[00:19] Tara Bansal: Welcome to Her Life, Her Practice, Her Way a podcast for and about female financial advisors.

[00:28] I’m Tara Conti Bansal. I’ve been a financial planner and life coach for over 20 years,

[00:34] and I believe that when women thrive in this profession, we all win.

[00:39] This show is about sharing our journeys, our struggles, our breakthroughs, and the many ways we build a life and practice that feels true to us.

[00:50] And now I’m extending that mission. Beyond the podcast.

[00:54] I coach female advisors who want to grow a fulfilling practice and a beautiful life that they love.

[01:01] One filled with meaning, freedom, connection, and joy.

[01:06] Whether you’re just starting out, reinventing yourself, or dreaming of what’s next, you’re in the right place.

[01:13] Let’s build this together.

[01:17] Hello, this is Tara Conti Bansal and I am here with Amy Leis.

[01:23] I Every time I talk to her, she is just so fun. So I am thrilled to have her on our podcast today for her life, Her Practice, Her Way.

[01:33] I got to her through Main Street Financial Solutions and Brett Danko.

[01:39] She is with Juno Wealth.

[01:43] Amy Leis: Juno Wealth Management.

[01:45] Tara Bansal: Juno Wealth Management.

[01:46] And she is one of the. I don’t even know, I bet you could count them,

[01:52] the number of CFPs with PhDs in the country.

[01:57] She has a PhD in educational psychology,

[02:01] and I know she also does some coaching and other things, so I can’t wait to hear more about that.

[02:07] But before I get into my questions,

[02:11] Amy, tell us your story. How did you get where you are now? And I want to hear all the way back in the beginning.

[02:18] Amy Leis: Well, thank you so much, Tara. It is such a pleasure to be here.

[02:22] I did not intend to grow up and become a financial advisor,

[02:26] and so I got my PhD first.

[02:29] I thought I was going to be a professor. That was really my goal.

[02:33] And I wanted to be one of really the cool professors who sits on the desk and wears jeans when they teach.

[02:40] And I was teaching adjunct at a couple different local universities and online as well.

[02:47] And I didn’t have two nickels to rub together. I had nothing.

[02:52] And so my school loans kicked in.

[02:54] I didn’t know what to do. I called my dad. I said, dad, I think I need to move back home.

[02:59] And he said, I don’t think so. Love you, bye.

[03:03] And he said it very lovingly. I come from a very long line of entrepreneurs,

[03:08] and so in my family, we all kind of grow up and form a business.

[03:12] And so this was his way of saying, like, this is it. This is your turn now. Go do your thing.

[03:17] And so I literally took the very first job at the Very first place that hired me. And it was a financial services firm I worked in. We started in HR and then they moved training over to the sales side.

[03:31] And so I trained other financial advisors.

[03:34] I trained them in studying for their exams. We worked on practice management, we did marketing, you name it.

[03:41] I got my Series 7 back in 2008 because once again, as a fluke, someone said, well, you know, you should get your seven because it’ll build credibility with the guys.

[03:52] Because back then it was mostly men.

[03:54] And I said, okay, great, I’ll do it. I built the first training program for corporate associates to become advisors.

[04:03] Put myself through the program and never looked back. I absolutely felt fell in love with being an advisor. And I am so incredibly blessed to be here today. But if you had told me,

[04:15] oh my gosh, almost 25 years ago that I.

[04:19] That this would be my life, I would have never believed it, ever.

[04:24] And so to those people listening, I am proof that just keep saying yes to opportunities and amazing things really come your way.

[04:34] Tara Bansal: Take us back. Well, one, I just love how you took your PhD in educational psychology and used that and applied that to this material. And then it kept going from there to you becoming an advisor and just keep growing.

[04:50] But when you were little, what did little Amy love to do and want to do way back when you were like six or seven years old,

[05:00] little.

[05:00] Amy Leis: Amy loved to read.

[05:02] My favorite sport was library.

[05:06] And so I was a massive dork.

[05:10] And I used to go into the library every day at recess. Me and the librarian were besties.

[05:15] I wish I was joking. I am not. So me and the librarian were besties. And so Ms. Cooper, if you are listening to this,

[05:21] I love you and you changed my life. So thank you.

[05:25] So I really, I spent my entire just littleness growing up and reading.

[05:31] I went to undergrad at University of Miami,

[05:35] which also was a fantastic place to be down at Florida, in Florida.

[05:41] Not. I mean, I partied, but it was not the party school that everybody thought of. And even now it’s really worked. It’s just such an amazing university.

[05:49] So I really developed into myself there. I did a ton of activities. I wrote for the school newspaper.

[05:56] What else did I do? I worked on programming for the university. So we used. I was one of the people that would bring the bands in to all of that stuff.

[06:03] And then I went.

[06:04] Tara Bansal: What did you study? What was your major?

[06:07] Amy Leis: I was a double major in journalism and photography.

[06:12] And then I went and got a master’s in art education. So I am a certified art teacher. I used to teach at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

[06:20] Tara Bansal: Oh my gosh.

[06:22] Amy Leis: I was an elementary docent,

[06:23] which means I was the one that took elementary school kids on tours of the museum.

[06:29] And then I fell in love with this class called the Art of Learning and went up to the professor and just said, I want to grow up and be you.

[06:39] And he said, great.

[06:41] Tara Bansal: And that was at University of Miami.

[06:43] Amy Leis: That was actually University of the Arts, which is no longer around in Philadelphia.

[06:49] And then so I went from Miami to UArts, and then from UArts I went to Temple University because I thought, you know, I’ll just get a PhD and then. And then that was it.

[06:59] You know the rest of the story from there.

[07:01] Tara Bansal: Yeah, well, not exactly. But what about your personal life when, I mean, I know you have a family.

[07:10] Amy Leis: I met my husband,

[07:12] I was around 30 years old. I met him in a bar and I met him because I was reading a book at a bar. When I say that I was a reader, like,

[07:22] it is a very good pattern that has carried out throughout my life. I was the only person at the bar reading a book.

[07:29] And I was somebody’s. I don’t drink a lot. I was somebody’s wingman. And so I was bored. I was sitting there reading a book, waiting for them to finish hanging out with people.

[07:37] And so my husband came over to get a drink and he said, you know, is this seat taken? And I was like, yes, it is like.

[07:45] And he thought I was being sassy and I was really just protecting my seat from my friend that had gone to the bathroom. And he asked me,

[07:52] you know, why I was reading a book at a bar. And we just started talking and then that was it. I’ve been with him for 20 something years, ever since.

[08:01] So once again, it’s just another where you just say yes and you go with the opportunity and you’re just really going to see this all over my life because this is it.

[08:09] Tara Bansal: Just who you are and how you do it.

[08:12] Amy Leis: Right. I just. Right. If I have any advice to anyone, just say yes.

[08:16] And so I have been with him for over 20 years. We have a 14 year old daughter who is very much 14 and she’s fantastic and I love her dearly.

[08:28] She’s a keeper and she sings.

[08:31] Tara Bansal: So is she a freshman or a sophomore?

[08:33] Amy Leis: He is a freshman in high school. She just started last week and very, very much a teenager. But it’s really. She’s the light of my life. So it’s.

[08:44] Tara Bansal: Does she love to read as much as you?

[08:47] Amy Leis: She does not.

[08:48] Not even a little bit.

[08:50] She we both love Broadway and so we have that in common.

[08:55] She also is more social than I am.

[08:58] She’s funnier than I am, she’s smarter than I am.

[09:01] Tara Bansal: I can’t imagine that.

[09:03] Amy Leis: Seriously beautiful. She’s really, she’s amazing.

[09:07] Tara Bansal: A good kid. Oh, so great. What kind of books do you like to read?

[09:13] Amy Leis: So now I read trashy beach romance.

[09:17] So if any of y’ all are out there and you have fabulous, light hearted, trashy books, send them my way because.

[09:25] Oh goodness. I just.

[09:27] For me, reading is a form of escapism.

[09:30] Tara Bansal: Me too.

[09:30] Amy Leis: Part of what I do,

[09:32] part of my job is I work with people. I, I specialize in people who come into sudden wealth primarily through inheritance and divorce. And so a lot of times when my phone rings,

[09:41] someone’s died or someone’s getting divorced or it’s a tough or I have a second business where I coach people who have issues with study skills test anxiety or they’re neurodivergent and so they’re really struggling and they have a lot of challenges.

[09:56] And so in my spare time, I need something. Even my TV watching is super light hearted.

[10:05] Tara Bansal: I agree. I mean reading for me is also an escape. I try to balance it.

[10:10] So I’ll do like the light hearted one and then a self help book or you know, go back and forth.

[10:17] How did you open your own practice and how have you still. Because I know you still do the coaching and helping education.

[10:28] So how did that come about?

[10:30] Amy Leis: So I was with a firm named Jani Montgomery Scott. They are a phenomenal firm and I was with them for about 15 years.

[10:38] And my manager at the time, Kevin Wallace, who was one of my mentors,

[10:44] he and I designed a financial advisor trainee program.

[10:49] And the whole goal of the program was to take corporate associates and train them to be financial advisors. Because we saw that there was going to be issues with succession planning.

[11:00] Not everyone’s children wanted to take over the business and there were teams that needed people.

[11:05] So we designed this trainee program and this was unheard of back in the day.

[11:10] And Jani was so incredibly generous. They allowed corporate associates to keep their day jobs while they built their practice.

[11:20] And so I was one of the first graduates of that program and that’s how I built my practice. And then at a certain point you just couldn’t do both. And so I let go of my,

[11:30] my training job at the time and I became a full time advisor. And then I left Janney. I got my CFP in 2019. I left Janney not. They’re an amazing Firm.

[11:40] I just had this you go girl moment and I was going to be my own business owner and do my thing. And. And so I left Yanni in 2019.

[11:49] And I do use Main Street Financial as kind of my back office company support and support.

[11:56] And,

[11:58] and so that was right after I got my cfp.

[12:03] So I left Yani and started my own thing and that’s how I kind of became my own business owner. And then after I got my CFP with the Danko. And by the way, if anybody wants their cfp,

[12:13] sign up with Danko because they’re amazing.

[12:15] Yes. So I got my cfp. I was a fast track student in the Danko program, which is how I got.

[12:22] And yay.

[12:23] And I got to know Brett that way. And then after I got my cfp, I realized that if I exist, right, So I have, I have test anxiety, I have adhd.

[12:34] So like, if I existed, other people must also be out there struggling with their CFP journey and studying and everything.

[12:41] And so I approached Brett and said, listen, I think I can help students. And he said, yes, let’s do that.

[12:47] And so that’s. I’ve been teaching for Brett now five years, I want to say,

[12:52] and my reputation, I don’t market myself. I don’t do anything. But people have heard that I could be helpful. And so then I started teaching people who are doing their seven and they’re sie and they’re 66.

[13:05] And now I’ve helped medical students studying for the boards. I’ve helped grow. Yeah, yeah. I’ve helped people with the sats. Like it’s really grown since then just because there’s a lot of people out there that need the support and it really isn’t being taught.

[13:20] Tara Bansal: How much of your time is spent helping on the education side versus being an advisor?

[13:28] Amy Leis: That’s a good question. It’s hard to quantify because it’s cyclical due to the nature of the test. The nature of the test. So for those of you that don’t know, the CFP is held three times a year.

[13:41] There’s three testing windows. And so in a testing window, I might work a little bit harder towards the study skills because it just takes more time.

[13:50] I also do public speaking, and so there also seems to be a.

[13:54] There’s a lot of conferences in the fall or there’s a lot of conferences in one month in the spring.

[13:59] And so I also teach ethics for the cfp.

[14:02] And so it depends on the ethics season and when people want me to come and do ethics for them. And so it really just, it’s,

[14:08] it just depends. And I, I love that it’s varied because it makes my schedule so well rounded. I’m not the kind of person that could just do any one thing.

[14:17] I would get too bored.

[14:19] So wealth management will always, always be my primary focus.

[14:23] I just,

[14:25] I’m so incredibly fortunate to be able to wake up every day and help people and, and do financial planning. But I just, I love that I have so many irons in the fire, so to speak.

[14:37] Tara Bansal: Well, that seems like your personality. So what, when you work with students, is it one on one? Is it small group? What is the format generally?

[14:48] Amy Leis: So. Good question.

[14:50] When I work with students, it is any and all of the above.

[14:54] I teach large groups, 200, 300 people at a time. I teach, I’ve taught small high school groups. I’ve taught football teams,

[15:03] just high school football teams who are trying to get their guys to do better in school.

[15:08] I’ve taught small groups for the cfp and I do a ton of one on one work. So it really just,

[15:15] it varies.

[15:16] Tara Bansal: And how do you charge for that?

[15:19] Amy Leis: I charge a lot for that. Well, there’s scarcity, right? I’m the only one in the market. I’m happy with a PhD in Etsy.

[15:27] Tara Bansal: You don’t have to defend it. I mean, but do you charge like hourly or like.

[15:32] Amy Leis: I charge, I charge per session.

[15:35] I am also a certified hypnotist,

[15:37] so I charge per session. And there are different packages.

[15:41] So depending on if somebody wants one session or three sessions, five sessions,

[15:46] depending on if they want prerecorded hypnosis sessions, live hypnosis sessions, there’s all different variations of what that looks like.

[15:54] Tara Bansal: When and how did you get your hypnosis certification?

[15:59] Amy Leis: I am recently certified. The past couple of years, I got certified during cancer.

[16:04] So I am a cancer survivor. I’m breast cancer survivor. And the experience of. I am what’s known as a double mastectomy to aesthetic flat closure, which means I did not do reconstruction.

[16:18] And the experience of going through that was so traumatic for me that I couldn’t, I couldn’t stop crying every day. I couldn’t. It was so awful.

[16:28] And I.

[16:29] Tara Bansal: How old were you? Do you mind me asking?

[16:31] Amy Leis: I was 50, 51, right in there.

[16:35] And it put me in menopause. It was a really awful. And. And in addition to all of this, I am a nationally ranked ballroom dancer.

[16:44] And so I, I couldn’t compete the way that I wanted to. I didn’t look the same in dresses.

[16:49] I didn’t have My stamina. I was. It was really an awful experience.

[16:53] And there was a hypnotist that helped me get through it.

[16:57] And so that’s when I was like, huh, maybe there’s something to this.

[17:01] And that’s when I got certified. Cause I thought I could help what I learned. I could help other people and use it for what I do for a living.

[17:10] Tara Bansal: Very cool. How many years have you been doing that?

[17:14] Amy Leis: Just a couple. Not many.

[17:15] Tara Bansal: Okay. Because I know. Oh. I mean, several coaches who are also hypnotists, and they bring that. It’s just like another tool in their toolbox.

[17:24] Amy Leis: Yeah, it’s just another tool. It’s just a. It’s just something. If it works for somebody, great. And if not. And I should mention, it has absolutely nothing to do with my wealth management practice.

[17:33] It is a completely and totally separate.

[17:37] Right. Concept and just separate solution that I have.

[17:41] Tara Bansal: So do you have two separate businesses? One, I do.

[17:45] Amy Leis: I have two separate LLCs,

[17:47] completely separate. Two separate staffs, two separate.

[17:50] Pretty much everything.

[17:51] My assistant for my wealth management practice will help a tiny bit on the other side,

[17:56] but no, it is. I really try to keep up a wall between the two,

[18:01] because as a fiduciary, what we do in wealth management is we have such a high level of responsibility,

[18:10] and I take that so incredibly seriously that I really want to make sure that it’s always kept separate.

[18:19] Tara Bansal: All right. Wow. What do you love about being a financial advisor?

[18:27] Amy Leis: Oh, my gosh, I love everything except paperwork. I love everything about being a financial advisor except the paperwork. And thankfully, I have an amazing assistant who does all the paperwork.

[18:36] I.

[18:37] I love helping people plan and achieve their dreams.

[18:43] I love when someone comes to me. I’ve had women show up with just a box of paperwork,

[18:49] not know what it was, and we just kind of unpack and go through all of it and we get them sorted or they had a bad experience in the past and they come to me, we put together a plan,

[18:58] and then we actually,

[19:00] like, see the plan through over years and years. And I’ve had such longevity with some of my clients now that being able to take them from.

