(Continued)

Women business owners
When she began her practice 30 years ago and was looking for a niche, Fran Jacoby, a financial advisor with Prudential in Indianapolis, asked herself, “Where is the greatest need, and where are people not going?” Her answer: women.

“I have always been interested in small businesses, so I chose to start working with family farms. … Many times while farms were controlled by males, I saw that women seemed to be dealing with a great deal of the work, but not dealing with a lot of the decision making,” she says. Since then her practice has flourished, and has grown from helping family farms to a wide range of clients, many of them women business owners.

Jacoby says that her female clients are comfortable with her because she addresses their issues. “We expect to live longer than men; we expect to be alone. Unlike 30 years ago, women are choosing to be single, to get divorced; their independence is much more important than it was 30 years ago,” she says.

Direct mail is a big no-no for high-net-worth women, and advertising does not rate much higher with them.

One group of clients that Jacoby is currently focusing on is prominent women attorneys. “Women business owners are incredibly dynamic,” she says. “And they are savvy about what they need. Many of these women have spent years building a successful practice some with close to 100 employees, and in the process they have given up a lot of in the course of building their business, such as getting married and having children. They have made great sacrifices to build their business … and now they are in their 50s, and they begin to feel that loss.”

As their advisor, she sees her role as one of helping them establish a legacy that doesn’t have to do with a husband or offspring. “I ask them, ‘You have this wonderful business and no close heirs, what would you like to do with your money?’” says Jacoby. The consultation does not focus on just financial needs—the successful business has seen to that. Instead, she asks them questions like: What kind of hobbies do you have? What are you going to do after you stop working? What kinds of charities interest you? What kind of legacy do you want to leave? “No one has ever asked them that,” she says. “There is a whole generation of self-made wealth, and I am helping them focus and channel that into a legacy—charitable trusts and foundation.”

What ifs
Jacoby has found another niche within the “niche” of the women’s market. And it happened, as in Lori Price’s case, through serendipity. Her lawyer called and wanted her to talk to one of his female clients to discuss issues that were “very sensitive”—sensitive enough, he thought, that it took another woman’s touch to address them. The case: A woman business owner had her husband working for her. She was concerned, however, about the eventualities, the “what ifs.” What if we divorce? How should the business be passed on? What if my husband and I have difficulties and he doesn’t work, how do I protect my children? How do I protect my husband, but pass the businesses on to my daughter? This one case spurred her interest in advising women business owners on issues of “maintaining control and gifting.”

Like Price, Jacoby has found that she can most easily reach her women clients—and educate them—in groups, which she likes to call “conversations over lunch.” “The difference between working with women and men: Women need a thousand words, men need 10. Women need to talk out their issues and build relationships. They need to trust you first, so there is more time involved.”

To address that “need to talk it over,” she sets up quarterly lunchtime seminars using two rooms. One is for a prelunch discussion, which is an informal setting with a couple of speakers (one being Jacoby) and time for a question and answer period. Lunch follows in the other room with a formal 15-minute presentation, which she focuses on one issue.

“Then I follow up with a thank-you note with the date of the next seminar, as well as a phone call. And I ask them, ‘Do you want to meet and discuss any of these issues?’” she says.

Eighty-six percent of women business owners use the same provider in their personal lives as in their business lives—68 percent do it consciously.

Where is the market for you?
Is there a slice of the women-business-owner market for you? The answer is a resounding yes. There is a thriving market of ready-made clients waiting for you.

According to the Center for Women’s Business Research, over the last decade, women have been starting businesses at twice the rate of businesses in general. The growth has been democratic, with the number of women-owned businesses flourishing in all types of industries—from agriculture and mining to manufacturing and construction. That means you can target an industry or business type that is of interest to you—or one that you are knowledgeable in—and thrive, as there will be no lack of a future market.

Also interesting to note is that over this past decade there has been an expansion in growth in these businesses in employment—up 40 percent, and revenue—up 30 percent. Sharon Hadary says these figures should spark advisors’ interest, “It tells us not only do we have a lot of start-ups, we are also seeing growth in the businesses themselves—and so there is a greater appetite for the products and services advisors have to offer such as retirement planning, liability, all of the kinds of insurance products for business. But also the owners have a bigger appetite for personal products, as well.”

That last piece of information may prove critical to you as you reach out to this segment. Women business owners have a greater need for financial planning—investments as well as retirement. And according to Hadary, 86 percent of women business owners use the same provider in their personal lives as in their business lives—68 percent do it consciously. “So,” she emphasizes, “If you are not cross marketing both personal services and business-to-business to women business owners, you are leaving money on the table. My advice to financial advisors: Women business owners are a fantastically high-potential market for you … and you should be out there finding products and services for their business and for them personally because it can be extremely profitable.”

Selling to Women

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