Meet our new employee, Debbie Van Gaale, who recently joined the team at Synergy Wealth Alliance as an Associate Advisor! We’re excited to have her on board and wanted to shine a spotlight on her to help you get to know her a little better. At Synergy Wealth Alliance, we take pride in our team approach to financial planning and Debbie brings valuable skills and experience to our team. We sat down with her to learn more about what led her to pursue a career in the financial industry.
Questions:
- Before working at Synergy Wealth Alliance, what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had?
- I represented a company that made electromagnetic shielding gaskets which are used in electronics including military and medical products. Touring manufacturing facilities for these products was always fascinating to me.
- What are 3 words to describe Synergy?
- Evolving
- Caring
- Resourceful
- What are three career lessons you’ve learned thus far?
- Establishing expectations for communication is very important. Ask your client up front how often they want to hear from you to establish the pattern.
- Under promise and over deliver: Do not promise something you are unable to deliver on.
- Continue Learning: To be the best in your field you need to continue to learn and keep up with industry innovation.
- What aspect of your role do you enjoy the most?
- I love helping people to get to the point that they are working because they want to do the work and not because they must work.
- What does a typical day look like for you?
- Wake up at 6:30am: feed the dogs and have coffee. Read or listen to the bible and go for a walk.
- Plan my day. Get dressed and either go to the office or attend meetings.
- Evenings: We make dinner and try to eat as a family as much as possible. After dinner we like to walk the lake and watch the sunset.
- What piece of advice would you give to teens or college students just starting out?
- Save early! When you start your first job, elect to have 20% automatically put into a separate account. Keep ½ of the separate account for savings and the other half of the money, give to charity. You will not miss the 20% you’re saving and will be amazed how fast that savings account will grow. Plus – you will feel good giving to charity. Learning to live on 80% of your pay from day one is powerful!
- What hobbies or passion do you enjoy outside of work?
- I love to travel, there is so much to see in our world!
- I love the outdoors and section hike the Appalachian Trail with my high school friends each year. We have 163 miles of the trail covered so far!
- Mexican Food. I love anything spicy!
- I am passionate about my family and spend most of my time with my husband, two teenage children and two dogs.
Anything else you would like to share?
- I became a Financial Advisor because I want to help people reach their goals. I believe that given the proper guidance, we can transform lives and I am excited to help make that happen.
Thank you for reading our spotlight on Debbie, our newest Associate Advisor at Synergy Wealth Alliance! We're thrilled to have her on our team and know that her skills will help us continue to provide the highest level of financial planning services to our clients. Stay tuned for more employee spotlights in the future!
