Meet the Female Leaders of Finance: “I have always believed that high schools should have a required class on the topic of credit.” with Lisa Lund and Tyler Gallagher
I have always believed that high schools should have a required class on the topic of credit. I see all the time young adults just graduating high school, suddenly bombarded with credit card offers. As you can imagine many of these young adults accept these offers and use this credit, with minimal knowledge on how or what credit actually does for you and how it can affect your future. They see this as financial freedom, usually for the first time in their life. Being able to understand why and how you need to use credit is very important going into your adult life and it can affect things such as your ability to obtain financing or even obtain lower rates, etc. Credit is something I feel that is not taught to our youth and is usually learned the hard way.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa Lund, Owner of Lund Mortgage Team. Lisa Lund is one of the leading experts in the mortgage industry. With over 20 years’ experience in the broker world, she has held nearly every position from receptionist to President of her own company, Lund Mortgage Team, Inc. Lisa started processing loans in 1998 at 18 years old. A few short years later, she opened Lund Mortgage Team in June 2009 at just 29 years old. Often the only woman in the room, Lisa thrives in the broker community and strives to mentor other young woman. With a real passion to help others grow, Lisa takes the time to share her knowledge and experience with others. She truly has a passion for the mortgage broker channel and wholeheartedly believes it is best for the consumer. Lisa, now at 38, oversees a team of ten people. Leading her company, Lund Mortgage Team, Inc. funded over $116,000,000 in 2018 with 510 units. Lisa balances her successful career at home as a wife and mother of four, embodying the value of family. She enjoys reaching out to the community and has been involved in the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts, the ALS Association, the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center, the AZ Kidney Foundation and several other small local charities.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the Banking/Finance field?
I feel like I was born to work in this industry. I really knew this was true when I got to see my father in action at a local community bank, he worked at back in the 80’s. This was for take your daughter to work day implemented in the 80’s to encourage woman in the work field. That year for Christmas, I am pretty sure I was the only eight-year-old that asked for a ten-key calculator. Growing up, throughout high school I would intern with my father while my friends were off enjoying their summer vacation. Once I officially stepped into a full-time role within the industry, I started as a receptionist. I was determined to work my way up, so I started my journey. Given my determination and eagerness to grow, I was promoted to a junior processor, which transitioned to a loan processor, where I was given more responsibility and opportunity to mold my position. I then went on to manage the processors, take on a sales role and then manage sales as well. All of these building blocks gave me the opportunity to learn the ropes of the industry from the bottom up. Eager to keep learning and growing, I was able to open my own company in June of 2009 to carry on the family name and values my father instilled in me.
Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far?
I have many stories that come to mind, but there’s one in particular that stands out. In 2005, the mortgage industry was booming and was very busy. We had an elderly lady come into our office one day requesting a loan with a $50,000 loan amount. During this time there wasn’t much commission to be made off of a $50,000 loan, you pretty much had to do it for free. This poor woman was desperate living off of fixed income and really needed help, she had reached out to 4 other places before us and no one was willing to give her the time of day. My father, with whom I worked side by side with said, “We’re going to do this loan to help her”, “It’s not about commission, it’s about doing the right thing.” We were able to close the loan for her and as we had anticipated, we made little to no commission on this file, but we knew we did the right thing. Not two months later we received a call from a client stating they were referred to us by this woman we helped out, and this turned out to be a $2.1 million-dollar deal, by far the largest deal we had ever seen. We were able to close that loan with the recommendation for this lady and it was the largest commission received to this day. This story goes to show that if you conduct your business about the person and do what is right thing and not worry about the commission- the money will come.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I was fortunate enough to get into this industry at a very young age and learn many things that my peers didn’t about credit and homeownership. Given my background, millennials and first-time home buyers are my passion when it comes to my business. I feel it is my job to guide them and hold their hand through this process that can be overwhelming and stressful. I’ve created a seminar/webinar for first time homebuyers that goes over the whole process and it allows them to interact and be involved. I’m working on launching my largest one yet this year. My ultimate goal in doing this is to really build that confidence in first-time homebuyers and help make the process a little less overwhelming so they are excited about homeownership and see the value.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Starting from the ground up, and truly embracing every role in this industry, I can honestly say I know how important each position is and how it factors into the big picture. When I built my company, I kept this in mind and feel it is important to have a team concept and work together rather than separating sales and support, we are all working together for the same goal. Again, every role is crucial and really effects the overall customer experience. With that said, as the broker/owner, I’m in the office every day to lead and support my team. I want it to be clear that I’m as much a part of the team as anyone else, regardless of my title. This internal aspect of the company then translates to an external standpoint, where clients know they’re working with a team of people who are all working together on their behalf. This adds a lot of value not only with my employees but with our clients.
