As I mentioned yesterday, five of us spent last week in St. Louis at a conference. One of the five happened to be Kerrie Beene. Kerrie joined the firm just a few weeks ago, but she fits in like she has always been a part of our team. Kerrie and I were previously in a College Planning Group together, this is where a bunch of planners get together to talk about the challenges, policies, and solutions that surround college planning. Kerrie feels that pain! As she mentioned in the podcast recording launched last week (see Episode 34), Kerrie feels the pain of those individuals planning for college, as she is one of those individuals! We hope you enjoy listening to Kerrie’s journey and reading about her dance. Perhaps it will inspire you to change your dance steps too?
Are you on the Dance Floor?
By Kerrie Beene
“Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Deciding what to write about for the blog was a hard decision, especially as the newbie at Irvine Wealth Planning Strategies. It is still odd saying that firm name out loud and it doesn’t feel real that this is my current situation. I could not be more excited to start this new journey. However, I do not believe I would be here if I had not been on the “dance floor.”
I started this journey around 2015, I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t really know what a CFP was or how I would accomplish being one. All I really knew was that I wanted to provide real financial planning to people in my area. The kind of financial help that people really needed. I went back to school and passed the CFP Exam but had nowhere to go to work. I found XY Planning Network and with their help I opened my own RIA, Beene Financial Planning and have been running that firm for the last couple of years.
That all sounds fabulous, but anyone who knows starting and running your own business is overwhelming and I was going at it all alone. Earlier this year I questioned the path I was on and wondered if chasing this dream was a good decision. I began praying for something to “change.” I was not specific about the change but just knew I needed change. When we want change but do not have the ability to immediately change our situation sometimes it feels hopeless. I was determined to continue on this path and accomplish my original goal of helping people. So when change presented itself, it did not look like anything I had in mind. It came as an opportunity to join another firm. Up to this point, I had never thought about joining another firm. I did always see myself being a planner but what I did not expect is that by now, around 3 years into this journey, I would have opened my own firm, started the process to close my firm, and start working for another firm. This was not the dance I started. But I could not be more grateful that I was at least on the “dance floor.”
The excitement I feel for joining this team cannot be expressed on paper. What I can say, is that I have never felt more empowered to help people than I do today. Whether it is Oklahoma, Texas, or New York… none of it really matters but what does matter is that sometimes we can set goals, plan how to meet them, and dream about what it feels like to be on the other side of them but if we never get on the dance floor we will never know what opportunities may come our way.