Making Money In The Skilled Trades

In this episode of the Sparky Life podcast, host Lia Lamela and guest Jennifer Rogers Markwell, a wealth advisor, discuss the importance of financial education for skilled tradespeople. They address the lack of financial knowledge among tradespeople and the potential pitfalls of this, such as making poor financial decisions. Jennifer emphasizes that financial advising is accessible to everyone, regardless of income, and promotes the services offered by her firm, Platinum Wealth Management. 

Connect with our guest Jennifer's Links:
https://www.instagram.com/platinumtalkswealth/?ref=10&hl=en
https://www.platinumwealth.net/our-mission
Connect with us: @sparkylifeoflia

Sparky Life Supports: Raya Kenney's Foundation Women Who Worked on the Home Front Memorial

Be a part of history!
National Memorial to the Women Who Worked on the Home Front Foundation

Here's Raya and a little about her memorial
Congress approves Women Who Worked on the Home Front Memorial

Here's the link to donate.
https://marnie-kenney-sfg2.squarespace.com/checkout/donate?donatePageId=63d1d506217f9e44111ecfea

Apply for Skilled Trades the Mike Rowe Scholarship:
https://www.mikeroweworks.org/scholarship/
"We recognize a good education doesn’t always require a four-year degree.”

We support financial advancement for the skilled trades community.  You can reach out to Jennifer Markwell at Platinum Wealth email Jennifer@PlatinumWealth.net 

website www.PlatinumWealth.net

Music by https://www.purple-planet.com

Transcript

Lia Lamela (00:00:00) - Welcome to the Sparky Life podcast. I'm your host, Lia Lamela, and here we create the spark in our lives. Join me on this electrical journey where I highlight skilled trade tales and construction career opportunities with those I've met along the way. Thank you for joining. For trade tales continued. On the Spark Life. Today's guest is here to talk about one of my favorite topics money. Jennifer Rogers Markwell is a wealth advisor. I know many of you know, as tradesmen and women, we typically find ourselves with no financial education. Boom! You get that journeyman salary and wow, you just think the money's going to keep on coming in. I can't tell you how many times I have seen and myself, as an apprentice, went out and bought that big, beautiful truck you've been dying to get your hands on. As soon as that journeyman salary came in, only then to discover, whoops, he didn't manage that salary income very well. Or you thought it was enough and it wasn't enough. Or that big job you just got decided to shut down.

Lia Lamela (00:01:22) - Jennifer will not lead us astray. She is an Emmy nominated journalist whose podcast Platinum Talks Wealth is ranked in the top 3% globally. I highly recommend you check out her podcast as president of Platinum Wealth Management. Her and her team offer personalized hands on service, and Jennifer explains, financial advising doesn't have to be expensive and unattainable. For those of us without a six figure income, it is critical for skilled trades men and women to be knowledgeable on how to make our money work for us, especially because so many of us have no financial education. Jennifer shares the first steps to financial freedom, and you'd be shocked to find out what she recommends. So I welcome you to join Jennifer and I as we discuss wealth management. Hey, Jennifer. Good morning. How are you? Good. Welcome, welcome. Thank you. I was so looking forward to this. Yes. Me too. Me too. I just did your intro and I'm like, ooh, we got such goodies in store. I just know it now, Jennifer, it is so common in skilled trades, especially the electricians.

Lia Lamela (00:02:43) - When the apprentices start to make actual income, immediately we see them go and get a brand new truck. Electricians make six figures on average. However, I can't say that all of them really utilize this to their advantage and I find myself included and financially ignorant. That's how I would put it. So I love your podcast. I love yours as well. It's fantastic. Platinum talks wealth guys. I highly recommend you check it out. If you want knowledge about how to make your money work for you and get to a place of financial freedom, and I now currently believe everyone is completely capable of depending on what you want your lifestyle to be and what you're looking for.

Jennifer Markwell (00:03:37) - I think a big thing on that too, and I think you're touching on so many important points, is there's a seat for everyone at the table. And I think that's such a misnomer because people are like, well, I don't have millions, right? I don't have this. I can't get a financial advisor, I can't talk to anybody about finance because I don't have anything to talk to them about.

