Meet Monica Stanley | Chief Strategy Officer & Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Monica Stanley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Monica, what do you attribute your success to?
I would say being flexible in our approach and being willing to be a bit less staunch to bring in some fun and humor to a brand in an industry that is traditionally formal and stuffy (financial services).

We are a small team and we try to leverage one another’s strengths and most of our roles stretch beyond a single silo like you might have in a larger organization. We adapt and change strategies operationally, investment-wise, and in regards to marketing depending on what we see in the landscape.

A financial firm’s product is really the “people”. So your brand is you and your team. Our brand is successful largely due to the efforts of that team, from sales, to operations, to marketing.

Another key to it’s success is we took a modern approach visually and content-wise from the jump in our marketing, which helps to differentiate us from many competitors in the area and catches people’s eye. Our materials looked like a firm that had been established for a long time. Don’t cheap out on your marketing spend when upstarting a company – it matters. Your sales folks skills can be supported and elevated by your brand presence and materials, or it could be hindered if they aren’t up to snuff.

At the end of the day though, we are relatable. Our brand reflects youth with experience, professionalism with some fun, and a consistent commitment to serving our clients needs to the best of our ability through our own interactions, as well as the technology we utilize to make their experience a quality one that they tell their friends about.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
PM Squared Financial is a privately-held investment firm based out of Fort Worth, Texas.

Some things that set us apart from others is our commitment to finding and providing our clients innovative strategies that aren’t easily accessed from a single-shop. We offer your traditional public investments, such as the stock market and options trading, financial planning, and insurance, but we also offer Private Equity opportunities, as well as Cryptocurrency investment access and advisement. It is uncommon to find a firm offering all in one house. We’re working on adding a tax-planning portion when we can work out the logistics and team of that.

What I’m most proud of and excited about is the cryptocurrency side of things. It’s a new frontier, even though it’s been around for a bit now. We are very proud to be able to provide that option to our clients.

We got where we are today by a lot of sweat-equity and teamwork. Our investment officer has a real passion for finding the opportunity and getting out and finding clients that want to be a part of it. Marketing, operations, compliance, finance, technology, and client service all help support the sales and investment team to do what they do. Without the support, they wouldn’t be as successful. The team understanding that is paramount. You cannot be an island of one. If you didn’t have the others around, all that would be on you and you wouldn’t be as productive.

This has been the hardest endeavor we have taken on. I don’t know that ANYTHING went how it was SUPPOSED to go and most days it felt (and sometimes still feels) like we are scratching and clawing for every inch of progress we could make. We didn’t have much choice but to overcome the challenges, as it was the livelihood for our family. So, we just put our heads down, kept trying to figure out what needed to be done next, pivoted, and kept going.

There are so many lessons learned and so many more to learn. I would say top lessons are (1) to have documented segmentations of roles and responsibilities so there is no question who is the leader and decision-maker for a particular silo, (2) you need more cash than you think to do things so get a line of credit as early as you can, (3) be optimistic and realistic with your goals and projections so you don’t set yourself up for disappointment or hardships down the line, and mostly (4) you have to carve out “down-time” and that’s the hardest thing to convince a business owner to do.

We’d like the world to know that we know how overwhelming investing and all the options can be. We partner with our clients to help them work through those opportunities and create a personalized plan for their particular needs and goals. Stagnation and status-quo isn’t our thing.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
That’s tough! There are so many great things to do here!

We would definitely hit up the Stockyards for some shopping, culture, and awesome food. The Fort Worth Zoo for sure; #1 zoo in the nation! A day downtown in Sundance Square for some more shopping, culture, and awesome food. I’d also head Southside to show off our funky side (my favorite side).

Restaurants we would eat at would likely include Lazy Daisy and Ascension (coffee), Malai and Fixe in Clearfork, Provender Hall and Sidesaddle Salon in the Stockyards, Reata and Little Red Wasp in Downtown, Wishbone & Flint and Wabi House down in Southside, and finally the Woodshed Smokehouse and HGSply near the Zoo. If they have time, we’d eat some bomb Italian food at Piatello.

We could ride the rental bikes along the Trinity Trails, do one of those cool beer/biking fun rides, kayak the river, do some beer yoga at a brewery, and visit the Modern Art Museum and Botanical Gardens – all impressive to me.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
As a Highly-Sensitive Person (HSP) I found Dr. Elaine Aron’s book, “The Highly Sensitive Person” was a catalyst for me to seek understanding of myself and go through that painstaking process trying to uncover your authentic self, as well as what you truly value and need to feel supported in your life. It helped me uncover what balance I need for my life and what I just couldn’t do anymore… and learn to say no – the hardest of them all! But, the most necessary.

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