Today we’re excited to welcome Zaneilia Harris, CFP® into In The Suite. Zaneilia is President of Harris & Harris Wealth Management Group, LLC, author of the book, Finance 'n Stilettos: Money Matter for the Well-Heeled Woman. Zaneilia brings a wealth of knowledge gained from her more than 25 years of experience in the financial and accounting industry. Her expertise has been featured in prominent publications and media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, US News & World Report, Forbes, Today Money, Women’s Day, Essence, Black Enterprise, Women’s Wear Daily, and PBS. She resides in a Maryland suburb just outside of Washington, DC, with her husband and daughter.
Zaneilia has a zest for all things finance, from inspiring her daughter to save for college and aim for greatness from empowering women to live and define the legacy they wish to leave. For mothers of daughters, Zaneilia offers her personal advice on how to start discussing money with the next generation. She's a true inspiration for all women on how to break behaviors and create legacies to empower future generations of women and young girls In The Suite.
In this episode, we also talk about microaggressions in life and in the workplace and have an open dialogue about the lack of Black women CEOs, toxicity from microaggressions, and facing health issues due to stress.
Furthermore, Zaneilia shares her strategies on how to negotiate to get what you want. She advises women not to go into negotiations empty-handed; rather, do your research extensively. Research about the position, research about what others are being paid for that opportunity. Ultimately, she advises women to ask for what they deserve; it's about realigning your career to meet your values. Zaneilia teaches us it’s never too late to face the path of your dreams rather than diverting further and further from it.
Join the conversation to hear about:
Referenced Materials
🤩 Thanks for listening, we appreciate your support and 5-star reviews of our show!!!
❤️ Please follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/inthesuitepod/
📧 Want to get in touch? Email me at tina@growintentionally.com
Today we’re excited to welcome Zaneilia Harris, CFP® into In The Suite. Zaneilia is President of Harris & Harris Wealth Management Group, LLC, author of the book, Finance 'n Stilettos: Money Matter for the Well-Heeled Woman. Zaneilia brings a wealth of knowledge gained from her more than 25 years of experience in the financial and accounting industry. Her expertise has been featured in prominent publications and media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, US News & World Report, Forbes, Today Money, Women’s Day, Essence, Black Enterprise, Women’s Wear Daily, and PBS. She resides in a Maryland suburb just outside of Washington, DC, with her husband and daughter.
Zaneilia has a zest for all things finance, from inspiring her daughter to save for college and aim for greatness from empowering women to live and define the legacy they wish to leave. For mothers of daughters, Zaneilia offers her personal advice on how to start discussing money with the next generation. She's a true inspiration for all women on how to break behaviors and create legacies to empower future generations of women and young girls In The Suite.
In this episode, we also talk about microaggressions in life and in the workplace and have an open dialogue about the lack of Black women CEOs, toxicity from microaggressions, and facing health issues due to stress.
Furthermore, Zaneilia shares her strategies on how to negotiate to get what you want. She advises women not to go into negotiations empty-handed; rather, do your research extensively. Research about the position, research about what others are being paid for that opportunity. Ultimately, she advises women to ask for what they deserve; it's about realigning your career to meet your values. Zaneilia teaches us it’s never too late to face the path of your dreams rather than diverting further and further from it.
Join the conversation to hear about:
Referenced Materials
🤩 Thanks for listening, we appreciate your support and 5-star reviews of our show!!!
❤️ Please follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/inthesuitepod/
📧 Want to get in touch? Email me at tina@growintentionally.com
Tina Powell 00:08
Hi, this is Tina Powell host of In the Suite where I sit down with top women leaders and some of the biggest names in the financial services and the wealth management industry. Together we'll discover some of their best secrets and top strategies to grow great business build a strong brand and lead teams in the 21st century. I hope you'll enjoy hearing their amazing personal stories of triumph, trepidation and transformation in hopes of becoming better leaders ourselves. The time for you to lead is now and you're in the In the Suite Zaneilia Harris is president of Harris & Harris Wealth Management Group, a wealth management firm that is based in the DC area and works with executive and professional women going through major life transitions, such as marriage, divorce and widowhood, and need financial guidance to achieve their personal goals. Zaneilia is also a shoe lover who appreciates quality and recognizes the power of words and compound interest. Zaneilia’s author of the book Finance ‘n Stilettos, Money Matter for the Well Heeled Woman. She's a former member of the CNBC financial advisory council, a financial educator, blogger and a certified financial planner who's passionate about finances and sharing her expertise with other women so they can become financially savvy. She brings a wealth of knowledge gained from her more than 25 years of experience in the financial and accounting industry. Zaneilia is also podcast host of her own show Heels of Success. Her podcast is a love story to her daughter Zaneilia wants her daughter to look back and be proud of who her mother is, and personally Aspire her to achieve greater Zaneilia’s work and expertise has been featured everywhere in prominent publications and media outlets such as Wall Street Journal, CNBC, US News and World Report, Forbes, Today Money, Women's Day, Essence, Black Enterprise, Women's Wear Daily and PBS. She resides in Maryland suburb just outside of DC with her husband and her daughter. And one of the many gifts that you'll discover about Zaneilia is the value that she places on creating a legacy. In Zaneilia’s words, wealth legacy comes from your behaviors, actions and thoughts. You can teach yourself about legacy while encouraging your children to understand it to in In the Suite. So Zaneilia Harris, I am so excited that you are here today in this week. Yes.
