Focus On Talents: Empowering Financial Advisors and Breaking Barriers with Alanah Phillips

🎙️ Welcome to The Amber Stitt Show, where we dive deep into the dynamics of entrepreneurship, creativity, and the financial industry. In this inspiring episode, our host Amber Stitt is joined by the remarkable Alanah Phillips, a true powerhouse in the finance sector and an advocate for change.

▶️ In this episode, Alanah Phillps shares her journey from managing a Starbucks to consulting for a multimillion-dollar financial advisor practice, highlighting the shift from an employee to an entrepreneurial mindset. We discuss the importance of investing time wisely, taking measured risks, and the ethical considerations of unpaid labor.

👩‍💼 Alanah Phillips, founder of Advisor Launch Lab and Break Up with Your Broker Dealer, brings her passion for mentorship, networking, and supporting the next generation of financial advisors to the conversation. She candidly shares her experiences as an extroverted overachiever advocating for others, the role of mentorship and community, and the importance of guiding young professionals.

🔑 Key Highlights of this Episode:

- Differentiating an employee mindset from an entrepreneurial mindset

- Insights on hiring and its impact on creativity and freedom

- Alanah's background and the value of proactive learning

- The importance of mentorship, networking, and community support

- The balance of risk and reward in entrepreneurial ventures

- The significance of mentorship and networking for support and guidance

- Uncovering and addressing gender bias and horizontal oppression in the workplace

- Strategies to help financial advisors achieve creative independence

- Addressing challenges for women in finance and turning jealousy into positive outcomes

💡 "It's about not just reaching your potential but recognizing your strengths and carving your path." - Alanah Phillips

Want to connect with Alanah Phillips or learn more about her empowering work in the financial industry? 📩 Visit her website at:

www.AlanahPhillips.com

Or, connect with her on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanahphillips

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- Website: www.AmberStitt.com

📣 Join our community of changemakers, and let's create ripples of positive disruption together!

🚀 To watch this episode:  https://youtu.be/RWeAVHsHeKU

#TheAmberStittShow #AlanahPhillips #Entrepreneurship #Finance #FinancialAdvisors #Creativity #Mentorship #Empowerment #CareerDevelopment #BusinessMindset #PodcastEpisode

👋 Thank you for watching, and remember—keep challenging the status quo and keep being your awesome self! Take action today!

Transcript

Amber Stitt [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome to The Amber Stitt Show. I am your host, Amber Stitt. And today we welcome the Alanah Phillips to the show today. Welcome, Alanah.

Alanah Phillips [00:00:08]:
Thanks for having me, Amber.

Amber Stitt [00:00:10]:
You, my friend, are an inspiration. That's why I was trying to get you on the show, although you're so busy doing a number of things, which we'll dive into. There's a sisterhood that we've shared over the last couple years through Women in Insurance and Financial Services, and I've learned about you a lot more through that. And there was this thought leadership that came about through, really just coast to coast through these other chapters and working through national. We're going to talk about that a little bit later, too. But there's this thing that can happen with people that want to share big ideas, and I think that's where I really connected with you because you do have a lot of them. You're not afraid to share them. I've heard you've referred to yourself as being a disruptor, and I know that could be a buzzword these days, but to the core, you are truly true to your word and a good friend, but an advocate.

Amber Stitt [00:00:57]:
And we're going to talk about that today on the episode, because I think my audience needs to know who you are if they already don't know. And that's where we're going to begin today. We're going to talk about you being the founder of Advisor Launch Lab, being a business owner, a podcaster, an advocate, a student even. Almost done, I think.

Alanah Phillips [00:01:14]:
Yes.

Amber Stitt [00:01:15]:
So let's dive in with you, Alanah. I want the audience to get to know you and just really, like, who is Alanah?

Alanah Phillips [00:01:21]:
Gosh, a mystery. It's funny you say disruptor, because I do refer to myself as disruptor, but I think it's more fun to call myself a troublemaker. And so if you look at, like, my bio, or email tagline, like, that's what I call myself. Yeah. Cause it's more fun, right? Like, I feel like a disruptor has this, like, negative connotation that you're coming in and just, like, breaking and blowing everything up.

Amber Stitt [00:01:47]:
Yeah.

