Pres/Co-Founder, Journey Strategic Wealth. Industry consultant & speaker. Real talk to combat all the b.s. in this industry. Life long NYer. Greek-American
Cleaning my grandparents garage. Found this gem. My great grandfathers flag from ww2. Only 48 stars on it. He served proudly for the US despite being a Greek citizen. When he served, his son, my grandfather was fighting against communism in the Greek civil war.
Of all the things ppl in this biz have said to me, this one gets me the worst: "Aww you are so cute. I wish I had your confidence at that age."
First of all I'm a 35 year old professional.
Secondly, I'm not cute. I'm a shark and I will eat you alive.
Happy Thursday ya'll
My dads shop in Astoria, NYC is one of the few mom&pops left. Opened in 1922, dad bought it in 1982. I’ll be damned if I let 2020 stop us from making it to 100yrs strong. As a lifelong musician its his pride&joy.
#supportsmallbusiness
#SmallBusinessSaturday
They say life can change in an instant.. and it did for me, one year ago today, after bumping into my childhood friend. We got married yesterday and I never knew happiness like this existed.
Happy New Year all! Back on the grind soon but for now on cloud 9…
10 years ago my sister had a child unexpectdly. My super traditional family was rocked to its core. This boy has been the greatest gift & saved & changed us in a way we never knew we needed. Greatest love I’ve ever felt. We get to hold hands this weekend walkng down the aisle.❤️
Advisors should not be shamed for the AUM they manage. Whether you manage 1 mill or 1 bill, you are helping people & impacting lives.
Shout out to all the advisors who don't get profiled in industry publications, but who devote themselves to their clients, big and small.
A Monday tip: if someone is sharing something personal with you, especially something sad or painful, refrain from immediately jumping in to share your equally painful story.
Even if you think it will help them, its better to hold back and listen.
Never thought I’d say this sentence but: tomorrow I’m meeting some people, who I met on Twitter 18 months ago, who have legitimately become friends of mine. I am so excited.
I’m not secretive about my struggles with mental health. I cried and threw up every day from K-5th grade. Threw up every time I stepped foot in a restaurant, theater, etc until 17. My family was mortified of me and never addressed jt.
Absolutely unreal. This guy has been prez for 2 years w no prior experience. And he is in the streets, sending vid updates every hour and literally in combat alongside his people. God freakin bless. Some of the bravest shit I’ve ever seen.
Zelensky rejected U.S. offer to evacuate him from Kyiv -
@washingtonpost
.
President is in the capital, leading our nation through its darkest hour.
Earlier today, he told NATO leaders he might be killed, he’s not lying. I have so much respect for him. True leader!
Maybe because my personal circle is all blue collar, but every time work looks like THIS I can’t stop thinking about how lucky I am. Conferences are always a mixed bag imo- mix of the best people in this biz, and people who are so out of touch it’s scary.
Just me & couple of grizzled vets 😉 FWIW we feel honored to be getting support from the industry and appreciate all interest in what we’re doing! There is no team more united than my crew. On to planning for 2023!!🚀
OH LOOK ITS ME! .
@michaelkitces
Thanks for giving me space to talk about why I believe JSW fills a gap in for indy advisors.
My partners & I are building this block by block from the ground up.
No pr
No "big name" execs
No pe $
Just us building what we believe ppl need.
I have a busy day today. I am presenting at
#rls2022
in about an hour and then I am looking for a house in San Diego and coordinating to have all my belongings shipped here permanently. Cheers!
P.S.for young speakers- I’ve been a paid keynote spker for almost 10yrs & still get ppl right b4 I go up say “wow howd you land the main slot?” Know this: that never stops BUT evntually u stop caring & gain 100% conviction in your talent. Now I reply “you’re about to find out”
If anyone feels imposter syndrome anymore, do not. We've just been reminded for the 1000th time in the last 3 years that the most "powerful" people have absolutely no idea what they are doing.
After a romantic stroll, laying on a blanket, drinking rose, while looking up at sky:
Me: (I wonder what he’s thinking 🥰😍)
Him: “Do you ever think about what life would be like without thumbs.”
It's confusing when people tell me, "you should come work for me" or "what would it take to get you here?"
I'm flattered...but then annoyed because...I run a successful business and employ people.
So the answer is: you can buy me out for 100 million dollars.
"But Penny, how do you know what you're talking about??? You're younger than my kids!"
Because I'm smart. And perhaps your kids are not at my level. Next question.
-Well how else would we launch ;) ❤️ my partners, so thankful
-Grizzled vets C, B, D & I are all arnd the same age
-There was no "landing" of my position
-Not a blogger bt sounds cool
-Faced many obstacles, none stopped me
-Team joined us last year in 1st q of launch with 200m
30 yrs from now you won’t regret missing the Zooms, the conf calls, the meetings. You’ll regret missing the weddings, the trips, the family, the memories.
Thanks to the best team in the game for allowing me to have these precious moments. 🇬🇷🏛️🏺🧿
Being exceptional as an advisor > "having social media" as it relates to growing a business. Stop worrying about how to start a podcast or tiktok if you're not exceling at:
- anticipating client needs consistently
- making clients' lives easier
- being their go-to phone call
She loved being fussed over. Loved her hair being brushed back. She pretended she hated attention but secretly loved it. She was beyond hilarious. Made us take 1000s of pics of her for laughs. The center of every party and dinner. Of our world. Miss her every damn day. Penny Sr.
