Get ready for another episode of Fearless Females as host Lorie Jones sits down with Stacey Linderman, who transformed her career from a stable CFO to the dynamic founder of A6 Financial and Business Optimization.
Stacey’s story is packed with lessons on financial independence, navigating male-dominated industries, and breaking traditional gender roles. Hear how the support of her inner circle and the courage to take risks propelled her to new heights. Her insights will empower growth-oriented professional women to embrace authenticity and redefine success on their own terms.
Tune in for an inspiring conversation that celebrates resilience, bravery, and the pursuit of excellence.
Show Highlights:
- Discover the perfect guide for authenticity-powered sales success. [00:01:27]
- Why education is the key to prevail over your money story. [00:04:03]
- The power of leadership development in female leadership. [00:11:47]
- The importance of integrity and ethical standards in finance and leadership. [00:15:37]
- Are you afraid of making mistakes at work? [00:19:37]
- How to embrace your career adventure with trust. [00:23:10]
- Explore aspects of teaching children financial responsibility. [00:28:28]
- Stigma-shattering tips for women in male-dominated fields. [00:32:03]
- Should duties in families be gendered or strengths-based? [00:36:30]
- Advice for seasoned and new female professionals. [00:40:40]
Visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceykaralinderman/ to connect with Stacey Linderman, or https://www.linkedin.com/company/a6-financial-and-business-optimization/ to learn more about A6 Financial and Business Optimization. Please make sure to mention the Fearless Females podcast when you connect!
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/.
00:01.92
Lorie Jones
Good morning. We have Stacy Lenderman with us today. She's the founder of ASICS Financial and Business Operations. um And you guys can already tell by the by her title that I'm super excited to talk to her because she she has operations in her title. And I love anything to do with operations. So Stacy, thank you so much for visiting with us today and sharing your story. I appreciate it.
00:27.30
Stacey
Thank you. Thank you. I'm a fan. um And I love that how you interview people so that actually, Lori, can we stop? I'm sorry to do this to you. my the name ah idea I got sidetracked. The name of the company is Business Optimization. like Sorry.
00:46.41
Lorie Jones
Good morning. We are here today with Stacey Linderman. She is the founder of ASICS Financial and Business Optimization. And I'm so excited to talk with Stacey today.
00:57.57
Lorie Jones
um She has some, it I just love anyone that has the word optimization in their title because it means that they are all about being efficient and and processes. And I'm excited about those sorts of things because I'm that sort of a geek. So Stacy, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it.
01:18.44
Stacey
Thank you for having me on the show. I'm a fan and I listen to a great deal of your podcast. It's my go-to it's my goto list for the gym.
01:26.99
Lorie Jones
Oh, I love it. And we've got some amazing women on here. Thank you so much for joining. So my very first question is always, I'm a reader. I love books. Tell me what your favorite book is.
01:39.23
Stacey
ah have If you ask me every six months, it's something different, but right now, i am um but I'm a huge fan of The Black Sheep Sales ah by Alicia Barr.
01:51.97
Lorie Jones
ah
01:53.05
Stacey
It is spot on for me right now where I am in my life and in my journey. um the She's fabulous. She has a podcast also and I've been watching, listening and
02:05.09
Lorie Jones
Yes.
02:06.55
Stacey
um to her for a while and then she came out with this book and it is just great. So one of the points of the book is about daring to do things differently and being comfortable with yourself.
02:16.15
Lorie Jones
Oh, I love that.
02:19.71
Stacey
And I really am on unapologetically me. um I'm an apology not unapologetically not boring for CFO services and her book really fit with me. So she does um She does talk a lot about the um sales and hell if it's a if it's a fit It's a fact um And that sales doesn't need to be a dirty word. So so if you're a business development professional the book is great but if you're also a business owner or even
02:53.59
Stacey
someone that um works at a company and feels that they do things just differently and they question whether they need to change their approach. This book is is for you also.
03:04.23
Lorie Jones
Oh, I love that. You know, I spent ah a lot of time in financial services where you wear dark clothes. you you don't have a There's not a whole lot of um individuality or or um I felt like for a lot of years that I had to even, you know, hide how many kids I had because it would, it it just didn't fit into the traditional business role.
03:19.27
Stacey
Definitely. like
03:28.08
Lorie Jones
And I love the idea of being authentic and being genuine and being able to present yourself as your whole self. I think that sounds great. I love that book.
03:38.38
Stacey
Yes, yes. um We could really touch on what you said about not feeling comfortable talking about your kids or your marriage or even anything personal outside of the office um but as a female. And so yeah, this then the book is a must read.
03:54.49
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Well, I'll have to put it on my list. So tell me a little bit about yourself, Stacy. Tell me about ah how you got where you are today and just a little bit about what you do.
04:04.87
Stacey
One of the things I love about your podcast is that it's not the traditional tell me your elevator speech and what you do for your what you do for a living. but and and For me, talking personal, as I just said, about being a female leader in the world, it wasn't always welcome or I was just afraid to do it.
04:24.36
Stacey
um But now at this stage in my life, this is this is exciting for me. It's very different for me to step out and to to like to talk about myself and the journey. um So I live right now in allen New Jersey, and and i grew up ah but I grew up in Philadelphia. Kind of like if you picture the Rocky movie with it with the row homes, that's sort of where I grew up. i grew up in But I grew up in the greater Northeast area.
04:51.04
Stacey
um And I'm not saying it was a dangerous neighborhood, but it wasn't definitely probably the safest either. um And I'm really sharing now. So, you know, that that you hear recently I've heard the expression about food insecurity over the last so many years. And this like light bulb went off. like That was us.
