This week, the spotlight is on Alanah Phillips, the vibrant founder of Advisor Launch Lab. Alanah shares with host Lorie Jones how she boldly left unfulfilling situations—from insular communities to dead-end jobs—embracing new opportunities and growth.
Hear her powerful insights on the importance of male mentorship, viewing life as an experiment, and balancing ambition with authenticity. With stories of resilience, valuable advice, and a dash of humor, this episode is packed with wisdom for growth-oriented professional women looking to rise in their careers.
Don’t miss this enlightening conversation designed to fuel your journey to success.
Show Highlights:
- How Alanah Phillips pivoted from “boring” retail to “fun” finance. [00:05:15]
- The importance of supportive partners to unlock women’s potential. [00:10:27]
- Have you been told not to get ahead of yourself? [00:14:04]
- What Adam Grant’s study reveals about powerfully failing. [00:16:51]
- Why naturally evolving transitions yield better transformations. [00:18:15]
- Learn the crucial skill of not taking things personally. [00:23:45]
- Should women embrace their personal style early-career? [00:26:19]
- Tap into the power of leaving non-serving situations. [00:31:52]
- The value of being audacious yet strategic in career pursuits. [00:37:15]
- Insights on the vital contribution of male mentors to women’s careers. [00:39:33]
If you enjoyed this episode, please go to Apple Podcasts and leave a review!
For more information about Lorie Jones, go to http://fearless-females.com/.
00:02.15
Lorie Jones
Good morning, fearless females. I'm so excited that you've decided to join us today. And I have um Alana Phillips. She is, ah I love ah her title and the way she introduces herself. She's an advisor advocate, a troublemaker, and a founder of Advisor Launch Lab. So thanks for joining us, Alana. I'm so excited to hear from you today.
00:26.02
Alanah Phillips
Always happy to chat with you, Lori.
00:28.96
Lorie Jones
So the very first question I always ask is, I'm a reader. I love books. I love all sorts of books. What is your favorite book?
00:39.07
Alanah Phillips
Yeah, I'm an avid reader also. I find getting lost in a bookstore to be one of my favorite weekend activities. So I have lots of them, but one that I always come back to that's been very impactful in my life is a book called 4000 Weeks by Oliver Berkman.
00:57.88
Alanah Phillips
And it's I have to reread it every year because it has really good reminders for us and the subtitle is like time management for mortals just about how it's funny Lori because we just did time management with your team but how you know any time that you um get get lost in this, like everything's important and I have to do all this stuff and this this myth that we can get it all done, um it's a really good reminder to come back to like the faster that you respond to those emails, the faster that your inbox fills up again, right? And so like it takes the pressure off of thinking that you can do it all or that it matters to do it all. um There's a ah chapter in it called Cosmic Insignificance.
01:43.42
Alanah Phillips
And it is the idea that in the grand scheme of the universe, you as an individual don't really matter that much. And that seems kind of sad or bad at some point. But it's also very freeing that, like, if you embarrass yourself, if you don't end up making some massive impact on the universe, which you probably won't, it doesn't matter. So you should just be yourself, have a good time and do the things that you want to do. Because in the grand scheme of the universe, it just doesn't matter that much. But it's a really, really fun book.
02:13.05
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I actually think I've read that one and I loved it too, Alana. It was like, um so it made me think that like, really, we ah really only have a certain amount of time and we don't get any more.
02:25.57
Alanah Phillips
Yep.
02:27.29
Lorie Jones
Like, no one gives us any more time.
02:27.53
Alanah Phillips
No.
02:29.37
Lorie Jones
We just have to use what we have here in a really impactful way. And impactful, meaning sometimes you gotta stop and smell the roses, so to speak, rather than rush, rush, rush finishing everything up, you know.
02:39.21
Alanah Phillips
Yep. Nope, he talks about that. Yeah. How are you using 4,000 weeks is the average length of a human's lifespan. And we're lucky to get that much, but yeah, how are you using that time? Is it on the stuff that you actually say is important or are you spending it on trivial things? But yeah, the impact piece too, there's an illustration in there about.
03:00.28
Alanah Phillips
um You know like the building the pyramids or or building some beautiful Cathedral somewhere in Europe that a lot of the folks that built Those things didn't live to see them completed right and all of us are in that situation I think with the impact we're trying to make we're just putting the next brick into this building right and in each thing that we do putting that next brick the next right thing and We have no idea the impact that it will make in the future. And that always encourages me too, right? Again, just do the next right thing. We don't yet know the impact that it will have, but you should still do it because it is contributing to a larger um building project.
