We’re excited to welcome the life-inspiring Michelle Arpin Begina, CFP®, CIMA®, Founder and Gateway of MichelleAB to In The Suite. Michelle founded her company, MichelleAB (pronounced Michelle – Ay-Bee) as a vehicle to empower professional women to step into financial freedom so that they can enjoy their wealth and make their boldest, most inspired decisions from a place of confidence.
Over her career as a financial advisor, Michelle Arpin Begina has worked with 100s of executives, business owners, and entrepreneurs as a gateway to their financial freedom. She’s a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®), and a senior partner, managing director at Snowden Lane Partners. Michelle is also a member of the Forbes Business Council and has been featured in Forbes and Thrive Global.
Michelle’s 20-year career in the financial services industry has always catered to the needs of professional women in helping them to understand their ‘moneyselves’ and their deep-seated relationship with money. Now with the launch of her exciting new brand, MichelleAB, she unapologetically puts herself out there and exposes her own money stories–not at all what you think–to model the vulnerability necessary to break the pattern and build financial freedom.
As you begin to get to know Michelle Arpin Begina throughout this episode, you’ll begin to discover how her own philosophy informed her company’s choices, from her title, i.e. Founder and Gateway to the decorative necklace around her neck company logo, which represents a gate.
“I don’t believe in gatekeepers. I think we’re all gateways,” Michelle explains when asked about the meaning of her title, ‘Gateway’.
She goes on to say, “No one holds the keys more than we do,” and as she did, I could hear the sound of a gate, my own gate, slam and reverberate in my mind…for better or for worse.
What differentiates Michelle from other financial advisors is that she has spent the last two-plus decades studying the unconventional, non-financial behavioral side of the industry and earning a Financial Graduate Certificate from Kansas City State University in financial therapy. Yes, financial therapy. And therapy it is as we begin to share our money memories from the past as a vehicle for what Michelle calls creating wealth from the inside out.
“I know we are like sisters in having a really colorful financial background that, you know, looking at us now, nobody could tell,” said Michelle (ah hem) the Jaguar in my TEDx talk and the one parked “secretly” in Michelle’s garage.
“By anyone’s standards, growing up, we ‘lived large’ and what no one knew was even though we owned a Cessna and a Jaguar and a Yacht (a Corvette and an Acura, a TransAm and a Pontiac Bonneville) we walked a financial tightrope without a safety net,” explained Michelle.
As hard as those family struggles were for Michelle, they served as the WILL and the WAY to a lifetime of success, all the way from earning a college education to her soon-to-be-released book, “Good With Money-Creating Wealth from the Inside Out.”
The biggest takeaway from our conversation: “Never let money stand in the way of something you want to achieve,” says Michelle Arpin Begina. It certainly hasn’t stopped Michelle⸺so why should it stop you and me?
Don’t miss Michelle’s tips throughout the episode if you’re looking to transform your life AND your relationship with money, once and for all! Be sure to utilize these three strategic concepts as a launchpad to help make it happen:
- Tell and Write Down Your Money Stories. Michelle encourages us to relive our own money stories, as painful as some might be, and to write them down on paper. While telling those stories and exposing our “shadow side” can be extremely hard, it can also be truly liberating. As Michelle explains, when we tell our stories, we fully embrace who we are. Working with a coach, taking a public speaking course, even writing a book will bring your stories to life.
- Embrace “The Will is The Way”. The ability to achieve our goals in the face of challenge and uncertainty all comes down to mindset and embracing Michelle’s philosophy of “The Will is the Way.” She also says there are different types of will. While a strong will is the conviction and clarity to know what we want and skilled will is how we go about it, it’s transpersonal will that counts the most. Transpersonal will is the ability to rise above your circumstances without visibility or knowing how things might happen.
- Build Your Personal Brand Albeit Boldly. Michelle’s personal brand is bold and beautiful, but it didn’t happen overnight or on her first attempt. She first explored her WHY, inspired by Simon Simek’s book, “Find Your Why” to uncover basic questions: Who are you, what do you do, and why do you what you do. Deep within that introspection is a single universal truth used to define what you stand for.
Show Notes:
Today’s episode of In The Suite with the life-inspiring Michelle Arpin Begina, CFP®, CIMA®, is all about creating wealth from the inside out. It also happens to be the foundation of her soon-to-be-released book, “Good With Money-Creating Wealth from the Inside Out.”
Michelle Arpin Begina, CFP®, CIMA®, is Founder and Gateway of her own company, MichelleAB (pronounced Michelle – Ay-Bee), used to empower professional women to step into financial freedom so that they can enjoy their wealth and make their boldest, most inspired decisions from a place of confidence. MichelleAB offers “Good with Money” financial workshops and coaching.
Over her career as a financial advisor, Michelle Arpin Begina has worked with 100s of executives, business owners, and entrepreneurs as a gateway to their financial freedom. She’s a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®), and a senior partner, managing director at Snowden Lane Partners. Michelle is also a member of the Forbes Business Council and has been featured in Forbes and Thrive Global.
“Never let money stand in the way of something you want to achieve,” says Michelle Arpin Begina. It certainly hasn’t stopped, Michelle⸺so why should it stop you and me?
Join the conversation to hear about:
- The Meaning Behind MichelleAB and Her Title “Gateway” (04:57)
- Building a Personal Brand and Starting from Scratch (08:31)
- How Michelle was Inspired by Megyn Kelly (11:04)
- The Genesis of Michelle’s New Upcoming Book (14:24)
- Michelle’s Three Money Stories – Age 6, 10, and 17 (18:00)
- The Will is The Way (24:28)
- Michelle’s First Unexpected Mentor (27:42)
- The Single Biggest Impact on Michelle’s Life: Brené Brown (33:16)
- Studying Financial Therapy at Kansas State University (41:55)
- How to Reach the Highest Level of Potential with Your Financial Advisor (47:12)
- The Difference Between Suitability and Being a Fiduciary (50:03)
- Working with Clients to Teach Them How To Take Inspired Action (52:55)
- Michelle’s Money Success Formula Guide – Available for Download (56:34)
- Michelle’s Book Recommendation for 2021 (59:38)
Referenced Materials
- MichelleAB Website
- Michelle Arpin Begina LinkedIn
- Michelle Arpin Begina Instagram
- Link to Download Michelle’s Good with Money Success Formula
- Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek on Amazon
- Brené Brown Website
- High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way by Brendon Burchard on Amazon
- Kansas State University Online Financial Therapy Graduate Certificate
- Tina Powell TEDx Talk