[19:08] From where they were to now.

[19:11] I have clients who retired and moved to Portugal. I have clients that went to Costa Rica. And I mean, it’s just.

[19:17] It’s phenomenal to be able to see someone and know that you got to. It’s like such an honor to be a part of that journey,

[19:25] to be like,

[19:26] you get to be there for. I’m getting, like, choked up about this, but, like,

[19:31] to be Able to be there for people’s highs and lows and the best and worst parts of their life and know that you did this tiny, this tiny little part to help them achieve and be happy.

[19:41] Like,

[19:42] how incredible is that?

[19:44] It is so. Sorry.

[19:47] Tara Bansal: No, I. If you’ve listened to the podcast, you know I’m a crier.

[19:51] Amy Leis: And so it’s just. I know how incredibly fortunate I am that people let me participate in their lives, that I’m so honored and that they trust me and take my advice and.

[20:04] And I’m just so lucky that it turns out. And it. It. I love everything. I. I love every single thing about being an advisor.

[20:13] Except paperwork.

[20:14] Tara Bansal: And you found a way to hand that off.

[20:17] Amy Leis: Yes, because I’m adhd. I cannot do paperwork. And so I found a way to hand it off. So that’s the other thing. I think that there is.

[20:25] There’s an old book. I want to say it’s Marcus Buckingham.

[20:28] Something about now play to your strengths or something about your strengths.

[20:32] And that book was so transformative for me because until then, people think,

[20:37] oh, no, you have to get better at this and this, and you really don’t. If anything, you should lean more into what you’re good at and find someone else to do the rest.

[20:47] Invest in yourself and find someone else to support you in what you need, and you will be so much more successful faster than anything else.

[20:56] Tara Bansal: I agree. And it is. It’s like finding someone to take care of your weaknesses and build on your strengths.

[21:05] What boundaries and systems have you put in place to help you manage? I guess one. And I’m just honestly curious because you have these different businesses and all these different roles.

[21:21] How do you manage that and juggle all that? Because I feel like that’s something I struggle with.

[21:28] Amy Leis: How do I juggle all of it? I would say that I just exist as me and I don’t put boundaries.

[21:38] So I am constantly. I work.

[21:43] Let me see, how to put this.

[21:45] I am available to work 24 7.

[21:48] I don’t have a set workday.

[21:51] And I know that that’s not for everyone. There are some people who really like to be able to turn off at night and go do their thing or they really like to have their weekends off.

[22:01] And that’s not who I am as a person. I work every single day of the year except my birthday. It is the one day a year that I take off.

[22:08] I worked full time through chemo.

[22:10] Uh, I, I napped. I. I took a nice little 25 minute power nap when I needed to in the middle of the day. But I worked full time.

[22:18] I wore a wig. I didn’t tell my clients. I really wanted to make sure that they had the best experience possible.

[22:24] And so I,

[22:26] I, I truly, I just, I, I don’t have a boundary in that sense like most people do.

[22:32] Cause that’s what works for me. I like to be able to.

[22:35] So there are some days that I will do five different client meetings. There are some days that I will do eight different study skills calls.

[22:46] And then there are some days that I’m working from a hotel room and I work all day from the hotel, and then I go compete and I’m dancing at night.

[22:54] Uh, so that happens a lot on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I’m competing.

[22:59] So I’ll fly in on a Thursday night. I’ll work all day from the hotel, and then I go and dance at night. There are days that I will,

[23:09] you know, take off a morning and go take my. So this is another thing. It’s really hard when you work and travel as much as I do to maintain friendships and tight family and all of those things.

[23:22] And so I’m really sorry to my daughter’s school. Who’s listening? But I will take her out of school for a mommy daughter day if it’s, if it right. And we’ll go to T, and we’ll go get pedicures and Because I also want to make sure that, so it’s not about.

[23:36] I think that when people say, like, oh, work, life, balance, I don’t think that that exists so much as you figure out how to fit everything in.

[23:47] And some days are going to be more than others of different things.

[23:51] I think the other piece of it that I need to be really clear about is that I have a village.

[23:56] And I, I,

[23:57] I would hate for,

[23:59] for a woman to listen to this and think, how does she do it all? I can barely.

[24:04] So let me be very, very clear. When my daughter was born,

[24:08] she had some medical issues and I was really, really struggling.

[24:13] I had a babysitter, and there were days that the babysitter made more money than I did.

[24:18] I had a village from day one because I had to, because I needed that level of support.

[24:23] We didn’t have a lot of family and friends close by. I have hired, I’ve always hired and, and, or I would make deals with other moms and just be like, can you come watch my kid for a couple hours?

[24:32] And then I will watch your kid this weekend for a couple hours.

[24:34] Um, if I, it was whatever I could do. I did I’ve just always kind of believed in that when we say play to your strengths. Like,

[24:43] I have always had people come in and try to help where I needed to,

[24:48] even if it meant I wasn’t making money in that moment. Cause I had to pay somebody else to come and do the thing for me. But I knew if I kept doing that and investing in myself that eventually it would pay off.

[24:58] And so let me be incredibly clear. There have been years and years where my daughter’s babysitter would do our laundry and go grocery shopping and run errands for us.

[25:08] I don’t ever want somebody to think that they’re struggling as a mom and there’s something wrong with them. There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s that.

[25:14] It’s that there’s just so much to do. There’s more than any one person can really handle. It also. I can.

[25:20] Tara Bansal: How did you learn that? Like, to invest in yourself and be willing to create this village?

[25:29] Amy Leis: I did this even when I was single, even when I was in grad school. I would hire somebody every couple weeks just to come clean my house.

[25:37] Tara Bansal: I just wonder where that came from.

[25:39] Amy Leis: I was diagnosed. Yeah. Yeah. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was around 24ish. So the irony of having a PhD in ED psych is that I didn’t know that I had ADHD until one of my professors said, hey, maybe you should get this looked at.

[25:55] I really, truly didn’t know. And so I was really struggling. I was not a good student back in the day. I really struggled academically and I struggled socially. I struggled with work, life, balance.

[26:08] I struggled with everything. I struggled with time management, executive functioning.

[26:12] And so when I was diagnosed,

[26:14] I got an ADHD coach. I joined ADHD support groups. And that’s how I learned how to really quickly identify what my strengths were and that I needed assistance in order to be successful in what I wanted to achieve.

[26:30] I’ve always been driven and ambitious,

[26:33] but it was only once I figured out the ADHD piece of it that and putting the systems in place and people to support me,

[26:42] that enabled me to kind of move from there.

[26:45] Tara Bansal: Wow, what a gift. What are your strengths? What are your superpowers?

[26:52] Amy Leis: So I would say one of my superpowers is public speaking.

[26:55] Tara Bansal: And what do you speak on?

[26:58] Amy Leis: Oh, my gosh. What don’t I speak on?

[27:00] So,

[27:01] right. So there’s my wealth management, public speaking. And by the way, this is how I built my practice was public speaking.

[27:06] So I would go and speak to rotaries and Kiwanis club. I found local hospitals that had women’s groups and I went and I spoke to them. I talk about. Right.

[27:16] Because my PhD is in white psychology. So I talked a lot about behavioral finance and how we make decisions around money.

[27:24] I talk a lot around college planning for business owners or something like Social Security or. I had a whole list of.

[27:33] And I did public speaking myself. I know there are a lot of advisors that have vendors who bring in speakers,

[27:40] but I really wanted to be the one up on stage. I thought that there was a lot of merit to being the one up there sharing the message.

[27:49] I. I should also mention I was not a good public speaker when I started. I was not good at any of this. I was not born this way. I am incredibly shy in real life.

[27:58] And so when I knew I wanted to become a financial advisor, I took four years of improv comedy and I, I joined Toastmasters.

[28:07] And I did Toastmasters for a while. And so I taught myself how to think on my feet. I taught myself how to be a good public speaker. I. Everything of who I am today has been a learned skill.

[28:19] And so I would say my other strength is that I learn quickly.

[28:23] And so I was able to take what I learned and then apply that to public speaking. And then on the other side, I speak on ethics, I speak on study skills, I do motivational talks on just how to overcome and achieve and be your best self.

[28:40] You name it. If somebody. I honestly, I would go talk to anybody. I. It’s just how I get my dopamine. I love doing public speaking.

[28:48] And I, I didn’t know that about myself when I was a teenager and in my early 20s. It wasn’t until I,

[28:55] until I became a professor that I, that I started.

[28:59] And even as a professor, they teach you how to teach and do classroom management.

[29:05] But even that I wasn’t very good at until I became an advisor.

[29:11] Tara Bansal: Wow. You. I mean, you come across as like you were born this way. You just like, are so impressive and.

[29:19] Amy Leis: So like none of it. None of it. So I would say my strength. Right? So. So I guess ultimately my strength is saying yes to opportunities and knowing that I will figure it out and learn whatever I need to in order to achieve whatever it is.

[29:34] When I. Another, When I became an advisor, I got a coach to teach me how to play golf because I. This is another way I built my practices.

[29:43] I would find charity golf tournaments and offer to be a fourth.

[29:48] So it was me and three other people that I had never met before playing golf. I wasn’t good at golf. But the bonus of a charity tournament is you don’t have to be good at golf because they play best ball.

[30:00] Yep. And so that’s another thing. Right. So I just. Every single thing I figured out and I just.

[30:06] Tara Bansal: Well, you kept putting yourself out there and kept.

[30:09] Amy Leis: You did. Right.

[30:10] That’s it. You just keep trying the things and finding people to teach you.

[30:14] And then that’s. That’s really the secret. You just keep saying yes and finding people to teach you how to. Whatever it is you need to accomplish.

[30:21] Tara Bansal: And you kept investing in yourself.

[30:23] Amy Leis: Yes.

[30:24] Tara Bansal: 100% in the ways you wanted. Which I think is really a powerful lesson and a great reminder.

[30:31] Amy Leis: But I also think, and this is. They’ve kind of shown research that as women,

[30:35] women have a tendency to invest more in themselves and believe more strongly in the value of education than men do. Men think they’re just going to go figure it out.

[30:46] Women are like, but wait, maybe there’s a class.

[30:49] Maybe there’s someone else who can help me.

[30:50] Tara Bansal: Maybe there’s a coach. Maybe there’s.

[30:51] Amy Leis: Maybe there’s a coach.

[30:53] And I just think that that’s such a strength of ours to know that there’s always something or someone or a resource out there that can help get you to where you want to be.

[31:03] You just have to find them.

[31:05] Tara Bansal: Great advice. What are you struggling with right now? Or where are you growing right now?

[31:13] Amy Leis: Uh, what am I struggling with? I struggle all the time still.

[31:18] I.

[31:18] So. And my ADHD is not perfect by any means. And so I still struggle with.

[31:26] Right. So let me just be very clear. If you walk into my house, it. It’s. It’s a hot mess. Like,

[31:31] we are not organized here. I am not one of those women that has like a beautiful, well decorated home.

[31:37] Nope. And so that for me is kind of.

[31:42] I would love. I wish. Even though we do have people that come in, it’s clean in the sense of like,

[31:47] you know, our bathrooms are clean. But it is.

[31:50] It is so unorganized. I hired a professional organizer a couple years ago to come and help us organize. And it was great until it wasn’t. And then we. We all got off track.

[31:58] And now I need to have somebody else come back in. So that for me is a challenge. Is. I love to live.

[32:02] I love to be. I love hotel rooms. Cause they’re always so clean. I love to be in a space that is very minimalistic and clean and organized. And yet I somehow live in chaos all of the time.

[32:12] So that’s one. I think the other one is Just constantly, as my daughter gets older now wanting to be there to support her and be there for all of her activities and be able to take her where she needs to go and really be a very present person in her life and also travel as much as I do.

[32:31] And so I think finding that balance for me is something I’m always going to be working on until she gets to college and then what else?

[32:43] I am now starting to think of what my future looks like in the next four, five, ten years.

[32:49] So I’m starting to think about succession planning, junior partners.

[32:53] I want to hold onto my business until my daughter comes and takes it over, whether she likes it or not.

[32:59] And so she’s like, oh, I want to be a neurosurgeon. I’m like, what?

[33:04] No, you want to be a financial advisor?

[33:08] So, I mean, I will be a financial advisor for the next 20, 30 years until that. Until she figures out that that’s what she wants to be.

[33:16] So I think,

[33:19] I think that for me is really just kind of what the, what the future holds is figuring out what that path looks like and.

[33:26] Tara Bansal: Just talking about your daughter. How. What ideas do you have for how we can get more women into this profession?

[33:37] Amy Leis: I.

[33:38] I will frequently. I mean, when I say I do public speaking, I will talk to anybody. So I frequently do those in school.

[33:46] What do you want to be?

[33:47] Tara Bansal: Presentations.

[33:47] Amy Leis: Grow up presentations.

[33:49] Because I wish someone had come and talked to me when I was that age and said,

[33:53] listen, you can do this. It’s. It’s not as hard as you think. And yes, it’s great for women. And yes, you have a flexible schedule. And,

[34:00] and women are amazing at being financial advisors.

[34:04] And so I do a lot of. I think if we kind of could possibly get more early exposure, that would be awesome. More stock market clubs in high schools would be great.

[34:16] They are starting to teach now financial planning and a little bit of budgeting and things like that to the kids.

[34:21] But I think they’re not doing it at a career level discussion. They’re really just doing it as a life skills discussion. And so I think if we elevate that conversation to be more like, hey, if you like this,

[34:32] then you too could help other people with this for the rest of your life.

[34:35] I think that’s important.

[34:37] I think that companies like Jani and all the other firms out there that are encouraging corporate associates and supporting them to become advisors is super important.

[34:47] What Gianni did was really groundbreaking at the time. They were the first in the industry to have a program like that.

[34:53] I will Always be incredibly grateful for that program and for the people that mentored me as a part of it. And I think being able to be strong mentors for women who are coming up in the industry also makes a difference.

[35:03] It’s interesting that back in the day all of my mentors were men.

[35:08] And I am so, so lucky that I had these men in my life who for whatever reason were able to be there and advise me and really help open doors for me.

[35:21] And so I want to be for other women the person that I didn’t have at that time.

[35:27] Tara Bansal: I agree. Why do you think women are good at this profession?

[35:35] Amy Leis: So. And they’ve also done research on this as well.

[35:37] Women are better planners, period.

[35:40] Men have much more of a need for immediate gratification.

[35:44] They are more. And I’m being very stereotypical. Yes, please don’t like the cancel culture right now. Like, don’t come hate at me.

[35:52] So like, I’m not all men, you guys. Not all men, not all women. So in general, stereotypically,

[36:00] men tend to be more of immediate gratification, shorter term planning,

[36:07] very short term, goals focused. Women are much more conservative when it comes to their long term planning. They really feel more secure about having a future, making sure that everything is lined up and they’re more, they tend to be more conservative when it comes to investing as well.

[36:25] And I don’t know if it’s because.

[36:27] And generationally, and I can’t speak to this, I don’t know what the research is on this. I don’t know if younger generations are seeing this as much because there are so many more women now at a younger age earning for themselves.

[36:39] But women kind of Gen X, my generation and older didn’t always have that opportunity. And so I think that they had to, just for the sake of their own survival, had to be more focused on themselves financially and from a planning perspective to make sure that their futures were more secure.

[36:56] Tara Bansal: Well, and I feel like our generation and above,

[36:59] like for exactly what you said,

[37:02] there was a gap of like trying to catch up both like information and education wise in finances because traditionally.

[37:13] Right.

[37:13] Amy Leis: It was, it was such a male. Right. Women couldn’t sign mortgages until the 70s, like.

[37:19] Tara Bansal: Yeah. Or get a credit card with that.

[37:22] Amy Leis: And so,

[37:23] and then I think because our generation then started reproducing and now we’re passing that messaging on to our daughters,

[37:30] then we’re seeing a carry through of that conversation in a way that is hopefully meaningful to the next generation.

[37:38] Tara Bansal: I agree. I hope so too. What does success feel like for You.