05:16.68
Stacey
But that we were not concerned with the fancy clothes and competing with the neighbors or um what we were going to get for a holiday gift. we were you, we were happy to have a roof over our head and we were happy to have food on the table.
05:32.16
Stacey
Um, and food insecurity is a real thing. But like, if you look at me today or my family or how we present ourselves in the work environment, I don't think people really would understand like where, um,
05:47.82
Lorie Jones
where your roots came from.
05:48.53
Stacey
I came, where I came from, like where, where we, um, where we came from.
05:50.16
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
05:52.56
Stacey
Me and my sister are just now at, you know, this middle age stand, like stance in our life are started talking about stuff more like, Oh wow, that was crazy.
06:02.84
Stacey
Or that was dangerous. Or that was, I mean, my middle school was one of the first middle schools to have metal detectors in the Philadelphia area. Um, my high school, I will talk now with like my own kids.
06:14.94
Stacey
I have, I have two. um And and theyre at that age, my son is 13 and my son my son is 13. My daughter's 15, something else I normally never share.
06:25.40
Stacey
you know you You went through this career journey and you didn't talk about it.
06:27.70
Lorie Jones
Thank you.
06:29.81
Stacey
um that ah My daughter has this hoko dance and I was saying, I never heard of a hoko dance. And my husband is like, what are you talking about? And I'm like, yeah, like they're like, it's the dance where you're welcome back.
06:41.68
Stacey
And I'm like, what are we talking about? So I reached out to some of my friends from high school that I'm still so close with. And I'm like, did we have a hoko dance? Am I blocking this out? And they're like, no, what? It wasn't like it is today. There was no welcome back dance. there was no like It was a very different educational experience. And then um I honestly never thought about college. like You just thought you were going to come out and you were going to get a job. And then probably in the middle of my senior year, I was like, I'm going to go to college.
07:14.26
Stacey
and My parents were like, what are you talking about? I'm like, I want to go to college. It was like, you can't go to college. You'll get a job.
07:25.87
Stacey
And I was the first generation to go to college.
07:28.26
Lorie Jones
Honey.
07:31.47
Stacey
I couldn't even say the first female. It was like the first generation to go to college.
07:36.06
Lorie Jones
yeah
07:36.33
Stacey
And I went one year full time. And that was pretty much the most I could afford. and it And like, you know, plus loans and my mom just, oh my God, my mom is a saint. She worked like around the clock to put food on the table and keep the family together and just saying. And she did all she could to help me.
07:56.63
Stacey
you know, even though she thought it was ridiculous that I wasn't getting a job, but yeah, yeah like she'll she'll say now, I don't know why I wasn't more supportive.
07:56.64
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Yeah.
08:04.12
Stacey
ah It makes sense. But at the time she was like, what are you talking about? Maybe you'll go to secretarial school.
08:07.65
Lorie Jones
oh
08:09.78
Stacey
What? And so I went one year full time. And then at the end of that year, I went to the the um i I got a full-time job for the summer and um and then i they paid for me to continue my education, which was like such a blessing. Most of my employers paid for my education and by time I i started out my associates and then i got my undergrad I got my undergrad and then I got my master's degree and um almost 14 years in high school.
08:45.65
Lorie Jones
Wow, that is an accomplishment, isn't it? That's huge.
08:50.61
Stacey
Yes, my education means a lot to me it's great um But I think it means a lot to you when you're paying for it and when you're working full-time the entire time um and going to night school and you know and look at Looking back on it now they were talking about it.
08:51.00
Lorie Jones
Are some varying. Yeah.
08:59.74
Lorie Jones
Oh, yeah.
09:08.30
Stacey
It wasn't that I just worked full-time. I worked full-time and I Borat ended two, three nights a week and I went to night school three nights a week. And I studied on like, you know, the last night or two. um But yeah, it was, it took a full-time job and a half to just maintain, you know, to pay your rent and to.
09:32.07
Lorie Jones
Yeah, to get it to get through school. That's crazy. Did you end up without student loans then when you came out or did you have student loans?
09:35.65
Stacey
Yeah.
09:38.62
Stacey
You know what? Really, I didn't. I had no student loans. You're absolutely right. Because I had paid off my student loans as I was working. um And when i finally yeah when I graduated, I didn't have any.
09:50.57
Lorie Jones
That's amazing.
09:50.70
Stacey
I didn't have any. when you're out where When you're in the master's level, tax-wise, you can only take certain amount of classes, as you probably know. And then and then you had to pay the taxes. But I paid the taxes like through my check as I was going.
10:03.85
Lorie Jones
and hu So um what did you go to school for? Did you know when you started college what you wanted to be?
10:11.16
Stacey
I thought I did. I wanted i wanted to be a paralegal. And I went to paralegal school and I got my associates and my certification. And then I decided, oh, i know I'm going to be capped in this. I'm never going to go. like ah never like I was working as a paralegal and I was actually overseeing 30 other paralegals as like a facilitator of the of the operations and workflow. and And I thought, oh, this is the highest level I'm going to be here. Like I'm never, I'm not going to get any higher. So I decided to go to ah law school. And so I got my undergrad in sort of like English and humanities and
10:52.05
Stacey
to to go to law school. And I went for one year. um And at that point, I was already doing finance work. So I run a CFO and retainer company now.
11:02.39
Stacey
And I was a CFO for 25 years before I jumped down and went on my own. But um I was doing finance and budgeting, and I loved it.