03:38.35
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I love that thought that just that we don't know exactly what impact our lives will make. um And we may not be around to see the end final impact of what they will, you know, what what our contribution will do to the universe.
03:51.71
Lorie Jones
But who's to say we aren't, you know, having the next president or impacting, you know, the next Gandhi or Mother Teresa or something like that.
03:52.15
Alanah Phillips
For sure.
04:03.56
Lorie Jones
So keep keep putting those bricks in the wall, right?
04:04.25
Alanah Phillips
Totally. Yeah, no, I love it.
04:09.18
Lorie Jones
Tell me a little bit about your journey. How did you get where you are today? Where did you start out? Tell me a little bit about Alana.
04:15.67
Alanah Phillips
Yeah. um I thought I was going to be the CEO of Target. like I started working in my red and khaki at 16 and I thought you'd just you know work your way up to the top and me and Greg Steinhoffel were going to be best buddies and I was going to take over. um so that ah Fortunately, that didn't happen. I left Target and went to Starbucks and then I thought I was going to be the CEO of Starbucks. and that didn't happen either. I think I realized, Lori, along the way in working in some of those corporate structures, that that really wasn't for me. There's a bureaucracy, there's a lack of creativity, there's a lack of flexibility that I really craved and valued all those things. So um when I jumped into financial services, I also had no knowledge of the work that we do here.
05:04.00
Alanah Phillips
I did not know the difference between stocks and bonds quite literally when I interviewed with um the first company that I worked for in financial services, Lincoln Financial. And um I learned so much in my first couple of years in this business.
05:18.11
Alanah Phillips
getting to shadow financial advisors and um see the impact of what they did, which I thought was really cool. Again, all entrepreneurial business owner type advisors. And I didn't even know that this existed, that that was a structure that existed. And so I did then think I was going to become a financial advisor because that seemed like a really impactful career to help people manage their money decisions and understand their money behaviors and um help them to plan for retirement and protect their families and all those good things that advisors do. But also, as I sat in on many of those meetings, they were um all too similar for me in a way that I was like, I think this is going to be boring. And so I obviously need ah more
06:10.78
Alanah Phillips
Wildness and the type of work that I do I think I do get easily bored and um the work that I do now is um two parts one advisory launch lab helps independent teams to hire and train new financial advisor so I'm still getting to do some of that stuff I thought I would do.
06:29.28
Alanah Phillips
and help impact the individual advisors that we work with and then they impact hundreds of households of clients which is a really cool sort of um ripple effect that we get to participate in. um I love helping to mentor new advisors because We get to share some of the stuff we're going to talk about in this discussion right of the advice that we wish that someone had told us. We get to share that with those new folks and help them avoid pitfalls. um and Then the other side of my business is ah helping advisors break up with the firms that they're with and get into new relationships, either where they run their own businesses or where they're plugging into a team that's a better match for them.
07:12.79
Alanah Phillips
in terms of their response risk capacity and goals for their career and that's really fun too because each advisor is a totally different challenge they all need help figuring out should they make a change one.
07:27.86
Alanah Phillips
and then how should they do that? Where should they do that? I get to catalyze a lot of growth decisions with advisors in that space and that's really cool too to see the ones that maybe needed the encouragement to make a change and then how much that can impact their earning potential, their control of their time, and their ability to make an impact with their clients. So That's how I spend my time now is in that space. And I will say the entrepreneurial journey has been challenging, interesting. It is still an experiment. There's still so much to learn there, but it's also been a really fun creative space.
08:09.95
Lorie Jones
I love that. I think it is hilarious. Alana, you said, um, I went to Target. I found out it was like straight laced and kind of boring. So I went to financial services. What?
08:20.29
Lorie Jones
Are you kidding me?
08:21.80
Alanah Phillips
Well, but the thing is like we do have like, yes, financial services can be very boring. But I have found my people in this industry, ah you know, you're one of them that like, we don't have to be boring, right?
08:31.96
Lorie Jones
yeah Yeah.
08:33.75
Alanah Phillips
There is that space for us to not be boring.
08:36.71
Lorie Jones
yeah
08:36.75
Alanah Phillips
And like, we had a lot of fun at Target, right? Like I was HR, I was in charge of doing all our fun events. So you know, we did mustache Mondays and tuna Tuesdays and you know all the dress-up stuff and competitions and all that we shot a music video you know like we had fun but the the the business creativity was pretty limited right you had to stay within the constraints of this brand structure of these um policies of this particular process for doing something and that was less exciting like yeah financial services very heavily regulated very boring but we get to make it fun
08:56.84
Lorie Jones
great
09:12.55
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I love that. and i And I'm on the same page with you there. I think finance is fun. It's just everybody doesn't know that yet. So we got to submit the message, right?
