May 6, 2024 • 28 mins
Wake up to the latest episode of “InspiHER'd,” where we celebrate female empowerment and venture into meaningful, grown-up girl talk. This invigorating episode features your favorite co-hosts Stacey and Samantha, accompanied by the inspirational Britney Campbell, a trailblazer in the finance industry aiming to bridge the common confidence gap women face regarding financial literacy.
Britney is the mastermind behind HerBank by Legends Bank, an ingenious initiative designed to address financial concerns of women, considering the historic challenges they have faced. In this episode, we delve into Britney's riveting journey, the genesis of HerBank, and its empowering impact on women's financial wellbeing amid the global economic unrest.
As the power of women's wealth comes to the forefront, Britney discusses the replication of HerBank’s successful model within other community banks nationwide, paving the way for a more inclusive, financially aware future for all women. We culminate our enlightening conversation with discussions on the common hurdles women confront in understanding their financial status and how HerBank is working towards mitigating this knowledge disparity.
Through this empowering voyage with Britney Campbell, we broach the importance of financial independence and its significance in fostering mental well-being. Hear us talk about normalizing financial discussions, bringing about financial solidarity among women and emphasizing the eradication of shame and embarrassment associated with financial constraints.
Let's change the narrative around women and money, support environments where women can educate themselves, make informed decisions and seize control of their financial future. Tune in to our candid conversation and step towards bolstering your financial literacy today!
Her Bank (@herbankbylegends) • Instagram photos and videos
Britney Campbell, CFMP (@britney_herbank) • Instagram photos and videos
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello, and welcome to Inspired, your grown-up girl talk.
I'm Stacey Fleece with Samantha Tredelius. As always, Samantha,
how are you? It's Friday.
It is Friday, you know, as we record.
It is Friday. It is good. I'm feeling good. I was gone for two weeks.
I did a little stint in New York, a little stint in Vegas, and then I realized
it's time to get back to work.
(00:21):
And what a better way to get back to work than our guest today,
because she and her Her team are doing some major work in the field of forwarding
the financial well-being of women. So let's dive in.
Let's do it. Today we have Brittany Campbell, who is founder and co-creator
of HerBank by Legends Bank.
(00:42):
We'll get that in there. Brittany, first of all, thank you for being here.
As big advocates of women empowerment in everything that Samantha and I do,
what you are doing with HerBank speaks volumes to us.
Because I do feel like in the area of finance and financial management,
it's still a big area where women are lagging behind just in terms of confidence
(01:06):
and ability and understanding.
And, you know, I lean on the fact that it's literally been, what,
less than 50 years since we could get a credit card without a man's signature.
So it's just so it's so weird. Sorry.
Every time I think about that, it's so weird. But I do feel like this area has
not advanced in the way other areas have for women.
(01:29):
So thank you for being here. This is a hot topic.
And I want to hear all about how this came to be. You guys are approaching your
three-year anniversary.
How did this idea even hatch? Yeah.
Well, by magic. But truthfully, I think that the pandemic really served as a
(01:51):
catalyst in a really unique way because during that time,
I think that it was, at least for my career, which I've been in banking for
over 20 years, it just seemed like a place where customers and your financial
institutions were sort of ground zero together.
No one really knew what was coming next or how what was coming next.
(02:12):
And so when it came down to working with other businesses and a lot of our customers
during that period of time, I think it just exposed a level of vulnerability.
And in my world with the community that I am a part of with a lot of women,
I was seeing them being laid off of jobs, seeing business owners that were scared as to.
(02:32):
How am I going to continue in this environment with this business that I've
built and having Having to pivot and figuring what that was going to look like,
how they were going to, you know, continue getting their people paid or paying themselves.
It was just a really scary time.
And then on the flip side of that, you had women who were had lost their jobs
(02:56):
that were taking a brave leap into entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship, sort of this idea of like, if not now, like,
when would I ever have an opportunity to step into something that maybe I'd
had, you know, on the back burner, because I had been working on my career.
But, you know, at the same time, that fearless sort of scary step was where we saw a place that...
(03:18):
Larger banks weren't really fulfilling this, you know, walking lockstep with
another with their customers.
And in my case and in this case, just with women who really take a different
approach to money, they take a different approach to, you know,
how they want to support themselves, how they want to support their family,
what financial security really means for them.
(03:38):
And so it just hearing those stories and super sorry, my assistant,
my dog, Gertie, you may hear her in the background while we. All right.
All about dogs in the background. Yeah.
But, you know, it just was one of those moments where there was a lot of clarity
around hearing from other women that said, you know, I'm trying to contact my
(04:00):
bank and I'm not getting a person and I have a ton of questions that I need answered. third.
And now through that process was also a lot of question asking that we had as
to what they were really looking for in a banking experience,
what their struggles were, trying to get a better understanding of how do we
serve this community that we're also a part of as women in a better way and
(04:23):
provide this banking experience where banks at that time were essential,
but you were still going contactless.
You couldn't really come into the lobbies and transact in the same way.
And we had a lot of women that were like, I mean, that's really how we operate anyways.
As long as I've got my mobile, my online banking, and I can access the ATMs,
(04:43):
I would actually just, I want to have a person, but I want to know that I can
get a hold of that person.
I don't necessarily need to have an in-bank experience.
So with that combination of things and just kind of being in the right place
at the right time with the right group of people. Yeah.
I just had some conversations with some other bankers that I've worked with
(05:04):
for a really long time who have a lot of life experience as single parents,
as women who've been married, divorced,
all the kind of different things that have also been in banking for over 20
years and said, you know, how do we do this better?
Using all the tools that we have and all the experience that we have to really
develop something that's unique specifically for women and especially doing
(05:26):
it as a community bank. and it just really came together very quickly.
