Today, Lorie welcomes Wassan Kasey, who climbed the ranks in the competitive world of finance with flair and fortitude. Discover how Wassan shattered glass ceilings with her bold fashion choices and strategic career moves.
Hear her personal stories of overcoming criticism and imposter syndrome while maintaining authenticity in a high-stakes industry. Learn why mentorship has played a crucial role in her journey and how it can elevate your own career.
Tune in to be motivated by Wassan’s insights on achieving life’s priorities and embracing every opportunity with confidence. Don’t miss this episode packed with actionable advice for navigating your path to success.
Show Highlights:
- Discover this great resource if you’re a people pleaser. [00:02:55]
- Skills for your repertoire in a powerful confident beginning. [00:04:59]
- How proactive mentorship seeking revolutionizes careers. [00:14:25]
- What is truly a woman’s “dress for success” dress code? [00:18:28]
- A realistic look at impostor syndrome as a woman. [00:24:27]
- Why patience will nurture your fire for success. [00:29:05]
- The best advice on holistically prioritizing life goals. [00:32:21]
- Delve into the indispensability of good male colleagues. [00:37:37]
- A trident of sage advice for young professional women. [00:42:53]
For more information or to connect with Wassan Kasey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wassan-kasey-4677a06/
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/.
00:00.00
loriejones7
Perfect. So well. Thanks so much for joining us this morning. We're here with Wesson Casey she is the advisor practice management consultant at capital group and I'm so excited to talk to you today. Thank you so much for agreeing to be on lesson we appreciate it.
00:15.96
Wassan Kasey
Oh my gosh. Thank you for having me Laurie I'm excited to be here.
00:20.21
loriejones7
So we we start usually with a question about a book because I am a reader and I just devour the things. So I I have a stack on my bedside table. That's larger than this year is going to be able to read but I'm still looking for more. What is your favorite.
00:38.44
Wassan Kasey
Okay, okay, my all time favorite I just have to be honest is pride and prejudice I am I'm a sucker for anything Jane Austen and I don't know I think pride and prejudice for me was probably the first classic novel that I read where I was just so enthralled and.
00:39.44
loriejones7
Book.
00:58.36
Wassan Kasey
I read it on my own volition. It wasn't something that was assigned at school or anything. So I Just recently bought a copy A really beautiful copy of it for my 11 year old niece and so um, she's a she's a real avid reader So I was like okay start to do this but but you know I want to be adult about this. So um, one of the other books I just started reading it again and um, and so far it's going really well. But it's called Essentialism I don't know if you've heard of it. But it's a great read about how do you.
01:30.52
loriejones7
2
01:36.88
Wassan Kasey
Align to the tasks that you're most needed for the ones that you are the appropriate person and where you're going to have the highest impact and for me that's really hard because I'm such a pleaser so I'm always like saying yes to a bunch of things and doing a lot of. Um, a lot of things that are that are in addition to my purview so this is really kind of helping me hone that skill so I I really like it so far but Tv on the whole book.
02:05.78
loriejones7
Does it does it teach you How to say no to the things that you oh okay well I'm definitely buying that I'll put it on the top of my stack to read because I have that same problem where I get I Just say yes to so many things that sometimes it gets a little overwhelming.
02:14.40
Wassan Kasey
Yeah, yes, ah.
02:24.90
Wassan Kasey
Exactly yes I you know our careers are similar but a little bit different you and I so for me from a corporate construct. You know there is so many different directions that I can get pulled with it whether it's different projects or internally um, aligned initiatives. And then of course external things with our clients et cetera. So really starting to focus where my skill set where my time and where my impact can make a big difference is where I should be saying yes. Just goes against my grain honestly because I want to help everybody I want to be involved in everything you know, just sit for positive you know impact. But it's um, it's it's a good read. They even give you a Venn diagram which I'm a sucker for so I think it's good.
03:13.72
loriejones7
Yeah, you're speaking my language there for sure. So so that that leads us into our next question which is a really good segue is just tell me a little bit about yourself. How did you get where you are today kind of what do you do? Um, just tell us.
03:17.27
Wassan Kasey
Ah.
03:29.51
Wassan Kasey
Yeah, thank you? Um, my journey started I would say twenty years ago but I think it started a little bit prior to that when I was 19 So what's that twenty three years ago um so twenty three years ago I was.
03:29.90
loriejones7
Little bit about your journey.
