Meet Tori Sierra | CFP®️

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tori Sierra and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tori, can you share the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?
The most important lesson I’ve learned from being a financial planner is that human to human connection is the most important part of the business. Whether it’s with clients, other financial planners, trusted professionals, mentees, mentors, you name it, being curious about who people are and what’s important in their lives lays an important foundation of trust that is vital to building connection and a successful business. As I’ve built my web of connections and stayed clear about who I serve, I’ve attracted the people who have played significant roles in helping to build my business. These include clients who feel served, have become raving fans, and who have connected me with people like them, professionals who understand exactly what I do and for whom who have connected me with their clients in need of my services, and mentors who have put me in front of opportunities that align with my mission. The financial planning business seems like a numbers and strategy business and it largely is, but at the end of the day, it’s a people business built on relationships and human to human connection.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I help female founders of color build generational wealth by helping them build and execute their financial plan. I’ve been a financial advisor for 11 years and built my business as a solo advisor by primarily working with teachers. Within the last six years, I’ve built a team of four and within the last couple of years, have pivoted to working with female business owners of color – a group that I am truly on fire about!

In the early stages of building a financial services practice, it’s easy (and, to an extent, necessary) to work with just about anyone. During that stage, I found myself working from a place of scarcity because clients and money are well…scarce! But as I put in the hours and worked diligently to develop my skill level, improve my industry knowledge, form connections, and build my clients, my business began to transform into something that I could mold into my own. This is where I was able to begin to think more abundantly with time, content creation, and relationships. The shift was also met with choosing to be more intentional with who I take on as clients, how I spend my time, and what projects, meetings, speaking engagements I say yes to. With the help of my team and delegation, I am able to be laser focused on working with founders and building relationships to get more money into the hands of women.
My focus on female founders of color is very uncommon in the financial planning space. The focus is often on high net worth clients, which often, quite frankly, means working with the demographic that already has built personal or generational wealth. By specializing in solving some of the biggest financial problems relevant to female business owners of color, I am purposefully helping to bring financial education and solutions to a highly underserved demographic to change what wealth looks like one female founder of color at a time.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Our time together would absolutely be spent eating delicious food and being active around the city! I live in Pasadena in the San Gabriel Valley where some of the BEST Asian food restaurants are located, so we would try to go to as many as we can fit in one week. Near the SGV is my favorite hike in La Canada by Descanso Gardens called Cherry Canyon, a hilly and refreshing 3 miles that we would kick off one of our mornings with. We would rent bird scooters and scooter around downtown LA visiting as many museums as we could like The Broad, the LA County Museum of Art, the Japanese American History Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as some smaller local galleries. We would catch a few hot yoga classes throughout the week at Highland Park Yoga, Kinship Yoga, and outdoor yoga classes at popular venues like The Griffith Observatory, by the beach in Marina Del Rey, and yoga on rooftop of the Roosevelt Hotel in LA. We would also join a run club called “Run The Blocks” on Thursday evening for a 5k at Movement Society with my favorite trainer, Hallie Jose. After our 5k, we would get street tacos, and then probably get street tacos again at least thrice more that week. We would go to Golden Road brewery in Atwater Village and play cornhole while admiring the wholesome crowd of young people, dogs, and brewery babies. Then to end our trip, we would stop at Vroman’s book store in Pasadena to get a book or 5 for your trip back home!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to my husband and business partner, Alex. He is patient and honest, has kept me accountable to my goals in a loving way, and he’s been a supportive partner in our joint mission of helping every day families build generational wealth. In our partnership, we fortify each other by building on our respective strengths and helping each other fill in the gaps of our respective weaknesses. Alex has stayed a sturdy foundation often reminding me of the bigger picture and to enjoy the journey. His love and support has allowed me to stayed focused on my life’s work of getting more money into the hands of women and to have lots of fun along the way!

Website: https://toriandalex.ceterainvestors.com/

Instagram: @toriandalex_cetera @financialplannHERs

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/torisierra/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ToriCeteraInvestors

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRD18T6iSwXZQvUcz_CsYtw/featured

Cetera Investors is a marketing name of Cetera Investment Services. Securities and Insurance Products are offered through Cetera. Investment Services LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services are offered through Cetera Investment Advisers LLC.

Image Credits
Ashley Balderrama