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"After years of mentoring others in this business, I made a comment last fall at the WIFS Conference that I wish I could have a mentor as I never had one. And magically…through WIFS, I got one…Jill Pietrusinski! During our first call, Jill told me she had googled me to find out what information is online about me and my practice. And of course, she asked me about my area of expertise and what market I focus on, which is retirement planning. So the first very thing Jill got me to give attention to was the fact that my website did not tell anyone that retirement planning is my focus. It was an “ah-hah moment” and of course, has been corrected. My point here is that even though I may have a successful practice, there are things that can always be improved. Sometimes it takes someone from the outside looking in to point out what appears to be obvious but when you are so busy, you don’t have time to pay attention to. Jill is helping me focus on working on my business and not always in my business. Having a mentor helps me stay on track… it is someone that I hold myself accountable to and I look forward to speaking with monthly."

"My mentoring experience has gone above and beyond what I could have expected. My mentee has been so appreciative of the work we've done together.In the end she has helped me as much as I have helped her. What an amazing woman I was partnered with! A huge thank you to WIFS for bringing the mentoring program to light. This has been and will continue to be a great relationship on both sides. Mentoring Rocks!"

"After almost quitting this career because people would cancel on me, not pick up their phone and almost getting kicked out of someone's home, I started opening policies. My commission has been raised from 30-45%! My next goal is a commission from 45% to 62% while studying for the series exams. I can't thank my mentor, Karen, enough for the encouragement of not quitting and for maintaining the high energy to keep me going."

"When I attended the Guardian Women's Summit in the summer of 2014, I was really in a place of needing something outside of my local agency, and I wanted the counsel of other women in this career. I was struggling with balance, with where to put my energy, and wanted fresh views and perspectives. Being the only female producer in my local agency, I was hoping that other women in this career could inspire me. I left the Guardian Women's Summit with knowledge and inspiration, and the opportunity to join WIFS and participate in the mentorship program thereafter. Tara Vanderperren Showalter was my mentor through WIFS. Tara was an amazing coach and sounding board. She listened and gave me the gift of sharing her experiences, trials, errors and successes. She gave me practical advice that ranged from time management to business strategy ideas. I was new to a Sales Manager role at the time and was paired with Tara specifically because she is also in a management role with another company and understood my challenges. I felt I could also share my fears and ask her for an unbiased opinion on some things I was attempting to do for my business. So much of financial services relies on our being confident coaches to others... we all need to be coached as well. It was a wonderful experience. I truly value what Tara did for me at the time. It is more than she probably realizes."