[37:44] Amy Leis: Oh, my gosh,

[37:45] Successes. And I’m once again super fortunate that I. This is success to me, right? Being able to do podcasts like this and. Oh, I. I still don’t understand why people.

[37:55] Why you would want my advice, but.

[37:56] Tara Bansal: Like, oh, my gosh, you just like, are so incredible, like sitting here.

[38:02] Amy Leis: I don’t understand because I just am like me. And so it’s. It’s fascinating to me that people, when I like, I would. You got all right. My clients, you’re still going to pay.

[38:10] But, like, I would give advice for free. I don’t ever understand why people want to, like, come to me because it’s just so. I think that this is success for me is that I.

[38:18] People who actually want to, like, come and seek me out for advice. I think that’s so cool.

[38:21] Also, being able to have.

[38:23] I’ll never have a work life balance just because I love working so much, but being able to balance where I work.

[38:30] So being able to work from a beach is way better than working in an office.

[38:36] And so being able to have opportunities to go and do that. Being able to have opportunities for public speaking and to go spread my message more.

[38:43] Being able to have quality time with my family and my friends.

[38:47] Being able to continue helping my clients, helping my study skills students. Being able, like, it’s just being able to go and dance and feel alive. You know, when you’re a cancer survivor, it just.

[38:58] Every day that I get to be here is a success.

[39:01] Every day that I get to wake up and hug my daughter is a success.

[39:05] Sorry, I’m getting, like, emotional about this, but, like,

[39:08] cancer is such a life changing in so many different ways.

[39:12] I was always grateful before. I’ve always known how fortunate that I am and how privileged I am,

[39:17] but. And I’ve always kind of. It’s. It’s been very.

[39:21] A very big pillar in my life to support philanthropy and give back because I know how fortunate I am. But on the other side of cancer, it is just to know, like, there were days that I.

[39:32] I was so scared I wasn’t gonna wake up.

[39:35] There were days that I. And the kind of cancer I had was very aggressive. And so it was.

[39:41] It was awful. It was a very terrifying experience. And so being able to be here today and have this conversation with you,

[39:48] like, I went to the gym this morning and lifted weights. Like, I couldn’t.

[39:53] To be able to have this moment, just to be alive right here, right now,

[39:57] to be so incredibly fortunate, right? I have this roof over my head. I got to have a Nice cup of tea this morning.

[40:04] I don’t have to worry where my next meal is coming from. I get to drive in my car. I’m gonna go dance later today. Like, I’m gonna do client call,

[40:11] student calls. Like,

[40:13] oh, my gosh. Like, that is,

[40:15] that’s what success looks like to me.

[40:18] Tara Bansal: That’s so wonderful.

[40:19] Yeah.

[40:21] And I have to say, part of the reason,

[40:26] or I assume the reason that you work so much is because you love what you do.

[40:33] Amy Leis: I do. I love all of it. I love all of it. I love every.

[40:37] It doesn’t, it doesn’t feel like work.

[40:40] I get to, I get to talk to clients who feel like friends. And some, you know, they are my friends. They’re like. And whether they like it or not, whether they know it or not, that’s how I see them.

[40:49] And so I get to talk to friends and then I study skills. Students become like,

[40:54] Right, same thing. Like, I’m,

[40:55] I feel like I, I get to be this cheerleader. I actually, I forgot I was a cheerleader in high school. I was a cheerleader in high school. So I, and let me be clear, I was not a good cheerleader, but I was a cheerleader.

[41:06] And I, I feel like you are way too humble because I,

[41:10] I, I went to a very small high school and they had to accept us. Nobody got cut from a team. And so I got to be a cheerleader. And,

[41:17] and so I feel like I get to do that now all the time for other people.

[41:21] And like, how cool is that?

[41:24] And so I,

[41:26] I work so much. One, because I love what I do. Two, it gives me a dopamine hit. And as an adhd, I’m always looking for the next bit of dopamine I could find.

[41:36] Three, I designed a life for myself that fits around my energy cycles and where I enjoy working and the people that I enjoy working with and,

[41:48] and the fact, the more that you can do that. And I knew that from the very beginning. When I built my practice,

[41:56] there were other people that said, oh, you should cold call. And I said, no, I’m not cold calling, because that’s not, that didn’t fit my.

[42:02] Tara Bansal: That’s not who you are.

[42:03] Amy Leis: That’s not who I was. Or there were people that said, oh, you should go work with this kind of client or you should go do this kind of niche. And I just said, no, not my cup of tea, or, oh, if they have $5,000 on a pulse, take them on.

[42:13] I said, no, that’s not my, that’s not who I want to be. I’m not McDonald’s. I’m not serving everybody. Like, that’s not how I want to build my practice.

[42:20] And there was a mentor back in the day who. The advice was, start as you mean to go on as best as you possibly can.

[42:28] And I truly believed that from day one.

[42:30] And so I always tried to create a lifestyle for myself that in the future.

[42:37] I.

[42:38] I started out knowing I wanted to work remotely. I started out knowing I wanted to build this business. So even though I wasn’t able to do it as fully as I possibly could back in the day,

[42:48] because you’re still within the confines of other people and building a business,

[42:52] I tried my best,

[42:54] my best possible to build this lifestyle for myself,

[42:57] knowing that this is who I was as a person. So I think the more you can be introspective,

[43:04] the more you can know about yourself and understand what works for you, what doesn’t work for you. And then as best as possible,

[43:11] build your life around that.

[43:13] Then the.

[43:14] The better off you’re going to be.

[43:15] Tara Bansal: And.

[43:16] Amy Leis: Yes, you can’t.

[43:17] Yeah. You know, can I curse on here? Can I. Can I say **** happens?

[43:21] Yeah. Okay. So Brad always gets on me because I’m always cursed. I used to curse a lot. Brad had to tell me not to curse so much.

[43:28] So. So, yeah, so. So it. As hard as I work and as healthy as I am and as all of the things that I do right, **** happens. I still got cancer.

[43:36] Bad things happen to good people. It just. People get unlucky sometimes.

[43:40] And once again, because I had worked so hard back in the beginning to be build this lifestyle,

[43:47] I was able to get through cancer in a way that other people would have been more challenged. Because I was already working remotely, I could take a nap during the day or I could go to a doctor’s appointment.

[43:58] Whereas other people, some advisors are so tied to their computers and tied to the desk and tied to the news cycle that they. They couldn’t. They have to be in their office 24, 7.

[44:09] And I’m once again, I’m just so fortunate that I was able to make this work for me.

[44:15] And so I guess my advice to people would be like build.

[44:19] Build a life for yourself. Not just for now, but what you imagine 5 years, 10 years, 20 years in the future is going to look like.

[44:27] And what you want and what you want and what will support you not only on the good days,

[44:32] but a life that you can continue on your worst days.

[44:37] Tara Bansal: Wow. Yeah,

[44:41] that.

[44:41] That is great advice.

[44:45] I was gonna ask what, what advice would you have for someone going into the business. And I feel like that’s what you said. Anything else you would add for that?

[44:56] Amy Leis: I would say say yes to every single opportunity that comes your way. Find coaches, find mentors. Invest in yourself.

[45:04] Truly you are your own brand, regardless of your firm.

[45:09] Treat yourself, your reputation, your knowledge, your experience.

[45:13] I am constantly trying to attend continuing education classes. I’m constantly trying to improve my knowledge.

[45:23] What we do is so important. It makes a difference in people’s lives.

[45:27] They are. They’re paying for the very best version of us.

[45:31] And so. And they deserve the very best version of us on any given day.

[45:35] And so the more that you can strive to be the best version of you, the most professional version of you,

[45:44] the better you’re able to serve others. Right. We exist in the service of others.

[45:49] And that is such a gift. And to be able to honor that and take it seriously.

[45:55] And as long as you do that,

[45:57] then the success comes your way.

[46:00] Tara Bansal: That is beautiful.

[46:02] What I want to hear the ballroom dancing. How did you get into it?

[46:07] How? I mean,

[46:09] oh my gosh, often are you doing it? I mean, I know topics.

[46:13] Amy Leis: I could talk about this for hours.

[46:15] This is one of my all time favorite. So those of us who are neurodiverse, we have hyperfocused topics. We have certain topics that we could talk about forever and ever.

[46:23] And this is one of mine. So you’re going to have to cut me off on this one.

[46:26] So I started dancing the fall before COVID I. What technically did I even start the fall? So let me. How do I put this?

[46:39] Tara Bansal: Before or after your cancer?

[46:41] Amy Leis: Way before. Okay,

[46:44] so I want to say about five years ago, five and a half years ago,

[46:51] I was teaching. So once again, I said yes to a whole bunch of things. So it was a whole chain.

[46:56] My life has just been a chain reaction of me just constantly saying yes to opportunities. By the way, there was a great book by Shonda Rhimes called the year of Yes.

[47:06] I highly recommend. Once again, that book was transformative. I read that when I was pregnant with my daughter right around there.

[47:13] Those years were a blur. So maybe she was like one or two, but early years of my daughter. I read that book and that’s when I started saying yes to even more things than I had been previously.

[47:23] So someone asked me to be on a charity board for women who are doing collective giving.

[47:31] So every woman in the organization, we give a thousand dollars and then every year we donate hundreds of thousands of dollars. And they asked me to be on the board.

[47:38] I was A founding member? I said yes.

[47:41] Tara Bansal: Is this the Impact 100?

[47:43] Amy Leis: Impact 100? Yes. It’s a fantastic organization. Any women out there, I highly recommend you join.

[47:48] Look for an Impact 100 chapter in your area. It’s. They do such great work.

[47:53] So I was a founding member of Impact 100 in South Jersey,

[47:56] and as a board member, they asked me to go and speak to some of the philanthropies who were applying for grants.

[48:04] So I was teaching this nonprofit finance group,

[48:07] and one of the women came up to me afterwards and said, hey, we’re doing this Dancing with the Stars charity to support our philanthropy. Would you like to do it?

[48:18] And of course, I was doing my year of yes. I said, yes.

[48:21] Now, I was not a dancer. When I was a cheerleader, we didn’t have to dance. We just, like, stood on the sidelines and clapped. So I was not a dancer.

[48:27] I am not an athlete. My favorite sport was library, remember? So I was a couch potato. I weighed over 200 pounds.

[48:34] I was really, really out of shape.

[48:37] And so I said yes.

[48:39] And. Cause once again, I knew one opportunity two,

[48:43] I could find somebody who could help me. So I found this.

[48:48] This instructor. I had no idea who he was. None. It turns out he was the number one instructor in the country. But I had no idea at the time.

[48:55] So I. I met this guy, Tommy Radon. He’s amazing. Amazing.

[49:00] And I was like, hey, do you want to do this charity with me? And he’s like, okay, fine.

[49:03] So we met, like, once or twice in January of 2020,

[49:07] and then Covid hit.

[49:09] And Tommy is incredibly entrepreneurial. And so when Covid hit and he cares. Oh, my gosh, he cares so much about his students.

[49:18] And he has a lot of older students. So when Covid hit, he was worried that they were going to be quarantined and not able to move.

[49:25] So he started offering zoom ballroom classes.

[49:29] And so we would all dial in. And that’s how I learned how to dance was from my living room during COVID And then I didn’t dance again with him. I really, truly didn’t start ballroom until Memorial Day of COVID The very first Covid he built.

[49:43] He’s so smart. He built a wood floor in his parking lot,

[49:49] and we would dance holding a broomstick, six feet away from each other outside wearing masks.

[49:56] And that’s how I learned how to ballroom dance. I competed. My first year was Covid year.

[50:01] So I would compete in a mask with a face shield.

[50:04] That’s how I learned how to ballroom dance.

[50:06] And my first Year I had some early success and I thought I was like this.

[50:12] I thought it was because I was actually learning and becoming a good dancer. Nope. It’s just because nobody came out because of COVID Because then the next year everyone came out and I was like, oh, oh my gosh, I really need to get good at this.

[50:24] And I fell in love with it. It’s like,

[50:28] imagine trying on a different T shirt, 20, 30 different T shirts, and not finding the right one. And then all of a sudden you find a T shirt that fits and you never want to take it off.

[50:38] That’s what ballroom dance feels like to me.

[50:41] I lost 30, 40 pounds. I was in the best shape of my life.

[50:46] My cardio got everything improved. Everything improved.

[50:49] Tara Bansal: And you’re having fun doing it.

[50:50] Amy Leis: And I’m having so much fun and I’m meeting great people and I get to travel and.

[50:55] And as an advisor, it was a great hobby because it costs, you know,

[51:00] it’s not cheap. And so it was. I’m walking into a room that has people that can afford it. So as an advisor, it’s great networking.

[51:06] And so it was just a win, win all around.

[51:10] And so I try to compete at least once a month if I can.

[51:16] Some months it works out and some months I don’t.

[51:19] I do lessons. I also try to go in for lessons three or four times a week.

[51:24] Tommy, my instructor, is amazing because he’ll hold lessons around my work schedule.

[51:29] So I’ll take off a lunchtime and go during lunch, or he’ll dance with me at 9 o’ clock at night or on a Sunday morning. Like, he’s really good about adapting around people’s schedules.

[51:40] He’s really good around. He danced with me through cancer, he danced with me through chemo. He adapted what was needed so that I could do it. I’m incredibly blessed that the ballroom community was so supportive of me during chemo.

[51:53] The organizers of the events, the people who set up all of the heat lists, the DJs, the MCS, they would purposely set up my dance schedule so that I could have more breaks in between rounds to breathe and recover.

[52:07] The.

[52:07] The MCs at the events would make jokes or tell the weather or to stall for time so I could catch my breath in between rounds like other dancers from other.

[52:17] Even people I would compete against would like knit me hats. Like it was just such a. An amazing environment.

[52:24] And they’ve actually now even since then, the research come out and shown that ballroom dancing helps people through cancer. I wasn’t even a part of that research. But I could have told them that because it helped keep me so much healthier and have such a better prognosis because I was able to dance through it.

[52:41] Uh, so once again, it was just another opportunity where this random.

[52:45] This. Just this random experience, and I said yes. And it turned out to be just one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. And now when I travel, I go salsa dancing in other countries.

[52:55] I have so many friends through it. I mean, it’s. It’s. I. Everybody should go ballroom dancing. Go right now. Even if you’re not good at it, I’m still not good at it.

[53:03] I try so hard.

[53:04] Tara Bansal: I’m still good at it. You win these competitions.

[53:06] Amy Leis: Yeah.

[53:06] Tara Bansal: You are.

[53:07] Amy Leis: I only win because I have endurance. I just don’t sit down. I win not because I’m, like, a great dancer. I just. I just.

[53:14] Tara Bansal: But to me, it’s more that you love it. Like your analogy and the fact that you just fell and now it’s such a big part of your life.

[53:23] Amy Leis: Oh, my gosh. And, yeah, I mean, there are other dancers who are so much better than me. I lose way more than I win, but I win, like, just enough that the dopamine is like, yes, let’s keep doing this.

[53:33] Tara Bansal: That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Right?

[53:35] Amy Leis: It’s a trophy. I’m. I’m very competitive. I think a lot of advisors are competitive, and this is a great outlet for my. My competitive spirit.

[53:42] Tara Bansal: Well. Well, we are almost out of time. What question do you wish I had asked? Anything that comes to mind.

[53:52] Amy Leis: No. I mean, you’re incredibly thorough. Were you. You weren’t a journalist? I mean, I was a journalist. Were you a journalist at some point?

[53:58] Tara Bansal: No, I. I, like, that’s what hearing you. I’m like, man, I should really work on building better skills.

[54:07] But I do this because I just love. I’ve always loved asking people questions,

[54:12] and so.

[54:14] Amy Leis: And I’m a learner,

[54:15] so I would say only because you mentioned about building better skills. I would say it’s not a question that you should have asked so much as something that I neglected to share,

[54:25] which is the one.

[54:27] So technically, I guess I work every day, but the one day that I take off my birthday. So this is also a ritual that I built in back in the day that I think everyone should be doing is that is my day that I set my strategy for the next year.

[54:40] And so on that day, I look, I reflect on the past year.