Jennifer Markwell (00:03:54) - Right. In essence. But I think that that's where the whole financial literacy is gotten better. It's not where it needs to be. And I would say no one's ignorant. I wouldn't use that word because I feel like you haven't been put on the path or talk to the right people to embrace you and to remind you absolutely. You have a seat at the table as well. So that's one thing with my team to we really want to share with everyone. We're honored to help you. Right. If you're starting out and you're like, hey, I've got $1,000, I don't know what to do. I don't know how to navigate this. How do I even get to track? Well, you worked hard for that thousand dollars, right? Like you have to start somewhere to get to the point where you have millions. I mean, we've got clients across the board from many different aspects in life where they're starting out, starting over, or they're coming to the table with quite large sums of money, right, with lots of commas in them.

Jennifer Markwell (00:04:44) - Right. However, everyone's dollar is so important and so valid because we're honored to work with you. Have that conversation with you. And in essence, if you're getting on track, like get yourself on track and know that you have a seat at the table and you are just as important as anyone else.

Lia Lamela (00:04:59) - Definitely. So that being said, I want to talk about different types of scenarios to just kind of help my fellow trainees get their foot in the door, have a beginning, and put them on the right path. Obviously, finance is complex. If it wasn't complex, we'd all, like instantly get it right. It's not for the finger, but there's many different facets. There's financial background and advising for debt. There's financial advising for somebody who exactly like starting from ground zero, the thousand bucks in the bank account, paycheck to paycheck, and financial advising for someone who's making six figures, you know, upper middle class but doesn't know what to do with it, it's just kind of saving, which I have recently learned.

Lia Lamela (00:05:51) - I'm air quoting isn't necessarily in your best interest to just put it in a savings account, at least in the present 2023. And Jennifer, you're the expert. So correct me if I'm wrong here.

Jennifer Markwell (00:06:08) - No, I think that, you know, this is where it becomes very individualized, right? It's not a blanket like you're this age. You should be doing X, Y and Z. Your portfolio should look x, y, and Z. It's really about you and the individual and having that individualized conversation and saying, hey, like, here's my goals. I want to maybe retire at this point, or I want to buy a house or whatever that looks like, right? Having that conversation based on what your personal goals are and then building that plan around you. So love that. It may be, in essence, that you're like, hey, I need this money. And, you know, six months or maybe three months. Well, that's your emergency money. Air quotes. Again, I feel like with, you know, emergency money, like you need to have that ready to go, not tied to anything and it needs to be liquid for you.

Jennifer Markwell (00:06:54) - So that's a different conversation than somebody that's like, hey, I'm not going to retire for ten years, 20 years, whatever. I want it to grow on the sidelines and do its thing so I can have it in retirement. Totally different scenarios, totally different conversations, and they all fit under that umbrella, like you were saying, under having those financial talks, that financial literacy, that, you know, meeting with somebody and saying, hey, here's kind of what I want to do, what's my roadmap? And can you help me build that roadmap so I can get on track? You're so right. I mean, there's folks that are like, I'm starting out, starting over. There's folks that have multiple commas in what they have, which is, you know, great across the board, but it's having that initial conversation going back to what are my goals, right. What are my goals? And that's individualized to that person very specifically.

Lia Lamela (00:07:38) - Excellent point. Excellent point okay. This is very personal and dear to my heart.

Lia Lamela (00:07:44) - And I'm someone who is familiar with getting everything wiped out and having to start from ground zero paycheck to paycheck. And when I was younger and inexperienced, I was one of those people who said, why can't poor people learn how to save? And, you know, you just got to work hard. And now I truly understand the phrase you cannot save your way out of poverty. I get it, I really get it. And I'm actually grateful for the experience because it totally opened my mind and helped my education. Regarding finance. Now, when you try to do research online for yourself and educate yourself, you don't have a support system or mentor or access to a financial advisor. You get many different opinions. I've been told in a scenario where you know, I'm living paycheck to paycheck, I'm trying to get back. I'm in a massive amounts of debt. Don't be going to Starbucks. Tighten down. You know, really focus in on clearing your debt. And saving now. Is that a good approach for someone in that scenario? Are there other approaches? Maybe one is not better than the other.