09:20.20
Alanah Phillips
Yes. Yes, that is why we're here.
09:25.11
Lorie Jones
Tell me about the best investment you've made in yourself. Is there something that you can look back on and you're like, oh my goodness, I'm so glad I did that. Because if I didn't, I don't i don't think I'd be where I am today.
09:36.30
Alanah Phillips
Yeah, I had a tough time with this question, Lori, as I was thinking about it because there are some obvious things that I think are gonna answer to this question. Like I didn't think I was going to finish my bachelor's degree. Like I was in a leadership position at Target that I didn't need one to do what I thought I wanted to do is be like this HR regional leader. And so I almost didn't finish my bachelor's degree. I had like a really,
10:02.66
Alanah Phillips
um negative attitude about higher education and thought I was gonna be fine without it. And I'm really glad i I changed my mind on that. I got my bachelor's, I now have a master's degree. And those would have been things that would have prevented me from being able to take opportunities that I've been able to take, right? So it wasn't, I mean, I learned a lot in my master's program more than in my bachelor's program, but um it was more about those being tickets to enter.
10:31.08
Alanah Phillips
in many places that um I know I talked to some folks that have not finished their education and and you know think that they shouldn't and I'm really glad that I did um but the more obvious answer to me Lori and it's funny because I'm no longer with this partner but I had a incredible supportive partner who encouraged me to take risks who, um you know, did the laundry while I was doing my master's program, who would pick me up from the airport when I was out traveling and trying to speak and establish myself as a thought leader. And that was such an important um investment in and myself in that, like, when you have somebody who's a supportive partner for you,
11:21.80
Alanah Phillips
It is such a difference, whether that's a romantic partner, a business partner, um you know the whoever it is that's supporting you, that is probably the greatest impact in terms of somebody who wasn't holding me back, who encouraged me to to take those leaps into entrepreneurship, who challenged me to think about who I wanted to be, who um allowed me the freedom and space to spend time on the stuff that was important to me to build and said, yeah, let me know what you need. um That's probably the biggest thing that has impacted and I had bad partners in my life for sure. And that is a huge detriment, especially as a woman to your career. If you are in a relationship with somebody who is not supportive of the things that you want to do.
12:10.83
Lorie Jones
Yeah, that's a really interesting viewpoint and really important something I don't think I've had mentioned before but but it does you can only look at yourself in the mirror so long and say I am I'm smart I'm kind I'm wonderful you need somebody else that are kind of backing that message up and saying you are smart you are kind you're good at what you do keep going keep trying and and we do need that supportive help.
12:31.91
Alanah Phillips
Yeah.
12:34.96
Lorie Jones
um It's great that you find that in you know, a partner, but like you mentioned, a business partner or, um you know, a spouse or just a very supportive friend. We all need those. Find our tribe, right?
12:51.17
Alanah Phillips
100%. Yeah, no, I think it makes a big impact. And I look at again, specifically, you know, I think about women because that's something you and I talk about a lot and obviously fearless females and and the theme here, but I have women in my life who have partners who, again, in some way hold them back, don't tell them those things are jealous or controlling whatever those things are. And I've watched that impact their career in negative ways that like, I think it is such a important It is kind of a strange thing to think about, but I think it's such an important piece.
13:26.23
Lorie Jones
Yeah, that's so, so insightful. I'm gonna think on that a little while.
13:30.33
Alanah Phillips
Yeah.
13:31.36
Lorie Jones
What is the worst advice someone gave you? And did you take the advice?
13:37.00
Alanah Phillips
The worst advice like that stands out to me in my career, and I'm sure there's lots of bad advice that I got that I mostly just ignored, but I had a a really strong mentor of mine who was a powerful woman say to me, don't get ahead of yourself.
13:57.28
Alanah Phillips
And it was in the context of me wanting to take on other projects and do more things. And I was asking for um responsibilities or the ability to do activities and projects that I thought were going to promote me and advance my career. And she said to me, don't get ahead of yourself.
14:13.46
Alanah Phillips
And it has stuck with me to make sure that I never say things like this, especially to the women that we work with. And um I just don't even know what that meant, right? Because I think the whole thing is that you should get ahead of yourself, right? like You should be trying to advance yourself. You should be striving for more if that's what you want.
14:34.53
Alanah Phillips
And I just, it it it sticks with me all the time where I'm like, I'm getting ahead of myself right now. You know, like we're doing stuff we're not ready to do. And that's so exciting. And those times when I have leaped into things without knowing for sure how I was going to accomplish something, you learn so much so quickly, even if there's some failure in that. And so that's the worst advice I've ever gotten. And I did not take it.