[54:45] I fill out my bucket list. I have a whole Bucket list of everything I want to achieve in life.

[54:49] I ask myself what should I start doing, what should I stop doing and what should I continue doing.

[54:55] And then I list out what are my short term, medium and long term goals.

[55:00] And then I figure out what I’m going to do to achieve all of those goals.

[55:06] And I think in doing that that’s really helped me from day one.

[55:11] And knowing that I have this moment, this pause to really reflect on everything has really helped to crystallize a lot of my goals into the success and the levels that I’ve had and achieved.

[55:28] Because it’s a really important ritual.

[55:30] I think people settles and then they forget to go back and do them or they set goals but they forget to ask themselves what should they stop doing.

[55:38] And I, andor where,

[55:41] where is the help? What are the skills I need to be able to achieve the goal?

[55:45] And I, I just, I would recommend that people have a much more robust goal setting process.

[55:52] Tara Bansal: And taking that time to be, I mean that’s hearing you talk, how intentional you are. When did you start doing that ritual?

[56:00] Amy Leis: Oh my gosh,

[56:01] we’re talking day one of being an advisor. I always called it my corporate retreat.

[56:05] And so I go somewhere, I travel somewhere by myself for my birthday. And my family knows this. It is the one trip I take all year without anyone else. I am completely like no one else travels with me.

[56:17] And in the beginning I couldn’t go very far. I would just like rent a hotel room down the shore for a night.

[56:22] And now I travel further.

[56:24] And so I started day one of being an advisor.

[56:28] This was always an important piece for me of how I was going to build my practice.

[56:33] And I tie it into my birthday because then it’s not something I’m going to forget. I know there’s always going to be that day that I can go. And I don’t just work that day.

[56:42] Like I go to a spa too. Like it’s, you know, you make it your birthday.

[56:45] Tara Bansal: But yeah, that, yeah, I’m going to start doing that and I do it in some form. But I love how I don’t know you do.

[56:55] Amy Leis: Oh wait, sorry, I have more advice for people. Sorry, I just have so much to share. I want to hear the other advice that I would give because this I would hope is a lot of women are listening to this and is wherever you are right now in your life,

[57:10] learn how to take yourself out.

[57:12] Take yourself out to dinner by yourself, go to the movies by yourself. Go on a short. Even if it’s one night in A hotel by yourself.

[57:19] Go learn how to do things by yourself.

[57:22] Because as someone who works with a lot of divorcees and widows,

[57:26] they get to this point where they’ve never done anything by themselves. And it is terrifying.

[57:31] It is. I have friends, same thing who got divorced, who just have literally never gone out to a restaurant and eaten a meal by themselves.

[57:39] It is such an important life skill.

[57:42] And statistically we are going to outlive most of the men and we might not always have friends around. And so the ability to go and travel and experience life and sign up for classes and meet other people, like just go out there and do things on your own,

[57:58] I think is such an important life skill that a lot of women,

[58:02] it’s so easily overlooked in our day to day because we are so busy helping other people and surrounding ourselves with other people that making sure you take time for yourself, even if it’s only once every couple months,

[58:15] take yourself off for breakfast. Something.

[58:18] It’s just really important to be able to do.

[58:20] Tara Bansal: Yes. I.

[58:22] After my divorce, I mean, I went to the movies by myself, I went to restaurants by myself. I, you know,

[58:30] it was.

[58:32] But it was like the first time I didn’t have a boyfriend,

[58:35] you know, like, it was a new experience for me and it was hard and it was sad. And yet there was some freedom in that of not having to worry about what anyone else wanted to do.

[58:48] I could go where I wanted and I love that. Yeah. Like, I call it taking yourself out on a date.

[58:54] Amy Leis: Yes.

[58:55] Tara Bansal: And do that regularly.

[58:57] Amy Leis: Yes.

[58:58] Tara Bansal: So real quick, what favorite book or podcast or resource are you loving lately?

[59:06] Amy Leis: Obviously your podcast.

[59:08] Tara Bansal: Thank you.

[59:10] Amy Leis: And Amy Poehler has a podcast called Good Hang, which I think is just lighthearted and fabulous. And she talks to all these great people.

[59:19] So I’ve been listening a lot to that.

[59:21] Uh, what else have I been reading? The rest of my stuff is all either romance or sci fi fantasy. I don’t, I don’t know that anybody wants to hear my book list.

[59:31] Tara Bansal: Um, but if one stands out, I’ll take it.

[59:35] Amy Leis: Oh, I am. Oh, please. I am reading. It’s called Dungeon. You guys are gonna like.

[59:40] I can’t believe I’m saying this online, but it’s a very popular book series. Wait, I’m pulling it up right now.

[59:46] It’s called Dungeon Dungeon Car.

[59:50] I’m not going to be able to pronounce this. Dungeon Crawler Carl.

[59:54] Dungeon Crawler Carl. It is a sci fi fantasy book. It is the most odd,

[01:00:01] random. And I am. I’m already on book four. It’s a whole series.

[01:00:05] I cannot stop reading.

[01:00:08] I don’t even know why I like it.

[01:00:10] I don’t know that I would like but. And yet I’m not the only one because it has thousands and thousands of reviews so other people are clearly enjoying it as well.

[01:00:17] Tara Bansal: I’m gonna have to look it up.

[01:00:18] Amy Leis: It’s just this like it’s imagine if a doomsday scenario occurs but also somehow turns into like a video game that the rest of the universe and aliens can watch and participate in.

[01:00:31] It is so sci fi fantasy so far out there and I,

[01:00:38] I, I’m just reading it just I, I can’t stop. It’s fantastic.

[01:00:43] Tara Bansal: That’s a high recommendation. That’s great because you’re a reader. What any self care ritual?

[01:00:50] Amy Leis: Do I have a self care ritual? I mean everything I do is somehow I’m, I mean I would say travel. Does that count as a self care ritual?

[01:00:56] Tara Bansal: Of course.

[01:00:57] Amy Leis: So traveling I, I travel quarterly at least sometimes it’s just a short weekend for a competition and right now I’m planning a trip to Tokyo that’s going to be my birthday trip.

[01:01:08] This year we did Iceland. This year we did New Mexico. This year. I mean it is I,

[01:01:18] every couple months I’m really doing something. Yeah, I’m doing something. And I think that that for me is one, it gives you such an amazing worldview and you realize how small you are in this great big world.

[01:01:30] And two, it’s just like I said, being able to work next door to a beach is.

[01:01:36] I’m still working, I’m still on my laptop, but you can’t beat the view.

[01:01:39] And there’s something to be said for,

[01:01:42] I mean I’ll work from anywhere.

[01:01:44] And so I think that for me is the biggest self care is just a variety of being able to work from lots of different places.

[01:01:53] Tara Bansal: Do you plan those trips or does somebody help you with that? How?

[01:01:57] Amy Leis: Oh so that’s interesting because I do delegate so much. That is one of the things that so oh also there are Facebook groups for solo female travelers.

[01:02:08] So I go on those Facebook groups and I read a ton of so I do all of the research.

[01:02:15] Reddit is great. ChatGPT is actually fantastic at travel planning and putting together itineraries.

[01:02:22] So I, I plan 99.9% and then I have a little bit of technology help and yeah, and people recommend places to me. But I, it’s, it’s my form of escape is being able to plan all these trips.

[01:02:36] It gives me something to look forward to.

[01:02:38] I’m really Picky about my. I’m a foodie, and so being able to read up on restaurants, and I’m picky about the kind of restaurants I want to go to and the experience I want to have.

[01:02:48] So, yeah, I would say that that’s one of my hobbies is planning my own travel and then traveling.

[01:02:52] Tara Bansal: That’s great. What’s one thing bringing you joy right now?

[01:02:57] Amy Leis: Planning my trip to Tokyo.

[01:02:59] My daughter always brings me joy.

[01:03:03] She sings, and just.

[01:03:04] It’s a skill that I don’t have that I’ve never had, that I never will have.

[01:03:08] And just being able to listen to her sing, it just.

[01:03:11] Oh, my gosh, she sings beautifully.

[01:03:14] So I’d say those two things, and then being able to do. I know this sounds so corny, but truly being able to do. My client calls, my student calls. Like,

[01:03:24] I just so enjoy what I do that.

[01:03:27] That brings me joy. Oh, I should probably mention my husband just in case he listens to this. Sorry, honey. Like, you bring me joy, too.

[01:03:33] But notice how he was, like, last on the list. He knows that. He already knows that. That’s where he is on my priority.

[01:03:38] Tara Bansal: You just seem like such a joyful, happy person. Your energy is incredible.

[01:03:45] Amy Leis: So to be clear, I have tough days. Right. Like, I wake up, and I. I have days that I just want to lay in bed and cry. I have days that are tough a long time.

[01:03:53] Tara Bansal: And I think we also need to hear that. Right?

[01:03:55] Amy Leis: Oh, my gosh.

[01:03:57] Tara Bansal: We all struggle. Yeah.

[01:04:00] Amy Leis: A long time ago, one of my mentors said, as soon as you wake up in the morning, you open up your eyes and you say, today’s gonna be a great day.

[01:04:06] And I did that all through cancer. I did that all through every single day. I open up my eyes, I say, today is gonna be a great day.

[01:04:13] And the second bit of advice is that I always look for a glimmer.

[01:04:17] So. Right. The glimmers are those things that the tiny little joyful moments.

[01:04:21] And the more. So our brains are wired to look for negativity.

[01:04:26] Our brains are not wired to always find joy because we know that pain is so magnified. We know this from behavioral finance as well. Pain is so much more magnified in our brains,

[01:04:35] and so we have to purposely seek out moments of joy and happiness and love and all of those things. And so the more that I recognize moments, that my soul feels full,

[01:04:48] the more we then attract more moments like that. And the more our brain gets used to seeing them.

[01:04:52] Tara Bansal: Yeah. And noticing them and enjoying them.

[01:04:56] Amy Leis: Yeah. And so I would say it’s not that I am a. I am by no means a joyful or happy person.

[01:05:01] It’s that I have cultivated and trained my brain.

[01:05:06] No, I mean, I was. Are you kidding me? I was so depressed, I had to be on. I had a postpartum depression.

[01:05:10] I had to be put on antidepressants when my daughter was born. Like, I was. There were days that I didn’t think I was gonna make it through. It was so bad.

[01:05:16] And so.

[01:05:18] Oh, no. This is. Once again, this is a life skill that I have developed. I have.

[01:05:22] Everything you are talking to today is a skill that has been developed.

[01:05:26] My. My only real, true strength is that I know I can learn whatever is needed to develop the skills that I want.

[01:05:32] Tara Bansal: Well, that’s a great skill, and that’s what I feel like hearing you talk. It’s like you’ll. You have faith, you will figure it out.

[01:05:39] Amy Leis: Correct. And as long as you have that faith, everything else can be learned.

[01:05:43] Tara Bansal: Yes.

[01:05:43] Amy Leis: And it’s not that I don’t have bad days. It’s that I’ve learned what to do on the bad days.

[01:05:48] Tara Bansal: Wow. That’s incredible. Thank you. Thank you, thank you.

[01:05:52] Amy Leis: This was so fun. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This was awesome.

[01:05:57] Tara Bansal: Oh, my goodness. I know I keep saying this, but I truly love and enjoy these conversations.

[01:06:04] Each one leaves me inspired in a different way.

[01:06:08] And Amy’s energy, humor, and heart just radiated throughout this episode.

[01:06:14] For me, there were three big things that I took away.

[01:06:19] First, Amy’s mantra to keep saying yes her entire life seems to have unfolded through that willingness to say yes to new opportunities,

[01:06:29] even the scary ones,

[01:06:31] and trust that she could figure it out.

[01:06:33] It’s such a powerful reminder that growth doesn’t come from waiting until we’re ready.

[01:06:39] It comes from showing up, being brave, and learning as we go.

[01:06:44] Second, I was struck with how intentionally Amy keeps investing in herself.

[01:06:50] Whether it was learning to golf to build her practice, joining Toastmasters and improv to become a better speaker,

[01:06:57] or hiring help at home so she could focus on her strengths.

[01:07:01] She’s constantly developing herself and asking for support where she needs it.

[01:07:07] That’s such an important and great lesson, especially for women who often feel like we have to do it all.

[01:07:14] We can learn, we can grow, and we can get help.

[01:07:19] Third, I absolutely loved her birthday ritual,

[01:07:23] taking that one day each year to step back,

[01:07:27] reflect,

[01:07:28] ask,

[01:07:30] what do I want to start doing?

[01:07:32] What do I want to stop doing? And what do I want to continue doing?

[01:07:37] And then building her goals for the year from that place of clarity.

[01:07:43] It’s such a beautiful practice of self, leadership and intention.

[01:07:48] To me, the deeper message in Amy’s story is is put your oxygen mask on first.

[01:07:55] Say yes to yourself.

[01:07:57] Keep learning.

[01:07:58] Create time and space to be intentional about what matters most.

[01:08:03] Because when you do,

[01:08:05] you show up as your best self for your clients,

[01:08:08] your family, and your life.

[01:08:11] Amy reminded me that success isn’t just about achievement. It’s about joy,

[01:08:16] growth and gratitude.

[01:08:18] About designing a life that fits who you are and allows you to keep dancing,

[01:08:23] both figuratively and literally.

[01:08:28] Thank you for listening to Her Life, Her Practice, Her Way a podcast for and about female financial advisors.

[01:08:36] I truly hope you found something valuable and encouraging in today’s episode.

[01:08:41] If you did, I’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

[01:08:49] It helps other phenomenal women in our field find this space.

[01:08:54] And if you know another advisor who would benefit from these conversations or from the kind of support I offer through coaching,

[01:09:02] please send this episode to her.

[01:09:04] If you’re curious about working with me as your coach or interested in being on the podcast,

[01:09:10] I’d love to hear from you.

[01:09:12] You can find more details and reach out to me on the contact page of my website,

[01:09:18] herlifeherpracticeherway.com no spaces, no underlines, just the words straight in a row.

[01:09:27] Until next time, keep building a life and practice you truly love.

Juno Wealth Management

Main Street Financial Solutions

Brett Danko CFP® Education Program

Impact 100 South Jersey

The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

Marcus Buckingham and Don Clifton – Now, Discover Your Strengths

Dungeon Crawler Carl Series by Matt Dinniman

Good Hang Podcast with Amy Poehler

Amy Leis, PhD, CFP®, AWMA®, CRPC®
Financial Advisor, Juno Wealth Management
www.junowm.com

Amy Leis, PhD, Certified Financial Planner™
Accredited Wealth Management Advisor℠ | Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠

Providing Financial Health for Sudden Wealth.

With over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, Amy works with families and business owners. As owner of Juno Wealth Management, she specializes in Sudden Wealth including inheritance, divorce, legal settlements, and athletes/entertainers. Her clients appreciate the boutique experience, comprehensive planning process, and creative wealth-building solutions. In addition, Amy also owns AmiableLife Coaching, a consulting company specializing in public speaking, study skills, and practice management for financial advisors.

Practice Areas:
• Wealth Planning
• Investment Planning
• Retirement Planning
• Financial Planning
• College Planning
• Life Insurance
• Estate Planning & Trusts
• Foundations & Endowments
• Small Business Advising
• Tax Efficient Investing
• Charitable Giving
• Behavioral Finance
• Sudden Wealth Advising

Professional Background & Education:
Amy attended the University of Miami for her undergraduate degree. Her Masters and PhD in Educational Psychology are from Temple University. Her CFP® is awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, and the AWMA® and CRPC® designations are issued through the College for Financial Planning.

A member of the National Speakers Association, Amy presents workshops on a variety of topics including the Psychology of Money, Financial Planning for the Sandwich Generation, Raising Financially Healthy Kids, and Wealth Planning for Savvy Investors.

Amy believes in the importance of giving back. To that end she contributes to Impact100 SJ, is the Founder of Working Moms of SJ, and also donates to Ballroom Dancers Give Back.

Away from the office, Amy is a nationally ranked pro-am ballroom dancer. She also loves to golf, travel, and spend time with her husband Kevin and their daughter Zoe.