Alanah Phillips [00:01:47]:
And, like, I do want to do that for sure, but it's in a more playful and, like, humorous way that troublemaking is typically the way that I would describe myself.

Amber Stitt [00:01:58]:
Well, it's like, I think the disruptor word is coming around a lot for the, and you correct me, is it more like this buzzword for the millennial, Gen Z, they're disruptors. So it's becoming a buzzword. I think sometimes you have to blow up those antiquated processes that we'll probably talk about today, but troublemaker's like putting that edge on the next idea and how do we evolve things and can we push it past maybe the normal boundary? But I think that's where a lot of good creative things happen, and amazing things can happen to people when they push the dial up a bit. So now, as a business owner, tell the audience a little bit about what you do and how you're helping people on a daily basis.

Alanah Phillips [00:02:33]:
Yeah, I have a few hats that I wear, Amber. And there's actually two businesses that have a theme through them, right? Advisor Launch Lab and Break Up With Your Broker Dealer. And really both of them come from this place of...I really love advisors. They're such interesting creatures, and usually they're great at what they do best, which is finding and meeting with clients and doing financial planning. And some of them are really good visionaries for their teams. And a lot of them have these sort of limiting feelings, or beliefs about their current situation, whether they're in a bank, or captive environment somewhere, and they don't know what's possible.

Amber Stitt [00:03:12]:
Right.

Alanah Phillips [00:03:13]:
And so to bring that out in advisors and help them figure out when it's time for a breakup, what those signs are navigating, moving to a next place where we get to ideate on fun stuff and they have a partner and a guide through that process, and then to watch them get onto really great teams. I have so many stories of advisors who thought they couldn't leave a firm. We worked together and built a plan, and they're making more money, or having more fun, which is ultimately my mission, to help my network make more money, or have more fun, and preferably both. And so Break Up With Your Broker Dealer was already happening, and Advisor Launch Lab is really for there were a lot of teams that I came across in that Break Up With Your Broker Dealer process and networking in circle that were leaving firms that are more captive sorts of places, so their creativity may have been a little stifled. And as I watched them leave those places and go independent, the firms that they had been at had hiring resources, or training programs, resources that they could leverage. And then when they left, well, they got creative freedom and control and some of those other things that were important.

Alanah Phillips [00:04:25]:
They lost some of those resources to hire, to train, to coach, and help their new advisors. And without that, they don't bring in the new blood to their organization. And I've watched teams get stagnant. I watched them bring somebody on and then do silly things like tell them that they have to wear blue shirts to be successful or, you know, cut off their compensation with a week's notice. And so Advisor Launch Lab was really with the intention of helping those teams who have moved to more independent places lost some hiring and training, and they can outsource it to a team that is keeping up with those trends and then ultimately getting their new folks up to speed on the modern approach to becoming a financial advisor, finding clients, marketing yourself, all of those fun things.

Amber Stitt [00:05:12]:
Now, I just remembered it was '22, national conference for WIFS in Phoenix is where I got to spend more time with you. That was the "a-ha moment". I had my stepdaughter with me, and I had noticed at a few conferences earlier that year, just insurance agencies in general, the younger people didn't want to come into the business. And I don't know if you were talking about the statistics, but I know that you and Lindsey Lewis talk about it a lot. You had said, "This is what I do, Amber." And we were celebrating success on stage, new ideas and income levels. And you looked at me and you were thinking of Tori at the time, "I do this, and I make great money doing it."

Amber Stitt [00:05:47]:
And I didn't know that you weren't an advisor at the time. And I was like, okay, there is something here and nobody wants. Like, in the parents of the insurance world, you always want, "Oh, I want the kids to come into the business." And then they're always like, myself, I told my dad, "Absolutely not. I'll never be in sales. This is horrible." And decade later, here we go. But it was like where I had this moment.

Amber Stitt [00:06:08]:
I want her to see us in action and all these different ways to provide solutions to people within their talents. So that's where it connected. And then I think I told you this, but you already know the story. I think it was your breakout. You had created a system where people could be compensated on production or a salary. There was a way to help people meet them where they're at. Customize this, you're part of an organization.