15:03.28
Lorie Jones
I actually love one of my um interviews interviewees said, everything is figureoutable.
15:09.44
Alanah Phillips
Yes.
15:09.57
Lorie Jones
And she's like, I just sort of started doing it and then I figured it out.
15:13.68
Alanah Phillips
Yes.
15:14.41
Lorie Jones
And that, I love that sense of confidence and like, hey, we're going to do this. And if I don't succeed, hopefully I learned something.
15:24.08
Alanah Phillips
Yeah, no, i I have on my desk, like stoic principles that at the beginning of this year, I did like Ryan holiday does a beginning of the year challenge with the daily stoic and um One of them is to consider everything an experiment and I think that that is important like if you go into it that with that mentality of I'm not even trying to Do X right? I'm just trying to figure out the process to get there and in that I'm gonna learn a bunch of stuff it takes away the pressure of like I have to Succeed at this thing because the thing that you're trying to accomplish is is figuring it out, right? It's the figuring it out part. That is the accomplishment
16:02.84
Lorie Jones
Yeah, and i I love that idea of like, if I don't succeed, like there there are times when you just don't, when things just don't go well and and you flop.
16:09.86
Alanah Phillips
Yeah.
16:13.66
Alanah Phillips
Yes.
16:13.76
Lorie Jones
But if you don't succeed, like learning from that experience and and not ah holding it against yourself, not beating yourself up for having that, what others might consider a failure.
16:22.08
Alanah Phillips
Yeah.
16:25.33
Lorie Jones
I think I call them learning experiences. I have a lot, right?
16:28.64
Alanah Phillips
A hundred percent. Yeah. No, I think they're Adam Grant did a study. He's an organizational psychologist where they sent out two groups and one of the groups they said go learn as much as possible. And the other group they said fail as much as possible. And then, you know, however, they measured this within the the context of that experiment. But the group that failed more actually ended up learning more.
16:50.90
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I love that. And, and it, you're less reluctant to to try. Like if you know that failure isn't something that's going to be held against you, you're not going to be beaten up again, you know, because you, you tried and didn't succeed at something. Like that makes you more willing to try again and again and to learn something from it. And it, that brings that creativity that we were talking about, right?
17:17.64
Alanah Phillips
Oh, yeah, no, so many fun things to be learned from experimenting.
17:22.59
Lorie Jones
What about regrets? And I'm maybe not talking about like, hey, I regret that. I would never do it again. But what about looking back on your journey? Is there something that you're you're like, oh, if I i knew now, um if I could go back and do that again, I would do it so much differently.
17:41.44
Alanah Phillips
Yeah, I don't have a ton of stuff like that because of what we were just describing, right? Of like, I was doing the best that I could with the information that I had at the time and I give my past self a lot of grace for that, right? Like, of course we would handle things differently now with the experience and and information that we have. But I do have one moment that I think about in my recruiting career.
18:07.08
Alanah Phillips
where I had this, it was one of the largest deals I had ever worked on. And and um there was a lot of complication to it. We were having a struggle with the team that this advisor duo was joining. um The team had some individuals that for some reason we had conflicts. They thought that I was trying to force things to happen or that I was keeping stuff from them. Like there was just a missing trust with one of the folks that was on the team that was their practice manager. I had a transition team who was not very strong and so that caused me anxiety that they weren't going to take care of these advisors in the way that I would. So all of these elements and then the recruits themselves that are challenging to again help people figure out should they leave
18:53.38
Alanah Phillips
How do we do this? All the things that go into having to leave somewhere that you're working and conducting business and go somewhere different, the meshing of two teams together, all this stuff. um It's part of what makes it fun. But this particular instance, I spent so much time trying to control the situation, right? to Keep the negative stuff that was happening with the team from the recruits to keep the transition teams um Lack of experience from the team and so I spent way too much energy controlling the narrative of everything And I ended up they the transition lead had a meeting without me and I lost my ish Lori like I'm not an angry person and there was just because I had so much energy invested in this and it was consuming everything.
19:47.26
Alanah Phillips
I yelled at this transition ah lead and I had to call and apologize. like I absolutely lost it. um It's one of the last times that I could think about in like the last decade where I was just so angry because I had spent all this energy trying to control it.
19:58.80
Lorie Jones
Thank you.
20:03.82
Alanah Phillips
and Hilariously, the deal fell apart. right like The recruits ended up going somewhere else. And it was one of those experiences, while absolutely devastating because I had put so much time and energy into it. When I look back at it, i I learned not to do that, right? Like I can't curate and control everything that everyone does. And I was holding on to things so tightly that I probably crushed it.
