shoes every season because I was the perfect shoe size. Then, I got clothes. So I loved all that then because I grew up as a tomboy and at 11 years old, about 12, I switched, and I became very girly. And so and then I’m a preteen model and all because in every house we grew up in, I had to have a tree house. So I was the one that organized the boys and the games and the cousins and this, you know, I’m the little runt, but I’m out there doing all that. And so my mother used to say, she is bossy. She said she was bossy at one. She called me one day and she’s talking about my baby books. You know, she’s bossy. The next year she’s like; she called me laughing and she never called me. So I’m like, I have to call her. So when she calls me, I’m like, mom, is everything okay? And she’s like, I got to read you some stuff.  So for the first three years, she said she’s still bossy, but bossy to her was like, I organized all the kids. They watched me coordinate all the games for all of our cousins. And who was going to do what? Who’s going to play what and how this was all going to work. I always knew too, though, that I wanted to be my own boss. Even though I went to the corporate world. As a teen, I started working full time. I had my first job at 12, and I babysat because we had this little box house and there was a fence. There was an apartment complex. And again, I’m over there organizing all these kids and all the games. One day I realized these women need somebody to take care of these kids because they’re teenagers not doing a good job. And 12 I babysat six kids at a time at 12 years old.

Andi Simon 00:06:32  Wow.

Victoria Woods 00:06:33  Because I figured if I did one in that this is cool. And I went, wait a minute, I could get another one.  And I remember even an infant and I thought I wouldn’t let a 12-year-old watch my dog, I don’t think. And here I was, but it was my business. So I had lunch money to go to school. Then my mom started borrowing money from me. But mom, you know, my father abandoned us, so she had four children to feed and take care of. So I would be the one cooking on a cook plate for all my brothers and sisters because the stove didn’t work, you know? I still went to school. I had great clothes. So even though it was a very, very different environment at home, it was still fun and loving and all that.  I just knew I wanted to be in the fashion industry, and I got a fashion scholarship, and I did all of these things. And lo and behold, though I  became a got married, I followed my husband to Denver and ended up this gentleman. They were opening a store called Print On and this is the Neiman Marcus Stanley Quartet. Great people. And I went to work for them and just loved it. I started this new thing they didn’t know about, like this concierge. So I had books for business owners, and I would buy them. I get to know them really well, their families, their clients, and I just shop for them. My store manager wanted me to be female. Fashion merchandising manager. And I was like, no, I got this idea, and I pitched it to him, and he goes, Victoria, nobody does this. I don’t know, and I’m going, just give it a shot. Oh, it was so successful. I had all these car dealership owners, and I just had a blast. We’d have parties in the store. They give me their credit cards, they go down and smoke cigars and watch the entertainment, and I just come back and just, you know, okay, you got this, and you got this.  And they, you know, it was great fun. But a gentleman that I tried.

Andi Simon 00:08:34  Laughing because nobody gave you a no, you just said I can. And off you when you can see opportunities and turn them into great innovations that nobody else had done. How clever you are. Please continue. I’m enjoying your journey.

Victoria Woods 00:08:51  Thank you. It’s normal.  I saw  a need.  Corporate executives and I asked how can I solve that problem? Can we make life easier in my office here we call it the easy button. We don’t tell clients. Go do this. What do I need? Give me your passcode. Do this. We’ll do this for you. We move the money. You don’t do the work. We’re the easy button. So everything we’ve created is all about, how can we make life easier for you? Because there’s a lot of life.  But this gentleman came in and I was meeting a girlfriend at a bar, and I had my daytime, my book there of my clients. And I’m looking at what am I going to do tomorrow. Who am I going to help? And I’m going through this book, and this gentleman is standing there at the bar, and he says, you know, it’s after 5:00, you’re not supposed to be working. And I said, okay, well you do you I’ll do me and I’m working. And he goes, well, what are you doing, by the way? And I said, this is my clientele book. And I’m in the retail business, but I’m a buyer, really a private buyer for these busy executives. He said, I just left this man named Byron Lucas. He said you should call him. He’s got a very expensive wife. He does. He’s really successful, but his wife has really good taste. I said, okay, I said, give me this name. Like I’ll never forget. His name was Randy Wheeler. And he said, oh, you won’t call him. Like what? I tell you what, let’s make a bet. You call him by 11 tomorrow. Of course, I’m going to call the man, but I call him, and he sets up an appointment. But he no shows me.