So proud of my hubby to be for celebrating 1 year with his newest restaurant Baraki (conveniently located next to his original!)
For the anniversary he surprised me with this!! The newest drink on the menu: The Pretty Penny ❤️❤️❤️
The boldest people in the world are those who ask if they can schedule time to pick your brain ... and then send you their Calendly link for you to find time on their calendar.
When I was a kid I always wanted to be able to walk down a flight of stairs and have breakfast in a beautiful kitchen in the morning, the way they do in the movies. It’s goin down tomorrow morn!!!!
If you still need to be told that you should engage your client's wife in your planning conversations, please retire.
I'm tired of firms putting out "groundbreaking" research on "what women want" and pretending like they're helping the industry change.
Why do we teach advisors to answer the question, "What do you do?" with bizarre language like, "I serve as the personal CFO for wealthy families in xyz town."
No one speaks in riddles in real life.
It's OKAY to say, "I'm a financial advisor."
Happy Greek Independence Day to all my people. Nothing I ever experience will top Augusts in greece, in the village, with the whole fam, dancing all night. Miss you yiayia. She loved today. (But she loved July 4th more.) 🇬🇷🇺🇸
You are capable of more than you think you are, every single time.. DESPITE your struggles and alongside your struggles. Hardest part is seeking help which can be daunting. Ask a friend to help and do research for you.. I’m happy to do that for any1 who needs it ❤️
If any1 tells you running a biz is easy or that you get lots of flexibility & your life gets easier, they are lying.
U have to be willing to not be liked daily, make decisions that are not popular, b ok being wrong, b ok functioning under stress for indefinite periods of time.
Don't worry about having the right CRM, email sequence, etc. Just be ACTIVE. Call people who know & love you, email ppl in your network, etc. You'll feel good (dopamine) & your activity will start to multiply.
(If you have NO TIME to do even this .. time for a strategic move.)
If I go to a business lunch and order a salad it is literally only because the other person ordered a salad. I never want the salad. I feel like I need people to know this.
So many webinars about the “future of fintech” & how exciting it is. 0% are discussing the basic problems that we haven’t yet solved for individual advisors esp at custodial level: acct opening, docusign, reporting. Please come back down to earth & refocus on present issues.
“Yes, not every RIA is the same and advisors sometimes get “sold” on a firm and then realize what they really wanted was ownership over their book, not ownership over running the biz.” - Me to Magic
At my most stressed, I think about my grandparents, who fought against communism in the 40's in Sparta, Greece; hiding in the mountains after their house was burned down & in laws were killed--no shoes, no food, nothing. Literally fighting for their lives and freedom.
Convos w my dad re: work ALWAYS somehow turn into the scene from 300 where Leonidas is rallying army.
"Dad gtg I have a work call"
"Be ruthless. Giv em hell. Dont take shit from no1. they take 1 eye, take both of theirs."
"Dad wat the hell ru talking about. Its a conf call."
Goodnight to everyone except people who fall asleep within a minute of their heads hitting their pillow. I’ll likely be remembering something snippy I may or may not have said to someone in the 2nd grade, at about 1am sharp.
Nominated for Innovator of the Year.
Some scoff at these awards. I CLDNT BE MORE PROUD of our team for blding a name for JSW & growing in a sea of BIG FIRMS w BIG BACKING and BIG CONNECTIONS.
We are structured to intentionally solve problems other firms pretend to solve for:
When she was 16, Julia Stewart started working as a waitress at IHOP. Through hard work, she eventually became President of Applebee's.
When Applebee's passed her over for the job of CEO, she returned to IHOP where she became CEO.
Six years later, she bought Applebee's.
Changed car insurance. New co asked if I wanted special device that tracks “good driving behavior” like driving under speed limit and not breaking hard so I could potentially get discounts LMFAOOO um I’ll pass. Y’all don’t need to know how I drive
1 year ago today.
We had Thanksgiving on Siesta Key - the same beach where our love story began
Even though Ryan was battling cancer, we NEVER imagined he'd be gone just a year later
I remember around this time creating an estate plan -"just in case"
I'm SO thankful we did
Why were we learning about how to measure the circumference of a pizza pie in school, instead of how to .. um, oh I don't know... learn things we'll actually end up
doing like:
write a check,
build credit,
save money,
set goals,
budget?
This business is such a grind. If you do not like getting punched in the face every day & seeing how fast you can get back up.. this business is not for you.
Happy Easter week for all my orthodox peeps. When I was younger my parents were strict about Holy Week. I couldn’t wait for the day when I could “do whatever I wanted.”
Alas, I now can …& I still show up for all (most) of our traditions. 🐟⛪️🥚
Welcome to our awesome intern Ronel Bruce! She hopes to become a financial advisor one day, majoring in Finance currently at Stockton U. Can y’all go connect with her on LinkedIn !? We are trying to build her network!!
If youre launching a biz w a partner, even if its your bff, have an operating agreement. There are ALWAYS issues ($). Most stem from 1) not being on same page about vision, 2) having different lifestyles, 3) one person contributing more & feeling resentful.