11:13.11
Stacey
And so I had this, you know,
11:13.44
Lorie Jones
Of course, as everyone does.
11:16.78
Stacey
as everyone does. I love the numbers. I literally like, it's embarrassing. I just walk around just running over my head.
11:23.01
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
11:24.57
Stacey
um And that is true. It's like, I do really love them. And so I, was I thought I loved the contract piece and I grew up watching LA law and I thought I want to be apparently though, I want to do that.
11:37.62
Lorie Jones
yeah
11:39.75
Stacey
And so as I'm reading contracts and studying the law, i'm like I do like the law, but that's not what I want to do for a living. So that was a time in my life where I was really brave. I just went, I don't want to do this.
11:51.89
Stacey
I don't want to get out and do billable hours and I don't, this isn't my passion.
11:56.91
Stacey
I'm now a director of budgets at a university. And I'm and um' yeah but playing with numbers all day long. And I'm like, ah like it came natural to me, but I and didn't have a lot of schooling in the area.
12:10.94
Stacey
So I went back and got my MBA in accounting.
12:13.29
Lorie Jones
Oh, wow. That is crazy. Well, no wonder you spent such a long time in school because you, you did three separate, yeah, you had three separate careers in that time.
12:19.47
Stacey
I had the year of law school. Yes. Yes.
12:23.66
Lorie Jones
That's so interesting. I i love that you love numbers, fellow geeks, you know, we tried together for sure.
12:25.27
Stacey
Yes.
12:31.25
Stacey
Oh my God, yes.
12:31.30
Lorie Jones
What?
12:34.99
Stacey
I can tell you stories.
12:36.30
Lorie Jones
and one Stacy, what is the best investment you've made in yourself. If you can look back over your journey and kind of say, you know what, I'm so glad I did that. I just would not have ended up today if I hadn't tried that.
12:50.22
Stacey
Probably my education, and I don't mean my education necessarily the journey I just told you about the years of schooling, but when I was done school, um I invested some time and resources into lifelong learning like we all do, um but through leadership development programs and learning about myself and my organization and how to be a better leader and a better manager.
13:10.22
Lorie Jones
oh that's it
13:16.52
Stacey
and empathy and um the enneagram i studied that and so i went through a program called women in leadership and i i i always like give them positive reviews and talk about the program and um but that was a changing moment for me where i felt started to be more comfortable in my skin as like a female leader and to say oh i'm going to lean into this i'm going to own this so that was an investment that i i
13:32.13
Lorie Jones
Oh, that's... Mm-hmm.
13:46.69
Stacey
it was yeah It was sort of like like life changing. We talked for a second about different chapters and I think that opened a new chapter for me.
13:55.22
Lorie Jones
So you went from just doing the work to now leading um a team or a company or something like that.
14:05.68
Stacey
Yes, I was, I was like I needed to be an executive to actually even get into that program, but I was leading and I and I was leading under the, you know, the umbrella of teach people the way treat people the way you want to be treated or that but I don't think I heard myself.
14:24.59
Stacey
Like maybe how harsh I was coming off or how straightforward I was coming off or that people had different um people. I'm not really a feeling-centered person. People have different feelings and they and they react to things differently and what how I'm motivated may not be how other people are motivated.
14:35.44
Lorie Jones
yeah
14:43.60
Stacey
And I learned a lot about leveraging strengths. And it's something that is incorporated into the fabric of my company and with our clients today. That you may not be great at this, but you are great at this.
14:56.29
Stacey
um And why are we putting so much focus on the things I can't do rather than the things I can do?
15:01.01
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Yeah. Oh, you are preaching to the choir there. i ended up Um, just doing a presentation just recently on that, like building a company culture and, and we lean into those idea of play to your strengths.
15:13.25
Lorie Jones
And, um, I love Simon cynics sort of, um, you know, develop people and, and we're a community of people with different needs.
15:14.73
Stacey
Yes.
15:23.25
Lorie Jones
So I love that. I love that you took deliberately took the time to learn those leadership skills and especially where.
15:24.61
Stacey
Yes.
15:31.96
Lorie Jones
like numbers come naturally, um some of those leadership things maybe didn't come naturally, but you took the time to develop.
15:38.38
Stacey
Well, yeah, and and and to understand that numbers are not everyone's thing.
15:44.45
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
15:45.10
Stacey
That's okay. like my The business owners I deal with, they are absolute experts in their space and their vertical. They don't need to be experts in the financials. Now, some of them are. Some of them are brilliant and they on every level and they just don't have time to do it.
15:56.40
Lorie Jones
yeah
16:00.03
Stacey
but um to just Why am I the one writing for the team when this person is a better writer? or Just say.
16:06.47
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
16:06.67
Stacey
um
16:07.87
Lorie Jones
Yeah. I love that.
16:08.68
Stacey
Yeah, just, I really, it was just, it was a really ah great experience and stuff that I continue to use today. But I think anything, um any investment in your just helping you be more of a balanced person or being comfortable in your skin, going back to my book recommendation, is just great.
16:33.70
Lorie Jones
What about The worst advice, someone gave you did you ever get some really bad advice and did you take it or did you not tell me about that.
16:43.95
Stacey
Um, yeah, I, this is a good one. It's a good question. Probably to conform.
16:53.05
Lorie Jones
Okay.
16:53.13
Stacey
Oh, just go, go along with what they said. Um, Oh, just keep your mouth shut. Uh, just i well don't say anything. You know, just keep, keep marching, keep following.