Zaneilia Harris 02:55
I am happy to be here, Tina.
Tina Powell 02:59
Oh, my goodness, it was so fun. I am just so I have big smiles on my face. I saw you earlier in the week on Bloomberg. So we're going to talk about that. For those of you who don't know, Zaneilia, she's president of Harris & Harris Wealth Management Group. She is in the DC area in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. And you are you and I met actually in 2016. Which is the funniest thing, right? And and how life has a way of just bringing, I guess, really amazing people back into your life. And you and I were on a we were on a webinar for Sandy Chaikin. Do you remember that?
Zaneilia Harris 03:40
Yes, I do.
Tina Powell 03:42
Yeah, so it's it's so great to see you. You've been in the press so much lately. I can't wait to talk about that so much as has going on. And you are president of Harris & Harris wealth management. And so Harris & Harris wealth is a women led minority owned financial advisory firm that helps successful women make smart decisions about their money. I am so excited because we're going to talk about some of those money decisions. We want to hear some of your origin story. And again, I led off the broadcast about seeing you on Bloomberg this week, which was so cool. And you were talking about some of the harsh realities and inequities on Wall Street and I figured like hey Zaneilia like let's just look into the let's get into the fire right now. And I saw you on Bloomberg and you're known for his I love the way that you accessorize. I love your fashion sense that plays into a lot of your personal brand and I do want to say you guys all can't see it but I'm wearing my special earrings and I'm wearing stilettos just for Zaneilia today.
Zaneilia Harris 04:56
Oh thank you.
Tina Powell 04:59
I have not put on a pair of stiletto in four months because of Coronavirus. I do want to say that but I should wear stilettos a lot more often. So you have already inspired me today.
Zaneilia Harris 05:09
Great, I'm so happy.
Tina Powell 05:13
So let's talk a little bit about what was mentioned in Bloomberg. And one of the issues and challenges that we have been talking about here In the Suite is how do we bring more diversity and inclusion, and more representation from all groups for particularly women of color, and men of color and an industry that is primarily white. And I loved what you said in the interview, you had a quote about fortune 500 CEO ranks, which actually came up in the episode with Stephanie Foster. And right now there are 36, female CEOs, None. Zero, none of those 36 women are block. And there. Yeah, exactly. There's part of it.
Zaneilia Harris 06:03
And I, and I think the number has increased since that March number. So the march number was 37, and dropped to 36. And I think now is 38. If from something that I read within the last week or so. And and you're right, there are no black women on as part of that group, that cohort of 30s 37 to 38 women, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. And one of the things that I have heard over the years said is that they don't have anybody coming up the ranks, that there isn't a pipeline. And I questioned that because knowing that so many more black women are attending college, not just undergraduate but obtaining higher degrees. I don't get that. That saying that there isn't a pipeline, because I'm seeing and I'm, and I'm meeting them as clients. So I'm seeing all of these highly educated black women that are ambitious, and one opportunity. And somewhere in their experience in corporate America, they're not seeing opportunities to advance past maybe becoming a manager and possibly a senior manager. So once you start moving up the ladder, the less there's opportunity for black women to rise. And so when they get discouraged, then they decide, I'm not going to fight this, I am going to walk away. And I'm going to start my own firm, whatever that is.
Tina Powell 07:43
I agree with you. It's not a pipeline problem. And I was lucky enough to hear Ursula Burns at the time, she was the CEO of Xerox, and she was on the advisory board of our program at NYU. And I will never forget her speaking at Cipriani in New York City to a full house. I don't know how many people were there. It was like 500. And she was amazing. And she talked about her rise as the CEO, and she started as an intern. And so I don't, I agree with you, Zaneilia. Yeah, I don't think it's a pipeline problem. I think it's an exit door problem that term and take the exit door out of and it's not only financial services, I'll label it as corporate America because things get tough. things get tough and people need an advocate, they need a sponsor, they need an ally. And those people need to show up. For those people when they're at that critical juncture. What would you say to that?