03:49.38
Wassan Kasey
Ah, sophomore and about to turn a sophomore in college so I was about to become a sophomore in college it was the summer before sophomore year I was a finance major a the university of Southern California and I wanted to become a server at the local islands and there's a restaurant here I don't know if it was national or not but at the time there was a restaurant here called islands and it was a hotspot you know families would go and every time I went um you know I thought oh my gosh I could be a great. Server and I could make a lot of money on tips because I'm very outgoing I love people I love serving like it's really great. So I was about to put in my application and my mother and father sat me down and they said hey look you are a finance major. So. You gotta get a job within finance and I said what you know I was so dismayed um, but it was probably the best thing that they ever did for me. So my father sat with me and he said this is what you're gonna do this is the best thing that you can do print out. Copies of your resume and go doorknocking to all the finance firms that are in our city and at the time the city that I was growing up in which is Glendale California there was a Morgan Stanley a Smith Barney at the time
05:13.59
Wassan Kasey
Um, there was an ihop headquarters nestly headquarters so there was a lot of firms there that were represented so I said okay so it was a hot summer day I remember to this day when I was wearing it was a light blue sweater with Khaki Dress Pans I had a Bob haircut and ah. Stack of my resume in my hand and I went from one office to the other and I told them exactly what I wanted to do which was hey do you have an hr person or a head of operations that I can submit submit my resume to I'd love to get an intern job here for the summer and Morgan Stanley came back to me later that day and they called me pretty much instantly and they said we want to hire you so it was awesome. Yeah, it was great and the reason that they hired me was obviously I had taken initiative I'm like.
05:53.20
loriejones7
Um.
06:10.42
Wassan Kasey
Other candidates that they had seen and there was 1 specific advisor who um, saw me he saw me walk in through the lobby saw me ask for the ops manager saw me. Talk to the ops manager and hand my resume and walk out and immediately after that he went to her and said what was that kid doing and they told him and he happened to be an alumni of Usc and he said hire her I want her and so.
06:33.66
loriejones7
Ah.
06:41.66
Wassan Kasey
He took me under his wing and it was incredible I mean it wasn't like go get me coffee and things like that it was let's sit down and talk about options trading. Let me teach you about the economy the markets everything that that at that time was at the grain of.
06:49.67
loriejones7
A wow.
07:00.45
Wassan Kasey
Being a financial advisor and I did a lot of cold calling a lot a lot of cold calling and I was successful at getting strangers to come into the office to meet with this advisor and I interned there for 3 years
07:03.76
loriejones7
In.
07:18.84
Wassan Kasey
Um, so throughout the remainder of my college education I interned at Morgan Stanley and I had the luck of sitting right outside the branch manager's office and so he hired me to be a financial advisor at the age of 21 but I know
07:31.66
loriejones7
Oh my gosh. Yeah.
07:37.90
Wassan Kasey
I know it was. It was a wild time because you know it was twenty years ago and so there was nothing other than get your licenses and start bringing in clients and that's what I did. Um, and I did that for a couple of years and then I thought you know I I really want to make a shift so that clients truly see me as an advocate for them. Obviously I was so young it was incredibly difficult to build a business on my own.
08:07.79
loriejones7
E.
08:11.26
Wassan Kasey
And so I made a shift and I became a portfolio manager and a research analist at Wells Fargo and it was fantastic. You know I had a discretionary book of business that I managed and it was it was awesome, but the thrill of the hunt didn't escape me I was. Ah, financial advisor at heart. So I was bringing in assets and and then Wells Fargo asked hey you know.
08:32.71
loriejones7
Um.
08:41.91
Wassan Kasey
Would you help us show other advisors how to bring in fiduciary investment assets and I said yeah, absolutely so I was lucky enough for them to create a role for me and from there I worked hand in hand with other advisors and. Bankers and trusted fiduciary specialists to help them bring in new assets and new clients and so I really focused on sort of the ensemble practice at that point guiding guiding my partners and then I got an opportunity and.
09:12.40
loriejones7
Um.
09:17.33
Wassan Kasey
Thousand and thirteen to lead institutional and retail sales in the western us for a hedging strategy and so it was a privately held firm and so I took it I took the opportunity and it was. Ah, fantastic opportunity. You know I got to flex a lot of different muscles that I had cultivated up until that point and I did that for 4 years before joining capital group as an advisor practice management consultant and so I've been here for the last seven years
09:48.90
loriejones7
Um, ah yeah, well, that's so I noticed like there's a couple of times it feels like in your career that maybe you made up your own job title like they created a position just for you.
09:50.50
Wassan Kasey
My career.
10:03.48
Wassan Kasey
Yeah I've been very lucky. Yes, yes, it's been It's been a good 20 years um and yeah, I'm not sure why it went that way I think you know I had sort of this blind courage at the time. Um, the the first time that they created the role for me. It was I went to them and I said hey look you know I have this skill set and clearly you value it. But I'm being asked to do a variety of things that don't all. Funnel into the area that you want me to specifically focus in on which is generating new client relationships with advisors and other people that work with clients. So I said well why don't you create a role properly and. That way I can focus my time on the things that I'm helping you best with and these other tasks can be given to somebody who's more qualified for these other tasks and ah luckily they said that that was a good idea. So so they moved forward with it and. And I was I was a benefactor of really great leaders and management at that time. So it helped.
