Follow The Brand Podcast with Host Grant McGaugh
Are you ready to take your personal brand and business development to the next level? Then you won't want to miss the exciting new podcast dedicated to helping you tell your story in the most compelling way possible. Join me as I guide you through the process of building a magnetic personal brand, creating valuable relationships, and mastering the art of networking. With my expert tips and practical strategies, you'll be well on your way to 5-star success in both your professional and personal life. Don't wait - start building your 5-STAR BRAND TODAY!
Follow The Brand Podcast with Host Grant McGaugh
From Healthcare to Wealthcare: Redefining Financial Futures with Camila Strother & Grant McGaugh
Camila Morrison Strother's journey from bedside nurse to a financial powerhouse is nothing short of transformative. Her mission to empower healthcare professionals and women leaders shines through as she shares her experiences and insights on making finance accessible to underserved communities. Discover how Camila's company, Allied Financial Strategies, is changing lives through tailored solutions and how Five Star BDM has helped refine her vision, turning it into a powerful brand that inspires action and creates legacies.
Ever wondered how to align your passion for healthcare with a burgeoning interest in finance and technology? Camila breaks down the complexities of transitioning professional identities, using the Brave framework to demonstrate how financial literacy can be a game-changer. By educating clients on vital financial concepts like compound interest and tax advantages, she empowers professionals to make informed decisions that enhance their financial futures. This episode is packed with strategic advice for those looking to manage and transition their career brands effectively.
Financial literacy doesn't stop at the basics. Camila delves into the crucial aspects of estate planning, life insurance, and preparing for retirement. Learn why creating a will, understanding your 401k, and planning for long-term care are not just important, but essential steps toward financial security. Through personal stories and professional insights, Camila highlights the interconnectedness of healthcare, technology, and financial planning, offering listeners a roadmap to not only protect their assets but also to build a future that honors their life's work and commitments.
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Follow The Brand! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest marketing trends and strategies in Personal Branding, Business and Career Development, Financial Empowerment, Technology Innovation, and Executive Presence. To keep up with the latest insights and updates from us, be sure to follow us at 5starbdm.com. See you next time on Follow The Brand!
Welcome to another episode of Follow the Brand. I am your host, grant McGaugh, ceo of 5 Star BDM, a 5 Star personal branding and business development company. I want to take you on a journey that takes another deep dive into the world of personal branding and business development using compelling personal story, business conversations and tips. Development using compelling personal story, business conversations and tips to improve your personal brand. By listening to the Follow the Brand podcast series, you will be able to differentiate yourself from the competition and allow you to build trust with prospective clients and employers. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Make it one that will set you apart, build trust and reflect who you are. Developing your five-star personal brand is a great way to demonstrate your skills and knowledge. If you have any questions from me or my guests, please email me. At grantmcgaw, spelled M-C-G-A-U-G-H at 5starbdm B for brand, d for development, m for masterscom.
Speaker 1:Now let's begin with our next five-star episode on Follow the Brand. Hello everyone, I am Grant McGaugh, ceo of Five Star BDM, where we help you to build a five-star brand that people will follow, and today we are taking you on a journey where, every week, we dive into the stories, strategies and successes of industry leaders who are redefining their spaces, mastering their brand and delivering real impact. Today I have the pleasure of speaking with a true powerhouse, a woman who has seamlessly blended her expertise in healthcare technology and finance to create something truly impressive. Meet Kamala Morrison Strother, co-founder and CEO of Allied Financial Strategies. Kamala's story is nothing short of inspiring. From her roots in healthcare to her rise as a financial strategist, kamala has made it her mission to empower healthcare professionals and women leaders to achieve financial freedom and build lasting legacies. She knows the challenges, the stress and the unique needs of these underserved communities because she has walked the path herself. Serve communities because she has walked the path herself. What sets Kamla apart isn't just her deep expertise. It's her passion for education, her commitment to personalized strategies and her ability to connect with her clients on a deeply human level. And with her newly branded Allied Financial Strategies, tamla is creating real change by delivering tailored solutions that make finance accessible, achievable and even empowering. And in today's conversation, we will dive into Tamla's journey and how she built Allied Financial Strategies, and what it means to lead with purpose, and the unique services she offers to help her clients bridge the gap between where they are and where they want to be, and we'll also talk about the pivotal role Five Star BDM played in helping Kamala refine her brand and position her to bring her vision to life. So, whether you are a healthcare professional, a woman leader planning her financial future or just someone looking for inspiration to take control of your finances, this episode is for you. So get ready to be inspired, empowered and ready to take action. And let's welcome the incredible Kamala Morrison-Strautler to the Follow Brand Podcast, where we are building a five-star brand that you can follow.