17:03.84
Stacey
Um, you know, as a finance person, especially, you know, the C-suites level, there's times where it's like, Well that I know that's not right or you know, we're not really telling the truth or the full story and it's like it just there's so there was an ethical stuff almost that that Me of today.
17:20.12
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
17:24.61
Stacey
No, no, no my yeah my integrity means everything to me um and and I won't be quiet um in terms of injustices or inequities or just if ah
17:33.62
Lorie Jones
yeah
17:40.82
Stacey
our business our owners hire us to tell them the truth they want to know they don't want us to blow smoke at them when we're doing an organizational assessment they really want the truth um and and if they don't want the truth then we're just not the company for them
17:56.17
Lorie Jones
Wrong. ah
17:57.25
Stacey
And there probably is someone else out there better for them. I've just been really fortunate to have owners that want to be challenged, and they want to get to the next level. And we challenge each other. We could go back and forth and discuss something. But I think to just you know leave it to the men, um leave it to a different, like you know like it just like just agree with them, just agree with them, um maybe would have been not advice that I would give, that I would give.
18:27.54
Lorie Jones
Did you have a hard time going against that advice when you were younger and just starting out? Because I found that a lot of times like we grow into being authentic and into speaking up. And um sometimes it's it's a skill that we learn over time. Were you?
18:48.77
Stacey
I think that I always spoke up and I, but I don't think that, which could have been the death of me, right?
18:50.61
Lorie Jones
I love that.
18:55.78
Stacey
Um, but I don't think that I knew how to do it in a polished and professional way, which I learned through the leadership development. Like I wasn't someone that had a hard time giving, um, difficult feedback.
19:08.82
Stacey
And I wasn't someone that had a hard time saying to even someone that was two, three levels ahead of me, Oh, that's, Let's discuss that.
19:19.07
Stacey
That's not the way. We can't report it that way or we can't or but that's not fair to that employee.
19:23.43
Lorie Jones
i mean
19:26.26
Stacey
um And there were times where it was like, oh, my God, just be like, don't don't share that. I've gotten better at sharing it with a little more polish.
19:38.67
Lorie Jones
There's one. I love that. I love that. You still get your point across. You just maybe do it with a little bit more tact.
19:48.02
Stacey
Yes.
19:48.98
Lorie Jones
ah ah i could I could probably i could probably ah benefit from some of those courses.
19:50.67
Stacey
Yes. Yes.
19:55.19
Lorie Jones
and
19:55.61
Stacey
We all can, right? Like continuous. I still hear myself say something or I read in an old email that I sent like six months ago or not. And I'm like, oh, that came off harsh.
20:05.88
Stacey
And I wasn't in a bad mood. I wasn't, it didn't, it wasn't meant to be harsh. It's just, I would say it, boom, in, out.
20:14.85
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
20:15.12
Stacey
Um,
20:15.96
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
20:16.06
Stacey
and and i think it needed a little more couching
20:19.49
Lorie Jones
I love that. I love that. What about regrets? If you look back and maybe you don't regret the action, but if you had, if you had known then what you know now, you would have handled that situation differently.
20:35.33
Stacey
And so this is a double-sided answer. Following my gut. Anytime I didn't follow my gut, like you knew it was wrong, you knew it was problematic, you you you know your spidey sense was telling you that is just not right. um So following my gut has led, not following my gut has led me in the wrong direction. That being said, I really don't look at any missteps or even
21:04.29
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
21:05.44
Stacey
I don't want to make mistakes. I really, really don't. ah But looking back, right, like nobody does, but looking back on them, I learned from every one of them and they made me the person I am today. So being afraid to make any mistakes is not living.
21:19.24
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
21:19.37
Stacey
So I don't necessarily regret the mistakes, but I do need to learn from them.
21:25.90
Lorie Jones
Is there anything?
21:26.28
Stacey
Now, like, yeah.
21:27.99
Lorie Jones
Oh, I was just gonna ask, is there any like, particular example you can share with us about
21:30.15
Stacey
Yeah.
21:33.93
Lorie Jones
Just a time that maybe you didn't listen to your gut that you wish you would have.
21:40.74
Stacey
maybe he doing a presentation or presenting financials or or hiring someone that I thought, oh, I just don't know. I just don't know. And then we did it. And I'm like, oh, I kind of knew that.
21:52.41
Stacey
um or Or speaking too loudly about something or not speaking loudly about something. And I'm like, you just learn.
22:00.58
Lorie Jones
and
22:00.79
Stacey
um You just learn. And having a title doesn't necessarily make you right. um ah I'm not. You know what another probably regret would be when you when I knew I had enough to leave sooner?
22:18.25
Stacey
Like I may have stayed someplace longer than I should have.
22:18.38
Lorie Jones
and
22:23.54
Stacey
um and been brave and And looking back on it, I wish I was like maybe braver earlier to tim make my next leap.
22:32.24
Lorie Jones
I've heard that one a couple of times and and i'm I am so set on, I'm brave, I'm fearless, that's fearless females, right?
22:43.34
Lorie Jones
So I'm fearless.
22:44.15
Stacey
Oh, i i I'm telling you, that's what sold me on your podcast title.
22:45.94
Lorie Jones
But I'm scared to death.
22:48.63
Stacey
Because looking back on my journey, just everybody has a story. I'm like, and last asleep so you know Like, And I am super proud of where I am and what I've built.
23:04.84
Stacey
and and And continuing to just get up every day and keep moving and keep going. al
23:14.23
Lorie Jones
Thank you.
23:14.78
Stacey
Yes, yes, the fearless fearless women. um And maybe there was a reason I stayed longer in those situations than looking back now.
