Amber Stitt [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome to The Amber Stitt Show. I am your host, Amber Stitt. And today we welcome the co-founders of Purse Strings, Barb Provost and Maggie Nielsen. Welcome to the show, ladies.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:00:10]:
Thanks. Thanks for having us.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:00:12]:
Thank you.
Amber Stitt [00:00:13]:
So excited to be able to hang out and really dive into business, money, thought leadership, all the things that you ladies, I feel, project out to the world. But my audience needs to know more. So with that in mind, we're going to dive right in and talk about the both of you individually, talk about how you got into the business you are in today. And we're going to stay in this realm of focusing on talents for a moment because I believe you're doing what you love, but we have to figure out how you got there. So, Dr. Barb, do you mind if you start this journey and take us back maybe 20 years ago, maybe not. I don't know.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:00:46]:
Yeah, it was a while back, I was a consultant in the financial industry. So I don't sell any financial products, or services, my background is I'm a doctor of adult and higher learning. I have a master's in business. And so what I brought to the table in the financial industry is I taught financial professionals and I taught facilitators how to teach financial professionals about product, process, procedure, how to get their businesses up and running, and did a lot around performance management across lots of organizations. And it was at that time, Amber, that I could see the process and the product and the processes, all of that, and the marketing materials were not serving women. And I kept saying to leadership, "I think you're missing a market. I think you're missing a female market."
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:01:27]:
And think about it, 20 - 25 years ago. They just kind of told me, "I think we're good, Barb. You just keep doing what you're doing."
Amber Stitt [00:01:35]:
It's working for us.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:01:36]:
It's working for them. And so when I started my own business, Provost Consulting, and consulted across lots of financial organizations, I saw the same thing everywhere. And so I saw it in the work that I did. And then I went through a divorce myself and navigated that with some other women in this divorce group. And I heard a lot of those women say things like, "I don't think I can afford this divorce. I never really paid the bills in the household." I mean, asking a lot of really fundamental financial questions of themselves and "how-to's". And I thought, this is interesting. These are bright, smart, educated women, and they're asking some really foundational questions about money.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:02:13]:
And then Maggie was in high school at the time, and we'd run errands and I'd see women of retirement age bagging groceries, or we'd go to Costco and they'd be handing out samples. And I'd turn to her and go, "Why are these women doing this work, Maggie? Why aren't they rolling around on the floor with their grandchildren? Why are they doing this work?" And so Maggie would say, "I don't know, mom. Let's go." So I kept thinking about all that I was seeing and experiencing. And so, when do men start their businesses in the garage? Maggie and I started in the bathroom. I was drying my hair, and I said, "Maggie, grab your computer. I have some ideas." And so she did.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:02:50]:
And she started taking some notes around the ideas of why this was happening. So I commissioned a researcher to do the deep dive on the data. Came back to say that the insurance and financial industry win the award as being the least sympathetic to women. And women are an overlooked market. So I said, "Maggie, grab your computer. Let's go talk to women." So we held tons of focus groups, and we just said to these ladies, "Here's what the data says. What's your experience when you work with a financial professional?" And Maggie, what did they say?
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:03:20]:
Most of them said that their financial professional didn't even look at them.
Amber Stitt [00:03:24]:
Eye contact.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:03:25]:
They didn't even acknowledge they were in the room. And Maggie would turn to me and say, "Mom, why would they give their money to someone who doesn't even look at them?" It's just what we were enculturated to do. Right? And so because of that, women are not prepared for their financial future. They're a $23 trillion underserved market today. And so I said to the women, "What is it that you need? Because you're going to have to take charge of your financial future at some point in your life." With the rate of divorce at three times the rate and the average age of a widow being 59. And they said, many of them said, "Barb, if we had a go-to location where we could get information, worksheets, we could ask our questions and not be talked down to. We were like, in a community of like minded women who are kind of in the same place.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:04:06]:
We need to learn what we need to know. That would be great." Well, I'm an adult educator. I got you. And then they'd say, "But can you also find us financial professionals who know women, who understand what we're up against, who will work with us, treat us with respect that we can work with?" And I said, "Okay," so that's what the model of Purse Strings is. We're a directory of vetted financial professionals who focus on women, along with a slew of educational resources, information, blogs, our own podcast, as well. We're constantly educating women, and that's the Purse Strings model.