20:30.61
Alanah Phillips
right? So um it was an interesting learning experience for me of just letting things be what they are, trying not to to hold on to things or control them so much.
20:43.02
Alanah Phillips
Because when you do that, you are and not allowing the authenticity of the situation and everything to just come together. And I think about that in every matchmaking situation that I deal with now of just not holding on to those things so tightly.
20:56.42
Lorie Jones
Thank you very much. That's a really hard thing to do though too, right? Because and ah must most of us entrepreneurs are type A personalities and there's a lot of control involved in that personality to make.
21:05.13
Alanah Phillips
Yeah.
21:14.14
Alanah Phillips
yeah
21:14.77
Lorie Jones
We want things to go well. We want them to move well. We want them to to sit well. We want everyone to do their job and do it excellently. And it's really, really difficult to um step back from that piece.
21:28.21
Alanah Phillips
Oh, yeah. Yeah. And I think like, you know, I still care very much about the experience of anybody that I work with. That's important. But there's a point where it's like, and this is, again, true of friendships, romantic relationships, business partnerships, that client experiences, where it's like when you're forcing something, though, and you're having to like hold all these pieces back from collapsing on each other, like sometimes that's an indicator it might not be the right thing.
21:52.84
Lorie Jones
Yeah, yeah. And and it's hard it's hard on the other side to kind of take a step back and take a you know step back from that and let it implode and be like, this wast this was never meant to be, especially when you want it so bad, right?
22:01.61
Alanah Phillips
Yes.
22:06.16
Alanah Phillips
Yes. Yeah. Oh, yeah. No, but again, that's where it's like, I think that um when you let go of the, you know, you're not holding on to something so tightly, you don't crush it. So you allow it to be what it's supposed to be.
22:21.91
Lorie Jones
Alana, if you could go back and talk to yourself at the beginning of your journey at about 20, 21, 22, just at the start there, um would you have any advice for her, for your 20-year-old self?
22:35.55
Alanah Phillips
i you know ah My 20-year-old self was more sure of herself than I think I am now. you know like She was absolutely ready to take on the world. But I think like similarly to that lesson around the regret of just not taking anything too seriously, right like everything changes.
22:54.86
Alanah Phillips
so um to not hold on to things too tightly because ah life is just change, right? You have to be adaptable. So I think not taking things too seriously, not holding on too tightly um and not taking anything personally. That's another lesson I feel like um my younger self thought, you know, something was being done to me or the reason somebody was behaving away had something to do with me.
23:24.77
Alanah Phillips
And me now knows that that's almost never the case. And if you don't take things personally, it makes it a lot easier to keep moving forward and not get caught up in that.
23:36.42
Lorie Jones
How do you not take things personally? Like I struggle with that so hard. I am like, well, they don't like me. That's, and you're right. Most of the time it has nothing at all to do with you, but how do you, how do you get those skills to realize like, do you just self talk or like what?
23:52.11
Alanah Phillips
Yeah, I'm sure there's some self-talk in there. I'm sure some of it is just um the experience of of working with more people. I'm sure some of it is books and podcasts that I've listened to, but I think at the the deep psychology of it, one of the concepts I think about is we get caught up, you know, like you do something embarrassing, right? Like I sang a song poorly on Tuesday at karaoke and I was like, oh my gosh, you know, like everybody's gonna be thinking about how I didn't hit that note, right?
24:20.36
Alanah Phillips
And not a single one of them is thinking about that at all. right They're thinking about how bad they sounded when they were singing their song and wondering if I'm thinking about it. And so they don't even have any time to think about me not hitting that note because we're all consumed with our own stuff.
24:35.91
Alanah Phillips
And when you realize that, I think it's really freeing because now I can just sing whatever song I want. And I know not a single person in that bar is ever going to remember that I didn't hit that note. They're thinking about their own songs. And so, you know, that then applies to bigger stuff where it's like, if somebody was mad,
24:56.70
Alanah Phillips
at near you you know like it's probably just because they were hungry or they didn't sleep enough last night you know like the reason that they don't like you doesn't have anything to do with your behavior it has to do with somebody in their past that hurt them that you remind them of you know and so i it is definitely i i still feel those things right like i feel that embarrassment or i feel like um somebody doesn't like me and that hurts my my ego, but I can talk myself into they're not even thinking about me at all anymore though. Why am I allowing them space in my head?
25:31.86
Lorie Jones
Oh, I like that idea. Like stop giving them space in your head to take up because you've got other things to do. You've got to get a, um, you know, tell yourself you're kind and wonderful and beautiful and that you're doing great things and you don't have time to ruminate on all, you know, the mistakes or the embarrassing things.
