Created: 7/31/2007 7:11:06 AM 
By Deanna Fené First Coast News
PONTE VEDRA, FL -- More and more women are starting their own businesses. It's a trend that's happening worldwide including here on the First Coast. One local woman entrepreneur has a successful wealth management business in a male dominated industry.
Kristin McLaughlan is a mom who does it all. She has five children and she runs her own company.
"It's Legacy and Trust and we are a multi-family office. We manage money and investments, estate plans for families for the wealthiest families probably in Ponte Vedra and in the Jacksonville area," said Kristin McLaughlan.
She started the company five years ago and it continues to grow. Right now, they've got about a quarter of a billion dollars under management and she expects that to double in the next couple of years. "It's a good size company and we're continuing to grow."
Before starting her own company, McLaughlan worked for big corporations but wanted more balance in her life, more time to spend with her family. "It's a lot of work and you have to have a lot of drive to really sit back and say 'I'm giving up time initially in the back end to hopefully get the time with my family and outside of work I want.'"
It hasn't been easy especially in an industry dominated by men. "I'm sort of under the radar so to speak because people think, 'oh that's the little business she started.'"
In the end, she's getting everything she's ever wanted. Her company continues to grow and her family is also benefiting from her success. "It's been a great experience for our whole family. It makes me a better mom. I'm happier being able to come to work and do what I do and then go home and be a mom."
The demands of family and work have a lot of women looking for ways to make their own money and women are discovering they can be a success on their own terms.
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