Speaker 1:Welcome everybody to the Follow the Brand Podcast. This is your host, grant McGaugh, and I get the opportunity to talk to someone who actually got my start in podcasting. Most people don't even realize that I was with the and still am with the National Association of Health Services Executives in Florida, and I got the bright idea when a couple of people say, hey, you know what? This is a good way to get in front of people. If we would just interview some of the individuals within the region, within the community, that would be maybe a good fit for the organization I came across at the time. Her name was Kamala Morrison. I said Kamala was a great person. She was in the telehealth. It was a very hot topic at that time still is and I said I'm going to offer her an opportunity to be interviewed for our newsletter. So we did that. It was great. Then we did this wonderful event afterward, it just flowed.
Speaker 1:Then she moved to Atlanta, georgia. I said, hey, what you doing up there? She said I'm doing big things, I'm over at Georgia. I said, hey, what you doing up there? She said I'm doing big things, I'm over at Emory. I said you know what? I just started this podcast. I'd like you to be on my podcast around personal branding, what you're doing in healthcare. And she jumped on Great show. So if you go back to season one, you're going to see Pamela Morrison-Strother because she got married. That's why she went to Atlanta, georgia. But she's doing some other things that I think is important to all of us that follow the brand, and that is she has been a client of mine and she wanted to work with me on some things that she had in mind. So hey, grant, I think you'd be a great person to help me to elevate my particular brand. So I'd like to get you introduced to Kamala and we're going to have a great conversation for all of us. So, kamala, would you like to introduce yourself?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, grant. My name is Kamala Strother, kamala Morrison Strother as you would see on some of my social media pages and, like Grant mentioned, we met a long time ago. You know I consider myself a healthcare professional, just a nurse, with all of these different skills and ideas and innovation and strategy and an innovative field that was very new to the market. And Grant said you are not just a nurse, you are a executive, you are an innovator. And he really wanted to hear my story of how I became an RN and went from an RN at the bedside clinical taking care of patients, which I thought I would do my entire life, to becoming a techie nurse helping my fellow colleagues in using technology, as it really just took over all the paper that we had used for so many years to telehealth, to now having video visits with a doctor, all before COVID. And so I came here to Atlanta and started on a new journey and a new path in quality healthcare at Northside not Emory love Emory to death, but Northside Hospital.
Speaker 2:But in addition to that, I realized the importance of retirement planning, retirement strategies, life insurance and just looking at your financial future. My journey actually started when, 14 years ago, my life changed, when I lost my first husband and taking going down that path of one income I mean two incomes to one income to understanding really how life insurance is needed and just all of the um ways that it can help help anyone. Um, you see a lot of GoFundMe accounts. Um, you see a lot of people who are about to retire who are not sure how to, how to do it, how to prepare Um, and not only that, a lot of my fellow colleagues nurses, physicians we didn't take finance in school, so I started my financial journey to make sure that I can understand, apply it to myself. I started sharing with friends and family and realized there's a great need.
Speaker 1:There's a stupendous need in that area. Stupendous need in that area. I have found that the conversation around just finance in general not only in business but in personal to be a challenge for a lot of individuals because we get so caught up in the day-to-day and, unfortunately, sometimes it takes an event, what I call the incidenting event, something that changes your life Unfortunately. Very sorry to hear about your. You know your first husband passes away here. You are now a single mother. You've got two children. You go from one income or two incomes to one income. You're facing it. You got to not start going through paperwork and all kinds of things that you probably didn't think you would ever have to be doing. You know from an estate planning and other things that most people are like man. I am just totally, thoroughly confused. Talk to us about why you started the company that you have and the impact that you're looking to have with healthcare professionals, impact that you're looking to have with healthcare professionals.
Speaker 2:And you know, I started the company three years ago. I've been licensed for almost 10 years and three years ago I really wanted to take the company to another level because I realized that again I have people asking me questions and I realized, you know what, all the research, all the studying, all the books that I've been reading, even the continuing education that I had to do to maintain my license but I just have a thirst for knowledge. But I'm being asked these questions and I realized I know the answer. Questions and I realized I know the answer and I'm becoming the go-to person or the expert for just finances in general, from early careers to how do I create a budget, how do I manage all of this debt, including student loans, and save at the same time?
