Maddison Knafel

I really attribute my success to intentional relationships and being a connector. Someone told me really early on that you meet the best people through the best people, so for me, I just really try to get to know everyone, whether they're ever going to become a client or not - that's not what it's about. It's that the more people you know, the more people you know. And the more people I know, the more people I can connect other people to. It's not about what you know, it's about who you know. I also really set myself apart, especially in our industry, in how intentional I am with the relationship and put that at the forefront. I don't think that you can actually create a financial plan for somebody if you don't truly get to know them as a person, because that's where you identify their goals and how to align their money with who they are. My faith is also very important to me, and I'm very passionate about intentional relationships and connections. I don't understand why people fake anything.

The best career advice I've ever received ties back to intentional relationships and kind of the giver's game. I really find myself as a connector, and someone told me really early on that you meet the best people through the best people. So for me, I just really try to get to know everyone, whether they're ever going to become a client or not - that's not what it's about. It's just, the more people you know, the more people you know. And the more people I know, the more people I can connect other people to. It's not about what you know, it's about who you know. And I think that really is important.

My advice would be to not let your fear hold you back. Oftentimes, the things that we're supposed to do are the scariest. For me especially, imposter syndrome has been a really big struggle, and I know a lot of women struggle with that. So one of my big pieces of advice is if you're struggling with imposter syndrome, you're where you're supposed to be, because actual imposters don't feel like imposters. Anyone faking it doesn't feel like they're faking it - they just believe that they're what they're telling you they are.

One of the biggest challenges I see, especially with being a woman in the industry and really trying to work with women in the industry, is a lot of people don't realize what financial planning actually is, and they don't realize that at any point in time in our lives, we deserve and are allowed to have the conversations with a financial planner or around financial planning. A lot of people think it's reserved for the 1%, or that they're not ready yet, or that they can't afford it. And none of those are accurate. I work with anyone, no matter how much money they're making, what tax bracket they're in, or what age they are. We can't get to the 1% if we don't have the same access to resources and have the help along the way, and so I am really passionate on just providing people with that support and resource, especially women, empowering them around having the conversations around money, being a part of the conversations that their spouse is. A lot of times we're not included in those conversations. So just making sure women feel empowered to be a part of those things and access to the same resources with employers. I feel like a lot of times the objection is just people not really understanding what I do or what other people do as financial planners, and knowing that they're allowed to use us as a resource. I think a lot of people are intimidated because they think it's going to cost a lot of money, and that's just part of it.

My faith is very important to me, and then just intentionality. I am very passionate about intentional relationships and connections. I don't understand why people fake anything. For me, I really set myself apart, especially in our industry and even just in the people that I work alongside, in how intentional I am with the relationship and put that at the forefront. I don't think that you can actually create a financial plan for somebody if you don't truly get to know them as a person, because that's where you identify their goals and how to align their money with who they are. So for me, my faith and just intentional relationships are really big values for me.