Answer Box (TL;DR)
What is Willow and how does it help women find the right financial advisor? In this episode, Dan Pascone talks with Willow founder and CEO Lacy Garcia about how Willow helps women and their families find the right-fit financial advisor through education, personalized matching, and advisor training focused on empathy, communication, and trust.
They discuss why so many women feel “not rich enough” for advice, the confidence gap around money, and why the best advisor relationships start with a sense of psychological safety, not just credentials or performance. You’ll hear how Willow screens and trains advisors, how their matching process works, and what women can do today if they know they need help but feel intimidated to reach out.
Key Takeaways
- “Not rich enough” is the wrong starting question. Many women delay seeking advice because they think they need to “get their act together” or hit a certain asset level first; in reality, life transitions, uncertainty, and lack of confidence are often the main reasons to talk with an advisor in the first place.
- Credentials are table stakes; trust is the differentiator. Professional standards like fiduciary duty and CFP® certification matter, but most women also want an advisor who listens, educates without condescension, and understands the emotional side of money and life transitions.
- Personality fit and shared experience drive better outcomes. Matching based on communication style, life story, and values using tools like personality assessments and lifestyle questions helps women feel safe asking “basic” questions and builds a long-term collaborative relationship.
- Advisors also need re-training, not just leads. Willow’s model emphasizes teaching advisors how to serve women more effectively focusing on empathy, inclusive conversations, and avoiding the dynamic where one partner (often the woman) is sidelined in meetings.
- Women are a growing force in wealth—and need systems built for them. With women expected to control a rapidly rising share of U.S. wealth and many facing pay gaps, career breaks, and longer lifespans, advice that centers their lived experience is both a necessity and a massive opportunity.
Key Moments
- (00:00) – Dan introduces the episode, shares the mission of Making Sense of Your Money, and welcomes guest Lacy Garcia, founder and CEO of Willow.
- (01:34) – Lacy explains what Willow is, how it partners with advisors, and how their “wealth accelerator for women and their families” model works.
- (03:28) – Lacy’s backstory: becoming the non-financial spouse, breadwinner, and then sole provider and struggling to find an advisor who truly understood her situation.
- (05:42) – The “I’m not rich enough for an advisor” myth, why women wait until they feel perfectly organized, and why that actually delays getting the help they need.
- (09:12) – How Willow’s matching process works: beyond net worth into life journey, communication style, personality, and what the client really wants from a relationship.
- (13:18) – Advisors, niches, and authenticity: why “women” isn’t a monolith and why niche marketing has to line up with who an advisor actually enjoys serving.
- (19:29) – The macro picture: rising numbers of single women, delayed marriage and children, and why women’s wealth is a major growth wave in wealth management.
- (21:55) – How serving women is different: pay gaps, career breaks, caregiving, longevity, and why life events and emotions are central to the planning conversation.
- (25:33) – Do women need women advisors? Lacy’s nuanced answer about gender vs. self-awareness, empathy, and coaching skills.
- (26:33) – Lightning round: Lacy’s habits, health-as-wealth focus, and what a “rich life” means to her as a founder and parent.
Episode Summary
In episode 52 of the Making Sense of Your Money podcast, Dan Pascone sits down with Willow founder and CEO Lacy Garcia to unpack why so many women feel like they’re “not rich enough” for financial advice and how that perception keeps them from getting the help they need. Lacy shares her own story of becoming the non-financial spouse, then the primary breadwinner and sole provider through divorce and business-building, and how difficult it was even from inside the industry to find an advisor who treated her with empathy instead of assumptions.
Lacy explains how Willow operates as a “wealth accelerator for women and their families,” training advisors through an Advisor for Women certificate program and then matching women with advisors who have both the technical credentials and the soft skills to build trust. The conversation covers Willow’s intake process looking beyond assets to life journey, communication preferences, personality, and even birth order and why women value a personal connection and shared experience as much as performance. Dan and Lacy also dig into the broader landscape: women’s growing share of U.S. wealth, the impact of earnings gaps, caregiving breaks, and longer lifespans, and why retirement is increasingly a women’s financial security issue.
Toward the end of the episode, they explore whether women “need” a woman advisor, how advisors can retrain themselves to serve female clients better, and the habits that help founders like Lacy stay grounded. Lacy closes by inviting women who feel overwhelmed or “not ready” to seek help anyway that’s exactly when the right advisor relationship can make the biggest difference.
