Tasha Cashman: Financial Planning | #44

Natasha Cashman owns the Financial Planning Company: Capital Assets Planning, Inc. She helps people manage their personal finances along with offering comprehensive planning services. We also discuss how she transitioned into the sole owner and how she continues to stay organized.

EPISODE LINKS:
Capital Assets Planning, Inc: https://www.capdupras.com/

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Transcript

Tom 0:00

Why don't you tell me about this company you just started and what you do for a living?

Tasha 0:04

Yeah, so I'm a financial planner. Um, so for individuals and small families, kind of working towards money management. And I think people often think of, you know, investment management, and that is a piece of it. But, you know, we focus on more of the comprehensive planning, which has a lot of other aspects of that. Things like savings goals, budgeting. Um, for people that are retired, you know, I'm helping them find sustainable withdrawal rates to make sure that they're not overspending or, you know, gonna outlive their assets and and things like that. So um, you know, I I love it. I'm really passionate about it. I got into it, introduced to it in undergrad when I was in finance. And I took a class that I just really enjoyed um with a professor that was challenging, and he was a part of this financial planning like kind of niche in the finance department. Um, and it just felt like a way to help people, which I really liked, versus, you know, I feel like there's a lot of financial careers that aren't necessarily helping others as much. Um, so you know, I felt like it was a good way for me to give back and it was just fulfilling. Um, and it used my skills like to the best of my ability. I've I've always been, you know, math-based and good with numbers, and um, to find a way to use that and have interpersonal connections and help people was just great for me.

Tom 1:37

Yeah. I feel like um media kind of portrays like people who are focused on money as evil, like the Mr. Krabs or something from SpongeBob.

Tasha 1:45

And like as I've gotten older, I've realized that it's not it's like it could be a very helpful, positive thing to be focused on, you know, financial planning and and just like Yeah, you know, and I I totally agree, and I think a lot of it is kind of mindset and mentality, you know, there's a balance, you just don't need to be greedy or just it doesn't need to be all-consuming to try to make as much as possible, you know. Um, a lot of people say like the rat race thing, and I just think like it's just another aspect of your life that you want to make sure you understand well. Um, and I don't think it's taught well in schools. No one teaches you about taxes and your 401k, yeah. Um, or your employer benefits, you know, what type of health insurance you should elect and and kind of the expenses that go with that is all really confusing. So I think um, you know, I was really interested in learning more about it for myself, and then to be able to help others um is just I think really fulfilling.

Tom 2:50

So, did you always uh want to go into finance, like even in high school?

Tasha 2:54

Not necessarily. I just really liked math, and um I didn't really know what finance entailed when I was in high school, and it was just something I kind of signed up for going into college, and it it worked out really well for me. Um I also just knew that you know I didn't want to do like kind of a math degree because I was worried about not having like interpersonal connections in the working world. I didn't want to just crunch numbers all day in a cube.

Tom 3:27

Yeah.

Tasha 3:28

I just wanted to be able to talk to people and I'm not like kind of like in the sales world because I don't think I would be very good at that either. But to kind of have this base of people that I have connections with and just like make meaningful one-on-one connections is a lot better for me.

Tom 3:47

Yeah, I feel like you're kind of like a therapist for people's money or something.

Tasha 3:50

Yeah, no, um, there's actually a lot of um like kind of like clubs within financial planning organizations that will talk about the therapy behind money. And you know, especially with couples, um, a lot of the times I feel like they're therapists where I'm sitting down with them and you just have two completely different perspectives on wanting to spend their money, and and it's so personal to just give me all of you know your money and to and for me to just really have like prying eyes looking at how you're spending and looking at your credit card is intrusive.

Tom 4:24

Yeah.

Tasha 4:25

So um it's definitely personal.

Tom 4:27

And then kind of like a therapist, you're kind of the third voice being like, I think you should save or should invest, or you're kind of the deal breaker like voice there to help them decide like what direction to take with their money. So that's a very, very important role that you play.

Tasha 4:43

Yeah, absolutely. I think um emotional financial decisions aren't always the most sound. So when you take the emotion out of it, and I can just be the one there to make kind of more rational decisions and help you think rationally through your decisions, um, it makes a big difference. For me, to just say, you know, I I look at a lot of clients and a lot of different portfolios, and I'm I'm telling you that you're not spending at a sustainable rate. You know, and it it can kind of wake people up sometimes.

Tom 5:16

Okay. So did you do similar financial planning in your career up until this point, or did you just do a different financial role and now you've started doing this?

Tasha 5:28

Uh so um there's different, you know, sides of the industry. And so um right after undergrad, I I started with a different company um in Falls Church, and they were still comprehensive financial planning firm too, but they kind of just charged their clients differently. And I was introduced to um the woman I work with now, Connie DuPra, actually through my mom.

Tom 5:58

Okay.

Tasha 5:59

Um and it was just a little bit of a small world random thing where my mom happened to be working for a financial planner who was looking to retire.

Tom 6:09

Okay.

Tasha 6:09

And um when Connie learned that I had all the certifications I needed to basically come in and have an opportunity to buy her business, um, she brought me in. And so.

Tom 6:24

So you bought out her business?

Tasha 6:26

Yeah. I'm in the process of buying out her business. So, you know, it it um I've been working with Connie for three and a half years now, and and the reason I came over was always with the intention of buying out the company.

Tom 6:40

Uh okay. So she you were like her apprentice and like with her clients, and now she's retiring and you're taking over full-time.

