She started doing the payroll for her father's business at age 8. From that point on, Francesca Zampaglione has forged a path by listening to her heart and working with her strengths. A first generation Italian-American raised with the values of hard work, entrepreneurism, and always being herself, Francesca has traveled a path that was planned, but also adapted to circumstances as they occurred. Her strong corporate accounting background supports her entrepreneurial endeavors. Learn more about this amazing woman, one of The Luckiest People in the World. www.theluckiestpeopleintheworld.com
Reach Francesca through her website, DressedSmart.com, or at styledbyfz@gmail.com
TRANSCRIPTION
This is changing the rules, a podcast about designing the life you want to live, hosted by KC Dempster and Ray Loewe, the luckiest guy in the world.
KC Dempster 0:13
Good morning, everybody. This is KC Dempster. And I'm here with Ray Loewe in our wonderful Wildfire Podcast Studios in Woodbury, New Jersey. And we are enjoying a spring like day, it's in the 40s. We're so happy. It's only gonna last today, though. But anyway, this is a podcast about designing your own life and living it the way you want to live. And that's what we love to talk about. So Ray, good morning.
Ray Loewe 0:40
Good morning. And see there's no lull here because we're live in the studio.
KC Dempster 0:44
That is correct.
Ray Loewe 0:45
And real quickly, a kind of a commercial for wildfire over here, because we couldn't do it without them. We have no idea how to do a podcast. And we've done 50 to a home or something like that. And we don't have to know because the wonderful people at Wildfire just lead us through it. Yeah, everything is done. And Taylor takes care of life. Yes. Yeah. Okay. So anyway, you started saying that we're here because we're interviewing the people who create their own lives, and then live them the way they want. And we have a great guest for that today. And we have Francine and I'm going to go
KC Dempster 1:24
Whoa, whoa, whoa,
Ray Loewe 1:25
Francesca,
KC Dempster 1:26
that would be better. See,
Ray Loewe 1:27
I knew you when I set you up, but chance to correct me.
KC Dempster 1:32
That's what I live for.
Ray Loewe 1:33
So if you thought that was one, wait until we get to the last name here. So so let me introduce Francesca Zampaglione. A
KC Dempster 1:42
excellent. We just had an Italian lesson this morning, everyone how to pronounce her last name properly.
Ray Loewe 1:48
And Francesco. Welcome to Changing the Rules. And did we butcher your name too badly?
Francesca Zampaglione 1:54
No, you did a great job and thank you for having me.
Ray Loewe 1:56
Okay, so you got to tell the story about your name before we get started
Francesca Zampaglione 2:00
the story that I just told you about what it means. Yeah, so the the Italian lesson that the studio received today was that the G and the L when it's together in a word is a soft g like familia like family in Italian like la familia that restaurant Philadelphia. So if you translate that into my last name, it's Zampaglione, and not Zam pag Leone, I often have to say it that way. Right? Because it, there's a lot of letters and people become overwhelmed, but it's something unique. And we did a great job.
Ray Loewe 2:33
And we wouldn't have any idea. But what does it mean?
Francesca Zampaglione 2:36
Ah, it means Lion's paw. So zampa is a Paul in Italian and Leona is a lion. So lions, Paul, and to know the language, the adjectives come after the noun. So that's why it's Paw lion, not Zam, right. Right? So the attitude comes after she
Ray Loewe 2:57
those of us who have German and Hungarian descent don't have that problem. Just a lie and pure because that's what my last name mean. So we're obviously going to do some roaring today. So let's get started. Let's get started. So so we want to start of what what we're going to do today is we're going to take you through the journey that we went through kind of our prep interview earlier, and because it's a great journey, and it is a perfect jury for showing the world why you're one of the luckiest people in the world because you've taken control of your life. The early part was kind of constrained for you, by the way, it was set up and you've broken free and you're now on a rampage to freedom and living life the way you would love to live it right indeed. Did I do that? Okay.
KC Dempster 3:44
Yes, you did. Okay,
Ray Loewe 3:45
so let's start. Your parents came to the US.
Francesca Zampaglione 3:48
They did. They immigrated here in 1960, with my sister who was two years old at the time. And she taught them English, actually,
KC Dempster 3:57
oh, that's hysterical.