Wall Street and Finance used to be an “all white boys club”. This has changed a lot recently. In your opinion, what caused this change?
I think it’s all rooted in family dynamics. Until as recently as in the last 30–40 years, women were seen as the primary caregiver to stay home and raise and take care of the family. Today, it’s recognized that it takes two incomes to support a household and can be difficult to survive on just one income source for the average family. We started seeing this shift in the 80s and more so in the 90s and even more today. Women are waiting until later to start a family and are now embracing college degrees and building their careers first. I feel women today have been able to find the ability to multitask when it comes to work and family and find that balance. We have the notion instilled in us that women can do it all. I believe we are just getting started with what we can do.
Of course, despite the progress, we still have a lot more work to do to achieve parity. According to this report in CNBC, less than 17 percent of senior positions in investment banks are held by women. In your opinion or experience, what 3 things can be done by a) individuals b) companies and /or c) society to support this movement going forward?
I truly believe that percentage is going to keep increasing over time. From an individual standpoint, women emerged into the workplace a lot later than men did. This was just how households were formed back then, where men were the breadwinners and women were homemakers, again you didn’t need two income households to survive. As society evolves, women are beginning to catch up and secure jobs, as well as hold leadership positions. I feel if companies can embrace family time and support women and their family life, you will continue to see woman succeed and thrive in the work field. Again, for woman it’s all about balance we give 110% of ourselves in every aspect of our life. If companies can make this easier for woman, i.e. allowing you to bring your children to work, or providing daycare benefits or even in-house daycare. Another idea that I implement myself as a business owner/wife/mother is giving personal hours as paid time off rather than sick days. Woman are usually still the primary caregivers in all aspects of our life’s, and if there are important things that come up that require our attention, such as field trips, or school awards, or family graduations, etc. we don’t want to feel obligated to have to use a full day as paid vacation or sick day. By allowing woman to take paid hours rather than a full day this creates that balance and allows us to feel like we can do it all. If society could simply make family and personal life more accessible, we’d have a healthy balance for both.
You are a “finance insider”. If you had to advise your adult child about 5 non intuitive things one should do to become more financially literate, what would you say? Can you please give a story or example for each?
I have always believed that high schools should have a required class on the topic of credit. I see all the time young adults just graduating high school, suddenly bombarded with credit card offers. As you can imagine many of these young adults accept these offers and use this credit, with minimal knowledge on how or what credit actually does for you and how it can affect your future. They see this as financial freedom, usually for the first time in their life. Being able to understand why and how you need to use credit is very important going into your adult life and it can affect things such as your ability to obtain financing or even obtain lower rates, etc. Credit is something I feel that is not taught to our youth and is usually learned the hard way.
Another topic that is more of an issue today then it was even just 20 yeas ago is student loan debt. Again, I don’t feel the younger generation understands what student loans are about and how they can affect your future, such as buying a home etc. I have seen so many situations where people have double or triple the student loan debt than their yearly salary pays after their degree. I also see the use of student loans used for other than tuition, I see it used for living expenses and in some case used in place of a job. I feel a student loan education class should be required and you must get a certificate (like first time homebuyer course) before you can get the student loan. This class should go over deferring your loan payments and interest rates and how long it will take you to pay back a loan. I think it should go over taking the minimum amount rather than the maximum. The more education the better.