Tasha 6:49

Exactly. Yeah, so it's it's an S-corp, and um, and so she is now fully um, she's not fully retired, but she is no longer the owner. So I'm 100% the only owner of the business now, which happened as of January. And um we kind of put together a contract in terms of you know, non-competes and how I would pay back um the price of the business because it's it's kind of like a house where you put down a down payment and then you have a loan.

Tom 7:26

Yeah, I was gonna say, do you have to take out a loan? I'm sure this was not cheap.

Tasha 7:29

It's not a loan through the bank, it's just a loan with her. Okay. So I have an interest rate with her and I'm paying her back um quarterly from revenues that that are generated through the company.

Tom 7:42

Yeah, I don't want to bash on your success at all, but this also feels like extremely lucky. I mean this is like really a really great opportunity that seems to have just like timed out perfectly for retirement.

Tasha 7:53

Well, and you your career blossoming, like and it it's also, you know, a a lot of life is who you know, um, which happened to be my situation with this, but I think it's also kind of common for this career type.

Tom 8:08

This happens a lot, you think.

Tasha 8:10

Yeah. So for lots of financial planners have smaller businesses. Um, so it's kind of a small community in the Northern Virginia area. You know, I know most of the or many of the small financial planning companies in Northern Virginia.

Tom 8:23

Okay.

Tasha 8:24

And some of them have, you know, four or five owners, and some of them are just one owner who's eventually looking to retire and find a successor. And, you know, similar like we've seen in society today, most of the owners are baby boomers. And they are very close to retirement, if not already retired. So it's been a big transition, I feel like, over the last, you know, five to ten years, and will continue in my industry for another five to ten years to kind of go to the next generation.

Tom 8:57

Yeah, I believe the whole economy is like experiencing this turnover right now of like this big transition of wealth that the baby boomers had, and it, I mean, they're not gonna have it forever, obviously. Like it needs to go somewhere. And just across the board, it's got a lot of implications.

Tasha 9:14

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So, um, you know, and and I just I liked Connie, I liked her business. Um, I think the most important thing when you're looking for to buy out a company like this is to make sure you like the clients.

Tom 9:31

Yeah, so how did that go with transitioning to clients? Did you retain 100% of her clients or was there any uh problems that encountered?

Tasha 9:39

Yeah, you know, um, of course, I think that's the number one fear, um, you know, retention, because obviously that's correlated to your revenues. So we were really fortunate that um, you know, since we did over a three-year process, it was easier to introduce the idea to clients. So as I was brought into the company as an employee three years ago, it was also prefaced with eventually, you know, I hope Natasha owns the company. And there were no guarantees, right? We didn't sign any contracts three years ago, but that was the intention and and it worked in our favor.

Tom 10:19

Okay. So did you have a salary coming in?

Tasha 10:21

Yeah.

Tom 10:22

Okay. And then you trans you're transitioning out of that, I guess.

Tasha 10:26

Yeah. So I was a W-2 employee for three years.

Tom 10:29

And um Did you take like a pay cut compared to what you could be making elsewhere in order for this like risk like long term? Yes.

Tasha 10:36

Okay, wow. That yeah, no, that's um a great point. So I definitely took a pay cut knowing that I'm kind of um in it for the long run, right? For these long-term goals. And even now, my my income is not significantly higher because I have this big loan that I'm paying off quarterly. So, you know, another way to look at it is I have income like you do in the form of cash. Um, and then I also have kind of this equity growing over time too, as I pay off the loan in chunks. So, you know, it's just unfortunate that, you know, being 29 years old, it's like Cody and I, my husband and I, could really benefit from having more money now to pay for a house or just plan for having kids and other things like that. But, you know, I think it's all a balance and competing goals.

Tom 11:31

Well, it seems like a calculated risk and not just like a random risk. You know, that's something I struggle with, is that I'll take risks, but they won't be so calculated. So I'll just spend like all these hours building an app or something, then it doesn't make any money, and I don't have like a plan to get money back on my time spent or money spent where it seems like this all should truly pay off for you, you know?

Tasha 11:54

Yeah, yeah. I think um I feel like that's an interesting point because um I kind of look at things as people who are like big picture oriented versus like detail oriented or kind of um, you know, kind of just jump in and get started. And I feel like you're someone who like jumps in and gets started, and you just um I wish I was better at that. I feel like I'm someone who's big picture oriented and I have this big plan, um, and I'm not as good at the the nitty-gritty or the day-to-day, you know, minor things that go into it.

Tom 12:30

Yeah. So yeah, I I can see like long-term vision and I can see like short day-to-day pretty well. Like what I should I can cut that down, but then I have like the intermediate, like, okay, how am I gonna get from A to B to C and then the long-term vision like has always been an issue.

Tasha 12:48

The connecting.

Tom 12:48

And just the financial aspect of the business too. Like, I mean, uh obviously, you know, the the software aspect, like I'm pretty good at, that's why, and I figured, like, as far as the investment goes, the time working on software was gonna pay off for me just having that skill. So even though I never made money, it wasn't like a complete waste as far as like okay, now I can build software, but I'm just never understood the how to make like how to operate the financial side of a business ever, like uh even though I've been that's been a goal of mine. So that's why I'm glad I'm talking to someone like you who it seems like that is the side that you understand specifically, you know.

Tasha 13:31

Yeah, I mean, I was super intimidated by being a business owner at first. You know, I loved being a financial planner, I was a great employee. I knew what to I knew what the clients needed, I knew how to help them. Everything that pertained to getting the job done, I knew how to do. But in terms of running a business and running a company, that stuff was really foreign to me.

