Kirsten Schlumbohm, BPC

I would attribute my success to several things, actually. My parents taught me hard work, work ethic. If you're going to give 100%, you always give 100%. I really do think that being loved unconditionally by my sister was also a really strong factor. So I guess family, faith, and perseverance are why I am where I am. In my office, I have a plaque, it's Proverbs 31:25, 'She's clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of her future.' I do really think that family, faith, and perseverance are why I am where I am. Probably having a good mentor and people who believed in me helped as well. I don't think there's any one thing that leads somebody to be successful. I think it's a culmination of life events and growth.

Wendy Young, who's at Fidelity and Guarantee. She was my mentor when I worked for Fidelity and Guarantee, and she is… Actually, she was on one of my podcasts, we talked about mentorship and relationships. She's the Executive Vice President, Chief Liability Officer at F&G, she was so inspirational. We would talk about things, and, you know, mentorship is not just for the mentor, or for the mentee, it's for the two of you to grow. And it wasn't just a mentorship, it became a friendship, and I learned so much from her. How to persevere, how to handle… we all have challenges in our roles, whether it's, you know, like, how do I say something? How do I present myself? How do I overcome this challenge? But she was… she was so influential in helping me. Then I locked up until we maintained that mentorship and friendship. She's been wonderful. And then I had a teacher in high school, and, you know, I was a part of the distributive education clubs, like DECA was a program back in my day, and I became a state officer, but I had Mr. Sanders and Mr. Collins who had just believed in me, and… candidly, I was so shy, like, I went to college and almost quit because I was so shy, but for them to believe in me, for them to believe in me, I still think about the lessons they taught me And I want my Facebook friends with one of them, and I don't even think he knows how influential he was. And I told him, but, you know, he's retired and enjoying life, so proudly for him. Probably the strong woman in my family, my mom, my sister Jenny, who has Down syndrome, and my sister Kathy, all given me valuable.

Don't give up. I know it's easier to say that, but I would encourage them not to give up, to find themselves a mentor, whether it's in their organization or outside of their organization. Please don't give up. There's a lot of great opportunities to be in this industry. There's so many routes to go in financial services, and so many things to learn, that it's okay to ask questions, it's okay to - a career path isn't a straight-up ladder. You can veer to the left and veer back to the right, but take the time to explore your unique abilities and match them. Because not everybody wants to be a financial advisor, but you might be a really great relationship manager. Explore that. Just don't give up on yourself.

A key opportunity in the field is the growth of specialized platforms like “Women’s Clarity” that support female advisors and help improve overall advisor effectiveness. With so many career paths and roles available, there is also a strong opportunity to strengthen education and mentorship, ultimately leading to better client relationships and higher client satisfaction.

Family, faith, and perseverance are the values most important to me. In my office, I have a plaque with Proverbs 31:25, 'She's clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of her future.' Everything I do, I do in memory of my sister, because that's how powerful she was of an influence in my life. My sister, though as simple as her life was, she made a difference everywhere she goes. My role in life is to embody that positivity, and that courage to change the things I can and accept the things I can't. I'm always that person who wants to give a voice to those that don't have one - whether that's helping animals through Defense Project Des Moines, advocating for the Special Olympics, or empowering women in financial services. What brings me the most joy in life is my husband and my bonus sons, Jeff, Joseph and Andrew - I always talk about the fabulous Weber boys. They bring me a lot of light and love. At the end of the day, I have a great life. Is everything perfect? No, but I have a roof over my head, I'm loved, and it's another day to do something.