Transcript
Dan Pascone (00:00): Hey, I’m Dan Pascone, CEO of Tailored Wealth and host of the Making Sense of Your Money podcast, real conversations to help high earners make sharper decisions so their money works as hard as they do. This is episode number 52. And today I’m joined by Lacy Garcia, founder and CEO of Willow, a platform helping women find the right financial advisor through education, personalized matching, and advisor training. We talk about why so many women feel like they’re not rich enough for advice, the confidence gap around money, and why the right advisor relationship starts with trust, not just credentials. Before we dive in, make sure you’re subscribed on your favorite platform. And if you find the show valuable, I’d really appreciate you leaving a quick review. Thanks so much and enjoy.
Dan Pascone (01:09): Lacy, thanks so much for joining Making Sense of Your Money. Really excited to chat with you today. This is gonna be a lot of fun.
Lacy Garcia (01:14): Dan, thank you so much for having me. Excited to be here and excited to chat with you.
Dan Pascone (01:19): Yeah, I love the work that you and your team are doing at Willow, so I’m excited to chat more about that. I think our audience is gonna really enjoy it. So give us a quick high-level overview of who you are and what you do and what you help your clients to accomplish today.
Lacy Garcia (01:34): Awesome. Well, Willow, it’s TrustWillow.com. We’re a wealth accelerator for women and their families. And how that works is that we work, we partner with financial advisors and firms to help advisors through our advisor for women certificate program to learn how to better serve women, better support their needs. And we then, we provide sort of personalized matching to the best fit financial advisors after we’ve trained them, we’ve vetted them, we’ve ensured that not only the fiduciaries in good standing, most of them are CFP professionals, all of that, but that they also like have that empathy, that ability to educate and empower in a way that’s really critical for women clients. And then we also help women, know, a lot of women out there who aren’t sure, do I actually need an advisor? You know, what exactly is an advisor and what’s that relationship look like? So we sort of start with personalized education and guidance and helping them to figure out sort of what type of advice they need and then get them connected to that right advice. Yeah.
Dan Pascone (02:39): I love that. I love the mission and what you’re helping folks to do and getting women connected with the right advisors is so critical. I mean, that connection piece, we’re gonna definitely speak more about that. But before we get into that, I’m sure there’s a backstory that prompted you to create this organization and to solve this need in the marketplace. Tell us a little bit about your backstory and what prompted you to found Willow.
Lacy Garcia (02:46): Definitely. There’s a heck of a backstory. Like, I certainly, you know, if you talked to me 20 years ago, never anticipated being here, right? So I started my career really in education and the nonprofit sector before becoming a marketer in financial services and then becoming, you know, I became a financial advisor, but it wasn’t a direct path. At the same time, I also became my adult sort of…
Dan Pascone (03:06): All right, let’s get into it.
Lacy Garcia (03:28): …marriage as the non-financial spouse. So long story short, over life experience and professional experience coming together, I became somebody who needed to find the right fit advisor as I navigated becoming the sole provider, you know, first a main breadwinner, then sole provider, then a divorced, starting a business, all the things. And, you know, I was somebody who was in the industry at that point. Clearly had skipped some years, so I didn’t have all the answers myself, really needed help, but I had a really hard time finding the right advisor who I could connect with, right? Because of, and so that was, I didn’t want anyone to ever have to suffer the way that I did. And it turned out, you know, that I have an entrepreneurship and a tech background sort of as well. And it turns out that this is, you know, I’m not just one data point, I’m one of millions and also, as we look forward, the largest opportunity in wealth management is women, right? So therefore, it seemed like a good idea to try to help solve this problem.
Dan Pascone (04:31): So many questions. All right, so it sounds like you’re going through a lot of life transition stuff, which is typically a time when people are looking for advisors and looking to connect with advisors. But a lot of times, and I’m sure we’re going to get into this, I find in the work that we do that investors, consumers, potential clients don’t know if they should work with an advisor. Do they need an advisor? Do they want to work with an advisor?
Lacy Garcia (04:32): Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Pascone (04:57): Let’s talk about your personal journey first. Were you seeking out an advisor when you were going through this stuff with respect to life transitions, or did you just feel like I need a little bit more support? What prompted you to kind of go down this search and start to look for who could be the right advisor for me?
Lacy Garcia (04:59): Yeah, well, I had a leg up in the sense that I was actually in the industry, right? At that point, I had begun. I was a new advisor myself and I needed so I knew I need this right for myself. But most people don’t know that, like most the vast majority don’t. And, know, you know, most women are sitting there being like, I don’t think I’m rich enough. Right. I like I’m trying to figure out how much my life costs or a budget or like these things that seem overwhelming and daunting perhaps, but like don’t think I have enough money for an advisor. So they don’t realize actually the main trigger for why you need proper financial advice is like, do you have these questions and you don’t have a financial plan or the confidence that you’re gonna be able to deliver on them? Then we can talk about the nuances too about like sort of the solutions depending on how much money you have. But at the end of the day, like if you’re sick, you go to the doctor, right? But if you don’t know what to do or you’re struggling or you’re overwhelmed, right? Like this is like, what’s amazing is that I talk to women all the time and this is not just a woman thing, but like it’s more women than men to be honest in this lack of confidence situation where they’re like, I need to get my act together and then maybe I could go get a financial advisor. And I’m like, I was like, that’s the point. You don’t need to get a…
Dan Pascone (06:19): Right. No, their job is to help you get your act together, right?