Tom 13:57

But aren't those similar since one is like helping someone financially plan their life and the other one is like a lot of finances of the business? Are there a lot of crossover skills?

Tasha 14:07

There's definitely some, but you know, I'm proficient in um personal taxes, not corporate taxes. And um, you know, I think the other thing with my industry, especially, is there's a lot of compliance with my licenses and also just um as a business owner. Okay. So I really understood my compliance requirements as with my personal licenses, but then I was really intimidated of the compliance regulations associated with a company.

Tom 14:41

Okay.

Tasha 14:41

You know, run by whether you're, you know, managed by FINRA or the SEC. Um, all these regulators have kind of stringent but sometimes vague rules to follow. And it's just how do you make sure you check all those boxes? That was really scary.

Tom 14:59

Okay, let's talk about like just the operations of the business. So, like, um what is some general advice you give your clients? What are some issues that you see, like trends that people have problems with? How do you um go about fixing those things?

Tasha 15:17

Yeah, well, I think um I should start too by uh explaining that my clients are an average of about 60, 65 years old. Okay. So um that's where you know we have a lot of retirees or or kind of transitioning into retirement. Um and I'm helping a lot with things like answering the questions of what should I do with my olden 401k? Should I keep it here or should I roll it over? Um, what do I do with my social security? Should I get so start Social Security benefits now or should I delay them? Um and then it's really scary for people that are retiring to go from you know having a hundred and fifty thousand dollar salary to not having any income. And they're like, where am I gonna get the money from? And they have this million or two million dollar portfolio that they can take money out, but they're so scared too. Because they've been saving, saving, saving their whole life. It's like it's weird for them to change that.

Tom 16:26

Yeah, I feel like the hard part too is like you never know when you're gonna die. And so are you you need to make this million dollars last over 10 years or 45 years?

Tasha 16:37

Exactly.

Tom 16:38

Who knows?

Tasha 16:39

That is a huge if I knew the day my clients were gonna die, I could help them so much better. I would I would tell them to the penny what they could spend daily. I could easily answer those questions.

Tom 16:49

So I guess that's a big question. How do you account for that variable?

Tasha 16:52

So a lot of it is just um gauging the client's comfort level. So you have to kind of understand um how risky the client is, you know, and and how they portray their personal health. You know, I can't pry too much into their actual health, but you know, I've some clients that have had cancer in the past and maybe they're in remission now, but um it's very likely to come back, or some clients who are sick in other ways and and they don't think they'll have a long, long life, you know, and and those kind of go into how we decide when to apply for social security.

Tom 17:32

Okay. So their health is like very intertwined in the whole process.

Tasha 17:36

Yeah, and their comfort level.

Tom 17:37

Yeah.

Tasha 17:38

You know, um, so I I just kind of talk them through whether we're buying, you know, sometimes there's policies like long-term care insurance, which can be really expensive. Um, and it's kind of just gauging, well, you know, do you do you want to pay this very expensive insurance for the reassurance that if you have high health care needs in the future, you have this policy to lean on? Or do you want to kind of take the much riskier route of saving your money, keeping it for yourself? But if you have, you know, health insurance or health issues, you are kind of dependent on whatever you have in your own bank account.

Tom 18:15

Okay, so you said there's like these two routes that it's like a big decision point for most of these people. What would you what do you think you're gonna decide when you're in their position?

Tasha 18:23

Um, I'm definitely more of a risk taker. Okay. Um, and and that's just, you know, it could be a factor of me being young. Um I feel like if you talk to financial planners that are older, a lot of them are more risk-averse because they had to go through kind of the 07-08 crises and and dealt with um not only managing their clients' money, but their personal revenues and portfolios went down, right? Their business revenues probably went down significantly, as well as um their investments. So, you know, some people would say that with more experience um and as you age, you'll become like more risk averse. But personally, right now, I'm I'm definitely more of a risk taker with the way I invest and make my decisions.

Tom 19:22

And also for you personally, if you're worried about it, this you probably kind of pay more attention to your health over the years in order to not be in the position where you need, right? Because a lot of this is like, let's say if you were smoking for the next 30 years, you might need this other package that you know had more guarantee. Had more guarantee that you're gonna get treatment, but if you're living a healthier lifestyle, you're probably more um able to not rely on on those types of packages.

Tasha 19:51

Yeah, right. And but at the same time, you know, sometimes the healthiest people will end up with cancer or have a heart attack, right? So it's a lot of it's totally unknown. Um, but I think it's just about understanding those risks, you know. Um, you have to know what what's on the table that you could be letting go of. Um, and just if it happens, you have to be okay with the decision you made.

Tom 20:21

Yeah. Okay. So you said all of your clients are like in their 60s. Are you worried about this? Like, are you gonna be looking to replace all of her clients with like a younger crowd soon, or you think you're still gonna specialize in people at this age, since this is kind of where all your clientele are at and the experience you're getting?

Tasha 20:41

Yeah, no, that's a great question. Um, so we have started kind of this concept of family planning for a while now, um, where we are starting to bring on our clients' children by offering them some free services or free consultations to try to establish a relationship with that next generation.

Tom 21:05

Okay.

Tasha 21:05

Um, but you know, at the same time, when I think about it, and the way I say it to my clients is well, you don't want to be the same age as your financial advisor. Because if you are, the day you retire is probably the same day they are gonna want to retire.

Tom 21:24

Got it.