11:24.49
loriejones7
But and it sounds though like you also put some like you you you had the courage to stand up and say hey you know I'm I'm being asked to do a lot of things. There's some things I do really great at and and we should take advantage of of those.
11:41.72
Wassan Kasey
Yeah, yeah again I don't know what allowed me to do that I think I think if I really think about it. It was it was the path leading up to it that I had taken. You know my my.
11:42.74
loriejones7
Specifically.
12:00.72
Wassan Kasey
Dad had given me a lot to hang my hat on early on my mother too. But my dad just gave me very specific advice like very tactical and then um and then when I left Morgan Stanley it was of my own volition I just.
12:11.10
loriejones7
This is.
12:20.20
Wassan Kasey
Thought you know this just isn't for me and I didn't I actually didn't have a job lined up when I left. Um I Just knew that it was just not the the role that was right for me at the time and so again I got I got lucky but I think because I.
12:25.27
loriejones7
Ah.
12:39.55
Wassan Kasey
Survived those 2 transitions that had allowed me to maybe have a stronger voice and I was young when I did that when I went to them and said hey I want a specific role I was young I was 26 so you know but I don't know I don't know what.
12:49.86
loriejones7
Um, yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:58.14
Wassan Kasey
Gave me that courage but it did my father was a civil engineer um in in he ended up was he was the Deputy director of public works for a large county here in.
12:59.16
loriejones7
What did your dad do. Oh.
13:16.41
Wassan Kasey
California and Southern California so I think it's the largest county in all of the Us. But I'm not sure so I won't say that it is ah.
13:25.97
loriejones7
Ah, So what is if you look back? What is the best investment you feel like you've made in yourself. Is there something that you can point to that was like oh. I'm so glad I did that that really led to a lot of success for me.
13:43.20
Wassan Kasey
That's a great question. Um, honestly I think my initial answer is probably coaching um every time that I had a pivotal moment in my career I. Ah, hired a coach. Um and it was It was always like I started sensing. Okay, there was this rubbing edge and I'm on the precipice of transition but I can either go about it by myself and flub my way through it and.
14:19.78
Wassan Kasey
Sort of figure it out. It'll probably take me a lot longer because I don't have muscle memory around it or I can hire somebody that has done this and knows how to get me to think a little bit differently about my career and what I want to do and I've done that.
14:36.67
loriejones7
Ah, home.
14:39.28
Wassan Kasey
3 times so I've had 3 coaches and now that you've got me thinking about it I Yeah I've had 3 coaches and I've also done a couple of different personality assessments. Like the disk analysis things like that that have really helped me figure out communication style not just in myself. But the way that I should ideally communicate with a variety of people so that I meet them where they're at rather than having to force them to meet me where I'm at you know So So those are probably the.
15:04.51
loriejones7
And.
15:12.27
Wassan Kasey
Things that that have helped me.
15:13.19
loriejones7
It sounds like your dad might have been your first coach. You just didn't have to hire him.
15:16.41
Wassan Kasey
I Love that but I love that? Yeah, he just he came for free? Yeah, but I love that.
15:23.52
loriejones7
Well so where did you find your coaches at is there. Any did you just start looking in the yellow but people don't probably don't even know what the yellow book is nowadays but.
15:35.20
Wassan Kasey
Right? Yeah,, That's a great Question. You know the irony of it is now I coach um and and like you're saying like how would people even find me I'm lucky to find the people that I coach because I work with a large corporation that. Offers this as part of our service to the folks that we work with the way that I found my coaches The first one was I needed to really hone my public speaking skills I was always a good public speaker. It was something that I really cultivated early On. Um.
15:55.30
loriejones7
M.
16:12.00
Wassan Kasey
In college I made it a priority I was like I'll tell you that if we have time for it but it was it. It was a priority of mine and then of course you joined toast masters and all that early on in your career. But when it came time that it was. An integral part of the way that I was going to move forward in my career. Um I had met a speech coach through a colleague of mine and she was based in Georgia and I'm in Los Angeles and so we started doing the virtual thing before. You know this is like twelve years ago before it was a thing and she helped me really think differently about the way I communicate the way that I structure my presentations the way that I create almost like a like imagination around the concepts that I'm sharing.
16:49.81
loriejones7
Ah.
17:02.37
loriejones7
E.
17:05.11
Wassan Kasey
So That's how I found the first one. My second one was a flat out ask I asked for her you know I had anticipated that I needed some media training and so I just asked my manager I said look I need some media training I would like to. Get that and my manager thankfully said yes so it was ah a corporate sponsored ah coaching that that they had access to um and my third one again was through a colleague you know, just word of mouth. And got access to a person that worked with people like myself. Um, who were looking to just sort of move forward in their career and so it was always kind of word of mouth or flat out. Yeah, exactly.