Connect with Amy online:
Linkedin.com/in/amyleis
Facebook.com/Amy.Juno

It is Amy’s goal to bring convenient, up-to-date information to her clients through email, her website and social network.

[00:19] Tara Bansal: Welcome to Her Life, Her Practice, Her Way a podcast for and about female financial advisors.

[00:28] I’m Tara Conti Bansal. I’ve been a financial planner and life coach for over 20 years,

[00:34] and I believe that when women thrive in this profession, we all win.

[00:39] This show is about sharing our journeys, our struggles, our breakthroughs, and the many ways we build a life and practice that feels true to us.

[00:50] And now I’m extending that mission. Beyond the podcast.

[00:54] I coach female advisors who want to grow a fulfilling practice and a beautiful life that they love.

[01:01] One filled with meaning, freedom, connection, and joy.

[01:06] Whether you’re just starting out, reinventing yourself, or dreaming of what’s next, you’re in the right place.

[01:13] Let’s build this together.

[01:17] Hello, this is Tara Conti Bansal and I am here with Amy Leis.

[01:23] I Every time I talk to her, she is just so fun. So I am thrilled to have her on our podcast today for her life, Her Practice, Her Way.

[01:33] I got to her through Main Street Financial Solutions and Brett Danko.

[01:39] She is with Juno Wealth.

[01:43] Amy Leis: Juno Wealth Management.

[01:45] Tara Bansal: Juno Wealth Management.

[01:46] And she is one of the. I don’t even know, I bet you could count them,

[01:52] the number of CFPs with PhDs in the country.

[01:57] She has a PhD in educational psychology,

[02:01] and I know she also does some coaching and other things, so I can’t wait to hear more about that.

[02:07] But before I get into my questions,

[02:11] Amy, tell us your story. How did you get where you are now? And I want to hear all the way back in the beginning.

[02:18] Amy Leis: Well, thank you so much, Tara. It is such a pleasure to be here.

[02:22] I did not intend to grow up and become a financial advisor,

[02:26] and so I got my PhD first.

[02:29] I thought I was going to be a professor. That was really my goal.

[02:33] And I wanted to be one of really the cool professors who sits on the desk and wears jeans when they teach.

[02:40] And I was teaching adjunct at a couple different local universities and online as well.

[02:47] And I didn’t have two nickels to rub together. I had nothing.

[02:52] And so my school loans kicked in.

[02:54] I didn’t know what to do. I called my dad. I said, dad, I think I need to move back home.

[02:59] And he said, I don’t think so. Love you, bye.

[03:03] And he said it very lovingly. I come from a very long line of entrepreneurs,

[03:08] and so in my family, we all kind of grow up and form a business.

[03:12] And so this was his way of saying, like, this is it. This is your turn now. Go do your thing.

[03:17] And so I literally took the very first job at the Very first place that hired me. And it was a financial services firm I worked in. We started in HR and then they moved training over to the sales side.

[03:31] And so I trained other financial advisors.

[03:34] I trained them in studying for their exams. We worked on practice management, we did marketing, you name it.

[03:41] I got my Series 7 back in 2008 because once again, as a fluke, someone said, well, you know, you should get your seven because it’ll build credibility with the guys.

[03:52] Because back then it was mostly men.

[03:54] And I said, okay, great, I’ll do it. I built the first training program for corporate associates to become advisors.

[04:03] Put myself through the program and never looked back. I absolutely felt fell in love with being an advisor. And I am so incredibly blessed to be here today. But if you had told me,

[04:15] oh my gosh, almost 25 years ago that I.

[04:19] That this would be my life, I would have never believed it, ever.

[04:24] And so to those people listening, I am proof that just keep saying yes to opportunities and amazing things really come your way.

[04:34] Tara Bansal: Take us back. Well, one, I just love how you took your PhD in educational psychology and used that and applied that to this material. And then it kept going from there to you becoming an advisor and just keep growing.

[04:50] But when you were little, what did little Amy love to do and want to do way back when you were like six or seven years old,

[05:00] little.

[05:00] Amy Leis: Amy loved to read.

[05:02] My favorite sport was library.

[05:06] And so I was a massive dork.

[05:10] And I used to go into the library every day at recess. Me and the librarian were besties.

[05:15] I wish I was joking. I am not. So me and the librarian were besties. And so Ms. Cooper, if you are listening to this,

[05:21] I love you and you changed my life. So thank you.

[05:25] So I really, I spent my entire just littleness growing up and reading.

[05:31] I went to undergrad at University of Miami,

[05:35] which also was a fantastic place to be down at Florida, in Florida.

[05:41] Not. I mean, I partied, but it was not the party school that everybody thought of. And even now it’s really worked. It’s just such an amazing university.

[05:49] So I really developed into myself there. I did a ton of activities. I wrote for the school newspaper.

[05:56] What else did I do? I worked on programming for the university. So we used. I was one of the people that would bring the bands in to all of that stuff.

[06:03] And then I went.

[06:04] Tara Bansal: What did you study? What was your major?

[06:07] Amy Leis: I was a double major in journalism and photography.

[06:12] And then I went and got a master’s in art education. So I am a certified art teacher. I used to teach at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

[06:20] Tara Bansal: Oh my gosh.

[06:22] Amy Leis: I was an elementary docent,

[06:23] which means I was the one that took elementary school kids on tours of the museum.

[06:29] And then I fell in love with this class called the Art of Learning and went up to the professor and just said, I want to grow up and be you.

[06:39] And he said, great.

[06:41] Tara Bansal: And that was at University of Miami.

[06:43] Amy Leis: That was actually University of the Arts, which is no longer around in Philadelphia.

[06:49] And then so I went from Miami to UArts, and then from UArts I went to Temple University because I thought, you know, I’ll just get a PhD and then. And then that was it.

[06:59] You know the rest of the story from there.

[07:01] Tara Bansal: Yeah, well, not exactly. But what about your personal life when, I mean, I know you have a family.

[07:10] Amy Leis: I met my husband,

[07:12] I was around 30 years old. I met him in a bar and I met him because I was reading a book at a bar. When I say that I was a reader, like,

[07:22] it is a very good pattern that has carried out throughout my life. I was the only person at the bar reading a book.

[07:29] And I was somebody’s. I don’t drink a lot. I was somebody’s wingman. And so I was bored. I was sitting there reading a book, waiting for them to finish hanging out with people.

[07:37] And so my husband came over to get a drink and he said, you know, is this seat taken? And I was like, yes, it is like.

[07:45] And he thought I was being sassy and I was really just protecting my seat from my friend that had gone to the bathroom. And he asked me,

[07:52] you know, why I was reading a book at a bar. And we just started talking and then that was it. I’ve been with him for 20 something years, ever since.

[08:01] So once again, it’s just another where you just say yes and you go with the opportunity and you’re just really going to see this all over my life because this is it.

[08:09] Tara Bansal: Just who you are and how you do it.

[08:12] Amy Leis: Right. I just. Right. If I have any advice to anyone, just say yes.

[08:16] And so I have been with him for over 20 years. We have a 14 year old daughter who is very much 14 and she’s fantastic and I love her dearly.

[08:28] She’s a keeper and she sings.

[08:31] Tara Bansal: So is she a freshman or a sophomore?

[08:33] Amy Leis: He is a freshman in high school. She just started last week and very, very much a teenager. But it’s really. She’s the light of my life. So it’s.

[08:44] Tara Bansal: Does she love to read as much as you?

[08:47] Amy Leis: She does not.

[08:48] Not even a little bit.

[08:50] She we both love Broadway and so we have that in common.

[08:55] She also is more social than I am.

[08:58] She’s funnier than I am, she’s smarter than I am.

[09:01] Tara Bansal: I can’t imagine that.

[09:03] Amy Leis: Seriously beautiful. She’s really, she’s amazing.

[09:07] Tara Bansal: A good kid. Oh, so great. What kind of books do you like to read?

[09:13] Amy Leis: So now I read trashy beach romance.

[09:17] So if any of y’ all are out there and you have fabulous, light hearted, trashy books, send them my way because.

[09:25] Oh goodness. I just.

[09:27] For me, reading is a form of escapism.

[09:30] Tara Bansal: Me too.

[09:30] Amy Leis: Part of what I do,

[09:32] part of my job is I work with people. I, I specialize in people who come into sudden wealth primarily through inheritance and divorce. And so a lot of times when my phone rings,

[09:41] someone’s died or someone’s getting divorced or it’s a tough or I have a second business where I coach people who have issues with study skills test anxiety or they’re neurodivergent and so they’re really struggling and they have a lot of challenges.

[09:56] And so in my spare time, I need something. Even my TV watching is super light hearted.

[10:05] Tara Bansal: I agree. I mean reading for me is also an escape. I try to balance it.

[10:10] So I’ll do like the light hearted one and then a self help book or you know, go back and forth.

[10:17] How did you open your own practice and how have you still. Because I know you still do the coaching and helping education.

[10:28] So how did that come about?

[10:30] Amy Leis: So I was with a firm named Jani Montgomery Scott. They are a phenomenal firm and I was with them for about 15 years.

[10:38] And my manager at the time, Kevin Wallace, who was one of my mentors,

[10:44] he and I designed a financial advisor trainee program.

[10:49] And the whole goal of the program was to take corporate associates and train them to be financial advisors. Because we saw that there was going to be issues with succession planning.

[11:00] Not everyone’s children wanted to take over the business and there were teams that needed people.

[11:05] So we designed this trainee program and this was unheard of back in the day.

[11:10] And Jani was so incredibly generous. They allowed corporate associates to keep their day jobs while they built their practice.

[11:20] And so I was one of the first graduates of that program and that’s how I built my practice. And then at a certain point you just couldn’t do both. And so I let go of my,

[11:30] my training job at the time and I became a full time advisor. And then I left Janney. I got my CFP in 2019. I left Janney not. They’re an amazing Firm.

[11:40] I just had this you go girl moment and I was going to be my own business owner and do my thing. And. And so I left Yanni in 2019.

[11:49] And I do use Main Street Financial as kind of my back office company support and support.

[11:56] And,

[11:58] and so that was right after I got my cfp.

[12:03] So I left Yani and started my own thing and that’s how I kind of became my own business owner. And then after I got my CFP with the Danko. And by the way, if anybody wants their cfp,

[12:13] sign up with Danko because they’re amazing.

[12:15] Yes. So I got my cfp. I was a fast track student in the Danko program, which is how I got.

[12:22] And yay.

[12:23] And I got to know Brett that way. And then after I got my cfp, I realized that if I exist, right, So I have, I have test anxiety, I have adhd.

[12:34] So like, if I existed, other people must also be out there struggling with their CFP journey and studying and everything.

[12:41] And so I approached Brett and said, listen, I think I can help students. And he said, yes, let’s do that.

[12:47] And so that’s. I’ve been teaching for Brett now five years, I want to say,

[12:52] and my reputation, I don’t market myself. I don’t do anything. But people have heard that I could be helpful. And so then I started teaching people who are doing their seven and they’re sie and they’re 66.

[13:05] And now I’ve helped medical students studying for the boards. I’ve helped grow. Yeah, yeah. I’ve helped people with the sats. Like it’s really grown since then just because there’s a lot of people out there that need the support and it really isn’t being taught.

[13:20] Tara Bansal: How much of your time is spent helping on the education side versus being an advisor?

[13:28] Amy Leis: That’s a good question. It’s hard to quantify because it’s cyclical due to the nature of the test. The nature of the test. So for those of you that don’t know, the CFP is held three times a year.

[13:41] There’s three testing windows. And so in a testing window, I might work a little bit harder towards the study skills because it just takes more time.

[13:50] I also do public speaking, and so there also seems to be a.

[13:54] There’s a lot of conferences in the fall or there’s a lot of conferences in one month in the spring.

[13:59] And so I also teach ethics for the cfp.

[14:02] And so it depends on the ethics season and when people want me to come and do ethics for them. And so it really just, it’s,

[14:08] it just depends. And I, I love that it’s varied because it makes my schedule so well rounded. I’m not the kind of person that could just do any one thing.

[14:17] I would get too bored.

[14:19] So wealth management will always, always be my primary focus.

[14:23] I just,

[14:25] I’m so incredibly fortunate to be able to wake up every day and help people and, and do financial planning. But I just, I love that I have so many irons in the fire, so to speak.

[14:37] Tara Bansal: Well, that seems like your personality. So what, when you work with students, is it one on one? Is it small group? What is the format generally?

[14:48] Amy Leis: So. Good question.

[14:50] When I work with students, it is any and all of the above.

[14:54] I teach large groups, 200, 300 people at a time. I teach, I’ve taught small high school groups. I’ve taught football teams,

[15:03] just high school football teams who are trying to get their guys to do better in school.

[15:08] I’ve taught small groups for the cfp and I do a ton of one on one work. So it really just,

[15:15] it varies.

[15:16] Tara Bansal: And how do you charge for that?

[15:19] Amy Leis: I charge a lot for that. Well, there’s scarcity, right? I’m the only one in the market. I’m happy with a PhD in Etsy.

[15:27] Tara Bansal: You don’t have to defend it. I mean, but do you charge like hourly or like.

[15:32] Amy Leis: I charge, I charge per session.

[15:35] I am also a certified hypnotist,

[15:37] so I charge per session. And there are different packages.

[15:41] So depending on if somebody wants one session or three sessions, five sessions,

[15:46] depending on if they want prerecorded hypnosis sessions, live hypnosis sessions, there’s all different variations of what that looks like.

[15:54] Tara Bansal: When and how did you get your hypnosis certification?

[15:59] Amy Leis: I am recently certified. The past couple of years, I got certified during cancer.

[16:04] So I am a cancer survivor. I’m breast cancer survivor. And the experience of. I am what’s known as a double mastectomy to aesthetic flat closure, which means I did not do reconstruction.

[16:18] And the experience of going through that was so traumatic for me that I couldn’t, I couldn’t stop crying every day. I couldn’t. It was so awful.

[16:28] And I.

[16:29] Tara Bansal: How old were you? Do you mind me asking?

[16:31] Amy Leis: I was 50, 51, right in there.

[16:35] And it put me in menopause. It was a really awful. And. And in addition to all of this, I am a nationally ranked ballroom dancer.

[16:44] And so I, I couldn’t compete the way that I wanted to. I didn’t look the same in dresses.

[16:49] I didn’t have My stamina. I was. It was really an awful experience.

[16:53] And there was a hypnotist that helped me get through it.

[16:57] And so that’s when I was like, huh, maybe there’s something to this.

[17:01] And that’s when I got certified. Cause I thought I could help what I learned. I could help other people and use it for what I do for a living.

[17:10] Tara Bansal: Very cool. How many years have you been doing that?

[17:14] Amy Leis: Just a couple. Not many.

[17:15] Tara Bansal: Okay. Because I know. Oh. I mean, several coaches who are also hypnotists, and they bring that. It’s just like another tool in their toolbox.

[17:24] Amy Leis: Yeah, it’s just another tool. It’s just a. It’s just something. If it works for somebody, great. And if not. And I should mention, it has absolutely nothing to do with my wealth management practice.

[17:33] It is a completely and totally separate.

[17:37] Right. Concept and just separate solution that I have.

[17:41] Tara Bansal: So do you have two separate businesses? One, I do.

[17:45] Amy Leis: I have two separate LLCs,

[17:47] completely separate. Two separate staffs, two separate.

[17:50] Pretty much everything.

[17:51] My assistant for my wealth management practice will help a tiny bit on the other side,

[17:56] but no, it is. I really try to keep up a wall between the two,

[18:01] because as a fiduciary, what we do in wealth management is we have such a high level of responsibility,

[18:10] and I take that so incredibly seriously that I really want to make sure that it’s always kept separate.

[18:19] Tara Bansal: All right. Wow. What do you love about being a financial advisor?

[18:27] Amy Leis: Oh, my gosh, I love everything except paperwork. I love everything about being a financial advisor except the paperwork. And thankfully, I have an amazing assistant who does all the paperwork.

[18:36] I.

[18:37] I love helping people plan and achieve their dreams.