23:21.83
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
23:23.26
Stacey
I'm like, oh, I could have cut that short a couple of years. But maybe it's not an excuse. but We were, I was raised differently.
23:31.53
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
23:32.32
Stacey
You, you got a job and you have benefits and you got that paycheck and you went in every day and you never called out and you just, you did it. You just, you know, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.
23:44.58
Stacey
Um, and so I don't regret my 25 year experience in corporate America. mean It makes makes me qualify for what I do today. Um, but.
23:56.82
Stacey
at what If it's turning into a life sentence, I think you know maybe questioning a little bit sooner is, am I on the right path? you know But I i guess you know now looking back on it now, it was so brave um and fearless the changes that I made.
24:11.41
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
24:16.25
Stacey
And then on the flip side, I could have done it sooner.
24:20.02
Lorie Jones
Yeah, it's a really fine line to walk. It really is. I've found that there are times when, when you have to say, I can do hard things and be a little bit fearless and try and go out into that unknown.
24:23.35
Stacey
Yes.
24:30.80
Lorie Jones
And there are other times where you just need a little bit more time before you can take that first step.
24:36.94
Stacey
Yes.
24:39.04
Lorie Jones
What about if you could go back and talk to yourself at the beginning of your journey, what would you tell that 20 year old or 21 year old? What would you tell you?
24:50.37
Stacey
You got this. oh i that it's goingnna It's going to be OK. that, I mean, she almost seems like a different person. Stacey of 20, Stacey of 30, Stacey of 15. We look back and we think, I see old pictures or whatever, and I recognize that person, but I don't know if I'm the same person.
25:15.49
Stacey
Today I get all this feels like a different individual um But that you're stronger than you think you are and that life is it's not you know, there's going to be rocky roads and you got it just keep plugging away um and And to trust yourself more I don't know. I mean, maybe I did trust myself, but not as much as I trust myself today. And maybe that's just like a youth thing. One thing that my mom and sister say quite often, and it's become like a family motto for us, is this too shall pass.
25:57.84
Stacey
And I think that 20 year old Stacy needed to know that because some stuff seems so massive in our life and you look back and you're like, that was a part of my journey. It does pay us.
26:11.14
Lorie Jones
Yeah, and you get to the other side and you can look back and say those are some hard things I learned and some great things that I learned and you take it into your journey going forward and what you, the the person that you turn into comes from those series of experiences, that the times that you were m scared and did it anyway or
26:34.88
Stacey
Yes, yes
26:35.33
Lorie Jones
Not sure, yeah.
26:39.71
Lorie Jones
what but What scared you the most when you started your career? Did anything scare you? It doesn't sound like anything scares you.
26:46.42
Stacey
No, um ah going back to the very beginning of our conversation, probably the food insecurity. Having a roof over my head, paying your electric bill, paying your car payment, being able to feed my family, um still to this day, um it's not am I going to be able to buy the most talented gifts. It's are we paying that bill? Are my kids secure? Do we have food on the table?
27:14.80
Stacey
um Yeah, am I making the right financial decision? am i now Am I being selfish, right? To make a change or to take a leap or can we make this work as a family? um I don't think you forget your roots. You don't get to a point where you're making a certain amount of money and you just forget what it's like to kind of be hungry. So that does still scare me to this day.
27:41.91
Lorie Jones
Yeah. And I think that the, that we call it the money story, you know, in financial advising is you go back and kind of look at the money story you grew up with and, and trace it back to, you know, the money story that your parents grew up with and what sort of, what did they pass on to you that you still believe, you know, because there are people that like, um you know, we have these, these entrepreneurs that um just borrow like crazy to get a business up and going and they are very successful a lot of times sometimes not but
28:18.69
Stacey
Fearless, right?
28:19.55
Lorie Jones
um Yeah, they are.
28:19.65
Stacey
Fearless.
28:23.19
Lorie Jones
but but But my particular money story goes back to depression in my grandparents. And so it would it's very difficult for me to get get rid of the idea that debt is bad you know in order to to grow that business and stuff like that.
28:30.22
Stacey
Yes, exactly.
28:36.54
Stacey
sir
28:40.24
Lorie Jones
So I find it really interesting that that that is um something that is so fundamental. it's It's developed at such an early age that it does follow you through.
28:52.50
Stacey
Yes, and am I passing it on correctly? So I've had close friends or my sister or whatever say to me, my kids will be like, oh, we're at the, I don't know, Target. And it's like, oh, can I have this whatever gum for a dollar? And I'm like, you don't need that gum for a dollar? Whatever. My sister will be like, what did you just say to them? Why do you do that? And I'm like, oh.
29:17.19
Stacey
you know um So, or I say, well, that's not a good price for that, or we can't afford that, or why would we spend our money on that? And so part of it is am I teaching life lessons and other part, another side of it is am I pushing my insecurities onto them?
29:34.91
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
29:36.14
Stacey
So I don't really know the answer to that question, but it is something that I think about.
29:41.68
Lorie Jones
Yeah. as As my kids, my my kids are a little bit on the older end. I've got five and my youngest just graduated from high school. Yeah.
29:51.89
Stacey
That is amazing!
29:54.23
Lorie Jones
So um but as I.
29:55.40
Stacey
Five! That's so awesome!
29:57.25
Lorie Jones
It really is. It's super exciting. I'm really proud of him, but my youngest and, and all of them will come back to me and ask. Um, I had my, my third son said just recently, he's like, I feel guilty when I am not saving enough in my Roth IRA.
30:13.09
Lorie Jones
And, and on one hand I'm going, yes, good mom.