Amber Stitt [00:06:32]:
It's pretty big. You can be creative if you want to, but a lot of places will not. They just force the designations, the licenses. People don't really know what they want to do yet. And it's like, do a whole bunch of things, figure it out. And I hope I get all your family to sign up while you're here. And also, you know, we're going to sell you all these products or whatever it is, and people just don't even get a chance to shine and figure out who they are. That was probably a big connector for me with you is like, "Oh, my gosh, she's helping people through that."

Alanah Phillips [00:07:00]:
Yes.

Amber Stitt [00:07:00]:
So, I mean, were you always passionate about the industry, or did it naturally come about through some of your jobs? You were passionate about people.

Alanah Phillips [00:07:08]:
Yeah, I've always found people really interesting. I am like, the last time I took the Myers-Briggs, I was, like, 96% extroverted, and I was, like, upset that I wasn't 100%. You know, I'm also a very, very harsh overachiever. But when I look at, like, my personal brand and sort of those core values and the things that are the foundation of why I do what I do, I have always felt a really strong obligation because I am not afraid to speak up, even maybe sometimes when I shouldn't. Like demonstrating courage. When I worked at Target as a team leader, this was one of our leadership values, and I was always highest on demonstrating courage.

Amber Stitt [00:07:49]:
Awesome. Yeah.

Alanah Phillips [00:07:50]:
I felt that obligation because I'm not afraid to use the microphone or get up on stage or ask a question. When people feel stupid to ask a question that, like, even when I'm uncomfortable to do it, I know that someone else is probably wondering those things or someone else is afraid to say those things, and I feel an obligation to be the one to say them, knowing that it's not really about benefiting me, it's about benefiting the people who maybe have a fear, or less power, or just don't want to speak up for any reason. So that's sort of an underlying theme, Break Up With Your Broker Dealer and Advisor Launch Lab of, like, being an advocate for the next gen folks because they're really incredible.

Amber Stitt [00:08:33]:
Right?

Alanah Phillips [00:08:34]:
Like and I know young people have a bad reputation. Every generation in the history of the generation after them is lazy and entitled, but they are way more informed, way more educated. This next generation they're creators, they're not waiting. No. And like, again, sometimes that comes off because they're willing to speak out about it or to ask questions, and they don't always know how to articulate those in a professional or, like, power dynamic, conscious way. And then we get to do that, right? I get to have those conversations with the senior folks who will likely listen to me, who has more experience, and they've hired us and their teams typically, that want feedback and to change, and we get to be advocates, really, on both sides.

Amber Stitt [00:09:20]:
Right?

Alanah Phillips [00:09:21]:
Sometimes the senior folks do stuff, and we have to navigate that with the next gen person of like, "Hey, this is no fun, but you're going to do it because this is what needs to happen in order for us to achieve what we want to achieve long term." So that's definitely a theme, just in terms of feeling an obligation to advocate for others and the industry. It's so clear there's this shortage of next gen folks and it's really bad for the existing teams that somebody needs to help amplify their voices.

Amber Stitt [00:09:51]:
I mean, the next ten years are going to be interesting.

Alanah Phillips [00:09:54]:
I agree.

Amber Stitt [00:09:55]:
Big shift. There's going to be lots of gaps. If anyone's interested in coming into the business, now is the time. Set those...plant those seeds, because there's going to be a huge need. We talk a lot about focusing on money and risk management on the podcast. Not trying to be corporate, but talking about how people can leverage, how they understand money and finance. So just because you and I have been in the financial industry does not mean that's where we're heading at times. It's like bringing it to a competency level where you're at based upon your personality, building that role, that position, that solution, whatever it is, based upon the uniqueness of the person.

Amber Stitt [00:10:31]:
I know you bring that out of the people that you're helping. As you've gone through being an employee to a business owner and now just working within your clients worlds, is there any little tips or tricks? Like, even like, I know you're not afraid to share, "This is what didn't work." Is there anything that you would like to connect with people? Almost like a takeaway in that money organization? Like pull the plug and just jump. We're just going to go do it. Start that new phase of your life. What do you share with people?

