141: Demystify Financial Planning & Wealth | What You can Do Today with Kaitlyn Carlson

KAITLYN CARLSON [0:00]

So once our clients have achieved their own version of financial freedom, a lot of them have a desire to give back.

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CAMILLE WALKER [0:15]

So, you want to make an impact. You’re thinking about starting a business sharing your voice. How do women do it that handle motherhood, family, and still chase after those dreams? We’ll listen each week as ew dive into the stories of women who know. This is Call Me CEO.

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The world of financial planning has traditionally been, let’s say it, a man’s world. Today’s guest is about debunking that myth and many others by helping women entrepreneurs in saving for now and the future. Let’s get started.

Welcome back everyone to another episode of Call Me CEO. Many times, we talk to women entrepreneurs, but it is very rare that we talk about planning for your finances or personal finances, which is why I’m so thrilled that we’re speaking with Kaitlyn Carlson, the founder and CEO of Theory Planning Partners, which is a boutique wealth creation firm.

And when I got the outreach from her wanting to be with us on the show and talking to us about debunking myths about women in finance and business and planning for the future, I said, “Heck, yes. Please come join us.”

So, thank you so much for being on the show with us today. I’m so excited to have you here, Kaitlyn.

KAITLYN [1:33]

Thank you for having me, Camille. I’m very excited to be here. And this is obviously something I’m super passionate about. So, very excited for today.

CAMILLE [1:41]

Yeah. So, I was reading your bio a little bit and you had mentioned there that when you started the world of finance, you were hooked, that it was something that you just were so passionate about, that you loved it so much. Can you take us back to the place of where you were when you first learned about financial planning or finances in general and what ignited that flame within you?

KAITLYN [2:01]

Sure. I think it goes all the way back when I was 8 years old and my grandfather bought me a share of Disney stock versus a tangible birthday gift. And I remember being so disappointed at the time that I didn’t get something tangible. But he obviously left me with something much greater than that, which was a lesson in how to invest.

And I just remember he was explaining to me what a stock was and how stocks work and I remember saying to him, “How can I earn money if I’m not working?” And that was really the beginning of my journey as an investor and really starting to be interested in finances.

And then, I would say interestingly, something that I don’t talk about that much is I was in college when Mitt Romney was running for president. And I remember a lot of my teammates, I was a college ice hockey player, were really upset that he only paid 14% taxes or something. And I remember thinking, he’s not in jail. So, he obviously didn’t break the law. He must just have been surrounded by smart people to help him figure how to be really strategic with his taxes.

So, there were small things that piqued my interest that I wanted to learn more about and I was also a psychology major in college. And so, I always envisioned myself going into finance because my grandfather was in finance, my dad was in finance. And I thought when I went into college, I was going to be an econ major, but I was far more fascinated by psychology.

And so, when I learned what financial advisors did, when I learned how they worked with individuals and families to help them with their money and investing in their relationship with money, I’m like, what better combination of my passions than that? So, yeah, as soon as I heard what financial advisors did, I was hooked. That’s a great way to put it.

CAMILLE [4:00]

That’s awesome. And I’ve actually done episodes here before on money and finance and our relationship or our emotions around finance. And so, I think that that is a really strong combination of study is the psychology of what motivates us, how our brains work, what we accomplish and what we seek for, and money. I think that’s so interesting. What is something that you’ve learned with the combination of the two and how has that made you a successful financial planner?

KAITLYN [4:3]3

So, we have our clients take the Enneagram as part of their onboarding process. And I have found that hugely insightful. It’s probably not surprising to people familiar with the Enneagram, but we work with female entrepreneurs and they are either 3s or 8s. It’s pretty split down the middle, maybe a couple 7s, but 3s and 8s are what are attracted to the entrepreneurial journey.

And then, a lot of times, they tend to have partners that are more like a counterpart, so they'll have maybe a 5 spouse or a 6 spouse.

And it is really interesting because another part of our onboarding process is asking people, what was money like for you growing up? And it’s amazing how powerful what we learn as children, how that affects our subconscious and the money stories that we come into adulthood and enter relationships with that can either be hugely beneficial or a huge hindrance.

And yeah, it really depends on how you use it, but I think raising people’s awareness of, how do I feel? Why do I feel this way and what aligned action can I take to improve my life? Those are all things that we’re not particularly good at doing ourselves unless someone forces us to. So, that’s a big part of our discovery process.

