How Cris Caruso Built a Financial Practice for GenX Women and LGBTQ+ Communities

**Racheal Cook:** Hey Cris, I'm so excited you are joining me for Promote Yourself to CEO.

**Cris Caruso:** Hi, thanks for having me.

**Racheal:** I absolutely wanted to have you come talk to all the CEOs who listen to the podcast. One, because they need to know who you are and your work with your business at Savoire Financial. But also because I think the work you're doing is just so important and it's a great example of how any type of business can really niche down into working with a group they care about so much. So I'd love for you to start by giving this a little background history about your journey to actually launching Savoire Financial.

**Cris:** I have been in financial services in the industry since 2004, so 20 years now. I started Savoire Financial two years ago with the sole vision of working with women and people in the LGBT community. And really also working with people in Gen X because I feel like we're often overlooked between millennials and boomers.

**Racheal:** Absolutely and I think this is something that is such an amazing opportunity for a lot of us to think about when we're thinking about who we are wanting to work with is who is underserved, who is overlooked and you have clearly like this is in a way your ideal clients are you, right? So like you are trying to connect with people who are very similar to you and help them overcome things that the mainstream hasn't really created support systems for to be honest.

**Cris:** Yeah.

**Racheal:** But when you started Savoire Financial what was your reason for going off 100% on your own and leaving the bigger organization you were a part of before?

**Cris:** It was really important to me as the organization I was with before got bigger that voice that I was trying to cultivate in this community was getting diluted because the other advisors and folks on the team didn't have that same alignment. They were very welcoming and accepting of me having this group of people that I connect best with. But I felt like the firm-wide alignment diluted that voice. And it was really important to me to take that message and double down on who I am and how I move around the world and invite people like me - women, people in the LGBTQ community, Gen-Xers - to see themselves in an industry where women are underrepresented.

**Racheal:** I love that. And it's incredible to look at just the last couple of years since you have gone out on your own, because when you joined us inside of the CEO collective, I was learning more about your business. I was getting really excited about your mission, and you were able to actually bring clients with you, which is different from a lot of small business owners. Usually when they leave a bigger organization, they're not able to bring their clients, but you were able to bring a lot of your clients with you. I'd love to know, how did you approach leaving a bigger organization and saying "Hey, I'm going off on my own, I'd love you to come with me"?

**Cris:** It was the hardest thing I've ever done. It was petrifyingly scary. It took me a long time to have enough belief in myself that I could do that. It took a lot of support from coaches and other people in my network and other professionals, talking to other people who have these very niched-down independent practices like I do to see that this is happening and to develop that confidence and belief that I could do it.

Unfortunately, that exit from that other practice was very fast. Once I made my wants very clearly identified, there wasn't room for me to be there anymore. So it was a fast transition when we actually got down to it, but it had been simmering in my mind for a while. It probably took me a good nine months of preparation to put everything in order to be able to go.

**Racheal:** I think this is something that keeps a lot of people stuck, because you build a career, you have all these relationships, you have all the work that you've done, and the idea of leaving the safety net of a larger organization with all of the infrastructure they have, and all of the resources they have, and then suddenly figuring out how to do it all on your own, what was that like for you? There were a lot of really significant changes when you decided to hang your own shingle. What did that look like when suddenly you went from a massive organization with lots of resources at your disposal and now you're the one doing all the things?

**Cris:** I am. And I had to learn to rely on other professionals. I have an attorney that I work with. I interviewed a number of other organizations. There's a lot of ways to run a business like mine from literally doing everything on your own to the other end where the firm did everything for us. And there's such a spectrum in between.

I knew I needed support. So it was about identifying who I was going to align with, who was going to be enthusiastic about bringing somebody like me on and not just saying "Oh yeah, sure, I guess you could try that" or "Nobody's ever done that before," but really finding people who say "Yes, come do that with us."

One of the hard things is that there's so many choices. I can very easily get overwhelmed by having to make too many decisions and really just had to lean back on what I know. In some cases, just sticking with those same things I've always used, because it was one less decision I had to make, one less new thing I had to learn.

Some of the tools I'm using, I've used for many years. Maybe eventually we'll put it in a rotation to review and change. But when I started, I needed some things to stay the same because the decision fatigue can be really real. That's where leaning into other people, leaning into other professionals, letting experts do their jobs. I had to take that advice from myself because I give my clients that advice - I am the expert, let me do my job. And I had to take that advice and let other experts do their jobs for me and hire them where I knew I needed them.

