Ep #71: A Tale of Discrimination, Immigration, and Success - The Career of Catalina Franco-Cicero

October 26, 2016

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In response to repeated requests, Catalina Franco-Cicero joined us on the show to share her unique journey that brought her into the financial planning profession.

Catalina is currently a partner working to build the Fiscal Fitness Clubs of America brand. The company offers a holistic financial planning service to clients that are often overlooked by traditional money managers.

Catalina immigrated to the US from Colombia. At nine years old, she helped manage the financial transactions for her household as the first one in the family to learn English.

Though she learned about real life money management at a young age, it wasn't until she went through graduate school years later before she considered finance as a profession. With only a year left before completing a Ph.D. program in sports education, Catalina changed course and answered the call to provide financial planning services for underserved populations.

Catalina's experience is both interesting and inspiring -- but not without the unfortunate challenges that women still face in this male-dominated industry. She's faced multiple challenges in her career, but maintains a positive outlook and is committed to her cause. She credits one crucial element that we talk about in depth on this episode as the key to her success.

Listen to the Full Interview:

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What You'll Learn from This Episode:

Tips for finding a financial planning mentor.
What a Coordinator of Financial Planning for a fee-only financial planning firm does.
How to fund the first employee.
Several benefits of being involved in professional financial planning associations.
Sexual harassment and discrimination issues that women still face in the financial planning industry.
Why fantasy football is good for teaching financial concepts.
How Fiscal Fitness Clubs has been able to land workplace contracts.