47: She Did It! Real Retirement Stories with Amy Andersson

Take Back Retirement

Today, Stephanie and Kevin are joined by Amy Andersson, the founder of Price Turner CFOs who, before starting her own business, was let go by a Fortune 100 company and was unexpectedly forced to rechart her path. She introduces her story, talking about her initial mindset towards work, which was rooted in the idea that corporate America would care for her. She shares how she transitioned into finding new work that better suited her, emphasizing the importance of recognizing the skills one has that others may not. For Amy, interpersonal connections served as the base her business was built upon. Realizing most of her connections were rooted in her previous job, she found she could build them in unexpected places, like the dog park.

She shares the story of how she named her company. Her initial ideas didn’t work out, and so she outsourced help, in keeping with her mantra: Do your best and outsource the rest. She briefly touches on how getting a dog helped her get back on her feet and advises all to follow suit, advice seconded by Kevin.

Amy struggled to initially recognize the value of the work she provided, explaining that it took time and an external advisor to help her understand how to properly price herself. For her, that meant not selling services, but emotion. Her clients don’t need to understand the intricacies of the service she provides them, they just need to understand how those services can make their lives better. In the same way her advisor helped her, Amy utilizes her own skills to help clients ensure they are caring for themselves in ways they might never have anticipated they needed to.

The pandemic spotlighted the necessity of Amy’s career shift, reminding her that she is fulfilled by helping others, something that doesn’t necessarily always take form in obvious ways, like nonprofit work, but can also come to fruition through her business practices. She shares the difficulties she faced when shifting her mindset after initially being let go, and how in building her own business, she’s come to further understand what she wants to work on, and what’s important for her to set herself up for after she finishes working.

She reiterates the importance of developing relationships and building your network, advising people to make an effort to connect with others so that if you hit a roadblock, you have a support system to lean into. For her, one of the groups she found this in was Hope Lodge, a place that provides patients and their caregivers lodging when seeking treatment outside their hometown. Amy closes by emphasizing the importance of self-worth, especially for women entering male-dominated fields.

Key Topics:

• Rethinking her original plan (2:38)
• Recognizing your abilities (7:10)
• The emotional toll (8:36)
• Building connections (11:42)
• Naming her company (12:56)
• Pricing and understanding the value in your work (18:02)
• Motivation in work (24:08)
• Adjusting your mindset and vision (29:31)
• Building a network (36:58)
• Hope Lodge (41:48)
• The importance of self-worth (44:42)

Resources:

• Price Turner CFOs https://priceturnercfos.com
• Amy Andersson LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyandersson/
• Hope Lodge https://www.cancer.org/support-programs-and-services/patient-lodging/hope-lodge.html

If you like what you’ve been hearing, we invite you to subscribe on your favorite platform and leave us a review. Tell us what you love about this episode! Or better yet, tell us what you want to hear more of in the future. [e-mail]

You can find the transcript and more information about this episode at www.takebackretirement.com.

Follow Stephanie on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Follow Kevin on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.