Women own well over 50 percent of the private wealth in this country. Most new businesses are started by women and they have been outperforming men in higher education since 1990. Women are advancing on all fronts of the economy and will be for years to come.

At the same time, the financial services industry that should help to manage this new wealth is still overwhelmingly male. More than 80 percent of financial advisers are men, and many struggle to address the needs of prospective female clients.

Several years ago, I hired a professional coach named Barbara Kay, who at the time was writing her book, "The $14 Trillion Woman: Your Essential Guide to Engaging the Female Client." Barbara was incredibly helpful in sharing how critical it is for me to reposition my business toward female clients. This advice certainly isn't limited to the financial services industry. Any professional services firm should be mindful of this and how it affects its business.

Through Barbara's coaching, I determined that I should bring on a business partner—not just any partner, but rather an accomplished female partner. In my journal, she was called SPPF—Strong Positive Professional Female.

Armed with this idea, I interviewed several top women from Spokane. It was an opportunity to explore potential business partners, but also to better understand their priorities. Listening to their concerns was an eye opening experience. I noticed that although they had several concerns, their frustrations centered around three issues: recognition, doing the work while the credit is attributed to a male colleague; supportive workplace environment, experienced inappropriate comments and suggestions; and leadership skills, when they show themselves to be strong and talented, many men get intimidated.

I thought about how these three concerns fit together, and it dawned on me that all three issues could be handled with one simple word: respect. If I made respecting women the cornerstone of my business plan going forward, it would address all three concerns in one step.

If respect was to be the cornerstone of how I work with female clients, listening was going to be the means of showing that respect.

The waves of professional women that are moving up the ranks of business appreciate this. They understand that listening to clients helps them resolve their financial issues and build stronger client relationships. Most women know that resolving an issue is not as simple as taking a step forward, but many men look to solve the problem too quickly. It's much more compelling to work with your client to review the options available, and come to a consensus on how to move forward.

Instead of dictating the course of action, it becomes a dialogue that empowers the client and strengthens the relationship with the client. In short, to work with and recruit more top women, businessmen need to take a page from their playbook and embrace listening.

That being said, increasing the number of women at the top takes more than just listening. For several years, I was on the school board of the Central Valley School District, and we were always mindful of ways to increase the diversity of our staff.

However, we didn't see the results we were looking for until the top of the organization, including the school board and superintendent, got behind the effort. For change to happen, diversity has to be an organizational priority delivered from the top.

Business leaders need to be proactive in this respect. McKinsey & Co., a well-known management consulting firm, has researched the impact of women on companies since 2007. It has found consistently over the years that companies with the highest percentage of women show the best performance.

Its 2010 study found that the top-quartile of companies in terms of share of women in executive committees exceed companies with all-male executive committees by 41 percent in return on equity and by 56 percent in operating results. Businesses leaders of Spokane in all industries, not just in financial services, should make the decision to recruit, train, and support top women.

After 25 years in the financial services business, I can see the end of the road. I already have a full practice. It would be easy to glide into retirement. Instead, I am choosing to focus on this vastly underserved female market.

My goal is to be a part of the solution, where we in business do a better job of not only working with female clients, but also female professionals and colleagues.

In a money-driven economy, we need to stand for higher values.

I am proud to say that I am fortunate to have found a wonderful business partner. Her name is Jillian Bell, and she is a Spokane native.Jillian was a nonprofit development director for many years and brings that same heart for helping people to our business. Her most recent experience was with the Make-A-Wish Foundation here in Spokane.

After working together for two years, this past week we signed an agreement to become partners. We hope to reach out to the women of Spokane and grow our business together.

Our motto is "Faith, Family and Community—Financial solutions for what matters most." To that end, we have been listening to women business leaders to gather their feedback on various things, including the financial issues they face and what it takes to be successful in today's economy. We have found that professional women are balancing a lot between family and work responsibilities and have unique financial planning needs.

It is my hope that by hiring, training, mentoring, and promoting talented women, we can make a difference in my company, in Spokane, and throughout the financial services industry.