Money often brings up discomfort, even for accomplished women, and that’s why I started these conversations. My goal is to clear away anxiety around finances and share practical ways to confidently manage money, especially when navigating Real Estate, and to build genuine financial independence. I use my experience as a speaker, author, and coach to guide others and spotlight stories of women who have transformed their approach to wealth.
Our latest episode features Lauri Kibby, a remarkable entrepreneur and investor who has built her success from the inside out. With decades of experience leading companies across male-dominated industries, Lauri brings valuable perspectives on building wealth while maintaining authenticity. Her journey illustrates that true wealth begins with internal work—understanding yourself deeply and addressing your fears—before manifesting as external success in business ventures and investments.
Episode Spotlight: Lauri Kibby
Lauri’s Professional Path and Success
Lauri Kibby stands as a remarkable figure in the business world, having built and led companies across multiple industries throughout her 42-year career. With an MBA from UC Berkeley, she has co-founded industry-shaping ventures and successfully navigated major changes following 9/11. Her impressive portfolio includes raising tens of millions of dollars for large-scale real estate developments.
What makes Lauri’s journey particularly noteworthy is that she has thrived primarily in construction and development—fields dominated by men. For nearly two decades, she was often the only woman in the room. Rather than emulating male communication styles that felt inauthentic to her, Lauri developed her own leadership voice.
“I always saw more than just the one thing that was in front of us to accomplish,” she explains. “I was always looking to the future of how I wanted the team to come together or the project to come together.”
Her approach differs from the linear thinking often found in male-dominated spaces. Lauri focuses on holistic outcomes: “I try to maintain my voice, which is looking at how everybody in the room wins.” This perspective has served her well as she continues to take on major projects, including her current hotel development.
Shifting from Early Careers to Multiple Businesses
Reflecting on her path, Lauri recognized that her entire professional life has unfolded in industries where women rarely had a seat at the table. She began in construction and development when she was in her late 20s, often being the only woman—and frequently the youngest—in the room.
Authenticity became non-negotiable for her. Emulating the direct, sometimes tough communication styles of her male colleagues might have made her journey easier, but it never felt right. Instead, she focused on the future and collaboration, thinking beyond the immediate task. Over time, she discovered how to balance being assertive with staying true to myself.
Here are the 3 keys that helped me thrive in this male dominated industry:
- Staying consistent with my own voice
- Balancing assertiveness with empathy
- Maintaining focus on team and project growth, not just personal achievements
Even after 42 years, developing major projects still brings challenges. There are more women in the field now, but being heard can still be difficult. This requires continual growth and a willingness to view every project and meeting as an opportunity for reinvention.
Building Wealth from Within
Personal Growth as Financial Investment
Investing in ourselves creates the foundation for all external success. When we look deeply within, we can identify and overcome the fears and limiting beliefs that often block our financial progress. True wealth begins with self-understanding – the ability to recognize our patterns, challenge our assumptions, and grow beyond our comfort zones.
At its core, self-investment means developing the courage to examine what drives our financial decisions. Many successful women have discovered that internal barriers like fear and shame present opportunities for significant growth. By working through these challenges, we emerge stronger and more capable of building wealth.
Self-investment doesn’t require perfection, just commitment to ongoing development. This might mean pursuing education, seeking mentorship, or simply dedicating time for reflection. When we prioritize our personal growth, we naturally become more effective in our professional pursuits.
Creating Success on Your Terms
Breaking into male-dominated industries requires maintaining our authentic voice while learning to navigate challenging environments. Rather than emulating aggressive communication styles that don’t feel natural, we can find strength in our different perspectives – seeing beyond immediate goals to more holistic, future-focused outcomes.
Being heard in professional settings often remains challenging for women, even among men who claim to support equality. We’ve found that letting go of ego can be a powerful strategy – focusing on results rather than recognition. When we’re willing to let others believe, an idea is theirs, we can often achieve more meaningful progress.
Success looks different for each of us. The wealthiest life comes from aligning our external achievements with our internal values. By defining wealth on our own terms – whether that means financial freedom, purposeful work, or meaningful relationships – we create sustainable success that truly satisfies.
