We all have dreams of what we’ll do when…. What is your dream?
Hi! I’m Liz Lemesevski – I know from working with clients, conversations about money can feel uncomfortable. Part of what makes it uncomfortable is that many business owners don’t understand the language or “jargon” of money. I called my business Money Native because I speak the language of money as if it’s my native tongue. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve been fascinate not so much about accumulating money but how it works.
Like a Sherpa guiding explorers up mountains, I’m here to guide business owners up what can feel like a mountain – business money and how to use it. We’ll work together to build and maintain a healthy cash flow, borrow money at the best interest rates available, and attract investors if you need them.
I do what I do because I like to help good people create and grow good businesses and I’m good at it.
My Money Story
I knew early that money was my vocation.
My first job was counting my parent’s petty cash box for the gas station and repair shop that they owned. I was fascinated by the dollar bills and the quarters. I can’t say that my parents ever made a lot of money. There were some lean times that sucked and maybe that’s why sometimes my brothers and I would stomp around the house singing “If I Were a Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof. The lyrics are seared in my brain “And it won’t make one bit of difference if I answer right or wrong. When you’re rich, they think you really know!”
The Moment of Abundance
After earning my undergraduate degree in Finance & French I moved from rural N.J. to Northern N.J. and started working in Manhattan. I felt like the Country Mouse becoming the City Mouse. My career progressed from tracking lost money down at Philadelphia International Bank; to working on a team at Citibank to sell several high profile buildings in Manhattan including the GE Building and the Plaza Hotel. After Citibank, I decided I wanted to get my MBA and went to work for a firm that paid for it. It was fun to work during the day and learn more about what I was doing at school at night. I remember getting my first paycheck at T.A. McKay & Co. and thinking that I’d never have to worry about paying a bill again. It was my moment of really knowing that there’s abundance in this world. It had more to do with how I changed my view of money than the actual paycheck.
Pick Your Spot and Focus
Once I earned my MBA it was time to leave the NYC area. I found a position in San Diego and my partner Rose and I moved here to be closer to her family. I worked on a team that managed $7 billion dollars. In a nutshell, I focused on finding companies that were poised to make more money this year than they did last year – and invested in them. Most people think that financial markets are just stocks like Google or Apple. But it’s so much deeper and complex. There are a million ways to make money, you just have to pick your spot and focus. I was promoted to the position of Senior Vice President, which was The Top for me. Maybe it was a glass ceiling, or just a shift in priorities.
Next Steps
Now I like to live a balanced life, which includes doing this work to help others get to a feeling of abundance. I really do think it’s mostly about making time to talk about money and making steps up your mountain of choice. I’m here, like a kind of Sherpa, to stay by your side and guide you up a mountain that I’m familiar with. The best tools to climb the mountain are: conversation; focus; negotiation; connections and of course money.