**Racheal:** It's such a different experience than I think a lot of other entrepreneurs I've talked to simply because you took nine, ten months to plan taking the leap on your own. But the minute that you made it known, it was fast. And I think that's a little different because often people can build while they're still working. But that wasn't going to work in this situation as a financial advisor, financial planner, because it would be a conflict, right?

**Cris:** It was the same job. I didn't have this side thing or passion project that I wanted to turn into a business and ease out, I wanted to do the same business. I just wanted to do it differently. So there was absolutely no way that I could overlap. And I think the other thing that was really challenging for me, I had worked with this group of people for a long time. I loved them very much. We had built very close relationships. So that emotional piece was also very challenging to unwind.

**Racheal:** I mean, it was a big leap of faith for you to make that decision. But fast forward two years. How has that been for you? Most of your clients came with you.

**Cris:** Yes. Many of my clients came with me. It's been two years, we just had our second anniversary, September of 2024. And I say that while it is all, it is two things at the same time. It is the hardest work I have ever done, but it is the most satisfying and rewarding work I've done.

We very strategically, in part with help from you, took year one as a foundation year. We spent year one really attending to the clients that came with me, the ones that took that leap of faith and trust to come with me on this new adventure, making sure they had what they needed.

Making sure that we loved them up the best we could but also building the foundation of the business. Building our systems, building our policies, building the culture. It's so important for me to create that "go slow to go fast." We have implemented, we've tweaked and adapted because you try things for a little while and have to adjust them. So we've made a lot of adjustments this year, but we've really put into practice what we built in year one and year two has been so good.

**Racheal:** It's amazing because I think a lot of times people don't want to focus on the systems first. But you had the first initial challenge for a lot of small businesses kind of solved once those clients came over with you, right? That's one of the things that makes your business a little bit different was that those clients committed to coming over with you. Which means you had revenue from the beginning, you weren't starting from scratch, like a lot of small business owners. But knowing that you lost so much infrastructure and operational support going on your own, I remember you were building out all these systems, you were building out all this onboarding.

One of my favorite things though that you built out, and I want to have you talk about this, is you have a client-only newsletter, and you have an educational process for all your clients. I just think it's so smart because as a financial planner and advisor, your clients stay with you for a long time. I think this is one of those industries where there's a lot of people who do similar work who don't provide a whole lot of value once you've moved your money to be managed by them, or once they've made your retirement plan. But your approach has been so different. So can you share a little bit about how you developed this client experience that has got people so excited about continuing with Savoiree?

**Cris:** Part of my past employment background is that I worked in the hospitality industry. So I bring two very distinct former employment experiences to being a financial advisor. The other one is I went to school to be a teacher. So I always say teaching is my superpower. I have a really well-built ability to explain highly technical and complicated concepts in an easy way.

So we bring a lot of education into our practice. The other thing that I really believe is important is that level of service and bringing that hospitality background into what we do. We build very intimate and strong relationships with our clients. We talk to them regularly. I want to be in that top 10 list when a life event happens. I want to be in that top 10 list of who gets the phone calls, the good or the bad.

**Cris:** Our client-only newsletter is an interesting mix of education, resources, and things I think my clients find interesting. One of the ways we shape that is we pick a yearly theme, because I've worked with these people for so long that I don't want to run out of things to address or talk about with my clients.

When we do back to school, our August newsletter is always geared about back to school. One of the things that really benefited a client last year was reminding all my clients who have kids turning 18 that there's certain things they should put in place for those newly mentored young adults before they go out into the world. When they're 18, parents' abilities to make decisions obviously starts to shift, so we remind those parents specifically about what I'm recommending, and then they implement that. That's that added touch that a lot of advisors aren't adding in.

**Racheal:** I think it's so important and it becomes a great way to provide value but also not overwhelm people. The world of personal finance is definitely one where there's a lot of deer-in-headlights moments. It just becomes disheartening when you can see people think "this is too much, I can't do all of this right now." But by the way that you strategically give them these little insights like "Hey, your kid's 18, it's time for them to come talk with me" - it's time to do these couple things. Or like when you had done a whole series around estate planning or family planning or all these things that we don't always think about until we're in the middle of it. It's like a perfect reminder.

But I also know that because this is a client-only newsletter, this is such a great strategy to retain those clients and to engage them, but also a great opportunity for referrals. And I think this is something that you've done so well, because your whole business continues to be referral based.

**Cris:** Not by design, but as long as it continues to sustain our growth, I will take them. I love talking to my clients. They're such cool people, and they have the coolest friends and family members, so I'm always excited to talk to their network. Because of who we are and our niche, the person coming to me through a referral already has a sense of who I am and the potential to be aligned with the work we're doing, versus somebody who maybe sees where I've spoken or finds my website through Google.

