Building Wealth & Legacies with Jennifer Rogers Markwell

Episode 42 Transcript + Timestamps

Building Wealth & Legacies with Jennifer Rogers Markwell

[00:00:00] Yvonne Heimann: And we are back for another episode of Boss Your Business, where I invite guests to show you how you potentially can build the business of your dreams that supports your lifestyle and not just your wallet. Today, I have with me Emmy nominated journalist Jennifer Roger Markwell, who is actually living close to my old stomping grounds up in Northern California.

[00:00:28] And Jennifer, you changed gears in your television career when you realize your calling is helping women and their finances, which unfortunately nowadays still is a, can be a struggle and You started at home after your grandfather passed away and you wanted to help your grandmother make sense of investing.

[00:00:54] Now you regularly host an educational.. host educational workshops to empower women to [00:01:00] take charge of their investments as well as just being the anchor of the Platinum Talks Wealth podcast. You also are very active in both state and local communities, in addition to acting as president for the Platinum Wealth management, you are currently serving as the state commissioner in the Nevada commission for women and volunteers on the board for Girl Scout of Sierra Nevada.

[00:01:25] Girl, are you getting anything done? You were also voted as Sierra Nevada’s top 20 most powerful women by the Northern Nevada Business View in both 2018 and 2019. Talk about community work. I love it. Hi. Nice to have you.

[00:01:45] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: Thanks for having me. Thanks so much.

[00:01:47] Yvonne Heimann: I feel like back home. As we already talked behind the scenes, I used to live up in Northern California and my late husband was deeply ingrained in that local community.

[00:01:58] His grandfather [00:02:00] built the school. They were like my stepdaughter’s fifth generation. It’s like reading your bio. It’s damn, all the work you are putting in. I’m like, how? Let’s start in the beginning, guys, the drill, the questions are coming. We will hear how you are actually making all of this work right now.

[00:02:18] I want to ask first how did you get here? I’m like, Eminem, German tongue twister, Emmy nominated journalist. And now this passion of helping women with their finance. How did that come about initially saying, Oh, I’m not doing the journalist anymore, but, we want to do finances now.

[00:02:39] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: Yeah. On paper, it seems really strange, right? It doesn’t seem like a transition that would just naturally occur by itself, and that was never my path. Like, I never grew up thinking I’m going to be a financial advisor and I want to work in a wall street environment and I want to do, no, that was never my thing. Ever. I, in my brain was like, I’m going to work in TV forever.

[00:02:59] That’s just [00:03:00] going to be what I do. So I, went to school, got educated, got TV jobs, moved around different places, and I had just signed actually a contract for a large network and a large cruise night, cruise line to do my backbone and everything that I did, so they knew that I was going to be going doing this journey.

[00:03:17] And my grandpa got sick and my grandpa was always that guy that he was just resilient and crabby and grumpy. And I knew he would just recover because he was going to be 156 years old. He was going to outlive everyone, and he passed away. And I was like, Oh my gosh, like what just happened there? And I can actually say it now without crying every time, because he was just literally the backbone of our family.

[00:03:40] And so I, went home. And I would, check on them and do things for them all the time. But I went home and my grandma’s what just happened? I’m like, Oh my gosh. Like I was there when he passed too, but it was like one of those moments that are frozen in time that you’re like, how did this happen?

[00:03:54] How did this unfold this way? And so we were picking up the pieces emotionally of. Not having [00:04:00] him. And my grandparents didn’t have a lot of money at all. What they had was spread around behind different banks and institutions just because that’s what they did. They were depression kids. And so what they had, the little amounts were a little of everywhere.

[00:04:11] So, we found ourselves going in front of different bankers and different institutions and never really had that warm, fuzzy feeling that anyone cared or wanted to do what was my grandma’s best interest. And she’s if we’re going through this, imagine how many other women are going through this too.