Alanah Phillips [00:10:57]:
Yeah, I'll share with you. I just had this conversation with a young woman, actually, that we both know through WIFS who had reached out to me. And I'm always conscious of, like, when I'm talking about money stuff or risks or things that I'm doing is not from the place of trying to be like, "Oh, I'm so great and I know everything," because I don't. I've messed up on a lot of stuff and I make mistakes all the time and I've made some really dumb money mistakes in, you know, the course of my career in life. But an idea that I really want to sell, especially to women, to the younger generation, is that you can, you know, give your soul and your time and your energy if you're a really hard working person to a company or an organization. This young woman is working for a financial planning firm. She's putting in extra hours, burning herself out, missing out on the gym, neglecting her own, you know, cleaning up her house, and is just full force into this. Right? There appears to be no give and take there, which is not uncommon when you have somebody that's just a go getter and hardworking and an achiever.

Alanah Phillips [00:12:05]:
And so there's kind of two directions to go from there, right? You cannot sustain that sort of high level of achievement without reward coming with it, right? And I think about, like, you know, advisors talk about like that efficient frontier, right?

Amber Stitt [00:12:20]:
The level of risk. Don't take me back to that. Exactly.

Alanah Phillips [00:12:24]:
Think about it that way, where it's like, if you're going to put in this amount of effort, you expect, or should expect to get this level of reward, and if you put in, or if you want this level of reward, you should give this level of effort, right? And the idea resonated with her that, like, if that's who she is, which probably she's an achiever, she's always going to be working hard. In order to get the appropriate level of reward, we have to take on some risk. And that would mean maybe we're still working at that same very high level. But if we're willing to take on some risk and have less salary and more variable comp, or build something of your own, or you leap off into the abyss and hope that your ideas work, then your income earning potential in sales roles, in variable comp roles, in business owner, entrepreneurial roles is the reward is tremendous, right? And then you can buy back your time. So you may still be working at this very high level rate. Burnout is still not uncommon when you're just this type of person. But now you can pay for your meal service, or a personal trainer, or someone to clean your house, right? And it's like we have to think about things that way. Otherwise, again, you either burn out or you're not receiving the reward that you want.

Alanah Phillips [00:13:38]:
You're stuck in a place that you're unhappy with. And I watched her, like, eyes light up as we talked about this, of like, "Oh, I've been in this salary role thinking this is the end all, be all to get my next bump in salary. But if I was willing to take on a little bit of risk, the income potential that comes from that is extremely rewarding."

Amber Stitt [00:13:59]:
That message comes through with fellowship with different organizations and executive coaching. Everybody needs that mentorship menteeship, that reciprocating, and it could be different seasons. And then I think also sometimes I know that I've had more confidence after working within the members and some of the friendships that happen on the side where start talking about that meal prep, that housekeeper, and just go do it and say you are not failing because you're delegating and spend some money on some of those things that are not worth your time because you don't love those things. If you love to cook, you need to be finding time to do that, or whatever it is. But there's no shame in that. Empowering yourself with that in mind. But I think you have to be around like minded individuals and you need to potentially hire for that neutral third party opinion and that fellowship there.

Alanah Phillips [00:14:48]:
Yeah, one more thing on that, just like I have a post that will probably come out whenever this episode airs, but about the employee mindset thinks about saving money by spending time, and the entrepreneurial mindset thinks about spending money to save time, right? Like, time is a finite resource. Money is an infinite resource, right? There can always be more money. And so again, that sort of entrepreneurial mindset of spending money to save time, as opposed to the opposite.

Amber Stitt [00:15:21]:
Alanah, so many times I'd go to a study group. A lot of them have been through an insurance, some sort of organized group. The leaders stand up and tell the others things that have worked majority of the time. They say once you hire somebody, your income just goes up, but you don't want to spend money on that thing or that person or the VA. And that was a game changer for me, even this year for scaling, "Oh, I don't want to do this or that." And then there was so much freedom to then be creative, be in spaces like this, having a little more fun with things that are not, you know, maybe where my talents lie. And so that just made me think about that. And it's interesting, there's this mindset that people have that there's not enough money or resources out there, and there's a lot out there in the media that just wants to scare us.

Amber Stitt [00:16:05]:
But if you look around and look at the people that have made it and are successful, they're thriving in any economy because of their mindset and just keeping at it the majority of the time. I would say that there's a commonality there, which leads me to something. When we talk about focusing on marketing and innovating, you know, what it's like to work for a bigger entity. And I've been there, too. And a lot of people that are choosing, I don't want to be an entrepreneur right now. I don't want to be a business owner. And that's fine, too. I think people can always think like an entrepreneur, but not necessarily start a business, but could have passive income.