25:51.34
Lorie Jones
yeah I like that. I like that.
25:51.90
Alanah Phillips
Yeah, no, it can take up a lot of space for sure.
25:54.71
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Did you have anything that was scary when you started out and, um, is it still scary?
26:03.01
Alanah Phillips
I'm sure I'm sure there's lots of things that are still scary. And I still, in spite of what we just talked about, I still have a ton of self doubt and um frequently have to go to those folks in my life or my support group for those reminders that I'm good at what I do, right? Like I think many of us have um that imposter syndrome or the doubts about our ability to serve others, to do a good job. um So I'm sure there's there's still fear around that. um I think about something that's changed maybe that I was afraid of, Lori, of the um I like to dress fun. And at the beginning of my career, I certainly was more conservative around how I presented myself.
26:49.77
Alanah Phillips
I think this is normal and I probably encourage it in some ways of like at the beginning of your career you are trying to establish yourself as a professional person. You do have to build that reputation so that you can have a little more audacity. But I definitely had less of that at the beginning of my career. I dressed more masculine. I dressed more conservatively.
27:14.35
Alanah Phillips
and I think about now when I walk into rooms in like hot pink jumpsuits and sparkle shoes of like that is so authentically me and I have reached a point in my career where like I don't care if anybody doesn't take me as seriously because of it because that person isn't my people but I definitely tried to conform more at the beginning of my career because I was scared of what someone would think about me as a young inexperienced woman who had no idea what she's doing and now I want them to know that I have no idea what I'm doing and I'm okay with that and ah You know, there's there's much less fear showing up in those spaces that way Yeah Yeah
27:56.58
Lorie Jones
I think some of that comes with maturity too, don't you? Like you just, you grow into who you really are and, and you get past that stage fright, so to speak. Yeah. Because I do, I, I actually only have two colors in my wardrobe, black and anyway, so.
28:15.33
Alanah Phillips
Yeah, but if that's you, right, like that's that's authentic. if that If you're not somebody who wears hot pink jumpsuits and then you tried to, it would be weird. So I think that's authentic.
28:23.91
Lorie Jones
Yeah. But I do like to have just a little bit of personality, just a little bit of me somewhere you know in my room.
28:30.23
Alanah Phillips
Yep.
28:31.28
Lorie Jones
I had my my hot pink pencil holder on my desk, and that was really, really out there for me.
28:35.62
Alanah Phillips
Perfect. Perfect, I love it.
28:42.31
Lorie Jones
What about unique challenges, Alana? As a woman, did you face anything that you were like, it was it was challenges just because you were a woman?
28:53.47
Alanah Phillips
Yeah. I'm really fortunate because my experience coming into financial service was coming into financial services, which is predominantly male and um older, right? And I came in, I still am very young, but I was younger when I started. I had an all or almost all female leadership team that I came into. And so I actually didn't realize that financial services demographics were the way that they were because I had really strong women who were responsible for all the decisions of our advisor group. And the advisors respected them and listened to them and admired them. ah And it was a really special group that I'm still very close with many of the folks that were a part of that leadership team and those advisors that we supported.
29:46.91
Alanah Phillips
um So I think there were other challenges, of course, but the being a woman part, I had a really privileged little place that I came into the industry in. So there's certainly still plenty of times um that I think Someone has found out how old I am and realize like on the same age as their daughter or something and I can see that shift that's happening where all of a sudden the the fact that I had come in and was um providing them advice or valuable education like there's a shift in that that I've watched happen before for sure because again, it's almost exclusively
30:24.82
Alanah Phillips
you know, 50 and 60 year old men that I'm working with but most of the time. um So I have that happen sometimes. um There are certainly times I walk into a room and again, I'm in my hot pink jumpsuit and I can tell somebody's not taking me as seriously.
30:40.14
Alanah Phillips
ah But also, I think at this point, I have had more positive experiences because of being a woman in this industry than the negative challenges to it. And some of that may just be my attitude, but some of it is also again, I've had such tremendous privilege to be in those places where the the culture and the energy was already set up in a way that benefited me.
31:08.39
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I think it's an important point, too, that there are women in the industry. There are women in financial services. And we we do want to see those other women come up and succeed.
31:18.47
Lorie Jones
like This is a great career. It is so fulfilling and rewarding.
31:20.50
Alanah Phillips
is yeah
31:22.23
Lorie Jones
And it's just so great. So I love that that your experience started out positive because of other women in the field. I'm so excited.