Zaneilia Harris 08:42
Yeah, I agree. I think that another point is when people are making the decision to exit, there also could be emotional trauma, from the experience of trying to fight and move ahead. I remember some time ago, I interviewed so a woman who worked in financial services, and she talked about her experience. And it was profound to me because she placed herself in a position where she could be seen. And I think that that's very powerful as well, is she knew enough. And I don't know if someone told her or if she figured it out on her own. But she decided that in order to be recognized, she took the avenue of pursuing opportunities that nobody else wanted to do in the company. And so she became the fixer. So whenever there was an opportunity that nobody else wanted to work, she took that opportunity to fix whatever the issue was, and that was her gateway to rising within the company and getting ready As within the company, but also in being a fixer. Now, I don't know this because she didn't share this. But I was wondering whether or not she also encountered some type of corporate trauma. Because she's bucking against people and ideas coming down at her as she's trying to progress. And so when we talk about the exit door, I think we also need to talk about the emotional toil that black women executives experience. And it may prevent them from even wanting to pursue, even at another company moving up the ladder, because they've dealt with so much. That is, it's paralyzed them to the point that they've just decided that they're going to walk away.
Tina Powell 10:53
Mm hmm. That trauma that you just spoke about, is really important to talk about. And I'm glad that you brought it up Zaneilia, one of the future episodes that we're planning here In the Suite, and unbeknownst to you, and Sheryl Hickerson, also, for Females in Finance that had a hand in it, is we are going to bring Dr. Virletta Bryant here on the podcast, to talk about some of the issues that exist from a trauma from a psychological perspective. And what we can do to be a little bit more resilient, and maybe even find solutions and ask for help when they are most desperately needed. So we are going to bring in Dr. Bryant has an incredible practice the art of Healing Center, she's in DC, she's a PhD. And so I thought it really I love to first of all, you and Dr. Bryant, we're on Facebook Live. And this happened right after the killing of George Floyd. And that was an incredible episode, in that we were all dealing with trauma in our society. And that episode with you, and Dr. Bryant helped me at least shed a light or see that trauma from a different perspective. And that's why I said, this is information that everybody needs to hear. Because trauma is a big part of the the workplace. And the little thing can set you off, you might have had a trauma in your childhood. And so something can set you off psychologically, that you're not even aware of.
Zaneilia Harris 12:41
Exactly, exactly. Now, in bringing up the whole idea about trauma, I want to also talk about it from my perspective, and dealing with issues at work. One of the things that I didn't know I did, I didn't have an outlet to release the pain, the stress, and any trauma that I was encountering. And so it was pent up. So when I was in my 30s I was really sick, I got really, really sick, and the doctors didn't know what was wrong with me. I look back at that time. And I say it probably was stressed that I never knew how to release. I didn't work out at the time. I never I think I pretty much ate okay, but I wasn't really taking care of my emotional health, as well as my physical health. And it began to really affect me, it was like my body was attacking itself, because I wasn't releasing all of that toxicity that I was feeling and carrying around with me, and it was making me it was killing me. So carrying around the stress, emotionally, and in some case physically because microcode microaggressions can be both emotional and physical. carrying all of that around impacts how you are and how you how you look at yourself, and how you carry yourself in the workforce.
Tina Powell 14:16
That is 100% true and and for those of you listening right now here In the Suite, you should know I want to expand just a little bit more on your vitae. I think it's really important Zaneilia. Zaneilia has worked for Merrill Lynch, CITI, NASDAQ you've had before you started Harris & Harris wealth. You were basically in corporate America for most of your career. We probably set off some of those micro aggressions. I know that you had Minda Harts on your podcast, and she mentioned in her book The Memo, these microaggressions which by the way occur regardless of race or nationality or gender. I've actually heard men talk about microaggressions, which for me, made me gave me that aha moment and said, Wow, I didn't expect him to say that. So they are true, but to your point that they can really cause some emotional stress and manifests itself physically, emotionally, spiritually.
Zaneilia Harris 15:24
Exactly. It can. And so I devoted my 30s, to really taking care of Zaneilia. And putting myself in environments that I felt were healthier. But I also recognize now, all experiences are learning experiences, they all help you to grow, to learn to pivot, swivel, whatever you need to do, they are all to me signs for you to look at your life and decide what, what you need to do that's best for you. So when I look at my 30s, and the decisions that I made, I made them understanding that I needed to take care of me. And so while I worked at all of these organizations before, and I appreciate the opportunities that were handed to me, I recognize that at the end of the day, I still have to make a decision that I feel I'm going to be proud of. And that's going to help me to be healthy, not only physically and emotionally, but also healthy in regards to how I operate in my family structure. And so that's my reasoning for starting Harrison Harris wealth management.
Tina Powell 16:41
I can think of no better purpose and mission than that scenario.
Zaneilia Harris 16:45
Thank you.