17:55.40
loriejones7
Um, so ask ask your network.
18:02.45
Wassan Kasey
Out drop in and then this how you look great. Yes of your Mom's in there. That's once. Yeah yeah I Now we do that Okay come on.
18:12.83
loriejones7
But see this is the sort of thing we can edit out.
18:20.22
Wassan Kasey
Look very cute I'm very happy you got a girl I Love you I Know you're so excited he got new headphones he drums and so we had to him headphones so to protect his ears. Yeah.
18:29.27
loriejones7
Oh ah, oh fun. Oh so they yeah yeah, that's funny how many kids do you have listen just one. Yeah.
18:40.80
Wassan Kasey
Just one. Yeah, just him oh my gosh. he's 4 yeah yeah he's 4 he's adopted e five he's very he is tall though. He's like.
18:44.42
loriejones7
And he looks about. He's got to be 1012 no oh no, you're kidding my gosh tall.
18:56.91
Wassan Kasey
Yeah, he's like I think Ninety Ninth percentile in height or something. He's very talling what he had.
18:58.90
loriejones7
Okay, all right? So I'm not as bad but that that ten ten was closer than 12 So I always try to guess up because I'm always like oh my gosh they're gonna be you know, even little kids they're like I am five years old
19:06.59
Wassan Kasey
Yeah, ah.
19:12.30
Wassan Kasey
Right? right? right? Yeah exactly yeah, he's gonna be 5 in June. So yeah, so.
19:18.14
loriejones7
I So what is the worst advice someone ever gave you and did you take it did you learn from it tell me about that.
19:33.74
Wassan Kasey
Oh man, this one? Okay, this one's really hard. Um I'll start by saying I didn't take the advice but it definitely opened my eyes. Um.
19:48.15
loriejones7
He.
19:51.50
Wassan Kasey
It's actually it's a very sort of personal story. But it's I think really important, especially as you know with your audience where you're thinking about women who are um, thinking about their future and their career et cetera. So.
20:08.61
Wassan Kasey
I'll I'll start by saying when I first started my career I was very much you know, dressed in business suits head to toe mostly pant suits right? Um, you probably feel the same way I do right when you first start off, you have to sort of wear a certain uniform.
20:25.30
loriejones7
Yeah.
20:27.80
Wassan Kasey
And I wore it and after about a year I just started thinking I was like you know I'm ah I'm a woman you know I Love I Love women I Love being a woman and there is so much variety in the fashion that we can lean into and colors and. I Just wanted to be the red in the same ah in this like I wanted to be the red in the sea of sameness which was blue as in grays right? I just wanted the pop of red and so I was you know I would wear red I'd wear a few shide-wear dresses I'd wear you know pants.
20:54.98
loriejones7
Um, yeah.
21:04.92
Wassan Kasey
I would at that time take um, a sash and I'd use that as my belt with a little broch on it. You know I just really loved wearing fashionable clothing and and so I stuck with that and. Um, somewhere along my career. There was this older person who after I had given a presentation came up to me and this person at first was pretty complimentary right? Um, she said hey great. Presentation. Obviously you've got a big path forward here and then she followed it up with she said just remember what it is that we're selling and. She was insinuating that because I dressed like a woman that it would be distracting to the people that were in the audience and I just remember thinking wow I was so taken aback you know I was young I was um I think I was 26 at the time.
22:18.86
loriejones7
Ah.
22:19.40
Wassan Kasey
And you know now looking back at 26 you know this is almost twenty years ago I think man that is such a hard thing for a 26 year old to have to think about and grapple with and navigate and.
22:31.54
loriejones7
Um, yeah.
22:34.79
Wassan Kasey
And it could have gone either way for me I could have taken her advice and really felt bad about myself or really questioned who I was working with and questioned the industry but I decided to ignore it and I decided to be myself. Authentically. And I decided to work pretty comprehensively and cohesively with everybody and it worked well and that that sort of I think was a really big moment for me where I thought you know what I'm not gonna let this.
23:01.50
loriejones7
Um.
23:08.80
Wassan Kasey
In my way I'm I'm actually gonna lean in here and show people that you can have Duality. You can be a woman who loves fashion and who has a bubbly upbeat personality and then also be. Unbelievable at your job and a gogeter and somebody who really kind of Dives deep and takes names and doesn't ask for apologies right? like I would ask for apologies not ask for permission I I Really kind of leaned into that and.
23:36.85
loriejones7
Yeah.
23:44.93
Wassan Kasey
I've always prided myself on trying to be the best at what I do and that never went away. So so that was probably the worst advice I got.