**Racheal:** And I think this is another thing I really love about the way your business is set up right now because you are specifically calling in women, specifically calling Gen X women. We are seeing a huge shift right now in the transfer of wealth and what is going to come. Women are such an underserved segment. You shared with me that most of the time if you're married to a man, men tend to not live as long as women. The first major transfer of wealth that we're about to see is not necessarily generational. It's going to be between women losing - as those boomers age, more women in that generation are going to start realizing "I have to handle all this myself now" but maybe their advisor never talked to them because they weren't the man. So we're seeing this huge shift already where women want people who are actually going to support and encourage them. I want you to talk about that for a second - what are you seeing as far as the needs of women when it comes to personal finance?

**Cris:** When we talk about widowed women of all ages - I don't know the statistic off the top of my head but it is startlingly high - the number of women that leave their family's financial advisor within the first 12 to 24 months of their male partner's death is staggeringly high because they don't have a relationship with that typically male advisor.

In that boomer generation, the advisor was probably a friend of their husband, probably a family friend. The average age of advisors in our industry right now is 60-something, so as those advisors start to retire, women are often the ones making the decisions and maybe they've never had to make them before.

Women work well in relationship. They want to know that they can trust, especially if they don't feel like this is an area they have confidence in. They want to find an advisor and professionals they can relate to and trust. They don't want to feel pushed to make decisions quickly or feel ashamed and embarrassed for maybe not understanding the industry language and lingo, which can be really fast-paced. They are looking for people who will take the time with them, who are conversational, relational and willing to meet them where they are.

**Racheal:** I'm seeing this across so many professional industries. I just did a talk to accountants and bookkeepers - same situation. The insurance industry and legal industry, a lot of these professional services industries, we are just seeing this issue where one, there's not as many people going into those industries as maybe in previous generations, and like you said, the average age is in their 60s.

**Racheal:** So for women who are wanting to be a financial advisor, accountant, lawyer, in insurance, any of these traditional professional roles, and you haven't loved the environment or the culture of those organizations, there's such a massive business opportunity here to talk to and support people in the way that you probably wished was available. But I think this is such a huge opportunity for a lot of small business owners who still probably have 10 or 20 years left in your career. There's going to be a lot of turnover where people are looking for new advisors and new support. And the way that you stand out is by clearly calling in the ideal client you want to work with.

**Cris:** When we think about millennial and GenX women, we're marrying later or not at all. We are often the primary breadwinners. We are busy. And we also need people who will do that same thing. The service model is the same age-wise. Maybe Prince or Princess Charming never came along. Or maybe they came along and they don't make good financial decisions or they don't know any more than you do. That expectation women maybe had generations ago that someone would come along and just take care of these things doesn't happen when the age of marriage is later or not at all, as non-traditional families.

**Racheal:** And that is a huge opportunity too. I have another friend who's a financial planner advisor and she basically specializes in post-divorce women. Practice has evolved, but I think the reason I'm so excited about this is we know there has been a wealth gap between men and women, that there has been traditionally an education gap where women have not been talked to about money or about planning.

**Racheal:** And for anyone who this is the world you're in and you've been the one woman in the office full of guys and you're like, "how can I take this and do it myself?" I think the way that you were able to do this was so great because you led with relationships. You were able to provide value to people and really talk specifically to the needs they were having. And I think a lot of maybe old school mindset might have been trapped in the scarcity thinking of, "I should take anybody and everybody because the most important thing is that I have as many clients as possible." But I think your approach of saying, "no, I want to work with these specific types of clients, help be that person for them, help them navigate these transitions in their lives." And in your own way, close the wealth gap by closing the education gap and closing all the things that have really left women at a disadvantage for so long.

**Cris:** And when we talk about my clients in the LGBTQ community, there's so many reasons. For my boomer and elder GenX clients, many of them didn't think they'd live through the HIV crisis to have careers in their 50s and 60s and a retirement to even plan. Or as kids, they didn't feel like they fit in, they didn't see a future for themselves, so maybe it took them a little longer to get their career started. And so they're behind and now they need to catch up. We need the visibility, we need to be seen, we need support that is more than just accepting, but that is compassionate, that is relational.