31:31.66
Alanah Phillips
Yeah, 100%. And Lori, we've you know connected on this, I think, when we met. But it's why it's important to me, both of the the types of ways that I work with advisors, for me to give that, especially to the younger women who are coming in the industry of like, this is a cool place. And there are so many spaces that we can exist in. and have power and control and authority and creative freedom and and all the things that I want them to have. And having experienced that myself, I want it even more so for newer folks that are coming in.
32:05.49
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Alana, what is the thing you are the most proud of?
32:12.90
Alanah Phillips
So when I was at Target, I did win best hair. ah
32:19.67
Lorie Jones
Yeah, right here.
32:20.98
Alanah Phillips
That's probably not the thing, but I am very proud of that. It was a i'm very vain about my hair is a funny accomplishment.
32:25.59
Lorie Jones
just
32:26.45
Alanah Phillips
But um I think probably the thing that I am most proud of, um which, you know, it's all related to this of um the leaps that I have taken where I left something behind. And there's a number of places I can look back in my life, um leaving an insular religious community, leaving a relationship that wasn't working, leaving a job but that was fine, but the tracks that I was on was not where I wanted to go. um I'm really proud of that ability to leave, which sounds sort of funny. But I think that there are so many people
33:07.58
Alanah Phillips
that don't but that that stay too long in something, whether that's, again, a relationship, a party, a job that you're in. And part of what I do now, I think, relates to that of like catalyzing people leaving things that aren't serving them anymore. And it's a hard thing to do. I think especially the women that I work with, there's a lot of loyalty.
33:33.17
Alanah Phillips
to companies that they work with, to relationships that they're in. But I've watched for myself when I've left things, the possibilities and the opportunities that have opened up when I'm willing to let go of stuff that might not have been serving me or might not have been aligned with how I wanted to exist.
33:54.50
Alanah Phillips
um and the The growth and the opportunities have been tremendous and it was really scary to do. It was scary to leave, but the leaving is what opened up the possibilities for what could happen next.
34:08.27
Lorie Jones
And there's so many possibilities out there. It's scary. It's scary sometimes to look at it. Cause you know, I, I've been in the place that you work at where we were leaving one RIA and going to another and it's, it's a lot of work and it's scary, but it's so worth it in the end.
34:22.86
Alanah Phillips
Yeah.
34:26.46
Lorie Jones
And if you could just see, if you could just see six months down the road and you're like, Oh, this is all going to be worth it. Right.
34:33.91
Alanah Phillips
Yes, yeah, no, and i i I remind myself of that all the time. And again, I think it's something I do feel like this is part of my purpose to do this for other folks in my network. And I look back at, I had a a woman who I was really good friends with, we worked together at Lincoln actually, and um I had a company approach me for a job that honestly was my dream job at one point. But at the point that they approached me about it was when I was at this precipice of deciding if I was going to leap out into my own entrepreneurial journey. And I'm so glad I didn't take that job. But it was such an incredible opportunity. So I had called one of my friends ah because she was perfect for it and made an introduction for her to that company.
35:15.98
Alanah Phillips
And they ended up hiring her. I had to have conversations with her for weeks, though, unpacking the loyalty that she had to this team that we had worked with. They were kind of like pulling and clawing at her, too, right, to try to keep her. But she doubled her income going from that role to this new role. She got to a place of financial freedom where she's able to make decisions in her life that she couldn't have before.
35:42.72
Alanah Phillips
right and And to watch that happen for someone is just like so cool because she, in in an alternate universe of that, she stays in that role. She doesn't have that control, that power. And ah she didn't know what was possible for her until she had to leave and let go and take that risk. And um it's just been really cool to see her her flourish ah financially, professionally, personally, and all the power that came with that decision.
36:12.96
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I love watching that happen. I love watching it when, you know, especially women, because you know that I'm, I'm very pro, pro women, but watching them come into themselves and realize that they could, they could do and could be so much more have such a more of an impact and then finally internalizing that they're worth that, that they can do it and that they have that worth.
36:35.76
Alanah Phillips
Yes. Yes, no. And we had to have that conversation so many times, but now she'll like text me and tell me like what her bonuses are that she's qualified for. She's got some variable comp in her role. And I'm always just like, f yeah, girl, like this is what we were talking about. Like how I'm so freaking proud of her for, ah you know, again, she needed somebody to be able to push her and say, no, you're, you can do this. Right? Cause she also thought like, Oh no, I'm not going to be able to do all the things on this job description. It was like, No, it's figureoutable to to your other guest point, right? Like you're capable of doing this. You're worthy of making this much. Um, you know, like she was worried like because it was such a, a higher amount, she was going to get paid that like for some reason she wasn't qualified to do it. And like, again, to see her flourishing now is like, yes, this is what we were talking about. Of course you deserve this. And I want you to tell me about it. I want you to be proud of it. I want you to own it. And that's, that that's a cool thing that I have um observed in my life.
