Today we’d like to introduce you to Deanna Larue.
Hi Deanna, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
When I graduated college, one of my finance professors chose me for a full time paid internship as a Financial Planner’s assistant. About 8 months into this job, I recognized that I wanted to be the Financial Planner. So my journey began! I started my firm, TimeWise Financial, when I was 24 years old and just celebrated my 20 year anniversary.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has had its ups and downs. At first my obstacles were that I was a young woman in a male dominated industry. So I would often be met with resistance from prospects when I would first meet them. They wanted to know my experience since I wasn’t a male with gray hair and was very young. I learned how to combat these obstacles, but they were quickly followed by more. At the time I was a one woman show with no employees which meant when I got pregnant with my 1st child, I didn’t have anyone to delegate tasks or client meetings to, so I would nap with my big belly on my office floor in between client meetings. And then fast forward being a working mom of two, a wife, a daughter and a friend- I was quickly becoming overwhelmed. I have since grown into a team of 9 which helps with the delegation of tasks, but creates it’s own set of struggles when learning how to be an effective leader.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Since starting TimeWise I now have 3 official partners who have bought into the practice. Having vested partners versus just employees has been a game changer for my work life balance. They naturally take more ownership with skin in the game. I worked with each of my employees to take personality tests, learn about their strengths, and learn about their passions. From my work with the employees and Financial Advisors, I was able to create a work culture and team that is truly solid and act more as a family together. I then helped each advisor determine what I call “Passion Paths”. For example, I resonate well with the self employed female entrepreneurs and mothers and can best help these clients with their unique financial situations, business plans, and personal experience with balancing work and mom life. Another one of our advisors is a former graduate of University of California, Berkeley and was captain of the swim team. She resonates more with college athletes receiving NIL deals and not understanding the tax ramifications or what to do with that money. Each of our advisors has a specialty planning skill that can relate to those specific clients. As for the future, I have been working on making Finance fun and less intimidating. Trying to get people to be proactive with their money instead of reactive when a horrible life event could change their world. I do vision board projects via an app that I have developed that helps my clients match their money to their vision in order to set intentional savings goals. I have created The Legacy Luxe Experience, which is a binder system that organizes all of the important documents a family has. I offer Micro planning for those who are too busy to do it all at once through modules like Taxes, Wills and Trusts, Business planning, Social Security strategies, savings goals, and all of the other fun topics in finance. And lastly, I educate my passion path women through a company that I have created called Boujee Boss Lady. I chose 4 clients per year and host a photo shoot to bring these like minded women together and celebrate themselves.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
No one can do this life alone. We all need support and we should all pay it forward with the strengths that we hold. My dad has been my biggest influence. He is an entrepreneur and trained me at a very young age that anyone can own a business, it just takes self discipline and education. I was running the quickbooks and payroll for one of his companies by the time I was age 15. He also taught me that when building your team, you can train anything, but you can’t train loyalty. So loyalty is what I look for in teammates. One of my partner’s, Kate Moseley, is paramount to my success. I call her my “ride or die”. She had worked with me for 15 years now and follows my crazy ideas and supports me and the business 100%. My biggest supporter has been my husband, Mike. He doesn’t allow me to dull my sparkle so others can feel better about themselves. He is the one at the end of a long day that tells me how proud he is of me. He is a true partner with raising our kids which has allowed me to grow my business to where it is.
Pricing:
- The Legacy Luxe Experience DIY $297
- The Legacy Luxe Experience (Do it for me) $4,997
- Micro Planning Modules $99 each
- Complete Financial Confidence Class $1,497
- Invest with me (Price determine after interview)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://boujeebosslady.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boujeebossladyofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boujeebosslady
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannalarue/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BoujeeBossLady
- Other: https://www.timewisefinancialllc.com/deanna-larue
Image Credits
Alexandra Zak