Lacy Garcia (06:34): …where you go to them. You’re supposed to go and be like, how do I make this? How do I figure this out, right?
Dan Pascone (06:39): I think I got the quote that we’re gonna use when we promote this, when we promote this and we’re only a couple of minutes in. So, all right, that’s great. So that gives me a lot of backdrop. So now I wanna hear about, it sounds like you were looking for advisors and maybe didn’t have the best experience. Can you give us a little bit of insights there?
Lacy Garcia (06:45): 100%. So, you know, all these things that we read about or we hear about that are like, you know, where a woman potentially in the scenario gets sort of ignored or looked past or talked down to are all the things, right? And especially I was in this place where I was, you know, I was somebody who was a relationship manager on behalf of other people, but it came to, but I was using a team. I was in the ultra high net worth family office space. So I was leveraging experts, right? And sort of quarterbacking the whole thing. But then when it came to my own stuff, like I really needed help, right? I wasn’t in the same, I wasn’t at the same level of wealth and complexity and complication as my clients were. And I was trying to figure certain things out. But everybody I talked to was like, well, you know this already. You know, sort of made me feel really, you know, they didn’t get the emotional aspect of what I was going through. Made me feel kind of embarrassed.
Dan Pascone (07:46): There’s a lot more than the technical stuff, 100%.
Lacy Garcia (07:47): Yeah, exactly. Embarrassed, ashamed, all that stuff. So yes, so the answer was, it was a completely, it made me feel worse. It made me feel really alone. It made me feel really ashamed. Like all the things that we hear about, we read about, sort of when you look at the data out there, I’m a data point. So that’s why, and I was somebody who like, heck, I’m in the industry, right? So like, should actually not be having this experience. So imagine how it is for all these, but like women especially were out there who aren’t in the industry.
Dan Pascone (08:19): All right, so that makes a lot of sense. So if it’s hard for you, being that you’ve got this background and you’ve been in the industry and you’ve served in this role to find someone, well, people that don’t have the same level of expertise and knowledge that you do, it’s gonna be even that much more difficult. Okay, so that’s probably the, I guess that’s the idea behind starting the business. So then now let’s fast forward to how do you help women avoid what you went through?
Lacy Garcia (08:24): Yeah, so I think part of it is like really understanding. We start by like with a simple questionnaire when folks come to TrustWillow is we but we, we understand, we try to understand who they are and where they are and what exactly they’re looking for. But then we try to really help them. We bring in things like beyond just OK, how much money do you have? You know your net worth your investable assets like all that. But we kind of are like who are you? What’s your life journey? What’s, you know, what type of…
Dan Pascone (09:10): Yeah.
Lacy Garcia (09:12): …relationship are you looking for? How do you want to communicate? Like we bring in Myers-Briggs, we bring in favorite hobbies, birth order, we bring in all this stuff, right? So we’re trying to be able to then connect you with, depending upon, you know, what advice you’re seeking, how much money you have, suggesting the right type of relationship, right? Is it like, I want a one-time financial plan with, you know, meet with a CFP one-time financial plan, because I’m honestly looking at just trying to figure out how to put, how to buy a house and I only have like $50,000, you know, things like that, right? Or is it like, you really do need an ongoing relationship with the right fit advisor. And so then how do we get you connected with somebody that you can get on that first, most days it’s a Zoom call, right? Or a video call and you can feel like, okay, they get me, I feel comfortable. I can let my guard down. I can ask my silly, stupid questions, right? So that’s what we do. Yeah.
Dan Pascone (09:57): Yeah, sure. All right, very, very cool. All right, so I have a question for you. And given that you’ve got a little bit of a marketing background, I think you’ll resonate with this.
Lacy Garcia (10:13): Yeah.
Dan Pascone (10:14): A lot of the marketing people in my space say, well, you gotta pick a niche, right? And the niche is typically demographics. It could be a geographic area or like us, we’re across the country because we’re doing most of our work virtually, but it could be an age range. It could be an investable assets range. It could be an income range. It could be a vertical or an industry.
Lacy Garcia (10:20): Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Dan Pascone (10:38): which makes sense conceptually, because people resonate with someone that specializes in kind of like who they work with, but that doesn’t always answer the, are we gonna get along? Are we gonna be able to let our guard down?