Tasha 21:24

So if you have someone that is younger, um, you know, my career is probably gonna be over the course of the rest of their life. Uh so I feel like that's almost a little more ideal. And like we said, you know, who knows the day they're gonna die. But if I have a 60 year old, they might live till around 90. And that might be around when I'm looking to retire anyway. Um, but you know, I feel like it's also like my average client is 60 to 65, but I have some that are 40, I have some that are. 80. So it really is a broad range.

Tom 22:03

But you don't want to specialize like people in their 20s and 30s.

Tasha 22:06

Like this is not Yeah, I mean, um hard to say that I don't want to. This is kind of just the book of business I'm starting with.

Tom 22:17

Okay.

Tasha 22:18

Um and I think a lot of people have asked me too if I want to expand, you know, and if I'm I'm looking to bring on new business. And I mean, I just bought the business in January. So for me, I'm focused on retention and just um kind of cleaning up the systems or processes that I don't like. Um and even just some housekeeping too on kind of making sure that changing things from Connie's name to my name have been completed or done correctly. And a lot of it is just maintenance and trying to like, you know, keep my head above water.

Tom 22:58

Cross your T's and dot your I's kind of stuff.

Tasha 23:00

And then and then I'll be looking at like what's next. Okay. You know, how do I want to expand and or market myself, you know. I don't even know yet.

Tom 23:10

Well, this could be um advertisement. It's it's always more fun to interview someone though who has something to gain. Like just uh like I interviewed someone who um is like a nutritionist and she gained one new client from our episode, you know, like and maybe no one will reach out, but it's exciting to interview people that could today or down the road gain something from someone listening to this interview and being like, oh, I trust her. Like maybe I'll reach out. So I'm excited that um that there is something could that could be gained. Um or we could do another interview, maybe if you're really trying to market and expand like a couple years from now, you know, we could do another. Absolutely. Because podcasts are a great way for someone to like really get to know you and trust you and like understand a little bit more from a personal level than just seeing like an ad in the paper or even a recommendation from a friend is not as personal.

Tasha 24:03

Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. And I think um for me too, I am really passionate about like educating people, you know. Um, I feel like I've had plenty of conversations just at work happy hours with Cody, my husband, where I'm um just kind of sharing a little bit about what I do or or maybe avenues that they can help themselves without expectations of bringing on a new client. Um, just because I I do think that people can improve their picture with sometimes just a few small steps.

Tom 24:39

I feel like a lot of people in your position they do like go into content creation to like promote their business and to like educate people and stuff. That's a whole another ball of stress though. Like to add to your own.

Tasha 24:49

Yeah, I mean, to me it's like um not really my like niche as much, I think, just with my age range of clients at this time.

Tom 25:01

They're not on TikTok.

Tasha 25:03

Not really. So I don't even think most of them would know what that is. Yeah, let alone Instagram. You know, they're probably all still on Facebook. So um it's definitely just different. And we do receive a lot of referrals, um, which is where we've um kind of accepted new clients at this time. And sometimes they move forward with us and we have these long-term relationships, and sometimes they decide not to for one reason or another, whether they maybe husband and wife don't agree, maybe um it's just too busy of a time because they're moving or or whatnot. And I always keep that door open. You know, it's it's not personal to me, it's business. So it's you know, you can't assume it's because they don't like you or whatever. It's it's all just um what's the best decision for them, and and they're just trying to make that, and and so am I. And of course, I think I'm the best decision for everyone. Of course. You know, not everyone's gonna see eye to eye with me, and and and that's fine.

Tom 26:12

Interesting. Um, you said that there was like some systems and processes you were maybe improving upon or something. Is there any anything you would want to share as far as like lessons you've learned of like how to do things better or just systems, uh processes that weren't working as efficiently as you thought they could be?

Tasha 26:31

Yeah, I mean, um definitely hard to answer because I think my situation, it's just very specific things. Um, but you know, I'm you know, I became an owner of a company that's been around since the 80s.

Tom 26:45

Okay.

Tasha 26:46

So a lot of the processes have been around for a long time and maybe they're outdated.

Tom 26:53

Okay.

Tasha 26:53

Just in terms of how we're documenting notes. Um, and so I have great ideas on, you know, I want to use this new software, I want to use a different CRM, which is a client relationship manager. Um, but that's a big project to tackle when you have over 150 clients, right? To transfer things over you have 150 clients? Yeah, households. Um, and I mean some of them don't need as many services as others. So some of them are lower maintenance. Um, but it's it's a lot of work. You know, I have a lot of work day to day, and then to try to implement something new takes a lot of time and effort. So I think I'm careful before I make a change. I kind of will sit on an idea for a while before I implement something new.

Tom 27:48

What CRM are you using?

Tasha 27:50

So we use Red Tail right now. Okay. Um, but honestly, we don't use it to the full capacity.

Tom 27:59

Okay.

Tasha 28:00

We're kind of using our um kind of document storage space more for workflows than Red Tail, which is one of those outdated systems that I want to change.

Tom 28:11

Got it.

Tasha 28:12

But um, you know, now looking at it, I'm glad I didn't jump the gun because uh we have this relationship with a broker dealer who is being bought out, and now we're having a whole new sweep of technology come through the door in just a few months. And with that, they might be taking away red tail and other things. So it's it's just such a gamble to like switch over and and to put in a lot of work into something that maybe isn't gonna work for the long run. So I'm I'm definitely careful before I make a change. I think.

Tom 28:46

Okay, did she have any employees when you came on, or is she one-man team?