Amber Stitt [00:16:38]:
Is there any advice you want to give to the person that's this organization that might have heavy compliance? Would you still say, hey, personal branding is still important in some variation? Yeah.

Alanah Phillips [00:16:49]:
And I want to acknowledge, like, I feel like I have a tremendous amount of privilege. Like, you know, like, my parents were wealthy enough, I never went without. Like, I grew up in an area that was very well to do. Like, there's so much privilege, I think, associated with what I'm about to say. But I had been in human resources and managed a Starbucks store and, like, wasn't going to complete my college degree because I thought I had it all figured out and I'm really glad I did that. But I was making more as a Starbucks store manager than when I originally took a role at Lincoln, where I started doing some advisor recruiting and running an intern program because I saw sort of this opportunity, one like, my hair up in a bun every day was just not the life I wanted to live. I wanted painted nails and cute office wear, but.

Amber Stitt [00:17:39]:
And you do it well. Yes, you do.

Alanah Phillips [00:17:41]:
Thank you. Yeah. Being covered in coffee stains and cleaning out drains was not for this hair. But when I shifted there, I saw long term opportunity. And I'm actually, I'm listening to a book by Adam Grant, his newest one, which is. Oh, gosh. It's about seeing potential in people, "Hidden Potential". And he's talking about people who are sponges, right.

Alanah Phillips [00:18:01]:
That being open to knowledge, soaking in as much information as you can and then see also taking action on that, being proactive with that knowledge and information. And I thought, "Oh, man, that's entirely how I felt coming into this business. I knew nothing. I didn't know what an annuity was."

Amber Stitt [00:18:22]:
I keep hearing things. You're like, uh huh, sure. Yeah.

Alanah Phillips [00:18:25]:
I was like, "Can I make your latte for you? Because that I know how to do," but I just soaked all of that up and I still want to maintain that. But in being proactive, I think for new folks that I work with, I talk always about finding the gaps, right? So as you're soaking up all that knowledge about your new organization, your new team, your new role, there's stuff that's missing, right? Where are there opportunities where a website can be designed, a process can be revamped, people can get connected, and if you can fill those gaps, and I know this can be scary sometimes to go, "Hey, I noticed this," right? "We've got this problem, or this gap. What if we did this," and you can spearhead and create something to solve that problem? There are certainly organizations that will say no, and that can be a sign that it's not the right fit. But I always had folks that I worked with that allowed me to do those interesting sort of ancillary projects. And it's how I learned how to build a website, how to create a digital worksheet, how to do a podcast.

Amber Stitt [00:19:34]:
Right.

Alanah Phillips [00:19:33]:
All of those things using LinkedIn. Just an experiment that I said, "Hey, can I do this?" And it's now become where 40% of my business comes from. I think being willing to ask for those things with, you know, I typically had a clear business plan. Here's what I'm trying to solve for. Here's my ideas of how to solve it. Can I do this? But I was also, again, really, really in a cool spot to have leaders that said, "Yeah, you know I don't have any money for you to do that usually, but, you know, go try that, see what happens, and come back to us with some results." And then they're willing to invest in it.

Amber Stitt [00:20:06]:
Right.

Alanah Phillips [00:20:06]:
And then you get to explore what I would call intrapreneurship within the safety and confines of an existing structure. But stretch that entrepreneurial muscle a little bit.

Amber Stitt [00:20:18]:
In a previous episode, not with you, I was a little concerned with my delivery on stating that sometimes in an organization, you might have to put in a few more hours above what you're getting paid to do these types of things that you're talking about. And again, we're not talking about overdoing it and being burnt out, like previously, how you were mentioning. But if there's this floating idea that is just resonating with you, sometimes that's just part of the deal, and you just got to put extra work in.

Alanah Phillips [00:20:44]:
Yeah, I struggle with this, too, Amber, because I'm just so against unpaid labor, you know there's a lot of companies that take advantage, especially of women.

Amber Stitt [00:20:52]:
Right.