Andi Simon 00:10:37  Oh, no.

Victoria Woods 00:10:40  So, of course I called him. I said, Mr. Lucas, I know this. This appointment is very important to you. I hope everything’s okay. Are you okay? The family is okay. Is everything okay? It goes well. You go and he goes. He didn’t even apologize. And I said, well, would you like to reschedule this appointment? Here’s my calendar. And 1:00 he says, okay, I look forward to meeting you. He no shows me again.

Andi Simon 00:11:06  Oh. You’re kidding.

Victoria Woods 00:11:08  So we had these beautiful cards with a picture of this store. Now it’s lovely, you know, crystal chandeliers. It’s French ironwork. It’s a French print. An elegant baby grand piano tinkling in the gorgeous marble everywhere. I sent him this card. It’s a picture of the store on the other side.  I wrote in this lovely note. Mr. Lucas, I know you must be disappointed that you missed your appointment with me. So when you’re in the neighborhood, I capitalized neighborhood and put it in the middle of the card. I said, drop by and maybe I’ll be available. The thing is, this was an old Montgomery Ward store turned into a print shop on Broadway in Denver, Colorado. If I was Tom Brady, I could throw a football from the front of that building to his office building. He was on Alameda. He didn’t have to get in his car.

Andi Simon 00:12:09  Oh my goodness.

Victoria Woods 00:12:10  Across the parking lot a bit, but because it’s a strip center. Oh, boy. And I sent it to him so he would receive it on Monday, because Monday is the day I took all sales in.  You know, I get the days I want. When my husband traveled, I wanted Sunday and Monday with him, and I wanted to work Saturday. Saturday is my day. So I took Sunday and Monday. So of course, he comes barreling up the stairs yelling, where’s Victoria? Was like a Barry Switzer. Football coach. Victoria Woods. Well, of course, everybody comes running, sir. How can we help you? How, sir? I’m so sorry she’s not here. He said, get me a piece of paper, and all he does is write Byron Lucas and his phone number across it, and he strips the paper off and says, make sure she gets this. So Tuesday morning I come in and they’re like, oh my gosh, this man came in and he’s like, I don’t know what he’s mad something named Byron Lucas. And I just went, it worked. And he had to miss me because I wasn’t there. So I called a man. And so I called him, and he said, you got to go to work for me.

Andi Simon 00:13:24  No.

Victoria Woods 00:13:25  Excuse me.

Andi Simon 00:13:27  I want to buy your clothes. I don’t need a job.

Victoria Woods 00:13:30  Yeah. Why in the world would you have stood me up twice? I’m like, you really think that’s your go to pitch for me. He said, young lady, the way you follow up, you are going to be hugely successful, whatever you do. But he goes, I want you to go to work for me. And I said, well, Mr. Lucas, this is one of these pivoting points, you say. I was very calm about it. And I said, well, Mr. Lucas, I love what I do, and I’m really good at it, and I enjoy my life every day. However, I’m always open to opportunities. And he said, great. He says, I want you to come to my office and all this like, okay, it’s across the street, I think I can make it. And we scheduled a time, and he said, I’m going to have my partner with me.  And I was like, of course you’re going to double team me. But I made the appointment. And I said, And Mr. Lucas, you can be sure I will be here, and I’ll be there on time.

Andi Simon 00:14:30  Yeah.

Victoria Woods 00:14:32  There’s the appointment and stand you up, because I could have done that.