[18:43] I love when someone comes to me. I’ve had women show up with just a box of paperwork,

[18:49] not know what it was, and we just kind of unpack and go through all of it and we get them sorted or they had a bad experience in the past and they come to me, we put together a plan,

[18:58] and then we actually,

[19:00] like, see the plan through over years and years. And I’ve had such longevity with some of my clients now that being able to take them from.

[19:08] From where they were to now.

[19:11] I have clients who retired and moved to Portugal. I have clients that went to Costa Rica. And I mean, it’s just.

[19:17] It’s phenomenal to be able to see someone and know that you got to. It’s like such an honor to be a part of that journey,

[19:25] to be like,

[19:26] you get to be there for. I’m getting, like, choked up about this, but, like,

[19:31] to be Able to be there for people’s highs and lows and the best and worst parts of their life and know that you did this tiny, this tiny little part to help them achieve and be happy.

[19:41] Like,

[19:42] how incredible is that?

[19:44] It is so. Sorry.

[19:47] Tara Bansal: No, I. If you’ve listened to the podcast, you know I’m a crier.

[19:51] Amy Leis: And so it’s just. I know how incredibly fortunate I am that people let me participate in their lives, that I’m so honored and that they trust me and take my advice and.

[20:04] And I’m just so lucky that it turns out. And it. It. I love everything. I. I love every single thing about being an advisor.

[20:13] Except paperwork.

[20:14] Tara Bansal: And you found a way to hand that off.

[20:17] Amy Leis: Yes, because I’m adhd. I cannot do paperwork. And so I found a way to hand it off. So that’s the other thing. I think that there is.

[20:25] There’s an old book. I want to say it’s Marcus Buckingham.

[20:28] Something about now play to your strengths or something about your strengths.

[20:32] And that book was so transformative for me because until then, people think,

[20:37] oh, no, you have to get better at this and this, and you really don’t. If anything, you should lean more into what you’re good at and find someone else to do the rest.

[20:47] Invest in yourself and find someone else to support you in what you need, and you will be so much more successful faster than anything else.

[20:56] Tara Bansal: I agree. And it is. It’s like finding someone to take care of your weaknesses and build on your strengths.

[21:05] What boundaries and systems have you put in place to help you manage? I guess one. And I’m just honestly curious because you have these different businesses and all these different roles.

[21:21] How do you manage that and juggle all that? Because I feel like that’s something I struggle with.

[21:28] Amy Leis: How do I juggle all of it? I would say that I just exist as me and I don’t put boundaries.

[21:38] So I am constantly. I work.

[21:43] Let me see, how to put this.

[21:45] I am available to work 24 7.

[21:48] I don’t have a set workday.

[21:51] And I know that that’s not for everyone. There are some people who really like to be able to turn off at night and go do their thing or they really like to have their weekends off.

[22:01] And that’s not who I am as a person. I work every single day of the year except my birthday. It is the one day a year that I take off.

[22:08] I worked full time through chemo.

[22:10] Uh, I, I napped. I. I took a nice little 25 minute power nap when I needed to in the middle of the day. But I worked full time.

[22:18] I wore a wig. I didn’t tell my clients. I really wanted to make sure that they had the best experience possible.

[22:24] And so I,

[22:26] I, I truly, I just, I, I don’t have a boundary in that sense like most people do.

[22:32] Cause that’s what works for me. I like to be able to.

[22:35] So there are some days that I will do five different client meetings. There are some days that I will do eight different study skills calls.

[22:46] And then there are some days that I’m working from a hotel room and I work all day from the hotel, and then I go compete and I’m dancing at night.

[22:54] Uh, so that happens a lot on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I’m competing.

[22:59] So I’ll fly in on a Thursday night. I’ll work all day from the hotel, and then I go and dance at night. There are days that I will,

[23:09] you know, take off a morning and go take my. So this is another thing. It’s really hard when you work and travel as much as I do to maintain friendships and tight family and all of those things.

[23:22] And so I’m really sorry to my daughter’s school. Who’s listening? But I will take her out of school for a mommy daughter day if it’s, if it right. And we’ll go to T, and we’ll go get pedicures and Because I also want to make sure that, so it’s not about.

[23:36] I think that when people say, like, oh, work, life, balance, I don’t think that that exists so much as you figure out how to fit everything in.

[23:47] And some days are going to be more than others of different things.

[23:51] I think the other piece of it that I need to be really clear about is that I have a village.

[23:56] And I, I,

[23:57] I would hate for,

[23:59] for a woman to listen to this and think, how does she do it all? I can barely.

[24:04] So let me be very, very clear. When my daughter was born,

[24:08] she had some medical issues and I was really, really struggling.

[24:13] I had a babysitter, and there were days that the babysitter made more money than I did.

[24:18] I had a village from day one because I had to, because I needed that level of support.

[24:23] We didn’t have a lot of family and friends close by. I have hired, I’ve always hired and, and, or I would make deals with other moms and just be like, can you come watch my kid for a couple hours?

[24:32] And then I will watch your kid this weekend for a couple hours.

[24:34] Um, if I, it was whatever I could do. I did I’ve just always kind of believed in that when we say play to your strengths. Like,

[24:43] I have always had people come in and try to help where I needed to,

[24:48] even if it meant I wasn’t making money in that moment. Cause I had to pay somebody else to come and do the thing for me. But I knew if I kept doing that and investing in myself that eventually it would pay off.

[24:58] And so let me be incredibly clear. There have been years and years where my daughter’s babysitter would do our laundry and go grocery shopping and run errands for us.

[25:08] I don’t ever want somebody to think that they’re struggling as a mom and there’s something wrong with them. There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s that.

[25:14] It’s that there’s just so much to do. There’s more than any one person can really handle. It also. I can.

[25:20] Tara Bansal: How did you learn that? Like, to invest in yourself and be willing to create this village?

[25:29] Amy Leis: I did this even when I was single, even when I was in grad school. I would hire somebody every couple weeks just to come clean my house.

[25:37] Tara Bansal: I just wonder where that came from.

[25:39] Amy Leis: I was diagnosed. Yeah. Yeah. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was around 24ish. So the irony of having a PhD in ED psych is that I didn’t know that I had ADHD until one of my professors said, hey, maybe you should get this looked at.

[25:55] I really, truly didn’t know. And so I was really struggling. I was not a good student back in the day. I really struggled academically and I struggled socially. I struggled with work, life, balance.

[26:08] I struggled with everything. I struggled with time management, executive functioning.

[26:12] And so when I was diagnosed,

[26:14] I got an ADHD coach. I joined ADHD support groups. And that’s how I learned how to really quickly identify what my strengths were and that I needed assistance in order to be successful in what I wanted to achieve.

[26:30] I’ve always been driven and ambitious,

[26:33] but it was only once I figured out the ADHD piece of it that and putting the systems in place and people to support me,

[26:42] that enabled me to kind of move from there.

[26:45] Tara Bansal: Wow, what a gift. What are your strengths? What are your superpowers?

[26:52] Amy Leis: So I would say one of my superpowers is public speaking.

[26:55] Tara Bansal: And what do you speak on?

[26:58] Amy Leis: Oh, my gosh. What don’t I speak on?

[27:00] So,

[27:01] right. So there’s my wealth management, public speaking. And by the way, this is how I built my practice was public speaking.

[27:06] So I would go and speak to rotaries and Kiwanis club. I found local hospitals that had women’s groups and I went and I spoke to them. I talk about. Right.

[27:16] Because my PhD is in white psychology. So I talked a lot about behavioral finance and how we make decisions around money.

[27:24] I talk a lot around college planning for business owners or something like Social Security or. I had a whole list of.

[27:33] And I did public speaking myself. I know there are a lot of advisors that have vendors who bring in speakers,

[27:40] but I really wanted to be the one up on stage. I thought that there was a lot of merit to being the one up there sharing the message.

[27:49] I. I should also mention I was not a good public speaker when I started. I was not good at any of this. I was not born this way. I am incredibly shy in real life.

[27:58] And so when I knew I wanted to become a financial advisor, I took four years of improv comedy and I, I joined Toastmasters.

[28:07] And I did Toastmasters for a while. And so I taught myself how to think on my feet. I taught myself how to be a good public speaker. I. Everything of who I am today has been a learned skill.

[28:19] And so I would say my other strength is that I learn quickly.

[28:23] And so I was able to take what I learned and then apply that to public speaking. And then on the other side, I speak on ethics, I speak on study skills, I do motivational talks on just how to overcome and achieve and be your best self.

[28:40] You name it. If somebody. I honestly, I would go talk to anybody. I. It’s just how I get my dopamine. I love doing public speaking.

[28:48] And I, I didn’t know that about myself when I was a teenager and in my early 20s. It wasn’t until I,

[28:55] until I became a professor that I, that I started.

[28:59] And even as a professor, they teach you how to teach and do classroom management.

[29:05] But even that I wasn’t very good at until I became an advisor.

[29:11] Tara Bansal: Wow. You. I mean, you come across as like you were born this way. You just like, are so impressive and.

[29:19] Amy Leis: So like none of it. None of it. So I would say my strength. Right? So. So I guess ultimately my strength is saying yes to opportunities and knowing that I will figure it out and learn whatever I need to in order to achieve whatever it is.

[29:34] When I. Another, When I became an advisor, I got a coach to teach me how to play golf because I. This is another way I built my practices.

[29:43] I would find charity golf tournaments and offer to be a fourth.

[29:48] So it was me and three other people that I had never met before playing golf. I wasn’t good at golf. But the bonus of a charity tournament is you don’t have to be good at golf because they play best ball.

[30:00] Yep. And so that’s another thing. Right. So I just. Every single thing I figured out and I just.

[30:06] Tara Bansal: Well, you kept putting yourself out there and kept.

[30:09] Amy Leis: You did. Right.

[30:10] That’s it. You just keep trying the things and finding people to teach you.

[30:14] And then that’s. That’s really the secret. You just keep saying yes and finding people to teach you how to. Whatever it is you need to accomplish.

[30:21] Tara Bansal: And you kept investing in yourself.

[30:23] Amy Leis: Yes.

[30:24] Tara Bansal: 100% in the ways you wanted. Which I think is really a powerful lesson and a great reminder.

[30:31] Amy Leis: But I also think, and this is. They’ve kind of shown research that as women,

[30:35] women have a tendency to invest more in themselves and believe more strongly in the value of education than men do. Men think they’re just going to go figure it out.

[30:46] Women are like, but wait, maybe there’s a class.

[30:49] Maybe there’s someone else who can help me.

[30:50] Tara Bansal: Maybe there’s a coach. Maybe there’s.

[30:51] Amy Leis: Maybe there’s a coach.

[30:53] And I just think that that’s such a strength of ours to know that there’s always something or someone or a resource out there that can help get you to where you want to be.

[31:03] You just have to find them.

[31:05] Tara Bansal: Great advice. What are you struggling with right now? Or where are you growing right now?

[31:13] Amy Leis: Uh, what am I struggling with? I struggle all the time still.

[31:18] I.

[31:18] So. And my ADHD is not perfect by any means. And so I still struggle with.

[31:26] Right. So let me just be very clear. If you walk into my house, it. It’s. It’s a hot mess. Like,

[31:31] we are not organized here. I am not one of those women that has like a beautiful, well decorated home.

[31:37] Nope. And so that for me is kind of.

[31:42] I would love. I wish. Even though we do have people that come in, it’s clean in the sense of like,

[31:47] you know, our bathrooms are clean. But it is.

[31:50] It is so unorganized. I hired a professional organizer a couple years ago to come and help us organize. And it was great until it wasn’t. And then we. We all got off track.

[31:58] And now I need to have somebody else come back in. So that for me is a challenge. Is. I love to live.

[32:02] I love to be. I love hotel rooms. Cause they’re always so clean. I love to be in a space that is very minimalistic and clean and organized. And yet I somehow live in chaos all of the time.

[32:12] So that’s one. I think the other one is Just constantly, as my daughter gets older now wanting to be there to support her and be there for all of her activities and be able to take her where she needs to go and really be a very present person in her life and also travel as much as I do.

[32:31] And so I think finding that balance for me is something I’m always going to be working on until she gets to college and then what else?

[32:43] I am now starting to think of what my future looks like in the next four, five, ten years.

[32:49] So I’m starting to think about succession planning, junior partners.

[32:53] I want to hold onto my business until my daughter comes and takes it over, whether she likes it or not.

[32:59] And so she’s like, oh, I want to be a neurosurgeon. I’m like, what?

[33:04] No, you want to be a financial advisor?

[33:08] So, I mean, I will be a financial advisor for the next 20, 30 years until that. Until she figures out that that’s what she wants to be.

[33:16] So I think,

[33:19] I think that for me is really just kind of what the, what the future holds is figuring out what that path looks like and.

[33:26] Tara Bansal: Just talking about your daughter. How. What ideas do you have for how we can get more women into this profession?

[33:37] Amy Leis: I.

[33:38] I will frequently. I mean, when I say I do public speaking, I will talk to anybody. So I frequently do those in school.

[33:46] What do you want to be?

[33:47] Tara Bansal: Presentations.

[33:47] Amy Leis: Grow up presentations.

[33:49] Because I wish someone had come and talked to me when I was that age and said,

[33:53] listen, you can do this. It’s. It’s not as hard as you think. And yes, it’s great for women. And yes, you have a flexible schedule. And,

[34:00] and women are amazing at being financial advisors.

[34:04] And so I do a lot of. I think if we kind of could possibly get more early exposure, that would be awesome. More stock market clubs in high schools would be great.

[34:16] They are starting to teach now financial planning and a little bit of budgeting and things like that to the kids.

[34:21] But I think they’re not doing it at a career level discussion. They’re really just doing it as a life skills discussion. And so I think if we elevate that conversation to be more like, hey, if you like this,

[34:32] then you too could help other people with this for the rest of your life.

[34:35] I think that’s important.

[34:37] I think that companies like Jani and all the other firms out there that are encouraging corporate associates and supporting them to become advisors is super important.

[34:47] What Gianni did was really groundbreaking at the time. They were the first in the industry to have a program like that.

[34:53] I will Always be incredibly grateful for that program and for the people that mentored me as a part of it. And I think being able to be strong mentors for women who are coming up in the industry also makes a difference.

[35:03] It’s interesting that back in the day all of my mentors were men.

[35:08] And I am so, so lucky that I had these men in my life who for whatever reason were able to be there and advise me and really help open doors for me.

[35:21] And so I want to be for other women the person that I didn’t have at that time.

[35:27] Tara Bansal: I agree. Why do you think women are good at this profession?

[35:35] Amy Leis: So. And they’ve also done research on this as well.

[35:37] Women are better planners, period.

[35:40] Men have much more of a need for immediate gratification.

[35:44] They are more. And I’m being very stereotypical. Yes, please don’t like the cancel culture right now. Like, don’t come hate at me.

[35:52] So like, I’m not all men, you guys. Not all men, not all women. So in general, stereotypically,

[36:00] men tend to be more of immediate gratification, shorter term planning,

[36:07] very short term, goals focused. Women are much more conservative when it comes to their long term planning. They really feel more secure about having a future, making sure that everything is lined up and they’re more, they tend to be more conservative when it comes to investing as well.

[36:25] And I don’t know if it’s because.

[36:27] And generationally, and I can’t speak to this, I don’t know what the research is on this. I don’t know if younger generations are seeing this as much because there are so many more women now at a younger age earning for themselves.

[36:39] But women kind of Gen X, my generation and older didn’t always have that opportunity. And so I think that they had to, just for the sake of their own survival, had to be more focused on themselves financially and from a planning perspective to make sure that their futures were more secure.

[36:56] Tara Bansal: Well, and I feel like our generation and above,

[36:59] like for exactly what you said,

[37:02] there was a gap of like trying to catch up both like information and education wise in finances because traditionally.

[37:13] Right.

[37:13] Amy Leis: It was, it was such a male. Right. Women couldn’t sign mortgages until the 70s, like.

[37:19] Tara Bansal: Yeah. Or get a credit card with that.

[37:22] Amy Leis: And so,

[37:23] and then I think because our generation then started reproducing and now we’re passing that messaging on to our daughters,

[37:30] then we’re seeing a carry through of that conversation in a way that is hopefully meaningful to the next generation.

