This week on our Conference Workshop Spotlight series we will get to know Lydia Brown a little better. Lydia will be presenting the workshop “Financial Planning and Basic Investing for Small Business Owners.”
We asked Lydia what drew her to the INA Annual Conference and she told us, “The INA conference was originally recommended by our agency consultant, Rosalind Prather (Trusting Connections). I feel strongly that the networking opportunities that INA provides are unparalleled. I have met so many strong, smart, and inspiring men and women at Conference each year that I still keep in touch with. I think oftentimes this industry can be a bit isolating (especially for those of us who work from home!) and the mechanic solidarity that INA membership provides is well worth every penny.”
When we asked her to tell us a little more about her workshop she said, “My workshop is going to cover basic finance and investing principles for small business owners. Topics I plan to cover are lines of credit vs. credit cards, IRAs, and SEP IRA’s, investing, as well as budgeting and financial planning for success. I want to keep it as much of an open discussion as possible so that all attendees can have their specific questions answered.”
Furthermore, she stated, “I hope that people come away with a better sense of how they can improve their financial health to better their business. I also hope that the investing portion makes attendees consider the importance that long-term saving has on expansion and/or retirement.”
We asked Lydia to talk to us about her presentation style and having attendees submit questions ahead of time. She said, “I often have a million questions sitting in each workshop at the INA Conference each year, and there never seems to be enough time to answer them with all of the material that the presenter has to cover. I would love to have some questions asked ahead of time so I can make sure to include them but also take other inquiries live.”
We asked Lydia to tell us a little more about herself and she told us, “I worked in finance for 5 years before starting my agency in 2015. I began my career at Citigroup Global Markets with a group specializing in IPO syndicate distribution. From there, I went to work at Price Asset Management which is headquartered in the Chicago Board of Trade. Price Asset Management is a Managed Futures and Commodities manager and I helped them launch a mutual fund that tracked a popular commodities index. While working in finance, I held a Series 7 and 66 licenses with the ability to practice in multiple states. I left the financial industry once it was clear that I could make a living on my agency profits alone and that was clearly where my true passion was. I have not looked back since, but still feel passionate about empowering business owners to keep healthy financials and have a basic understanding of the markets.”
Register today for the 2018 INA Conference and learn from this workshop and many more.