Tina Powell 16:55
I want to take a quote from your website that I found, what we see growing up impacts our money and decisions. These are such powerful examples of how to manage money, and should be shared with our community, and children. And one of the reasons that it resonated with me, because you and I both share a lot of things in common. We have businesses, and we are mothers. So you have a daughter, Madison, you're very, very much involved in her life. And one of the things I'm fascinated, I never had the financial acumen that you have Zaneilia Zaneilia is a certified financial planner. It is a rigor and it is a beast of an exam and a knowledge that you have to master. And I never had the financial knowledge that I had right now Luckily, my daughter, my daughter is has a 403 B in her 20s it was always my dream for her to have her own retirement account. But now how does somebody like you that you have this amazing career? You've worked at some of the biggest brands in financial services? How do you empower your daughter? what lessons can we take away from you? Even if we're not at your level? from a financial knowledge? I think all mothers listening right now want to empower our daughters. So what advice would you give us to do that?
Zaneilia Harris 18:32
Well, early on with my daughter, we would have conversations about money. We have money conversations about our household, what we are going to spend money on what we're not going to spend money on. But the first example that was profound for me was actually the relationship my grandmother had with my daughter. She would save coins, put them in a piggy bank for for my daughter and she told her this money is for college. And when I think about what she was communicating to her, she was communicating to her that your future is big. And that I see you as an educated woman when you grow up and I'm willing to invest that my small coins into you achieving that dream. Now we dismiss coins because it's not you know millions of dollars. But one of the things that I communicate to to Madison is this. pennies make dollars. And I actually used to say that when I was a kid, my mom would tell you she reminds me this all the time we pick up pennies because pennies make dollars
Tina Powell 20:00
I picked up one yesterday from the shop, right? parking lot I made I still, I'm old school I'm sorry. Money is money. I think it's a sign from the universe. Yes. I pick it up I say Lucky, lucky, lucky. Always lucky. Exactly, exactly. Well, for coins, you touch upon an incredible metaphor, right? I was just getting goosebumps as you were talking about how your grandmother put those coins in your daughter's piggy bank as a way to just sit is a as one of the most powerful ways that I'm investing in you. Right. Now, that is something that Wow, it's so it's, it's like memorialized in, in the brain. It's, it's so powerful.
Zaneilia Harris 20:43
And yeah, so one of the things that has come from that, that I'm seeing now. And so that's why we have to be conscious, I'm always conscious about what I pour into medicine, as well as what I pour into other people. But what I'm seeing now is whenever she gets money, or someone gives it to her, everything is for college. She doesn't want to spend it, it's for college. Mm hmm. And I said my grandmother, she is the one who planted that seed, the seed for her to go to college, and to achieve whatever it is she wants to achieve. So I'm grateful for the relationship that I have with my grandmother. And by the way, that's Madison's great grandmother, ah, so my, my, my grandmother is still alive. And Madison has an has an experience with her great grandmother.
Tina Powell 21:41
God bless, I can only imagine what a profound difference that is in a person's life, to have that many generations in front of you that are just investing in your in your future. And she sounds like she's super jazzed about college already, right?
Zaneilia Harris 22:03
I don't know, she's jazzed about it. But she's definitely it's part of the life that she wants to achieve for herself. She wants to go to college, what that looks like for her, um, we still working that out that picture is still being drawn. But I just like the fact that she has in mind that monies that come into her hands, that it has a purpose. And that's something that I tell my clients is that money has to have something attached to it. Otherwise, if it doesn't, it will just go away. Because you don't have any meaning to attach it. So you're just spend it. So it's I'm very big on my clients telling me what their money is for. If you set up an account, What is this for? Huh? add something to it. Because if you don't, you will just spend it haphazardly. And then you look back and you wonder where did it go?
Tina Powell 23:00
How have besides having conversations with your clients on that some of this is we have our relationship with money is so complicated. And as you're meeting with your financial advisor, and again, I know that you advise a lot of successful women in business who have achieved a certain level. And some of them even have the means to be more creative with their money. Let's just say how do you get a change in behavior? Besides having like a meeting? How do you hold the client accountable.
Zaneilia Harris 23:40
So the first meeting that I have with the client is very, very crucial, because that's where they're sharing with me what their goals are. Another thing that I also tell them is that we will not hang out in a negative space when it comes to money. So I want to hear about your dreams and your aspirations. Even though you may not have achieved them, they may seem impossible, I want to hear about them. Because then in learning about their dreams and aspirations, we look at the money that they have accumulated at this point. And we see how we can match those two things together. And I believe that having positive reinforcement is more powerful than negative reinforcement.
Tina Powell 24:26
Yes.