Andi Simon 00:14:36  You could, but you didn’t.

Victoria Woods 00:14:38  I could, no, I went, and it took him seven months. But they convinced me about this program. They had about money, and I had doubled my income almost every year. And I kept thinking, you know, I don’t have anybody that can teach me about money, that in my world, you know, we paycheck to paycheck and no lunch money. So I and what we do as women and when I did get speaking appearance, I loved the ladies when we were making a lot of money earning it, not making creators make it, but we earned it. What do we do when we don’t know what to do with it? We and everybody together and I go, what do we do? They all go spend it.

Andi Simon 00:15:19  How do I know?

Victoria Woods 00:15:21  We’ve got the best clothes; we’ve got the best cars. We take our friends out; we’ve got great jewelry. I mean, what do we do when we don’t know we spend it? So I felt like that was an opportunity. As much as fun as I was having and being, you know, ranges, I mean, the best I just felt but it took seven months of them recruiting me. Me running numbers, me really praying about thinking about is this the right path for me. But I kept thinking about this program that they had. If I’m in this position, so is everybody else. There’s going to be a lot of people that I can serve. And I was just born to serve. And I felt like that is kind of, if you call it a calling, but it was just the right path at the right time that these gentlemen could put me on. And so I ended up getting a license. My first license was insurance. Then I became securities, and then higher securities and higher securities. And, you know, we’re the top in our field and one of the top wealth management companies. And we have clients coast to coast. I have clients in Spain. And so I thought it would be the most boring job ever. I was so wrong. It is the most exciting. Next fashion to fashion is now second for me. But it is the most exciting because I get bored very easily. And it’s always a new problem to solve. And I love that learning process. I’ll find somebody because it didn’t matter to me. You can’t come to me without a problem that I can’t solve because I reach out to LA. I got a client that has a house in Mexico. We got an issue with it;  I get you an attorney. Happens to be the best one. If I Happen to be in San Francisco or I can go to New York or Greece, my tentacles are vast. The resources that I have. So no one can come to me like we’ve had this problem. I’ll never forget the clients I had recently, about six months ago, stopped me in church after church. It said Victoria and we’re in tears. They had been dealing with this issue and called my office and were just saying, you know, telling them about the issue. They’ve been clients for like five years and never, never mentioned it and told my staff we had it sold for them in less than 15 minutes. It was like, yeah, why didn’t you? And they were in tears. Well, this has been heavy on us, and we never thought that that would be a problem you would help with. I said everything that we do. If you choose to live on planet Earth. It’s you. You’re giving it. You’re spending it. You’re earning it. You’re investing it, you’re giving it. You’re doing something with money every day, 24 hours a day. So everything relates to money. So to us it was a problem we solved it in less than 15 minutes. I mean tears running down their faces. I love that though.

Andi Simon 00:18:26  But, you know, you have crafted yourself into this exquisite problem solver. It’s not about the money; it is about the money. And to your point, everything is about the money, but one of the things that that woman in particular, maybe to have, grown up with, it’s not good to talk about the money. Right? Not good to know what I can do with the money.  And particularly women business owners, some of whom I’ve coached have a really hard time understanding what kind of money they need. What flavor of money would be the right investment for what the investors are looking for? How to be strong. They’ve got a great product. They’re building their market share, and they need cash to expand their payroll or to scale their business.  And there’s a fear factor. So as you have evolved, you have grown a whole business and in fact, you’re a businesswoman. You’re no different than those 13 million other wonderful women owned businesses. You’re really good at this. You’re very successful. But let’s talk about what wisdom we can share with women who are growing a business, want to be in a business, or trying to figure out how to scale a business, maybe even inheriting a business. Let’s get comfortable with the numbers, because that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