[37:38] Tara Bansal: I agree. I hope so too. What does success feel like for You.

[37:44] Amy Leis: Oh, my gosh,

[37:45] Successes. And I’m once again super fortunate that I. This is success to me, right? Being able to do podcasts like this and. Oh, I. I still don’t understand why people.

[37:55] Why you would want my advice, but.

[37:56] Tara Bansal: Like, oh, my gosh, you just like, are so incredible, like sitting here.

[38:02] Amy Leis: I don’t understand because I just am like me. And so it’s. It’s fascinating to me that people, when I like, I would. You got all right. My clients, you’re still going to pay.

[38:10] But, like, I would give advice for free. I don’t ever understand why people want to, like, come to me because it’s just so. I think that this is success for me is that I.

[38:18] People who actually want to, like, come and seek me out for advice. I think that’s so cool.

[38:21] Also, being able to have.

[38:23] I’ll never have a work life balance just because I love working so much, but being able to balance where I work.

[38:30] So being able to work from a beach is way better than working in an office.

[38:36] And so being able to have opportunities to go and do that. Being able to have opportunities for public speaking and to go spread my message more.

[38:43] Being able to have quality time with my family and my friends.

[38:47] Being able to continue helping my clients, helping my study skills students. Being able, like, it’s just being able to go and dance and feel alive. You know, when you’re a cancer survivor, it just.

[38:58] Every day that I get to be here is a success.

[39:01] Every day that I get to wake up and hug my daughter is a success.

[39:05] Sorry, I’m getting, like, emotional about this, but, like,

[39:08] cancer is such a life changing in so many different ways.

[39:12] I was always grateful before. I’ve always known how fortunate that I am and how privileged I am,

[39:17] but. And I’ve always kind of. It’s. It’s been very.

[39:21] A very big pillar in my life to support philanthropy and give back because I know how fortunate I am. But on the other side of cancer, it is just to know, like, there were days that I.

[39:32] I was so scared I wasn’t gonna wake up.

[39:35] There were days that I. And the kind of cancer I had was very aggressive. And so it was.

[39:41] It was awful. It was a very terrifying experience. And so being able to be here today and have this conversation with you,

[39:48] like, I went to the gym this morning and lifted weights. Like, I couldn’t.

[39:53] To be able to have this moment, just to be alive right here, right now,

[39:57] to be so incredibly fortunate, right? I have this roof over my head. I got to have a Nice cup of tea this morning.

[40:04] I don’t have to worry where my next meal is coming from. I get to drive in my car. I’m gonna go dance later today. Like, I’m gonna do client call,

[40:11] student calls. Like,

[40:13] oh, my gosh. Like, that is,

[40:15] that’s what success looks like to me.

[40:18] Tara Bansal: That’s so wonderful.

[40:19] Yeah.

[40:21] And I have to say, part of the reason,

[40:26] or I assume the reason that you work so much is because you love what you do.

[40:33] Amy Leis: I do. I love all of it. I love all of it. I love every.

[40:37] It doesn’t, it doesn’t feel like work.

[40:40] I get to, I get to talk to clients who feel like friends. And some, you know, they are my friends. They’re like. And whether they like it or not, whether they know it or not, that’s how I see them.

[40:49] And so I get to talk to friends and then I study skills. Students become like,

[40:54] Right, same thing. Like, I’m,

[40:55] I feel like I, I get to be this cheerleader. I actually, I forgot I was a cheerleader in high school. I was a cheerleader in high school. So I, and let me be clear, I was not a good cheerleader, but I was a cheerleader.

[41:06] And I, I feel like you are way too humble because I,

[41:10] I, I went to a very small high school and they had to accept us. Nobody got cut from a team. And so I got to be a cheerleader. And,

[41:17] and so I feel like I get to do that now all the time for other people.

[41:21] And like, how cool is that?

[41:24] And so I,

[41:26] I work so much. One, because I love what I do. Two, it gives me a dopamine hit. And as an adhd, I’m always looking for the next bit of dopamine I could find.

[41:36] Three, I designed a life for myself that fits around my energy cycles and where I enjoy working and the people that I enjoy working with and,

[41:48] and the fact, the more that you can do that. And I knew that from the very beginning. When I built my practice,

[41:56] there were other people that said, oh, you should cold call. And I said, no, I’m not cold calling, because that’s not, that didn’t fit my.

[42:02] Tara Bansal: That’s not who you are.

[42:03] Amy Leis: That’s not who I was. Or there were people that said, oh, you should go work with this kind of client or you should go do this kind of niche. And I just said, no, not my cup of tea, or, oh, if they have $5,000 on a pulse, take them on.

[42:13] I said, no, that’s not my, that’s not who I want to be. I’m not McDonald’s. I’m not serving everybody. Like, that’s not how I want to build my practice.

[42:20] And there was a mentor back in the day who. The advice was, start as you mean to go on as best as you possibly can.

[42:28] And I truly believed that from day one.

[42:30] And so I always tried to create a lifestyle for myself that in the future.

[42:37] I.

[42:38] I started out knowing I wanted to work remotely. I started out knowing I wanted to build this business. So even though I wasn’t able to do it as fully as I possibly could back in the day,

[42:48] because you’re still within the confines of other people and building a business,

[42:52] I tried my best,

[42:54] my best possible to build this lifestyle for myself,

[42:57] knowing that this is who I was as a person. So I think the more you can be introspective,

[43:04] the more you can know about yourself and understand what works for you, what doesn’t work for you. And then as best as possible,

[43:11] build your life around that.

[43:13] Then the.

[43:14] The better off you’re going to be.

[43:15] Tara Bansal: And.

[43:16] Amy Leis: Yes, you can’t.

[43:17] Yeah. You know, can I curse on here? Can I. Can I say **** happens?

[43:21] Yeah. Okay. So Brad always gets on me because I’m always cursed. I used to curse a lot. Brad had to tell me not to curse so much.

[43:28] So. So, yeah, so. So it. As hard as I work and as healthy as I am and as all of the things that I do right, **** happens. I still got cancer.

[43:36] Bad things happen to good people. It just. People get unlucky sometimes.

[43:40] And once again, because I had worked so hard back in the beginning to be build this lifestyle,

[43:47] I was able to get through cancer in a way that other people would have been more challenged. Because I was already working remotely, I could take a nap during the day or I could go to a doctor’s appointment.

[43:58] Whereas other people, some advisors are so tied to their computers and tied to the desk and tied to the news cycle that they. They couldn’t. They have to be in their office 24, 7.

[44:09] And I’m once again, I’m just so fortunate that I was able to make this work for me.

[44:15] And so I guess my advice to people would be like build.

[44:19] Build a life for yourself. Not just for now, but what you imagine 5 years, 10 years, 20 years in the future is going to look like.

[44:27] And what you want and what you want and what will support you not only on the good days,

[44:32] but a life that you can continue on your worst days.

[44:37] Tara Bansal: Wow. Yeah,

[44:41] that.

[44:41] That is great advice.

[44:45] I was gonna ask what, what advice would you have for someone going into the business. And I feel like that’s what you said. Anything else you would add for that?

[44:56] Amy Leis: I would say say yes to every single opportunity that comes your way. Find coaches, find mentors. Invest in yourself.

[45:04] Truly you are your own brand, regardless of your firm.

[45:09] Treat yourself, your reputation, your knowledge, your experience.

[45:13] I am constantly trying to attend continuing education classes. I’m constantly trying to improve my knowledge.

[45:23] What we do is so important. It makes a difference in people’s lives.

[45:27] They are. They’re paying for the very best version of us.

[45:31] And so. And they deserve the very best version of us on any given day.

[45:35] And so the more that you can strive to be the best version of you, the most professional version of you,

[45:44] the better you’re able to serve others. Right. We exist in the service of others.

[45:49] And that is such a gift. And to be able to honor that and take it seriously.

[45:55] And as long as you do that,

[45:57] then the success comes your way.

[46:00] Tara Bansal: That is beautiful.

[46:02] What I want to hear the ballroom dancing. How did you get into it?

[46:07] How? I mean,

[46:09] oh my gosh, often are you doing it? I mean, I know topics.

[46:13] Amy Leis: I could talk about this for hours.

[46:15] This is one of my all time favorite. So those of us who are neurodiverse, we have hyperfocused topics. We have certain topics that we could talk about forever and ever.

[46:23] And this is one of mine. So you’re going to have to cut me off on this one.

[46:26] So I started dancing the fall before COVID I. What technically did I even start the fall? So let me. How do I put this?

[46:39] Tara Bansal: Before or after your cancer?

[46:41] Amy Leis: Way before. Okay,

[46:44] so I want to say about five years ago, five and a half years ago,

[46:51] I was teaching. So once again, I said yes to a whole bunch of things. So it was a whole chain.

[46:56] My life has just been a chain reaction of me just constantly saying yes to opportunities. By the way, there was a great book by Shonda Rhimes called the year of Yes.

[47:06] I highly recommend. Once again, that book was transformative. I read that when I was pregnant with my daughter right around there.

[47:13] Those years were a blur. So maybe she was like one or two, but early years of my daughter. I read that book and that’s when I started saying yes to even more things than I had been previously.

[47:23] So someone asked me to be on a charity board for women who are doing collective giving.

[47:31] So every woman in the organization, we give a thousand dollars and then every year we donate hundreds of thousands of dollars. And they asked me to be on the board.

[47:38] I was A founding member? I said yes.

[47:41] Tara Bansal: Is this the Impact 100?

[47:43] Amy Leis: Impact 100? Yes. It’s a fantastic organization. Any women out there, I highly recommend you join.

[47:48] Look for an Impact 100 chapter in your area. It’s. They do such great work.

[47:53] So I was a founding member of Impact 100 in South Jersey,

[47:56] and as a board member, they asked me to go and speak to some of the philanthropies who were applying for grants.

[48:04] So I was teaching this nonprofit finance group,

[48:07] and one of the women came up to me afterwards and said, hey, we’re doing this Dancing with the Stars charity to support our philanthropy. Would you like to do it?

[48:18] And of course, I was doing my year of yes. I said, yes.

[48:21] Now, I was not a dancer. When I was a cheerleader, we didn’t have to dance. We just, like, stood on the sidelines and clapped. So I was not a dancer.

[48:27] I am not an athlete. My favorite sport was library, remember? So I was a couch potato. I weighed over 200 pounds.

[48:34] I was really, really out of shape.

[48:37] And so I said yes.

[48:39] And. Cause once again, I knew one opportunity two,

[48:43] I could find somebody who could help me. So I found this.

[48:48] This instructor. I had no idea who he was. None. It turns out he was the number one instructor in the country. But I had no idea at the time.

[48:55] So I. I met this guy, Tommy Radon. He’s amazing. Amazing.

[49:00] And I was like, hey, do you want to do this charity with me? And he’s like, okay, fine.

[49:03] So we met, like, once or twice in January of 2020,

[49:07] and then Covid hit.

[49:09] And Tommy is incredibly entrepreneurial. And so when Covid hit and he cares. Oh, my gosh, he cares so much about his students.

[49:18] And he has a lot of older students. So when Covid hit, he was worried that they were going to be quarantined and not able to move.

[49:25] So he started offering zoom ballroom classes.

[49:29] And so we would all dial in. And that’s how I learned how to dance was from my living room during COVID And then I didn’t dance again with him. I really, truly didn’t start ballroom until Memorial Day of COVID The very first Covid he built.

[49:43] He’s so smart. He built a wood floor in his parking lot,

[49:49] and we would dance holding a broomstick, six feet away from each other outside wearing masks.

[49:56] And that’s how I learned how to ballroom dance. I competed. My first year was Covid year.

[50:01] So I would compete in a mask with a face shield.

[50:04] That’s how I learned how to ballroom dance.

[50:06] And my first Year I had some early success and I thought I was like this.

[50:12] I thought it was because I was actually learning and becoming a good dancer. Nope. It’s just because nobody came out because of COVID Because then the next year everyone came out and I was like, oh, oh my gosh, I really need to get good at this.

[50:24] And I fell in love with it. It’s like,

[50:28] imagine trying on a different T shirt, 20, 30 different T shirts, and not finding the right one. And then all of a sudden you find a T shirt that fits and you never want to take it off.

[50:38] That’s what ballroom dance feels like to me.

[50:41] I lost 30, 40 pounds. I was in the best shape of my life.

[50:46] My cardio got everything improved. Everything improved.

[50:49] Tara Bansal: And you’re having fun doing it.

[50:50] Amy Leis: And I’m having so much fun and I’m meeting great people and I get to travel and.

[50:55] And as an advisor, it was a great hobby because it costs, you know,

[51:00] it’s not cheap. And so it was. I’m walking into a room that has people that can afford it. So as an advisor, it’s great networking.

[51:06] And so it was just a win, win all around.

[51:10] And so I try to compete at least once a month if I can.

[51:16] Some months it works out and some months I don’t.

[51:19] I do lessons. I also try to go in for lessons three or four times a week.

[51:24] Tommy, my instructor, is amazing because he’ll hold lessons around my work schedule.

[51:29] So I’ll take off a lunchtime and go during lunch, or he’ll dance with me at 9 o’ clock at night or on a Sunday morning. Like, he’s really good about adapting around people’s schedules.

[51:40] He’s really good around. He danced with me through cancer, he danced with me through chemo. He adapted what was needed so that I could do it. I’m incredibly blessed that the ballroom community was so supportive of me during chemo.

[51:53] The organizers of the events, the people who set up all of the heat lists, the DJs, the MCS, they would purposely set up my dance schedule so that I could have more breaks in between rounds to breathe and recover.

[52:07] The.

[52:07] The MCs at the events would make jokes or tell the weather or to stall for time so I could catch my breath in between rounds like other dancers from other.

[52:17] Even people I would compete against would like knit me hats. Like it was just such a. An amazing environment.

[52:24] And they’ve actually now even since then, the research come out and shown that ballroom dancing helps people through cancer. I wasn’t even a part of that research. But I could have told them that because it helped keep me so much healthier and have such a better prognosis because I was able to dance through it.

[52:41] Uh, so once again, it was just another opportunity where this random.

[52:45] This. Just this random experience, and I said yes. And it turned out to be just one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. And now when I travel, I go salsa dancing in other countries.

[52:55] I have so many friends through it. I mean, it’s. It’s. I. Everybody should go ballroom dancing. Go right now. Even if you’re not good at it, I’m still not good at it.

[53:03] I try so hard.

[53:04] Tara Bansal: I’m still good at it. You win these competitions.

[53:06] Amy Leis: Yeah.

[53:06] Tara Bansal: You are.

[53:07] Amy Leis: I only win because I have endurance. I just don’t sit down. I win not because I’m, like, a great dancer. I just. I just.

[53:14] Tara Bansal: But to me, it’s more that you love it. Like your analogy and the fact that you just fell and now it’s such a big part of your life.

[53:23] Amy Leis: Oh, my gosh. And, yeah, I mean, there are other dancers who are so much better than me. I lose way more than I win, but I win, like, just enough that the dopamine is like, yes, let’s keep doing this.

[53:33] Tara Bansal: That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Right?

[53:35] Amy Leis: It’s a trophy. I’m. I’m very competitive. I think a lot of advisors are competitive, and this is a great outlet for my. My competitive spirit.

[53:42] Tara Bansal: Well. Well, we are almost out of time. What question do you wish I had asked? Anything that comes to mind.

[53:52] Amy Leis: No. I mean, you’re incredibly thorough. Were you. You weren’t a journalist? I mean, I was a journalist. Were you a journalist at some point?

[53:58] Tara Bansal: No, I. I, like, that’s what hearing you. I’m like, man, I should really work on building better skills.

[54:07] But I do this because I just love. I’ve always loved asking people questions,

[54:12] and so.

[54:14] Amy Leis: And I’m a learner,

[54:15] so I would say only because you mentioned about building better skills. I would say it’s not a question that you should have asked so much as something that I neglected to share,

[54:25] which is the one.

[54:27] So technically, I guess I work every day, but the one day that I take off my birthday. So this is also a ritual that I built in back in the day that I think everyone should be doing is that is my day that I set my strategy for the next year.

