Her Story
About Abby
I've been a financial advisor for Thrivent for a little over 6 months now, and this career path has been a natural progression for me. I recently graduated from the University of Alabama, and while I was in college, I worked at a credit union for 3 years. Having that member aspect of working with the same people was a big part of what led me to this career, because I really want a personal relationship with my clients. My dad was an accountant for Kingdom Advisors, a non-profit that works with a lot of financial advisors, so I grew up around that for 11, 12 years. I went to conferences and was around some of the top advisors like Ron Blue and others. I was familiar with Thrivent for a really long time, and I kind of just felt called, honestly, by God to be an advisor. So many people told me growing up that we need more women advisors too, and that was another big part of it. As a business owner, I build my own schedule and plan my meetings with my clients whenever is best for them. I do a lot of dedicated planning with my clients because our company has insurance products and investments, but I think it's really the personal relationship with the clients and being able to plan around everything in their life financially, more than just the one or two products that they might have. I'm also starting to do monthly workshops after hours just for myself and my clients, so they can have something educational and also relaxing too, just to connect better with the community since I'm fairly new to the Nashville area.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Abby
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think one thing is that I've grown up a really hard worker and I push myself really hard, but honestly, it's just the talents and gifts God has given me to be able to be a hard worker and have motivation. That's a big part of it. Also, working all through college has definitely helped me get to where I am. I think a lot of people don't even consider working in college, and I think that that's helped me so much right out of college, where it wasn't as hard as I thought it was gonna be, just because I was balancing work and school. And not just like a serving job, but working in a credit union with members, with a little bit more responsibility there. That really helped me, especially as a business owner doing my own thing.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say, especially younger women, don't be afraid, because I think we have a lot of mental blocks when we're younger too. People look at us different, just based on how you look, and especially women too, they almost... you almost feel like you're not respected as much sometimes. So I would say, like, don't let that get in the way. My biggest thing is, if you ever feel like a potential client, there is some, like, not judgment, but just like, there is sometimes they look at you different for as you're younger and a woman. Don't be afraid to just let it go. Move on to the next client. I think so many people try to maybe break past that mental block that they have judging, and honestly, it's not even worth it sometimes. Move on and find someone that really wants to work with you.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Obviously, the client's always first, that kind of thing, which is true. But working for a Christian company as well, I think a lot of it, and we work with a lot of charity stuff too, is just... I think that God has given us this money, and we can't take it with us, so it's just using it the best to glorify Him, and not just based on what we may want. Again, we can't take it with us.
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