37:36.58
Alanah Phillips
that is a thing that I am ah proud of being a part of that energy to other people.
37:41.82
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I agree. I love it. Any advice for a young lady who's just starting down this path where you're already so successful at it, the entrepreneurial journey, the, you know, the, this is a kind of a unique place where you're at. But any advice for a a young lady who's just starting?
38:01.36
Alanah Phillips
Yeah, I think a couple things, Lori. So one, um to be audacious, I think is an important thing. um There are many times in my career I look back on that, again, I think of that advice I didn't take where I got ahead of myself, right? Like I wanted to learn something, I wanted to try something. And I'm also grateful. I had so many folks in my career that said yes to that, right? So um be audacious, ask for the stuff that you want, but have a plan.
38:31.67
Alanah Phillips
I think there is some, you know, the millennial Gen Z, right? Like there's this stigma that they're entitled and all that. And there is some, I think, like, you know, immaturity or lack of experience, right? Where you go on and you know you want something, you do ask for it. And then the piece that's missing is like, here's how I'm going to do this, right? And this especially for young women, I think we may get shut down more often than a young man who's asking for the thing that he wants because you know, he he's a go-getter and, you know, want to support him. And I've watched that happen too. So, you know, we often have to come in with a plan more, but I think this is true for all young people. Like, ask for the stuff that you want. If you want to learn how to um make a website for your company, ask to do that and have your plan of how you're going to do that ready to present, right? If you want this job, have your plan of how you're going to execute on that job and go in with it. um One of my mentors
39:30.02
Alanah Phillips
the The first time I ever did consulting for a team, um ah Aaron Jung, who passed away this year, was such an incredible mentor to me. And so he said, well, if you want to learn how to do consulting for this team, right, like you need to put together a proposal of what you're going to do for them and how much time you're going to save them.
39:48.87
Alanah Phillips
and then quantify that time, right? You know how much these two advisors do in production. You know how much time you can save them by doing these, you know, five, six, seven things and quantify that time for them, right? And it just like that concept for me, everything that I have done in terms of consulting comes back to that of like, Oh, I've got a plan and I can demonstrate to you how I can provide value to you. how I'm going to save you time. I can quantify it.
40:16.53
Alanah Phillips
And who's going to say no to that, right? So ask what you want, have a plan. The last thing I will say, Lori, in terms of advice for our young ladies is find male allies. Because again, Erin, who I mentioned was one of the best mentors that i can look back on in my career at no point do i think that me being a young woman ever influenced any of the advice that he gave me he taught me so much he advocated for me um he always treated me the same as any of the other folks who he gave advice to
40:53.22
Alanah Phillips
And I think about him. I think about um Ryan McCloskey was somebody who just like let me go to conferences. i I shouldn't have been going to conferences. It was not a part of my job, but he let me go to conferences and meet people and learn stuff and and let me be in those rooms. um Ross Riskin is somebody who introduced me to the American college that allowed me to do ah host a podcast for them and that's how I learned about you know how to become a thought leader and um Build these connections to folks that you have on your podcast that you and I have talked about Laurie and so finding those men who are going to ah Put you into rooms that are gonna say your names in rooms that are going to give you the advice that you need to propel yourself forward is something that I look back on and go I can pinpoint these specific men and who were so influential in my journey.
41:47.19
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I agree. I think that a lot of times they're in rooms that we aren't in, or they've been in the rooms longer than we have, and and and they want to help.
41:56.04
Alanah Phillips
Yep.
41:59.67
Lorie Jones
I mean, a lot of times they just do.
41:59.75
Alanah Phillips
Yeah.
42:01.47
Lorie Jones
They've they've got, I say all the time, they've got mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, and they want them to succeed. so So they're willing to help. I love that idea.
42:12.10
Lorie Jones
Thank you, Alana, for all of your time today and for um the benefit of your experience.
42:13.07
Alanah Phillips
Yeah.
42:17.01
Lorie Jones
If I have a young lady who wants to get in touch with you and ask more questions, how does she do that?
42:22.28
Alanah Phillips
Yeah, I am very easy to find on LinkedIn. So if you connect with me there, my phone number is on the internet. It's my mom's worst nightmare, but, uh, you know, LinkedIn message, phone call, texts, whatever works. I am always happy to share anything I can, especially to help the women who are coming up behind us.
42:41.00
Lorie Jones
Well, thank you so much. Thanks for your time today. I appreciate it.
42:44.33
Alanah Phillips
Thanks Lori.