Amber Stitt [00:04:38]:
So for those of you that can't see these ladies, you're listening. It's a mother daughter combo/duo. So, Maggie, you go get your MBA at the same time you're launching, is that correct?
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:04:49]:
So I was finishing up my MBA. Before that, I was kind of just the scribe, and Barb and I were always kind of talking and bouncing off ideas in these focus groups. When I saw all these women talk to professionals who didn't even look at them, I was confused. These focus groups were at our neighbor's house, our hairdresser's house, with their girlfriends. Real close knit groups, not just like random people off the street. And this woman, once she learned we were talking about money, stormed off and lost it because she thought it was rude to talk about. And I was like, "That's eye opening, okay". And then I had different roommates in college, and one of them explained that she never laid out her three college plans.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:05:25]:
The cost, the scholarship, and how much it would be at the bottom line. That never crossed her mind. Never as part of a conversation. So all these things, I was like, "God, there are some missing components here." And so once this opportunity came to kind of work with Barb, since I've been steeped in the information, I could see how women really needed this education. And so that's really where my heart led me, is to help these women at my age, while they're younger, to get off to a better start. But I don't care what age you are, whenever you're ready to jump in and get started. So these kind of moments added up to needing and finding this passion of helping women.
Amber Stitt [00:05:57]:
That's awesome. I feel like I did a little bit of that research for Pandemic Proofing the Business, which is now Pathways of Peak Performance. It was around covid. I was asking hairdressers and other business owners, what are you doing so that collectively you're going out and really seeing what's happening out there. And it's focusing on females, but we'll talk about males a little bit. We're not anti-male, like we say in our organization. It's not less men, just more women.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:06:21]:
Right.
Amber Stitt [00:06:22]:
But do you feel that maybe it's not cultural only, or religious, or some of these things that are more submissive. It's just eye-opening, like you said, that women just had to come from growing up that way. There's something happening and we don't even realize we're accepting way subpar behavior. What's the word for it? But it's obviously not okay.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:06:42]:
Right. It happens to us every day. It's very covert. And as we are being raised, we're given poor money messages. Give the money to the man, or don't make more than your husband, or give more to the church, or you shouldn't make that much money, things like that. Or, when money is discussed, people are arguing, so no one wants to talk about that. Right? And then even today, we hear, what do we hear? The messages don't buy that latte. You're spending too much money on coffee. Women spend too much money.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:07:10]:
Men should invest. So the messaging is totally different. And I say it's covert because think about the pink tax. Are you familiar with that?
Amber Stitt [00:07:17]:
Why don't you explain it?
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:07:19]:
Yeah. So when things that are literally just pink but the same product are more expensive, think about female razors, or even pink bikes, or your shampoo and conditioner, all these little things that add up, even women's, like t-shirts, just a basic tee is more expensive than a man's. And so you're paying more there, but then you're also getting paid less due to our unequal pay going on right now in our society. And those are just some of the things that kind of get you at every turn.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:07:44]:
Yeah, they don't even realize it, but yeah, we're paying more for things that men get the same thing, but they pay less.
Amber Stitt [00:07:50]:
I like the awareness that you're pulling out of people. And ultimately the podcast here is for financial freedom. However you want to get there, you're going to have different pathways. There are certain ways that I want to put my money to work, and that's okay versus others, or let's idea share having that awareness. Anyone can be smart with their money. It doesn't mean you have to be a finance expert. I talk about that a lot. It sounds like some of these women, except for the one that stormed off, they're there to say, "I'm here in the room.
Amber Stitt [00:08:15]:
I want to pay attention, even if he still handles it because he likes that better. I want to know where things are." They're in the room, they've made it that far, and they're still not getting that respect. So really pulling that awareness forward. I want people to know that I was a "C" accounting grade, like mathematics, but I'm in financial industry. How can I help people with their insurance planning? I found my niche and really focused on what I was good at. Everyone can do that.
Amber Stitt [00:08:38]:
And what if spouses respected that people were different, and it's okay and build their plan according to that? So I'm really passionate about that, and I feel that you're providing that leveling up for females to say, enough's enough, and we can have it all and building the resources and the networking and all of that. But how did you get here, Barb? Like, where was this like, okay, blow drying the hair. We got the computer. Mags is doing her deal. But when was the jump that I have to go into this niche and we're doing it, like, where was that jumping off point?