Dan Pascone (10:57): Are you gonna be able to build trust, right? Just because I serve, and we serve a lot of executive level leaders and business owners, right? Just because I serve those people doesn’t necessarily mean each one of them is gonna be a personality match. So how do you kind of figure out that stuff that you can’t articulate in like a brief questionnaire to try and pair the right advisor with the prospective?
Lacy Garcia (11:00): Yeah.
Lacy Garcia (11:36): Well, a couple of things. So first of all, when we’re working with advisors, right, one of the things we try to help to do is to make sure that when you’re determining that niche, right, it is it’s something that’s authentic to you. Like, what’s your why? Like, who are the clients that you like working with that you’re passionate about that, like, sort of fill you up? Right. Versus like, I mean, most of us who got in this business, certainly a while ago, it’s like, you take what you can, right? You’re like, let’s be frank, you’re growing your business, you get the clients, like, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best fit ever, right? But as this industry evolves in many, many ways, right? It’s gone from much more transactional to actually it’s much more about collaboration and human connection and like actually advisors today, especially advisors who are in the planning space or certified financial planners, they really are like helping clients, right? They’re acting in this fiduciary role. So it’s honestly, it’s better if you like the clients that you’re serving, right? So we help you to try to identify, okay, who are the people that at least we can narrow this down so that we can try to bring for you, the advisor, the people that you’re gonna connect with and you resonate. So that’s a lot of the work we do in retraining the advisors. And so that the niche isn’t just to make, it’s like helping them to also authentically grow their business and then they get the clients they want. When they’re set up that way, then they attract the clients who are the right fit clients for them. And obviously we do specialize in women, right? And we look at a lot of the things with women, the majority of women, and I am not speaking to the fund managers or the institutional investors on this call, but the majority of women who sort of did not grow up in the industry, right, serious institutional investors, they care so much more about the personal connection and the trusted relationship than they do. I mean, granted, when they come to Willow, they expect, we only work with top-notch advisors who are good standing, who have great credentials, who have great experience, who have references, like all that. But they really want a personality connection. They want a shared experience.
Dan Pascone (13:16): Sure.
Lacy Garcia (13:18): So that’s where we’re aiming for that, right? We’re aiming for like, they’re not coming and being like the main thing I wanna do is compare the investment portfolio, you know, like performance, right? They’re looking for like, I want somebody who I can really connect with on a personal level. So you make sure that they’re qualified and that they have all these credentials and they have this training. And then like, we’re really trying to optimize for that personality fit.
Dan Pascone (13:28): Yeah, I think what’s really interesting about that is today qualifications, credentials, being a really high level professional in our business, I think is really table stakes. I mean, the reality is, is you can find that stuff with a ChatGPT search, right? So, but I think what’s really nuanced about what you do is helping to create that personal connection. So like you mentioned Myers-Briggs, I’ve done a fair amount of different types of personality tests and assessments. I’m a big fan of them. Tell us a little bit about, and maybe like some anecdotes or some experiences that you’ve had…
Dan Pascone (14:15): that lead to, if I’m a woman that’s listening to this and I’m searching for the right advisor, what are some of those pieces that typically end up helping you to connect and form a great partnership?
Lacy Garcia (14:29): So when you get matched, you go through our process, right? And you answer all your questions. You get shown three potential advisors, right? We have AI working in the background. We’re data set matching from all your answers and all the advisors’ answers. We also have human QA in there, like making sure that everything is working. But when you get…
Dan Pascone (14:39): Yep.
Lacy Garcia (14:50): …served sort of the three initial recommendations. What you get to see is instead of seeing your sort of typical looking at an advisor’s website, you see them as a person, right? They have other credentials, but we also show personal pictures of them, a really personalized bio. And then we bring in, we have these five differentiated things that we do show: their Myers-Briggs, their favorite hobby, their birth order, and, if they’re comfortable, their astrological sign.
Dan Pascone (15:05): Okay.
Lacy Garcia (15:17): So, yeah.
Dan Pascone (15:17): Tell me about that. I was wondering if that was gonna come up. So what does that tell, I mean, I get the Myers-Briggs thing. I get that, how you kind of relate to people, but tell me a little bit about the birth stuff.
Lacy Garcia (15:25): Yeah. So like, so for starters, this is also like, this was built more for women, right? And not that, and some, you know, we find like a lot of younger men are like totally into it. But that said, it is, you know, not for every woman necessarily, but a lot of us, you know, are sort of checking, you know, our zodiac and the star sign to sort of see if like, okay, if there’s, I think I would get along or, I don’t…
Dan Pascone (15:32): Yeah.