We got it approved because you mentioned it's HerBank by Legends Bank.
So Legends Bank is where we are all employed and got to develop this brand for women.
But our board and management team were very supportive of the concept.
And basically in that time period, I think with having the pandemic allowed
(05:49):
us to take an opportunity to do something a little unique and a little different,
considering that so many things felt like they were changing really quickly.
So that was also a blessing to allow us to do having this unique concept to
be born out of this brand that had been around and the bank that had been around for almost 25 years.
(06:12):
How did you get Legends Bank to jump into this? Because I mean, Let's be honest.
Banks are not exactly on the forefront of advancement and uniqueness.
When you think banking, you think bigger, stodgier, traditional.
(06:35):
This is a real shift in thinking. How did you get them on board?
I think that my experience definitely provided a lot of leverage and trust in
that I had already established myself in a community of women-owned businesses.
We had the research and some data to sort of prove that there was some viability
in all the communities that we serve.
(06:56):
A lot of our leadership team is made up of women as well. And it's really hard
to look across a board of...
Yeah, a little helpful. But even at the top of the house and having a male-dominated
board, which is typical in the financial industry.
To be honest, you can't really exclude women out of that equation because they have daughters,
(07:19):
they have granddaughters, they have wives, they have women in their life that,
you know, a brand like this, especially trying to think about future generations
of women, because all of these things that you talked about with like 50 years,
you know, it hasn't really been that long.
That the movements that have been made are really generational.
So when you think about that next, you know, where we are today versus the next
(07:40):
generation of women, you know, who are going to be your future entrepreneurs
and your future money spenders and all of this kind of thing,
you want to be able to have something that represents them,
speaks to them, and gives them a sense that there is a representation out there
that allows me to manage my money in a way that It doesn't look like the male counterparts.
(08:01):
Which is just, you know, it is what it is.
And it's not to exclude that, you know, there's not some really financially
savvy women out there killing it because there really are.
But there's also a large percentage of women who, despite no matter what their
education level is, no matter what they're actually making, there's still a
lot of confidence issues.
There's still a lot of lack of just knowledge around what is the,
(08:25):
you know, what is the right kind of financial plan to have for me at this various stage of life.
And also a lot of women that still have a reliance on their husband,
a father or somebody else, a male figure in their life to sort of help them
navigate that, which I had that also.
So I understand that. And so.
I think being able to have real conversations with
(08:48):
our board and our management team about what this could really represent and
how unique it could be for us to fill this space that seems to be underrepresented
specifically for women in such a critical aspect of everyone's life could be a really big deal.
And I think it's just the coolest idea.
(09:08):
And I was recently a part of a study with women in finance.
And I don't want to quote myself, but I think the number is in this range.
70% or so of the wealth is shifting to women over the next 10 years or so because
they're inheriting it, their husbands are dying, they're making more money,
their investments are doing well.
(09:29):
So we're definitely seeing women elevating in the wealth category and having
money to play around with and to make decisions about, which is great and phenomenal,
but also helping to fuel what you guys are doing so much because women,
as we all know, we like to do business differently.
And the pale male and stale environments of what the financial industry has
(09:52):
been is something that we're no
longer interested in because they're not understanding what we're doing.
My question for you is this model that you've built and you're seeing that it's
working. It's been three years.
How do we get this into more community banks? How do we help make this happen across the country?
Well, I think it sort of starts with you have to do it.
(10:14):
And I'll say this. It's not like we walked into a room and said,
we know how to create a brand and a niche brand and do it this way.
So it was a lot of learning for us and putting faith in ourselves and just faith
that there are enough women that will support what we're doing,
which that's what's sort of proven to be true is this women supporting women.
(10:35):
Movement is so strong and really is going to be, I think, what will help.
I hope that HerBank, and there are a few other banks in the country,
and I happen to be friends with some of them that have launched this,
maybe a different model, but a similar concept.
You know, it's also having a community of banking bankers across the country
(11:00):
that you can talk to and get your name out there as well as the community starting to demand it.
And I think when they start to see brands like HerBank or like an Impressia
Bank that's more up north, that is a little bit of a different model. Right.
I think you start to see a shift in maybe other banks that like at these conferences
that we all go to where everybody's talking about, I don't know,
(11:23):
data and analytics and digital banking and all this other stuff.
It's like, there's still this human aspect of what we do.
And there are still groups of people that really need more attention when it
comes to money and money management and financial planning, all these things.
And so I get to be in that space a little little bit through some leadership.
(11:44):
I'm on an advisory board for the American Bankers Association's Bank Marketing
Conference, where we get to be a voice for women in our industry,
women who are in the banking industry, as well as serving women from a customer standpoint.
So I hope that that is part of where the shifts can happen, where you can see
(12:05):
that it can be done and other banks can see that it's something that should be done.
So in my role, I'm in mortgage And in my role, I speak to a lot of women,
couples, as they are purchasing a home, refinancing a home, moving up,
moving down, this whole thing.
And it's always remarkable to me how many women in this situation don't really
(12:29):
know where their money is, don't really know how much they have in various accounts,
don't really know the usernames and passwords to get into them.
They kind of live in this world, you know, well, I... And these are well-educated,
like, I know, women, and they kind of live in this world of as long as I can
go to the ATM and take out a couple hundred dollars, everything is good.
(12:52):
And then you really set yourself up for failure should something happen,
either with the marriage or the health of your husband or what have you.
So in this environment, how do you get those? Because I feel like those women
are the ones that really need to close that gap. right?
Like, let's start with figuring out what you have. Let's start with having access to passwords.