CAMILLE [6:00]

Yes. Just first of all, yes, I love the Enneagram. I’ve done specific episodes on the Enneagram and anyone that I coach one-on-one, I have them take the Enneagram test. And all of my students that take my 60 Days to VA course take the Enneagram test because when I line them up with busy entrepreneurs, I will have them identify their Enneagram and what works and compliments them as well. So, I love that you brought that up because I think that understanding our motivations and our fears, which are the primary topics of the Enneagram, is what helps to understand how we can find ways to complement our weaknesses. Would you agree with that?

KAITLYN [6:41]

I absolutely would agree with that. And the way that that factors into money is let’s take a 3, for example. A 3 aspiring for a lot of money also just comes from the fact that they’re natural achievers. And that’s fun for them. They might be with, let’s say, a 9 spouse. 9s tend to be very content and don’t really want for much.

And so, if you don't understand each other, it could come across as greedy and overambitious or lazy and disinterested. And so, it’s like anything really. The more that we understand ourselves and each other, the more it diffuses situations. The combination of emotions and money, wow, that’s really powerful in a positive way or a negative way.

So, yeah, it’s super helpful to be able to approach money with a high level of self-awareness and I think that’s also where a lot of our value comes from is we’re able to be a third party. And so, we can diffuse a lot of tension in relationships by being somewhat of a voice of reason or an objective voice to say, “Okay. Totally understand where both of you are coming from. This is what you’re telling us that you want. We’re going to quantify this for you and help you achieve it.” And so, like a therapist, that third person in the room can really help navigate a situation.

CAMILLE [8:09]

Yeah. I love that you gave that example because I think a lot of people listening may find themselves in that scenario, whether you’re the 9 or the 3 or whatever combination you are because I think in any type of communication and partnership or in a marriage or a relationship at work, once you understand people’s motivations and a lot of items needing or seeking a third party that can see this perspective of both and say, “Okay. Let’s find a common ground.”

So, taking that example of the 3 and 9, let’s say you have someone in the room. It sounds like you’ve dealt with this combination before. What would be a scenario of helping guide someone through creating a financial plan for success of wanting to achieve great amounts of money? That’s what you’re hoping to help everyone to do. So, what would that look like?

KAITLYN [9:01]

Yeah. That’s a great question. So, typically, let’s say, we’re dealing with that combination. So, we get to the end of our onboarding process and, let’s say, this couple has said they want to be financially independent by 50 and they want to have a lifestyle of $20,000 a month. That would require them to save, let’s say, $15,000 a month.

And so, the 3 will want to do anything to achieve that goal pretty much at all costs sometimes. Whereas the 9 might say, “Okay, yes. I agree with you. I want to achieve that goal. I would like to be financially independent, but $15,000 a month, it’s too much. It’s going to make you a workaholic. You’re going to be obsessed with going to the business point to be able to save that amount of money.”

So, in that situation, we might just back up the retirement date to, let’s just say, 55 or 60 where we’re able to respect and maybe that brings the savings goal down to, let’s say, like $10,000 and that feels more achievable because they're able to live and enjoy their life now and today, which would appease the 9, but they still have a goal that they're reaching for, which appeases the 3.

And so, it’s really about let’s set a goal and let’s have context, so everything that we’re doing has intention. And so, we're respecting that in our achiever, in the 3, but I also do think that life is for living and it’s just not like this scarcity event where we’re just squirreling away money to get there as quickly as possible.

Because one thing I saw when I was in private wealth management was the people that had the most difficult time adjusting were the people where it was just like a cut-off date and they retired and they had nothing to do the next day. People aren't naturally wired to exist like that. People need a purpose.

And so, I think it’s also bringing that perspective to the table of, okay, totally respect what you’re trying to achieve, but also want to understand why you’re trying to achieve that because you’re not just going to stop working. So, let’s find the balance between killing yourself to achieve this goal and actually living and enjoying your life.

CAMILLE [11:20]

Yeah. I really appreciate that perspective because I think within all of us, there’s a bit of that desire of like, okay, how do I get exactly what I want, but also find contentment or being present? And it is. It’s that yin and yang of preparing for the future and enjoying where you are now.

