Intro: [00:00:00]

You are listening to Her Time to Retire, a podcast dedicated to helping women gain the knowledge, confidence, and support they need to achieve financial success and emotional fulfillment when planning for retirement. If you are ready to finally take charge of your financial life, then keep listening. Your hosts are Glenn Price and Jonathan Scott. Founders of Keystone Financial Resources in Brentwood, Tennessee. Both men specialize in crafting individualized retirement plans for women and a passion for helping women discover and achieve their retirement goals.

Glenn is a husband and father of four who was taught early in life through his relationship with his grandmother how a woman cannot only take charge of her own destiny but also positively influence the lives of her family and friends that surround her. Jonathan, husband, and father of three, attributes his own success to the strong women in his life including his wife Brooke and his mother Suzanne. Both men together want to help more women out their dreams in retirement. As always, if you have retirement questions, their phone lines are open at 615-661-9554 or you can visit their website to browse information, view upcoming events, or subscribe to the Her Time to Retire Weekly Newsletter. Just visit www.keystonefinancialresources.com. Now, relax and enjoy the conversation.

Glenn Price: [00:01:27]

Well, hello everyone. I'm Glenn Price and welcome to Her Time to Retire. I am co-owner and adviser here at Keystone Financial Resources. And we created this podcast so that we could have an opportunity to visit with women who are really at the top of their game and doing a great job and we wanted to create an environment where they could come, they could share their story, they could give advice, they could help you in your journey along the way. Because at the end of the day, our stories help one another.

So, today, I'm excited because we have Ashley Fitz with us and let me tell you a little bit about Ashley. So Ashley moved here from a small town in Western Kentucky and after high school and she attended Vanderbilt University. Where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in communication studies and business administration. She began her career in commercial banking obtaining her real estate license on the side. And then she spent 15 years devoted to her family's engineering and materials handling business, where she led administration efforts to streamline business operation.

In the 20+ years, Ashley has called the Nashville area home. She has lived in many different neighborhoods. Investing in and renovating homes along the way and laying the foundation for what would eventually lead her to pursuing a career in the real estate full time. For Ashley, helping clients reach their real estate goals is what motivates her to build relationships and to always listen to her clients to truly understand their needs. Ashley is married to Mike. They live in Brentwood. They have 3 sports-loving boys. They play hockey, baseball, basketball, golf, football, and then while cheering on their favorite team which is the Nashville Predators. I understand their big hockey fans.

Ashley's passionate about serving her community and she recently served as board chairperson for Davis House Child Advocacy Center in Franklin, Tennessee and she continues to help lead and grow Tennessee Women Connect. Which is a women's Networking Organization with her business partner and fellow Zeitland agent Lucy Miller. So Ashley, thank you for agreeing to come on to our podcast today. We're delighted to have you here and to learn more about you and your story and what you can share with our listeners out there that can help them in their journey. Because you've had an exciting journey along the way. So, tell us a little more about you and how you got here.

Ashley Fitz: [00:03:54]

Well, thank you. It's wonderful to be here and talk with everybody. So, you did read a little bit about my story and how I started off in a small town in Kentucky. I started off in high school. My father instilled in me kind of an entrepreneurial spirit and I worked with him. After school in high school, just start his business and so that kind of has stuck with me as I've made choices along the way after college and what would happen with my career. Which has eventually led me into doing real estate full time. And it's kind of come full circle with my journey coming to Nashville and just falling in love with it several decades ago now.

So, I get to kind of relive that excitement on a daily basis. As I work with clients who may have lived in the area for a long time, but it seems over the last few years, I've worked with a lot of people who are new to the area and here and experience their visits to Tennessee and then they decide that this is the place they need to be. So, I get to show them around and kind of re-experience the delight when I see people just looking at the rolling hills in Tennessee or going to the festivals, the music scene all of it. so, that's a big part of the fun I have in my job.

Glenn Price: [00:05:18]

One of the things that stuck out at me and our previous conversation was that, you're not just a real estate agent. Like you said you could throw a rock and hit 5 or 6 and it's the same with financial advisers around every corner. But what stuck out to me is that at in your heart, you're an entrepreneur. So, tell us a little bit about what that, when do you think that, when did that resonate with you because you grew up in a family that owned a business and your dad invited you in and let you and your brothers be a part of that. So, can you remember like when it begin to click with you, what was really going on in your love for being an entrepreneur?