Lia Lamela (00:09:04) - Okay, I'm seeing a shaking of a yes.

Jennifer Markwell (00:09:07) - Where we got I feel like a bobblehead here.

Lia Lamela (00:09:08) - I'm like yes, yes, no, no.

Jennifer Markwell (00:09:11) - So I yeah, that's a great, great comment too, because that's frustrating for me. In essence. Right. When people are like googling, you know, who you're listening to. It could be some rando living in his mom's basement. Again, not judging if that's your jam, right? Like right. And giving financial advice at the end of the day, are they licensed? No, a lot of them are not I'm not. A lot of them are not licensed. They don't have background in finance. They're not doing what I'm doing. Right. Like that's what's frustrating. And they're giving advice. So realistically go to somebody that's licensed. Right. If you have a one off question I'm more than happy to field those. Right? I want to make sure that you are going in the right direction. That's advice. That's important. Solid standard advice, not some rando in the, you know, clouds.

Jennifer Markwell (00:09:57) - That's just saying whatever to make money on a book or a newsletter or whatever. Right. And again, no judgment there. But if you're not living in the land, walking the walk, have the licenses. I mean, like electricians, right? I don't want my neighbor who alleges he's a fantastic with electricity to be doing anything in my house. Right. Same thing. Like you want to go to somebody that knows what they're doing. And we tease on this too, because somebody will say, hey, yeah, my my brother, he said that I should do blah blah blah. I'm like, oh, okay, well what's your brother do? He's a plumber. Yeah, fantastic. Well, I'm sure he's amazing at being a plumber, but he is not a financial advisor and he's not licensed. Right. So there's literally so much training and continuing education that we go through to be able to help support and again, learning, learning, learning always across the board. So not to get all fired up on that, but clearly I'm all fired up.

Lia Lamela (00:10:50) - Right? I love it I love it, the passion is there.

Jennifer Markwell (00:10:56) - Oh yeah. Oh yeah. But I feel like it leans into like make sure you know who you're talking to before you believe that is true.

Lia Lamela (00:11:03) - Right. So what are some tangible first steps like let's say I'm in the scenario, I am broke paycheck to paycheck. I can't seem to get a handle. What would be a first step? I don't have access yet to someone of your background.

Jennifer Markwell (00:11:25) - What you do, but you do. So I'm going to correct you right now. Yes.

Lia Lamela (00:11:28) - So here we go.

Jennifer Markwell (00:11:30) - We we want to help on every facet. Right. Like I got into this not to be like the girl on Wall Street. Right. That was not my not my thing. Like, I got into this to help my grandma, I.

Lia Lamela (00:11:40) - Know.

Jennifer Markwell (00:11:40) - And to help her educate, like, what was going on. My background's television. I worked in TV for almost 20 years. I'm Emmy nominated. Like I thought I was always going to live in TV until my grandpa passed away and we were like, oh my gosh, he was the backbone and the guy in our family and I could actually say this sometimes without crying.

Jennifer Markwell (00:11:57) - But like such an important role in my world and my grandma's like, what just happened? And so we at that point we're trying to pick up the pieces. And they didn't have a lot, but what they had was spread around everywhere. So we found ourselves going in front of banks and different institutions. And again, like I said, they didn't have a lot, but it was spread around all over the place, and we sat in front of different advisors and different financial folks and never had that warm, fuzzy feeling that they cared or wanted to do what was in my grandma's best interest. And she was like, if we're going through this, imagine how many other women are going through this and said, I'll learn everything I can. And here I am, you know, 14, 15 years later in finance. So I come from a different world on this of sitting on the other side of the chair, not knowing and trying to educate and help my grandma, and now helping other women and other people across the board make sense of investing.