Francesca Zampaglione 3:58
So as she learned English. She taught them English. And they were entrepreneurs. My father was a Mason. He was an amazing, incredible Mason. My mother was a seamstress. So they took they brought over their trades, and they knew and that's some pretty incredible work.
Ray Loewe 4:16
And they kind of ingrain that entrepreneurial ism into you, I think, right and DNA,
Francesca Zampaglione 4:23
its DNA. Yeah. That the hard work ethic. Yes. The resiliency, the tenacity. These are things that I saw growing up and that helped formed my future, right? That's right. And
KC Dempster 4:35
just a little aside, Italian is your first language.
Francesca Zampaglione 4:38
Italian is my first language. Thank you, KC. So at the time, my grandparents my mother's parents who I'm named after Francesca, and Carmelo, my mother's parents lived with us until I was six and then they went back to Italy full time. Okay.
Ray Loewe 4:55
Okay, and so Italian was spoken at home
Francesca Zampaglione 4:59
Italian spoken. At home,
Ray Loewe 5:00
and you were telling me that you were doing your father's payroll when you were eight years old. This is important because it has to do
KC Dempster 5:09
with a stepping stone
Ray Loewe 5:10
with your the pattern of where you went. So, so yeah, so you were the Mad accountant at home.
Francesca Zampaglione 5:15
I was. And at eight years old, I didn't believe the story myself. And I had to ask my best friend and I said, was I only eight? Or was i 10? She said, No, you're eight years old. And your father would bring you inside and said that you had to make the payroll checks. So that was my first first job. But the best part, I don't know if I shared this. I got to write a check for myself. That was the deal.
That was The deal?
Ray Loewe 5:41
Talk about incentives. Right? Awesome. Okay, so show. You had this accounting background instilled in you early, and then you were the first one in your family to go to college. Is that true?
Francesca Zampaglione 5:52
That is true. Yeah, my older sister went, but she never got to finish because she had a personal injury. And she went to, to attend an associate's degree. So she didn't go for a Bachelor's. So she wasn't able to finish when she started. And then she got married. And that that was her life and everything. So. So it was interesting. fighting the battle to convince my father that I was going to finish the job. Yeah, I was there from start to finish. Right
Ray Loewe 6:20
Wait a minute, you finish the paychecks, didn't you?
Francesca Zampaglione 6:23
Yeah, but school was a different thing. Yeah. You
KC Dempster 6:25
know, and, and I, you know, I'm not sure where you fall in generationally, but I know when I was growing up, although women or girls did go to college, it was for very limited career options. And the expectation really, was that you were going to find a husband and get married, and stay home and have a family.
Francesca Zampaglione 6:46
Right. And where my parents came from, it wasn't expected at all because they didn't attend university and the education system in Italy is completely different. So there was zero expectation from an education perspective. Right on my side.
Ray Loewe 7:02
Yeah. Okay, so we got to get this on the table because you and KC went to the same college.
KC Dempster 7:08
Yes, we did. Yes. We found out we're alums. Show. And I suspect our graduation years are a little different.
Ray Loewe 7:17
Oh, you suspect? Okay. Well, I'll they're different. We'll just make that firm. So anyway, you both went to Widener, right? Yeah. You both got through and then on. You took Francesca what probably was a natural course in a sense, because you went into the accounting field, right? I did. And you went into one of the one I was in the accounting business. We had a big 8. I know when you were in there. What was it a big two and a half or actually,
Francesca Zampaglione 7:47
they had just started the merging process. So I interned with Touche Ross. And then I was the first class of Deloitte and Touche because they merged while I was wrapping up my senior year at Widener.
Ray Loewe 8:03
Okay, so here you are, now you're a college grad, congratulations, okay. And you're at one of the largest public accounting firms following the footsteps of writing payroll check. Alright, and that's nowhere where you are now
Francesca Zampaglione 8:22
that is nowhere where I am now. But
Ray Loewe 8:24
so what broke?
Francesca Zampaglione 8:27
Well, you know, there were a couple of steps on the way before entrepreneurship started in 2017. So I started at a big, now it's a big four. So I started at Deloitte work there for about a decade went with one of one of their subsidiaries then went to a CPA Association, which is where
KC Dempster 8:48
that that's where we met you.