Ashley Fitz: [00:06:00]

Well, as I mentioned, I started off very young, working with my father and kind of watching him pursue his dream and grow his business to what he always imagined it could be or I guess beyond what it could be. I was a part of that along the way for a long time and I watched my family evolve and my brother’s kind of get involved in the business as well. And as I spent years kind of helping with the business side of it, I watched the decisions that he made. It became clear to me along the way that I've always had my own vision. I just, it wasn't clear for many years and so I had to I went through that experience and said, well, what does what does Ashley really want to do?

I've been supporting the family's business and it was wonderful and taught me so many things about the hard work and the dedication that can go into starting and running and growing your own business. But also not lose yourself in that and kind of finding yourself through that process. I did a lot of that and as I had my own children, it kind of became this light bulb moment where I said, I've always wanted to do this. I've got my own children now and I would love for them to see their mom pursue what she had always wanted to do as well. So, it became just something that I wanted to turn into reality and I just eventually said, I'm doing it. I'm not going to let self you know be fearful I did have fears. Like you mentioned you could throw a rock and hit a real estate agent, and so many people have connections to agents that they worked with in the past or their own friend or family member. But I had to set that aside and say I'm going to be myself.

This is what I want to pursue and it took a lot of listening to my own inner voice and let that be louder than some the external voices that may have been telling me that I shouldn't do it or I couldn't do it or there's already enough people doing it. So, when I eventually was able to kind of move past that and listen to what I've truly wanted to pursue then I jumped in.

Glenn Price: [00:08:23]

Well, to have the courage to hold on to want to know more of you and what you wanted in your own life, that's a big deal. And I know that I'm sure listeners out there, there's some ladies out there saying, man, I resonate with that Ashley. I have those same thoughts, those same ideas. So, let's take a moment and let's start talking about the steps that you begin to take because you had this idea. Hey, I've always wanted to do this and now is the time. And so now you had to like put action to it, right. So, take us down that path a little bit and talk about some of the things that you did, maybe some of the failures and some of the setbacks, we call them setbacks.

Ashley Fitz: [00:09:10]

Sure.

Glenn Price: [00:09:11]

Some of the setbacks that you experienced and how you overcame some of those to get through to where you are today?

Ashley Fitz: [00:09:19]

Well, I decided, I'm a lifelong learner. So, I know that I will never know everything and with every job I've had from commercial banking to human resources administration and next into full-time residential real estate. I knew there was a lot to learn and so that was what I tried to focus on kind of right away from the beginning, talking to experience agents. A good friend of mine, he lived down the street he and his wife have been in the industry for 35 years. They represented us in a home sale and so I just connected with them right away and they kind of have become my mentors. And just learned from the best and go take the classes, listen to the podcast.

I met with my broker multiple times, but beyond that being around good people that can provide resources that maybe you didn't realize you needed and that led me to partner with another agent. Lucy and I, are doing this adventure together and decided that we're better together. We're stronger, 2 people working and handling all of our clients. So, just I think building on the education piece but also the people piece where you're surrounded by those that can give you and resources to help you get better.

Glenn Price: [00:10:51]

What just came to my mind is I heard; I think my preacher says this. He says, if you wanted to see where you're going to end up, look at the books that you read and the people that you associate with. That's so true and I think entrepreneurs many times they can have major setbacks because they jump the gun. I want to learn a little bit about, we do investing and help clients with their retirement planning and I didn't know as much real estate. So, it's like I wanted to start learning about how do I build a real estate portfolio. And I listen to this podcast and it says, hey, you need to spend a year just really immersing yourself and learning the different aspects and the different things about real estate and determine what it is that you want to do and then find someone. So, that's exactly what you're what you're saying, then you don't have to reinvent the wheel.

Ashley Fitz: [00:11:49]

No, and just being realistic also about the timeline. I knew and I've been told by multiple experienced people that it is hard work. I was trying to be realistic about growing a business from scratch in residential real estate and knowing that I just have to keep focused and set goals and realize it's not going to happen overnight. And just maintain kind of a perseverance and just the attitude of if I work hard and I continue to connect with the right people and continue to learn it will happen and it played out like that.

Glenn Price: [00:12:31]

That's awesome. Now so you got 3 boys. What were their ages at that time when you made that decision?

Ashley Fitz: [00:12:42]

They were about 2, 4 & 6.

Glenn Price: [00:12:45]

Wow, 2, 4 & 6.

Ashley Fitz: [00:12:48]

I had no time to do any of that.

Glenn Price: [00:12:50]

Right, I mean how do you be. So, how was that? I mean did you making that decision which meant you were going to have to sacrifice time as mom to learn right to be a learner be a student again. So, what was that? What was that like?