Zaneilia Harris 24:28
You focus in on something that you aspire to. And now you have, you know what you need to do from a financial perspective in order to get there. That is just so much more. I guess a positive energy focused on something that will help you live the life that you want. And that to me is how I'm able to keep people accountable. Because they focus in on something positive in their life happening,
Tina Powell 25:05
right? And you're reminding them of that, like here, like, these are the reasons. And you're having a deeper level of conversation that's more aspirational, more tailored to what's the outcome of this money. It's like, what is the money really stands for? And so the money just becomes almost like a commodity in some sense, right? Like, it's just, it's there. It's there to represent something much bigger. But to take a totally different form, which is interesting, right? We have something physical, and just thinking of the the juxtaposition of that, but really, the outcome of that is not in physical form at all. It's in our interactions. It's how we take care of each other. It's and it's how we take care of ourselves. Mm hmm. Exactly. Exactly. And I think we need to demystify money. And you did not have it in your book. Oh, yes. So thank you for helping us What a perfect segue because Finance ‘n Stilettos, Money Matter for the Well Heeled Woman, you certainly started to do this to demystify money for us in your book. So why don't you talk to us a little bit about it and help us to demystify that. I think it's a great way to learn about money. One of the things I do enjoy about your book is the way that it's written from a also to from a fashionista perspective. So it's a lot of fun. It's not just like your boring like material feel like very real. You're speaking to me part of your personality is coming through in that book. So tell us about finance and stilettos and and why you wrote it and your fascination with your with your stilettos in your shoe collection.
Zaneilia Harris 26:52
Well, I yes, I do love beautiful shoes. They may not always be stilettos, but I love beautiful shoes. And I think it's like, it's like a piece of jewelry. Because it's I mean, you can you have seen so many variations of shoes from the colors and how designers put them put them together to make them like a piece of jewelry on your feet. And so that's kind of how I look at shoes. And no matter whether you gain weight, or you lose weight, your shoe size generally stays the same. So you you pretty much can have your shoes throughout your whole life. But the whole connection for me with the book, and why I wrote the book. So actually, I wrote it from a practical perspective, because I wanted to make sure that I from a business perspective that I I protected the name finance and stilettos. And now his trademark, but at the time, I wanted that to be associated with me. The book actually started out as a presentation because I was coming up with a way to connect to finance to women. And then I thought about the things that I liked. And so that's where so shoes were something that I liked. And so I figured that that would be a great way to connect to other women was talking about finance, from a fashion perspective. It grew from a presentation to the name of my blog, to the book. And I wanted the book to be an easy read because I wanted people to read it. I didn't I wasn't trying to create a textbook I try. I was creating something that I wanted a woman to be able to read possibly in one night and get a foundation that they can build upon. And they can use the information to ask better questions. Know what to expect when they're working with a financial advisor or planner. So I just wanted the book to give them enough knowledge so that they didn't feel at a disadvantage when they encountered a financial professional.
Tina Powell 29:06
Yeah, yeah, I even see the gift is like being being a gift to a college student with a pair of like stilettos because I think stilettos are the perfect metaphor. Because you show up for that new job. You have that job interview, right? I just gave a reference for somebody yesterday, and I so know she's gonna get the job. I'm really excited. You know, you'd show up with your best you might have purchased a new suit. You might have purchased a new piece of jewelry or a new blouse. But you're always you're always wearing your best pair of shoes.
Zaneilia Harris 29:40
Mm hmm. Exactly.
Tina Powell 29:43
That is like the non negotiable item. It is one of the most important metaphors for women in success as they go into the C suite have these difficult conversations and put themselves in again, I even feel a difference. I haven't put my stilettos on it. You're a man sitting down Right now, and I noticed Zaneilia that I'm even like sitting up a little bit higher, right? Wow, that could be like a really perfect gift to give the stilettos and the book together for just planting the seed out there, everyone, the book is available online too, isn't it?
Zaneilia Harris 30:17
Yes, it's on Amazon. And also you can go there, you can access that through my website, www.hhwealth.com. I have the the link to access the book there. But you can just look it up on Amazon and you can purchase your copy there.
Tina Powell 30:31
I do love the length of it. And from even from a design perspective, the type the typography, it was it's it's well laid out. It's not daunting, it's it's inviting. What's the one thing that just keeps on coming up for women that we could master a little bit better? Not everybody right now is working with a financial advisor. But I know that people would for those women right now who aren't listening, who still want to be like empowered. Is there any major tip one big thing that as soon as you start working with clients like this, besides knowing what your money stands for? What's the other tip that we really could use that we have to master?
Zaneilia Harris 31:12
Negotiation? Hmm, that's really a powerful thing. I had to learn that on my own. But once I did, I was I was very good at it. But we need to ask for what we're worth. And we need to negotiate to get it and not be afraid to do that. And to do it with confidence, understanding what skill set we're bringing to the table.