Tasha 28:50

So Connie's only employee was my mom. So my mom, Tatiana, she was her executive assistant, so kind of helping a lot with um preparing paperwork, okay, eat mealing clients, you know, um, instructions or just to-dos or scheduling stuff. Um so now my mom is still in that role, so she's my only W-2 employee.

Tom 29:16

That's so cool. Yeah, yeah. So you and your mom are are running it now.

Tasha 29:19

Yeah.

Tom 29:20

That's cool.

Tasha 29:21

Yeah. Um, which was definitely a transition in itself. But I think for the most part, we started that three and a half years ago when I came on. It was hard to start working together because obviously there's so much personal relationship there on top of an employee relationship, coworkers relationship. Um, so, but we've kind of gotten that figured out. And it's it's pretty funny where you know, we have an office phone, so we'll call each other, and half the time I'm like talking about, you know, client A and being like, oh, you know, did they send their tax return? I can't do this analysis. Okay, we'll call them and ask. And 10 minutes later I'm calling her, like, so what are you guys doing for dinner tonight?

Tom 30:03

You know, that's so funny.

Tasha 30:04

Yeah.

Tom 30:05

That's cool though. I mean, is it um I mean I'm sure it's great to get to spend extra time with her and stuff as well.

Tasha 30:11

You know, yeah, yeah, I feel really lucky. Um, I saw some graphics, you know, maybe over the last few months or something about um your relationships with different people.

Tom 30:22

And like you spend 90% with your parents by the time you're 12 or something like that. Yeah, exactly.

Tasha 30:27

And it's it's so sad. And I, you know, I'm really close with my parents, and I love I love that I get to spend so much extra time with my mom. Um and at the you know, at the same time, some days I definitely want to kill her, and I'm like, I can't talk to her anymore. And we just because I think you know, uh with your mom as your coworker, you lose a lot of that um kind of like playing nice or just like there's no passive aggressive comments, it's only aggressive comments when you're mad at each other. There's no subtleties. Um, so that's pretty funny.

Tom 31:05

But that's exciting though. Yeah. But I can see, I can see the pros and cons for sure.

Tasha 31:09

Yeah.

Tom 31:10

When um how old were you when she started working for this company?

Tasha 31:14

Um, so she's worked there a long time, I think 15 years now. So I was like in high school, 15 or 16. Um, probably. Could you have ever imagined that you would be running this company, that your mom's not gonna be able to do the food on the table for bothered to ask who she was was working for. I had no idea what she really did.

Tom 31:34

So this only came into the picture like three or four years ago as like even an idea.

Tasha 31:38

Yeah.

Tom 31:39

Okay. So you didn't like have a relationship with Connie like through barbecues and stuff.

Tasha 31:44

No, no. Um and and Connie, so the office was ri originally based in Tysons. Um, but I don't even know how long ago now, maybe five to ten years ago, Connie moved the office fully virtual. I think it was in like 2012 or 13.

Tom 32:02

It's pretty early.

Tasha 32:03

Um, and she moved to Annapolis.

Tom 32:05

Okay. So I all of her clients are here in in Northern Virginia.

Tasha 32:09

Most of them, but we actually have clients all over the country. Okay. Um, and since we were 100% virtual through COVID, we didn't have a lot of the same pains that other companies went through to go virtual.

Tom 32:22

Wow.

Tasha 32:23

Um, which was lucky. And our clients were pretty used to video conferencing versus, you know, especially at that age range, like lots of um 60 plus year old clients really like the in-person thing, but um, you know, our clients are really flexible.

Tom 32:39

Mm-hmm. That's nice.

Tasha 32:40

Yeah.

Tom 32:41

So are you gonna try to h hire any employees in the future? Are you gonna like you were saying, like down the road, do you want to expand, or is this you kind of want to keep it like a a one-person uh company?

Tasha 32:55

Yeah, I think um right now, well, I also still have Connie as a so she's a contract employee. Okay, so she's working, you know, less hours this year. She works about 10 hours a week.

Tom 33:09

Um, that's nice that she's gonna phase out kind of like that.

Tasha 33:12

And she's there for those tough questions. Um, maybe there's something really um intricate that I don't know how to answer, and she can help me understand or learn about it better. Or clients that are a little more difficult that only want to talk to Connie.

Tom 33:27

Okay.

Tasha 33:28

And she can kind of join me for a call and kind of just give that stamp of approval, like, oh, you know, Natasha, I agree with Natasha's advice to help ease um any difficult situations.

Tom 33:43

You were saying earlier that certain clients maybe get too emotional about the decisions they make with money, and you can help them kind of make a more rational decision. What emotion what role do emotions play in your financial planning and financial advice with people? Or do they play any role at all?

Tasha 34:01

Yeah, I think um, you know, emotions for the most part and financial decisions are a bad thing. Okay. I would say. But I don't think it's necessarily cut and dry, black and white either. But um, you know, I think that when you make emotional decisions and for example, you see the markets going down and you see your portfolio value dropping, dropping, dropping, an emotional decision would be I'm scared of it going down more, I want to sell everything. And then you get out of the market when it's at its bottom, and that's kind of like financial 101, the worst thing you can do. So I think that when I can kind of like weather the storm, that is kind of those emotional drivers, it it helps a lot. Um same thing with I don't know, I feel like it can play a factor into other things like when we're talking about estate planning and estate administration. Um it can get really sticky when someone dies and they didn't tell their kids how they left the money to the kids, and and sometimes emotions run really high. So I try to help situations like that by encouraging my clients to tell their family members what they want to happen upon their passing.

