This time we’re speaking to Lottie Leefe, Founder of The Dura Society, a financial wellbeing consultancy aimed at women, which coaches, educates and empowers them to improve their relationship with their wealth.
Claritas recently spent ‘five minutes with’ Lottie chatting about a myriad of topics, from discussing The Dura Society’s initial inception through to her ambitions for the future and how she continues to empower women to take control of their finances.
Lottie, thank you for taking time to join us, we’re really excited to be chatting to you and learning more out about The Dura Society.
So I suppose the obvious question we should start with, is how did you come across the idea to set up The Dura Society and what ambitions do you have for the company moving forward?
Well, it all happened by accident – literally! I had a serious accident in 2016 where I managed to break my Dura Mater – this is the membrane which protects your spinal column and brain and as a consequence, I was hospitalised for a number of weeks. Spending any amount of time in hospital has a sombre effect and gives you a sense of perspective on life and your priorities. For me, there were two options, I could lay there and dwell on what I could have changed, or I could think about what I would do once I left the hospital – I chose the latter, and The Dura Society was born.
I knew I wanted to concentrate on my strengths and create something that allowed me to marry my knowledge of the investment world with my creative and compassionate side. The accident aside, I was thankful for the thinking time I’d been given.
I’ve never really had a strategic plan, it has always been intuitive, and I suppose in some respects, organic in its creation. I’ve received fantastic support since we launched, and it really inspires me to empower women to be financially independent no matter which end of the wealth spectrum they sit on.
The Dura Society describes itself as a ‘financial well-being consultancy, which coaches, educates and empowers women’ what does this mean for your clients and how do you go about empowering women to be financially aware?
It is hugely important to point out that ‘wealth’ is so much more than just money and finance. Feeling content and in control of your current and future financial outlook is so important. Many of the challenges with financial wellbeing comes from a lack of confidence and knowledge.
I love doing what I do, and The Dura Society is a platform that can help facilitate conversation and collaboration across a number of topics. Whether it’s about wealth, happiness or their wellbeing.
I’m a huge believer that people have an incredible way of achieving what they want, once they give themselves permission to do so. Seeing the transformation of my private coaching clients when watching their confidence and ambitions grow is incredibly rewarding. As well as taking inspiration from the Financial Therapy Association (of which I am a member). I work with my clients to establish their values and goals, and then become their support for as long as they need it.
Lottie, looking through your website there are a number of stats on there, but one stood out above all the others – “By 2025 women will account for 53% of all UK millionaires”. Where do you see this shift coming from and, without wanting to sound stereotypical, don’t we usually associate millionaires as being men?
This is so exciting! I think there is a huge shift of entrepreneurial spirit coming from disenfranchised employees who do not get the flexibility, opportunities or renumeration from employers. This has a particular impact on working mothers, those with mental and/or physical disabilities or those with caring obligations, many of whom are women.
The upside of this is that we are seeing a resurgence of ‘cottage’ industries coupled with the accessibility of knowledge and technological advancements which gives anyone with an internet connection the capacity to make money.
On top of this I think women are becoming more active as investors, whether through public and private equities or as business owners, and naturally the upside potential for this is limitless.
So Lottie, if you could give one piece of financial advice, what would it be?
I would simply say be organised and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
I think it’s as straightforward as that, you’d be surprised how many people aren’t organised when it comes to their finances, we think we are, but in reality many people have no idea what is coming or going from their account – which is where the advice and planning bit comes in – never be afraid to ask for help and advice.
Well, thank you Lottie for giving us an insight into The Dura Society, there is only one more question left – What does 2021 look like for The Dura Society and for Lottie Leefe?
Given the year we’ve experienced, it can surely only get better! I have Dura Private launching in Q1 of 2021, which I am really excited about. Dura Private is a collaborative 360-degree approach to wealth. We will help clients make informed decisions and work on their side to intermediate the professional industries required to manage significant levels of wealth.
2021 will very much be about collaboration and I’m putting together a number of events and roundtable discussions with people from across the financial world, I just hope Covid behaves itself so we can actually get to host them in person – watch this space!
Personally, I’m also involved in a Private Equity fund which specialises in companies related to media and content industries. Next year will be a busy one with this as well. A holiday to a deserted tropical beach would be nice too!
You can find out more about The Dura Society by visiting their website – www.thedurasociety.com or follow them on social media:
Facebook: @anotherkindofwealth Twitter: @theDuraSociety
Instagram – @thedurasociety LinkedIn – TheDuraSociety
Email: lottie@thedurasociety.com
