Second Chances with Nelisha Firestone

Christy Belz sits down with Nelisha Firestone — founder and CEO of Firestone Financial Group — for a story about crisis, presence, and the unfinished business of women and wealth. A financial strategist who’s spent two decades helping business owners plan their futures, Nelisha shares how a sudden brain bleed on a Colorado mountainside reordered her priorities, and why she’s convinced women are sitting on more financial power than they realize.

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Key Takeaways

The Roots of the Work: Her father’s rocky business exit and her grandmother’s sudden widowhood at 49 shaped Nelisha’s path into financial planning.
The Day Everything Changed: A pre-season ski day in Breckenridge turned into a sudden subarachnoid hemorrhage and an eight-day hospital stay — landing her in the lucky third who recover fully.
What Survival Reframed: Coming that close to not making it back to her daughters left Nelisha more present and acutely aware that any day can shift on a dime.
Women and the Wealth Gap: With women projected to control 40-45% of retail assets by 2030, Nelisha says the real barrier is discomfort talking about money, not access to it.
The 80% Problem: Most business owners exit with no plan, per Exit Planning Institute research — Nelisha guides clients through valuation and balance sheet strategy years ahead of any sale.
Define the Next Chapter First: Owners who exit without a clear picture of what’s next, Nelisha’s seen, often end up walking back into the business they left.