Jennifer Markwell (00:12:43) - So when it comes to it, I think the educational side is so important. And again, for us, like we teach classes of like, hey, here's finance 101, here's kind of the overview of things. Are you in debt like what does that look like? Let's talk through that. I also have a very dear friend that she's basically a debt counselor. We tease with her like she's her favorite thing in the world is budgets.

Lia Lamela (00:13:07) - And we're like, what's like, what do you mean.

Jennifer Markwell (00:13:10) - That your favorite, like favorite thing? And she's a fantastic human being. But again, as we're doing kind of a one on one virtual class so anybody anywhere can join and it's there's no charge for that. Get yourself out there, get some financial literacy. It's fantastic. I'm kind of nerding out on it because I love it so much. And then once we can get you on that track where you're doing the right things and you're out of debt and you're ready, then you're ready. And then we have a different conversation at that point, too.

Jennifer Markwell (00:13:34) - So if I can't help you, there's absolutely people that can point you in that direction to my team. I have folks that are teaching one on one classes of like, hey, here's kind of the overview, here's what accounts are. Here's how you would lead up to that point. Are you in massive debt and do you need help? Well, we have somebody to be able to point you to and say, hey, let's get you on track. That way. Once you've done that, then you come back. To us and we can help you from there. So we're here to help in any aspect that you need us.

Lia Lamela (00:14:01) - Jennifer, you just blew my mind, okay? And I have to tell you, you broke through a prejudice that I didn't realize that I have. So immediately, I think expert, financial advisor. Expensive. Expensive. Expensive. Like, wow. Out of my range, I don't have. I couldn't possibly have access. Right? You just opened my eyes. I didn't even know that this was accessible.

Lia Lamela (00:14:30) - And it also warms my heart of your position because let's face it, a lot of the people that need this guidance aren't with those several commas, okay?

Jennifer Markwell (00:14:44) - And it's such an honor. That's and again, not to say anything disparaging about anybody by any means who's in this field, but there are absolutely certainly folks who are like, I will only help you and you hear the commercials. I'll only help you if you have over half a million. I'll only help you if you have more than 5 million, right? There's definitely thresholds for different people in this industry. For us, we are relationship based. If there's a good relationship and we can communicate well, I look at it as a long term relationship. My team, ironically, we just came back from a conference and some of the girls on my team were like, you know, that person over there said they'll only help people if they hit this, this threshold. And they said, well, how do people get to any thresholds if no one's going to help them? And it was one of those things definitely for them it was light bulbs.

Jennifer Markwell (00:15:30) - And they're like, that's why we do what we do. And I said, absolutely. And it's one of those moments where you almost want to cry because you're like, what an honor, right? To help people get on track to get to where they need to be for their goals. Like, what an honor.

Lia Lamela (00:15:43) - Yes, yes. Oh my gosh, I love it. I absolutely love it. So there are online workshops. There are classes, so to speak, that are accessible. If you're not in a position to throw down cash right away. Absolutely.

Jennifer Markwell (00:16:00) - So I host a monthly what's called the virtual coffee chat because we have clients throughout the US. There's folks everywhere, right. And so to have the tangible like, let's have coffee together in person isn't always realistic because people are spread everywhere, right? Doesn't fit in someone's schedule. And can they leave their job at that moment? Many times they can't. So we do virtual coffee chats once a month on different educational topics. We've talked about everything from the market, the market volatility.

Jennifer Markwell (00:16:27) - What are the feds doing with raising rates? What's that all about? Do they know what they're doing. Like really talking through these we'll bring in also different experts from different fields. So for example we have one that's coming up on Medicare. Medicare is confusing. Most people are like what what do you mean there's all these different parts. How do I navigate that? So that's one topic Social Security. How does Social Security work? There's all these different times to take it. Like what does that mean. And for some folks they'll say does it match with a pension. Like are you union. Are you not? Do you have a pension as a work? Like there's so many different elements to financial education that we want to keep that door open and have those conversations as one was even having, you know, when you talk about kind of big picture, do you have beneficiaries behind your accounts? Are you sure that you're covered in case something happens to you? We talk about wills and trusts and all the things anything finance we will talk about.

