Niina’s Story
Niina was born in beautiful Finland where she grew up spending lots of time on her grandparents farm, where her grandma, a bee-keeper, a farmer and a cattle woman, taught her all about the beauty of the natural world.
Thirty four years ago, having majored in international banking, Niina came to the USA where she met the father of her children and got married. Right out of business school, Niina morphed into a hard-charging career woman. She started her first business in 1988 exporting vintage sports cars to Europe and continued her studies earning a CFP (Certified Financial Planner) in all matters financial. For many years, she worked as Wealth Manager for a firm catering to High-Net-Worth individuals and foundations. Niina was the only woman at the weekly board meetings, packed with stereotypical “Wolves of Wall Street”. An environment which did not feel right as Niina’s clientele were mostly women whom she deeply cared for and who became lifelong friends. When the Wall Street Journal reported that there was a deep gap between the funds a woman retires with compared to that of a man, Niina dove deeper into financial psychology, creating a workshop that not only addressed the nuts and bolts of investing in long term, but dove into the spiritual and emotional side of money.
”We females have a very different approach to our financial planning. The entire model they teach us at business school is too linear, too much about analysis, strategies and action steps. We women create in circular motion and we thrive in connecting with others and in generating inspiration and energy together to reach higher.”
Niina left wealth management and financial advising to others as her real passion lies in helping business owners in a more holistic way. Her gift is to see her client’s total spectrum of strengths and talents. Since 2015, she is the owner of her own counseling business. Niina also divested her funds and owns retail and restaurant spaces in historical districts in downtown Cody and Red Lodge. In her spare time, Niina runs a charity, Aurora’s Garden Charity, to lift single mothers out of poverty through financial literacy and micro loans. Presently, her biggest love is running the unique Barrows Z3 Retreat Center near Cody with her husband Dave.
The Circle of Business Women idea was born during one women’s retreat Niina attended, where she and other open minded women, had a deep discussion of what it meant to build a heart-centered business, and how to find the courage to flip the patriarchal ways of doing business in order to cultivate one’s own personal and spiritual growth. “At this stage of my life, my spiritual practice is the most important to me, as is building a community of open-minded, loving women who can count on each other for support and encouragement.”