23:51.71
loriejones7
I find that really interesting because I have noticed that changing just in the last little while that you were you were way above the curve. You know, twenty years ago because because you still feel like you have to dress in those black and blue. You know. Business suits and you have the certain level of heel and the certain shirt that you wear with it and is dang boring isn't it.
24:20.17
Wassan Kasey
Ah, yes, you know what? I've noticed too and I love this and I wish that I was this way and I honestly wish I was this young but I've noticed that younger women now and they're at conferences they wear um like sneakers like flat sneakers that. They look awesome. They're wearing a dress and then they're wearing sneakers with them and I think oh my gosh that is the smartest, most practical, most cool thing I've seen because I still can't get past. The need to wear Heels. That's still ingrain in me but man hats off to everybody else because I wish I could pull that off because I totally would.
24:56.45
loriejones7
I Know I know I know yeah and I do like the authenticness of bringing if a pink used to be a taboo color as well like you can't wear pink because you know black blue white like that sort of thing. But. But don't draw attention to the fact that you're a woman in finance and and I I understand where you're coming from I Love that you chose to be authentic I think that that speaks volumes.
25:17.97
Wassan Kasey
Observed.
25:24.68
Wassan Kasey
Thank you! Thanks! That's so nice.
25:31.21
loriejones7
So If you have to look back on your career so Far. Do you have? um, something. That you wish that you would have done differently Maybe a regret about the way that you did something and now knowing what you know now hey if I could go back I would change the way I handled that situation.
25:52.10
Wassan Kasey
So yeah, you know, Ah, that's it. That's ah, another really good, very thoughtful question I I'm gonna have a harder time answering this one. Um, the major decisions that I've made I have no regrets over I think I haven't had a linear path which actually excites me and so I really like that. Um I I've loved every company that I've worked With. Um, every person that I've worked with has been really great I Think if I were to have a regret it and this is gonna sound so maybe formalaic but I think it's not maybe not believing in myself. All the way through and sometimes letting that imposter syndrome take over and I don't know if you feel similarly. Yeah.
26:50.20
loriejones7
Um.
26:55.26
loriejones7
Every woman in fact, probably all everyone does have that ah at times or.
26:59.77
Wassan Kasey
Yeah, yeah, that imposter syndrome can get pretty loud sometimes and and sometimes I've let it take over when maybe it shouldn't and other times it's present. And I've plowed through whatever task was at hand and came out of it the other end thinking. Okay good. I'm so glad that I didn't listen to this inner voice that you know could have held me back and I think every time that I've let that inner. Imposter Syndrome take hold and I didn't plow through was probably a regretful moment again in the end you know I've had great mentors I've had great leaders I've had great Opportunities. So in the end it all worked out but sometimes I do wonder man you know.
27:44.34
loriejones7
Ah.
27:54.75
Wassan Kasey
If I was just a little bit stronger at that point or if I was just a little bit more ah poignant with a certain part of my decision making would ah would it have made a meaningful change and I think it probably would have.
28:04.95
loriejones7
For her.
28:13.30
loriejones7
Just telling you hey you aren't good enough for this or you you're You're not smart enough here is that the kind of imposter syndrome. You're talking about.
28:13.42
Wassan Kasey
You know I Really do.
28:22.27
Wassan Kasey
Yeah, sometimes yeah and and even like like let's say this this one I think is the biggest culprit. So let's say there is a job opening right. And you think oh I can do that you know I can do this job and then you start reading the specifics and you start reading through them and it's like they need 10 years prior experience or 5 years prior experience and you start reading further and it's like they work with. Specific type of person or they have specific types of projects they bring in specific types of revenue or whatever it is you start to as you read the specifics talk yourself out of it and say oh gosh you know they probably. Well I guess they want somebody with 10 years experience or 5 years experience or they want somebody who knows how to speak to these people or maybe has a network of these people etc and so you talk yourself out of applying or you you you talk yourself out of pursuing it completely and. But you don't realize in those moments is that might be what they initially wanted because they had to put pen to paper on something but what they need might be something completely different. It might be.
29:46.83
Wassan Kasey
Your type of personality or your type of drive or your type of connections or creativity or the way that you see things the way that you perceive things and activate on them and think through them and so I think in those instances it's you know.
30:01.19
loriejones7
Ah.
30:06.28
Wassan Kasey
It can really hold people back and I know that it's held me back sometimes. So.
30:10.00
loriejones7
So maybe that's the queue to go pick up your resumes and go start doorknocking right? like out of the box a little bit of you got to sell yourself because the you know.
30:21.20
Wassan Kasey
Totally ah afraid right.
30:25.80
loriejones7
Tell them this is what you want You really do want this.
30:27.70
Wassan Kasey
Yeah, yeah, you know it's it's so funny when you say that you know at 19 I probably was a lot more fearless than I was at whenever thirty forty you know what? I mean it's.