Lacy Garcia (15:52): necessarily. It’s not like the main decision maker or driving force, but it’s just also like, okay, you can at least see, instead of just, say, reading about, you know, obviously Dan’s background, experience, blah, blah, like all the credentials, obviously Tailored Wealth, like impressive, impressive, but instead it’s like seeing Dan with his family, Dan’s like favorite things to do outside of work, Dan’s personality, and you’re kind of like, you get this sense of Dan as like a real person and it’s like, okay, is that someone that when I get on that call with him, I feel like I’m going to click with, right? Like versus like, we probably don’t have that much in common. Like he looks really experienced, but you know, that’s kind of what we’re helping. So it’s almost in some ways I hate to say, but it’s like a little bit like more like a matchmaking service, because we want you to feel like a personal connection. It’s not, we’re not trying to set people up romantically in any way, shape, or form, but we are trying to connect you with somebody that you’re going to like become that close confidant, that trusted advisor that you have that personal relationship with. Yeah.
Dan Pascone (16:54): which is so important. Now, when you’re doing this matchmaking, this financial matchmaking, we’ll call it, are you giving the prospective client options? Are you making one direct match? What does that typically look like? If I’m a woman and I need an advisor, what am I getting when I go through this process?
Lacy Garcia (16:58): Yes. Yeah. So yeah, so we are providing the first, you’ll get three initial recommendations. If you don’t see the right fit person, first of all, you can speak to a member of our team or you can just instantly kind of rematch and get more options. So no, we definitely aim to get you the right person. And sometimes we ask for your feedback. Okay, if these don’t look right, what doesn’t look right? And then we’re able obviously to provide a better selection. So no, there’s lots of optionality in it because you don’t necessarily know upfront, right? And we wanna make sure that you’re comfortable and confident in the process and you’re kind of in charge of the process, right? And making sure that somebody looks like they could be the real right fit for you before you start speaking to them.
Dan Pascone (17:53): Okay, let’s talk a little bit about serving women in general from a financial perspective. I think that’s a really interesting topic. When you say you’re connecting with women, is it typically single women? Is it women that are making the financial decisions in their family? What types of profiles do you see come through? That’s question one, and then I’ll say the follow-up.
Lacy Garcia (17:57): Yeah. Okay. So Willow is sort of proactively out there. And we’re, by the way, partnered with, you may know, Jean Chatzky and HerMoney Media, but she’s, we’re strategic partners and we are, there’s a find-an-advisor for her as well. So we are really attracting, focusing on women anywhere up to sort of, call mass affluent, but like, you know, in that range of anywhere from, you know, just getting started to like five, 10 million-ish, right? So we have, we have like the bulk who’s coming to us is probably 30s, 40s, 50s, like 60s. Although, you know, we are also, you know, really, it’s 20s to 70s. We work with women or we attract women in all stages of life. We focus a lot on life journeys. So we are seeing, obviously, my story of divorce, people are comfortable, resonate or newly widowed or looking at that path. But we also see, I think 40% of the folks who are coming to us are married. That said, I expect that to change because I don’t know if you know this stat, but by 2030, in the U.S., the data expects that 45% of women ages…
Dan Pascone (19:16): Okay.
Lacy Garcia (19:29): …22 to 45 will be single and childless. So there’s a real, so obviously there’s all these paradigm shifts taking place, right? And we can talk specifically about the data around women sort of in general, but there is this, there are more and more single women, you know, whether it’s not necessarily just divorce or widowhood, like, but a lot of it now is more by choice, right? Women are delaying getting married, you know, and delaying obviously having children. So there’s a lot more, a lot more single women. So we’re seeing more and more, you know, women who are in, when we look at the younger women, they’re like a lot more empowered around their finances, which is super exciting, right? Like, like they’re coming in the door, like, I mean, Gen Z is like 70% of them already investing, which is amazing, right?
Dan Pascone (20:09): 100%. I see that myself. Yeah, I mean, I see it myself. You know, we’re a fairly younger and fast-growing firm. And so I see with a lot of, especially like the clients we’ve brought in the last few years, even if they are married, a lot of times the woman is sort of like the point person when it comes to finances. Now I always, like if they are spouses, I always like, you know, bringing them both into the fold, right? As much as possible. And you hear the old adage, and I’m sure you saw it probably in your industry of like…
Lacy Garcia (20:21): Yeah.
Dan Pascone (20:45): …the old male financial advisor only speaking to the man as the client and then the woman feeling like they’re kind of left out. I mean, I hope that that is for the most part happening with yeah, go ahead.
