Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Tuttle.
Hi Lisa, I am so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hi! I am from Austria originally and moved to the States when I was 5. My parents and I are here, but the rest of my family is in Austria, and we visit them annually. I moved to MN (from CA) at the end of 4th grade and went to High School in Maple Grove. I received a double degree in Business Marketing and a Bachelor of Arts in German.
When I graduated college, I didn’t even know what a financial advisor was given the differences between Europe and the US but in 2006 the economy was booming, and I ended up with job offers from 6 different financial firms to be a financial advisor. Given that it is all commissioned and sales, I was not interested initially. By the time Ameriprise contacted me for an interview, I thought it was a path I did not want so I turned down the interview. A few weeks later I was reached out to again and decided to go in for an informational interview.
It was in that meeting that my whole life path changed. I decided right then and there that this was exactly what I wanted to do and the company I wanted to do it with as the main focus was and still is to help people achieve their goals. I ended up meeting my now husband at work a few months later who is also an advisor. When we got engaged in 2011, we decided to join practices and create The Tuttle Group. Since then, we have grown to be one of the largest financial planning teams in the country with our team of 5 that consists of 3 CFP® professionals and 2 licensed client concierges.
On the personal side, my husband and I got married in 2012 and we both wanted children. That also became a big challenge for us, unfortunately. We initially went through 5 rounds of IUI’s before turning to IVF. We ended up doing IVF a total of 7 times and had a couple of miscarriages in that process as well. Our final two embryos we had, ended up sticking and we now are so thrilled to have happy, healthy almost 6-years-old twins (Maddix and Ivy).
The IVF process is not just physically grueling, but also emotionally a terrible roller coaster, and financially it is awful. costs can be upwards of $15-20K per cycle of IVF. We are so fortunate to have been in a position where we could afford the treatment, and that still didn’t make it any less difficult to endure. Because of that, I decided to start a non-profit called Farcical Fertility. Farcical Fertility was a way for me to shed light and funny/farce stories about the process of the fertility journey (like my husband’s first time making his ‘donation” (insert winky face!), in addition to raising money to be able to help other couples with the financial aspect of IVF. We have given out a couple of grants to couples in need, in hopes of lifting at least some of the burden off them.
This past year has been particularly challenging though with my dad (who I am extremely close to, given I’m an only child and he and my mom are like a second set of parents to Maddix and Ivy). My dad was diagnosed with AML (an aggressive form of Leukemia) this past April 2023. He is doing ok, but we are anxiously waiting for him to get a bone marrow transplant which cannot be done until his heart strengthens from all of the chemo that it wreaked havoc on. Also, 5 weeks ago, we were burglarized.
Thank goodness we were not home, and no one was physically hurt, but the guy took items of significant monetary value in addition to sentimental value like my wedding ring, etc. The worst though is the violating feeling, and having to talk to my children about their safety as they are still scared often about a “bad man” coming back to our home. Regardless, we feel so fortunate in our lives and continue to focus on the things we can control, versus stewing in the things we can’t.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Everyone has varying degrees of adversity they have to deal with in life. Obstacles can be anything from being a female in a tough, competitive, male-dominated industry, to years of a financially, emotionally, and physically tough time while going through IVF.
This year has been especially tough as an only child watching (with my mom) my dad fight cancer while feeling helpless. The exclamation mark was when we were burglarized just a month ago. Regardless of the obstacles we face, we have a positive outlook and continue to work hard, show kindness, and have optimism.
I appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Tuttle Group of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC?
We help our clients achieve their financial goals whether that’s helping put their kids through college, building up a nest egg for retirement, or dealing with the complexities of living off of your investments while already retired.
We want to be like someone’s personal CFO. The client is our CEO who makes all of the final decisions, but we are the CFO who brings in expertise and makes recommendations to their financial situation. We look at someone’s financial situation very holistically and help them navigate everything from cash flow, tax and estate planning, insurance planning, helping with open enrollment, maximizing savings strategies, and reviewing and dealing with investments (we manage approx. $500 Million in house).
We pride ourselves on taking things off of our client’s plates and hand-holding them along the way. We strive to be their go-to or first person to call to help with making confident decisions around their financial lives.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk-taking.
The biggest risk I took was when I was only 21 and graduated from college and made the decision to jump into this career. It was well outside of my comfort zone. I was shy, avoided confrontation, and generally was terrified about sales. I also was very hard working, however, and it pained me to think about working harder than others around me but getting paid the same. This career is one that you can make into whatever you put into it.
I have found so much success not just financially but also in a way that I feel so fulfilled knowing that I have made a positive impact in many lives and have developed relationships with so many people that I cherish and can say are not just clients, but now friends. Taking that big leap of faith to go into this career path certainly has paid off, and I am so happy that I took that risk and pushed my boundaries to expand my comfort zone to what it is today!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thetuttlegroupadvisors.com
- Instagram: @lissatuttle84
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetuttlegroupadvisors/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-tuttle-cfp%C2%AE-financial-advisor-44561a7/
Image Credits
Liz Allen and Angela Kalthoff