Ashley Fitz: [00:13:09]

It was a transition but also, mom has always worked and mom has always had something that she is focused on and has to carve out time for. I will say, it's always on a daily basis trying to figure that out how it's going to work with the kids and with the work schedule. But that was part of the appeal of doing it was that I could grow it on my own time and be there for my family and do things like still go to the school and have lunch with them during the day and then go meet clients for a listing appointment and just kind of weave it in there. I think I'll leave the house and the kids will look at me. ‘Oh, mom, where are you going today? Who you meeting with?’

And they're kind of excited. They like hearing my stories and they've been on showing appointments with me and my middle child, I don't know. He might have a future in real estate. He likes showing houses. So, I feel like they're learning a lot by watching me go through the process. And it's going through in 2020 and doing a lot of it on Zoom. That was, I wouldn't call it a setback, but it was challenging and you had to kind of constantly change how you approach your business and how you're communicating with people. And in the end, I think it's been actually a blessing because we can easily communicate with people across the country and show houses and do closings remotely and things that seemed kind of difficult or hard several years ago. Now, it's just a new way of business in many ways. So, there's just been a lot of things that have evolved over the years that my children have watched me handle.

Glenn Price: [00:14:54]

Well, I think that being an entrepreneur, I mean, I've been an entrepreneur my whole life and you take your family along the journey with you. So, for those out there, if you're thinking about, hey, really launching after your dream of being an entrepreneur. And I think Ashley would agree want to encourage you to begin to move steps in that direction, because there's a lot of benefits. Like you said, hey, if I want to go to see my kids, then you get to plan your schedule. So, you have more control and I see people today who they're bound by their work schedule they've only got one week of vacation.

Ashley Fitz: [00:15:38]

Right.

Glenn Price: [00:15:38]

And so, being able to do that and there's a lot of life lessons. Was your mom part of the business when you were growing up?

Ashley Fitz: [00:15:45]

In some ways, she was.

Glenn Price: [00:15:47]

Yes. So, you grew up seeing the participation of everybody kind of embrace this thing. This becomes our life and there's some real advantages to being able to set your own course and do that.

Ashley Fitz: [00:15:58]

My father was the baseball coach and the softball coach for all of us. He was the one leading practices in the afternoon. So, he could leave work when he decided and go out to the ball field and coach Little League.

Glenn Price: [00:16:12]

Yes.

Ashley Fitz: [00:16:12]

So, we kind of watch that flexibility through that schedule.

Glenn Price: [00:16:16]

And I'm assuming you've had good support from Mike. Along the way and having him. Even if you're out there and you're say, well, I'm a single mom. I can't do this. What would you say to the single moms out there?

Ashley Fitz: [00:16:30]

Right.

Glenn Price: [00:16:30]

That are having a dream of wanting a better life and going and pursuing that. What would you say to them?

Ashley Fitz: [00:16:37]

Yeah, even some of my clients that I've worked with have faced those situations. And they're both, they maybe fight facing a new life change where they're newly divorced or something has changed in their life and maybe they're now raising their children by themselves but they are still wanting to pursue their dream. And I'd say getting, past the fear of what if, is a huge kind of obstacle for a lot of people. But I think changing the mindset and thinking more on the positive side to I've wanted to do this I can do it. That voice that's inside of you, just continuing to focus on the positive and your own ability and knowing what your strengths are and taking the first step.

Once you take that first step and it which maybe going to a networking group or joining with a business coach or something that takes you a step closer to realizing your dream opens up doors, and you just don't know. You may jump into it and you don't know how it's going to play out. But that's kind of the fun part of it too.

Glenn Price: [00:17:48]

Yes. Something that I've always believed in is having a coach. I played sports in school but then even in business, I mean, I have coaches today. And I think that in today's world, you've seen a big explosion of coaches. So, there's a lot of resources out there where women can get help. We had a lady in here Tiffany Napper. Do you know Tiffany?

Ashley Fitz: [00:18:19]

Yeah.

Glenn Price: [00:18:19]

She's amazing and so there's opportunities out there for other people to these women to plug into to get some help.

Glenn Price: [00:18:27]

Right.

Ashley Fitz: [00:18:28]

So, that you're not alone and you can begin to navigate that yourself. Now, I know that you're involved with the Tennessee Women Connect. I want to talk about that and then don't let me forget because I might. The Davis House Child Advocacy Center. I want to talk about that as well and then I want to hear a little bit about the real estate market like what's going on. So, tell us a little bit about your connections there and what really drew you, pulled you that direction, and why you're choosing to commit your time to doing that with Lucy?