Tina Powell 31:38
I love it. And so were those stilettos also, too, as you're as you're negotiating, are there any tips? I think it's really important right? Now, I just want to pause and spend just a few more minutes on this whole idea of of negotiation. Because in some ways, one of the things that I recommend is that we need to keep track of all of our successes, right? Nobody at work is going to keep track of your successes. But you it's your responsibility, it's your fundamental responsibility to know what it is that you're doing. So like almost even going home from work and putting yourself in a Google Doc. And what were those big projects? What were those milestones? What do you think is the biggest deliverable? What's the thing that gets the person that you're negotiating with, to buy into what it is that you're trying to negotiate to say, yes.
Zaneilia Harris 32:29
Going into the negotiations with your research, research about the position, research about what other? what others are being paid for that opportunity? Going in knowing having the support from all of your accomplishments in hand. And using those two things, to ask for what you think you deserve. And so when I'm talking to people about negotiations, I'm asking them to come to the table based on what it is that you personally need, and not thinking about what you think they can afford.
Tina Powell 33:12
That's, that's great. That's the key right there. You just hit it. Ask for what you think you need, not what they can afford. Why do we always default to what they can afford? Right? Why does it always like well, the company Oh, it's Coronavirus Oh, this and why do we always default to them and not to us?
Zaneilia Harris 33:38
I think it's because of how we are as women, we tend to think about everyone else before thinking about ourselves. And what I try to do is give space for clients to think about them and put them first. So I'm asking probing questions to get them to consider themselves in this process. And when they do that, I also feel that it gives them confidence, because they're going into it with a plan on how to position themselves to get the money that they need to do to live the life that they want. So they're walking into the environment, having the support to substantiate them asking for what they need in order to live the life that they want.
Tina Powell 34:35
Hmm. And what a empowering discussion to have with your financial advisor. Not how's my portfolio doing not what's my exposure to this, but actually, hey, Tina, uh, it's been a while. I'm kind of looking at your salary here right now and no, no offense, but you could probably be doing a little bit Better What are we doing here? What's the plan of attack here? So I love it. You bring up such an interesting point. And I heard it actually, I know you even have a podcast heels of success. And I heard you talk about this very thing with Minda Harts. She's owner of The Memo LLC. And she's author of the same book, and that you talked about the idea of underselling ourselves the power of negotiation. I'm so glad that you brought that up.
Zaneilia Harris 35:26
Yes, I think one of the things that I am training my daughter to see is I'm training her to understand that she needs to ask for what you want. What you have to ask for what you want. Don't assume that people know. And that your first opportunity to ask begins in the negotiations. And we actually had this conversation today where we were talking about her swimming. And she was just talking about being in a pool, and how she was bumping into another swimmer. And she says, Oh, I prefer to be in the pool with this person, because we have a rhythm. And I said, Well, you have to express what it is you want. Because how are they going to know they can't read your mind. So you have to ask. So the next time you get in the pool, I want you to have a conversation with the person you're in the pool with and share with them what it is that you want to occur. That doesn't mean that they're going to do it, but a least they know. And so that's those are the things that we need to do for ourselves, we need to sit back and think about what it is we want for our life for our families, the legacy we want to leave. And then once we know that, and we may not be completely clear, so some people really don't know. But I think by just asking questions to make people think about it, it changes the dynamic of the relationship that I have with them, but also in their minds with what they think they can have. Mm hmm. And sometimes, no one's ever taken the time to ask you what you want. You've been so busy trying to maybe please your parents, or Please someone on your job, please your significant other that you use, you please your kids, you really haven't taken the time to think about what do I want my life legacy to be? And how can I make that happen? And so I think that that's a powerful conversation to have. And I try to have that conversation with my clients when they come see me.
Tina Powell 38:02
It's a hard question. And it's a question that is evolving throughout the years, I remember even times of my life where I had a hard time articulating that. So it is a moving target. And you bring up an important point about the need to evaluate it and look at it daily.
Zaneilia Harris 38:24
One of the things about having a daughter, it does make you look at life a little differently. Of course, having any children and just having a child period, you began to look at your life very differently. I know for me, and having my daughter, I really became very focused on the things I'm telling myself and the things that I'm telling her. And then that translated into doing the same with my clients. So I tell them when they come to talk to me that this is a no judgment zone. We're just having a conversation. And I'm asking you questions because I just need background. But I don't want you to stay in a place that's negative, because it doesn't allow you the room to move forward.
