Anna Felix, a smart money strategist, joins Niiamah Ashong on the Outlier's Edge Podcast to talk about becoming the answer she was looking for and creating possibilities with money. She shares how she went from searching for an advisor who would answer her questions to becoming one who puts the client first and empowers people with information. What emerged is her gift as a possibility creator, someone who starts with people's dreams instead of the bottom line.
Episode at a glance
- Guest: Anna Felix, Smart money strategist helping predominantly women figure out the money game
- Host: Niiamah Ashong, coach to outlier leaders
- Show: Outlier’s Edge Podcast, released July 19, 2022
- Format: conversation, 54 minutes
- Topics: Becoming the person you were looking for, Relationships through genuine curiosity, Putting the client first, Starting with dreams, not the bottom line, Possibility creation over problem solving, Amplifying a high-touch experience
What Anna brought to the conversation
Anna Felix is a smart money strategist who helps predominantly women, and men as well, figure out the money game as quickly as possible, including options most people never hear about. When she became the one making her family's financial decisions, she went looking for help and found advisors who said they had no time for her questions, and one told her she just needed to marry a rich guy. Walking back to her car, she wondered if she could become the person she was looking for, and about three years later she was in the industry. She now works with a company aligned with her core value of putting the client first, and one of her favorite questions for clients is what their dreams are.
What emerged
Niiamah Ashong names Anna Felix a possibility creator: where most people identify as problem solvers and go straight to the bottom line, she asks people what they want to create and then builds the plan to get them there. He invites leaders to see that what feels basic to them can be a completely new world to someone more successful, which is why people come to them. Looking ahead, she's doing a chapter in a book, the first time she has done anything like that, and figuring out systems to reach more people without losing the relational, high-touch feel of her work.
Questions this episode answers
How can a leader build relationships by reaching out to people they don't know?
Anna Felix reaches out to people whose profiles make her want to learn more, simply to learn about them and what they do. When people worry she's selling something, she promises it's a sales free zone, and Niiamah Ashong notes that creating a relationship can be as simple as legitimately wanting to get to know the person.
Why do some successful professionals know so little about their own finances?
Anna Felix finds that some of the most successful people know the least, such as a doctor or dentist with a thriving business who can't say how much money goes out every month. People are busy and put it off, so she starts with the basics, like the couple who believed they had a million dollars of life insurance coverage and found they had a hundred thousand.
Why should financial planning start with your dreams?
Anna Felix asks clients what their dreams are because knowing where a person is going changes what she does for them. After she asked one couple about retirement, they spent the following week working out what they really wanted to do and came to a mutual agreement on it.
What is the difference between creating possibilities and solving problems?
Niiamah Ashong says most people identify as problem solvers who go to the bottom line and treat money as a math problem, missing the possibility that could be created. Anna Felix adds that retirement conversations are usually about less, while she asks what more people can do with that time.
How can a leader create empowered clients instead of dependent ones?
Once a plan is in place, Anna Felix asks clients to explain to her why they did it, what the reasons were and what the results will be, so they feel they've got this. Niiamah Ashong connects this to a mentor's view that the role of a leader is to create more leaders, not followers.
In their words
I wonder if I could become the person I'm looking for.
Anna Felix
I want to just acknowledge you as a possibility creator.
Niiamah Ashong
Be open to new things, don't be fearful of them.
Anna Felix
Key moments
02:05 – Meeting through curious outreach
06:39 – Her work as smart money strategist
09:44 – Looking for answers about money
10:45 – Becoming the person she looked for
16:55 – A company aligned with her values
22:02 – What successful people often don't know
24:02 – Asking clients about their dreams
28:38 – A possibility creator, not problem solver
41:21 – A book chapter and new systems
52:09 – Be open to new things
About Niiamah Ashong
Niiamah Ashong is a coach to outlier leaders, host of the Outlier’s Edge Podcast, and founder of the Trailblazer Collective. He coaches leaders who are creating something only they can make: a company, a body of work or a movement. Make a difference with your difference.
Work with Niiamah: 1:1 with Niiamah | World of Difference
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