[00:04:26] And I was like, I’ll learn everything I can. I’ll help you figure this out. And so in that moment, Massive shift, right, from TV and then I was like, okay, I need to get licensed. I need to figure this out. So literally went from that into finance then. And that was what, 14 and a half, almost 15 years ago.

[00:04:43] Almost 20 years in television, transitioned into that. And here I am. So, that was really the catalyst that moved me. And I tell the story of, you think of you’re planning out your life. You want to be in a certain place in two years and four years. And here’s your goals.

[00:04:56] And this is going to look this certain way. And I feel [00:05:00] like, we’re on this river in essence, right? We can either fight the river and go upstream. We can stand in that place in the river and have that river completely hit our back with water. Or we can just go with it and see where it takes us.

[00:05:11] And that’s what I’ve done. And here I am.

[00:05:14] Yvonne Heimann: I always call it. I’m like, I just followed the yellow brick road. And just go with it. So what was that timeframe? Being a widow myself if I may ask, I hope that’s not too personal. What was that just a, Hey, grandpa is not feeling right.

[00:05:32] And suddenly he is gone. So fairly short amount of time, or was there a suffering time involved too?

[00:05:40] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: Yeah, he had some health issues over the years, like a good handful of them. So it wasn’t a surprise that he was having health issues, but he, like I said, was always crabby and ornery.

[00:05:49] So he always recovered from everything. Like he had a triple bypass surgery. He had some strokes, like recovered. So I was like, okay, yeah, he’ll totally recover. He’s going to be 156. He’s [00:06:00] going to outlive me. That was always the thought in my mind. And when, I guess when you have that kind of.

[00:06:06] Parental kid relationship? I don’t know for me, I thought they’d always be here.

[00:06:10] Yvonne Heimann: Yeah, I had that, that similar with my husband, where it’s he’s just gonna pull a Pete again! It’s like, how is this even a question? And why I was asking this so personal question is because one of the things that I also have learned through that process is we think it’s never going to happen, right?

[00:06:31] So certain things are not getting put in place. You don’t even think about it where it’s like with me, all of my friends, I’m like, do you actually have a will? Do you have a healthcare directive? Do you have anything? Do your loved ones know what you want? Because everybody’s always I don’t want to deal with that.

[00:06:50] I’m like, this is actually your love note to your family. Telling them what you want makes life so much easier.

[00:06:58] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: So ironically that you say [00:07:00] that, because that’s actually, we do a virtual coffee chat every month and one of them is talking through like your family love note, right? What is that? Where are accounts at?

[00:07:08] Where are passwords? Do you have a trust? What’s set up? And it’s. In those moments when you lose a loved one, you’re going to be mourning the loss. However, you mourn the loss for you and everybody’s different across the board. The last thing you want to do is to try to pick up the pieces financially of everything else that’s going on.

[00:07:24] I feel like now it’s, I bring that conversation up all the time because of what we experienced, it could have been easier but regardless, our hearts were still broken because we lost someone we love so much. If you can make it easier on your loved ones and just be organized where you can and then things, how you want those to go for your own wishes as well, like that’s huge.

[00:07:45] That hopefully will give you peace of mind, but then also your loved one’s peace of mind when you’re no longer here.

[00:07:51] Yvonne Heimann: I’m like, I, again, I was one of the lucky ones. We had all of those conversations. So there was never a question in me what he wanted [00:08:00] for me or if he wanted to be cremated. There was no question.

[00:08:03] I didn’t have to suffer through that. But I’ve seen a lot of other families and especially wives or children where it’s like. What did you actually want? Where’s your email account? How do you get in? And then for everybody listening also with your business, I have a backup.

[00:08:25] Everything with me is stored with a password manager that has somebody as an emergency backup, if something happens to me, because I’m like, I got client login. Some of my clients don’t even know their own login. What happens not just to you, but also your

[00:08:42] business.

[00:08:43] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: Yeah, that is a huge point, right? Legacy planning. What does that look like? Because that sounds terrible, but I’ve had clients ask that.