(13:14):
But how do you get them in and then meet them where they are to take them to,
I mean, some of these are honestly baby steps, right?
But how do you advance them in that arena?
I think it's finding spaces where you can have really raw conversations.
Because if I said, I want to put on a financial workshop for women on how to
(13:39):
invest your money to build wealth.
I mean, first of all, me personally, I want that information,
but I don't want to like really attend a workshop for it. You know,
it's really sounds boring to me.
It's already going to sound like there's probably going to be three people things.
Yeah. You'll have three people. And those people are probably already doing the things anyways.
It's like, they're just kind of wanting that reassurance and wanting to do the things.
(14:02):
It's not actually sometimes the women who actually need those things.
And I call this the get your shit together stuff.
We love to get your shit together conversation.
Because it's so much more than your bank account. So me as a banker,
I'm sitting here thinking about like, what we really want to do under this brand
is be a resource beyond just this transactional thing of like,
(14:23):
when you think about your checking and your,
you know, a loan or something like that, because it's like,
you know, if you don't have somebody doing your, you know, your tax stuff,
where you can ask questions, your professional partners,
you at a certain age, like I'm sure we're all kind of in the same age range.
It's like medical directives, primary care physician, like all these things
(14:45):
that at the end of the day.
There's going to be a financial impact to you, whether it's your health,
your wealth, your, you know, your taxes, like all these different things that
we have to do to be, you know, everyday citizens.
And, you know, to think that there's women kind of walking out,
like I say, Delulu is not always the Salulu, to kind of go through life when it comes to your money,
(15:08):
because to your point, when the car breaks down or the divorce happens or the
things that like you have these unexpected situations that then all of a sudden
you're having this pro or this reaction to very simple things that you could just be doing.
And I think if we could start having more of those conversations and podcasts
(15:30):
like this, things that make our adulting seem more realistic,
bring it home in a different way to where it's just like, listen,
this is why you need to have this information because especially.
At 25, 35, 45, as all of these life stages are going to change for you,
(15:50):
your financial circumstances are going to change.
It's because you need a level of control so that no one else has that control over you.
And I think when you can start having these messages that will ring in a different
way than like your dad trying to tell you, like, you need to know your passwords
and you need to do this and you need to do that and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
I think instead of a talk down to way or this way that sort of feels condescending
(16:13):
and shameful, like, oh crap, I don't have it together. So therefore...
You know, I'm irresponsible, I'm late, easy, I'm all these other things,
being able just to have some real conversation, women to women as to really
why it's important because of these real world situations to where when you don't have it together,
it's really going to rock your world in a really bad way.
(16:34):
Well, I think it's incredible too. And I don't know if the statistics still
stands, but I mean, at one point it was the, you know, most people couldn't
come up with 500 extra dollars,
you know, the average American, let's say, you know, doesn't have an extra $500
that they could go pull quickly because, you know, their car breaks down or
they have to put on their credit card or whatever the case may be.
And so, you know, as you age and become grown ass adults, as we like to say,
(16:58):
you know, you have to be a little bit more fiscally responsible.
And, you know, as women, you know, having some financial autonomy is huge because
being in control and being able to go buy,
you know, the pair of shoes if you want to buy them or go get the Botox or go
get whatever you want done and be able to pay for it yourself because you,
you know, save the money or made the money.
(17:19):
I mean, those are big, you know, milestone steps for, you know,
in a sense of financial freedom, I guess.
And so not being in control or not, you know, not knowing where your money's
at or not knowing, you know, your passwords.
I mean, I don't find those to be acceptable practices for any grownup and especially a woman.
(17:40):
I mean, we've, Stacey and I have seen so many of our girlfriends get divorced
or husbands pass or whatever, and they are stuck with just a steaming pile of horse shit, if you will.
And they don't know anything about anything because they put themselves in that situation.
So I think the moral and the message of the conversation is you need to be in
control of your finances, even at the most minute level.
(18:03):
Well, and it's just like, for me, it's like whether you're making a ton of money
or you're that person that really can't feel like they can get ahead,
they don't really have the money for savings.
It is, there's so much power in just the knowledge. There's so much power in
taking control of one aspect of your life to say, you know, if nothing else,
(18:23):
I want to know what's coming in, what's going out, what I do have, even if it's nothing.
Nothing, that way I can create actionable steps towards doing a small thing.
And that's really what I sort of encourage because, you know,
I think a lot of what has inspired me is some of my own experiences and my own
story of like, you know, I definitely can contribute to the economy. I love my target runs.
(18:48):
I love, you know, I could probably have a PhD in girl math, you know,
all these things that, you know, a lot of women feel very shameful around emitting.
And I will say I have also.
And it's just like I'm in this position and is representing this industry.
But I also do the things and I also want to have joy in my life.
(19:09):
And I don't want to feel like I'm saving so much that I can't actually,
you know, do fun things like do a little target splurge because,
you know, having a bad day, whatever.
And but I think it's just making those very incremental steps to say,
you know, you will gain exponential confidence if you can just get the numbers
on paper and know where you stand today.
(19:31):
You can gain so much confidence and clarity if you can just come up with, you know.
Organized way to keep up with your passwords and a safe way,
by the way, safe way to get.
Just want my cybersecurity people to be like, not dinging me on this,
but just having those things like in place to where you have a little bit of
(19:52):
organization, a little bit of information.
And then it's like, don't take the burden on of having to know it all.
Like there's going to be people around you, find your banker,
find one of those types of professional partners that you can lean into to help
you and guide you through that next thing, because it may be getting a second job.
It may be not getting hair extensions for a period of time or doing certain
(20:16):
things that you have to sacrifice just a little bit to gain a little bit more
as far as being able to save a little bit of money or whatever.