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:09:07]:
Yeah. So I got a call one day from The World Bank in Washington, DC. They found Provost Consulting on the website, and they said, "We're looking for an adult educator to help us build content to teach financial professionals in Cameroon and India how to reach a female market." And the curious thing was, I was already starting to build out the Purse Strings model, but we weren't on the web, yet, so I thought this was just an amazing opportunity. So I went to Washington, DC, did consult with The World Bank, created content for them, and it just proved to me, Amber, that this is a worldwide problem and that the financial industry is totally overlooking women at every point and turn. And after a few years of implementing that content, The World Bank doing that in several different countries, one came back and said, "We increased our profits 52%," which makes so much sense, because they were overlooking half their market.
Amber Stitt [00:10:00]:
Right?
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:10:00]:
So that's where I knew that I was on the right track. And then covid hit, and my consulting dried up. And sometimes you look at things and think that was the perfect opportunity. Maggie graduated with her MBA, and I said, "Well, you need a job. I want to do Purse Strings. Let's do this together." So it was during covid where we really rolled up our sleeves and went 100% in as co-founders of Purse Strings.
Amber Stitt [00:10:26]:
I thought The World Bank was before, why is The World Bank asking you to fix problems in other countries, but the US is not even focusing on it? Am I hearing this right?
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:10:36]:
I know. Exactly. Wow.
Amber Stitt [00:10:39]:
That is awesome. And I always want people to be inspired about opportunities where you just feel like there isn't any other way. But I feel like this was, like, this "a-ha, God moment" or whatever you want to call it, like, The World bank is calling. "It's time, Maggie. We're doing this!" And it's not always that glamorous. Or maybe it didn't feel glamorous at the time. It was more like, "We got to do this," but, yeah, that is awesome.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:11:04]:
Yeah, so it just proved to me this was so important. It's hard, though, Amber. It's, you know, a heavy, heavy, heavy lift, because we're really looking to change an old male dominated industry, and it's hard to turn those big barges around very quickly. So every day is what we're working with.
Amber Stitt [00:11:25]:
Special little asterisk here. This is not so feminist in the sense of just like, let's point the finger and get angry. I mean, we might get a little angry. It's really just having the awareness and the "Invisible Women" book. It's just statistically, since the beginning of time, things have been set up in a certain way. We're shining a light and just saying we're going to evolve and innovate and make things better. It is not that we're going to shut off and stop supporting men, because I know there's been men that have supported my success, and I know that.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:11:57]:
We love some of our men, but there are a couple who are offended that they feel a little left out moving forward. But have you read the book, "Invisible Women"?
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:12:06]:
It's right up here. We all have it on our desks.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:12:09]:
And it's just like, yeah, the basic model is just not like a white male. And so sometimes those white males are like, "What do you mean, I'm not the basic model?" And I'm like, no, we're all here. We all kind of make up that different model. And so I think that's just really going through that.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:12:22]:
It's about inclusion for all.
Amber Stitt [00:12:24]:
That book talks about crash test dummies not having skeletal systems built for our frames. And I don't even know that they put us in the front seat.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:12:33]:
I don't think they still do. They put us in the passenger.
Amber Stitt [00:12:35]:
It has a huge oversight, and I don't know how they build statistics on what car is safe. So that's a whole other topic. But the point is, let's just make things better, and we're going to keep pioneering that. And I know that you ladies do that. So before we move into a little bit of money talk here, do you have any advice working with family? Mother/daughter?
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:12:53]:
Yeah, so we tell people it's not for everyone. It's really not. But we have always been, I would say, close and well at working together. And we kind of had this phrase kind of come upon us a little bit after working together. That's kind of like, "I say this with love, but..." And it's been some constructive criticism. Because we're both huge growth people, and I think always want to be growing and excelling in every way we can. And we don't mind that feedback.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:13:17]:
But also, it's like, "I say it with love. I'm not just pushing you down," but that's kind of the way we've been approaching it. It's with love.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:13:24]:
Yeah. Our hearts are in the right place. We both really have the same goals and focus. We're partners at heart. And when we're working, Maggie calls me by my first name. When we're not working, she calls me mom. But, yeah, I mean, we do know that we're going to disagree, and that's okay. You have to be open to that.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:13:44]:
And at the end of the day, it's really about doing the right thing for the business.
Amber Stitt [00:13:47]:
I work with my husband now. It's been over a year, and so behind the scenes, there's a little bit of sometimes when he's wrong, he's just wrong sometimes. No, but we've done some personality assessments. The one that you guys know, I like Gallup, but then we did Kolbe A™ Index. Is there anything you guys have used that you just kind of resonate with from an assessment just to help with the awareness of your talents?
