CAPE NATIVE'S FIRM FINDS UNIQUE NICHE IN FINANCIAL EDUCATION

Ellie Williams came across a consistent phenomenon when she was working as brokerage manager for Mark Twain Bancshares in St. Louis.

Customers with whom the former Cape Girardean worked knew little about what to do with the money they earned and were scared at the thought of investing.

She mentioned it to a co-worker, St. Louisan Diane Pearl, who was having the same experience in directing Mark Twain's investment clubs. After research, they found that few resources were available to give people impartial financial education on managing their money.

A spark ignited. After leaving Mark Twain, the two formed a company called Moneywise in May 1990, to fill the unfulfilled need. Three months later, a third, former Mark Twain comrade, Linda Bryant, joined the team.

"As far as we know, no one else does what we do in this area, possibly in the U.S.," Williams said.

One informal survey of the firm's prosperity could be gauged every Monday morning during the weekly business meeting. The partners agreed to treat themselves to chocolate when revenue exceeded projections (champagne on the really good weeks) or just chips and salsa otherwise.

Lately, more chocolate wrappers have been in the wastebaskets than chips bags. First fiscal-year revenue was less than $50,000, which allowed a profit, but the second year may reach the six-figure level.

The relatively new enterprise was featured prominently last week in two business-oriented St. Louis publications: the St. Louis Business Journal featured Moneywise in a full-page article in its "Woman" publication; two days later, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch told of the business in an article in its Business Plus section.

The University of Missouri-Columbia alumni magazine featured Williams and her firm in its spring issue.

Williams quietly discounts the media exposure, but acknowledges that it has resulted in a flood of inquiries producing bookings through October.

She went to work for Mark Twain Bancshares Inc., immediately after graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1984, with a bachelor of science degree in business administration. The 1980 Central High School graduate spent one summer attending classes at Southeast Missouri State University.

"I always had an affinity for math," said Williams, 29. "But I was not interested in finance when I was a student at Central High. I was not directed at the time."

She is the daughter of Rob and Donne Williams of Cape Girardeau. Her older brother, Greg Williams, is chief financial officer for a restaurant chain in Dallas.

Talking in a clipped, Clayton accent that she has acquired since leaving Cape Girardeau, Williams credits much of Moneywise's success to the partners' positive and enthusiastic attitudes. Although she puts in 55 to 60 hours a week, the work is not drudgery.

"We are having a wonderful time," she said. "We don't take ourselves too seriously. We teach important financial information but we want to be approachable. We enjoy working with people and feeling we have helped them."

She also credits their ability to draw upon one another's strengths. The resulting synergy creates a whole greater than the sum of the parts, she says.

"The common thread among us is our financial backgrounds and that all three have been self-supporting in our lives," Williams said. "Supporting ourselves independently gives us a good perspective for our customers."

Originally the firm was geared toward women. Williams said, "We felt the need for women to be educated in financial matters since about 85 percent of all women will be on their own sometime in their lives. But we found not only women were interested. Now our customer base is not gender-specific; it's about a 50-50 ratio."

The women's first project in Moneywise was creating a handbook for personal, financial management. "Organize with Moneywise" aids families in getting away from the shoe box method of record-keeping. The three women are looking for a publisher for a 90-page book they have written. They already have sold more than 500 copies of the book at $20 each.

Moneywise offers custom-tailored financial workshops to businesses. Williams said, "What makes our workshops different is that we are not selling a particular investment product. Most workshops are designed with the intent of selling a product. It's hard for their teaching to be objective with that."

One of the concepts they provide is for people to obtain as much information as possible before making an investment. (See accompanying story.) "Many people spend more time deciding on a new refrigerator than on an investment," she said.

Williams has a number of maxims on investments and financial matters:

"People take time to make money but not to keep it. It's not so important how much you make as how much you keep."

"You need to know where you are and where you are going financially."

"People are frightened by the diversity of investments available, which can be intimidating. So some do nothing at all."

"People who take control of their investments have the best results. No one will take care of your nest egg like yourself."

Customers for the firm's service vary widely.

"There are no demographics for the typical customer," said Williams. "They are as young as ninth-graders and (as old as) retirees in their 80s. They come from all income levels. We cover a wide gamut. We have done brown-bag lunches, retirement programs, and investment presentations for investment groups."

A father brought in his two sons, both college students, for a one-on-one primer on money management from them.

The fees vary, depending on the sort of program involved. Moneywise charges $75 an hour for personal consultation, $75 for a 3.5-hour group workshop, or $25 per person per hour for any other program.