Francesca Zampaglione 8:50
Right, which we didn't realize until we were prepping for this Podcast.
KC Dempster 8:54
It was an amazing story. We had met you. And I knew it had to do with accounting, but I wasn't sure. Where, right.
Francesca Zampaglione 9:02
And then at the association, I was in charge of learning and development for CPAs. So even though I didn't practice accounting anymore, I kept the interest because it was easy enough to do so. I needed to test out the materials and the courses. So it helped me do my job, right. But while I was there, I created a course, which is what we'll get to in a few minutes.
Ray Loewe 9:26
So that was an evil course that started you on a different course. Yeah.
Francesca Zampaglione 9:33
Yep, it piqued an interest,
KC Dempster 9:35
yes
Ray Loewe 9:35
or no, no, this was interesting up to this point, because I think a lot of people get stuck in kind of a rut of a job. And certainly when you were working at the accounting firm, I mean, this was a prestigious job. This was a great job. And when you start thinking about, you know, the unstructured roots of college and your family and stuff like that, You're obviously successful getting to where you are. But obviously, something didn't make you happy here.
Francesca Zampaglione 10:07
Well, it's didn't make me happy. Well, I
Ray Loewe 10:12
just Well, you can change those words,
Francesca Zampaglione 10:14
I can change those words. Right? It was just time for the next thing. Right? It was just time to move on. And, you know, things change within industries. Let's go back to public accounting, there was a lot, there are a lot of hours that you have to put in Oh, yeah, I mean, tremendous amount of, there's very little balance, there's more. And those are decisions that people make and that are often okay with. So it was, there was a time for me to move on from there, right. And then working for the association. I thought that was fantastic. Because accounting was great. And I developed amazing relationships. But I knew that that wasn't the end all be all right? I knew that when I went into accounting, that it's the basis of all business, and that is the decision that I stayed with. And that knowing that that would help me in my future.
Ray Loewe 11:07
Okay, but the important thing, I think, here is that you weren't afraid to make the change. You know, we find so many people that get stuck in, you know, that Good job, or at least that job, that's okay, it pays the bills, and it's prestige. It's got everything there that everybody on the surface would like, except there are too many hours and you're working too hard. Yeah. Okay. And you weren't afraid to say, Okay, it's time to make a change, and it's time to set a plan. Okay. So let's take the next step. So you went through the, the CPA firm, you went through the association, one of the things that you did while you were at the association was designed this course. And I think this is probably a good time to talk about the course a little bit because it set the stage for where you're going.
Francesca Zampaglione 11:55
That's right. So I kept in touch with all of the accounting partners that I was working with, because like I said, I developed incredible relationships. So I was having a very casual relationship or conversation with someone. And I said, so how are things going? And he goes, Oh, gosh, Francesca, these millennials, they don't know how to dress. I said, What do you mean? Well, you know, the, the young men, they don't shave their face, and I have to keep shaving cream and a razor in my desk drawer to get them out to the client. And it goes, I can't even talk to the young woman. And we can't really have these conversations. Because, you know, it's a tough conversation, right? Well I'll tell them. So I created a presentation, delivered it and it went over well, and then other accounting firms heard about it, and I went there, and colleges and universities. And basically, it's delivering the message of how important your image is in your career success and how important the decisions that you make every morning, and putting on that outfit of the day, how that's the perception that people are going to have whether you're smart or not, whether you're good enough to do the work, right. And KC, you and I talked about this, it's in how we're dealing with it today, during the pandemic and everything being virtual, it's a mindset, and how we still prepare ourselves regardless, right?
KC Dempster 13:15
I had said that it is foreign to me the concept of working in my pajamas. And I had worked at home prior to the, to this whole pandemic thing in a couple of different scenarios. And I always got dressed before I sat down to my computer. I just it's just I felt like, now I'm ready to go to work.