Speaker 2:Or, on the other end of the spectrum, I am retiring. Do I have enough? What can I do? And so you know that realization grant really just propelled me into a different place and I think this year it really picked up tremendously because now I have 16 licenses. I work with people all across the country who are in government, in universities, teachers, just a number of people who are being referred to me because they need assistance and I said you know what?
Speaker 2:But I work with nurses and doctors. I have this whole network that I completely understand. I know their language. I can help them too.
Speaker 1:This is so important. You know we align on three levels that I really like. When you approached me and said, karanta, I'm interested in being a client of yours. I see what you do under five-star BDM brand development. Perhaps you can help me. Now we align on healthcare, we align on technology and we align on finance, and I went this is going to be fun. So I said yeah, I would love to work with you.
Speaker 1:Because number one you have a common problem that I have heard many professionals talk about over time. That is, I have a career. I've been a career nurse, nursing, professional technology professional for a long time. That's kind of how people know me. That's my known brand, because brand is what you are perceived in the mind of others. But yet I have a passion around finance and helping people to navigate those waters. Again, as we talked about earlier, you never know when you might have a financial crisis. How do you get through that? Or just your day-to-day how to manage. So finance is a big thing. I want to be known as a finance professional. How can I transition from that career healthcare professional to be someone you would see as a business professional in finance? So we want to work and we work together through the Brave framework. Talk to our audience about your experience and what you have found to be something that was impactful for you.
Speaker 2:You know, I think you hit it. What is it? The nail on the head? I always tend to mess those things up. Mess those things up.
Speaker 2:But first, I think one of the things that you helped me do is to really look at how do I want to be known to those who share the same industry.
Speaker 2:How can I help them to understand or see the expertise on this end, when they completely know me as this health care professional? But, like you said, merging the two dynamics right, because we are working to earn our income and we are taking care of patients. And it makes me think back and you helped me with this with when I was a nurse at the bedside and I became a manager, but I still really needed to understand that job of the nurse and to be able to step in and do it at any point. And so, understanding now, how can I bring across what I'm doing in the financial industry and how is it so relatable to everyone, really in every industry? Um, because we all need money, we all have to manage money. And having you to help me look at my brand, look at my, even my colors, what really represents me? And so you made me think, you made me do a lot of soul-searching and thinking and really just take me to a different level of how I want to really represent myself.
Speaker 1:And you did a wonderful job of that because we had participation and you really you had the passion to get this done. You said I need to be able to project what this brand is all about, because it's a premium service. There's a lot of financial planners out there, people that do strategy. They might have been doing this for a number of years. What makes you different? And as we got into this conversation, we kept coming back to the healthcare role.
Speaker 1:I talk to these people every day in healthcare that are going across all kinds of different challenges, whether you're a nurse, you're a clinician, you're a doctor, you're someone that works with policy or regulations, or within the technology or within the community.
Speaker 1:This is constantly coming up because we all need that resource. You're right, we need money, but we don't understand the value of money, and I learned a lot from you as you started to take me through all these different potential plans, because you tailor it to the individual. He's like, yeah, you ever heard of this, you ever heard of that? I'm like I've never heard of that stuff. And he was like wow, this is why you have to have this conversation. We should know finances as well as we know our own business or our own career. We need to understand that financial layer. I want you to help us right now. Talk to us as if I'm a client, take us through some of the preliminary questions that you normally ask and then some of the answers you would give that you feel that the the individual like myself would get a lot of benefit from yeah, yeah, I think what sets me aside first of all is education.
Speaker 2:Um, my goal is to educate. My very first financial advisor gave me books to read and I am paying that forward. It is about education first. So I go through the basics, and the basics start with the three rules of money and so understanding how money is taxed, what tax advantage means and also what is compound interest, and so I really start with the three basics and provide education.
Speaker 2:If I'm working with someone who is preparing for retirement, I may ask them what are your goals, what is your number or what is the year, when do you want to retire? And so someone may have an idea. You know, I want to retire at 60. Okay, you have 10 years, you have 20 years. So let's look at the things that you have in place and let's backtrack to what are the things that you'll need once you reach that age for retirement, and so that can be an in-depth review. It can be a combination of evaluating debt to income and goals in retirement. So I know you told me to be specific, not being very general, but I think specifically I ask a lot of questions like Grant, when do you plan to retire? When is your time, your ideal time frame for retirement, and then from there? I'm sorry, were you going to answer?
