Adventures of Hannah Foxley Owner & Director The Women’s Wealth Expert

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and colourful roles women play within industry and business. Experience inspirational, real
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Adventures of Hannah Foxley, Owner
and Director of The Women’s Wealth
Expert
I am Hannah Foxley and I am the owner and director of The Women’s Wealth Expert. I have
been a financial planner for 10 years but have always been in an employed role in an office
full of men.
After battling and beating breast cancer twice in one year it gave me a huge wake up call.
Even though I am a highly qualified financial planner and have been practicing for 10 years, I
fell into the trap that all young women do and thought that I could get away with having no
financial protection. When cancer struck me, I was in big trouble with no partner or prospect
of financial support from anywhere else, I had to work all the way through my treatment,
which literally nearly killed me as the cancer returned before I had even finished chemo. I
started to wonder how many other women would find themselves in my position. It turns out
that it’s the vast majority! So I set up my business as The Women’s Wealth Expert to
specialise in advising women and specifically women going through divorce. Men and
women view money very differently. It is a much more emotive subject for women and they
generally do not like speaking to men about their finances so they tend to bury their heads in
the sand and hope that everything will be ok.
My current role involves a lot of networking as I left my employer with no clients so I have
had to build a client bank from nothing. I absolutely love getting out and speaking to other
women. I do presentations and public speaking, sharing my story about why women need to
protect themselves. Protection is the first part of financial planning so this is always my
starting point. Once I have ensured that protection is in place, we start to look at building
wealth for the future. Financial planning is about building long-term relationships and I am
there for my ladies through the different stages of their life.
My business is very admin intensive as it’s so heavily regulated. I recognise that this is not
my favorite part of the job, so I have built a virtual team around me to help me with my back
office requirements, which leaves me more time to do what I love, speaking to people and
building relationships.
My work routine is varied as it depends what is in my diary. It may be clients, networking
events, public speaking engagements; every day is different, which I love. I give myself an
admin day each week to try and catch up with my ever increasing to do list.
I don’t think that I would have done anything differently career wise, I have constantly
proved myself in a man’s world and I have got the highest qualifications in the industry,
while learning loads along the way. It has given me a solid foundation for my own business.
Believe it or not, all I wanted to do was work with horses when I was young. I left school at
16 and did a YT scheme on a busy stable yard in Milton Keynes for a year, I then spent 3
years at college doing equine studies, only to realise that it wasn’t really a great career money
wise! So I ended up doing a Finance degree, I am still confused as to how I made that jump!

2. Being a young woman in a man’s world was always a struggle. I would get treated like I
didn’t know what I was talking about by certain male clients. It just made me all the more
determined and I ensured that I really did know what I was talking about and got a Fellowship
of the Personal Finance Society as well as Chartered Status. I always had to prove myself in a
conversation first before I got listened to, but I always got them to listen!
When I was going through cancer treatment and I had lost my hair, my eyebrows and
eyelashes and then when the cancer returned my breast as well, it really made me look at who
I am. I realised that I had spent my entire career trying to be a man to fit in; I even wore a
heavy pinstripe suit! I acted like a man too and that was a real turn off to other women! So, I
really looked inside myself at who I was and who I wanted to be and finally embraced being a
woman. The support that I have had from women since I have started to network with them
has been phenomenal and I feel truly blessed.
It’s very early days in my business but the early signs are very encouraging. I already have
clients on board and more in the pipeline. I am constantly asked to speak in public and write
articles for people, which I take as a huge compliment.
I think my secret has been being authentic and approachable. I now have a very powerful
story to share and I want to ensure that women protect themselves financially. I also want
them to start to look after their own financial security and plan for the future.
I am a ‘yes’ woman as much as I possibly can be and give people my time and get involved in
many things. I am now getting more and more opportunities coming to me. I have been asked
to speak at a TEDx event on the 1st December and share my journey, which is an honour and
will be seen globally. This is purely the result of networking and speaking to women. You
have to get out there and you have to tell people what you are looking for. If you don’t ask,
the answer will always be no. I am always positive and energetic too.
The part that I am most struggling with at the moment is balancing my job with family life,
hobbies, and other interests. I have never worked so hard and so many long hours in all my
life. It doesn’t feel like work though as I relish every second and feel motivated and alive. It’s
all for me and I do it because I choose to. I love the fact that I can sit in my pajamas all day
doing work and no one tells me what time I need to be in the office or leave. It’s fab but not
for the faint hearted!
Talking about the work place; I think women need to stay authentic and true to themselves
and not feel that they have to behave like a man to fit in. I have seen it my entire career. Now
that I am comfortable in my own skin, I gain far more respect.
Knowing that I can make a difference to women inspires me everyday. Also knowing that this
is all for me and that I am in control of my own destiny and building my own future really
motivates me. The fear that I experienced while I was going through treatment about losing
my job and the roof over my head was indescribable and I don’t ever want to feel like that
again. So I will build my own security that no one can take away from me.
The barriers to entering the financial planning world are now very high as you need to be
diploma qualified to give advice as of 1st January 2013. You can gain experience though by
doing an admin role and then para planning and take your qualifications and learn on the job.
I eventually want to be in a position where I can train young women in an environment where
they can be nurtured and grow.
• What is your advice to young women starting out either as an employee or starting their own
business?
For women starting out either as an employee or starting their own business; as I said above,
being authentic and true to yourself is most important. Then you need a whole lot of drive,
grit and determination. I have started this business with no clients and enough money to last
me until Christmas! But it has driven me to get out there and work my socks off! Sometimes
you just have to go for it and trust in the universe that things will work out. Fortune favours
the brave! Positive thinking is a must and really does make all of the difference. When you
think positively, you give out a positive vibration and positive things start to come back to

3. you and fast!
Finding a mentor is also hugely important. My mentor is Vanessa Vallely and she is fantastic
at keeping me on track and connecting me to people. She is always there in the background
thinking of me and talking about me. I also have a coach, Salli Glover who has changed my
life and given me the courage to just go for it and trust in the universe. I can’t begin to explain
how true this has turned out to be for me.
For me there are two parts to the legacy I want to leave. I want to leave a great female
focused financial planning business where women feel confident to come and get advice from
other women. I want to be known for sorting out women’s finances and leaving them feeling
secure. I particularly want to work with women going through divorce who really need help
with the financial side of things, who are not used to taking care of the finances and need
someone to guide them and explain things in a down to earth way. I am in the process of
writing a book, which will be a financial guide for women facing divorce. This will be
published in 2013.
The legacy that is closest to my heart though is to spread the word and raise money for
research into breast cancer. I am now an ambassador for Breakthrough Breast Cancer and will
be out there banging the drum and raising awareness and funds. 1 in 8 women will get breast
cancer in their lives and it isn’t a disease for the over 50’s. Many young women are now
getting it and I want to raise their awareness about checking themselves and ensuring that it
can be caught early. The money raised will help fund research into treatment for the disease
which will mean that women do not have to suffer the horror of chemo. Breakthrough Breast
cancer is responsible for 23% of all funding into breast cancer research in the UK and they
are a small charity.
I feel very strongly that I want to give back in any way I can not only to breast cancer but to
help women in general and I see charity work being a big part of my future life.
I photographed my cancer journey with my photographer friend Justin Paget and we have
created a portfolio of powerful pictures that show the reality of cancer treatment for a young
woman. We have also done some beautiful shots of me after my mastectomy as I wanted to
show that you can still be beautiful even after losing a breast. I hope that they will inspire
other young women.
Hannah Foxley
Owner and Director
The Women’s Wealth Expert
www.thewomenswealthexpert.co.uk