And I think that even I’m thinking of my own relationship right now and I can see that in both of us where I mentioned to you before that my husband is a CPA and a financial planner in his own way. He’s not a trained financial planner, but one of our goals was to pay off our home.

And for him, he looks at our finances every morning. It’s the first thing he wakes up. He looks at our finances. And he’s so into it and that was a goal that he was ready for. Two parts. So, for me, I am a 3, but I also love to make things fun. So, I’m like, let’s do a payoff chart where we make printables. So, I’ve made us a printable and we hung it in the wall in our closet. And we would mark off little squares every time we paid down $5,000 or something like that. And that made it really fun for me and a goal that we are achieving together where I think that it was something visual that we could both see and look at.

But what was interesting in that perspective is he was saying once we attained that goal, he had this big letdown of like, now what? It was almost like, okay, but that was so fun and exciting to look forward to. How do I create goals for the next time or the next thing?

And so, I’m curious what you would say to that if you do have a financial goal, whether it’s paying off financial loans or a car or a home, and then you want to keep planning for the future? What are some tangible ways that we can do that and to stay motivated in our goal setting?

KAITLYN [13:12]

So, I think that's why the first goal that we start with is that financial independence goal because it’s the biggest goal that keeps a lot of people going, so to speak. And so, our clients are mostly millennials. So a lot of them are just embarking on their journey to achieve that financial independence goal.

But I would say that is partially why, first of all, you can achieve that goal and, let’s say, you needed to achieve a $10 million portfolio if you want to go for a $20 million portfolio like sky’s the limit. We will absolutely help you and support you in achieving that type of goal, but I would say that it’s super important to find other passions and other hobbies outside of work that bring us satisfaction and fulfillment because that’s really the thing that I saw.

And this is sad what I saw in my own life, my grandfather was forced to resign in his 70s and he got cancer within 6 months. And at that point, it’s really a personal choice of, okay, he knew he was going to be forced to resign at some point, but he really didn’t have purpose outside of work.

So it’s very important. Of course, we’re passionate entrepreneurs, but not to get entirely sucked into the business. It’s important to have physical activities or getting involved with your community. I would actually say that’s probably a really big one is charitable intent.

So, once our clients have achieved their own version of financial freedom, a lot of them have a desire to give back. So, I know for me, I went to an elite prep school and the main reason why I was able to do that was because I received a scholarship. So, I would love to be able to give a scholarship someday.

And I think that’s when you think of psychology like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, that’s the financial Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It’s like, okay, I'm all set. How can I give back to others and give back to causes that I care about? So, that’s a big motivator for a lot of our clients. They have causes that are near and dear to their hearts that they want to be able to give back to them.

CAMILLE [15:23]

Yeah. I agree with that. Especially during any kind of goal that you’re setting or wanting, whether it’s financial or a job that you’re doing or in your own career, the most wonderful place is where you can get to the place where you can turn back around and teach with that or help and give back the way that you were given to, just like you said, with that scholarship.

Because I feel like many times, if we have children or grandchildren, that’s going to be a part of the equation hopefully that you want to give back to your family and to your children, but also to charities and things like that.

But I feel like I’m skipping way far ahead of getting back to the origin of your story because your timeline of how you’ve been able to build and help amass millions to billions of dollars helping people create and plan for success, can we skip back to how you got there?

Because I want to give people an idea that you know what you’re talking about, that you’ve been doing this for so many years. And I think that it’s so fantastic that you’ve been able to help people reach these goals. So, take us back. You’re in psychology. You graduated with that degree. How did you make that next step into financial planning and having so much success to the point of building your own business?

KAITLYN [16:46]

So, I started my career in asset management. And then, when I was in asset management and learned what financial advisors did, I knew I wanted to make that transition. And so, when my husband was promoted to a new position, we moved to New Orleans. And that’s when I moved from Putnam Investments over to UBS Financial Services.

And so, when I first moved over to UBS, I was very deliberate about that. They had a seller reputation. They capped the amount of advisors that they had. And they were a highly-reputable wealth management firm that worked with high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals and families.

And so, from my perspective, I was thinking, okay. I want to go to the place where I’m going to get the very best training. And they’re going to pay for me to get my certified financial planner designation and my credit wealth management advisor designation. And so, when I entered UBS, it was initially as a wealth planning analyst.