Tina Powell 39:18
Let's call a spade a spade, it's very hard to sit across from a financial advisor. Because by you just clearing the air and saying that there's a no judgment zone enables the average person to talk about it, and offers an opportunity to learn from it and to just for you as an advisor to be able to, you know, see some of the underlying issues, and then deal with it right from the get go. Because you're at least talking about it. How can you solve a problem if you don't know what the problem is? And if you don't acknowledge that the problem exists that's away from you when you sit down with your clients and you ask them those questions. But what a refreshing dialogue, what I find, and I'm sure that your clients are saying the same thing is that when you leave in advisor’s office, and I've worked in a traditional Wealth Management Office for eight years, everybody always said the same thing. Wow, I feel so much better.
Zaneilia Harris 40:18
Mm hmm.
Tina Powell 40:18
So much better. I think it gives you a sense of having a sense of control.
Zaneilia Harris 40:23
Exactly, exactly. And that's what we want. I know, that's what I want from our clients is for them to take control of their life. And to recognize that money is just a tool so that they can live the life that they want. And for me, I look at everything that I'm doing as a legacy to my daughter, for her to see that she can achieve certain things by speaking them into existence, and then allowing the universe or God depending on what you believe in, to manifest that in her life.
Tina Powell 41:02
So she must be really, really proud of mom, you've been everywhere. Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Essence, you're part of the Investopedia100. I mean, what did she did? This is a really great example. What a powerful example for your daughter as she's growing up, what does she think of her mom?
Zaneilia Harris 41:26
I think she's proud of me. Of course, I'm dealing with her day to day.
Tina Powell 41:31
Face it like a view. If you guys have a daughter, which we do, you'll you'll know, her son too. And it's a totally different experience with with daughters. I just think it's it's great. How are you able to secure all of those opportunities, it's, again, the press is reaching out to you a lot lately, one of the major themes that we've been talking about is more ally ship more diversity and inclusion in our workplaces, which I think are really important issues that we need to talk about. Because it goes back to what we were just saying genelia, if you don't recognize what the problem is, and if you don't speak it and address it, and stay with intention that you want to change it, you can't, you can't do that.
Zaneilia Harris 42:16
So what I do in regards to supporting my family media appearances that that I have been able to obtain, I go into it intentional, and strategic. And I try to align with articles, media appearances that coincide with what it is I'm trying to do with my business. And having a clear idea as to what you want to do makes it very clear when it comes to media opposite opportunities as well, you know where to align yourself, right. And I have worked with people in the past who have helped me secure some of those. And I've also had journalists to just reach out to me. And one of the things that I decided to do was to be as helpful as possible with sharing information. And I remember a journalist reached out to me, I want to say it was last year, and she said, someone connected me to you, because they said you're so helpful when you provide your input. And that was such a great compliment to receive. Because again, my goal in my legacy is to help as many women as possible, live their dream, and then to enter to also live my own dream. Hmm. And so some people may think I'm more of it, but I always I want to live a life where people are glad that they encountered me. So when I'm dead, and at my funeral, I want people to stand up and be grateful that we connected. Mm hmm. And that I had some type of impact on how they're living their life, or that they're living the life that they want because they encountered me.
Tina Powell 44:38
That's certainly a clear definition of legacy.
Zaneilia Harris 44:44
Thank you.
Tina Powell 44:45
Yeah. And already, you've fulfilled that. And I think that besides you have a practice. You have a book. You have a podcast, you've given so much of yourself. unselfishly, and I want to acknowledge that the time that while we met each other in 2016, but then, most recently, when you were on females in finance, what makes it nearly as anelia is that she's her actions are in line with the legacy that she describes. And you can see it in her behavior at a time when the world was very heavy. And when it was very emotional, she showed up. And she showed up to help the I don't know, there were 3040 women on the live Facebook Live. And then it went out to all of us as a as a recording. And I remember listening the following day and taking a walk around the block. And you remind us of the importance of saying yes to the things that matter, and that align with our legacy. And the things that we must that we need to say no to I think we need to all do a better job of just saying no, there, there are people that are going to come in your life, there's going to be through opportunities, there's going to be probably money thrown at you. And that doesn't really match up with a legacy that you want to leave your children and leave the earth with.
Zaneilia Harris 46:19
Mm hmm. And your legacy is more than just money. It's the behaviors. It's the actions. Also think it's your thoughts. Yes, you share with others, right? So all of those things are part of your wealth legacy. The money is the tool. But then what are the things you're imparting upon the people you encounter with? Who are you connected with? And are you helping to make their life better? Mm hmm. I mean, of course, a lot of people always, I think we're in a society now where everybody is very focused on what I can receive, what can I get? How is this relationship beneficial to me? And I try every day to think about what what is it that I'm giving. And, and I'm not always successful, so let's just be real about that. I'm always successful. I'm in that club, too.