Lia Lamela (00:17:17) - Okay. And what about? Because then the skilled trades, craftsmen and crafts women who do get a handle or do have access to support, or maybe they have an innate ability to kind of navigate finances. They get themselves into a position where one of the most powerful things about this career is being your own boss, creating your own business. Now, that can get even trickier. Is that something that you discuss?

Jennifer Markwell (00:17:46) - Yeah for sure. So ironically, Platinum Wealth Management is my business. It's my team. It's mine. So I get the nuances of having a business and having to navigate. And what does that look like? And are you setting up retirement accounts for yourself and your team? Are you a prop like what does this look like? So absolutely. And that's a facet of really having that financial conversation to.

Lia Lamela (00:18:06) - Wow, okay. So where do I go where how do I how do I access this I need to find it. Please do. So yeah.

Jennifer Markwell (00:18:14) - Feel free to come to our website.

Jennifer Markwell (00:18:16) - It's platinum wealth dot net. So platinum wealth net. From there there's sections where contact us. Feel free to put your information in and say, hey, here's what I'm looking for. Here's what I'd like to do. There's also a blog section, right, that has different blog items of what events are coming up with us, what virtual coffee chats. Like I said, my team, we're actually starting starting next week and we'll be doing this every month. They will be teaching a class basically on, you know, financial piece, really kind of the overview of like, what are accounts, what's that like, what's what, what's the basics? Right. Those are all complimentary. Right? We're here to teach. We're here to educate as well. And if that's one way we can get you on track and whether you choose to work with us or not, like, let's get you on track and then you can go in the direction when you're ready and work with whoever when you're ready, just make.

Jennifer Markwell (00:19:01) - Or that they're licensed, make sure that they're licensed. That would be my my biggest concern for you. Somebody that you can communicate with. Well, that, you know, you can have a long term relationship. One thing I say to I'm like, I'm not here for a year for you. I want to be here for you indefinitely. I want this to be a long relationship where you call me and say, hey, here's what's going on, or I change jobs, or I'm starting something different in my company. Can we talk it through? Yes, yes, I'm here for all of that.

Lia Lamela (00:19:26) - That's fantastic. I feel the universe works in amazing, magical ways. This couldn't have come at a better time. Oh, I am so excited! I am 100% signing up and jumping into that website and just totally examining everything you've got. I didn't know how much I was missing out on. Like you just you get certain things stuck in your head from past beliefs and past experiences. And even though I know it's so important to keep open mind and not to hold on to old habits or old thoughts, it's so easy to slip back into it.

Jennifer Markwell (00:20:10) - Well, you hear the stereotypical definitions of things, right? And I think that that's been so ingrained for I think every industry. Right. Really? Yes. And you think that that's how it is and that's not that's not granted, there are people that fit in that box for sure, but there's lots of folks who are on the outside saying, hey, let's do this, let's do this differently. Let's really support each other. Like one thing I was talking to my team about when we were just at this conference. I said, you know, my team's all women. I love all of them. They all work their tails off. They care so much. Their hearts are in the right place. And they said, you know, as we start growing thoughtfully at Platinum Wealth, right. We want to make sure that we're lifting each other just like we do with clients. Right? So our job is to lift the person behind us, and then we want them to be able to lift as well.

Jennifer Markwell (00:20:55) - So if we can all do that for each other, I mean, not to sound like very kumbaya, but think of how the world will be a better place. You know, if they're all supporting each other and all what wants, you know, our wants or what's in everyone's best interest to be able to support and really help each other. Truly. How fantastic.

Lia Lamela (00:21:12) - No, 100%. And that's something that we are passionate about at Spark Life, that type of leadership, that type of business structure. We want to build into the construction culture because unfortunately, a lot of the construction culture does not have that mindset. And I think that that trickles into how come you have these careers that make substantial income. But the people generally, more often than not, are living paycheck to paycheck or have a lot of debt and can't seem to get on track financially to a place where they feel good.

Jennifer Markwell (00:21:56) - Yeah, well, money's different though, too, right? There's a psychological element behind money that I think people tie into.

