Mom Spotlight – Andrea & Jennifer Kirby – Kirby Financial Group

1) Provide an overview of your company and your job, how many hours you work.

Kirby Financial Group is a financial planning firm that is dedicated to helping clients clarify, simplify, and achieving their financial objectives.

Andrea and I typically work about 40 hours per week. Some of this time is spent at home after the kids are in bed, for a few hours on a weekend, or during nap time!

2) Provide an overview of your home life, how many children you have, childcare arrangement, if married your husbands career and how you share the responsibilities at home.

Jennifer has 2 children, age 4 and 7 months old. Andrea has a 5 month-old baby. Andrea and Jennifer have a day home that is very flexible. Our caregiver, Ellen, has been looking after children for more than 30 years and we feel so lucky to have her in our life. She is a key person in our team.

Jennifer’s husband, Bruno, is a Sales Training Manager for Kal Tire. Tyler, Andrea’s husband is a lawyer for the Calgary firm Walsh Wilkens Creighton LLP. Bruno and Tyler are very supportive our careers and our business, therefore they take an active role in our home life.

If Andrea or Jennifer have early meetings, Tyler and Bruno will drive the kids to Ellen’s or pick them up at the end of the day.

3) Are there certain organizations or individuals who have been the greatest influence and support in terms of assisting with your career and business decisions.

We have learned a lot from our mom who started in real estate when we were young. Our mom always juggled home and work and we always knew that this was a possibility. Having a positive role model has really helped us in business.

4) Can you offer insight into ways that “professionally minded moms” could be supporting each other.

We feel lucky to have a great network of women who are balancing home and career. It is important to have people from whom you can get advice and help dealing with the inevitable challenges that arise. Networking with other professional mothers can help to encourage a balance between work and home.

Social pressure to stay at home for 1 year or more or to return to work after your children are in school is difficult to handle at times. There are definite moments when we both feel guilty after dropping our little people at Ellen’s house, but words of encouragement from a trusted friend – and sometimes a client – can help keep things in perspective.

Jennifer’s friend Erinn has a daughter the same age and they share driving responsibilities to pre-school and other activities. It is important to lean on each other and ask for help.

5) Can you offer any advice for achieving a balance between your family life and your career.

Jennifer and Andrea are lucky in that our choice of career and business model allows us to be flexible. By understanding their limits and boundaries and shaping their schedules accordingly makes it easier to balance work and family.

Andrea’s decision to return to work part-time when her son was 3 or four months old was made with the understanding that she is earning flexibility if there is a time when her son simply needs her.

We make our own schedules, so it’s easy to say yes to everything and end up working every day. You have to understand your limits, set realistic goals or expectations, and then stick to what you wanted.

About Kirby Financial Group
Jennifer Kirby is a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Life Underwriter and Registered Health Underwriter with a passion for making sense out of complex financial products. Jennifer has been working in the financial planning industry since 1995 and has a proven track record for helping clients clarify their personal and financial objectives.

Www.kirbyfinancialgroup.com