Financing Ambition - A Personal Finance Podcast from Laurel Road Laurel Road

Julia Eze, MSN, RN, NP-C, a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and entrepreneur, talks about what led her to a career in nursing, and her early experiences in the COVID-19 pandemic. She also offers insightful perspectives on the lack of diversity in the US healthcare system, and shares her thoughts on how the industry can improve experiences for under-represented patients with greater diversity on both sides of the bed.

Dr. Jennifer Tsai, optometrist and social media influencer, talks to us about her experiences with opening a practice during the COVID crisis. She offers her perspective on how to operate a private practice while the doors are closed, what the reality of federal funding has been like, and how she’s managed to make ends meet. Dr. Tsai also shares a personal account of how she has been affected by racism towards Asian-Americans during the global pandemic. Lastly, she share tips on how physicians can build their “digital resume” to attract new customers via social media.

As states begin to re-open and we all hope for the best, businesses large and small have a long road ahead. Yet despite the unknowns, stories of creativity, perseverance, and empathy are everywhere. For this episode, We unpack the outlook for the future on both coasts with Lauren Herpich, owner and operator of a popular food tour group in Oakland, CA, and Rob Byrnes, president of East Midtown Partnerships, an economic development partnership overseeing one of Manhattan’s busiest small business districts.

Is necessity the mother of invention? What might be the silver linings of this pandemic, if any? We chat with Dr. Akhilesh Sista, Dr. Michael Schaefer, and ICU Nurse Katie Taylor, all affiliated with NYU’s Langone Medical Center at the center of the epidemic in NYC, on topics spanning from the nature of the disease, to its widespread medical and financial impacts on a very uncertain future. Amidst the chaos of the moment, we unpack the positive implications of dramatic change in the world forever altered by the novel coronavirus. We also discuss how doctors feel about their student loan debt during these trying economic circumstances.

We speak with Hannah Galin, Laurel Road’s rates and pricing maven, to uncover what near zero federal interest rates mean, and if taking out debt right now is the right thing to do. We also speak with Ken Raskin of KeyBank who, with his extensive experience advising clients through financial emergencies, shares his wisdom on how to stay financially and mentally sound in these trying times.

Netflix’s new show, “Love Is Blind,” has pushed the boundaries on what couples reveal to one another in their early relationships. Underscoring this radical honesty is a recent Laurel Road survey showing that it’s no longer taboo for millennial and Gen Z. couples to discuss their financial baggage. Learn from our guest Alyssa Schaefer on how to position your relationship for success through openness and vulnerability around one of life’s touchiest subjects: your money.