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:14:09]:
So we haven't done anything in particular, but we recently had this woman come and share all about the Enneagram. And as she was going through it, there were a couple, like, I realized I was a "6", and it's someone who's always coming with, like, I'll tell you what's wrong with the whole scenario, which really lined up, because I'm not trying to be, like, a "Negative Nellie" all the time, but I'm just, like, telling you all the gaps that I see. And it was kind of interesting after learning that. It's like, oh, that definitely lines up. And so now sometimes I'm like, I'm not coming from the place of, like, this is a bad idea. I'm just sharing all the gaps that I see, which I think helped us just communicate a little bit better after we both understood that's how my mind works, versus know Barb will come from a different perspective.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:14:47]:
Yeah. I come from a "1" which is more of a perfectionist, and I will look at some things and say, Maggie, move that over one space. And she'll be like, "Oh, my God, mom." I'm like, no...
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:14:58]:
If it's alignment on a page, if it's a widow or an orphan of the letters left behind, oh, it's these graphic details like that where makes me crazy.
Amber Stitt [00:15:07]:
Barb, do you know when there might be a word in, like, a dash and then there's, like, an extra space? It either needs to be, like, a space and a dash and a space like that. You and I are vibing now. Was it Chelsea that does your Enneagram?
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:15:20]:
Yep. She came and talked to our community be out about Enneagram. She was great.
Amber Stitt [00:15:24]:
So the Enneagram is another thing. The perfectionist. She highlighted and showcased that a bit. So I think Enneagrams laugh a little bit about Gallups because they're more serious about how you are into things. Enneagram, where I think the Gallup might be so positive and, like, the lap puppy of, like, "I just love everything." So there's pick your path, pick your couple of assessments, but have that training so you can have that awareness. So thanks for sharing about that. We go into, you're working with people to connect those, to get better, smarter with their dollars.
Amber Stitt [00:15:54]:
And I know that you guys do a lot of marketing, content, resources, et cetera. Any way to really provide risk management as you start this new business? Was there something that just set the tone for you, Barb, where you're like, it's okay to take this leap? Or was it more like, we're just doing this because everything's connecting? So it's not always about risk management, like insurance, but was there anything that you were just already doing that set it up for success that you want to share with others that allowed you to pivot?
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:16:22]:
Well, I had a deep understanding of the financial industry with my consulting, and I knew how they were being onboarded and trained across the industry, and I knew right out of the gate that that needed to be changed, because those practices are really not the way that women purchase, or think about money. And it's true, I mean, it's been validated. It's in all the data. Then it's still happening today, where it's very linear. And yet, if they understand that women don't purchase often in a linear process, we think about things, we ask more questions. We're not saying, "No", we're just saying, let me think about it, and then we'll come back to it. It's kind of this black skirt story.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:17:04]:
Like, if you were to go to the mall with your husband and you said, I need to get a black skirt. And he said, "Okay." He might walk up to a rack and say, I know my husband would do this, "Here. Here's a black skirt." And you're like, "Yeah, well, might be a little bit too short. So let me find another one." You go to another store. "I like this one.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:17:20]:
And it's got pockets. That's super cool. Oh, but it's got to be dry cleaned. Forget it. I'm not taking anything to the dry cleaner. Besides, it's bad for the environment. Let's move on." You might find another one that says, "Oh, this is kind of ankle length.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:17:31]:
That's kind of cute. Will ankle length go with everything else I have in my closet? Let me think about this. It's not a bad price, but let me think about this. Let's move on." Right? So what you're doing is you're assessing each one, you're gathering your information, and you might leave the mall without purchasing a black skirt, but you might be thinking about one you're going to go back and get. Where, what do men do? They're like, you need a black skirt. Here's a black skirt.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:17:55]:
What's the big deal? Right? So the way we purchase things are not very linear. We're thinking through a lot of different things around a simple purchase. And so when you're talking about finances, they're thinking about their families. Women are thinking about how it's impacting them, their children, their family members, maybe even their community. They're not thinking about the return on investment right out of the gate.
Amber Stitt [00:18:20]:
If somebody is not coming from all those years of experience, the goal is for you to give them the opportunity to fast track it through working with your teams. Is that correct?