And I say this and then I'm like hearing my grandfather in the the background.
It's like these little things, even though it feels like such a big deal,
have really do make an impact when you can maybe not get your nails done all
(20:39):
the time and like make little sacrifices for yourself.
Because when you're in control of it, and it's not because you have to do it
and something else is forcing you to do those things, there is a level of empowerment
that you give to yourself to say, you know what, I made this choice because
I want this goal or I I want to do these things.
So I'm going to sacrifice a little something in order to get that.
(21:01):
Well, and let's talk about it even on a different level.
When you have that financial empowerment, not necessarily that you are,
you know, saving for a house, it might be saving for a nail salon.
But when you have that financial empowerment, what does that do to a woman's mental health?
I think it's a game changer because if you think about the impacts that money
(21:24):
has in general, so lack thereof, so when you have nothing, there's a scarcity mindset.
There's fear, there's a lot of negative emotions that can come around not having
it just as much as the other spectrum is having it, you know,
buys you a level of freedom and security and having all of those things.
(21:44):
So it's like you can be unhappy with a lot of money.
You can also be happy with not a lot of money, but it's like,
what are you going to do with that at the end of the day?
And so when you're in a situation to where you feel lack and you don't feel
like you have that security level to doing things to help you move forward in
(22:05):
a direction where you have the resources,
you have somebody that is on your side, but you're also taking some control.
That incremental bit of just
having the knowledge can be such a
game changer in your mental health overall because you're
not sitting there like kind of laying around letting it sort
of be chaotic and not really having
(22:26):
any control and it's not also consumes you like
if you have no money and you have nothing coming in and
you're just you know rachel raincloud coming on
down i mean we've all been we've all been that woman right we've
all been there at certain parts and it's debilitating debilitating to
it's absolutely debilitating and also like you can't
go out with friends or and you don't want to admit to
(22:48):
people it's like I can't go to the dinner I can't do the happy hour I can't
do the thing because I can't really afford to do it on the flip side of just
not being able to pay your bills and like you know I a lot you know fortunate
not to be in that position today but you know early on in my career where I
didn't make that much you know and trying to.
Be a young professional. I mean, there were just times that it's just like you
(23:12):
get that little pit in your stomach of like,
you know, after all of this and the groceries and doing all the things,
like feeling like you may not be able to pay a bill or feel like you,
you know, aren't really able to have the social life or do some of the things
is like, it just doesn't feel very good.
And that over a long period of time can just start to really weigh on you mentally.
(23:34):
And if you don't have a plan, that weight is even heavier.
But I think it's very different to not be able to go to a dinner or versus making
the conscious decision to not go to the dinner because it's not in the budget.
Those are two very different responses.
And I think we need to normalize and be okay with our friends.
(23:59):
I actually had this conversation with a girlfriend not two weeks ago.
She wanted me to go to this fundraiser with her.
The tickets were $500. It was an amazing fundraiser.
But I said to her, I love that fundraiser. I would love to go with you.
But $500 just is not in my budget right now for that.
And it is empowering to be able to say it in that way, and be really okay with it.
(24:25):
And I was very okay with saying, look, I've got one in college.
I've I've got one start in a career.
I'm still very much in like massive support mode right now.
Like I need to start making choices that are smarter and I love her,
but I'm not going to do that with her.
So it's it, but it, it does feel different. It hits different when,
(24:45):
when you're able to make that conscious decision and, and say those words versus just,
you know, oh, I'm not feeling well, or, you know, just not responding because
you know that you really can't.
Yeah. And then you're in a shame cycle that nobody really knows about.
And honestly, I have found personally, when I am really upfront about those
(25:06):
kinds of things, you'll give permission to other women to say, you know, me too.
Like I'm also trying to pay for a vacation and I'm also trying to do these things.
And then it's like, you kind of get this sense of relief even on the other side of that conversation.
That's like, man, I'm glad you said it.
And now you've kind of empowered me to be able to do those, you know,
(25:26):
to also be honest about it and not feel like I have to lie or lie to myself,
lie to the person to give an excuse as to why I'm not doing it.
And for me, my good friends then will come in to support me in ways that's like,
oh, you know, now I realize that you have a goal or I realize that you're kind
of being more mindful about just spending your money.
So instead of inviting you to the happy hours, we're going to do like a walk
(25:51):
and talk or we're going to do the things that really aren't going to be costly,
but also give us time to still have the quality time that I really enjoy with my friends.
Because I do think there's a lot of it is I don't want to admit what my financial
situation is and that I'm hurting financially in any way, or that I'm just at
a goal and I'm just trying to make smart money choices in order to do that.
(26:15):
But also, it's just the don't want to feel left out, the FOMO.
Well, if I tell somebody something, then maybe they don't invite me to the next thing.
But then that just, like you said, it's a way that you communicate.
And when you are a little more honest and transparent about those things,
I think it does change the dynamics of some of those relationships.
And if they are those people, those are probably not the friends that you want to be around anyway.
(26:37):
Those are not your people. But I think controlling the conversation around your
finances and being able to stand up and say, yes, no, I want to,
I don't want to because these things make sense or don't make sense.
I mean, money is one of the most uncomfortable relationships that everybody has. We know this.
And I really think that Brittany, what you and your team are doing to kind of
(26:59):
bring it full circle for women to have a safe space for women to really open
up and find solutions to creating,
you know, a better, faster, smarter way to manage their money is just,
you know, even as simple as like having a place to go to have a conversation
about, you know, how do I set up a savings account.
How much money would I, should I save for these different things?
(27:20):
These services that you're offering, these don't cost people any money, right? Right.
Yeah, generally, there's always ways to reduce your fees.
There's always easy entry into low minimum deposits and, you know, all of those things.