Alanah Phillips [00:20:52]:
But at the same time, when I look at my career, I did do that, you know, and it did work for me. Again, I think within the controlled sort of power accumulation focus. Cause I feel obsessed with power of, like, I tried not to focus on doing the, trying to think about the stuff, you know, cleaning the kitchen stuff.

Amber Stitt [00:21:13]:
Right.

Alanah Phillips [00:21:13]:
Like, cleaning a break room.

Amber Stitt [00:21:16]:
The typical things. Women should be over here helping make sure that the coffee's brought out to the client, and you're like, "That's not my job."

Alanah Phillips [00:21:22]:
Yes. Not that kind of stuff.

Amber Stitt [00:21:24]:
Right.

Alanah Phillips [00:21:24]:
But doing projects that are valuable, reaching out to participate in things that are going to contribute to revenue or contribute towards growth of whatever company that you're working with, those are areas where, again, I feel very torn. Cause I did. I asked to be a consultant for a multimillion dollar financial advisor practice. And my boss, to her credit, just an incredible woman, Celeste Gurule, let me charge this team, in addition to being her employee, for doing consulting work for them.

Amber Stitt [00:21:56]:
Right.

Alanah Phillips [00:21:56]:
And like, her allowing me to do that gave me a little taste of what it's like when you control your income.

Amber Stitt [00:22:02]:
Right.

Alanah Phillips [00:22:03]:
And you're deciding how much your time is worth and gave me a bunch of exposure to stuff I wouldn't know how to do if it weren't for that experiment. Right. So again, I think a mix of making sure you're in a place that is going to allow for that experimentation, but they're not going to just ask you to do it, usually.

Amber Stitt [00:22:20]:
There's layers to their business goals. Yeah, I think the other thing is too, you can feel like you're on an island when you are an entrepreneur and sometimes the ideas won't resonate. And that doesn't necessarily mean that wherever you're working is not the right place. It doesn't mean your idea is bad either. Yeah. Just be paying attention to that and investing in it if something really is going to provide a solution and you can see it's unique. It just goes back to what you're saying about focusing on the gaps. If you're filling a gap is probably needed and that could be your next passive income strategy right there. Yeah.

Alanah Phillips [00:22:52]:
And an ability to demonstrate other skills that you have, or again, show how you could help to accomplish the goals of your team, your business, your organization. I think that's probably where, and again, I come back to like, power dynamics. Like if you help other people get what they want, then you will get what you want.

Amber Stitt [00:23:10]:
Yes. And it's not always immediate, but I think the other thing you haven't said, but you've said it: "Ask for it!"

Alanah Phillips [00:23:16]:
Yes.

Amber Stitt [00:23:16]:
See what happens.

Alanah Phillips [00:23:17]:
Easier said than done. I, you know, I know there's like personality dynamics in there, but I do feel like there is a huge shift for this next generation, at least in our industry, of how much power they have going forward. And to be aware of that, not in a entitled way, not in a taking of it way, but in, if you can again, help your company get what they want, then you will likely want to at some point, get what you want in return. And that's okay.

Amber Stitt [00:23:46]:
I've been fortunate to interview a few people that are talking about different strategies using things like ChatGPT, and we think everyone knows what it is, but not many people are using it at all. And companies are now going, we need to figure this out. And people are worried I'm going to lose my job because of this thing. But if you become very competent and whatever is trending from that, and it could be like keeping on top of it six months to a year and just staying in front of that, you're going to be irreplaceable when you're the one with the knowledge there. So even though there's some robotic AI assistance there, the person that understands how it works is going to lead. And I think that's going to be a very necessary scope of duties for people.

Alanah Phillips [00:24:26]:
There's a clear, and I think in our industry, especially, like, for newer advisors, for new financial professionals, I always talk about there's some really obvious gaps in our industry, and it is technology, marketing, social media, right? Like that kind of stuff. And so it's like, you probably already know some of these things. Just being a younger person to use that to your advantage, right? Those are things you can typically use a ChatGPT, social media, whatever, to help your company market, streamline a process, save time somewhere. And if you're the one that runs it and has that knowledge and you can prove that it's going to save time or increase revenue, like, who's going to say no to you doing that project?