Tina Powell 47:19
So I think that the what we do is we give our best intention to something right, not about how many wins we had is that did I put action towards that result today. And that's how I started to look at and maybe you've encountered the same the same thing with your clients is that as business owners, but looking at our success, and evaluating our success is a matter of how much money we have in the bank, what our sales were, everything is numbers driven. And then when I started to focus more on the, I guess, the behavioral outcomes or more of the qualitative, how I felt during the day, how I woke up what I look like, what I felt like, we've all experienced a tough time in our life, where things are not the best that they could be. And I swear it does have a physical manifestation. You can just look at somebody I can look right now I can see that your skin is glowing, you're wearing a beautiful yellow shirt. And I saw you the other day, I'm Bloomberg, it's refreshing to hear that you're creating that zone right from the get go that I know that if I'm your client, I'm going to sit down and we're going to have a discussion about life before we're going to have a discussion about money and the things that are important to me.
Zaneilia Harris 48:26
Yes, exactly. Exactly. That's what I keep foremost in my mind is the purpose and the legacy. And when you keep that foremost in your mind, I think that that helps you stay on the right path.
Tina Powell 48:42
So there are a lot of women listening to this podcast right now that a lot of these themes are resonating. if they have any questions about anything and want to get in touch with you. I know you're everywhere. One of the things I will say is make sure that you're always following Zaneilia on Investopedia. She's putting out really good content, really good articles, get her book and we will be giving away actually five copies of Zaneilia’s book and you guys know the drill here, you have to email me at tina@csuitesocialmedia.com or either send me a message on LinkedIn. Tell me where you want me to ship it ladies and gentlemen and I will give it to you give it to your daughter use it for yourself and not not with the stilettos. You're gonna have to get those on your own copy of finance and stilettos in your inbox. So tell us Analia what's the best way to get in touch with you.
Zaneilia Harris 49:38
So you always can reach out to me at hh wealth.com. I'm on Twitter @hhwealth and I'm on Facebook at hh wealth as well and then you can reach out to me on LinkedIn as ZaneiliaHarris.
Tina Powell 49:54
I just visited your Facebook page too. You got a lot of a lot of activity there. It's exciting. So even if you've missed Zaneilia on one of the, she's doing a lot of speaking, she's doing writing a lot of articles and a lot of outreach, that just subscribing and liking her Facebook page, then you can have access to it at a time that again, if you're busy at work, you can look at it later. So it's it's great stuff. And then we have one last question. And I think I might even know the answer to this question but maybe have In addition, additional answers how we end the podcast each time. And so a lot of us have a either a physical object or a mantra or something that we tell ourselves or where that when we new need that superpower boost in the In the Suite when we need to call upon that superpower. We have it there. And so I wanted to know what does it mean for Zaneilia Harris? What What is your What is your go to superpower?
Zaneilia Harris 50:56
So my go to superpower? Some would probably assume that it's the shoes. That could be sometimes but actually it's the this the color red? The power red because it means that you're in control. It means that you want to be seen but it's also classic. Hmm and so is wearing the color red.
Tina Powell 51:24
I love it. I love it that you had a different answer. I was gonna say like this stilettos and I can I just say like the emoji is on your side. So the emoji is red stilettos in my right like when I'm texting and I when I've mentioned you on Twitter, I put the red stilettos I'm like, Yes, they're red Zaneilia Harris, you've been so generous with your time today and this information. And I know that the women right now who are listening In the Suite are just very appreciative of what you have instilled in us, especially as it relates to our legacy right now. I'm just so grateful for the time and for your insights today. And thank you so much. And thank you to Madison for also too. I know that you're busy with her. So thanks for taking time out of your day to enlighten us. So thank you, Amelia and
Zaneilia Harris 52:14
Thank you for having me I enjoyed it.
Tina Powell 52:21
You're listening to In the Suite, a podcast that shares amazing stories of women in business and the financial services and the wealth management industry. Our producers are Tina Powell and Kevin Hirshhorn. Our editor at large is Kevin Hirshhorn. Our content writers are Simone Brathwaite and Carmen Varner and Tina Powell. Our research and technical assistance are Nitika Uprety and Anvitha Kosaraju and Rachel Powell. In the Suite podcast is sponsored by C-Suite Social Media a digital marketing and social media agency for C-Suite brands and leaders in finance and technology. You can visit csuitesocialmedia.com to learn more, and for show notes from today's broadcasts. And thank you so much for listening and subscribing to In the Suite podcast. Please let us know how you enjoyed this episode with Zaneilia Harris and share your thoughts on LinkedIn and Twitter #IntheSuite. I would love it and it would mean so much. If you left us a five star review on Apple podcast or wherever you listen to this amazing episode with Amelia Harris. You can follow her on Twitter @hhwealth. And always if you would like to share the name of a successful woman in financial services that we should interview please send it to me tina@csuitesocialmedia.com we have received a lot of great games we featured unbelievable women so far and we are just getting started. Again thank you so much for listening and subscribing to In the Suite.