Lacy Garcia (20:55): Dan, I’m gonna tell you it’s happening more prevalently than you realize. It is. It, no, it’s, I mean, 70% of women are leaving their advisors. That’s happening. I mean, like, I’m glad, and I didn’t mean to cut you off because I’m glad you’re not doing that and, you know, strike me, you don’t strike me as someone who’s doing that, but like, but it’s, and you know what? And some of it is, some of it is just because a lot of it is actually…
Dan Pascone (21:00): Really? That actually, I hate hearing that frankly, but go ahead, tell me about it.
Lacy Garcia (21:23): …is not necessarily purposeful. It’s just that they’re unaware, right? That’s one of the things our training program focuses on, because there’s a lot of great older male advisors who’ve just been doing things a certain way for a really long time, and nobody’s ever given them any feedback. Like nobody’s ever trained them how to like stop, look at them both and ask some questions and focus on her. You know what I’m saying? So some of it can be fixed. Some of it is, you know, time for them to retire.
Dan Pascone (21:25): Yep. Yeah, sure.
Lacy Garcia (21:51): But like…
Dan Pascone (21:52): Yeah, sure.
Dan Pascone (21:55): No, no, I get it. The old boys club. I get it. Yeah, yeah. All right. So then from your perspective, I think you’ve got a great perspective on the answer to this question being that you’ve done this role. You served as a, you were a client as well. And now you’re running a business that essentially solves for this issue. What is different about serving a woman from a financial perspective? How are their needs potentially different? And how do you ultimately help them find the right advisor?
Lacy Garcia (22:01): Yeah, so I think sort of in general, we just look at women, despite all of the progress that’s been made, right? Today, women still earn 83 cents on the dollar, you know? And if we look at just for these, these are some sort of thinking about it, taking a step back and looking at like women who are not a monolithic group, but like just putting them together for a minute as a monolithic group, because retirement is considered, is sort of becoming known as a women’s retirement crisis, right? That’s a real issue because things just to think about and sort of understand that at this point, I think that women are about, when they’re retiring with only 70% of the income that men have. And that’s typically due to this, know, gender pay gap, career interruptions for childcare or for caring for aging loved ones, and they’re also outliving them, right? So there’s all these factors that just are important to understand, right? That impact a lot of women because even if you’ve got a very successful woman executive who’s coming in to your office and she’s a high earner, she’s probably still earning a little bit less, right? She’s probably had these other dynamics involved. So those are important things for you just to kind of understand and know and think about. So I think one of the things is that life events, transitions and emotional aspect of money is pretty, is generally much more a piece of the picture with women, right? You know, because they are not necessarily just coming in and being like, I want to see performance or this or that. They’re coming in and they’re being like, it’s about like, am I going to be okay? Or how am I going to pay for my children’s college? And how am I going to be able to start this new business? And how am I going to be? It’s much more driven around sort of life experience events and emotions play a role as well. So I think that those are some things just to be aware of in general. And then it’s also really important that like they’re not a monolithic group. Who is she? Right? Like who is she? Like, do take five to 10 minutes if you’re an advisor, take more, like research her before getting on the phone. You know what saying? Like, and then like there’s, and there’s different, depending upon her persona, like is she, is she the primary breadwinner? Is she the head of household?
Dan Pascone (24:24): Yeah, sure.
Lacy Garcia (24:35): Is she the non-financial spouse or like what is it? Because then there’s a really easy roadmap for some of the right questions to ask, like based off of just taking a couple of minutes before you even meet with her, which today everything’s available online, right? You can find out this information, you know, very easily. And then the last thing, start by asking her an open-ended question and then shut your mouth and listen.
Dan Pascone (25:01): That’s the key, that’s the key right there. All right, so then last one and then we’re gonna talk about you a little bit. I’ve been privileged and very lucky to serve some really bad ass women in my practice, right? So I’ve worked with a bunch of women myself. Do you find that the advisors that you’re connecting women with…
Dan Pascone (25:02): Does it work better if it’s a woman advisor working with a woman? Does that not matter at all? Or is it more of just sort of the traits that you mentioned and sort of like the way that they go about their business and male, female doesn’t matter. What’s been your experience there?
Lacy Garcia (25:20): Yeah, I think it can matter at moments, but the majority of the time it equalizes out to be about 50-50, right? For starters, a lot of younger women are coming in the door saying they want to work with a female advisor a lot of the time, but they’re just as happy when they’re connected with a man who gets it and gets them. You know, and older women might come in with more of a preference for working with a man because they’re more comfortable with that. And similarly, they can end up being really connected to a woman. So it’s less about gender than it is about self-awareness and, you know, truly like we train advisors on how to integrate coaching into their practice and into their conversations and sort of really be able to connect and support.
Dan Pascone (25:33): Sure.
Lacy Garcia (26:02): And so I think a lot of the stuff that we’ve talked about about those personal connections is more important than the gender. Yeah.