Ashley Fitz: [00:19:06]

Yeah. So, it was Lucy's networking group that she started just in Franklin to meet her own need of looking for a networking group. She wasn't quite finding the right fit and so she started just on Facebook and planned an event to just bring women in business together. And fast forward, that was a late 2019 and fast forward I joined up with her because of our connection at our brokerage at Zeitland Sotheby's. we are just in the kind of same life phase growing a real estate business but also I saw what she was doing with just bringing women of all industries together. Whether they're just a solo entrepreneur or a woman working for a large corporation who might have a sales role or something that it benefits her to meet people in the community.

So, I saw what she was doing by bringing people together and I thought we do that in our real estate world. Because we connect people to CPAs financial planners when they come here, but also people to grow their business they benefit from coming and having conversations face to face. And after the first networking event that I went to I just said, this is awesome. Because I saw just people realizing especially after the pandemic that they missed the connection. They missed the interaction with other women that could share in the struggles of a business. They could say, I'm looking for somebody in publishing and you happen to meet somebody who's an editor for a local community magazine.

So I just saw that and thought this is huge for us. And now we're in 8 cities around Nashville and we have 16 events a month and we do learning opportunities and we host a live event in October. So, it has grown and it's meeting a huge need for women in the business world.

Ashley Fitz: [00:21:14]

Well, I love that and the reality is that we need community. One of the things Jonathan and I as I mentioned to you we have a lot of female clients that are widowed, single, divorced and have a passion to help women because we understand the challenges that women go through from our own stories. With my grandmother, losing my grandfather and then what watching my grandmother struggle, Jonathan with his mom. So, one of the things that I love about in working with women and helping them is like they're more open to get together. A guy, I think it's his ego that keeps him away that he didn't want to bear himself or be vulnerable to another man or something. I don't know what it is, it's weird.

But women will open up and share and I think that's really cool. Because that's where you can learn where you're not alone and I'm assuming that that even with your experience do you find that that gives you confidence in helping you build your own business. Because you know that there's a handful of women that you can pick up the phone and call and say, hey, I'm having a hard day. I'm struggling. So, does it benefit you in that way today?

Ashley Fitz: [00:22:31]

Absolutely and as a real estate agent, you can feel very isolated and your business and your particular client's issue or that you're you feel alone. But there's so many parallels in other business is. It doesn't have to be another real estate agent and it's just you can share so much about a common struggle when if you're having a bad day. Like you said, call, text, email and having met somebody in person face to face talking to them. The connection is just deeper and it's you can build relationships better off of that. It is so true that when women get together, we love to share, and often times the volume level in the room goes way up because everybody's talking at the same time.

Glenn Price: [00:23:20]

Energy, if we do a women's event I mean the energy in the room, I kid and I've told Jonathan. I said, I think one of the problems I'm starting to see in our business are the men. And because they just don't talk and open up and share if we do an event there's just men there it's very different. It's so much alive and fun with the with the women there. So, I think that's really cool when you're seeing that expand and grow. I know that I've read and I want to hear more about it is your passion about being on the board for the Davis House Child Advocacy Center in Franklin here. Tell us a little about that, and what you gain from that? How that's helped you and any advice you'd have around doing something like that?

Ashley Fitz: [00:24:12]

Sure. Well, I got involved with Davis House Child Advocacy Center in 2011 after I had gone through the Young Leaders Council program. It was important me because I love getting involved in my community but I also wanted to kind of do it on a different level that was more immersive and more impactful. And so, I went all in and joined the board and served for about 10 years and I just rolled off. I just served as board chairperson this last year. And it has been an incredible experience and that it kind of helped during the time when I was deciding to go full time my own and also having connections with people in the community that were from different industries, different types of businesses. That kind of helped, I guess build my confidence but also build just kind of that group of resources that I had and it also gave me an opportunity to kind of hone my leadership skills as well.

So, it just all kind of went toward growing as a person and becoming more of a business person myself, while also just helping the mission. Because the Davis House has been around for over 20+ years, but it's still kind of a little name in the community. So, it was important to be a part of that growth to let people know what they were all about in the children that they serve. So, it was an incredible experience and I'm going to miss being a part of it kind of on a daily basis but we'll always be at all the fundraisers that they do around the year.

Glenn Price: [00:25:55]

I just think that's so important, that we can get so focused on building a business, making money, being successful that we really can miss the real gifts along the way. And that's the connections and the stories of other people and we get to share in that and we get to participate or contribute in some way. That's a big deal. What one of our slogans here at Keystone is that we tell folks that we're known for fighting for our clients and challenging them to live the life that they desire and that they deserve in retirement and it matters to us we take it personal. So, knowing that, I was talking to a lady yesterday and she said, I've always wanted to have, she's got a farm and to have some a butterfly greenhouse type thing and plants and share it with the community.