30:41.88
loriejones7
Is.
30:44.30
Wassan Kasey
No I don't know if it's because you feel like you have more to lose when you're older I genuinely have no idea. But yeah at level with all, we just said? yeah.
30:51.80
loriejones7
Ah, yeah, borrow borrow a little bit from our 20 year old self and sell them. So if you.
30:56.99
Wassan Kasey
Right? right? exactly.
31:03.71
loriejones7
Go back and talk to your nineteen or twenty year old self having the experiences and the journey that you've had so far is there anything that you would tell her.
31:12.88
Wassan Kasey
Patience patience I think patients in all aspects of life by the way like you know again, this is this is personal but you know you grow up. You think oh I've got to get married when I'm 25 and then as.
31:19.44
loriejones7
Um.
31:32.39
Wassan Kasey
You get closer to 25 you're like I got to get married by the time I'm 28 you know you just start pushing that timef frame I just so you know didn't get married until I was almost 36 so and then of course my husband and I I just I'm so lucky to have.
31:42.25
loriejones7
It is.
31:51.14
Wassan Kasey
Person that I have by my side and ah, you've now met my son who's 4 and um, he is a firecracker and he's the best and I'm so lucky that he's my kid and it all came about with patience you know on my personal life like just. Sort of moving forward making sure that I'm making the right decisions picking the right people all of that and then of course professionally same thing patience. Sometimes it's really hard, especially when you first start off, you know you're capable of a lot. You know that you have. Ah, varied skill set. You know that you have creativity and different things and and you're a gunner I think when you're young, you're you're a gunner and you've got this fire that needs to be fed and there are ways to feed that fire and keep it going. But keeping your eye on the ball and staying patient I think was is really really Important. Don't make snap decisions just because you know make make thorough decisions talk to your mentor. You know, talk to your lawyers. All of that people you trust.
32:58.90
loriejones7
Yeah, and that's something that actually comes up kind of over and over as you start looking at career trajectories a lot of times they think you know when you first start you think? okay I'm hired now I should be like C o o right? like.
33:15.26
Wassan Kasey
Life.
33:17.75
loriejones7
How many steps is it from now until they're like that's happening soon right? and it's a process. It's a process of learning and growing and and becoming um until you do get to the the higher level runs and sometimes if you if it doesn't happen right? away you got to give it a little bit of patience huh.
33:33.78
Wassan Kasey
Yeah, Absolutely I mean you know you you own your practice and you you run such a great business and you know of course had the advantage of seeing that and I love what you do? I Genuinely love it I and. You don't come to the point that you're at without a bit of patience and and taking opportunities as they come and the fact that you're even hosting something like this I think is a testament to all that. So Yeah I feel like I feel like you know. You could probably teach me about patients.
34:09.85
loriejones7
I Don't know about that. It's It's that fair I chose the name fearless females because I for me the word fearless means being scared and doing it anyway and that was that's a lot of what I do in my life I'm a little bit scared but we're gonna try it anyway.
34:19.27
Wassan Kasey
Love that.
34:25.75
Wassan Kasey
I Love it. I love it and you yeah I mean and you never know where things take you right? I mean that that also kind of comes to. Your your question about what what else would I tell my 20 year old self aside from patients I think just really leaning into life. Um, you know, making sure that you're experiencing things in all their totality and.
34:46.17
loriejones7
The.
34:58.76
Wassan Kasey
And making sure that you're prioritizing the right things along the way. So for like for instance, if I use you as an example, you know you have a podcast you meet with your clients. You're coaching your team you built a great business and oh by the way you have this. Wonderful daughter and you have all these other people that that rely on you in your personal life and similarly for me I think you know just making sure that my son and my husband get the best parts of me that my family and my friends are a priority.
35:31.56
loriejones7
Um, but.
35:36.40
Wassan Kasey
And then of course work is a conduit for me to be able to have a really robust life but the priorities there are really important.
35:43.29
loriejones7
I Think that's a really important point too is to as women a lot of times we lose balance or I know that I have a hard time with finding the balance and I think that there are times when your career takes a priority spot. And and you have to put a little bit of extra effort into it but don't let those outweigh you know significantly the times when you're putting the people and the things that are most important to you your your spouse your your kids your significant others those things you know that are. They're truly going to last forever you want you don't want to forget those.
36:19.50
Wassan Kasey
Yeah, absolutely I had a coach once tell me that as long as something is within the top 3 priorities. It's still a priority and sometimes like you're saying sometimes that those three will shift. So sometimes you're. Family is your top priority and then job and then you know, whatever right friends and then other times it's like your job takes center stage and then your family and friends or whatever it is but as long as your energy is focused on those top 3 and something is in those. Top 3 then they're getting the best of you. It's when they fall out from those top 3 that that you've got to really be conscious of things.