Speaker 1:No, no, I don't want to answer. Go, go go.
Speaker 2:So, you know, understanding that question first would allow me just to continue and I can just think. I think of all these questions in my head. That just comes by having a normal conversation, just as you and I are today, because the key is laying out a financial roadmap, and you can't, you don't know where you're going unless you first can see where you want to be. Right, it sounds so cliche, but I need my GPS to get me from here to there a lot. Even though it's been five years in Atlanta, I still use my GPS, and the same thing for retirement. You have to set a GPS or a financial roadmap to where you want to go. So my questions are very specific. They're customized to each and every person because everyone's financial journey is different.
Speaker 2:You know, my son just graduated from college. He's in his first job, he is managing his finances, but he's still learning. And a lot of these young adults who are early careerists, they still need guidance on that financial roadmap, and it's such a joy for me to be able to watch them grow, be able to teach them what these financial concepts are, what is compounding interests that Albert Einstein came up with a long time ago, the rule of 72, and how you can use a dollar in two or three different ways. And so being able to give tips like that that I can see them take and really start to implement and make it work for them, it's a joy. It's the same joy I get when I see one of my patients healthy and have a healthy baby, because I was a labor and delivery nurse and to be able to see the family together. That same joy is what I get when I'm helping someone to understand finances.
Speaker 1:Lovely. That is a beautiful analogy that you just said, and we're going to unpack just a little bit of that because we're all on different spectrums of our journey. Some of us are toward the end, like I said, they're facing retirement, they're starting to look at work. What does this whole 401k even mean? What do I do now, especially when you get separated from the job and then it's just you and you, just you see all this information, there's all this gobbledygook and you're like and then you know there's money there. You don't know what to do next.
Speaker 1:You've never really engaged the financial planner. How many of us would say, hey, I worked there for 5, 10, 20 years now I've done. I've never really thought about it. You might have took one day that you sat there and filled out your benefits and you just kind of did some check marks on stuff and you just allow really the company to kind of guide you, but you never really had a great conversation around it. You don't know what a portfolio is all about and I am remiss in that. And I remember as a kid playing a game called Monopoly. How many people play Monopoly? A lot of people play.
Speaker 2:Monopoly right.
Speaker 1:I did, yeah. So what's the after? You know, you get your vehicle and they say, hey, you pass, go and you collect $200. That's like working right, right. And if you don't, you know, work and pass go and you go to jail. Well, it takes money to get out of jail right, and you don't always land in free parking right, or go to community tests, right.
Speaker 1:And the object of the game is to gain wealth. You have to, you know, buy houses and eventually buy hotels is to gain wealth. You have to, you know, buy houses and eventually buy hotels. But here's the the. The fact that I don't think we realize in our society is that the object of the game is to gather all the wealth and bankrupt all the other players. Think about that. If you don't know how to manage the game, you don't know how to play the game. You're going to lose to someone whose sole objective have to have real estate. You need insurance, you need stocks and bonds and you need capital or cash. If you don't have any four of those, you are already bankrupt and you need to understand the game we are playing. Help us understand. If I came to you and I said I'm retiring, I'm leaving, I got a 401k. I don't even know what. What is this stuff and what do I do next to try to manage my resources for the next hopefully, 30, 40 years?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know it's so interesting what you said because there are four concepts. Well, let me talk about a few of them. Protection, you know having protection for your money. What does that look like? Growth when can you put your money to grow? And is it in a savings or a checking that gives you less than 1%? Um, taxes, how does taxes impact your money? And learning what are the tax advantage advantages that you can take it you can take advantage of is really important and that's not talked about, um, often.
Speaker 2:So to your question how can you put all of those to work when you are taught to save in a 401k and save in a 403b and?
Speaker 2:Um, especially if there's no pension available by you know, by your company, um, which nowadays there's not a lot of pensions offered, uh, very few actually, um, but having someone that is not only knowledgeable but that you can trust to give you that information, and I have had many clients who have started 401ks, who have participated in 403bs and left their companies, like you mentioned, and started at a new company and really left and oftentimes have forgotten. I've had clients who said you know what, I did that like 10 or 20 years ago and I have no idea who I can call, what it's doing and what should I do with it, and so being able to take them down a path to understand what is the first step to take, where would be a good place, a safe place to consider for options for that money or that old 401k or 403b, um. So that is definitely something that I'm able to talk through and develop and present different options.