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:18:31]:
Yes, through a course that we have called, "Reach, Engage and Earn the Female Dollar". It's really about understanding that you cannot paint your clients with a broad brush. Even if you say focus on women, you cannot focus on women with a broad brush. And you have to understand lots of different nuances around what they're taking in, what's going through their mind, how they're making decisions, pacing, things like that.
Amber Stitt [00:18:56]:
So, Maggie, I always like to talk about innovating, marketing, branding. It could be that you're a business owner, you could be in a corporation standing out, learning more tools to then be able to pioneer, enhance, maybe make more money. Do you have any advice for people that are maybe dabbling and trying to get out there and tell their story through marketing and branding? I know you're an expert in this for the team. Anything that keeps you motivated in that arena.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:19:24]:
Yeah, there's so many outlets right now, from blogging, to podcasting, and social media, and you could pick even from there, like your social media format and all this different stuff. So I think it's really important to find what comes authentically to you, what feels really good, because that's the only way you're going to stay consistent with it. And really, consistency is key. So I always try to explain to people that you really want to find what feels good. Video is not good for everybody. So then, what is it that feels good to you? But if you haven't tried video, don't knock it until you try it, because I also know a lot of people who are too afraid and really you just need a little bit of practice. But we always try to stay really consistent and we are on many platforms, but I realized podcasting and video is my favorite and those are great ways to then repurpose that content. So that would be another thing is try to repurpose as much as you can, either taking clips from podcasts, or taking a quote out of it, or writing a blog about part of the podcast.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:20:19]:
There's no reason to reinvent the wheel and there's so much AI that could help you with that, or an assistant, a virtual assistant. So take advantage of all these tools that are out there because there is something new every day. There might be a little bit of a learning curve at the beginning, but it's always worth it in the end because you've got to be out there on social media, on a platform, no matter what you're doing, people are going to check it out, especially if they go to your website and you have a link, they're going to go check out your Instagram, or your LinkedIn, or your Facebook, whatever it is. So just make sure you're kind of up there updating it because people are going to check all of it out, whatever you have to offer.
Amber Stitt [00:20:52]:
Barb, do you have something?
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:20:53]:
Oh, my gosh. Social media is a whole other world. I'm so glad to have Maggie as kind of taking that on. Like we say, you need a PhD in every platform to really get the most out of it. So we found out that we've touched every single platform, but we are really honing in on just a few to really focus because you can't spread yourself too thin. And like Maggie has said, she's repurposed so much, which is really the key as well. And everything's changing every day. AI is changing so many things, it's making it easier, but you need to understand the different tools, so it's about keeping up with it as well.
Amber Stitt [00:21:28]:
Yeah, well, Barb, what you're talking about is sometimes you just need to delegate.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:21:33]:
Yes.
Amber Stitt [00:21:34]:
Even if, and I think that's what's interesting, and I'm in my mid forties and I have a lot of older colleagues. Some people say, "I just won't do it because I don't like to." Find something like Maggie, like with what you're saying, find a way to collaborate with somebody, but you can delegate the editing, or some of these other things out. You don't have to be literally doing all the steps yourself. It's a must, especially if you want to have an ongoing practice with some legacy built into it because the younger market is not going to be meeting you in your office anymore. So we have to meet people with where they're at. But yeah, find out what you like. Like, I do love more podcasting conversations versus like, I was at a retreat not too long ago and there was a videographer who said, "Give me a testimonial." I just can't, off the cuff, just talk.
Amber Stitt [00:22:14]:
They're like, "You can talk." I'm like, "No, I can't do that." I can podcast and I'm okay with that. So just fine with what you love, but get out there and tell your story. So thanks for sharing with that. And I kind of want to just see when it comes to the business model with both of you, were there any mentors or anything that really resonated to help you level up and inspire you?
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:22:34]:
I have a really good coach, a really good business coach, and believe me, I've been through a lot of coaches. I'm a coach myself, but I needed somebody to help us grow the business. And she was fantastic. She still is. You know, Maggie and I do what you tell us to. We learn very quickly. We're action takers. She, I would say, made incredible impacts in the work that we do to get us launched and get us up and running.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:23:01]:
I would also say that we hire out for those areas of expertise that are not ours and that we know we can't do, which I think is also important. What would you say, Mags?