Francesca Zampaglione 13:38
Right? It's a mindset. And, you know, we were all scared last March. So march of 2020, we didn't know what to expect. So I can understand a lot of people not sure how to make the transition from their bedroom to their other room, right. But now we've had that time. And what makes us feel good is getting up taking a shower, brushing our teeth and sitting down at our desk, we still have to go through the same motions, right. In fact, I don't know if I shared with you that I've created a fake commute. So I don't have to commute anymore, right? Like You I started working from home prior to the pandemic, but I just needed something extra. And that's something extra is going for my cup of coffee. So I listen to my podcasts in the morning and it's beautiful because there's no traffic, right? And in fact, if there is traffic, I'm grateful for them. Like Yes, another two minutes on the podcast. So this these are just things that I do to help me prepare right
KC Dempster 14:42
It gets you in the right mental space. Exactly.
Ray Loewe 14:45
Okay, so you're building on this and I'm not sure what came first year, but but you've gone through several phases of transition away from the CPA environment. So I think one of the things that you did is you got into the clothing business. To some extent, and that's, that's an extension of how to dress right an
Francesca Zampaglione 15:02
That's an extension of how to dress. So that's the actually the first thing that I did when I left corporate right that in that thank you for bringing that up. So I had the opportunity to work with corporate and women who were my target, you know, they were too busy to shop and just needed that right appropriate outfit for meetings and presentations. So I carried a certain line of clothing and was able to work with my clients that way and clean out their closets, and just help them feel good about their day. Right. But it's still all about the image. That is what has stayed with me to create the course. So that was the gap that you just asked me to fill.
Ray Loewe 15:41
So yeah, no, no, we had another kind of disturbance in the force here. Because somebody knew what you did, and asked a favor of you. And we're gonna get to how this is all coming together in your life today. But But talk a little bit about the the estate problem, ah, dwell on this, because it's fascinating. Okay,
Francesca Zampaglione 16:07
thank you. So and that's a great segue. So I was helping corporate women clean out their closets. So I developed a number of relationships with consignment shop owners, right. So a good friend of mine kept a stack of my business cards in her shop. In the event that someone came in and said, You know, I really don't know how to go through my thing. So she would hand them my card. But this one particular instance, she handed out my card, and she called me immediately, and she said, Francesca, there's someone who just came in here, and I'm wondering, actually, I'm pretty sure you can help him, his mother passed away. And he doesn't know what's consignable, and you know, where things should go. And I think you can help him. I said, Okay, so we connected. And then I went to the home a couple of days later. And there were there were a lot of things that his mother's things had not been touched. So I'm sneezing alot. And noticing there's a significant amount of dust on the dust bags, which you typically don't say, I'm also noticing secretly, and I didn't say it out loud, that the styles were from a while ago, at least 10 years. So after about four hours, I said, so how long ago did your mother pass away? And he said 2006
Ray Loewe 17:30
G, so and nobody was dealing with us?
Francesca Zampaglione 17:33
Nobody dealt with it, right. And then the accounting brain kicked in. And I'm calculating the loss of investment income here, because of all the money that went into real estate, property and maintenance and everything that had to happen to keep that property alive. And who knows paying off the mortgage or whatever, right? So my heart sank to the floor. And I said, Oh, my gosh, this poor family, because at the time, they were still struggling with what to let go. Right? So after all of that time, which is, you know, close to a decade and a half at the time, you would think some people are ready, but they still weren't ready. It was still difficult. And the other thing so they had the emotional overwhelm. So that's point number one. Point number two was they lived nowhere near their childhood home. son lives on the west coast. The daughter lives in New York. So it's not like it's around the corner. It's not like it's a weekend jaunt to, you know, our house. And let's clean it out. Right? So I started to ask questions about, you know, is there a need? And are there people that need this type of work just to help them get started, they just maybe need a conversation, to think about where to start, and I can help guide them. And the first name that popped into my head was Estate Angels. And I said, that's it. But then I started having a conversation with others like, Oh, no, you don't want to use that word angels that it has a religious denomination. So I fought myself with this thought and then shared it with my hairstylist who said, Oh, no, no one had a problem with Charlie's Angels in the 70s. That is Your name
so no, he said that was your first name. I said, Yeah, just popped into my head. He said, that's it. So actually, yeah, here's my business card.