Jennifer Markwell (00:22:03) - That's one thing that we talk about on my podcast, and I found that as a common thread with people across the board, like when I was talking to clients or folks that were thinking about working with us, I was hearing it over and over again, but different stories. So it was that money memory, like, what was that money memory? And again, you don't have to say it out loud by any means or anyone who's listening. Think about it too, right? The money memory that you had as a child or a younger person that really helped mold your relationship to money as an adult. And when you think back on that, it's kind of like one of those things that you're like, oh my gosh, like for me, grandparents raised me right. So their thing was like making sure food was on the table. They were depression kids. So they had like cabinets of canned food, like, I mean, all kinds, hundreds of cans because they were like people not go hungry.

Jennifer Markwell (00:22:47) - Right. And remember, I remember going there and when I was little, that was just a thing. I never questioned it and got a little bit older and I was like, hey guys, some of these cans are like from like the 70s and 80s, like, this is not okay. Like we've got to get rid of like this canned corn that's bloated. And I teased them. And again, my grandparents were the best human beings ever. Like, I owe them everything in my world. The thing with them is they were so mad at me because I was like, no, we have to throw these out. If you guys are going to go out of the world, you're going to go out for a good reason. Not because you ate a bloated can of corn. That was from 1979, like, really. And so I remember putting all of these in like a garbage bag and getting rid of them. They were so pissed at me. They were so mad because in their mind, they were like, that's food that you're getting rid of.

Jennifer Markwell (00:23:31) - I'm like, but that's food that could have botulism or something else. Who knows? Right? So I'm like, I will replace every canned that I get rid of for you and fill this back up. Right. And again, for them it was like food on the table, food on the table. And I always think back on that. And that's where I come from too. So it's interesting like everybody has their own money memory and and it's not for me coming from scarcity per se, but it's coming from like helping each other, having food on the table, being able to have those options, to be able to live your best life and really take care of others around you. And so for me, that's my deep money memory that I immediately go to when I think about it. And it's normally something that will immediately pop in your head. It's not something you've got to think too hard about. Um, I have one gentleman. He actually he's a host for HGTV, and he his, my memory was when he was younger, he had a lemonade stand.

Jennifer Markwell (00:24:23) - Mean, like little like less than five years old, like little lemonade stand. And he. And this was back, like, gosh, probably 40 years ago. And he's like, I charge $5 a cup for my lemonade. And I was like, what? That's a ton of money back 40 years ago. $5 a cup. He's like, why don't mess around. He's like, I had the lemons. I had the good sugar. He's like, and I gave them a song and a dance and he's like, and I know my worth. And I was like.

Lia Lamela (00:24:45) - Oh, wow.

Jennifer Markwell (00:24:47) - Whoa. Like at five, like, what a mean. That's amazing and crazy. But that's his memory, right? Other people have different ones where they're scraping for change in their couch to be able to get hot school lunch. I mean, I've heard all the things, but that is a thread that I think ties us all together, because psychologically that impacts how you think about money as an adult.

Jennifer Markwell (00:25:08) - I mean, you can change the narrative. But that always pops up.

Lia Lamela (00:25:12) - Oh for sure. So I listen to your podcast. That's how I really became familiar with what you did. I did not investigate further, which I should have because I had no clue you had all these other opportunities lying on the website with these workshops and things. So I started to think about my money mindset and immediately me, it's I remember my father never being around, working really, really hard. And that's why we have nice things, like almost this game of ketchup and not enough, not enough. I got to work really, really, really hard. And then if you're lucky at the end, you'll have enough. So I kind of got stuck in this mind of it's a treadmill. Like, it's just it's a continuous fight. And that's I have learned not necessarily true now.

Jennifer Markwell (00:26:09) - And you can change that narrative, right. Did that maybe make you who you are? To an extent? Absolutely. Right. But you can change I mean, you have the power to change that mindset and that narrative and get yourself on a track that better serves you.

Lia Lamela (00:26:21) - Yes, yes. What tool is in your tool belt? What are some tips and tricks? Or the number one tool you always carry with you regarding financials?

Speaker 3 (00:26:32) - Oh, that's a good question.