Victoria Woods 00:19:45  Yes. And the thing is that if you’re not comfortable with it, you’ve got to get comfortable, because that is not something that I believe you should delegate to other people. I know my nails. I know how to read them. I know one of the best decisions too. Before I was, when I was still, I was a buyer. I was the youngest buyer for Montgomery Ward at 23 years old, or 21 or 2 at the time because I left at 23 the corporate world.  But the fact is, I was going to a new town, so I was moving to Kansas City, got this big opportunity again where they doubled my income. And I’m like, oh my gosh, what do I do with it? I decided to take some life courses because I have a lot of friends I left in Texas. I have seven brothers and sisters. So, you know, I, like I felt like I had a lot of free time. I’m working a 9 to 5 here. I don’t even know what that’s like. So I took some courses in the courses I took, I believe, changed my life. And that is just simply accounting. I took accounting one, loved it, took accounting two, I took these nighttime courses. And that’s why I believe that was preparing me early for what was coming that I didn’t even know was coming, and how wicked people will say, Victoria, how have you started three businesses? You know what the odds are of them all being successful? Rare like nonexistent.

How? When I’m interviewed, how have you developed three? And I said, I believe it’s because I watched the money. Yes, I can tell you. I can feel it. There were days, there were years that the first thing I did when I got to the office, check my balance because you’re living on a string. Strength, and so I would check the balance of my checking account every day. And I watch the money, and I look at my profit and loss statements. My accountant, I would question him about a couple of things. It seems like every month. And he would say to me, I would say, Tom, I am so sorry, I feel like I’m nitpicking and like this goes in this column and this was wrong, and I want everything where it’s supposed to be. And he said, like the numbers didn’t work out. He goes, Victoria, they’re all going to work out in the wash at the end of the quarter. But I would ask him and question him. The day I apologized, he said, oh, please do not apologize. He brings me this great book. And it was numbers, and it was percentages. I love percentages over here because that way I can identify if there’s a problem really quickly. So when he shows me this, I apologize. And he said oh please do not. He goes, do you know how many people I just give these to? And I know darn good and well, they throw them in the back seat of the car. They put them over here in a pile of work, and they never, ever look at them. And he goes, I appreciate the fact that you do. And I think it’s the same with me. If I spend all this time and do an analysis for someone. they’re pretty detailed. And if they just took them and kind of tossed them aside, I would be insulted. So I did understand what he was saying, and he did appreciate it. So we had a really great relationship. He just retired and I’ve had a lot of change in my world. So it’s something you have to know. And if you don’t like it, you have to understand. You’ve got to get to like it. You have to like it. But you have to understand the question, you look at your profit and loss statements every single month. You know, when a banker asks me one time, well, you know, how long does it take you to get this? I’m buying some apartment complexes. And he was just like; I don’t like it. What do you mean? I already have it all here. Ready? He’s like, well, when you get this, this, this, this and I went, why would I call you if I didn’t have all that ready? I was like closing. He was so impressed. He said, I’ve never had anybody do this. Victoria. We closed that deal in 24 hours.  Yes, because you’re preparing everything about preparing in advance for your career or whatever you’re doing. Just when something like that happens, like the gentleman. Like things happen in your life and you’ve got to look at it like an opportunity. It’s a pivot. It’s a break. It’s an adjustment. It’s a change. But slow down because I like to move pretty fast. My standard is typically fast. I can make decisions very quickly because I strategically analyze things and my gut tells me, and I go with my gut. But when it’s that painful because you knew what to do, and you allowed two gentlemen to talk you out of it, so painful. But why that happened to me is because something even bigger was going to happen, maybe six years later. that was the biggest deal I ever did. And I did not talk to one man about it. I’m going to make this deal happen.  It was the biggest deal. The men couldn’t believe it when it all came out and I was like, my husband, he would say in bed and go, you do know I can hear your brain going every night, and you have to be prepared yourself for whatever’s going to come because you don’t know what’s coming.