[00:08:50] They’re like, you’re young. Like I’m young, right? You’re young too. But, what if I was hit by a bus? What would happen? What would happen to my clients? Like, how would they be supported? So [00:09:00] for me, that was super important out the gate to make sure there was legacy planning in place. There was someone to step in and immediately help so everyone would be supported.

[00:09:08] And there was no drop in anything. Lord forbid, if I wasn’t here, not planning on going anywhere, not planning on doing anything. However, if that happened, there is a plan.

[00:09:17] Yvonne Heimann: And it gives, it gives us peace of mind where it’s okay, it’s one thing I don’t have to worry about. We are passionate about our clients. I’m sure you’re just as passionate about the people you work with than I am. So having that peace of mind to know they’re going to be taken care of if, and you never know, and I, and it’s, we’ve seen it, two years of COVID, suddenly people were locked up in the hospital. and can’t do anything. It doesn’t have to be all the worst, but yeah, it’s, I think we both have a mission on that to educate people like, Hey it’s just making life easy and it gives us the peace of mind.

[00:09:59] [00:10:00] Now since then, you have gone through that shift from journalism, from TV to financial literacy. You still are doing the TV personality with your podcast and educating and your coffee chats and all the things that are happening. What is business and life like now?

[00:10:24] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: Yeah, that’s a great question. I feel personally, like I’m making a bigger impact and a bigger difference in the world than I did in my previous career path, right? Like I feel like financial literacy is better. Is it where it needs to be? No, people need to have the knowledge and the support and the handholding. And people need to know that everyone deserves a seat at the table, right? It can’t be the old mentality. Like only a certain type of person can find out information on finance or educate themselves on finance.

[00:10:53] Everyone has a seat at the table. And that’s one of the big things that’s been, I’ve been super passionate about like [00:11:00] really sharing that and letting people know you need to start somewhere. You need to have someone that is in your corner that’s trusted and that you have a good communication with a good relationship with, to help you to get to your goals and do your dreams by helping you do the right things along the way.

[00:11:14] So I feel like it’s been super fulfilling. I think for me too, is building my team with just young women and women in general of different ages that really are heart centric and that want to do the right things and that want to educate and that want to, again, let everyone know that there’s a seat at the table for them.

[00:11:34] It’s not just, Oh, you have millions, oh, we’ll help you. No, it doesn’t work that way. And how do you get to that point if no one’s going to help you along the way. So for us, it’s just been a very passionate. Very like, loving environment for us to build and to grow and to help others and lift as we continue moving forward.

[00:11:52] Yvonne Heimann: And I think what I also love looking into the whole financial education thing, I am [00:12:00] seeing more women. I am seeing not, I don’t want to put it in the box, but it often just happens to be this way, old white guys. Where we approach finance differently than a young 23 year old with a startup or a 70 year old that has worked his whole life for their retirement.

[00:12:21] We are in a different age. We are in a different demographic. We feel different. We think different. We do different.

[00:12:27] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: Totally.

[00:12:28] Yvonne Heimann: So really having This broad, because there is different ways to, correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s different ways to approach my finances, to approach my investing. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

[00:12:43] So working with somebody like you, it’s okay. I want some safety, but here’s a little bit where we can go crazy. Am I right with that?

[00:12:51] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: No, you’re a hundred percent right. I think it’s really back to your point, right? The good old boys club back in the day, it was like, you’re this age, you’re this, then you get slapped into [00:13:00] this and here’s what it is, right?

[00:13:01] No, it’s no longer like that at all. It’s you, like you individually, you as a person, what are your goals? What does it look like? What are your dreams? Let’s talk through all of that. What’s your time horizon? What’s your risk tolerance? This is designed for you individually and not just let’s slap you into something based on your age and based on who you are.

[00:13:21] No, it doesn’t work that way. It works on, I think the level of communication and women do, do business differently in essence, right? Like we want to learn and we want to learn along the way. We don’t want to be told that we have to do with something. We want to be a part of it. We want to be a part of the conversation and we want to be engaged.