Amber Stitt [00:25:09]:
Yeah. So there's a lot of noise about some of the negative there, but I think if we can lean in on how it can help, it's really going to set you apart. And I was able in 2023 to work with you as a moderator among what we called "Next Generation Panel". But I was sitting among my younger sisters and talking through some of the things that are happening, and I feel that there was a few things actually, we went and actually shared about things that are not working. Let's bring that up. But I think we had talked about also ultimately, things that could be also causing an issue in some of the workplaces or maybe on teams. And we had talked about the support of other female to female. And I was really surprised to hear more and more from some of my younger sisters that there is a lot of competition, and we say we're supporting because we're females, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's happening.

Amber Stitt [00:26:00]:
And I didn't know how to articulate this when I met Tony Gonzalez, and I was like, "Okay, I haven't always had support from females in the corporate work world. And, gosh, this is different now that I'm a member here." I don't really know how to articulate it, but it was until this moment with getting ready for the panel that I discovered this is a real thing. So, Alanah, let's talk about horizontal oppression. I didn't really know that was a term, as I can't articulate certain things that I had witnessed in my own life, professionally, or even maybe younger in school. There is a thing, and I know that you guys brought awareness to me through the panel. Can you share a little bit about that?

Alanah Phillips [00:26:34]:
Yeah, I'll share kind of a funny story. And, you know, this is not to put anyone on blast, because we all have our own biases, right? We all have stuff that we do that we don't mean to do. But I was working with a woman who is trying to hire a junior advisor for her team, next gen advisor. And she is a mom and a working mom, and she's freaking kick ass, right? She's a very high producing advisor, and she does insurance business. She's purchased practices, blah, blah, blah. She's won all these awards at her firm. And when we were talking about hiring for this role, you know, we're kind of leaning towards, it's probably going to be a woman that resonates with her.

Alanah Phillips [00:27:10]:
Could be anybody but she had said something about a candidate that, like, "Oh, they're a mom. Like, you know, they're going to be distracted thinking about their children that are at home." And I just was like, "Girl," again, I'm glad to know her and be able to have this challenging relationship with her to say, like, "What the are you talking about? You're a mom. You are a kick ass entrepreneur, business owner, advisor. Like, how could you possibly think that another woman wouldn't behave that same way and also care very much her children."

Amber Stitt [00:27:43]:
Right.

Alanah Phillips [00:27:43]:
Like, two things can be true. And again, I was glad she said it to me that we have enough trust that, you know, she said it out loud as opposed to keeping it to herself and making that decision quietly. But I think that that kind of stuff is happening very frequently where we just assume these things about how other women, next gen, whoever, are going to behave. And it's a fear based, it's a scarcity based sort of mentality that I think makes us lose great talent, connections, business partners, opportunities.

Amber Stitt [00:28:18]:
Well, this is a female saying it, so can you imagine the men that would naturally say this? I mean, this can completely shift talent out, you know, to push them out the door if that's how we feel. Yeah, yeah.

Alanah Phillips [00:28:29]:
No, and I'm sure.

Amber Stitt [00:28:31]:
Right.

Alanah Phillips [00:28:31]:
I think that sort of internalized stuff that she had grown up in the industry with some lovely men probably had said to her, like, "Oh, you're not going to be able to keep up with this because you're going to be chasing your babies around." You know, she had taken that and has behaved in a way that, you know, working against that has obviously helped her be successful also, but now she really does want to embrace her children are extremely important to her. Her role as a mother is just as important as her role as a business owner and as a financial advisor. And balancing those is important to her. And she's at a place, she can do that. Like, we cannot prevent other people coming behind us from having those sorts of opportunities, too.

Amber Stitt [00:29:12]:
Yeah. And that's a perfect way to just, for me, the thing that I notice is, am I doing certain things and make note and try to, you know, it's like using filler words when you try to go, "Oop, I'm saying 'like', again," note it, don't get upset about it, but make a change, make a mental note. You can make a difference. And just make sure that you're also saying the supportive things that should be said, too. We get really busy. We might miss that step, but I know that you've had people cheerlead you with just, here's a text, "Don't call me back." That can move mountains.