30:13.88
Stacey
Ah! I... Yes!
30:16.84
Lorie Jones
And on the other hand, I'm like, you need to have some fun too. And buy that pack of gum and, you know, or something.
30:20.67
Stacey
A balance. A balance. I don't want them to feel guilty. giving themselves a reward that they deserve.
30:30.59
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
30:30.97
Stacey
I have two great kids that work so hard. And, but then there's times, you know, I think, well, I had my first, like, and I say this to them. My daughter just is at the point where she's like, oh, are we hearing this story again?
30:43.17
Stacey
But i I had my first job, I think it was like nine years old, washing dishes in a kitchen, you know, once in a while on the weekends. And then at like 11, I worked in an ice cream truck and then by time,
30:54.33
Stacey
12 I don't know McDonald's or cinnamon bump plays and 13 or whatever like, you know, um I remember my grandma taking me on God me it was like three different buses into the Center City to get my working papers at like the youngest age you could get it and because we worked and we contributed and if you wanted something you Paid for it um and This don't Yeah, so I dont you know i i will say, like don't you My daughter's a dog walker and a babysitter and shes and my son will wash cars and he works at my nephew's, like my ah his uncle's shop.
31:26.46
Lorie Jones
Yeah, yeah, I had two jobs.
31:39.63
Stacey
And he does, like he, I mean, they both do so much, but I'm like, um don't you want a job? Like, yeah, I just, we, you know, and it's funny because I'll say stuff like I remember being,
31:54.51
Stacey
I don't know, maybe 30 years old and saying something about 20 years work experience and people were like, how's that even possible? And it was like, well, technically like it was because we like kind of like as soon as we could work, we worked.
32:04.70
Lorie Jones
yeah yeah
32:10.49
Stacey
You know, it wasn't just what of course you babysat and you like, you know, any kind of side hustle, but you worked.
32:16.98
Lorie Jones
yeah yeah Yeah, I remember I had two jobs all the way through high school. and so
32:22.76
Stacey
Yep.
32:23.27
Lorie Jones
it So it just it is a different way of looking at things. and its it is I haven't found the solution to that either. And I'm a financial advisor whose whole job is teaching people how to manage their money.
32:37.23
Lorie Jones
So I think that that that is a learning experience as we financially parent our children.
32:37.58
Stacey
yes Yes.
32:44.01
Lorie Jones
It's going to be an adventure, but it'll be a good one.
32:46.75
Stacey
And I was always a saver. um And it wasn't that I was saving thinking, oh, I want to buy a big beautiful house. Like, I was saving, oh, well, if I break a leg and I can't work the next couple of weeks.
32:57.19
Stacey
Like, I was always saving and preparing and, ah you know,
32:58.59
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Yeah.
33:03.70
Stacey
um Yeah, it's just it's so interesting. And I talked to I mean, I think a lot of not just because we both love money and we love financials, but it's the money is at like a ah heart of what a lot of us do.
33:17.49
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
33:20.29
Stacey
And in terms of people have difficulty talking about money um and i've I've said this on other you know conversations or shows or whatever about that people don't always sit at the dinner table and talk about money and I don't want it to be a taboo topic for my family but I also don't want to stress my kids out like they're worried about the next electric bill um ah my fear is that I may be doing that but or at least I'm doing it in my head
33:22.87
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
33:32.19
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
33:37.86
Lorie Jones
yeah
33:41.45
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
33:46.01
Lorie Jones
Well, they're pretty resilient. And I always tell my kids, I'm like, that's how come they invented therapists. I'm like, I'm just helping you out with something to talk to your therapist about one day.
33:56.58
Stacey
Yes, yes, yes, yes. I love it.
33:59.33
Lorie Jones
so i So, Stacy, what about any unique challenges um because you were a woman? Did you face any of those?
34:09.39
Stacey
Yes, of course, but it probably wasn't until the last, I don't know, 10 years that you were even willing to talk about it. I think we all have our challenges, right? being being If you're heavy set, you have challenges. If you're overly thin, you have challenges. If you're very tall, you have challenges. if you're um but but but diversity, color, ethnicity, you know, religion, there's ah there's always like, I feel like a stigma. And and in today's world, therere we're trying to do away with some of the stigmas, but it's sometimes it's predisposed and people think things. So,
34:46.10
Stacey
um yeah, there was, I'm Jewish, there was stigmas around that. um I'm blonde. i ah I've always been lighter there. There was stigmas around that. There was definitely stigmas about being on the thinner and smaller side and being a woman. um And I was in a male dominated field. Most of my career, if there was, if I was sitting around a boardroom table, there was just say 20 men and I would be the only female. um I didn't have a problem with being the only female, but
35:24.17
Stacey
there there was not a lot of diversity. um And I felt like women, I feel like sometimes are so generous in helping younger women. But when you get to a middle aged point or younger middle aged and there's one seat around the table for a female, are you, are you treating the other females equally? Are they, or are they now your competition?
35:51.95
Lorie Jones
Mmhmm.
35:52.85
Stacey
And are we kind enough to each other that we could be? um
35:59.77
Stacey
I've been very fortunate with some really, really great leaders. um I had one female boss and being ah very honest right now, I have some really great female my bosses. Great, great, great. um I still stay in touch with you today and I adore her. I had one female boss that um because because her journey was to, i'd like she flat out said, I'm going so personal now. I i never disclose personal information. um And then as I was excited to be on this podcast, cause I really was like, you know what? I'm at a point in my life. I'm going to lean in and I'm going to share this. I'm going to share this journey and experience um that she came right out and said, I chose to have a career over children and you have
36:48.89
Stacey
children you're never going to put enough into your career. um And it was always an issue.
