>> Hi, my name is Patty Vaughn
and I'm a financial consultant
with a fairly large investment banking firm
and basically my job involves helping either
high net-worth families or small companies
or institutions, manage their
investment portfolios.
I started 25 years ago and at that time it was
really a classic stock broker kind of a job
but now its really developed into more
of a wealth management consulting job
where we help people who are looking
to find ways to plan for retirement.
Or maybe they are saving for their kid's
college education or they are looking
for ways to invest corporate money.
Maybe even ways to invest cash
to make more than the less
than one percent that they
are dealing right now.
So we're doing a lot of portfolio analysis
but we're also helping people
with other parts of their lives.
Maybe they need insurance.
We evaluate trusts and wills
and just help people
with general financial -- their well-being.
>> Can you tell us a little bit about your
story, how you got into this career field?
>> Sure. It's kind of funny because I did
major in business, math and business in college
and I did do a investment thesis.
Just investment analysis when
I was a senior in college.
But truthfully that doesn't have that --
there are a lot of people in this business
that don't have that as a background.
A lot of what people are looking for in this
is maybe a sales background because a big part
of our job is going out in the community
or going out and finding relationships.
So I wouldn't say I'm necessarily a sales person
but my job is really to develop relationships
and find people that are
looking for our services.
So I actually was in a sales kind of
a position for the first few years
out of college and I think that did help.
I definitely love what I'm doing.
I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't.
It really is a challenging
interesting every day kind of a job.
I have to stay up on all the stuff
that's going on in the world.
I have to read the news, I'm interested in
all kinds of different businesses so I find
when I meet people one of the fun things about
it is not only getting into the relationship
with them and their families and
understanding what their hopes and dreams are.
But I also really love just understanding what
people do for a living and so it's fun to go
out to people's companies and to visit
to see what they're doing on the job.
So every day is really different.
That's what I think I like about
it, it's not at all boring.
And the other thing I really like is the
fact that it is kind of my own business.
While I do work for a bigger
bank, a bigger company,
it's really my own entrepreneurial business.
I do exactly what I need to do for myself and
therefore I can take off if I need to do --
go to a child's soccer game or whatever.
I mean, I have that kind of freedom.
But it can be really challenging.
Mostly because we are selling
something that there isn't a tangible --
something you can't really touch and feel.
So like when someone buys a stock there
is no guarantee that it's going to go up
and so sometimes you're dealing
with people's emotions.
Obviously the markets, particularly this
last year, have been really challenging
and the environment has been
difficult for a lot of people.
So part of our job is really being
psychologists and holding people's hands.
Helping them through the difficult
times because there always will be.
So we're not -- it's not like when you sell
somebody a house or a car that they can feel
and touch and know that they own.
It's a little bit different so
sometimes that can be really challenging.
>> How could someone prepare
for a field like yours?
>> Probably the best thing is to be in some
sort of a sales environment where you learn,
number one, that the customer is always right.
You're understanding how people think and feel.
I think being aggressive in some sort
of a sales environment is important.
This is not a job where you sit
back and wait for the phone to ring.
I mean, we are always being
proactive, trying to find new clients.
And then often very busy really
trying to just help our own.
But I think the background in
business and sales is important.
>> What does it take to be successful?
>> A lot of hard work.
I know that's kind of a cliché
but we do work really hard.
I think in my business the most important thing
that you can have is someone's
trust and have integrity.
Especially in the smaller
community like we're in.
You just have to make sure you always
think about the client's needs first.
And so I think it really takes determination,
very strong level of service and hard work.
>> What are your hours like?
Do you work from home at all?
>> I very rarely work from home.
You certainly could.
I think with technology the way it
is today, it's very easy to set up
and in fact I have all my things at
home on the computer if I need access.
So if I had to be home I can still be
productive but I very rarely do work at home.
I, my hours are kind of different now
then they were when I first started.
I used to be in the office 7:30 or
8:00 o'clock in the morning and I work
until I get, you know, as much as I can done.
So 6:00 or so in the evening.
I worked a lot of weekends when I first started
but that's just trying to
keep up with the reading.
It's a massive amount of reading in our jobs.
So a lot of times evenings that's what I'm
doing at home is reading the newspapers,
magazines, whatever business periodicals.
>> Do you get to travel at all?
>> I can. I have clients all over the country
and so we'll do quarterly meetings with them.
We have a client in Florida, a client
in California, a client in Rhode Island
and so there is some travel involved but that's
sort of, again, how you create your business
and where you get your clients really is
going to determine how much you travel.
I do -- we are headquartered in Minneapolis so I
do go there to our headquarters for conferences
and I'm on a couple of advisory
boards for the firm.
So I go there for that.
But it's not really a lot of travel.
>> Any final advice for someone who
would like to enter a field like yours?
>> I think, again, you have to
have a passion for what you do.
Working hard is obviously important in any
job but having a passion and understanding
and loving the market is important.
I also think it's really about relationships.
So if you enjoy building and
developing relationships with people
and with families, I think
you would enjoy the job.
But, again, it doesn't come easily.
I think the joke is in my business
when you start out you kind
of have a phone book and a phone.
So I think it's really a lot of entrepreneurial
spirit that's really necessary in the beginning.