Last October, I sat in a room full of women who were building things.

Not talking about building things. Not planning to build things. Actually doing it, leading companies, growing revenue, making decisions that mattered, and doing it all with a level of intention that I don't always find in professional spaces.

I left that event with new friendships that I genuinely treasure. Some of my closest friends right now are women I met in that room. That's not something I expected walking in. That's something I walked away with that no keynote could have manufactured.

It's why I'm back this year, and this time, I'm coming as a sponsor again.

What Called to Lead Actually Is

Called to Lead is a premier women's leadership conference hosted by Kelly Roach and Sandi Glandt, designed for women who are ready to go to the next level in business.

But I want to be careful not to oversell the logistics, because what actually happens there is harder to put in a bullet point.

It's the conversati...

Words have a way of cutting through all the noise and landing exactly where you need them.

I've been collecting quotes about sisterhood and women supporting women for years — not to post them and move on, but because certain lines have genuinely stopped me in my tracks and made me look at my relationships differently. Made me ask harder questions about who I was showing up for and who was showing up for me.

If you've been doing life (or your finances) largely on your own, I hope something on this list cracks something open for you.

"A woman is like a tea bag — you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water." — Eleanor Roosevelt

I think about this one every time I sit down with a woman who's going through divorce, job loss, or any major financial transition. She comes in convinced she's behind, overwhelmed, and not sure she can handle what's ahead. And almost every time, by the end of our work together, I watch her discover a version of herself she didn't know existe...

Let me tell you something I wish someone had told me earlier in my career: the women who build real, lasting wealth are almost never doing it alone.

They have a women’s network. They have mentors. They have a community that holds them accountable, celebrates their wins, and tells them the truth when they’re playing small.

I’ve been a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst and financial planner for nearly two decades. I’ve sat across from hundreds of women in some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives, and one pattern shows up again and again: women who are isolated make harder, more expensive, more emotionally draining decisions than women who are connected.

That’s not a knock on anyone. It’s a call to action.

If you’re looking for a women empowerment network that goes beyond surface-level networking and actually helps you build wealth, clarity, and confidence, keep reading. This is for you.

What a Real Women’s Empowerment Network Actually Looks Like

Not all women’s networ...

By Leah Hadley, CDFA, MAFF, AFC 

I still remember the first financial book that made me feel like someone was finally talking to me. Not at me. Not over my head. Directly to me as a woman trying to figure out her financial life. It was David Bach's Smart Women Finish Rich, and it landed in my hands at exactly the right time.

Since then, I've read dozens of personal finance books, and I keep coming back to the ones that do more than just explain compound interest. The books that stick are the ones that help you understand *why* you think about money the way you do and then give you practical tools to do something about it.

Whether you're rebuilding after a major life transition, trying to get a handle on investing for the first time, or just ready to stop feeling anxious every time you check your bank account, there's a book on this list for you. I've included a mix of classics and newer voices, covering everything from mindset to strategy to building real wealth.

Here are the 10 mo...

I spent the first half of my life trying to blend in with the wall.

Making myself smaller, quieter, less visible. If you had told the teenage version of me that I’d one day run a financial planning practice, lead a community of women, and write a book about money, I would have laughed. That girl didn’t believe she had anything worth saying out loud.

What changed? Community. Specifically, the women’s empowerment networks that showed me what I was capable of before I could see it myself.

That’s not a soft, feel-good sentiment. It’s the most practical career and life advice I can give you. The right support circle of women will change your trajectory. It changed mine.

The Communities That Shaped Me

Girl Scouts: Where Personal Growth Begins

I grew up a Girl Scout. And I know that might sound quaint, but the truth is, that’s where I first experienced what happens when girls are given space to lead without being told to tone it down. We learned how to set goals, manage money (hell...