And so, I worked with advisors all across the Southeast to help their clients with financial planning. Really interesting when I first got into wealth management, I assumed that it was the way things were always done with a holistic approach to wealth management. And what I found was the idea of holistic financial planning was actually still very new.

So, I was teaching financial advisors how to implement financial planning. A lot of these, they were pretty much all men. A lot of these men were what you would think of as brokers from the 80s and the 90s where they were used to selling things for commissions. It really wasn’t a holistic approach at all.

My job was to come in and get a holistic picture of the clients and then teach the advisors how to do financial planning or present the financial plans myself. And so, that was a two-year period. That’s where I worked with over 300 people. So, it was a very intense period and I worked with such a massive array of people. It was everyone from a Fortune 500 executive to third generation wealth to an oil rig worker who saved for retirement and pretty much everything in between.

CAMILLE [18:54]

Wow. Can you explain to our audience what you mean by holistic financial planning?

KAITLYN [19:02]

Yeah. So, a financial plan is really as basic as, where am I now, where do I want to go, and how do I get there? And looking at how all aspects of your financial life contribute to asking those questions. So, that would be a holistic approach.

The way that it was historically is people would just sell you a solution without really having an understanding of where you are or where you want to go or how to help you get there. They would just sell you the how you get there without really knowing the answer to the first two questions, which isn’t really a holistic approach. That’s a very sales-forward approach. And so, fortunately, the industry has evolved to help you answer those first two questions and not just selling you the third answer to the third question.

CAMILLE [19:58]

Yeah. I think that’s really important. And I’m sure there are people who are listening that maybe have some wealth or generational wealth. I would assume most people don’t have that. I certainly don’t.

If we were starting from the ground floor, your average American, you’re working full-time, you’re doing the things, you’re trying to save for the future, what are some steps that we could do to help us to plan for the future and have a retirement that we can enjoy?

Because listen, we all know that things are changing and baby boomers and I was in Canada just about a week and a half ago and they have just changed their retirement from 70 to 75 because people aren’t having as many babies as they used to. And so, the workforce is a lot smaller and therefore their retirement plan is not as robust as it used to be. And likewise, our social security is not what it used to be. So, for us average Americans, what would you say is a good place to start and when should we start thinking about making plans for the future?

KAITLYN [21:07]

So, I would say the sooner, the better. Because when it comes to investing, time is your greatest asset. And the more time that you spend in the market, the more time you’ll have compound interest working in your favor.

So, if you’re an employee, a lot of these things are set up for you and it’s very important to understand how to utilize them. So, if you have a company that offers a 401(k) plan, contributing at least up to the match, so I started saving for retirement right out of college because I understood this relationship. But also Putnam offered a 5% match in my 401(k). So, if I didn't match up to 5%, I was leaving free money on the table. So, I knew that. So, if you’re an employee, at least contributing up to the match of your employer would be a good place to start.

But if you can reach the 401(k) maximum contribution every year, that would be awesome. So, for 2023, that’s $22,500 for this year. But taking a step back before that, I would say very basic is a rule of thumb is you want to have three or six months worth of living expenses and cash. That's just if a global pandemic comes along and you need a little bit of a safety net to help figure out what’s going on with your life.

So, if you’re thinking about it like a pyramid, I would say for business owners, it’s really important your base of the pyramid is going to be really making sure that your business is running in a financially healthy fashion. So, you have recurring revenue coming in. It’s enough to cover your living expenses.

But once you’ve covered your living expenses, then the next layer of the pyramid is securing your emergency savings fund. And then after that, investing in your retirement accounts. So, that would be your 401(k).

Another option would be a ROTH IRA. That’s a great one especially for younger people to use because you'll have so many years of compound interest. A ROTH IRA is a tax-free bucket, so that’s huge. So, the money that you put in there is after tax, but it never gets taxed again. So, imagine if you’re in your 20s, you’re going to have, let’s say, 40 years of compound interest and that money’s never going to get taxed. That’s going to be a large chunk of change by the time you're in your 60s.

And then, just a regular old investment account is probably the last part of that pyramid where it’s, okay, I’ve taken advantage of those retirement accounts. Now, I want to start investing above and beyond those amounts. So, a lot of information for this podcast, but hopefully some good pointers.