Dan Pascone (26:28): I love it, I love it.
Dan Pascone (26:33): All right, very good. So now we’re gonna get to know you a little bit more, all right? So you are officially entering the lightning round, Lacy, which is just getting to know you. First thought that comes to your mind, some of them are quick hit and some of them we’ll have a little bit more of a discussion on, right? So first one, let’s go with this. One meal for the rest of your life, what is it?
Lacy Garcia (26:49): Frozen yogurt.
Dan Pascone (26:56): Frozen yogurt, that’s the first for me. Okay, that’s the first for me. I actually took my son for frozen yogurt last week and it was good, it was good.
Lacy Garcia (26:59): I was gonna say Caesar salad, but then it would seem so fake.
Dan Pascone (27:10): Yeah, I’m a Caesar salad person too. could do that one as well. All right, very good. What’s one tool or piece of technology, not your phone, not your computer, that you can’t live without?
Lacy Garcia (27:14): That’s maybe my watch, right? Yes, my watch. Yeah.
Dan Pascone (27:28): You’re what? That’s okay. All right, sounds good. I like it. I like it. All right. What is one quote or phrase or even concept for that matter about money that is, that’s really resonated and been impactful for you?
Lacy Garcia (27:40): There’s so many. Sorry, I’m thinking quick. I think that there’s nothing more powerful than feeling that you are in control of your money and being in a place where your money can work for you. Knowledge is power.
Dan Pascone (27:48): What’s one habit or hack that’s had a major impact on your success that you can share with our audience?
Lacy Garcia (28:08): Being intentional, you know, and being like, like putting so I think, I think I’m really, I’m like a big health and wellness and health and wealth, you know, health is wealth, right? And health is wealth and you’re a parent, I’m a parent, you know, we’re busy, you know, growing businesses and all the things. And I think that I’ve had to learn as I’ve hit, you know, older than I’d like to admit. Like you got to take a couple minutes for yourself, right? You’ve got to whatever it is you’re, you know, what, you know, I’m like working out, you know, meditating a bit, like getting in my infrared sauna, whatever it is. And in some days it’s five minutes, like most often it’s like 15 to 20. It’s not like a half an hour or even an hour, but I feel like those things are what keep you like centered and grounded and intentional, right?
Dan Pascone (28:12): Sure.
Lacy Garcia (28:34): And that gives you that moment to plan ahead and then you can like show up and be more present and more effective. Yeah.
Dan Pascone (28:39): 100% agreed and I’ve been a workout and meditation guy for a while, but I just started getting into the infrared sauna and I really like it. So I’m with you on that one.
Lacy Garcia (28:43): Yeah. Yes. Well, and by the way, here’s a pro tip. The ones online that aren’t that expensive actually work. I have one of the, I have one of the, I have a, yeah.
Dan Pascone (28:50): Yeah, you do. Okay, so you have one. So I go to a place, I’ve been doing infrared sauna, infrared red light, and then cryotherapy. Those have been new ones that I’ve done recently. Yeah.
Lacy Garcia (29:06): Yeah. And I think all of it makes a big difference. I was actually thinking about it. I was like, that’s probably what I should have said in the technology that I can’t live without. But…
Dan Pascone (29:12): Yeah, all right. Good, good, all right. What’s one skill that you’re working on developing right now?
Lacy Garcia (29:31): You know, I think balance and being more effective, right, because the problem is when you’re doing so much, sometimes it’s like what I said that I that is a strength is also can be an Achilles heel is like not not actually trying to do too much and not like focusing, because you have to focus to be effective. Yeah.
Dan Pascone (29:36): All right, so you were good enough to share with us a little bit about your money journey. So our purpose is to help our clients design and live their version of a rich life. So I want to hear, what does your version of a rich life look like today?
Lacy Garcia (30:23): So I am a family first, very family oriented and I have one son who’s my world, but very close to the rest of my family. So for me, money is my way of enabling, providing opportunities and experiences and that sort of stability and security for my family. So that is really, so I think for me it’s about having it to spend it in the right way, right? Like, you know, and be able to provide, you know, it’s a conduit. It’s a conduit to, you know, a quality of life and supporting my family. Yeah.
Dan Pascone (30:28): Yeah, 100% agree with that, especially in the life experiences when it comes to kids. I’m a big believer in experiences over possessions, if you will. All right, great stuff, Lacy, great stuff. Finally, if our listeners wanna connect with you individually, personally, or collaborate, or learn more about Willow, give us a little bit about where we can find you and your firm.
