Angie Shay became a licensed financial advisor in 1989, but as she took off building her client base, the business became her identity, and she used it as a way to hide from a failing marriage.
After getting a divorce, God put her on a new track with her firm THE PATH Financial Strategies. As a Christian, Shay’s philosophy for life and business is to help clients develop sound financial futures through knowledge, integrity and trust. “We want to create powerful financial strategies that our clients understand, and empower them to live without fear of their future,” she says.
Shay and her team of six start by asking their clients’ goals, and then they work on a financial plan after examining estate-planning documents, insurance coverage, any wealth management plans and tax returns. “When you garner people’s trust, you’ve got to take the time to wear their shoes,” Shay says. “You can’t do adequate strategies or plans until you do that well.”
Shay and her team start the workday together. “We huddle every day at 8:30 a.m. and read from a devotional calendar for everyday living and pray together,” she says. They each also set annual professional, personal and spiritual goals that often include things that make them uncomfortable. “If you are not uncomfortable, you are not growing,” Shay says.
Mentoring also plays a huge role in Shay’s life. Through Fairmont Christian Church, she mentors several young people, and professionally, she has served on the board of Women in Insurance and Financial Services and as the group’s national president. “I had been invited to speak at their conference, and it was so refreshing to see 340 women sharing information with transparency and vulnerability,” she says. “It was like a breath of fresh air.”