And so I think what is for us, it's really important to understand the woman
in front of us and what their goals are, so that we can sort of help them navigate
(27:46):
that. instead of just saying, I just need to open this checking account.
And just to make sure that we are setting them up. And even if it's not a banking
service, we have relationships with other women in those different spaces for
accounting and legal and all these other things.
So just trying to really assess where they are in their lives,
(28:07):
what they need, and try to give them a more holistic approach to their money management.
So coming to us from Nashville, phil we are
just wondering hopefully the next time we see
you we will have her bags everywhere so that women everywhere are changing you
know their their outlook and their feelings about money britney we can't say
thank you enough you're what you're doing is so inspirational and we hope that
(28:30):
everybody gets out there make sure they've got their financial house and is inspired.
Hello, and welcome to Inspired, your grown-up girl talk.
I'm Stacey Fleece with Samantha Tredelius. As always, Samantha,
how are you? It's Friday.
It is Friday, you know, as we record.
It is Friday. It is good. I'm feeling good. I was gone for two weeks.
I did a little stint in New York, a little stint in Vegas, and then I realized
it's time to get back to work.
(00:21):
And what a better way to get back to work than our guest today,
because she and her Her team are doing some major work in the field of forwarding
the financial well-being of women. So let's dive in.
Let's do it. Today we have Brittany Campbell, who is founder and co-creator
of HerBank by Legends Bank.
(00:42):
We'll get that in there. Brittany, first of all, thank you for being here.
As big advocates of women empowerment in everything that Samantha and I do,
what you are doing with HerBank speaks volumes to us.
Because I do feel like in the area of finance and financial management,
it's still a big area where women are lagging behind just in terms of confidence
(01:06):
and ability and understanding.
And, you know, I lean on the fact that it's literally been, what,
less than 50 years since we could get a credit card without a man's signature.
So it's just so it's so weird. Sorry.
Every time I think about that, it's so weird. But I do feel like this area has
not advanced in the way other areas have for women.
(01:29):
So thank you for being here. This is a hot topic.
And I want to hear all about how this came to be. You guys are approaching your
three-year anniversary.
How did this idea even hatch? Yeah.
Well, by magic. But truthfully, I think that the pandemic really served as a
(01:51):
catalyst in a really unique way because during that time,
I think that it was, at least for my career, which I've been in banking for
over 20 years, it just seemed like a place where customers and your financial
institutions were sort of ground zero together.
No one really knew what was coming next or how what was coming next.
(02:12):
And so when it came down to working with other businesses and a lot of our customers
during that period of time, I think it just exposed a level of vulnerability.
And in my world with the community that I am a part of with a lot of women,
I was seeing them being laid off of jobs, seeing business owners that were scared as to.
(02:32):
How am I going to continue in this environment with this business that I've
built and having Having to pivot and figuring what that was going to look like,
how they were going to, you know, continue getting their people paid or paying themselves.
It was just a really scary time.
And then on the flip side of that, you had women who were had lost their jobs
(02:56):
that were taking a brave leap into entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship, sort of this idea of like, if not now, like,
when would I ever have an opportunity to step into something that maybe I'd
had, you know, on the back burner, because I had been working on my career.
But, you know, at the same time, that fearless sort of scary step was where we saw a place that...
(03:18):
Larger banks weren't really fulfilling this, you know, walking lockstep with
another with their customers.
And in my case and in this case, just with women who really take a different
approach to money, they take a different approach to, you know,
how they want to support themselves, how they want to support their family,
what financial security really means for them.
(03:38):
And so it just hearing those stories and super sorry, my assistant,
my dog, Gertie, you may hear her in the background while we. All right.
All about dogs in the background. Yeah.
But, you know, it just was one of those moments where there was a lot of clarity
around hearing from other women that said, you know, I'm trying to contact my
(04:00):
bank and I'm not getting a person and I have a ton of questions that I need answered. third.
And now through that process was also a lot of question asking that we had as
to what they were really looking for in a banking experience,
what their struggles were, trying to get a better understanding of how do we
serve this community that we're also a part of as women in a better way and
(04:23):
provide this banking experience where banks at that time were essential,
but you were still going contactless.
You couldn't really come into the lobbies and transact in the same way.
And we had a lot of women that were like, I mean, that's really how we operate anyways.
As long as I've got my mobile, my online banking, and I can access the ATMs,
(04:43):
I would actually just, I want to have a person, but I want to know that I can
get a hold of that person.
I don't necessarily need to have an in-bank experience.
So with that combination of things and just kind of being in the right place
at the right time with the right group of people. Yeah.
I just had some conversations with some other bankers that I've worked with
(05:04):
for a really long time who have a lot of life experience as single parents,
as women who've been married, divorced,
all the kind of different things that have also been in banking for over 20
years and said, you know, how do we do this better?
Using all the tools that we have and all the experience that we have to really
develop something that's unique specifically for women and especially doing
(05:26):
it as a community bank. and it just really came together very quickly.
We got it approved because you mentioned it's HerBank by Legends Bank.
So Legends Bank is where we are all employed and got to develop this brand for women.
But our board and management team were very supportive of the concept.
And basically in that time period, I think with having the pandemic allowed
(05:49):
us to take an opportunity to do something a little unique and a little different,
considering that so many things felt like they were changing really quickly.
So that was also a blessing to allow us to do having this unique concept to
be born out of this brand that had been around and the bank that had been around for almost 25 years.
(06:12):
How did you get Legends Bank to jump into this? Because I mean, Let's be honest.
Banks are not exactly on the forefront of advancement and uniqueness.
When you think banking, you think bigger, stodgier, traditional.