Tom 35:37

Okay.

Tasha 35:37

Because that takes away less, you know, the surprise factor, and and especially when you're mourning someone and you're maybe not sleeping and and just emotions are really heightened, it can get sad and sticky.

Tom 35:51

And that's a good topic that I didn't even think about. How how do you um advise people on writing their will? Like when should they think about it? What do what do people typically do?

Tasha 36:01

Yes, do they give money just to their kids or their grandkids or do they it is a whole realm of things, and I will start first by saying my most important statement in any client meeting is to say that you need to talk to your estate attorney. I am not an estate attorney and I can't give legal advice.

Tom 36:19

Okay.

Tasha 36:20

Um but you know, I go into conversations about establishing wills and talking to your attorney about a trust. Um, everyone should have estate documents. It becomes significantly more important the day you have a child. Um it's still hugely important the day you get married. And, you know, I think that life is always changing, so you need to always make sure that you're updating those two. Um, you know, whether you leave them money to your kids, to your grandkids, to a charity down the block, that's totally up to you. And I have clients that are doing a lot of different things. Uh so I'm just here to help them fulfill those wishes, not really advise them, you know, what's best. Okay.

Tom 37:11

Yeah, I and with the emotional question, the like I guess the thing I was kind of getting at is like, do you see all these people online who are like, you gotta manifest the money? Like you need to believe in the money and then it'll come. And like I I feel like your answer is like you think that's a bunch of bolt, but like what is there anything to that? Is there anything to like the spirituality financial convergence that you see online all the time?

Tasha 37:36

Of like these financial guru simple answer, no, I'm not woo-woo enough to believe in stuff like that. But I mean, in terms of just like, I feel like general life manifestation is kind of a thing. Like, I think that um a lot of the times, like, if you decide to be happy and decide to have a good day, you'll have a better day than you would have otherwise. But I don't think that directly translates into other things like bringing in money. I just think that you can kind of self-motivate into being more proactive, that might lead to more money opportunities.

Tom 38:21

Because those types of people tend to like bleed into like more of a life coach than like a financial coach, but they kind of do both sometimes. Do you ever give out like general life advice too, or are you just kind of like, hey, I need to stick to the money and the financial finances?

Tasha 38:36

I think that like I said, when I feel like I'm a therapist sometimes, I think I'm always kind of like a shoulder to cry on if needed, or you know, an ear if someone just wants to vent or talk. Um but I don't really advise as much in that realm.

Tom 38:56

So you listen to all life problems, but then you try to output specifically financial advice.

Tasha 39:03

Yeah, and I I mean I think I would say things like, well, you know, I think it might make sense to introduce your daughter to this conversation if if someone's just really worried about what their daughter's gonna think. Or um, you know, I try to solve problems where I can too, but it's just it's definitely not my expertise, I guess. Okay. So I can offer solutions I think of, but they're not really that profound.

Tom 39:26

Got it. Okay. Um what how do you organize your life? This seems like so much. Um, just 150 clients, you have one, maybe one and a half people helping you. Um how do you get it all done? Like, how do you manage your just like daily activities, your stress levels, your lifestyle?

Tasha 39:49

Yeah, great question.

Tom 39:50

How do you live your life in a way to succeed?

Tasha 39:53

Um, I am a big list maker. Uh, it makes me feel a lot less cluttered inside my own mind because it's paper or paper.

Tom 40:02

Okay.

Tasha 40:02

Um, I have like a daily calendar where you just kind of rip off each day. And I often will just rip one off to make a list, random list. Sometimes it's personal stuff, sometimes it's work-related, um, sometimes it's a BJ's list. You know, it really does range from a lot of different things. And once I can get all of that written down, I feel a lot more level-headed. Because if I feel like I'm just trying to retain everything in my mind, something's gonna slip through the cracks. Um, and then that's kind of just for those immediate thoughts and and fleeting things that happen. I think for work in general, I live on our calendar.

Tom 40:42

Okay.

Tasha 40:43

I'm always throwing things on the calendar if it's not an um outlook calendar. Outlook calendar. Uh so that's so that's for work. I I actually live on my Google Calendar for personal life too.

Tom 40:55

It's you use calendy or something to let clients schedule meetings with you on their own.

Tasha 41:01

We haven't yet, but I've um my the old company I worked for did. And I thought it was very clever and and would definitely want to introduce that eventually.

Tom 41:10

But like with 150 clients, you also might not want them just showing up on your calendar any day as well.

Tasha 41:16

Yeah. I don't think you would ever be something where I added it to my email signature.

Tom 41:20

Yeah.

Tasha 41:21

But it I think I would share a link of specific people. Yes, as it warranted or was needed.

Tom 41:27

So like as you're scheduling the meeting, give them more freedom, but not just have like an open door type of policy. Yeah. I feel like that would be overwhelming for you.

Tasha 41:34

Right. And I think at the same time, I I want to encourage my clients to reach out whenever they wanted to. But I think that if I just had something randomly pop up on my calendar, I would definitely be reaching out to ask why, you know, what is this meeting about? Because I also do a lot of prep before the meeting to make sure that I'm answering as much as I can. And there's less follow-up. But yeah, I uh, you know, I think I have lots of conversations or meetings with clients where the result will be um, I think we answered everything we can right now, but we won't be able to answer the next part until we know how your 2023 tax picture looks. So I have to throw something out into May of 2024 to circle back on this conversation. Um so that's where I lean into the calendar a lot for for stuff like that.