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:23:12]:
Yeah, I was going to re-highlight delegating. Like when we started our podcast, we're like, this is something we want to do. We could spend the whole day editing the podcast. This would be not beneficial to any of us and it would still not be great. If we're going to do it, somebody else needs to do it. That was the main protocol there. But I think, yeah, having a coach was great and then working with so many inspiring women around us and inspiring men, but just having them as our Purse Strings approved professionals, even if they're not just, there are so many amazing women that I've got to meet out there, who, as a youngster, they're just so inspirational to look up to. And so that's always been fun to have because there's always somebody who's going to either compliment you or pick you up when you're feeling down.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:23:51]:
It's great to have all those inspirational women behind you who are cheering you on.
Amber Stitt [00:23:55]:
And that's how I met the both of you. And we have multiple mutual connections, organizations, events that we see each other virtually, or in person. And I can't say it enough that sometimes this community, this professional community, can be just so different than friends and family that you've grown up with. And it can really kind of save your life at times when you're really working through a launch, a problem, there's that reciprocation of mentorship and menteeship. 100%. Was there any moments that you both had where you're like, it was more than you thought it would ever be? You start with these focus groups and you're seeing some of these gaps of just what was out there. Was there any "A-ha's"? I'm sure there were. Where you're just like, we are in the right place. Any success stories when it came to your network?
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:24:43]:
I mean, there's a couple of people you'll talk to and they'll just kind of light up and they're like, "I wish I knew about this 20 years ago." Or they're just like, they'll be like, "If you're not yet, you'll be a million dollar company. I know that for you." And it's just, whether they know it, or not, you're just excited to hear that, excited to have people reciprocate that. And when anyone joins our community, or we see somebody who uses our professionals and we hear such great feedback, it's so satisfying knowing that you help them in that work. And it can be generations that change once they change their money story. And so it's just exciting and empowering to hear. And so when people join the community as well, it's like they have the same beliefs, they have the same mindset, they want to empower more women.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:25:21]:
And so it's just exciting when you have more of those people in your orbit.
Amber Stitt [00:25:24]:
Yeah, it's like a daily thing that it sounds like. What about you, Barb?
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:25:27]:
Yeah, I mean, like I said earlier, having your own business and this type of business where it's not a franchise, no one handed us the keys and told us, just open the doors and go. We are really building from a seed and when we look back and see we have 150 professionals on our site, we have a podcast. We're on all the platforms. We have organizations, broker dealers that are promoting us out. I mean, every single day, we're making a move, but we look back and see that. But when we look forward, there's more work to do. So it's great to be inspired, because I can't tell you there's not one person that we haven't talked to that isn't like, "Where were you when I needed you?"
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:26:03]:
Right.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:26:04]:
And they really need the work that we're doing. It's very inspiring, and that's really what keeps us going every day. I mean, it's definitely not the money. It's really about the mission and the passion and knowing that, "Who rules the world? -- Girls. I mean, look at it today. Hashtag Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Coco Gauff, you name it. These women are making changes, and we're not going back. So we know we're headed in the right direction.
Amber Stitt [00:26:28]:
We're going to have more from you in our next episode. But how can everybody find you? I mean, I think I know, but let's share with everybody. How can they find you two?
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:26:35]:
Our website is www.PurseStrings.co so we have all our free tools and resources there, as well as our directory of Purse Strings approved professionals. And then we're on all social media sites as Purse Strings Co. And then we also have a podcast if you want to tune in called, "Women & Money: The Shit We Don't Talk About".
Amber Stitt [00:26:51]:
Happy two year anniversary!
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:26:52]:
Thank you. Yeah, it's been so much fun.
Amber Stitt [00:26:54]:
You're massive in 2024!
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:26:56]:
We're doing video now, too, so moving up.
Amber Stitt [00:26:58]:
Thank you so much for being here. Barb, go ahead.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:27:00]:
I got to go.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:27:01]:
Okay.
Dr. Barbara Provost [00:27:01]:
All right, see you guys.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:27:02]:
Bye bye.
Amber Stitt [00:27:03]:
Thank you so much for being here on the show today, and we're going to see more from you ladies in the future. So thanks so much.
Maggie Nielsen, MBA [00:27:09]:
Thanks so much for having us, Amber. We're so excited to be here.
Amber Stitt [00:27:14]:
Thank you for joining us on today's episode of The Amber Stitt Show. For more information about the podcast, books, articles, and more, please visit me at: www.AmberStitt.com. Until next week, enjoy your journey at home, and at work. Thank you for listening!