By Sophie Sanders, Style Salute
Let’s be honest—we all need a little motivation to work hard, especially when we hit a wall or fail at a task. We’re talking those times when you feel like you just need that familiar voice that’s been there, and can offer that extra push for you at work.
[post_ads]That’s why we seek out the wisdom of successful women who’ve been in our shoes and can share stories of failure along the road to success.
There is a lot of career advice for women these days. A lot. And it’s great. You can find advice on almost every topic. From how to deal with a bad boss, to how to make money at your side hustle; ask for the raise. Get a mentor; get a sponsor.
Big relief, right? There’s so much we can learn.
But.
But one of the most important pieces of career advice isn’t being shared, according to Sallie Krawcheck, co-founder, and CEO of Ellevest, a women-focused digital investment platform. Actually, it isn’t even really being talked about at all.
In just two sentences, Krawcheck shared some incredibly profound career advice. Ready for it?
It’s to invest the money you earn. In a diversified investment portfolio. “Some amount from every paycheck, like clockwork,” says Krawcheck. It’s more important than any advice you’ll get anywhere else.
[post_ads]This was also the main reason the former CFO of Citigroup-turned-CEO, Krawcheck founded Ellevest. It came to her much like business ideas we all have. She saw a problem and wanted to solve it. The problem is that the investment industry has been, frankly, “by men, for men” — and has historically kept women from achieving their career and financial goals.
So, she has made it her life’s mission to unleash women’s financial power and get them invested in their biggest goals.
But what does that mean on a practical level? Here’s how Krawcheck decoded her advice into one revolutionary platform for women.
Ellevest, the platform, built for women, is tailored to women’s specific goals and timelines. A different take on risk. The female-led advisory team doesn’t ask you questions about your risk tolerance to determine what your portfolio should be.
Instead, they determine your capacity for risk, based on the goals you choose (start a family, buy a home, take time off); and the timeline for those goals. Once they know your goals and where you’re at now, they customize portfolios to each of those goals.
I know what you’re thinking because trust me, I’ve thought it too: “investing is too complicated,” “I’m not up for the risk,” and “I don’t have enough money to start investing.”
After all, doesn’t investing involve a lot of work and learning lots of new concepts and jargon, and doesn’t it open you up to a lot of risks and losing all your money?
Um. No.
“No one has ever lost all of their money investing in a diversified investment portfolio.* And even if it requires some extra effort, it’s so so worth it.
Here’s just some of what it can do:
It can build your wealth — not by a little, but by enough to make a real difference in your life longterm. The numbers: if you’re earning $85,000 a year, growing in line with women’s salary curves, saving 20% of that annually (as we have recommended per the 50/30/20 rule), and putting that money in a saving account at the bank — after 40 years, you will have saved $1.5 million.*
If you instead invest that same amount, in a diversified investment portfolio, depending on markets, in 40 years you can have another $1 million, or $1.7 million, or more. We calculated this using up markets and down markets, and you end up with these amounts the majority of the time.*
Ok, so those are personal finance problems, but aren’t we talking about my career? How about me right now?
Money is our number one source of stress. Am I right? And if you’re concerned about money, you can lose a lot of productivity worrying about it and lose out on opportunities. Big time.
Taking action to be in greater control of your money, and earn more money over time with investing, can help you spend more time focused on personal priorities and work, rather than worried about money. So in short, sign up for a free customized investment portfolio with Ellevest. It takes 5 minutes, and that is no risk.
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Disclosures: We’re excited to be teaming with the team at Ellevest to start this conversation about women and money. We may receive compensation if you become an Ellevest client.
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