Tom 42:24

And you also live by like the agenda of the calendar. So if they start talking about something, like if this is to talk about their 2024 taxes, and then they start asking you about um investing in Bitcoin, are you like, yo, shut up?

Tasha 42:40

Like this is we No, I I'm totally open to I'm I'm really flexible. Okay. Um so if they bring up something random, I'm open to talking about it on the spot. I might not have all the answers.

Tom 42:51

Um or you might have another meeting.

Tasha 42:53

Yeah, so sometimes I'll kind of say I'll follow up via email. I also really like to keep stuff in writing because it's easy for me to look back on.

Tom 43:03

Do you have some tool that turns your um conversations into a script from your I don't.

Tasha 43:09

So what I do is for my virtual meetings, phone meetings, I oftentimes will um prepare a really thorough agenda, which will like also double as the documentation I keep after.

Tom 43:22

Okay.

Tasha 43:22

Um and after the meeting.

Tom 43:24

But what if you'll sit there and change the agenda if if you guys talk about different bullet points and you'll take notes in person?

Tasha 43:31

Yeah, so that's why I really like virtual meetings best because I can type those right onto the screen. And what I usually do is I um just change the font color so I know it's a note I just added. And then it's usually shorthanded, so it's just a few random words. Um and after the conversation, I go back and expand on that thought and idea. Um and it really doesn't take me too much extra time.

Tom 43:55

Okay, so virtual notes, virtual meetings, virtual calendar, but paper. lists.

Tasha 44:00

Yeah, paper to-do list.

Tom 44:02

To-do list. What about yesterday's to-do list, things that didn't get done? Do you go grab that at the beginning of each day and and transfer those over?

Tasha 44:10

Uh no, no. I um keep it until it's it needs a new one. So I will make a list um of what I want to do for the day or sometimes just for the week.

Tom 44:21

Okay.

Tasha 44:21

Things I need to get to. And and it's usually smaller things that don't warrant a whole workflow.

Tom 44:28

Okay.

Tasha 44:28

It's just something I need to um call the client and it it something small call the client to ask, remind them to send their tax return.

Tom 44:37

Okay.

Tasha 44:38

Um and maybe there's 10 things on my list and once half of them are crossed off maybe I start a new one. And that can happen in a day sometimes it it's a week. Sometimes I have one for like a month ago. Because it's not as in like there's things on it that just aren't as important or aren't immediate.

Tom 44:56

Okay.

Tasha 44:57

So I don't know.

Tom 44:58

It's I guess a little random do you have like specific um wake up routine like go to bed routine like specific things that that keep you in check?

Tasha 45:08

I thrive with a routine which is something that was really hard for me to start doing because by nature I don't want to be routine based. I'm a night owl and I liked a regular schedule but I've found over time that if I go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time every morning I feel much better. I'm more productive and you know I'm just less lethargic at work. I'm more um likely to work out and and that will motivate me too. So sometimes I'll work out midday and that actually makes me more productive in the afternoon.

Tom 45:48

Yeah I like to do that too. Definitely what about um what about goals?

Tasha 45:54

Like do you set weekly goals monthly goals year like how do you structure um so I made a very thorough goal list um going into this business buyout. So I started it in the fall and I started a list of like 2023 goals.

Tom 46:11

Okay.

Tasha 46:12

And a lot of them were um you know I kind of try to do due dates of when I wanted them to be accomplished by by for end of first quarter by the end of June or or what have you and so I've kind of gone back and looked at those and some of them had to be adjusted and some of them were done and some of them weren't necessary. Okay. So it's it's really big goals.

Tom 46:36

I don't do it for like the day to day so but quarterly kind of then is like for the year goals kind of. Okay. How's it been working at home? Do you have an office space here?

Tasha 46:46

Like what yeah so I um I have an office upstairs and I also we have a sunroom that I have a second desk in which I've been using for like warmer months. So I work there almost all the time unless it's too hot. Yeah I really like that best um I struggle with the work from home things sometimes because you don't have anyone really to keep you accountable. Same way as a business owner you don't really have anyone to keep you accountable. So that can be um difficult at times to just self-motivate. So I've found that if I'm really struggling to get a task done and I just keep picking up my phone, I will just stop trying to get it done. Even if you know I have to leave early from work and I really should get it done now. Like I'll just take a five to 10 minute break and do something else that's productive around my house whether that's load the dishwasher or switch the laundry something small and then go back to trying to do the task. And I find that I'm usually much more productive.

Tom 47:52

Oh and I remember one other thing we wanted to talk about uh journaling. So uh last time we hung out you mentioned you journal and maybe this was something recommended by a therapist so does that play a big role in how you run your business or just personal and does this you said sometimes you're just alone like does this therapist play a role of of someone at least someone else that you can go rely on for something outside of this company that you're running?

Tasha 48:20

Yeah I mean I I lean on my therapist a lot for just um giving me help with mental clarity I think um she's helped me so much to kind of just sort through my thoughts and feelings and I think I'm someone who is pretty emotionally intelligent. And so it's just cool to work with a professional who I can kind of go to and say like you know I know what I'm doing wrong and I know the bad habits that I have help me make them better. And um she just gives me really good ideas on how to expand you know and grow emotionally.

Tom 48:59

I feel like with your personality you would go into those meetings with an agenda for her.