Amber Stitt [00:29:39]:
And I want to close up today talking about just the community aspect. You do a number of things. When I say community, I don't mean just like down the street at the church, not that that's not good, but, like nationally. And I think the other thing with the "Next Gen Panel" and we are preparing was talking about just needing more community anywhere, camaraderie. And it goes back to making sure that we're supporting but just bringing everyone in and not, well, we can be a little competitive sometimes. That's okay. I'm not saying don't. Don't do that.

Amber Stitt [00:30:07]:
But we had this "A-ha moment", like, why are we sometimes, and we could be like this in business, reinventing the wheel and doing duplicative steps when there could be a way to do things, sometimes remotely, or...I mean, with American College, I'm sure you've seen a lot. Is there anything you want to share with the audience? Just of like, please, let's continue and go down this road for improvement, to innovate in that regard?

Alanah Phillips [00:30:28]:
Yeah, I think connected to our topic we were just on, just the way that we're treating other women. Or, next gen, again, I see it happening there a lot, for sure, where it's like, "I paid my dues. And so, you know, this next gen person has to pay their dues." And it's like, just because something crappy happened to you, or you accepted a bad deal, doesn't mean that you have to do that to someone else.

Amber Stitt [00:30:47]:
Right.

Alanah Phillips [00:30:47]:
And again, I think it comes from a place of ego and it comes from a place of scarcity and fear. But I think about, you know, you mentioned Lindsey Lewis and her and I talk about openly we're jealous of each other, right?

Amber Stitt [00:30:59]:
Yeah, but it's like we, via the FOMO, or imposter syndrome of each other, but that drives us, and we want to get better through that.

Alanah Phillips [00:31:08]:
Yes. And it's that as opposed to dragging each other down, which we see happen a lot again across the industry, men, women, next gen folks, you know, the first generation, second generation, where it's like, we drag people for doing stuff that, like, secretly we're just jealous of.

Amber Stitt [00:31:24]:
Right.

Alanah Phillips [00:31:07]:
We wish that we were doing that thing, or we feel bad about ourselves because we didn't get that award, or we didn't think of that idea, or we thought of the idea, but we didn't execute on it.

Amber Stitt [00:31:35]:
Right.

Alanah Phillips [00:31:35]:
Like, Lindsey just won another award, and I'm like, I don't even know. I can't even keep track of that.

Amber Stitt [00:31:42]:
And then her amazing outfits while she's on stage.

Alanah Phillips [00:31:44]:
Yes. And I'm always like, again, this sort of mixture of I'm so proud of her, and then there's that little bit of jealousy. And again, we talk about this openly for a reason, because it's okay to feel that jealousy and to acknowledge it. And if it's something that fuels healthy competition and then we share it with each other, "Where did you get that cool outfit? Where did you get that connection to that group that you're participating in? How can I connect you to other people who are going to amplify these messages?" Like, when we do those things together as opposed to tearing each other down because we're jealous, it's so much more powerful. And we get to do so many more cool things. I know so many more cool people because of Lindsey and I being open about our jealousy with each other.

Amber Stitt [00:32:35]:
Yeah.

Alanah Phillips [00:32:34]:
It's such a different thing. And again, we can talk about that, and it's very real. I'm totally jealous of how beautiful and successful and all the cool stuff that she does, and I think vice versa sometimes. But it's so much more powerful when you can be co-conspirators with those folks as opposed to tear each other down.

Amber Stitt [00:32:56]:
Well, that's just where we have these strategic partnerships. It might not be like we literally have an LLC together, but there's ideas being shared that are being plugged in. It doesn't make sense sometimes right away, but I know I've had that within my own group in other ways. So, Alanah, how do people find you these days?

Alanah Phillips [00:33:12]:
Yeah, I'm all over the place. It's my mom's nightmare. But my cell phone and, you know, Social Security number's on the Internet. But no, you can go to AlanahPhillips.com. You'd see all the things that I'm working on there. Always find me on LinkedIn. I put out content for advisors and advisor teams there, and you will find Calendly links and cell phone numbers if you want to reach me more directly.

Amber Stitt [00:33:35]:
Well, thank you for being on my show and my friend and I can't wait to see you more, as we will, well, because we're doing more fun things here not too far in the future. So thanks so much again. Thanks for being on the show.

Alanah Phillips [00:33:47]:
Thank you, Amber. I appreciate it.

Amber Stitt [00:33:51]:
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!