[00:13:39] And I think that has been lost in translation over the years. It’s interesting because I still will hear stories from folks saying, Hey, we went in as a couple to talk to somebody. And the person only made eye contact with the male, right? Male. And the women are like, okay, hi, I’m the breadwinner here.

[00:13:58] Are you kidding me? Like I need to [00:14:00] be a part of the conversation. I absolutely deserve the seat at the table. And even if they’re not the breadwinner, women are now taking more movement in their finances and more responsibility. And many times they’re the ones doing the finance for their household.

[00:14:12] Whatever their relationship partnership looks like women are taking the lead. And it’s interesting because the wealth transfer to women in the next 10, 15 years is going to be ginormous. So for women that haven’t done it yet, you are coming into your own. If you haven’t, embrace it, figure it out financially, find someone that you trust and have those conversations with, but just know you have a very important seat at the table.

[00:14:35] Yvonne Heimann: And I’m getting goosebumps over here because I’m seeing the financial shift for women all over the place. Where starting with a mindset of freaking, I hate the phrase charge your worth, but we are finally owning up and we are asking for what we want. And all the way to figuring out our investments, how, where do we want to [00:15:00] put the money?

[00:15:00] How do we want to invest it? Do we want to take a risk? Do we not want to take a risk? Do we want to do a combination of it? It’s pick and choose. What would you like to have on your plate? So it’s I’m excited to see the next couple of years on how things are changing.

[00:15:14] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: Oh, me too. And then picking who you’re working with.

[00:15:17] Like you don’t have to work with that guy down the street. You choose who you want to work with based on who you have a good communication style with, who you’re comfortable with and who you trust and who you want to have as a long term relationship with you. It’s your choice. Absolutely.

[00:15:30] Yvonne Heimann: I love that. Now. We already talked a little bit about this right in the beginning. You are quite the busy lady and like with all the things going on. How the hell do you make it happen? Do you have any, if that is a morning routine, for example, just to stay centered and focus on you too. If that is general workflows, processes, your team, take it wherever you would like it.

[00:15:58] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: Yeah. So I feel [00:16:00] like I’m a work in progress here, right? I don’t, maybe on the surface it looks a little shiny. I feel like I’m honestly raw and vulnerable work in progress. I have a team that supports me which is fantastic. So then we’re able to better support our clients and folks that we work with too.

[00:16:15] So I’m able to really lean into the team, which I again, couldn’t do everything that I do without my team. I also have a, an amazing spouse. I have a really good spouse who is 110 percent supportive in everything I do. If I’m going to a conference, he’s wanting to go as well and to be there and to learn and to, just totally be active and just be an active participant in every aspect of not only our marriage, but also wherever he can support me.

[00:16:41] So I’m really fortunate on that side of things. Back to the morning routine. Yeah. I need to do better there, right? Like I need to meditate more. I need to get my tail on the treadmill more. I am a work in progress and that’s somewhere that I’m trying to make even better because I think consistency is where it’s at.

[00:16:58] I feel like our days can get so [00:17:00] crazy, time blocking and looking at a very bright color, colorful calendar with everything on it. So I am efforting really time blocking time for myself to become an even better version of myself.

[00:17:14] Yvonne Heimann: And I think that one non negotiable for me, however, a morning routine looks like, believe me, I haven’t meditated in a while.

[00:17:20] It’s okay, we’re going to get back at this at some point. Right now it’s more the strength training that gets me excited. But yeah, I’m like, for me, what has helped me just show up for my clients more is really just that hour in the morning. It’s if that means I’m waking up all excited and I want to dive into something, then I grab my laptop with my coffee and I dive into it.

[00:17:40] If not, I also don’t feel bad. Literally just sitting on my patio and just having a coffee, but that is my hour in the morning, I get to decide what I do with it. And apparently I’m good at multitasking. As I look down, I did. Girl, I did this thing. I bought one of these walking pads because I got a stand [00:18:00] up desk.