Lacy Garcia (30:28): Yes. Yeah. Yes, so you can come to TrustWillow.com. You can find me on LinkedIn at Lacy Garcia. You can find me on Instagram. And I’m also, you know, Lacy at Trust Willow. We’re really accessible and we’re open and the team is excited. You know, this is our, this is our passion, right? This is what we’re all about. And especially if you’re sitting there and you’re thinking like, I’m not ready, I don’t know what to do. Like it’s the right time to reach out. That’s what we’re here for.
Dan Pascone (31:10): I love it. That is a great way to close it. Thanks so much for sharing your time and your insights today and really, really love what you’re doing for the people that you’re serving and helping them to get the help that they need. So great stuff. That’s it for the episode. You can find the podcast along with our newsletter and our YouTube channel all for free at makingsenseofyourmoney.com. And as always prioritize your version of a rich life.
Lacy Garcia (31:15): Awesome. Great.
Resources & Citations
- SEC Investor Bulletin – Questions to Ask When Hiring an Investment Professional
- SEC – Resources for Investors (Investor.gov tools and education)
- FINRA – Women and Investing: 5 Ways Women Can Take Charge of Their Financial Futures
- McKinsey – Women as the Next Wave of Growth in U.S. Wealth Management
- Fidelity – Women’s Guide to Finding and Working with a Financial Professional
- Capital Group – Increasing Women’s Confidence in Investing and Advisor Relationships
FAQs
How do I know if I’m “rich enough” to work with a financial advisor?
Feeling “not rich enough” is one of the biggest barriers that Lacy and Dan see, especially among women. The more useful question is whether you have important financial decisions to make and you’re not confident in your plan. If you’re navigating life transitions, managing equity comp, wondering whether you’re on track for retirement, or feeling overwhelmed by competing goals, that’s usually the signal to seek advice regardless of whether you have $50,000 or several million to your name. Different advisors and service models serve different levels of complexity, but the trigger is your need for clarity, not a specific dollar amount.
What should women look for when choosing a financial advisor?
Start with table stakes: a clean regulatory record, clear compensation structure, and professional standards such as acting as a fiduciary and, where appropriate, holding designations like CFP®. Then focus on the relationship side: Do you feel heard? Can you ask “basic” questions without judgment? Does the advisor explain things in a way that makes sense to you? Women often value collaborative planning, education, and a sense of psychological safety as much as performance numbers. Reviewing SEC and FINRA resources, asking good questions, and having a structured first meeting can help you make a confident decision.
Is it better for women to work with a woman advisor?
For some women, especially those who’ve had negative past experiences, working with a woman advisor can feel more comfortable at first. But as Lacy shares, the most important factors are self-awareness, empathy, communication, and coaching skills not gender alone. Many women thrive with male advisors who “get it,” and many men benefit from women advisors’ perspective as well. A good matching process focuses on shared values, communication style, and life experience so that you end up with a partner you trust, regardless of gender.
How can matching platforms like Willow help me find the right advisor?
Platforms like Willow add structure to what can otherwise feel like guesswork. They ask about your life journey, preferences, and communication style not just your net worth and then pair you with pre-vetted advisors who’ve been trained to serve women thoughtfully. You typically see a curated set of options, plus personal details like hobbies and personality indicators, so you can choose who feels like the best fit. This can save time, reduce anxiety, and increase the odds that you start your advisor relationship already feeling seen and understood.
What are some early signs that an advisor relationship is (or isn’t) a good fit?
Positive signs include an advisor who listens more than they talk at the beginning, asks open-ended questions about your life and goals, explains recommendations clearly, and involves all decision-makers in joint meetings. Red flags can include talking only to one partner, dismissing your concerns, using jargon to avoid real answers, or making you feel ashamed for not knowing something. If you consistently walk away from meetings more confused or anxious than when you arrived, it’s worth exploring other options.
What can I do if I’m overwhelmed but not ready to commit to a full-time advisor?
You can start small. Many advisors and platforms offer one-time planning sessions, hourly consults, or project-based engagements focused on a specific issue like setting up a plan after divorce, navigating equity comp, or creating a basic roadmap. Education-first resources and matching services can help you clarify what kind of advice you need and what level of ongoing relationship makes sense for your situation. The key is taking a first step instead of waiting for some imagined moment when everything feels “perfectly organized.”
Related Internal Links
- Making Sense of Your Money – Planning & Education Hub
- Tailored Wealth – Podcast & Episode Archives
- Tailored Wealth – Comprehensive Planning for Executives & Founders
Next Steps
- Get ongoing education and tools: Visit the Making Sense of Your Money content hub for more conversations, guides, and videos on building a financial plan that truly fits your life.
- Explore working with Tailored Wealth: Head to yourtailoredwealth.com to learn how our team works with high earners and equity-heavy families to design a professional-grade financial operating system.