Speaker 1:Ready to elevate your brand with five-star impact. Welcome to the Firebrand Podcast, your gateway to exceptional personal growth and innovative business strategies. Join me as I unveil the insider strategies of industry pioneers and branding experts. Discover how to supercharge your business development. Harness the power of AI for growth and sculpt a personal brand that stands out in the crowd. Transform ambition into achievement. Explore more at FirestarBDMcom for a wealth of resources. Ignite your journey with our brave brain blueprint and begin crafting your standout Firestar teacher.
Speaker 1:Today, so important to understand. There are options. These are scenarios often that we get ourselves into and even on the other side of the spectrum I hear from like you've got a child now that's getting into the workforce. You know real time, but do you really know how to select your benefits and you know the information that's in front of you around a 401k or what's it doing? Do you really know and I talked about those four pillars of wealth what's it like to buy a house and what's it for and how do you use it as an asset? What's that all thing?
Speaker 1:Insurance You're talking about insurance. I get car insurance, health insurance. What are you talking about? Insurance, you know, as a form of wealth. You know stocks. What are you talking about? Insurance, you know as a, as a form of wealth. You know stocks and bonds man, I ain't got time for that. I mean all those numbers every day. What is? You know the stock exchange and and the nasdaq and all that. What's that got to do with me? Right? And then cash is like you know how much do I save or just spend what's been suspended?
Speaker 1:Then you get into that, that other world, especially I. I. What I don't like and I see this so often, especially in our college campuses that predatory lending. They started giving you a credit card immediately, not realizing the interest rates and the. You're putting yourself in a debt and you get all of a sudden you get out and you're about to start your career and you're starting hundreds of thousands of dollars already in debt. And remember what I said, you're in a monopoly board, so you're stuck and go. You're trying to go and get your $200 and you are already in debt. How do you afford just a little house, not even talking about boardwalk, we're definitely talking about bolted right. So talk to us about that.
Speaker 2:You know I mentioned compounding interest. Well, that compounding interest can work both ways. It can work against you on a credit card where you can have that interest at 24%, 29% and that will just compound that amount that you have just continues to grow if you don't pay it off.
Speaker 2:And that interest, just it's like you make a payment, but it's not really touching it because now you have all this interest on top of it, you really want that interest in your savings and in other ways to grow your money, versus giving it away with credit card debt. So understanding how to balance that, like you said, is really important. Warren Buffett said never lose money and never forget rule number one, which is never lose money. And so understanding first how to manage that money Um, and you know we can be um the best money managers and something can happen that really just disrupts Um. So understanding options disrupts them. So understanding options having someone who you trust definitely makes a difference and someone who can understand and is looking out for your best interest I think a lot of people that I've met, those are three important things for them, and sometimes it's the reason why they never spoke to anyone about money. You know, some people are not comfortable talking about money. I had to learn from a very no, go ahead.
Speaker 1:I want you to really double down on the fear and the stress and the anxiety of having money conversations and then having it with a stranger or having it with somebody you try. That's a big thing.
Speaker 2:It is, it really is. You know, I think when we watch the watch TV or maybe it's just any types of social media we are taught to spend. I'm watching a movie with my husband and I see this juicy burger, this pizza with all of this cheese, and I want to go and order it and use Uber Eats, and. But if you think about how it is really focused on spending now we got, we have to eat Right, and so you.
Speaker 2:That would maybe might not have been the greatest example, but we are taught to spend, we're not taught to save, and because of that we spend. I mean, even around this time of year holiday season there are so many commercials of sales, but is it really a sale or is it to entice us to spend? So, just as important as it is to spend on things that we need, it's really important to always pay yourself first. So when you get that first paycheck, it doesn't matter when I talk to some of anyone I talk to it doesn't have to be early careerists but pay yourself first, and that could be five, 10, 20, a hundred, a thousand. Whatever works for you. I always focus on paying yourself first. The second thing is an emergency fund, because emergencies happened, happened and a lot of times our credit cards become what we use when we have an emergency. But rule of thumb is to have three to six months worth of funds to the side. I always say in a separate account that can be used for emergencies.
