Women friendly firms
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please advise a young woman trying to decide which route to take:
Which firms are women friendly and have a good working culture for women?
Which firms are definitely not?
Thanks so much.
I’ve been in and out of hundreds of brokerage firm branch offices, office buildings and the like.
I have never seen one that did not have doors on the women’s room, so I suppose they’re all "woman friendly."
What are you looking for a Claire Burke basket by the front door or something along those lines?
Not looking for someone to hold my hand, OK? I want to know where women brokers feel comfortable, supported, have flexibility and real opportunities for advancement.
Why would you need, or expect, more than anybody else is entitled to receive?
How about a desk, a phone and some business cards–what else do you want?
Don't want, need or expect anything special. Just trying to figure out if being a broker would be a straight ticket to hell or a good opportunity for someone who wants to work very hard for a firm and for my clients.
Revised question:
Which firms are best to work for if you have a family and want to work hard but have balance in your life as well?
What she wants is a place where everyone will tell her how nice she looks, how hard she works and how sucessful she is. that will make her comfortable. She wants to be able to have paid days off and God forbid that she would have to make a cold call.
Stick to selling Mary Kay. I hear they will give you all the support you need.
I have no idea how anyone could start from scratch in this business, succeed and have a balanced life. At least for a couple years. Year one for me was 70+ hours a week. Year two wasen't much better. It sucked and all I did was work. Some people are smarter and better than me and they can do it in less time. Maybe that's you. I also wanted to get my income up fast.
I had no connections and started from zero. I have kids now but didn't back then...14 years ago. If I had had kids and a wife back then, I don't know what would have happened. But as I said, I was pretty clueless when I started. Maybe you're different.
Become a State Farm agent.
Unless you’re an empty-nester. The seventy-eighty hour work weeks for
the first three years would be selfish on most families with more then
a bichon or two to love and provide for.
Putsy, when you signed off on the responsibility accounting report for
your cost center (notice I didn’t say profit center - ha ha) – what
was a ballpark figure? I’ll take an estimate rounded to the nearest
$10m (use 2K4 if you need confidentiality, or, are worried about the
information being too compartementalized, thus readily, profilable.).
[quote=GolfGirl]
Which firms are best to work for if you have a family and want to work hard but have balance in your life as well?
[/quote]If you work from 8 AM till 8 PM Monday through Thursday, 8 till 5 on
Friday and 10 till about 4 on Saturday you should be able to take
Sundays for your family.
Even then there’s about a 85% chance you won’t make enough money to
justify the effort or avoid the nagging feeling that you made a mistake.
[quote=GolfGirl]Not looking for someone to hold my hand, OK? I want to know where women brokers feel comfortable, supported, have flexibility and real opportunities for advancement. [/quote]
Try Edward Jones.
[quote=GolfGirl]
Don't want, need or expect anything special. Just trying to figure out if being a broker would be a straight ticket to hell or a good opportunity for someone who wants to work very hard for a firm and for my clients.
Revised question:
Which firms are best to work for if you have a family and want to work hard but have balance in your life as well?
[/quote]
I placed a post asking how you look in a tube top and it got deleted. Did you rat on me? That's why the business world hates having to hire women. They produce less and they complain about everything.
I am a woman. None of the firms are going to give you support in any special way. There are no family friendly firms. They don't care about your family or even you, if you really want to get down to it. It is a tough job and in the beginning the long hours you will put into building your business will eat up any family time you may have. Fortunately, I began when my daughter was in high school and was able to devote the time. You know how teenagers don't want their parents around anyway . Your support system will have to come from your spouse. If he isn't on board with this, then forget it.
That being said, if you can build a practice, generate the revenue and possibly go independent you can structure your working life as you see fit. It can be a very rewarding career. I love it. If you have no experience at all in this industry, I would start as a sales assistant, possibly in a small, regional or private firm. Learn the ropes and then get licensed. You will have a better idea of what the business is like by then.
[quote=babbling looney]
Fortunately, I began when my daughter was in high school and was able to devote the time.
The boys and girls should note that Ms. Looney was a full fledged adult before she started in this biz. I'll bet that she would admit that when she was 27 she would not have had the credibility that is necessary to make it.
You can smile and dial till the cows come home and what will happen is you will encounter and endless number of people who tell you to come back when you're grown up girl, you're still living in a paper doll world. Living ain't easy, lovins twice as tough.......
Schidt there I go again--wandering off topic.
The reality is that people may be nice when they say no, or they may be damn rude when they say no--or they may say no with two words that begin with F and Y.
If you're 27 and have a Daddy that owns the town you have a chance--a very good chance in fact. Or if you're 27 and everybody knows your name because you used to be a local football hero you probably have a chance.
But if you're 27 and your Daddy works out at the plant and you were cellophane around town growing up do yourself a favor and learn what older people mean when they say that younger people don't have a clue.
[quote=GolfGirl]
Which firms are best to work for if you have a family and want to work hard but have balance in your life as well?
[/quote]
Ding, ding, ding alarm bells.....
As others have said, male or female, a new broker shouldn't be expecting "balance" in their lives for the first three or so years.
The boys and girls should note that Ms. Looney was a full fledged adult before she started in this biz. I'll bet that she would admit that when she was 27 she would not have had the credibility that is necessary to make it.
Yes.
[quote=GolfGirl]Which firms are women friendly and have a good working culture for women?
Which firms are definitely not?[/quote]
I think the issue is less the firm you're with, and more the market you serve.
If you work with people who work for someone else (folks with a wage or salary, W-2 employees), then you're going to work long hours, because you have to see them when they can see you. That means calling them after work and on weekends, and having meetings with them at those hours.
If you work with business owners, you can work daytime hours, and as long as you avoid water cooler gossip sessions, or spend all day long reading this forum, you can have a balanced life. The key is time management, AND partnering with a mentor that can help you close business.
If you want to do everything yourself, and only work with W-2 employees, it doesn't matter where you work, you'll need to slave double time like some of the others on here.