Andi Simon 00:25:14  But sometimes those leading indicators are in the numbers or the trend lines, if you’re living in the moment, I truly appreciate it. But there’s this: yesterday, today, and then what’s coming. And sometimes they are connected really well. But part of what you’re saying, and I say this for our listeners or our viewers, you know, if you’re not in the depth of what’s happening in the numbers, then you have no feel for what the business that you’re running is actually doing. You know, you can be really excited about the new design. Remember, Victoria was really in love with costumes, with design, with clothing, with clothing. People she could sell. But then she realized there’s a whole other part that people saw in her, where the detail is in the numbers.  And in anthropology, we will learn that data out of context has no meaning. And so all of your bankers were asking you about the numbers in the context of this particular acquisition or whatever you were doing, and you needed to put it into a story that made the numbers come alive. So they said, you know, this all. Well, it wasn’t the numbers. It was the story about the numbers that really built a great story, and the one that didn’t work. You were hearing other people’s stories, and you weren’t trusting your own and that gut. I love my gut. You know, we decide with the gut and the heart. And it’s interesting.

Victoria Woods 00:26:43  And it is. And when you’re doing something and this had to do with this big acquisition, it was a little acquisition that turned into a huge acquisition. It was a bank building, but then you get scared, and you think there’s roadblocks and it’s like, is God trying to protect me? But my gut told me, no. You’ve done your due diligence. Was I buying it too early in my career? Yes, I was, but the opportunity was there, and I ended up doing it. I say in the absence of courage, just do it. Scared?

Andi Simon 00:27:19  I just heard the opposite of scared.

Victoria Woods 00:27:22  Maybe I’m scared. I mean, if I don’t have the courage to run out, I’m just going to go with being scared. Yeah. And when you do those things, you start, you grow. Every time you do one and you’re successful. And if you’re not, if something goes south. Yeah. Which it happens. And I will tell people constantly. Well that’s interesting. You know, you do know education is expensive?

Andi Simon 00:27:52  Yes.

Victoria Woods 00:27:54  An MBA and what not to do or how to do it differently.  Don’t ever beat yourself up. Now, I do say have a pity party. You know, crawl up in and go take a nap. My mother would say, go take a nap. You’ll feel better tomorrow. And she was right.

Andi Simon 00:28:10  Well, you know, your memory will take that thing into a story, quite frankly. There’s a whole world of mistakes. There’s a couple of books that I’ve read on how to leverage mistakes gigs as opportunities for. Okay. Debrief. How did it go? Well. What’s a wisdom? And things aren’t fails. They’re just learnings. And it changes how you see them. But you must be really aware of what it was. One of the things you and I had talked about is that there’s a lot of women who are acquiring family firms. Fathers are handing it down to them. How do they make sure they got the right valuation on it? What do they do when they begin to take over the firm? When I spoke at the Family Firm Institute in Brussels, many of the Europeans had multi generations running the firms here. That’s often not the case. Sometimes I coach women who are anxious about a hand me down firm. And how do I take it over? How do I move into those roles? How do I move my father and uncles away? It is not easy to be a successful woman. Some wisdom you might want to share.

Victoria Woods 00:29:14  Well, I love that you bring this up because it’s not brought up enough in my opinion. There’s two things right now. If you take on a business, do you know what Bama pies are?

Andi Simon 00:29:25  Oh I don’t.