Speaker 2:This is getting real, as they say. Let's get real you want to talk about it.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about it because we have to talk about money and we've got to get it out of the personal realm and we've got to talk to people that know about money. Sometimes in our families they really just don't. They know a little, but they don't know that much. Just like in anything else in life, there's someone who's a professional, who does it, not just a DIY, do-it-yourself type of thing. And if they have not the people that you're confiding in about money choices and about making big investments, about what you're doing, you can make critical errors. And let me tell you something about money, and I know about this.
Speaker 1:I'm toward that retirement age now. I've made mistakes along the way and those mistakes can take years to correct, years to correct. So if I had to talk to my younger self, I would say oh, don't do that. Make sure you talk to so-and-so. Or if you don't know, especially now in the information age, there's no reason not to understand certain things. If you want information, you can get it right, but when you're working with someone like Kamala, she's going to take you beyond just information, into what I call applied knowledge and what that applied knowledge looks like for you and your personal situation. Right, because general information is great, just to get a general knowledge about certain things. But how does that relate to you in your personal setting?
Speaker 1:And I always go back to when we were working together and understanding like, man, I've got you know nurses, they're starting to understand what I'm doing with allied financial strategies and they're coming to me Because they're coming to you and at all the different levels where they're at from situational times they're like look, this is what I'm faced with, right, it could be a crisis mode. Or it's another thing like look, this is what I'm faced with, right, it could be a crisis mode. Or it's another thing like how do I save money? I got a new baby now. How do I really save money without then dipping into those funds when something unforeseen happens? No one wants that to happen, but things do happen over time. Talk to us how you're able to apply knowledge for people on an individual basis.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, going back to what I mentioned about understanding debt to income, but really, the key is a book that was written by one of my colleagues and it's called the eight financial breakthroughs, and those eight financial breakthroughs focus on everything from savings to estate planning to protection not protection on your cell phone or your car, but protection on your life. What does that mean? What does it mean to build wealth? What does it mean to leave a legacy? And all of these key areas are all part of the eight financial breakthroughs that I create strategies around this is so important eight financial strategies.
Speaker 1:So you have a process, you have a framework, you have an understanding and I understand it's your attack team. So it's like you and your husband. You're doing these things to help people. And I go back to what I said even earlier. I think when you go to school now you talked about something, about advertisements and things like that they teach you to spend because they want you to entice you to get your money In school. Are we really teaching our kids about the system that they're about to engage with? Are we just teaching them to get the technical skills to become a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer or whatever it may be? Are we just teaching them to get the technical skills to become a doctor or a lawyer or an engineer or whatever it may be? Are we teaching them literally about the game of life? Here's when you start.
Speaker 1:When you leave my house at 18, you should know you're about to step onto a game floor, right, right, you might be walking or you might get one of those little steel cars, I don't know, but you're at stage one, you're at go and you got to roll the dice, right, and when you roll the dice, you want those dice to be. You know what? I got education, so I have a better opportunity for myself. I have a skill set. Ooh, that's going to get me further along, right, because, as you see, as you go across that monopoly board, there are financial, like you said, debt to income ratio, debts that you're going to accumulate, and there's going to be income that you ended up going to accumulate along the way, and eventually you will step into a situation you're going to have to pay. You will be in situations that you don't want to be in, or you get in a situation like ooh, you know what? I just got all this money. How do I invest? Do I buy this? I buy that. Talk to us more about that.
Speaker 2:The financial test. You know there is a financial test that we have to, that I have to help my clients to undergo, and that's really um. It includes so many different components. I've mentioned some of them earlier today when I talked about the protection tax advantage. Safety is a huge one and, in addition to the growth um, but you're right, you can inherit money. You can have a large sum of money that you're not sure what to do with it and um, just knowing your options is so important.
Speaker 2:There was something else that I wanted to share with you about that topic in your question, and I'm trying to blank on that now, but I think the key is making sure that you ask the questions, that you're not afraid to really ask the questions and really evaluate where you are and what's available. When I talk about some of the financial concepts like participation rates, I had never heard or understood what it meant. It meant to have a fund or index um or different solutions with the participation rate and realize that that matters, um, I think, grant, something else that you triggered, for me too, is a lot of people don't want to have the conversation about estate planning. I think I'm changing the topic just slightly, but just going back to what you mentioned about having that conversation, that may not be comfortable.