(06:35):
This is a real shift in thinking. How did you get them on board?
I think that my experience definitely provided a lot of leverage and trust in
that I had already established myself in a community of women-owned businesses.
We had the research and some data to sort of prove that there was some viability
in all the communities that we serve.
(06:56):
A lot of our leadership team is made up of women as well. And it's really hard
to look across a board of...
Yeah, a little helpful. But even at the top of the house and having a male-dominated
board, which is typical in the financial industry.
To be honest, you can't really exclude women out of that equation because they have daughters,
(07:19):
they have granddaughters, they have wives, they have women in their life that,
you know, a brand like this, especially trying to think about future generations
of women, because all of these things that you talked about with like 50 years,
you know, it hasn't really been that long.
That the movements that have been made are really generational.
So when you think about that next, you know, where we are today versus the next
(07:40):
generation of women, you know, who are going to be your future entrepreneurs
and your future money spenders and all of this kind of thing,
you want to be able to have something that represents them,
speaks to them, and gives them a sense that there is a representation out there
that allows me to manage my money in a way that It doesn't look like the male counterparts.
(08:01):
Which is just, you know, it is what it is.
And it's not to exclude that, you know, there's not some really financially
savvy women out there killing it because there really are.
But there's also a large percentage of women who, despite no matter what their
education level is, no matter what they're actually making, there's still a
lot of confidence issues.
There's still a lot of lack of just knowledge around what is the,
(08:25):
you know, what is the right kind of financial plan to have for me at this various stage of life.
And also a lot of women that still have a reliance on their husband,
a father or somebody else, a male figure in their life to sort of help them
navigate that, which I had that also.
So I understand that. And so.
I think being able to have real conversations with
(08:48):
our board and our management team about what this could really represent and
how unique it could be for us to fill this space that seems to be underrepresented
specifically for women in such a critical aspect of everyone's life could be a really big deal.
And I think it's just the coolest idea.
(09:08):
And I was recently a part of a study with women in finance.
And I don't want to quote myself, but I think the number is in this range.
70% or so of the wealth is shifting to women over the next 10 years or so because
they're inheriting it, their husbands are dying, they're making more money,
their investments are doing well.
(09:29):
So we're definitely seeing women elevating in the wealth category and having
money to play around with and to make decisions about, which is great and phenomenal,
but also helping to fuel what you guys are doing so much because women,
as we all know, we like to do business differently.
And the pale male and stale environments of what the financial industry has
(09:52):
been is something that we're no
longer interested in because they're not understanding what we're doing.
My question for you is this model that you've built and you're seeing that it's
working. It's been three years.
How do we get this into more community banks? How do we help make this happen across the country?
Well, I think it sort of starts with you have to do it.
(10:14):
And I'll say this. It's not like we walked into a room and said,
we know how to create a brand and a niche brand and do it this way.
So it was a lot of learning for us and putting faith in ourselves and just faith
that there are enough women that will support what we're doing,
which that's what's sort of proven to be true is this women supporting women.
(10:35):
Movement is so strong and really is going to be, I think, what will help.
I hope that HerBank, and there are a few other banks in the country,
and I happen to be friends with some of them that have launched this,
maybe a different model, but a similar concept.
You know, it's also having a community of banking bankers across the country
(11:00):
that you can talk to and get your name out there as well as the community starting to demand it.
And I think when they start to see brands like HerBank or like an Impressia
Bank that's more up north, that is a little bit of a different model. Right.
I think you start to see a shift in maybe other banks that like at these conferences
that we all go to where everybody's talking about, I don't know,
(11:23):
data and analytics and digital banking and all this other stuff.
It's like, there's still this human aspect of what we do.
And there are still groups of people that really need more attention when it
comes to money and money management and financial planning, all these things.
And so I get to be in that space a little little bit through some leadership.
(11:44):
I'm on an advisory board for the American Bankers Association's Bank Marketing
Conference, where we get to be a voice for women in our industry,
women who are in the banking industry, as well as serving women from a customer standpoint.
So I hope that that is part of where the shifts can happen, where you can see
(12:05):
that it can be done and other banks can see that it's something that should be done.
So in my role, I'm in mortgage And in my role, I speak to a lot of women,
couples, as they are purchasing a home, refinancing a home, moving up,
moving down, this whole thing.
And it's always remarkable to me how many women in this situation don't really
(12:29):
know where their money is, don't really know how much they have in various accounts,
don't really know the usernames and passwords to get into them.
They kind of live in this world, you know, well, I... And these are well-educated,
like, I know, women, and they kind of live in this world of as long as I can
go to the ATM and take out a couple hundred dollars, everything is good.
(12:52):
And then you really set yourself up for failure should something happen,
either with the marriage or the health of your husband or what have you.
So in this environment, how do you get those? Because I feel like those women
are the ones that really need to close that gap. right?
Like, let's start with figuring out what you have. Let's start with having access to passwords.
(13:14):
But how do you get them in and then meet them where they are to take them to,
I mean, some of these are honestly baby steps, right?
But how do you advance them in that arena?
I think it's finding spaces where you can have really raw conversations.
Because if I said, I want to put on a financial workshop for women on how to
(13:39):
invest your money to build wealth.
I mean, first of all, me personally, I want that information,
but I don't want to like really attend a workshop for it. You know,
it's really sounds boring to me.
It's already going to sound like there's probably going to be three people things.
Yeah. You'll have three people. And those people are probably already doing the things anyways.
It's like, they're just kind of wanting that reassurance and wanting to do the things.
(14:02):
It's not actually sometimes the women who actually need those things.
And I call this the get your shit together stuff.
We love to get your shit together conversation.
