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In this heartfelt and thoughtful episode of Her Life, Her Practice, Her Way, Tara sits down with Larissa Costello, founder of Protea Wealth Management, to explore the winding path that led her from South Africa to Australia to the U.S.—and from stay-at-home mom to passionate financial advisor. With warmth, honesty, and clarity, Larissa shares how her deeply human approach to advising is grounded in relationships, mindfulness, and lived experience.
What makes Larissa’s story shine is how fully she integrates her whole self into her work. Whether she’s connecting with clients through yoga, building a practice around the values of resilience and care, or attracting aligned clients through authentic marketing—Larissa shows us what it means to lead with integrity and heart. As a yoga teacher-in-training, she also brings mindfulness and presence into every client conversation—on and off the mat.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone who’s ever wondered if it’s too late to reinvent themselves—or whether they have to choose between a heart-centered life and a numbers-driven career. Larissa reminds us that you can have both.
Key Themes & Takeaways
- Reinvention is always possible: Larissa became a financial advisor after staying home with her kids for a decade.
- Authenticity attracts: She built her practice around who she is, and her clients are often reflections of that.
- Soft skills are technical skills: Larissa’s empathy, listening, and life experience are core to how she helps clients.
- Being good with money starts with identity: Changing behavior with money or anything else, starts with changing how we see ourselves.
- Balance over scale: She values showing up fully for her clients more than building a huge firm.
- Support matters: She’s grown with the help of masterminds, coaching, and a tight-knit network.
Highlights
- Larissa’s solo backpacking journey at 22 that shaped (or highlights?) her openness and curiosity and love of people, travel and adventures
- How she fell into financial advising after googling “wealth management” one day
- Launching Protea Wealth Management and the powerful symbolism behind the South African protea flower
- Her “too hard basket” philosophy: break down what feels overwhelming into digestible steps
- Why she doesn’t jump on “one-size-fits-all” coaching frameworks and instead trusts her presence
