Hi, I’m Fatumo.
First off, I’d like to thank you for agreeing to have your real-life story featured on Nursingpreneur. I’m building a high-quality resource platform for all budding nursing and midwifery students. Therefore, your experiences, thoughts, preferences, and suggestions are immensely valuable for Nursingpreneur’s growth.
To that end, I must say that it’s great to have you here.
Now, I’d like you to answer the following questions so that we can shed light on your story and experiences in an engaging way.
Let’s start! Shall we? (Write as much as you want, there’s absolutely no limit)
Could you please tell us a bit about yourself? How has life been treating you?
For starters, my name is Shelby Green. I am a financial planner who works exclusively with nurses, np’s, crna’s, and Pa’s. Life has treated me well overall; I like to think very optimistically and that everything in life happens for a reason or a season..
Outside of work, I am a professional Latin dancer and spades competitor. I enjoy being around people as an extrovert and growing deep relationships with friends. Sports is also something I enjoy and I pride myself on being a “gatherer” of people. I love bringing people together for a common goal or purpose.
How did you get into your current field? And do you enjoy doing it?
I grew up in an impoverished household and my goal was always to spread financial education to make sure nobody ever ends up in that position. As my life went on I realized my parents also have to work in their 70s because they never had a retirement plan! If they spoke to a professional at any point, that may have changed.
I become that professional, and so that is what I do. I currently build financial plans holistically and cover every topic of finance. I spent the time getting licensed and educated so I can cover any topic related to money. I Cover topics such as retirement strategies, budgeting, taxes, coaching, risk management, debt reduction, etc. I want to spread this knowledge to those who saved my life previously due to my health conditions.
I realized in my time at the hospital that nurses are very under-appreciated, and under-valued (especially by patients), and after handling their finances I see they are also underpaid. I want to empower them to take control of their finances and show them they DO matter and are important to us all! You all spend so much time helping us, let SAG Financial Group help YOU.
Could you please tell us about your favorite nursing or midwifery moment? (Keeping things confidential for clients involved)
I am not a nurse myself, but my favorite experience with a nurse was when I was a patient in the hospital. I had just gotten to the E.R for appendicitis, I wasn’t sure that’s what was going on, but Google gave me a pretty good idea that I had every symptom listed.
So, the nurse is going through each symptom and literally I check every box and she goes “… Wow, yeah you literally have a WebMD symptom of appendicitis, I am pretty sure that’s what you have…. Or your pregnant”. That brought so much joy during my intense pain and I’ll never forget it.
What is the most striking moment of personal “failure” you’ve experienced in nursing or midwifery?
Not pertaining to nursing as such, but in my industry, my biggest failure was 5 years ago. I had learned about a financial strategy that I was so excited about. I worked at a financial company at this time, not my own business. I started telling EVERYONE about it and wanted to make the process efficient to get my clients signed up.
I scheduled 15 appointments in a row on the same day to knock out all the paperwork. That morning my boss asks me what I am doing today and why I am so excited, and I tell him the financial strategy I am about to sign all these clients up for. He tells me “Shelby, we don’t offer that plan here”.
This felt like an actual personal failure to me because I assumed we had the right tools at the company I worked with and was about to waste 15 people’s time. People ended up getting pretty frustrated at our company and my boss took the blame, it almost cost me my job!
How did you cope up with your failure?
I learned to always ask questions and make sure I have access to what I need to take care of my clients at all times.
Okay! Let’s have a little insight into your entrepreneurial life.
First things first, what comes to your mind when you think about entrepreneurship, in general?
Flexibility, control, freedom. Entrepreneurship is an art where someone gets to create a design out of an idea they create.
And, what comes to your mind when you think about entrepreneurship in relation to nursing/midwifery?
I think this is a breath of fresh air from nursing all day. I know how stressful a nurse’s job is and how quickly they can get burnt out, and I think having a passion and vision to execute their own business is powerful for not just preventing burnout, but also gaining back freedom and being in control. In control of their schedule, their workspace, and their clientele.
How do you think entrepreneurship or business per se is associates with a nurse’s/midwife’s life? (Influence on mindset/expansion of opportunities, etc.)
Opportunity to not have an income cap! Most nurses cap out around 90-120k/yr. and the ability to go above and beyond that with a business that is yours will be truly beautiful.
Now, let’s get into the most asked questions.
How did/do you maintain consistency in your doings?
Systems and processes… You MUST have systems and processes in place and implement them as if they’re the bible to your business. Consistency is key and having a process to execute what you’re doing is absolutely mandatory for a business owner.
How do you set priorities in your work?
Clients always come first, whether it’s a question they have, a document, or building a plan. Other priorities are making sure we are always giving others excellence.
Not just in customer service, but also in our work. I execute strategies that are different from the average person, but extremely efficient at hitting their goals. I also have to make sure all of my math is correct, and so I prioritize my research and data as well.
If you had one piece of advice to give an aspiring nursing and midwifery student, what would it be?
Knowing your worth – makes all the difference.
The most important question coming your way.
Caffeine or not caffeine for shift work?
Caffeine for everything
Where can people reach out to you? (social media and email)
Email: shelbygreen@sagfinancialgroup.com
Instagram: @sagfinancialgroup
Website: sagfinancialgroup.com