Ray Loewe 19:22
So I knew when we started this conversation that I had died and gone to heaven. Oh,
Francesca Zampaglione 19:28
you did
KC Dempster 19:28
what a silver tongued devil
Ray Loewe 19:31
you know, let's think about this. Because this is a magnificent story, you know that this is people often get trapped in life. And this is one of the the missions of our show and the missions of what we do. It's, it's all about taking control of your life and sometimes it starts with being observant. It starts with understanding what you like and what you don't like. It understand with the freedom to be able to work the way you want to work. And this is you, this is where you're at. So So what we've done is all this started because of millennials, right?
KC Dempster 20:14
It started because she's a fashionista.
Francesca Zampaglione 20:19
Well, thank you for mentioning that it is it's a matter of awareness, right? You have to pay attention to certain things, I could have just ignored that phone call from that consignment shop owner, I could have just ignored the need that this that this family had. But I looked at it and you know, you need to, to listen to your heart and say, Where can you be a value to others, right? Because I truly believe that we are all here for a reason, and that we're all here to help others. So right, what is that? And how can I do that? Personally, with what I know, what are my innate natural things, in ways that I can help? And that's how I've come up with that. These nice ideas.
KC Dempster 21:02
And and so so now there's even another entrepreneur entrepreneurial, bent. Yep. And that you are developing online courses
Francesca Zampaglione 21:11
I am. So I'm a course creator. So it's been a lot of fun. I spent the summer teaching myself the software that that makes the course available. And I will and this is just, well, it's public knowledge now, because I'm putting it on the podcast, but I will probably develop on for Estate Angels as well. Because it's all a learning process, and how can I share information that I know that can help others, right, so now that I have that learning under my belt, I can also do it for other businesses,
Ray Loewe 21:45
right. So unfortunately, we're getting near the end of our time, your time flies when you're having fun. I don't know how. But you know, thanks for being here and sharing your journey. Because, you know, there's some key points, you obviously are designing your life the way you want to design it, and you're living it. And you're not letting traditional rules get in your way. I think one of the other things that came out here is that you have a tendency to follow what's fascinating and motivating. These, these are all mindsets of the luckiest people in the world. So welcome to the luckiest people in the world. You may not have known you were one before, but you are. And you're not trapped in the in the in the whole system here. So since we're at the end of their time, KC, do you have any final remark? Well,
KC Dempster 22:31
I was just going to ask Francesca to share how people can reach out to her, especially with the online courses, which are for dressing smart for interviews and things along that line. And if they're interested in that, how would they access it?
Francesca Zampaglione 22:46
Thank you, KC. So I will be making the link available on LinkedIn, which is where I'll be posting this podcast link as well. And that's where people that is the best place for people to find me. I'm updating my website to host that public link. So that'll be available. You know, momentarily, so I hate to say right timestamp. So right now, the course is available, but I'm making the public link available through LinkedIn. Okay. And it is Dress Smart for Virtual Interviews. And all of my work has been copy written. That is another thing that I went for on my own. And I'm pretty happy about that. Dress Smart for Virtual Interviews, Dressing to Win. So to continue their career success and closet tips again, to all embrace the importance of image for career success. Excellent
Ray Loewe 23:37
and any last minute comments you have.
Francesca Zampaglione 23:39
I can't thank you enough. This has been tremendous for reaching out and, and just acknowledging that I indeed am the luckiest person alive you had did ask me. So what is the takeaway? What do I want to leave people with? So if there's nothing else, right? If people just listen to their heart, that's what I ask in that is what has helped me move forward. Listen to what you want, and just start moving towards it. And little by little, you will get there. Right?
Ray Loewe 24:15
Well, there's nothing more to say. So sign off for us.
KC Dempster 24:19
Okay. Well, thank you all for joining us. I hope you really enjoyed Francesca's message, and tune in next week when we will have an amazing visit with a filmmaker. And that's all I'm going to tell you right now. So tune in next week. And thank you for joining us.
Kris Parsons 24:36
Thank you for listening to Changing the Rules a podcast designed to help you live your life the way you want and give you what you need to make it happen. Join us next week for our next exciting topic on Changing the Rules with KC Dempster and Ray Loewe, the luckiest guy in the world.