Tasha 49:03

I a hundred percent go in with topics I'm gonna talk about and sometimes I dread it and sometimes I love it. Because there's certain things that'll happen to you emotionally over a course of two weeks because I see her every two weeks um that sometimes you just don't want to talk about something that just like makes your stomach turn and and makes you upset to think about or but you know you should talk about it to kind of process.

Tom 49:28

Do you have a hard time processing emotions when what you do every day is just financial numbers and like putting emotions to the side like your own do your own emotions get neglected in this whole process?

Tasha 49:39

Oh absolutely not I think um no not at all I I think that I I really like what I do because I feel like I'm helping people um so it doesn't take that much emotional energy or emotional stimulation. So then when I am having my more personal relationships with family friends Cody um I'm more invested okay and emotionally energized.

Tom 50:07

Yeah I feel you guys have a good family life work life balance right like you guys seem very involved in both your families and and seem even though you're running this company to have a very good balance going on with just exercise and socializing and yeah thanks I think our biggest struggle is always overcommitting overextending ourselves like maybe a podcast you know right when we're already full day plan work PT picking up our car um so I think that we Cody and I both really value our friendships and relationships in general and um you know we're always trying to do more for our friends and show love by giving more whether that's helping a friend move or doing a podcast.

Tasha 51:02

I think that sometimes we will accidentally overbook ourselves to the point where now him and I don't get any quality alone time. And when I mean quality alone time it's I mean something other than cleaning the house together or taking care of the dogs or what have you. So um we've made a point to try to do weekly date nights um to try to focus more on taking care and nurturing our personal relationship too. And I think like journaling helps with stuff like that. So when I can put aside 10 minutes before I go to bed to journal, I can kind of pinpoint better the things I want to work on for the future. You know, I I think that I can reflect on it what I've done for the day or just over the last week if I want more time alone with Cody or I really feel like I need to reach out to a certain friend. So I think that journaling can kind of just help promote those thoughts and ideas.

Tom 52:09

You seem to have a sense of like this is what you were meant to do, right? Like this do you feel like doing this job like s serves God or the greater good in some deep meaningful way so I don't necessarily think that this is what I was meant to do.

Tasha 52:26

I think that this is what I chose to do and I am happy with that decision.

Tom 52:32

Okay.

Tasha 52:32

Um I I always say this example too about Cody I love Cody endlessly um but I don't necessarily believe in the concept of there's only one person for every person. I think that Cody is the person I chose and him and I are gonna create a beautiful loving long life together. But if after I graduated college I moved to Chicago I probably would have met and married someone else um but I'm dedicated to this life and to this career and to this husband you know and and I I know Cody well enough and I know I can create a happy life with him. And I kind of feel the same way with my job where like I know I like what I do. I know it is something I love but it can also just become something I just absolutely am so proud of um and I just kind of have to nurture it and take care of it and kind of help grow that what are the other career wise what are the what are the other like paths that you consider taking um considered taking probably not many but just knowing myself now I think that I could have for example I think I would have loved to be a therapist um or maybe a teacher and I don't think maybe necessarily like a young teacher but maybe like a professor type teacher. Which is something I could still maybe do I guess.

Tom 54:08

Because you like the education side of the financial planning too.

Tasha 54:11

Yeah I love educating others um and I think that kind of like young adults are just so willing to learn uh and I like that too. So I I do think there would have been other paths that would have fit me well too but I am very happy with the one I chose.

Tom 54:34

Do uh just one more question about the financial do you have any just general advice for um young adults uh planning out their finances just like tips tricks or just like uh like what kind of mentality to have towards money?

Tasha 54:51

Yeah I think um I would say that one of the most important things is to stop comparing yourself to someone else. Um you know a little bit of that concept of like the grass is always greener you know people are going to be at different places and make different amounts of money and have different goals. Uh so I think that a lot of times I'll see people my age overspending because it's a little bit of you know trying to keep up with their friends um who are in a different place and maybe they just make a lot of money or who knows what it is. But you know there's no rules to how what you need to do and what you have to do. You don't have to buy a a house by the time you're 30. You don't have to drive a certain car to show that you're successful. You know Cody and I focus on our budgeting based on what we make and what we want to save. And then we fit in everything else. And we try really hard not to um compare ourselves to others because it's just different.

Tom 56:13

Yeah my friend who's a therapist says you got to meet the clients where they're at and I feel like with the finances it's like someone might be in debt trying to get out of debt and someone might be time to invest but you know they're just all over the map different areas or different they're on a different like journey and a different scale of things so you know it's it's difficult to try to compare yourself to someone who maybe didn't have to take out loans for college where you did or something like that.

Tasha 56:44

Exactly um and it you know teaches the value of money in different ways. So you know I I think that comparing yourself can just lead to a lot of mistakes and money um spent that didn't need to be spent uh so and I I just think it can lead to frustration. Um and and I feel like that's kind of true and when you compare yourself to others in any other aspect too. So that's an important one and I think you know just figure out your goals and and what you want to do with money and your money in a few years and and position yourself to try to meet that in terms of creating a budget that would let you save enough to meet those goals in the future. Okay um last question what do you think the meaning of life is oh meaning of life um I think that everyone's goal at the end of the day is just to be happy um and so I think that we are all especially with social media nowadays we're all just trying to look happy but I think we need to let go of that and focus on doing the things that actually make us happy all right and that's it thank you so much this was awesome.

Tom 58:10

Yeah thanks for having me yeah I'll just say that I'm really proud of your business um I think it's awesome and I'm just really excited to see what the future has in store.

Tasha 58:23

Thank you. I'm excited too yeah good luck