Tara Baker, Founder of Trust - Estate Planning for New Families
Name: Tara Baker
Founder: Trust - Estate Planning for New Families
What's your elevator pitch? (Ie. In one sentence, what do you do?)
My firm, Trust – Estate Planning for New Families, focuses on preparing estate planning (wills, trusts, and other estate planning documents) for young families.
What's your story? Share how you got to where you are and WHY it is you do what you do.
I was working in the estate planning department of a large law firm when my daughter was born. I started meeting a lot of people who understood that once they became parents, they needed a will and an estate plan, but didn’t know where to start and didn’t want to deal with the environment and expense of a large law firm.
And so Trust was born! When most people think of estate planning, an image of an old man with white hair, sitting a mahogany desk with leather bound books behind him reading an old will, comes to mind. But that’s not me! I’m a (young-ish) mom of 4 who loves tennis and paddle! I strive to create a non-intimidating environment for my clients. Estate Planning can be hard to think about and the goal of Trust is to help young families complete this seemingly overwhelming task in a comfortable setting. I do a lot of little things, like encouraging my clients to bring their children to meetings so they don’t have to get a babysitter, to help parents check this off of their never-ending “to-do” list.
What does BEING a FoundHer mean to you?
A FoundHer is someone who brings women, entrepreneurs and otherwise, into the business community.
Estate planning, or just working with an attorney, can seem intimidating to many women, especially when taking care of young children. Just the thought of getting to an attorney’s office with a six-month-old can seem daunting! Although moms generally make the majority of plans for our families, they are often excluded from this type of planning. One of my goals with Trust has been to create a place where both parents can feel comfortable creating their estate plan.
How do you support other female founders and women in business?
Leaving a large firm was tough! I spend a lot of time advising other female attorneys about my experience and sharing my advice about how to start their own practices. And a lot of them have done just that!
What are the first five things that you did when you were starting your business?
1. First, I talked to other female attorneys who started their own firms.
2. Second, I narrowed the scope of my practice. At the large firm, I was serving a lot of different types of clients. For my own practice, I focus on young families.
3. Next, I thought about what I wanted the process to look like for each client.
4. Then, I created a website (it was a lot different in 2011 than it is now!)
5. Started looking for clients (pre-social media!)
Who is someone who has helped change or shape your business for the better and what did they do to help you?
An older female attorney met with me when I was deciding to set up my firm and she told me "don't sell yourself short - just because you are no longer with a large firm does not mean your services should be undervalued." I've always remembered that and it has helped me understand that some potential clients may go elsewhere because of cost, and that's okay.
At what point did you make your company a full time gig? How did you know the time was right?
My practice has grown with me and my family. As my kids have gotten older, I’ve been able to grow my practice.
How did you land your first client?
I got my first client from a mommy-and-me gymnastics class!
What is something you do differently from the industry standard?
When most people think of estate planning, an image of an old man with white hair, sitting a mahogany desk with leather bound books behind him reading an old will, comes to mind. But that’s not me! I’m a (young-ish) mom of 4 who loves tennis and paddle! I strive to create a non-intimidating environment for my clients. Estate Planning can be hard to think about and the goal of Trust is to help young families complete this seemingly overwhelming task in a non-law firm setting. I do a lot of little things, like using a lot of technology and encouraging my clients to bring their children to meetings so they don’t have to get a babysitter, to help parents check this off of their never-ending “to-do” list.
What are three actionable tips you would give with other women who want to start a business or are just getting started?
1. Talk to others in your practice area, especially women. Everyone wants to help, and loves to help, but they need to be asked first.
2. Get a scheduler – this is best tool for keeping your schedule/calendar organized. I use acuity.
3. Get CRM software and automate as much as you can so you’re not doing repetitive tasks.
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