CAMILLE [23:53]

No. I think that that’s really helpful. One question I would have is there’s a lot of attention around bitcoin and trending things that maybe it’s like Tesla or different accounts like that. What is your opinion of investing in trending accounts and do you think that has a place or is that just the top of that pyramid?

KAITLYN [24:17]

So, that’s a great point. I would put it at the top of the pyramid after you have maxed out every portion of that pyramid. But I would also say to remember that investing is what is the return I am getting for the risk I am taking? And so, it’s easy to answer that for the markets because we have a general understanding of the risk that you’re taking.

For something like bitcoin, we have no idea what the risk is. It’s not a proven asset class. It has no intrinsic value. We’ve actually steered our clients away from it for the most part because one, it’s not regulated. And two, there’s no way to value it. So, we don’t really have an understanding of how it fits into your overall portfolio. And so, for those reasons, we say, if you still want to invest in it, invest an amount that you’re willing to lose.

CAMILLE [25:15]

It’s like gambling. It’s like you're showing up to a gambling table. And it’s like, okay, this is fun money. You’ve done all the other things. What is there that you have to work with, right?

KAITLYN [25:24]

That’s exactly how I would put it. I would put it like fun money. It’s like you have your safe money that you know is securing your financial goals. And then, if you have fun money above and beyond that, that’s a great place to put it. I would couple bitcoin with something like angel investing as well.

So, if you want to invest in an entrepreneur, everyone thinks they’re going to be the next Tesla. But if you see enough of these deals, the majority of them don't workout. And so, you just need to understand, okay, if someone’s asking me for $25,000, am I comfortable never seeing that $25,000 again? And if the answer is yes, then go for it. But if the answer is no, then there are other things we should be putting before that.

CAMILLE [26:03]

Yeah. Let me ask you about this myth that you’re wanting to debunk for women, especially that I cannot afford a financial planner if I have debt. Can you walk us through that a little bit? What does that mean? And how does that translate for us if you have debt and are wanting to financially plan, but don't even know where to start?

KAITLYN [26:23]

Yeah. So, I’ve seen this come up a lot. And I would say it’s a myth that I enjoy busting because imagine if you have someone who has the experience and knowledge that I have. If I could have my eyes on your financial plan, there’s just probably a lot of strategies that we could implement that could help you eliminate that debt faster.

And so, I don’t want people to think, I have debt. Therefore, I shouldn’t even be talking to a wealth manager or a financial advisor because it’s just not true. We have the experience that if we can just get in there and see certain strategic opportunities, we really have the chance to collapse time and hopefully help you save a lot of interest just by simply rearranging things because we have access to solutions that you might not even know about.

And so, I see that a lot with our clients. We work with female entrepreneurs. And so, I saw that come up quite a bit where they had shame around debt. And I was like, “We can actually eliminate this in a year versus you carrying this high interest rate for the next seven years. Now, let’s say, you’ve put $70,000, $150,000 towards interest, if we meet now, we can actually eliminate it pretty quickly.”

So, it’s really just that I highly encourage people to work with professionals, understand how they get paid, but work with professionals because professionals can help you get where you want to get a lot faster.

CAMILLE [27:53]

Yeah. Just asking that question, how do financial planners get paid?

KAITLYN [27:57]

So, our company charges very uniquely. Typically, the way that financial planners get paid is by something called an assets under management fee. And so, Camille, if you give me $1 million, typically I would charge you 1% to manage that $1 million. So, I would make $10,000 a year off of managing that $1 million for you. That $1 million is in the market. So, ideally, that $1 million is going to continue to grow. And so, let’s say, it grows to $1.5 million. Now, I would get $15,000 a year.

So, it’s a very lucrative model. And the fee comes directly out of a portfolio. So, most clients don’t even notice the fee. And so, a lot of times, this slogan is like, “We do better when you do better,” which technically is true, but it also motivates financial advisors to only go around looking for large sums of money. And that eliminates a lot of the population. And it doesn’t keep financial advisors entirely objective because they’re very motivated by what you hold in stocks and bonds.

Now, the majority of financial advisors I’ve met are very kind and altruistic people, but it was something that didn’t really sit well with me probably because of the way I came into the industry as a financial planner because I always wanted to be completely objective. And I wanted to give people a high level of service that wasn’t attached to how much they held in liquid assets.