[54:40] And so on that day, I look, I reflect on the past year.

[54:45] I fill out my bucket list. I have a whole Bucket list of everything I want to achieve in life.

[54:49] I ask myself what should I start doing, what should I stop doing and what should I continue doing.

[54:55] And then I list out what are my short term, medium and long term goals.

[55:00] And then I figure out what I’m going to do to achieve all of those goals.

[55:06] And I think in doing that that’s really helped me from day one.

[55:11] And knowing that I have this moment, this pause to really reflect on everything has really helped to crystallize a lot of my goals into the success and the levels that I’ve had and achieved.

[55:28] Because it’s a really important ritual.

[55:30] I think people settles and then they forget to go back and do them or they set goals but they forget to ask themselves what should they stop doing.

[55:38] And I, andor where,

[55:41] where is the help? What are the skills I need to be able to achieve the goal?

[55:45] And I, I just, I would recommend that people have a much more robust goal setting process.

[55:52] Tara Bansal: And taking that time to be, I mean that’s hearing you talk, how intentional you are. When did you start doing that ritual?

[56:00] Amy Leis: Oh my gosh,

[56:01] we’re talking day one of being an advisor. I always called it my corporate retreat.

[56:05] And so I go somewhere, I travel somewhere by myself for my birthday. And my family knows this. It is the one trip I take all year without anyone else. I am completely like no one else travels with me.

[56:17] And in the beginning I couldn’t go very far. I would just like rent a hotel room down the shore for a night.

[56:22] And now I travel further.

[56:24] And so I started day one of being an advisor.

[56:28] This was always an important piece for me of how I was going to build my practice.

[56:33] And I tie it into my birthday because then it’s not something I’m going to forget. I know there’s always going to be that day that I can go. And I don’t just work that day.

[56:42] Like I go to a spa too. Like it’s, you know, you make it your birthday.

[56:45] Tara Bansal: But yeah, that, yeah, I’m going to start doing that and I do it in some form. But I love how I don’t know you do.

[56:55] Amy Leis: Oh wait, sorry, I have more advice for people. Sorry, I just have so much to share. I want to hear the other advice that I would give because this I would hope is a lot of women are listening to this and is wherever you are right now in your life,

[57:10] learn how to take yourself out.

[57:12] Take yourself out to dinner by yourself, go to the movies by yourself. Go on a short. Even if it’s one night in A hotel by yourself.

[57:19] Go learn how to do things by yourself.

[57:22] Because as someone who works with a lot of divorcees and widows,

[57:26] they get to this point where they’ve never done anything by themselves. And it is terrifying.

[57:31] It is. I have friends, same thing who got divorced, who just have literally never gone out to a restaurant and eaten a meal by themselves.

[57:39] It is such an important life skill.

[57:42] And statistically we are going to outlive most of the men and we might not always have friends around. And so the ability to go and travel and experience life and sign up for classes and meet other people, like just go out there and do things on your own,

[57:58] I think is such an important life skill that a lot of women,

[58:02] it’s so easily overlooked in our day to day because we are so busy helping other people and surrounding ourselves with other people that making sure you take time for yourself, even if it’s only once every couple months,

[58:15] take yourself off for breakfast. Something.

[58:18] It’s just really important to be able to do.

[58:20] Tara Bansal: Yes. I.

[58:22] After my divorce, I mean, I went to the movies by myself, I went to restaurants by myself. I, you know,

[58:30] it was.

[58:32] But it was like the first time I didn’t have a boyfriend,

[58:35] you know, like, it was a new experience for me and it was hard and it was sad. And yet there was some freedom in that of not having to worry about what anyone else wanted to do.

[58:48] I could go where I wanted and I love that. Yeah. Like, I call it taking yourself out on a date.

[58:54] Amy Leis: Yes.

[58:55] Tara Bansal: And do that regularly.

[58:57] Amy Leis: Yes.

[58:58] Tara Bansal: So real quick, what favorite book or podcast or resource are you loving lately?

[59:06] Amy Leis: Obviously your podcast.

[59:08] Tara Bansal: Thank you.

[59:10] Amy Leis: And Amy Poehler has a podcast called Good Hang, which I think is just lighthearted and fabulous. And she talks to all these great people.

[59:19] So I’ve been listening a lot to that.

[59:21] Uh, what else have I been reading? The rest of my stuff is all either romance or sci fi fantasy. I don’t, I don’t know that anybody wants to hear my book list.

[59:31] Tara Bansal: Um, but if one stands out, I’ll take it.

[59:35] Amy Leis: Oh, I am. Oh, please. I am reading. It’s called Dungeon. You guys are gonna like.

[59:40] I can’t believe I’m saying this online, but it’s a very popular book series. Wait, I’m pulling it up right now.

[59:46] It’s called Dungeon Dungeon Car.

[59:50] I’m not going to be able to pronounce this. Dungeon Crawler Carl.

[59:54] Dungeon Crawler Carl. It is a sci fi fantasy book. It is the most odd,

[01:00:01] random. And I am. I’m already on book four. It’s a whole series.

[01:00:05] I cannot stop reading.

[01:00:08] I don’t even know why I like it.

[01:00:10] I don’t know that I would like but. And yet I’m not the only one because it has thousands and thousands of reviews so other people are clearly enjoying it as well.

[01:00:17] Tara Bansal: I’m gonna have to look it up.

[01:00:18] Amy Leis: It’s just this like it’s imagine if a doomsday scenario occurs but also somehow turns into like a video game that the rest of the universe and aliens can watch and participate in.

[01:00:31] It is so sci fi fantasy so far out there and I,

[01:00:38] I, I’m just reading it just I, I can’t stop. It’s fantastic.

[01:00:43] Tara Bansal: That’s a high recommendation. That’s great because you’re a reader. What any self care ritual?

[01:00:50] Amy Leis: Do I have a self care ritual? I mean everything I do is somehow I’m, I mean I would say travel. Does that count as a self care ritual?

[01:00:56] Tara Bansal: Of course.

[01:00:57] Amy Leis: So traveling I, I travel quarterly at least sometimes it’s just a short weekend for a competition and right now I’m planning a trip to Tokyo that’s going to be my birthday trip.

[01:01:08] This year we did Iceland. This year we did New Mexico. This year. I mean it is I,

[01:01:18] every couple months I’m really doing something. Yeah, I’m doing something. And I think that that for me is one, it gives you such an amazing worldview and you realize how small you are in this great big world.

[01:01:30] And two, it’s just like I said, being able to work next door to a beach is.

[01:01:36] I’m still working, I’m still on my laptop, but you can’t beat the view.

[01:01:39] And there’s something to be said for,

[01:01:42] I mean I’ll work from anywhere.

[01:01:44] And so I think that for me is the biggest self care is just a variety of being able to work from lots of different places.

[01:01:53] Tara Bansal: Do you plan those trips or does somebody help you with that? How?

[01:01:57] Amy Leis: Oh so that’s interesting because I do delegate so much. That is one of the things that so oh also there are Facebook groups for solo female travelers.

[01:02:08] So I go on those Facebook groups and I read a ton of so I do all of the research.

[01:02:15] Reddit is great. ChatGPT is actually fantastic at travel planning and putting together itineraries.

[01:02:22] So I, I plan 99.9% and then I have a little bit of technology help and yeah, and people recommend places to me. But I, it’s, it’s my form of escape is being able to plan all these trips.

[01:02:36] It gives me something to look forward to.

[01:02:38] I’m really Picky about my. I’m a foodie, and so being able to read up on restaurants, and I’m picky about the kind of restaurants I want to go to and the experience I want to have.

[01:02:48] So, yeah, I would say that that’s one of my hobbies is planning my own travel and then traveling.

[01:02:52] Tara Bansal: That’s great. What’s one thing bringing you joy right now?

[01:02:57] Amy Leis: Planning my trip to Tokyo.

[01:02:59] My daughter always brings me joy.

[01:03:03] She sings, and just.

[01:03:04] It’s a skill that I don’t have that I’ve never had, that I never will have.

[01:03:08] And just being able to listen to her sing, it just.

[01:03:11] Oh, my gosh, she sings beautifully.

[01:03:14] So I’d say those two things, and then being able to do. I know this sounds so corny, but truly being able to do. My client calls, my student calls. Like,

[01:03:24] I just so enjoy what I do that.

[01:03:27] That brings me joy. Oh, I should probably mention my husband just in case he listens to this. Sorry, honey. Like, you bring me joy, too.

[01:03:33] But notice how he was, like, last on the list. He knows that. He already knows that. That’s where he is on my priority.

[01:03:38] Tara Bansal: You just seem like such a joyful, happy person. Your energy is incredible.

[01:03:45] Amy Leis: So to be clear, I have tough days. Right. Like, I wake up, and I. I have days that I just want to lay in bed and cry. I have days that are tough a long time.

[01:03:53] Tara Bansal: And I think we also need to hear that. Right?

[01:03:55] Amy Leis: Oh, my gosh.

[01:03:57] Tara Bansal: We all struggle. Yeah.

[01:04:00] Amy Leis: A long time ago, one of my mentors said, as soon as you wake up in the morning, you open up your eyes and you say, today’s gonna be a great day.

[01:04:06] And I did that all through cancer. I did that all through every single day. I open up my eyes, I say, today is gonna be a great day.

[01:04:13] And the second bit of advice is that I always look for a glimmer.

[01:04:17] So. Right. The glimmers are those things that the tiny little joyful moments.

[01:04:21] And the more. So our brains are wired to look for negativity.

[01:04:26] Our brains are not wired to always find joy because we know that pain is so magnified. We know this from behavioral finance as well. Pain is so much more magnified in our brains,

[01:04:35] and so we have to purposely seek out moments of joy and happiness and love and all of those things. And so the more that I recognize moments, that my soul feels full,

[01:04:48] the more we then attract more moments like that. And the more our brain gets used to seeing them.

[01:04:52] Tara Bansal: Yeah. And noticing them and enjoying them.

[01:04:56] Amy Leis: Yeah. And so I would say it’s not that I am a. I am by no means a joyful or happy person.

[01:05:01] It’s that I have cultivated and trained my brain.

[01:05:06] No, I mean, I was. Are you kidding me? I was so depressed, I had to be on. I had a postpartum depression.

[01:05:10] I had to be put on antidepressants when my daughter was born. Like, I was. There were days that I didn’t think I was gonna make it through. It was so bad.

[01:05:16] And so.

[01:05:18] Oh, no. This is. Once again, this is a life skill that I have developed. I have.

[01:05:22] Everything you are talking to today is a skill that has been developed.

[01:05:26] My. My only real, true strength is that I know I can learn whatever is needed to develop the skills that I want.

[01:05:32] Tara Bansal: Well, that’s a great skill, and that’s what I feel like hearing you talk. It’s like you’ll. You have faith, you will figure it out.

[01:05:39] Amy Leis: Correct. And as long as you have that faith, everything else can be learned.

[01:05:43] Tara Bansal: Yes.

[01:05:43] Amy Leis: And it’s not that I don’t have bad days. It’s that I’ve learned what to do on the bad days.

[01:05:48] Tara Bansal: Wow. That’s incredible. Thank you. Thank you, thank you.

[01:05:52] Amy Leis: This was so fun. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This was awesome.

[01:05:57] Tara Bansal: Oh, my goodness. I know I keep saying this, but I truly love and enjoy these conversations.

[01:06:04] Each one leaves me inspired in a different way.

[01:06:08] And Amy’s energy, humor, and heart just radiated throughout this episode.

[01:06:14] For me, there were three big things that I took away.

[01:06:19] First, Amy’s mantra to keep saying yes her entire life seems to have unfolded through that willingness to say yes to new opportunities,

[01:06:29] even the scary ones,

[01:06:31] and trust that she could figure it out.

[01:06:33] It’s such a powerful reminder that growth doesn’t come from waiting until we’re ready.

[01:06:39] It comes from showing up, being brave, and learning as we go.

[01:06:44] Second, I was struck with how intentionally Amy keeps investing in herself.

[01:06:50] Whether it was learning to golf to build her practice, joining Toastmasters and improv to become a better speaker,

[01:06:57] or hiring help at home so she could focus on her strengths.

[01:07:01] She’s constantly developing herself and asking for support where she needs it.

[01:07:07] That’s such an important and great lesson, especially for women who often feel like we have to do it all.

[01:07:14] We can learn, we can grow, and we can get help.

[01:07:19] Third, I absolutely loved her birthday ritual,

[01:07:23] taking that one day each year to step back,

[01:07:27] reflect,

[01:07:28] ask,

[01:07:30] what do I want to start doing?

[01:07:32] What do I want to stop doing? And what do I want to continue doing?

[01:07:37] And then building her goals for the year from that place of clarity.

[01:07:43] It’s such a beautiful practice of self, leadership and intention.

[01:07:48] To me, the deeper message in Amy’s story is is put your oxygen mask on first.

[01:07:55] Say yes to yourself.

[01:07:57] Keep learning.

[01:07:58] Create time and space to be intentional about what matters most.

[01:08:03] Because when you do,

[01:08:05] you show up as your best self for your clients,

[01:08:08] your family, and your life.

[01:08:11] Amy reminded me that success isn’t just about achievement. It’s about joy,

[01:08:16] growth and gratitude.

[01:08:18] About designing a life that fits who you are and allows you to keep dancing,

[01:08:23] both figuratively and literally.

[01:08:28] Thank you for listening to Her Life, Her Practice, Her Way a podcast for and about female financial advisors.

[01:08:36] I truly hope you found something valuable and encouraging in today’s episode.

[01:08:41] If you did, I’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

[01:08:49] It helps other phenomenal women in our field find this space.

[01:08:54] And if you know another advisor who would benefit from these conversations or from the kind of support I offer through coaching,

[01:09:02] please send this episode to her.

[01:09:04] If you’re curious about working with me as your coach or interested in being on the podcast,

[01:09:10] I’d love to hear from you.

[01:09:12] You can find more details and reach out to me on the contact page of my website,

[01:09:18] herlifeherpracticeherway.com no spaces, no underlines, just the words straight in a row.

[01:09:27] Until next time, keep building a life and practice you truly love.

Juno Wealth Management

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Amy Leis, PhD, CFP®, AWMA®, CRPC®
Financial Advisor, Juno Wealth Management
www.junowm.com

Amy Leis, PhD, Certified Financial Planner™
Accredited Wealth Management Advisor℠ | Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠

Providing Financial Health for Sudden Wealth.

With over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, Amy works with families and business owners. As owner of Juno Wealth Management, she specializes in Sudden Wealth including inheritance, divorce, legal settlements, and athletes/entertainers. Her clients appreciate the boutique experience, comprehensive planning process, and creative wealth-building solutions. In addition, Amy also owns AmiableLife Coaching, a consulting company specializing in public speaking, study skills, and practice management for financial advisors.

Practice Areas:
• Wealth Planning
• Investment Planning
• Retirement Planning
• Financial Planning
• College Planning
• Life Insurance
• Estate Planning & Trusts
• Foundations & Endowments
• Small Business Advising
• Tax Efficient Investing
• Charitable Giving
• Behavioral Finance
• Sudden Wealth Advising

Professional Background & Education:
Amy attended the University of Miami for her undergraduate degree. Her Masters and PhD in Educational Psychology are from Temple University. Her CFP® is awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, and the AWMA® and CRPC® designations are issued through the College for Financial Planning.

A member of the National Speakers Association, Amy presents workshops on a variety of topics including the Psychology of Money, Financial Planning for the Sandwich Generation, Raising Financially Healthy Kids, and Wealth Planning for Savvy Investors.

Amy believes in the importance of giving back. To that end she contributes to Impact100 SJ, is the Founder of Working Moms of SJ, and also donates to Ballroom Dancers Give Back.

Away from the office, Amy is a nationally ranked pro-am ballroom dancer. She also loves to golf, travel, and spend time with her husband Kevin and their daughter Zoe.

Connect with Amy online:
Linkedin.com/in/amyleis
Facebook.com/Amy.Juno

It is Amy’s goal to bring convenient, up-to-date information to her clients through email, her website and social network.