I walked into my office Monday morning, June 2^nd, with three staff members and left the office on Friday, June 6^th, with four. I wasn’t looking for a new employee! How did that happen?

On Friday evening, May 30^th, Matt, my manager, left a voicemail for me. He informed me that Charlene, an associate financial advisor in our market group, needed to affiliate with a new franchise advisor. She felt disrespected by her current advisor, while he was not willing to work with her anymore. Consequently, he gave her two weeks to find a new “home.” Charlene asked Matt, “Do you know an advisor who would be a good fit for me?”  Matt said, “I think Lee Ann would be a great fit for you.” After deleting the voicemail, I thought, “Matt, why did you drop my name? I’m not looking!”

As a courtesy, I returned Matt’s call on Monday morning. I wasn’t expecting anything to materialize because Matt had given Charlene several names from our Austin market group to contact. As our conversation unfolded, Matt described Charlene (age 67) as an accomplished advisor who needed a new beginning. Her resume sounded impressive after 28 years of experience, but I would incur substantial fixed expenses for her, which concerned me. I asked Matt if he thought Charlene could produce enough income to cover them. He said yes, but encouraged me to call her.  I felt reluctant, but I agreed to call her out of deference for Matt.

I called Charlene early Monday afternoon to initiate contact. She was eager to impress me with her accomplishments and certain about her ability to generate revenue. However, I was honest with her. I wasn’t looking for a new employee, so IF I were to consider her for my practice, she would be responsible for her expenses. She understood my position and assured me that she could reimburse her costs. She was persuasive, but could I trust her words? After our phone conversation, I still felt resistance to consider her. Besides, I assumed she would call other advisors. I was wrong.

She called me Monday evening to process the possibilities of working together. I heard desperation in her voice. When she shared that her current advisor’s assistant didn’t process the multiple sales she closed, I felt her pain. The assistant had put her paperwork in a drawer for four weeks, so it never got mailed. Consequently, Charlene had gone six weeks without pay. My heart broke for her. At the end of our conversation, Charlene expressed her desire to work with me. I told her I needed to pray about this. I needed to know who was promoting this arrangement. Was it Matt or the Lord? If the Lord had prompted Matt to give Charlene my name, then I didn’t want to miss His will for us! That evening I prayed for wisdom and direction.

When I woke up Tuesday morning, I felt God leading me to explore this opportunity further. Accordingly, I owed Charlene a more earnest evaluation. I asked her to send me her production reports. I studied them and had a few clarification questions, which she satisfactorily answered. By 3pm Tuesday I felt God’s peace to offer her the opportunity to work with me, so I emailed her to reapproach covering her expenses. I reminded her that I wasn’t looking for a new employee, so if she was willing to escrow with me her first six months of expenses out of her first commission check, I was willing to hire her. Her first check would be large based on the business that was waiting to be processed.

At 4:15pm Charlene replied to my email. She asked me “not to put any more time into her.” She had “a lot of faith that God would lead her to the right person. She had a calm about herself that indicated that she needed to wait on the Lord.” I was perplexed. Something didn’t feel right. I immediately forwarded her email to Matt and said, “I think she just told me goodbye! Is that your take?” Matt replied, “Maybe. She just left a message for me to call her, so I will let you know.”

Matt called me at 8pm to give feedback. My request for an escrow out of her first commission check overwhelmed her. She had joined Ameriprise through her current advisor in June 2013. Three months later, her right hip locked on her, which required emergency hip replacement surgery. She was in rehab for two months before she could work again. In addition, she provides care to her disabled daughter who lives with her. She was furious at her advisor for failing to supervise the assistant who didn’t bother to process her paperwork. He was the reason she hadn’t seen a paycheck in six weeks. She was emotionally distraught.

As I headed to bed later that evening, I felt guilt. Was I wrong to ask Charlene to back her words by asking for an escrow check? My head said no, but my heart said yes. It was not wrong to ask an independent contractor to cover her expenses. But when I asked her to prepay six months of expenses, it reflected my fear that she might not produce enough income to meet her expenses.

While lying in bed, I prayed. “Lord, what am I missing? Why I am struggling with being pushed away by Charlene? I wasn’t looking for a new employee, so why do I care about this?! I don’t get it.” The Lord gave me a clear answer. “I want you to be willing to hire Charlene, but I want you to place your trust in ME to cover her expenses, not her.”

I woke up Wednesday morning with clear direction. I emailed Charlene to let her know that my door was still open. I affirmed her need to explore opportunities with other advisors to make sure she found the right fit for her. I assured her that if the Lord was trying to pair us, we would both feel His peace in this situation. In addition, if she had a better idea on how to take care of her expenses, I was open to hearing it. Within twenty minutes, she replied, “We need to meet.”

We met Wednesday afternoon. My goal was to be open to whatever the Lord was trying to accomplish. I began the meeting with a question: “Charlene, what do you most need from me?”

She replied with tears, “I need your COMPASSION. I need you to understand that I am penniless and need a safe place to start over. I don’t have six months of expenses to give you.” As tears flowed, she explained why her family was financially stressed.

Five years ago, Charlene and her husband felt God calling them to move to Athens, TX, to take care of her parents. Unfortunately, her parents spent down their assets for their care. Charlene’s family decided to share their resources to help them, which drained their resources. She needed a new beginning, so she moved back to Austin last year so she could begin to create income as an advisor again. Charlene’s story resonated with me. She was willing to do whatever she could to care for her parents, even if that meant spending down her own assets. My heart was wide open to embrace her as a new hire.

“Charlene, you have my compassion and my concern for your situation. I am going to trust the Lord to provide for your expenses.” As soon as the words rolled off my tongue, Charlene gave me a big hug. We both felt God’s peace to move forward.

By Thursday, she signed my job offer. By Friday, all the home office paperwork to transition her to my practice was completed. By Wednesday, June 11^th, she was on my team.

Charlene Guess

As I reflected on this whirlwind week, God revealed a pattern of new beginnings that He has orchestrated in my practice over the last ten years:

• Elisha, a former office assistant with another Ameriprise advisor, called me in June 2004 wondering if I was hiring an assistant. I had just started a solo practice a year earlier. I wasn’t looking, but she needed a new beginning. On June 7, 2014, she celebrated ten years with me. The Lord has blessed me beyond measure to have such a sweet-spirited woman who loves our clients and serves unselfishly. She is family to me.
• Denise, an associate financial advisor in my Kansas office, called me in late spring of 2012. She was working with another Ameriprise advisor, which was an unhealthy situation for her. She called me wondering if I needed an associate financial advisor. I wasn’t looking, but she needed a new beginning. The Lord brought together three advisors who were willing to share her expenses. In return, Denise does projects for us. On July 25, 2014, she will celebrate two years with me. The Lord blessed me again by bringing a hard-working woman with tremendous knowledge and experience. I can count on her to do whatever needs to be done.
• Charlene is my associate financial advisor in my Austin office. I wasn’t looking, but she needed a new beginning. I feel blessed to have another Christian colleague in my practice.   

I marvel at God’s goodness and grace. I bet all of us can name people God placed in our lives to give us new beginnings when we needed one.

God is about new beginnings. Don’t be surprised if God is creating space in your life to give a new beginning to someone else – even if you’re not looking!

Blessings,

Lee Ann