Victoria Woods 00:29:26  Oh, you would love this story. So this is a story about a gentleman that wanted a dessert. And he was at McDonald’s, and they didn’t have a dessert. And he’s driving home, and he’s kind of mad about it. So he decides to get on the phone, and he’s going to tell him, y’all need to provide his dessert, and I’m going to create what I’m going to do. These hot pies, and they’re the McDonald’s hot pies. It’s a little pecan. Well, and it became, you know, a huge international company now. However, when he passed away, you would think that he would pass the business on to his sons. No. He passed it on to Paula, who was his daughter who had worked in the business. But to make her the CEO, the president, the owner too, she had to…. Now, I met her when she was going through this, and I did business with her. Her firm and her company. And it’s just a fascinating story. She takes better care of her employees. She has all kinds of mental health day issues, you know, in presentations like bringing me in to help and learn about money. That was one of the first things she did when I basically pitched her on. You know, your employees need to know what you spend on them and, and all the value that you bring to them that they don’t see in a paycheck. So we have this program, and then we offered them the salary savings program. So, you know, we did that, gosh, 25, 30 years ago. But she talks now. She didn’t talk about it than that the men gave her such a hard time and made her guess herself.  And she would say in this presentation, she and I were speaking at this event, and she would say how it was. She went back to her father and she’s like, I’m going to continue to let them challenge me, but I’m going to continue to do what I believe needs to be done in my way. I love what she said, because if my father had the confidence in me, I needed because they were shaking her confidence all the time. She said, I’ve got to have that confidence that my father had. I just thought that was so beautiful. It was a struggle. She was crazy, but she just did it. And she just kept persevering and staying. You know, like I always tell people, when they get kind of crazy, like, stay in your lap. Just keep your head down when things are going badly. Keep your head down. Keep focus. When things are going great, keep your head down.  Keep focused on your goals. And because it’s so easy for the outside world and even women unfortunately indeed, that they will shake your confidence. And we allow that, but we can’t help it because we’re more emotional. And they want to say, when men say, you know, you’re just being emotional. Well, that’ll get my hair right. Let me tell you, I go you meant to say passionate, right? Don’t you call me, like, emotional. Yes, we are, but no, you mean passionate because we are passionate about what we do. And when you are passionate, then you become really good at it. It’s just like this big deal that I was telling you. I had another pivoting moment when this big deal happened, and nobody can believe it. I talk about it in my book. I think it’s chapter 11. It’s called The Perfect Bullseye. And I don’t tell all the details, but there’s some juice in there about the men that tried to stop me and try to undercut me and try to get this deal, and I was signed to a contract. I was like, okay, make this happen. And they tried everything to not make me close on the closing day. But then three years later, this big thing happens, and you’ve got to have the confidence to go through those pivots because you don’t know what they are on this side. Yep. But as soon as you get it, because a friend told me, Victoria, he said, they’re shaking your confidence, but he says, I know you. Yeah. You just had lunch. He says, I know you. Have you done all of the due diligence? I said, absolutely. He says, what is your gut? Because I know you turn on a rock over 100 times. What does your gut tell you? And I said, well, my gut tells me that I should do the deal, but I’m questioning myself, you know, is God trying to protect me? Because I also believe God’s rejection is my protection? Yes.

Andi Simon 00:34:02  So but, you know, you don’t really know what God is saying.  And you don’t know if the voice of these men are his conduit to you. But on the other day, you know, this is a society where the woman and her voice hasn’t gotten the credit it deserves for the wisdom that it brings. And so you’re working in a world that’s so unsettled.

Victoria Woods 00:34:26  Again, I was saying about, you know, and women will do the same thing to you. I think we’re getting nothing. I know we’re getting much better, but it was back in the day. It was so competitive. And now we’re coming into. And it’s been a slow burn here. But I see it again and again where women are collaborating more so with each other, more understanding that there’s so much. My mindset has always been there’s enough for everybody to be successful. Me you know, lighting your candle does not dim mine. Yeah. So why would I not do that? I never understood women that thought that trying to bring you down or trying to make you shrink and not be who you are.  I just. I mean, no, I want everybody to love me. But I know my brain tells me that’s not going to be so. They’re not going to lie.

Andi Simon 00:35:20  You need everybody to love you. You, you have the kind of competence and confidence that sharing it with others, they want to say. So what did I hear from Victoria today? What I heard was to trust your gut. It’s okay. Really, really understand those numbers, because that’s going to help your gut make wise decisions. Now begin to trust what your vision is. You have a story. You have a vision of how this building that you’re going to invest in is going to turn into this kind of thing, and then you’re going to make it happen. If you didn’t have that vision, it’s a bad thing. You wouldn’t invest in it, right? But once you see it and then all this noise coming from outside, you need some filters. But you also think, I think you need some good coaches, guides and others who you trust.