Speaker 2:Estate planning what does that look like? Creating a will and a trust that, even though I'm not an estate attorney and I don't do that I have really great relationships and partnerships, very strategic partnerships to make sure that I can offer an array of solutions for my clients. And that is just as important as having life insurance, because death is something that we all can't run from and it's something that will happen. Being prepared for it definitely helps to make it a little lighter when you're not in as an emotional stage that you will be in when it happens. Um, so being able to create a will, to create a trust, to leave a legacy, um, and use life insurance in many different ways is, I think, something that I learned a lot about and something from my experience I think I can share and help others with.
Speaker 1:You just touched on a big one for me, when it talks about just estate planning, just understanding, again you're on a Monopoly board and you think, all right, I have passed away. And again you're on a monopoly board and you think, all right, I have passed away, but guess what you have left? You might, your body, might, have left the board, but not your money and your assets and the things that you represented. And then whoever's your next of kin and other people that were close to you in your life, they have to deal with those things. So what was the legal condition of real estate, or the legal condition of stocks and bonds, or what provisions did you make that certain things would be given to certain individuals? Or maybe you did those things, but that was 20 years ago and your situation has changed since then and I've seen this so many times and it's hurtful because you're already, as you said, in a vulnerable state.
Speaker 1:You're going through the funeral and that's that's the first test, right, going through, because you have to pay for the funeral, it costs money to pass away, so so you have to think through those things and if you haven't done what it takes, it's like, hey, just in case anything happens to me. There is something that's just basic life insurance, but what happens even after that? And then if you have children, have you done the certain things that you want? I want my kids to have a leg up in this game because I guarantee you everybody, we're on this game board. No one can escape. You're in this monopoly board and all these things are so important. I I hear people like oh, we gotta go to probate. Oh, my god, probate. What does that mean? That means this is involved in the liquidation of assets and things that. Can you talk just a little bit about what happens if you're just not prepared?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know and I can again. I'm not an estate attorney, but my experiences have helped me to learn the importance of estate planning. I unfortunately lost my mom earlier this year, but I think the really good thing that helped is that we did have a trust set up from my mom and dad. Um, my dad is he's doing good as well as he can and um, but my mom was instrument instrumental in um helping me to appreciate entrepreneurship from a very, very early age and the importance of making money um and then taking it the next step of how to manage that money. But going back to the estate planning, um, when you have a trust in place and speaking from experience, we did not have to go to court or probate to have a will read. We did not have to pay probate costs nor be on the schedule of the court system. Sometimes it's necessary. However, planning does help.
Speaker 2:Planning does help and you're right, grant, when you said you do have to pay for the funeral and learning, all the things that come into play that you have to pay for when you lose a loved one, from burial to casket, to so many difficult decisions that they haven't been talked about or planned out, um, I can say that, from losing my mom, we have started planning out everything for my dad and he's very open to it, um, but it just really it's such a difficult time, um, but any way that you can take steps that alleviate some pain, um throughout the process is helpful, and I think the importance of life insurance is something that everyone needs to consider, because when you are employed and you have life insurance with your employer, once you leave that company, you, that life insurance, doesn't go with you, and so, unless you have established a permanent life insurance for yourself, which can be done at any ages, I have clients where I am setting up all of their children from an early age with life insurance permanent life insurance that they'll have the rest of their life and then really understanding how to make life insurance work for you, because life insurance is not just a death benefit.
Speaker 2:It includes living benefits, it includes coverage for chronic conditions, critical conditions and even if you're diagnosed with a terminal condition, and there's other ways that life insurance can be used. So, again, this information is not always available, but it's something that we all should really look into and I would love to help anyone that is interested to help them be more educated 100% on that and you touched on something I was going to ask you.
Speaker 1:I think you just answered that question. Some of us have aging parents and you're just not sure what that care is going to look like. Maybe they can no longer be in the home that they're in going to look like. Maybe they can no longer be in the home that they're in. They have to go to an AIDS facility, a nursing facility or something to that effect, and this could be over time and all of these things have financial factors included in that and we're living longer these days, but that doesn't always mean that we live healthier. So it goes back over to your healthcare role and everything that you know about healthcare and technology. But you have to understand the finance and you're checking all those boxes through the life cycle of an individual and those are those gotchas that happen and maybe you've gone through life and you've never had any major upset, but I guarantee at some point in time it's going to happen. But are you prepared for these things? I have 18 parents. Thank God they've been very, very healthy.