37:03.38
loriejones7
Yeah, that's ah, that's a really nice way of looking at it I'm going to use that because I thought if it wasn't at the top spot then I was failing. Mr.
37:09.87
Wassan Kasey
Right? Yeah, let's give ourselves some permission laurie. But.
37:18.40
loriejones7
I'm so glad I talked to you today I felt so much better off your So what? if you could look back lesson and when you started what scared you the most and does it still scare you.
37:32.80
Wassan Kasey
Oh That's a great thing to think about um what scared me the most I you know probably uncertainty. Um, just. If I had to put it in a nutshell and not really knowing what the future holds for me I think I think that was the beginning you know I was I was a corporate finance major at at Usc on Paper. I shouldn't have been scared but I was the first in my family to enter this industry and so I didn't have an understanding of what it could potentially mean for me and so I think uncertainty was a big. Thing for me now I don't think that was sort of like this overwhelming ambiguity about the future right? Not knowing what the career holds if it'll be successful. How will I navigate it who will I meet like all of those things.
38:29.16
loriejones7
Ah.
38:46.80
Wassan Kasey
Now I don't think I don't think I'm scared about the same thing. Um I have more perspective. My life is different. My career obviously is much more established I spend my time coaching people and so that. As much as they learn from me I really learn from them as well. A lot and so I don't have as much uncertainty about my future I I see clearly where I want to end up I see clearly what I want my future to look like I see clearly the balance that I have.
39:16.73
loriejones7
Ah.
39:22.20
Wassan Kasey
I think the number 1 thing I'm afraid of now is whether or not I'll be able to achieve that you know like achieving my goals. Um, whether it's career financial family life. All of it I see it very clearly but now.
39:26.73
loriejones7
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
39:39.67
Wassan Kasey
I Need to make sure I achieve it and that's probably the hardest thing now.
39:41.66
loriejones7
Yeah, but not not as much as at the beginning it was more of the unknown and there were so many possibilities and and you also hadn't practiced any of them yet. You hadn't made the decisions or tried the hard things yet.
39:55.60
Wassan Kasey
Yeah, totally 0 muscle memory 0 muscle memory now at least I have some agility which is good but.
40:07.45
loriejones7
So um, did you face any unique challenges because you were a woman did you run into anything where you're like oh that I know we have you know I've I've talked to different people and one of them was a pilot and she was you know she she had a hard Time. You can't. Breastfeed a kid in the Cockpit so she was having a hard time because she was a woman.
40:28.35
Wassan Kasey
Ah, yeah, oh man, you just took me back. Yeah I remember having to pump in the airport bathrooms and then I don't know I don't know if you breastfed or not. But. Just remember being so sad that I had to throw it away because it was you know how people joke around liquid gold and I was like oh gosh here I am in the airport bathroom. This is so unsanitary pumping and I have to throw it Away. It was so not ideal. Um.
40:48.37
loriejones7
Um, yeah.
40:53.51
loriejones7
Um, yeah.
41:01.38
Wassan Kasey
And that was you know I was traveling for work with that I think you know I'll always say that I've been lucky in my career and of course you kind of make your own luck right. And I should acknowledge that but there are parts where I truly have been lucky I of course you know like every woman along your career. You might not have been taken this seriously at some point. Especially maybe when I was younger. Um, but I've had the advantage of having like at least 2 really amazing managers in my life and I I currently have 2 incredible mentors and because of these.
41:49.57
loriejones7
Ah.
41:56.44
Wassan Kasey
For people who all happen to be men. Um I've actually been very lucky because I can go to them very openly talk to them. They're complete allies of mine. They guided me. They gave me advice.
42:10.36
loriejones7
E.
42:15.84
Wassan Kasey
Were always protecting me so I had their air cover and and that was a really important thing for me and it it always has been but you know you just of course of course as a woman like I remember 1 time.
42:30.49
loriejones7
I.
42:33.82
Wassan Kasey
Was on stage talking about um, features trading and downside risk exposure and you know upside capture and all sorts of different. You know, very analytical Concepts and I came off the stage. And somebody told me that the people in the back were commenting that you know I I resembled a famous person and I was like what like what I've been talking about you know, really. Deep Analytical Concepts you know, just complicated scenarios and trading platforms and and that's what these people? Oh Yeah I I was just so bummed out but I thought ah whatever you know.
43:19.11
loriejones7
That's what they took away.
43:26.39
Wassan Kasey
Is what it does.
43:27.77
loriejones7
I Think it's I think it's a good point that you brought up though that that a lot of times. Um, you know we need men to help mentor because they're especially in a male-dominated industry like finance they're already in the spots. They you need. And mentor to help you kind of grow and progress in your career and it's it's I've found I have found nothing that supportive and and helpful people along the way as Well. So That's I think that's a plus but but you but you do need them you you need them.