Victoria Woods 00:36:11  Just like when people ask about finding the right financial advisor. We’re advisors to millionaires. Yes. But in my book, I give everybody directions. I was like, why not? You know, let me tell you, this is how you find it. Now you can go out there and Google. How do you interview a financial advisor or a CPA, somebody that’s going to be on your team? First of all, you’ve got to have especially millionaires, a premier advisor primary that they’re your go to. And then they work with your bankers and your trust attorneys and all these people, and they come back to you with, this is what you say you want. We’ve all collaborated, and we’ve all put our $0.02 in, basically based on our experience and success. Now these are your best options. This is how you’re going to get where you want to go. But you should also start early. I mean when about succession planning, I do as a speaking engagement. And I’ve done it three years in a row, and I keep thinking they’re going to want to change the topic, but that just tells you how important it is.  It’s called exit on your own terms. I’m thinking about as a businesswoman as well. Number one, 90% of women are going to be managed with their own money. For them or them and their children at some point in their life, 90%. So is it important to go to a financial  meeting and be involved if you’re not? My husband takes care of all that. No. Go sit with them. You need to be in that meeting. You need to know I’m very proud when somebody calls me and says, Victoria, you’ve been saying this for years, and I. Tom, is taking care of everything. And when I got something to share with you, I’m here. I’m ready. And she says I had a meeting with my husband. A formal meeting. I set it up at 11:00, both fresh on a Saturday morning and I had him share with me all our finances where everything is because all these years, I’ve said I don’t have to worry about it.  You know, Tom’s got it taken care of. Well, even if something happens to Tom. Oh, I don’t worry about it. I got the financial deal in my back pocket. Okay, that’s a good plan, but you still need to know. So you really should sit down and know those numbers. And then when you’re growing your business, you really should start thinking about your succession. And do you want to sell or just like financial services, we can diet, 90 is still working, but you should always have a succession plan in place. And you should kind of think about, you know, A, B, C like if your health goes bad, yeah, you’re forced to sell. Now you’re doing it in a distressed situation. Be like investing money. You don’t do it when there’s a tornado. You do it when the sun is shining.  Beautiful sky. You’re hearing the birds. It’s. It’s gorgeous.

Andi Simon 00:39:13  Well, you know, the vision is absolutely correct. But the problem is that people are busy, and they don’t think about it. I mean, this business of my husband’s taking care of it, my husband is taking care of it, and it’s a common thread. And now, if you don’t have your husband, who’s going to take care of it? Why aren’t you at least as knowledgeable about it as he is? Because you’re smart, lady.

Victoria Woods 00:39:36  Yeah, but the thing is, there are so many tools. Now, like I said in my book, I thought, you can Google: How do I interview someone? That’s easy. Yeah. Well, the problem with it, Andi, they don’t give you the answers. So in my book, I, I give you this is what you ask when you go in, say friends, you get a referral. Somebody that you and it must not be like oh I’m going to hire them. I don’t really care for their personality, but I’m going to hire them. Or my guts not right. But other people say I walk. But I give you the questions and then I say, this is what they’re supposed to say. If I leave, you know, like if they get all nervous about talking about their fees or if they’re talking about the service’s value and if they’re nervous about that. Thank you very much. It’s been a pleasure. Thank you.

Andi Simon 00:40:31  There’s no shortage of them I know. It’s a very interesting time. There are lots of great wealth managers out there. You kind of pick them so they fit you and that you feel like you belong with them on this journey because they’re part of your team. Right.

Victoria Woods 00:40:44  It is a critical part of your team. And you want to select somebody with this in mind? Yes. A really smart gentleman said to me years ago, I’d hired this gentleman, and he was really, really good. But his little temper tantrums and he would get mad at somebody not processing a. investment any bank is falling on. Now they call me, and I go, hey, I’ll talk to John.