Jennifer Markwell (00:26:36) - I would say, you know, just being able to have those conversations, I feel like communication is key. I really do, and I think that's key really in any industry. But I think it's really key of talking again with anyone and just saying, hey, what are your goals? Let's talk through that. That's really take that time and navigate through that, because that opens the door for that individual to have that moment where they're like, wow, this is what I want to do. And this is my goal. And it's so individually based. But to have that conversation, I think really starts creating the foundation to be able to achieve your goals. So I think it's really I think communication is so, so important, so important.

Lia Lamela (00:27:14) - I'm shocked that the tool is communication. I'm getting the sense that you're giving me the message.

Lia Lamela (00:27:21) - It's very individualized. And so seeking people who specialize in this type of work and asking questions, getting down to what your goals are is really the path that needs to be taken. There's not necessarily this like, oh, don't go to Starbucks every morning thing. This like generalized rule. It's very specific to the person and their path and what they're looking for.

Jennifer Markwell (00:27:53) - For sure. For sure. I think probably another thing I would suggest to. So really your individual path is different than anyone else's. Your goals are not going to be the same as the person on the street, or the plumber who's giving financial advice, right? So your your goals are so different just for you that even people in your family. Right. And what are your goals or your goals. And that's kind of the magic behind it. One thing I would share too, is in this industry, right? There's one thing called proprietary product that means that if you are working for a specific company, some companies will say, oh, this is the only thing that we can offer.

Jennifer Markwell (00:28:29) - And it's, you know, stuff that we have internally. Okay. Think about like, do you want to? And again, nothing wrong with that if that's where you want to go. But just know what that is. Know that that's the gamut that they could share. Okay. In my in my mind I have no proprietary product. Right. We can do whatever's best for you across the board. No one's telling me you have to sell X, Y, and Z, which for me is hugely important because that way the client always, always comes first, which should be the case anyways. Right now there's absolutely no question at all because again, it's what's the best for you. What makes the most sense for you?

Lia Lamela (00:29:05) - See, I didn't know the definition for that action, but I have come across that in my search of understanding and how to access a financial advisor, I have come across that behavior or aspect before. And it was a turnoff. It was a turnoff. So I'm pleasantly surprised that this isn't something that is linked through every financial advisor.

Jennifer Markwell (00:29:30) - It's not. It's different. And I feel like this is where it just comes from. Just being a different individual, right? Like I feel like again, on on the financial advisor side or wealth manager, I mean, there's 500 different names that you can call us in essence. Um. How that person does business like. I feel like with certain individuals, some are fine with like a hard sell, right? For me, I think that's gross, right? Like, have a conversation, see if you're a fit. Like if you are a fantastic. But there's no hard selling like my team. We don't hard sell like we want to make sure that we know you. What are your goals? Let's talk it through and let's see if it makes sense. And here's some suggestions potentially for solutions to get you to where you need to be. I'm not here to hard sell or corner anybody, and there's so many movies really about this industry too, about like, oh yeah, you got to sell this and you got to do this and you got to like, no, that's gross.

Jennifer Markwell (00:30:20) - Like, for me, again, that's your jam. That's your jam. But no, no. Have the conversation. I think it always goes back to that.

Lia Lamela (00:30:27) - Yes. Wow okay. So many many of golden nuggets in this and so much new information that I had no idea I didn't know. But that's what is so interesting. It's like if you don't know, you don't know what to ask, right? You're a product of your environment and experiences and. That can be limiting. The best way I find to break out of that is by having as many different experiences and reaching out to as many different people, cultures and backgrounds as you can in order to keep your mind open and available to many different aspects.

Jennifer Markwell (00:31:14) - Interestingly that you say that. So what resonates with me? Lots of things do, clearly, but I think the initial thing that pops to my head is like news, right? So my background is news. I watch news now and my husband is like, you are the worst human being to watch news with because I'm yelling at the TV.