36:55.72
Lorie Jones
yeah
36:55.79
Stacey
She treated the men much better than she treated the women. um And would constantly remind, oh, well that that female, like that leader, we had other female leaders in the organization and behind closed doors, she would be like, well, she she can't really do the job because she has children.
37:12.82
Lorie Jones
Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
37:13.57
Stacey
Or look, at she came in late probably because of her kids. you know I put my career in front of, I put having children in front of my career um And she would say, you work so hard and you're so, you know, I guess she would say great at what you do, but you're never going to be the best because those kids are always going to come first. um And it really was a and it was ah problem and a stigma.
37:37.03
Stacey
um Not saying I didn't get that from male, from other male bosses. I don't think it was as laying on the table as with this one female leader um that is still out there leading.
37:43.25
Lorie Jones
and
37:52.07
Stacey
ah Yeah, I don't.
37:53.64
Lorie Jones
enter interesting
37:55.04
Stacey
Yeah, I've had some experiences where you think, oh, I would never, I can't imagine.
37:59.91
Lorie Jones
yeah run frightened it's Interesting that...
38:00.70
Stacey
i would Like you learn from good influences and but negative influences just as much, right?
38:09.24
Lorie Jones
that... It doesn't sound like she pointed out that the males also had kids.
38:15.66
Lorie Jones
like
38:15.83
Stacey
No, and if a man, I mean, me and my husband would like, I don't want to say joke about it, but we would talk about it. Like, we were both executives at a certain level. And, you know, and if I said, oh, I need to leave to pick up as a kid at 430, it was, oh, there she goes.
38:34.87
Stacey
And if he said, I need to leave to pick up it a sick kid, they'd be like, oh, he is such a good father. he is such a good He is such a good guy. And so for the longest time when my kids were young and I was working in corporate America, if somebody had to come in late to drop off a child, it would be my husband. If someone had to leave early or take a kid to a doctor's appointment, it was safer for him to do it than it was for me. And we would discuss that as a couple.
39:02.62
Stacey
My husband's a brilliant, brilliant man. um And he looks at women as equals and uplifts. And I mean, he's very inspirational to me and to so many people. But we would have that conversation and he would be like, no, for you to leave, it's a death sentence.
39:21.07
Stacey
you're not going to get that next promotion. um And he saw it. He saw it. And just even simple things in like our household, like I would say, um like the house would be a mess or whatever. And I'd say, oh, I really want to get a cleaner. And this is years ago, he really want to get a cleaner, but I don't know. I feel guilty. And my husband would be like, you feel guilty to get a cleaner? He said, I don't feel guilty to get a cleaner.
39:47.12
Stacey
Why would you feel guilty to get a cleaner? And it was like his, he's not a person of a lot of words, but it was his way of saying, you're owning that label that you should be cleaning the house.
39:58.78
Stacey
I don't feel guilty not to clean as a man.
39:58.74
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
40:01.10
Stacey
Why would you feel guilty? And it was like, oh, he's right. Like I am owning this old like this old label.
40:09.20
Lorie Jones
I like that. That's so interesting.
40:10.84
Stacey
Yeah.
40:11.60
Lorie Jones
I'm going to think on that because that is the way, you know, a lot of times that, that I look at, well, I am the one who this is, I'm the caregiver. I'm the one who, who is the cleaner.
40:22.32
Stacey
but
40:24.35
Lorie Jones
I'm the one who is in charge of these things and And that's not necessarily the way it is, actually.
40:31.16
Stacey
No.
40:31.40
Lorie Jones
So, huh.
40:32.92
Stacey
No. And that's not a quality. um Because it's... you're both working full time and you're contributing and and whether your husband stays home with the kids or you stay home with the kids. And I guess we do take on roles.
40:46.52
Stacey
um and We could talk about this topic all day, but you like we just take on any any role. like and And I feel like I laugh. like As soon as you do something and you show your confidence at it, you always do it. My husband, for example, does forms. He does all the health forms and all the camp forms and all the does all the forms. And when my kids go to college, he'll be doing the college forms, right? um And because he's good at the forms, widely labeled him with that, because I don't want to do the forms.
41:13.10
Stacey
So I'm like, oh, you're better at the forms. So he does all the forms. So it's like, that's one of his jobs.
41:19.06
Lorie Jones
yeah I wish he'd come to my forums.
41:20.61
Stacey
I hate the forms. And I'm like, oh, you're better at the forms. i you know like it's It's funny. like We do.
41:31.36
Stacey
But are those are those roles because of gender, or are those roles just because that's kind of how it played out?
41:38.62
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
41:40.84
Stacey
You know, and I do, I yeah that question i ask that question. that question. She'll say, why why am I doing this?
41:47.51
Lorie Jones
yeah
41:47.95
Stacey
Because I'm a female? And my son sort of has started asking it. He's in charge of the trash. He does the trash every Tuesday. um And it's been years. Oh my God, he's been doing the trash since I think he was like six years old.
42:00.05
Stacey
when I don't even know. And he'll say, why do I always have to do the trash? Because I'm a boy. It's like, I don't know. It just was his role.
42:07.06
Lorie Jones
yeah Yeah, that's ah my, my younger daughters are really great at questioning those genders, dario type roles.
42:11.29
Stacey
a
42:15.83
Lorie Jones
um My, my youngest daughter is actually best at um working on cars. She's a really good mechanic. And none of her brothers are very good at being a mechanic. And so she's, she's always questioning how come I'm in charge of like,
42:31.19
Lorie Jones
preparing lunch or something like that, instead of, you know, instead of going out and working on the car.