 I am so sorry. Please. I talked to you. This gentleman, when he said, Victoria, there’s no sense in that. He said, you can let John go and you can go find you with the energy you have. You can go find ten. There are problems like he is. Yes, he’s really good, but he just causes problems all the time. And you’re having to put out little fires and apologize for him. You shouldn’t be doing that. And he said, let me give you some advice that somebody gave me. When you go to hire somebody, think about going out to dinner with them. Would you enjoy spending an hour and a half, two hours with this individual every month? I don’t want to spend five minutes with John. And I’m like, I’m so sorry.

Andi Simon 00:42:00  I think our time is just about. If people would like to know more about you, talk to you about their own financial situation. What’s the best place to find you? I know they’re all over the place, but you know, the ones that are the best ones.

Victoria Woods 00:42:17  You can go to chappel.com. That’s two PS, one L, and that’s Chappel wood.com that no financial services, just Chappel Wood. That’s the easiest you can call my office of course at 405-348-0909. You can go to the Financial Diva website or just Google us. I mean, we’re absolutely everywhere, but I would like to, if you would like, we can give you a link, Andi as well, because I did this when a gentleman was interviewing me and he wanted me to do a recording. And my radio studio is right next door in my office building, and I recorded some chapters in the book. So I will send you that link. Or maybe you should have it for my people right now, because that’s something fun that I like to be able to share with people. Because when you record it, what I found, which I thought was going to be dreadful, it was so much fun. No, because you get to tell some things that aren’t in the book.

Andi Simon 00:43:17  I have that link. I think Meg sent it to me, and I’ll make sure it’s on the blog. And we put it onto the. At the end of this, both the videos have a back page as well, so we’ll make sure that it’s out there. This has been truly a pleasure. I’ve enjoyed listening to you. My head says, maybe it’s time that I sit down with my wealth manager and make sure that I fully understand what he’s in. Sometimes I think I know enough to be dangerous and not enough to really be comfortable.

Victoria Woods 00:43:43  And if you have to feel comfortable asking that, and you also have to feel comfortable, and they should feel comfortable when we call getting a second opinion. Yes, because I do that with my CV. I want to make sure I’m getting every tax deduction. So I go pay somebody to do, like a little mini audit or a second opinion is like, can I be doing better? And that’s something that you should never be ashamed of or like, oh, I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. And this buddy is my wealth advisor, my husband’s roommate or something. You shouldn’t, you should. Everybody should be very confident because it’s your life. Like, we have 100% retention of our clients for a reason. And we were accepting 25 million in new assets this year. And we can do that only because we have the capacity to do it. And all of our clients have been with us so long, so terrific.

Andi Simon 00:44:36  Really, really terrific. I thank you a great deal. For those of you who come to On the Brink with Andi Simon, thank you. Thank you for sending me your emails. Thank you for telling me how much you’ve enjoyed some of our speakers. We’re global. The last one we did was from New Zealand, and then we had another one from France. And it’s a really global conversation that we’re having, and I can’t wait to share. Victoria. It’s been a pleasure. Thank you so much for being with me today.

Victoria Woods 00:45:04  And thanks.

Andi Simon 00:45:05  You. Yeah, my books are all on Amazon. And remember, our job is to help you see, feel and think in new ways. Change is not something you like to do, something your brain hates to do. You hire me and then you delete me. You hope I don’t help you change. But sometimes the times are changing, and these are fast changing times. Our motto is from observation to innovation. But I like Victoria, people who are getting things done, don’t get in their way. It just helps them get there. Goodbye.

Victoria Woods 00:45:33  My last thing for you because I end my radio show with this every single, every single week for all these years. And it’s never going to change. And it’s don’t take advice from broke people physically, financially or spiritually.

Andi Simon 00:45:49  Well, it’s been a pleasure. Goodbye, my friend. Take care. Goodbye, everybody. Have a great day. Bye. Now.