Two other areas I think are underserved or not taught enough are how to balance a budget and not over spend as well as saving for retirement. I feel it is very important to learn how to not only create a budget for yourself but to learn to live within that budget and not above your means. Again, going back to living on credit cards and getting yourself in what I like to call a never-ending debt hole. By creating a budget this gives you a visual understanding of how much you are bringing in and what is going out. I personally feel writing this down and looking at it really helps you grasp your spending ability and understand your budget. Creating a budget goes hand in hand with saving for retirement. Retirement is something I feel the younger generations believe is for “older” people. “I will do that later in life” or “I don’t make enough to put away for retirement yet”, these are two common excuses I hear. Again, creating a budget is important and will help show you how to save for retirement. The truth is, the earlier you start contributing to your retirement the better off you will be in your retirement years. I constantly hear people in their 40’s and 50’s and even 30’s state I wish I would have contributed to retirement earlier. I always like to teach the concept, pay your bills first, then pay yourself (that means pay yourself by putting money into your retirement or some sort of savings/investment), then whatever is left over is your discretionary money or your “fun” money. By doing this you will have a lot more financial freedom than you think.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Oh yes, my father is by far a big reason why I am who I am today. He was my hero, my mentor and my biggest fan. He led by example and not only taught me along the way but showed me. I was very fortunate to have the ability to work side by side with him for over 16 years until he passed away in 2014.
My father never constrained me to a specific career structure. He supported me and my ideas and dreams, he always believed in me no matter what age I was. He taught me to always be humble and honest and do things for the right reasons. I was young woman in an industry of mostly older men, but he didn’t see that he saw me and what I had to offer, he encouraged me to keep going and let nothing hold me back. Because of that I keep pushing myself everyday to be better and to lead by example for others, I truly am everything I am today is because of him.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
There are two quotes I try to keep in mind day by day.
“One day you will be just a memory, so do your best to be a good one” and “No one will remember what you said or did, but how you made them feel.”
I think these quotes hold a spot in my heart because they are the essence of what I believe and how I feel you should treat others in business, personal life and family. Through every experience I’ve had, good or bad, it all circles back to these concepts. I always think about how far I was able to come being a young woman in an industry that was predominantly men and how I overcame certain obstacles with compassion and grace. Because I believe this way, I have been able to build so many long-lasting relationships in all aspects of my life.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I don’t think people grasp how important it is to have a mentor. To find one’s specific place in the world, younger people need guidance. I want to inspire people to be a mentor to younger generations in every way that you can. I want to show people that it all comes down to confidence and the way you treat people in the end. It’s not all about making money, you need to learn how to care for people, and then you will be rewarded. To better explain the point, I’m trying to get across, there’s a difference between providing good customer service and making a raging fan out of a client. You want the latter.
Thank you for these great insights!
About The Author:
Tyler Gallagher is the CEO and Founder of Regal Assets, a “Bitcoin IRA” company. Regal Assets is an international alternative assets firm with offices in the United States, Canada, London and Dubai focused on helping private and institutional wealth procure alternative assets for their investment portfolios. Regal Assets is an Inc. 500 company and has been featured in many publications such as Forbes, Bloomberg, Market Watch and Reuters. With offices in multiple countries, Regal Assets is uniquely positioned as an international leader in the alternative assets industry and was awarded the first ever crypto-commodities license by the DMCC in late 2017. Regal Assets is currently the only firm in the world that holds a license to legally buy and sell cryptos within the Middle East and works closely with the DMCC to help evolve and grow the understanding and application of blockchain technology. In addition to his role with Regal Assets, Tyler is a regular contributor to Forbes, Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global and Authority Magazine. Tyler has also been featured in many news publications and has been a guest expert on “The News with Ed Shultz”. Tyler is a proud member of the Forbes Finance Council a private invite only-group of hand-selected industry leaders.