42:31.37
Stacey
Fixing something! Yes!
42:36.35
Lorie Jones
So and though they're going to solve a lot of problems for us, Stacy, those kids. They're going to be great.
42:42.17
Stacey
i Hope I hope I will going back to our point about leveraging strengths So if something breaks in the house or something you're gonna go to the door to this better of a cat like so we just do that like we have that oh you're better at whatever the technology or the Creative or the and I'll go will you can you handle that and it really is because I think that hurt
42:52.74
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
43:04.61
Stacey
That's the best person in the house to do it. But sometimes it does kind of fit the gender role, which I don't know if it if it just is ah a fluke or it was a predisposed thing.
43:19.06
Lorie Jones
Stacy, what is the thing that you are the most proud of?
43:25.84
Stacey
Well, being fearless, right? Like stepping up saying, okay, I'm going to live through this. Okay. I'm going to make a change. um I'm going to do this even though I'm scared to death um and not saying I didn't have help.
43:40.17
Stacey
um I'm very fortunate. like My sister is, no matter what I do, is like, you got this. Oh, you got it. you're fine. You know, like at my mom, no matter what the mistakes I make, she's like, you're fine. You're fine. Like, you know, I have the best inner circle oh friends. People call them my squad.
44:06.47
Stacey
um I think I'm I'm proud of my company now. I really am. I'm so proud that I said I was going to walk away from this set salary of, you know, this is the CFO and, and, and to say, I'm taking these services and I'm going to offer it, I'm going to share my gift and I'm going to offer it to the business owners that couldn't necessarily or didn't want to necessarily hire a full-time CFO. Um, and they could have us on a retainer and,
44:39.58
Stacey
to go back to Alicia Barr's book, it's being comfortable doing it differently. Because we were told, um wear the suit. I still wear a suit often just because I like a suit, but but wear the suit and portray yourself this way and nod and agree and don't say too much and let let let the men talk. like um Just to do it my way.
45:04.07
Stacey
Yeah, I think I look, i'm um we're a baby company. I mean, we've been around six years, sesh. And I just can't even believe it. can' Like I still to this day, I'm like, I cannot believe how much we've grown and how stable we're doing and how like, it just is a dream come true.
45:23.58
Lorie Jones
ah It's all that hard work too, all that prep and all those many years of learning and growing and showing up um that allowed you to be fearless and take that step and be successful at it.
45:33.52
Stacey
Yes, showing up.
45:38.95
Lorie Jones
So don't give yourself short shift there.
45:41.93
Stacey
Oh, thank you. Thank you.
45:45.29
Lorie Jones
Any advice for a young lady who's just starting down this path? If there's someone that's just on the beginning of her journey, um is there something that you would tell her to help her be successful like you?
45:59.84
Stacey
Stop worrying about the stuff you can't control. I had a boss, his name is Jim Tucker, i just a great leader and a super nice person. and i mean he was he he really he cared about the team professionally and personally and um and he would challenge me like he'd say what do you want your legacy to be and i would say what i'm thinking about the numbers i'm not thinking about a legacy um he really pushed me out of my comfort zone but he would say you're where why are you worrying about that you can we can't control it and i'd be like well This could happen and that could happen in every scenario, right? um And he really would reinforce it. Your wearing is is not going to help this situation. You're going to make yourself sick. um And I think of him and his words like quite often.
46:53.47
Stacey
ah But yeah, that's something I wish maybe I met him earlier in life that that The younger me would have because I worry an awful lot.
47:01.89
Lorie Jones
yeah
47:02.13
Stacey
I inherited that from my mom um But I do I remember his words and it's really really true You can sit and worry all day long and is not going to change the outcome
47:15.01
Lorie Jones
I like that. I like that idea because I can list the 14 different worries we should be worried about right now.
47:21.94
Stacey
Yes, yes, and you worrying about it, I mean, you could take whatever action you could take, but you sitting and worrying about it is not going to change the outcome.
47:31.24
Lorie Jones
No. Stacy, thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate our conversation. Thanks for taking the time to to share with our listeners and just be real and lean into this experience. If I have listeners that are interested in getting in touch with you, how do they do that?
47:49.32
Stacey
um but Well, I am on, I'm on I'm super like sort of personal if we're doing a charity event or something. It's A6VinBiz. So it's A6FIMBIZ. I'm on Facebook under Stacey Linderman, but I'm also on the company um and LinkedIn. I didn't say LinkedIn first because I know that your audience, because I listened to you on a personal and professional level. I mean, your body of work is just so helpful to so many
48:21.52
Stacey
um I'm on I'm on linkedin under the companies under a six financial business optimization and then under Stacy on linkedin if you're gonna connect to me maybe include the name of the podcast and then I'll definitely accept um and My my website is a six thimbus WH two, you know WWW a six that visit it has like all of our fun services and but I love meeting other leaders. um And I've been sort of fearless with reaching out to some of the podcast hosts that I really adore and follow and say, and and just was something I would have never probably done years ago to say, I love this episode. Like you did such a great job with this. Thank you for hosting this and for sharing it with us. And you know, people are so generous. They will get, they actually respond to you and it's great.
49:20.48
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Well, I really appreciate your time. It really makes a difference to me and to my listeners. what As we talked about, this is sort of a passion project for me. I love these stories and you're just an amazing, incredible woman. Thank you so much for sharing.
49:36.73
Stacey
Thank you.