**Racheal:** It's amazing. You're on the journey right alongside your clients being there as a huge part of their support system, and I think that's part of how we need to think about our professional advisor people - they should understand where you're coming from. When I first started my business, it was frustrating. I got a lot of talking to professional experts, accountants and lawyers, and it was a lot of "how cute this little business." The way that women have been traditionally talked down to is a huge reason why I'm so passionate about more women getting the support they need and finding support systems that believe in what they're doing, and that are not going to patronize you if you have a question.

As you are continuing to build Savoiree Financial, you have clients all over Virginia, DC area, a lot of the country really. You're starting to get on podcasts and starting to talk more. What is a great step for someone who's looking for a financial advisor like you? What's the first step you recommend they take to find the right fit?

**Cris:** Ask somebody that you trust about an advisor who they are working with. Ask a friend, ask a family member, get a referral. I always tell my potential clients that financial advisors, we all sort of have the same tools. And none of us are technically any better than the next person - we're all very good at what we do. There's a lot of different ways, but the most value and progress comes from finding someone you can trust. That relationship and trust and connecting with someone is going to be more important than what tool they use or what kind of reports they give you. Understanding how they communicate and does that align with your learning styles? How do they give you information and does that align with you? Ask your people, ask the people in your community who they work with. You're going to get some really great referrals.

**Racheal:** Referrals are our favorite ways to get clients. And I think not enough small business owners are amplifying how important those referrals are. But truly, in this space, the relationship is so important. Having the people you can trust is so important. I think the referrals tell me, as a business strategist, that you're doing great work and your clients trust you. If you're not getting a lot of referrals, you're afraid to ask for referrals, that tells me there's a disconnect between you and your clients and that relationship isn't as strong as it should be.

**Cris:** I know that when I need a professional, I go to the people that are in my world. I go to the people that I admire, who are aligned with me and say, "Hey, I need an accountant." So far I've had great success with healthcare providers and professionals that I need, because I know that people who are similarly aligned with me are going to perhaps approach finding these other professionals the same way. When finding your financial advisor, of course you do your due diligence once you get some names, but it takes away that noise. I'm all for this ease in decision making rather than starting fresh and going on the internet. I'm going to ask the people in my circle who they work with.

**Racheal:** I love that. So as we wrap up our conversation, I want to ask you, if anyone was coming to you to ask about your experience at the CEO collective and how we've supported you over the last couple of years going all on your own, starting to build your team, getting ready to relocate to Richmond - because that's one of the things that tends to happen as I make everyone fall in love with Richmond. Jokingly, I've only had like five clients move to Richmond, which is kind of wild. But what's something you would share with somebody if they were looking at the CEO collective and how that's been able to support you in this process?

**Cris:** I knew very clearly, and I had been following you and listening to your podcast for a little while, and I think I found you through TikTok. But I knew really clearly that when I was ready to launch, I knew how to be an advisor. I didn't know how to run a business. And I knew that's the support I was going to need. And that's exactly what I got. And even still as a solo or small team now, having the community to answer, to bounce ideas off - like, "Hey, what are you guys doing about this? What are you using for this?" Having resources to share with folks running businesses that have been affected by recent hurricanes - that community is amazing and super supportive. I think as solo business owners, having that sounding board is so important, building that community, but then also having the structure of systems and support to build the backend and the business side. So many of us know what the product is, the services - we need the support on the backside.

**Racheal:** Yeah. And that's what we love to do is get everybody on our 90-day framework. It's amazing when I start seeing people get through year one and then year two. We have a lot of people with us year after year because of that support system, being able to know that you're coming into a room with people who see what you're doing and they're excited about it but are willing to just 100% give feedback or share openly. It's a game changer.

**Cris:** It's a rollercoaster being a business owner and so I love that the support is the wins and the resources but when that rollercoaster is at the bottom as it's climbing back up, that support is there too and I feel like that's just as valuable.

**Racheal:** Well Cris, where can people learn more about Savoiree Financial and get access to some of your resources? I know you have quite a few different things available to support people who are trying to figure out how to get their financial house in order and how to just be more empowered in their personal finances.

**Cris:** The best place is right on my website, Savoirefinancial.com. There are tons of resources. There's a whole tools section where there's articles and some ebooks, calculators right on my website, so that's the best to start.

**Racheal:** The calculators tab makes me so happy because I love a good calculator. If I can just plug in a couple things that tells me the answer, it's so clarifying, but I feel like often we're scared to even go plug in a couple numbers. So I love those resources. I will make sure they are all linked up on the show notes page for anyone who wants to learn more about Cris or follow along with Savoiree Financial or reach out for a consult if you are looking for more support going into 2025.

**Cris:** Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure.

**Racheal:** Thank you.