So, we don't actually charge that way. We charge a flat monthly fee. And my mission with Theory is that as we help you create wealth, I want our fee to become a smaller and smaller fraction of your overall wealth versus the AUM model that keeps up with your wealth accumulation. So, that’s a big differentiator for us.

I give Michael Kitces a lot of credit for that. He’s brought about a lot of change in the industry and so now more financial advisors are starting to offer either you can do a one-off financial plan, although I don't love that because it feels like putting a band aid on a heart attack. I really think to see real change, having a long-term relationship with someone can be well worth it. So, there's the AUM model and then now more financial advisors are charging either that monthly retainer model or some combination of the monthly retainer and the AUM fee.

CAMILLE [30:29]

I like that. It’s funny because I was actually having this conversation with my husband just a week ago. The financial planners do make a big chunk of change pretty quickly if they have big clients like that because it is. They have the portfolio and they get to ride that train, which is exciting, but I think that I really appreciate your perspective on that because it can feel a little bit not dishonest, but a little bit like where is the incentive to keep me in the now of what’s happening or how that’s growing? So, I think that’s really cool that you’ve done it that way.

KAITLYN [31:07]

Thanks.

CAMILLE [31:09]

So, I want to talk to you about motherhood. You are a mother of 2. And what's really interesting about this is that you started your company in 2020, but it was April of 2020. So, right when the pandemic was in full force, and then also you got pregnant 2 weeks after starting your business. So, the pandemic, was that happening and in the works before you knew you wanted to start a new business or were you already in the process of getting your business going, and then it just all happened at once?

KAITLYN [31:45]

Yeah. It’s definitely the latter. So, I was already in the process of starting my business. And then, this weirdness in it with the global pandemic and everything. So, it was definitely a coincidence there. And then, also somewhat of a coincidence with getting pregnant in basically the same month that I started my business.

I would say that I definitely don't have it mastered, but when I look at my career, it had a lot of ups and downs. It also had a lot of trials. I went through a ton of sexual harassment when I was in the wealth management industry. And it really honestly beat the passion out of me for wealth management.

And so, I really had to take a hard look at whether I wanted to stay in the industry and ultimately the answer that I came up with was that I did want to stay in the industry, but I wanted to serve people that I felt comfortable with and that I loved working with. And so, that answer for me was female entrepreneurs. And so, that was a very difficult and disappointing experience frankly.

Then I look at the fact that I did start my own business. And now, I do have the flexibility to go pick the boys up from daycare and I don’t have to answer to anybody else. And I think that really is such a silver lining to such a bad experience. So, yeah, because we’re having pretty exponential growth, and so I’m in this season of, okay, I still want my life to be the main thing and I want my business to integrate into my life. And obviously, being an Enneagram 3 as well, I really want to excel at my business, but I don’t want it to come at the cost of my family.

So, I was actually thinking this morning, I was unloading the dishwasher, I just had that moment of clarity of, okay, it’s my life first and my business second. And sometimes, there can be seasons of the business coming first and family second, but I’m really okay with that being a season versus a habit or any sort of long-term thing.

CAMILLE [33:49]

Yeah. What would you say are some important ways for you to connect with your children at home?

KAITLYN [33:58]

When they get home, I’m fully present with them. So, I put my phone away. And honestly, I think it’s great for my nervous system. I put my phone away. I sit down on the floor. Russell has a little truck and we just push it back and forth to each other or connect trains. It’s like children are so great at slowing down time. And I really need that at the end of the day. So, technology is off. We also go on walks. We live right down the ocean and it's really beautiful. And so, now that the weather is getting nice, just like going out on a walk and decompressing is huge.

CAMILLE [34:33]

Wow, I love that. I think that kids help us to get so much into the present moment because that’s where they live. They’re not worried about their past. They’re not worried about the future too much. They’re really just focused on that car or on that thing that you’re doing with them. And I think that if we can embrace that and be present for that moment, it is such a gift back to us if we will accept it and really make that conscious effort of putting down the phone and switching gears, so to speak. Do you feel like that is something that’s hard for you to do to switch those gears or do you feel like you’ve set a pretty clear boundary and how have you done that?