Because it's so much more than your bank account. So me as a banker,
I'm sitting here thinking about like, what we really want to do under this brand
is be a resource beyond just this transactional thing of like,
(14:23):
when you think about your checking and your,
you know, a loan or something like that, because it's like,
you know, if you don't have somebody doing your, you know, your tax stuff,
where you can ask questions, your professional partners,
you at a certain age, like I'm sure we're all kind of in the same age range.
It's like medical directives, primary care physician, like all these things
(14:45):
that at the end of the day.
There's going to be a financial impact to you, whether it's your health,
your wealth, your, you know, your taxes, like all these different things that
we have to do to be, you know, everyday citizens.
And, you know, to think that there's women kind of walking out,
like I say, Delulu is not always the Salulu, to kind of go through life when it comes to your money,
(15:08):
because to your point, when the car breaks down or the divorce happens or the
things that like you have these unexpected situations that then all of a sudden
you're having this pro or this reaction to very simple things that you could just be doing.
And I think if we could start having more of those conversations and podcasts
(15:30):
like this, things that make our adulting seem more realistic,
bring it home in a different way to where it's just like, listen,
this is why you need to have this information because especially.
At 25, 35, 45, as all of these life stages are going to change for you,
(15:50):
your financial circumstances are going to change.
It's because you need a level of control so that no one else has that control over you.
And I think when you can start having these messages that will ring in a different
way than like your dad trying to tell you, like, you need to know your passwords
and you need to do this and you need to do that and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
I think instead of a talk down to way or this way that sort of feels condescending
(16:13):
and shameful, like, oh crap, I don't have it together. So therefore...
You know, I'm irresponsible, I'm late, easy, I'm all these other things,
being able just to have some real conversation, women to women as to really
why it's important because of these real world situations to where when you don't have it together,
it's really going to rock your world in a really bad way.
(16:34):
Well, I think it's incredible too. And I don't know if the statistics still
stands, but I mean, at one point it was the, you know, most people couldn't
come up with 500 extra dollars,
you know, the average American, let's say, you know, doesn't have an extra $500
that they could go pull quickly because, you know, their car breaks down or
they have to put on their credit card or whatever the case may be.
And so, you know, as you age and become grown ass adults, as we like to say,
(16:58):
you know, you have to be a little bit more fiscally responsible.
And, you know, as women, you know, having some financial autonomy is huge because
being in control and being able to go buy,
you know, the pair of shoes if you want to buy them or go get the Botox or go
get whatever you want done and be able to pay for it yourself because you,
you know, save the money or made the money.
(17:19):
I mean, those are big, you know, milestone steps for, you know,
in a sense of financial freedom, I guess.
And so not being in control or not, you know, not knowing where your money's
at or not knowing, you know, your passwords.
I mean, I don't find those to be acceptable practices for any grownup and especially a woman.
(17:40):
I mean, we've, Stacey and I have seen so many of our girlfriends get divorced
or husbands pass or whatever, and they are stuck with just a steaming pile of horse shit, if you will.
And they don't know anything about anything because they put themselves in that situation.
So I think the moral and the message of the conversation is you need to be in
control of your finances, even at the most minute level.
(18:03):
Well, and it's just like, for me, it's like whether you're making a ton of money
or you're that person that really can't feel like they can get ahead,
they don't really have the money for savings.
It is, there's so much power in just the knowledge. There's so much power in
taking control of one aspect of your life to say, you know, if nothing else,
(18:23):
I want to know what's coming in, what's going out, what I do have, even if it's nothing.
Nothing, that way I can create actionable steps towards doing a small thing.
And that's really what I sort of encourage because, you know,
I think a lot of what has inspired me is some of my own experiences and my own
story of like, you know, I definitely can contribute to the economy. I love my target runs.
(18:48):
I love, you know, I could probably have a PhD in girl math, you know,
all these things that, you know, a lot of women feel very shameful around emitting.
And I will say I have also.
And it's just like I'm in this position and is representing this industry.
But I also do the things and I also want to have joy in my life.
(19:09):
And I don't want to feel like I'm saving so much that I can't actually,
you know, do fun things like do a little target splurge because,
you know, having a bad day, whatever.
And but I think it's just making those very incremental steps to say,
you know, you will gain exponential confidence if you can just get the numbers
on paper and know where you stand today.
(19:31):
You can gain so much confidence and clarity if you can just come up with, you know.
Organized way to keep up with your passwords and a safe way,
by the way, safe way to get.
Just want my cybersecurity people to be like, not dinging me on this,
but just having those things like in place to where you have a little bit of
(19:52):
organization, a little bit of information.
And then it's like, don't take the burden on of having to know it all.
Like there's going to be people around you, find your banker,
find one of those types of professional partners that you can lean into to help
you and guide you through that next thing, because it may be getting a second job.
It may be not getting hair extensions for a period of time or doing certain
(20:16):
things that you have to sacrifice just a little bit to gain a little bit more
as far as being able to save a little bit of money or whatever.
And I say this and then I'm like hearing my grandfather in the the background.
It's like these little things, even though it feels like such a big deal,
have really do make an impact when you can maybe not get your nails done all
(20:39):
the time and like make little sacrifices for yourself.
Because when you're in control of it, and it's not because you have to do it
and something else is forcing you to do those things, there is a level of empowerment
that you give to yourself to say, you know what, I made this choice because
I want this goal or I I want to do these things.
So I'm going to sacrifice a little something in order to get that.
(21:01):
Well, and let's talk about it even on a different level.
When you have that financial empowerment, not necessarily that you are,
you know, saving for a house, it might be saving for a nail salon.
But when you have that financial empowerment, what does that do to a woman's mental health?
I think it's a game changer because if you think about the impacts that money
(21:24):
has in general, so lack thereof, so when you have nothing, there's a scarcity mindset.