Speaker 1:But I know that we have sat down and talked about these things. Hey, what happens if mom falls, you know, and what does that look like? And are those the kind of things you hate to hear, those things you hear about all the time? A lot of healthcare shows people that go bankrupt through you know um health care issues and things like that, because and then then, or their financial assets have been drained and it goes back to what you're talking about protection. There's a whole lot of reasons why you need someone like Camelot and Allied Financial Strategies in your corner, because you don't know what you're going to go through, but you need to understand the value of that and why this is important. Before we let you go, I want you to talk about your business and the big why and the kind of clients that you're looking to cater to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, grant, you really hit home there when you talked about aging parents, because people are living longer 90s, 100, and there are some people that are able to take care of themselves independently, but there's a lot of us that may need long-term care, long-term care coverage. So, from a health perspective, understanding we're living longer, understanding some different conditions, chronic conditions that can really impact us as we age, learning and understanding about the availability of long-term care coverage.
Speaker 1:What does that look like?
Speaker 2:There's a great need for that too, so I'm glad you mentioned that.
Speaker 2:So, ally Financial Strategists, you know my husband and I came up with this company with this name because we really understand the benefit of having partnerships, understand the benefit of having partnerships aligning with others. I have to be strategic, and I'm finding that, as I get older, that is an area that I really enjoy, I think, as a nurse, taking care of patients, you know I can fix it, I can fix the problem, and it's the same thing in this role as a financial professional, as an educator, I want to help to fix the problem, I want to find a solution, and so, having that mindset, I have to be strategic. I have to look for innovative ways, just like I did with telehealth. How can we really increase that access to care by having a virtual visit in two different locations? That required a lot of innovation when I was starting the program, and so starting this business allows me to incorporate a lot of those different skills. That really just makes me be a better support and educator for people that I meet.
Speaker 1:This is great. This is great, and I lied. I do have one more question, and it's more. I want you to help the people understand the process and what you gain by working with me 5 Star BDM on your brand blueprint strategy. You got your brand assessment. You received your skills gap analysis. You got your brand blueprint document right your brand blueprint strategy. Just talk to the audience what you feel that you gained out of this entire experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it helps me to really identify the direction for my brand, because I have so many different skills that I'm incorporating and, really, how do I highlight those skills so that it's appealing for, um, those who can clearly identify me as a healthcare professional, or those who see me as that techie person, that techie nurse, or, um, those who see me as a strategist and an innovative person? Um, I put all that together and that's what you helped me to to do and see grant, and I think that it it's given me a lot of work to do, and I still have a lot of work to do, so I really appreciate that you have, you know, put together this podcast for the two of us to talk more about it and to share it with your network, um, because I'm a work in progress, um, but you have also just highlighted ways that I can showcase my brand, um and myself on social media and other avenues that I'm really not using that much today.
Speaker 2:It's been really referrals and word of mouth, but there's a lot more that I can do, so you have helped me with that.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you. You've helped me as well and I want you to help our audience. I'm sure there are people out there right now Like how do I get in touch with Kamala? Where's your website?
Speaker 2:website email hook us up well, allied financial strategist is the name of the company and um my linkedin business. My business linkedin page is um will be up shortly, um, probably within the next couple of days, and so will the website, so look out for ally financial strategist. You can also find me on linkedin at kamala morrison strother, um and grant. I'm sure there's other ways that you'll be able to to showcase uh and market showcase my name and information for for anyone who's interested in connecting with me.
Speaker 1:No doubt, no doubt. We're going to get you out there. We're going to promote. I can't wait. We're promoting you right now. People are going to be loving this show. I know I love this show and I want your entire audience to tune in to all the episodes of Follow Brand. You can do so at 5-star BDM, that's B for Brand, d for Development and for masterscom. I want to thank you again for being on the show and much love for you in 2025. Thank you so much. Thank you, grant. Thanks for joining us on the Follow Brand Podcast. Big thanks to Full Effect Productions for their incredible support on each and every episode. Now the journey continues on our YouTube channel, fallenbrandtvseries. Dive into exclusive interviews, extended content and bonus insights that will fuel your success. Subscribe now and be a part of our growing community sharing and learning together. Explore, engage and elevate at Follow Brand TV Series on YouTube. Stay connected, stay inspired. Till next time, we will continue building a five-star brand that you can follow.