Jennifer Markwell (00:31:28) - I'm like, I love that you wrote that right? There's such a political swing there, and I don't care what your political background is. I'm going off on a tangent, but truly, like, I don't care what you believe, but as a journalist, your job is to present the facts, right, not put your opinion in the mix. So what you had said is kind of like, look around, make sure that you're looking at different platforms. Same thing for news. Don't live in one station. Look around, see who's reporting what. See how they're swinging different things like look across the board. Like. And that way you can educate yourself and figure out what nuggets resonate with you and you can navigate it that way.

Lia Lamela (00:32:02) - Okay, Jennifer, you need to tell us again where to find you. I'm like, I can't wait. I'm so very serious. I'm going to be like stalking you now. Oh please do, please do in a job. I'm in, I'm in.

Jennifer Markwell (00:32:17) - Fantastic.

Jennifer Markwell (00:32:18) - No, seriously. And if we can help in any way. Of course. But there's plenty of free resources that we provide on the financial literacy side of things. So, yeah, if anybody wants to join, send me over. Just a message. Go to my websites. Platinum wealth Dot net. So platinum wealth dot net. And then there's a little contact section. Put your stuff in and just say, hey, I really want to lean into some of these workshops and webinars that you have. And coffee chats. If you go to the blog slash events section, you'll normally see those pop in and just say, hey, here's our next thing coming up. We do have that financial piece, kind of 101 series that starts next week, but we'll be doing those every month. That's so great. Whatever fits for your schedule, we'd love to help where we can.

Lia Lamela (00:32:58) - And do you have like a newsletter or a way of signing up with my email address? Because I know we're so inundated I'll want to attend and then I forget or something comes up and I'm like, Nike's.

Jennifer Markwell (00:33:11) - So yes, yes. So we try not to blow people up with email. I feel like in this day and age, like, good Lord, I get so many emails every day and I'm like, whoa, hey, like, that's really aggressive. Appreciated. Try not to blow people up. We will send out invites for the coffee chat, like the week of and the week before. Just saying, hey, we've got this going on. If you're interested, let us know. We'll send you the login instructions. So we do that. That's one of the emails we send out. I try to send out market updates generally once a month, saying, what the heck is happening in the world because it's wonky, and if you're watching TV, maybe, you know, maybe you don't know because it's sensationalized every station. So I feel like giving a kind of consensus of like, here's kind of the top bullet points of what's going on, and let's talk it through a few of questions. So yes, feel free.

Jennifer Markwell (00:33:55) - You can get on the email list once you go to the website as well. And then again, if you have any questions, reach out. We're more than happy to field anything and support in any way that we can.

Lia Lamela (00:34:04) - Oh thank you. Thank you so much for coming on the Sparky life. And doing this with me is just amazing. Inspiring. Mind blown.

Jennifer Markwell (00:34:13) - Now, I was so excited to talk to you because you and I, I feel like I've been following your journey for a while too, and it's fascinating. And I always like loving on what you're doing, because I think you're doing such a tremendous job and I'm just so proud of you. I'm so proud of you for that. And I know when we chatted before, you're like, people don't get finance in my industry. I'm like, let me know. However, I can help too, just because. And one thing too. So AGC, which I'm sure a lot of you are members of Association of General Contractors, it's a non-profit organization throughout the United States for, you know, gosh, anybody in the construction field to kind of lean into platinum wealth is a proud member of AGC.

Jennifer Markwell (00:34:49) - Oh, so we do have we do have a lot of contractors that we support their businesses on many different aspects. So so we get it. My husband is also an engineer as well. He wears many hats, but that's one of the hats that he wears. So I get the industry and I feel like the people that you really kind of help through the podcast are the salt of the earth human beings, so truly amazing, fantastic human beings. And I feel like if I can help in any way, what an honor. What an honor. Gosh, best people of the world.

Lia Lamela (00:35:21) - Thank you. Jennifer, you're so sweet. Thank you. Thank you for joining us. If you felt a spark in today's episode, I.

Speaker 4 (00:35:29) - Invite you to write a review. I'd love to hear what lit you up, take what resonates with you, and if you'd like to hear more of the Spark Life, please subscribe, like, follow and share. Until next time, create sparks in your life.