Now I get to be a part of helping her navigate that and figure that out. Because it's not just about the money, it's about your journey along the way and the value that you bring and add other people along the way. So, I think that's great, and along the way it was part of your journey of learning. You develop some skills, at the same time you were generous with your time and serving so it's like, wow that's awesome. I think it's great that your kids get to know that and say, hey, my mom. Because you'll instill that in them and they'll have that heart's desire and we need to get away. I can be so selfish so self-absorbed with this technology today. Like let's go back to some simple living and doing things that don't cost a lot of money, but we can really enjoy our friends and our family together.

Now I'm curious what's going on in the real estate market right now. Because I know it's been hot as a firecracker, but rates are going up. So, tell us a little bit about what's going on and what we might expect maybe a little forecast, what you're seeing and give us some feedback.

Ashley Fitz: [00:27:58]

Sure. Well, I feel like right now, we can all kind of take a breath because it has been full steam ahead for months and months and it has been keeping homeowners who might have thought about putting their house on the market. It's been keeping them at home in their place. They just didn't they wanted to stay. But now, with the interest rates coming up, it's kind of creating more of the balance that we've been looking for while the rates are going up and the buying power may be coming down a little bit for buyers, they're still very low.

Glenn Price: [00:28:33]

It's still good.

Ashley Fitz: [00:28:34]

They're still good and our rate, our prices in our area have been ticking up every month. You'd see a high percentage but so those are starting to come down. And so, you're starting to get to this more normalized, having a home be on the market for 14 days before that was unheard of. Now, homes are kind of staying a little bit longer and so buyers aren't in a huge, you know, rush where they have to make a decision right away.

Glenn Price: [00:29:03]

Even get 50 offers.

Ashley Fitz: [00:29:04]

Right. So, you may get one or two or three offers whereas before 30 offers, 40 offers on something was not uncommon. So, that was just kind of a frenzied market and so it feels like things have slowed down to a good pace right now. So, if you thought about putting your house on the market, now is a good time. There are still plenty of buyers looking. They're navigating the higher interest rates, but Nashville is still a hot place to move and people are going to be continuing to move here and look for homes. So, it's a good time for both sides.

Glenn Price: [00:29:42]

Well, tell our listeners where they can find you. Because if they don't have a good person, I think they'll know after our conversation today that you're someone that would care about them and put their needs ahead of your own and really guide them through that. So, how can we find them?

Ashley Fitz: [00:29:59]

Alright. Well, I am a real estate agent with Zeitland, Sotheby's International Realty. So, I'm connected to the Sotheby's network. You can find me on their Zeitland website, AshleyFitz.Zeitland.com. And also if you're in social media and you're on Instagram, I'm @Ashleyinnashville, you can find me there.

Glenn Price: [00:30:21]

Alright. Well, Ashley, I want to thank you for coming today. Thank our listeners are going to be I guarantee you they've stayed the whole time and listen to the conversation because it's been very enlightening and easy to listen to. So, thank you for joining us today and we would just want to let you all know how much we appreciate you. Here at Keystone our desire as I said earlier is to create an environment that we can help you grow in your business. Yes, we build customized financial plans for our clients. But as I said, fighting for what's most important for our clients and helping them live the life that they deserve, that's who we are and it matters to us. So, we wish you all the best and thank you for being with us today.

Closing: [00:31:06]

You have been listening to Her Time to Retire with Glenn Price and Jonathan Scott. Glenn and Jonathan would love to talk to you and answer any of your retirement questions. All listeners can take advantage of a free 15-minute consultation with Glenn and Jonathan whether via phone call, Zoom meeting, or in person. You can schedule your consultation by calling 615-661-9554 or by visiting our website at www.keystonefinancialresources.com. Thanks for listening.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by Keystone Financial Resources and guests on this podcast are their own and do not reflect the opinions of this station. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated are not guaranteed. Past performance cannot be used as an indicator to determine future results. Strategies mentioned may not be suitable for everyone. Information expressed does not take into account your specific situation or objectives and is not intended as recommendations appropriate for you. Before acting on any information mention, please consult with a qualified tax or investment advisor to determine if it is suitable for your specific situation. This program is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to subject covered. Investment advisory services offered through Brickstone Capital Management LLC or BCM, a registered investment advisor. BCM and Keystone Financial Resources are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.