There's fear, there's a lot of negative emotions that can come around not having
it just as much as the other spectrum is having it, you know,
buys you a level of freedom and security and having all of those things.
(21:44):
So it's like you can be unhappy with a lot of money.
You can also be happy with not a lot of money, but it's like,
what are you going to do with that at the end of the day?
And so when you're in a situation to where you feel lack and you don't feel
like you have that security level to doing things to help you move forward in
(22:05):
a direction where you have the resources,
you have somebody that is on your side, but you're also taking some control.
That incremental bit of just
having the knowledge can be such a
game changer in your mental health overall because you're
not sitting there like kind of laying around letting it sort
of be chaotic and not really having
(22:26):
any control and it's not also consumes you like
if you have no money and you have nothing coming in and
you're just you know rachel raincloud coming on
down i mean we've all been we've all been that woman right we've
all been there at certain parts and it's debilitating debilitating to
it's absolutely debilitating and also like you can't
go out with friends or and you don't want to admit to
(22:48):
people it's like I can't go to the dinner I can't do the happy hour I can't
do the thing because I can't really afford to do it on the flip side of just
not being able to pay your bills and like you know I a lot you know fortunate
not to be in that position today but you know early on in my career where I
didn't make that much you know and trying to.
Be a young professional. I mean, there were just times that it's just like you
(23:12):
get that little pit in your stomach of like,
you know, after all of this and the groceries and doing all the things,
like feeling like you may not be able to pay a bill or feel like you,
you know, aren't really able to have the social life or do some of the things
is like, it just doesn't feel very good.
And that over a long period of time can just start to really weigh on you mentally.
(23:34):
And if you don't have a plan, that weight is even heavier.
But I think it's very different to not be able to go to a dinner or versus making
the conscious decision to not go to the dinner because it's not in the budget.
Those are two very different responses.
And I think we need to normalize and be okay with our friends.
(23:59):
I actually had this conversation with a girlfriend not two weeks ago.
She wanted me to go to this fundraiser with her.
The tickets were $500. It was an amazing fundraiser.
But I said to her, I love that fundraiser. I would love to go with you.
But $500 just is not in my budget right now for that.
And it is empowering to be able to say it in that way, and be really okay with it.
(24:25):
And I was very okay with saying, look, I've got one in college.
I've I've got one start in a career.
I'm still very much in like massive support mode right now.
Like I need to start making choices that are smarter and I love her,
but I'm not going to do that with her.
So it's it, but it, it does feel different. It hits different when,
(24:45):
when you're able to make that conscious decision and, and say those words versus just,
you know, oh, I'm not feeling well, or, you know, just not responding because
you know that you really can't.
Yeah. And then you're in a shame cycle that nobody really knows about.
And honestly, I have found personally, when I am really upfront about those
(25:06):
kinds of things, you'll give permission to other women to say, you know, me too.
Like I'm also trying to pay for a vacation and I'm also trying to do these things.
And then it's like, you kind of get this sense of relief even on the other side of that conversation.
That's like, man, I'm glad you said it.
And now you've kind of empowered me to be able to do those, you know,
(25:26):
to also be honest about it and not feel like I have to lie or lie to myself,
lie to the person to give an excuse as to why I'm not doing it.
And for me, my good friends then will come in to support me in ways that's like,
oh, you know, now I realize that you have a goal or I realize that you're kind
of being more mindful about just spending your money.
So instead of inviting you to the happy hours, we're going to do like a walk
(25:51):
and talk or we're going to do the things that really aren't going to be costly,
but also give us time to still have the quality time that I really enjoy with my friends.
Because I do think there's a lot of it is I don't want to admit what my financial
situation is and that I'm hurting financially in any way, or that I'm just at
a goal and I'm just trying to make smart money choices in order to do that.
(26:15):
But also, it's just the don't want to feel left out, the FOMO.
Well, if I tell somebody something, then maybe they don't invite me to the next thing.
But then that just, like you said, it's a way that you communicate.
And when you are a little more honest and transparent about those things,
I think it does change the dynamics of some of those relationships.
And if they are those people, those are probably not the friends that you want to be around anyway.
(26:37):
Those are not your people. But I think controlling the conversation around your
finances and being able to stand up and say, yes, no, I want to,
I don't want to because these things make sense or don't make sense.
I mean, money is one of the most uncomfortable relationships that everybody has. We know this.
And I really think that Brittany, what you and your team are doing to kind of
(26:59):
bring it full circle for women to have a safe space for women to really open
up and find solutions to creating,
you know, a better, faster, smarter way to manage their money is just,
you know, even as simple as like having a place to go to have a conversation
about, you know, how do I set up a savings account.
How much money would I, should I save for these different things?
(27:20):
These services that you're offering, these don't cost people any money, right? Right.
Yeah, generally, there's always ways to reduce your fees.
There's always easy entry into low minimum deposits and, you know, all of those things.
And so I think what is for us, it's really important to understand the woman
in front of us and what their goals are, so that we can sort of help them navigate
(27:46):
that. instead of just saying, I just need to open this checking account.
And just to make sure that we are setting them up. And even if it's not a banking
service, we have relationships with other women in those different spaces for
accounting and legal and all these other things.
So just trying to really assess where they are in their lives,
(28:07):
what they need, and try to give them a more holistic approach to their money management.
So coming to us from Nashville, phil we are
just wondering hopefully the next time we see
you we will have her bags everywhere so that women everywhere are changing you
know their their outlook and their feelings about money britney we can't say
thank you enough you're what you're doing is so inspirational and we hope that
(28:30):
everybody gets out there make sure they've got their financial house and is inspired.
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