44:01.97
Wassan Kasey
Yeah, you really do I remember so my most recent manager he retired last year and ah, he's like a second father to me and he always says the same thing about me I'm like his third daughter.
44:18.47
loriejones7
Ah.
44:18.56
Wassan Kasey
And and that relationship is so valuable to me I mean we still talk every couple of weeks even though he's been retired for over six months and a really important person to my life and I agree with you I think you know having that allyship is.
44:36.17
loriejones7
So Wesson what is the thing that you are the most proud of.
44:36.47
Wassan Kasey
Really important.
44:45.43
Wassan Kasey
Oh um, when it comes to life probably my marriage and my son those are ah the 2 relationships that I'm most proud of um also the life that we've cultivated. Very lucky and so I'm really proud to be able to look at that and say man we've done so much in these last 42 years like I don't know what the rest holds for us. But right now it's pretty good. Um in my career. What I'm most proud of is.
45:08.94
loriejones7
Um, she's not.
45:21.16
Wassan Kasey
I Think the moments where when I'm working with people and you just sort of see things progress you see them blossoming in the way that they need to Blossom you see um people maybe feeling. Courageous enough to pursue things that maybe they thought they wouldn't pursue all of those things I think I'm most proud of to have been by their side. You know just have been a fly on the wall as that sort of took place and and because of my role I've been the beneficiary.
45:41.75
loriejones7
Are.
45:49.86
loriejones7
Um.
45:58.23
Wassan Kasey
Being able to see that time and time again throughout every year and so that's been that's been a really great fulfilling moment for me.
46:07.38
loriejones7
I find that I'm a little bit the same where I look back and see how other people are progressing um because of something that I've helped with or done that that brings a lot of satisfaction I completely see where you're coming from there.
46:20.12
Wassan Kasey
It Oh yeah, I mean well you help people achieve financial goals I mean just talk about impact. That's it's awesome.
46:30.18
loriejones7
So if you could talk to a young lady who's just starting down a path that you're already well in the middle of what would you say to her to help her be successful like you.
46:39.34
Wassan Kasey
Um.
46:45.26
Wassan Kasey
I would say a few things on first you know, go just go right? like. Hit the green button. Go go into drive I mean just just go um, second is there. There are obstacles along the way there are roles that on paper. Seem like oh my gosh. How would I ever be able to do this if I had a husband or a child you know and so you might make a decision that keeps you from taking a certain role because you think that you might not be able to balance your life. Um, my. Genuine reaction to that is take that role because you will have balance. There are people prior to you who have had those roles and have balance um me being one of them right? So I traveled all the time and. Um, literally every week I would travel and then when my son came along I had the advantage of working you know more remotely and so there's always things that can shift around you'd never know, especially if you're really good at your job. You're going to find a way.
48:13.96
Wassan Kasey
To make life and work balance out really Good. So Never never stop yourself from taking an opportunity because you're scared of what your schedule might look like or what the impact might be or if it'll allow you to have the life that you envisioned because you will have the life that you had that you had envisioned. Um, the third. I would say is Mentor. You know I think that's like a running theme for me is find yourself a leader or a mentor somebody or somebody else in in the industry. Whatever industry you decide to to go into. Um who is a servant leader who is somebody who would.
48:48.44
loriejones7
The.
48:52.87
Wassan Kasey
Ah, help block and tackle obstacles for you So that you can do what you do best and they're out there. They might be a little bit harder to find but they're absolutely out there and if you catch them at the right time they're gonna do anything to want to help you and they will They really will.
49:08.33
loriejones7
Yeah.
49:11.87
Wassan Kasey
Um, so I think those are the 3 things that I would probably say I hope that's all.
49:13.85
loriejones7
Yeah, well with the idea of looking back and saying that that some of our greatest triumphs come from helping others grow that lends itself to finding mentors in the space and and having people that really truly do want to just see you. Do better and and and grow in that space. So Wesson thank you? So so so much for your time today I really appreciate it. Do you have if there's um, if we have ladies listening to this that want to get in touch with you or want to learn more about you where do they go.
49:34.24
Wassan Kasey
Yeah, total.
49:48.87
Wassan Kasey
Oh yeah, well gosh probably am I Linkedin how about that is that okay, we we'll do Linkedin and so I have Linkedin Wesson casey w a SS an KSEY I think I'm the only one. So.
49:55.24
loriejones7
Um.
50:08.12
Wassan Kasey
Next with me would love to hear it from you.
50:10.45
loriejones7
But well, that's just great. Thank you so much again for your time today I really appreciate you spending this time with us.
50:16.28
Wassan Kasey
Oh thank you Laurie this is fantastic. Thanks so much for having me on.
50:22.11
loriejones7
Perfect, ok.