KAITLYN [35:14]

I think daycare has been a huge help in helping me do that. When the boys were home with me, I was definitely feeling the strain of, I’m not giving 100% to either. Now that they’re at daycare, I give 100% to work when they’re at daycare. And when they’re home, I give 100% to them. Sometimes, I have to work later into the night. But for the most part, now that they’re both in daycare, I’ve really been striving to, okay, this is my allotted work time and when they’re home, I’m done. And yeah, again, going to the free thing, I think kids are great at helping me not become a workaholic.

CAMILLE [35:58]

I agree with that. Is there something that you do for yourself when you’re starting the day to help you stay on track with your schedule, running your business, having time for your kids? How do you set your week or day up?

KAITLYN [36:12]

So, I have a 6-month-old as well and he’s not quite sleeping through the night yet, so right now, just getting a full night's sleep is the first thing that I’m aiming for. But usually, I really like to start my day with a workout. I usually go to a 6 am Orangetheory class or yoga class and it’s such a great way to start my day. And it’s early enough in the day that I’m done with the workout before my brain even wakes up.

CAMILLE [36:40]

I’m impressed you’re going to class that early with a 6-month-old because your nights are not your own. You’re just like, hey, what are we in for tonight? So the fact that you’re getting out there, that’s impressive.

KAITLYN [36:52]

No. I haven’t yet. They texted me last week. They're like, “We miss you.” And I’m like, “Okay, as soon as I get my full night’s sleep, I will be back.: So, I’m trying to be gentle with myself too. I was an athlete in college. So, I think I expect a lot of myself physically and I’m just in a stage of life where I am only human.

CAMILLE [37:15]

Yeah. Thank you for saying that because I'm like if your baby’s not sleeping, how are you doing that? So, yeah, that’s awesome. So, tell me what are your goals for the future with your business? Here's the thing. I’m listening to this about I was in the financial world before I started online influencing and blogging and podcasting and all the things. And it was predominantly men.

And I had sexual harassment things happen to me, probably not as extreme as you did because I’m just guessing. But I think that that’s so brave of you to recognize that and say, I’m not going to let go of my passion. I’m just going to redirect and create a new path. And I think that that is unfortunate that women have to do that, but I also think it’s pretty cool that we live in a time that you were able to bring it home and create a life for yourself in that way. What are your goals for your business moving forward?

KAITLYN [38:13]

Yeah. Thank you for asking that. I was working at a really high level. And so, my mission when I started Theory was I wanted to bring private wealth experience to female entrepreneurs. All of that kept information but also the level of service and dedication, I wanted to bring to female entrepreneurs.

So, we are growing as a company, but it’s still very important to me that that high level of service permeates no matter how big we get. My vision is still to keep it pretty boutique. And with the advisors that we have coming on now, I want them to have a limited client roster because I want our clients to feel that we have that time and space to think about them.

But for a long time, I just thought it was going to be my clients and me. And that was the end of the story, end of the day. But we’ve found that there’s actually a lot of demand out there and it actually got to the point where I felt awkward giving presentations and saying, “But we only have 40 clients, sorry, you can’t join.”

So, I actually had to do a lot of reframing around what does it mean for me to become a CEO versus just having this boutique firm that’s just me? And what I’ve realized is that I actually think my natural strengths lean towards a CEO like going out and speaking and educating. I love that. Connecting with people, I love that as well.

And what I’ve realized is by taking this step and moving into a CEO role and hiring employees, I’m now able to positively impact more female entrepreneurs and female advisors. And so, that’s a dream come true for me. I really want to have a super strong culture that honors and respects working mothers because those are our employees and those are our clients. And I want them to thrive just like I want to thrive.

CAMILLE [40:04]

I love that. I feel like we’ve been richly blessed from hearing your story and hearing about how we too can reach our goals as female entrepreneurs and also just learning how we can balance life and give ourselves grace in the different seasons of our life. So, thank you so much for coming on the show today. And please let our audience know where they can find you online.

KAITLYN [40:27]

Thanks, Camile. Honestly, it was a great way for me to end the day. So, you can feel free to reach out to me on Instagram. I’m at @theoryplanningpartners or you can head to our website. It’s just www.theoryplanning.com. And at the bottom of our website, there's a link to book a call with me and I’m always happy to hop on a call to talk to people more in depth.

CAMILLE [40:48]

All right. Awesome. Thank you so much.

KAITLYN [40:51]

Thank you.

CAMILLE [40:53]

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