[00:18:00] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: Do you love it?

[00:18:01] Yvonne Heimann: I get 10, 000 steps in and it’s I’m one of those people. I did a story on this where I was actually filming while being on FaceTime with a friend of mine. We both on walking pads, actually working. It was insane. Don’t try to record the story while you’re doing it. But in, in general, it’s.

[00:18:23] I think best when I walk, meaning if I’m on a call with friends, helping them or coaching sessions or stuff like that, I actually like to walk. It helps get my brain going. So I now have been able to move this. Onto my desk, meaning when I’m in ideation phase and I’ll come up with videos or it’s literally just that ideation stage of things, the stuff works.

[00:18:52] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: I love that. Good for you. That’s inspiring.

[00:18:55] Yvonne Heimann: So it’s I can do that. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a daily thing. It’s more like a weekly [00:19:00] thing, but

[00:19:00] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: you’re doing it somewhere.

[00:19:03] Yvonne Heimann: And I think what it comes down to is I was talking earlier with on another podcast about that. It’s more seasons. Do we want to create habits?

[00:19:12] Yes. Do we want to make them stick? Yes. Am I always going to go work on every single day? No. And just giving us that break of it’s all going to be seasons. We’re going to have seasons where it’s higher on business, where there’s a lot of conferences, a lot of podcasts, maybe a launch, whatever it is. And then there’s going to be seasons where it’s more on private life, where maybe there’s more travel or anything.

[00:19:36] And the business just goes a little bit down. With that, just giving ourself a little bit of break of, we don’t have to do it all, we’ll just do over tomorrow again. Maybe we’ll

[00:19:48] do better. Just a little bit, a little grace.

[00:19:53] So with all of that. Where can people find you? Because [00:20:00] we need to get you out there.

[00:20:02] I am done with women not taking control of their finances because they don’t know where to start. So where can my audience go to find you to get more information? Tell me about your podcast, all the things.

[00:20:16] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: Yeah. Yeah. No, thank you. And I’m in this for the same reasons, right? Let’s get that education out there and share and lift one another along the way and really empower women and men of course, and whoever else is out there, but there’s a seat at the table for everyone for sure.

[00:20:31] So my podcast is the Platinum Talks Wealth Podcast. In that, we talk about money, memories, financial infidelities, that is educational based and hearing people’s stories of. What they experienced as a younger person, how and how that potentially molded their relationship to money as an adult, which everybody has a story.

[00:20:49] Yvonne Heimann: I’m not money block one. Yeah. Money was never there.

[00:20:52] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: And I can’t, I can’t wait to have you on my podcast. I would be, that’d be great to hear your story for sure.

[00:20:57] Yvonne Heimann: Oh, I have more than enough [00:21:00] money block stories for you. I am still working through it. We are getting there. Holy moly. So guys make sure, again, all of the links are going to be in the description. We’re going to have the podcast there. We’re going to have social links there. We’re going to have the website there. You’re going to find it anywhere and everywhere.

[00:21:20] So go stalk Jennifer. I’m telling you, you just met her. We love her. So go stalk her. No more money blocks and no more financial BS.

[00:21:30] Let’s clean this up and thank you so much for joining me today. I love the mission you are on and I can’t wait to share it with everybody. Thanks so much.

[00:21:41] Jennifer Rogers Markwell: Thank you so much for having me.

[00:21:43] Yvonne Heimann: Thanks everybody. And I will see hear and reach you again on the next episode of Boss Your Business. Can’t wait to be back in your ears.

[00:21:52] Bye everybody.

Timestamps 

00:00 | Introduction

02:18 | Handling Life’s Challenges With Financial Literacy  

06:58 | The Importance of Legacy Planning

09:59 | Breaking Old Mindsets and Empowering Others 

15:32 | Focusing on Your Well-Being For Productivity