Leadership in Male-Dominated Fields
Stepping Forward as Women in Leadership
In our decades of experience navigating male-dominated industries, we’ve observed that claiming space requires both internal conviction and strategic presence. When entering rooms where we are often the only woman present, initial intimidation is natural but can become a catalyst for finding our authentic voice. Many of us have faced boardrooms and construction sites where our perspectives were routinely overlooked or dismissed.
The challenge isn’t merely being present but being truly heard. Even today, with increasing representation, we find ourselves battling subtle dismissals from colleagues who verbally support equality but unconsciously sideline our input. Breaking through these barriers requires persistent self-advocacy without apology.
Effective Communication and Finding Your Voice
As women in business, we often face unique challenges when it comes to being heard in professional settings. In male-dominated industries, it’s particularly crucial to develop your authentic voice rather than emulating the communication style of others. We’ve found that maintaining authenticity while speaking up requires practice and intention.
When entering rooms where you might be the only woman present, resist the temptation to adopt a communication style that feels unnatural. Instead, focus on bringing your unique perspective that often includes a broader, less linear view of situations. This difference in approach is your strength.
Being heard doesn’t mean being the loudest in the room. It means developing techniques that ensure your ideas register with others. We’ve discovered that effective communication sometimes means planting seeds of ideas and allowing others to nurture them. This requires confidence in your vision rather than needing credit for every contribution.
Letting Go of Ego for Greater Results
One of the most powerful skills we can develop is detaching our ego from our professional outcomes. When we focus exclusively on getting results rather than receiving recognition, we dramatically increase our effectiveness.
Consider these ego-free approaches:
- Focus on team wins rather than personal victories
- Allow others to champion your ideas as if they were their own
- Measure success by outcomes, not by credit received
The phrase “no skin in the game for making it about me” embodies this mindset perfectly. By removing our ego from professional interactions, we create space for greater collaboration and ultimately better results.
Many career setbacks can be traced to moments when we held too tightly to needing recognition. Conversely, our greatest successes often come when we prioritize the outcome over personal acknowledgment.
This approach requires confidence and security in your own value. When you know your worth internally, you don’t need constant external validation, allowing you to operate with greater strategic effectiveness in business settings.
Key Takeaways
- Financial freedom begins with removing fear and creating simple, effective ways to manage money.
- Building wealth from the inside out requires deep self-awareness and authenticity rather than just pursuing external success.
- Women can succeed in male-dominated industries by maintaining their authentic voice while developing strategic communication skills.
At 69, Lauri’s definition of wealth has evolved to focus on inner richness—the ability to look deeply within, understand what she sees, and use those insights for growth. This internal wealth allows her to show up more fully, overcome fear and shame, and navigate challenges with greater assurance.
Her journey hasn’t been without obstacles. Even today, with more women in professional settings, being truly heard remains challenging. We still encounter men who claim to support equality but unconsciously dismiss women’s perspectives. These experiences have strengthened our resolve to maintain our authentic voice while finding effective ways to communicate.
Through philanthropic work and investing in others, we’ve created a meaningful legacy that transcends business achievements. By sharing our experiences and wisdom, we hope to inspire the next generation of leaders to build success on their own terms.
ABOUT LISA CHASTAIN:
Lisa also uses many tools that she used throughout her money journey and invites you to try them as well. As a first step, she recommends reading her book, Girl, Get Your $hit Together in which she helps women tackle their financial story and shares her entire story. After reading the book, she invites listeners to join the Stop Budgeting System– the very method she used to gain financial freedom and clarity.
ABOUT MY UPCOMING BOOK:
I’m thrilled to share some exciting news with you! My new book, “Stop Budgeting Start Living,” will be released this summer. This project has been a labor of love and represents years of working with women to transform their relationship with money.
In this book, I explore how our financial history shapes our beliefs about money. I’ve found that many women today are still operating under mindsets that were formed generations ago, when our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had little financial power or autonomy.
The book offers practical strategies for:
- Moving from financial dependence to financial power
- Identifying the roots of your money mindset
- Breaking free from restrictive financial patterns
- Creating new pathways for financial success
I believe that understanding where our money beliefs come from is the first step toward changing them. When we recognize that many of our limitations aren’t external “blocks” but rather pathways that haven’t yet been created, we can begin to build new financial futures for ourselves.
This summer release feels particularly meaningful during Women’s History Month, as we reflect on how far women have come financially and how much further we can go. I can’t wait to share this work with you and continue our journey toward financial confidence together.