Life & Work with Emily Dyer-Wolfe of Colorado

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Dyer-Wolfe.

Hi Emily, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Up until 2022, when my husband and I moved to Colorado, I had spent most of my life living in Memphis, Tennessee. My mother, father and I, moved there from California when I was 11 to be closer to my mothers family, as her parents were aging and we wanted to support them as much as possible. Memphis has its share of problems, and the cultural adjustment from southern California was challenging, even as a kid, but my life would not be what it is today without the people and experiences that it gave me.

I have always been a very driven and passionate person. When I set my mind to something, I do everything I can to make it happen. Growing up, I spent most of my free time pursuing theatre and music performance. By the time I was in high school, I was singled minded in my pursuit of a theatre performance career.

After auditioning and being admitted to a few BFA programs, I settled on a school and set out to earn a BFA in Musical Theatre. Throughout undergrad, I enhanced my skills in musical theatre performance and discovered a natural affinity for scenic art as well.

Early in my senior year of undergraduate, I experienced a back injury in a dance class At the time, I had no idea how serious it really was, so I let it rest for a couple weeks and got back to my classes as soon as I could .The pain from the injury returned and rapidly worsened as I did my best to complete my coursework. I ended up seeing several doctors to determine whether there was something more serious going on, but they all continued to assure me that it would go away with stretching and rest.

As months went by, the chronic pain began to affect every aspect of my life. I felt helpless, frustrated and defeated. I was at a point where I couldn’t walk without severe pain. Finally, I decided to try going to a chiropractor to see if they could at least help with pain management to get me through my final exams. The chiropractor immediately knew something was very wrong. He sent me for an MRI the next day and referred me to a spinal specialist.

The MRI revealed, that both my L4 and L5 discs were considerably weakened. I had a bulging disc so severe that a piece of my disc had almost broken off completely. I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and scheduled for a spinal surgery two weeks later.

Naturally, I wanted to know how long the recovery would be, as I had a trip to New York already scheduled for auditions that summer. The doctor explained that I would not be going anywhere for a while, as the initial recovery from the surgery alone would take months. The doctor went on to explain that degenerative disc is a condition that would remain with me for the rest of my life. The surgery would help the pain and there were ways to slow the progression, but there was no way to reverse the damage that had already been done. I would never be able to sustain high impact exercise without further injuring myself and propelling the advancement of the disease.

I could barely process what he was telling me. There was no way that this could possibly be happening. I felt like my years of work and dedication were being rendered meaningless in an instant. It didn’t seem real until I was in the surgery center two weeks later. I vividly remember trying my best to just focus on counting down from 10, as I fought down a crushing sense of loss.

My pain reduced significantly after the surgery and I directed my efforts to healing my body. My husband (then boyfriend), KC, and I met through mutual friends our senior year of undergraduate, shortly before my injury, and have been together ever since. Both my parents and KC were there to help me through the healing process. Once I was well into physical therapy and getting around with a ease, my mother pushed me to apply for jobs. She assured me that I just needed to start moving forward and the rest would come.

I soon landed a job at a local music school as a Studio Coordinator and Voice Coach. In my usual style, I threw myself into the work learning as much as I could, as quickly as I could. I soon discovered a passion for business strategy and a particular knack for sales. I had always known I would eventually like to pursue a graduate degree and since I was in a unique position to make a career pivot, I figured, there was no time like the present.

I decided to pursue an MBA, as I felt like business knowledge would open a lot of doors for me. The thought of giving myself as many options as I could, made me feel hopeful. I was admitted to the University of Memphis MBA program and hit the ground running. At the same time, KC was pursing a Masters in Accounting, so we got to live the authentic broke grad student experience side by side. They were some of the best years of my life.

Graduate school was amazing. I had incredible mentors that encouraged me to think outside the box and push myself to do things I never thought I could. In my second year, I earned a spot in the coveted summer business accelerator internship at the Crews Center for Entrepreneurship. I was chosen as the leader of my team and given 12 weeks to develop a fully-fledged business plan and pitch it to local investors. We won our pitch competition, which earned us the opportunity to pitch our business on the mainstage of Memphis startup week in front of 200+ investors.

The following winter, I graduated with my MBA and set out to continue developing the business and raising capital. I welcomed the 2020 new year with open arms, feeling a renewed sense of purpose. I could never have guessed that barely three months into the year, the COVID-19 Pandemic would arrive to completely change the world as we knew it. The shutting down of established businesses sent the economy plummeting and brought startup funding to a screeching halt.

As it became clear that the pandemic would not be ending any time soon, I was back to the drawing board on the whole career thing… again. I remember sitting on my couch staring at the floor contemplating the possibility that I was stuck in some kind of hell loop that was meant to crush my dreams as creatively as possible right when I was least expecting it. However, this time, I was not alone. Millions of people were furloughed or laid off and doing their best to turn the isolation into opportunities for self-improvement. I was determined to do the same.

After a few months of applying for jobs on LinkedIn and joining the rest of the population in picking up random hobbies including bread making and embroidery, my father called and asked me if I would consider a career in investment banking. He owned a boutique investment banking firm and said it was important to him that I learn how his business works, as since I was an only child, I would inherit it someday. Despite the unconventional delivery
of the job offer, I couldn’t argue with the logic, so I decided to embrace the unknown.

The pandemic slowed business down some, but fortunately, a lot of the firms work was already done remotely, so I started earning my FINRA licenses and learning as quickly as I could. My dad had found a business partner in New Delhi India and decided to set up a location of the firm there. This became the primary focus of the business and as the pandemic restrictions lifted, we were able to travel to India to develop the business there.

Looking for a change of pace, my husband and I decided to move from Colorado shortly after our marriage in 2022. I continued to travel for work and the business in India was beginning to thrive. My father was able to wind down other elements of his business to focus on strategic consulting. As a result, the pace of business slowed and I began to think about what might be next for my career growth.

This was the first time that I felt that could be proactive, rather than reactive concerning my career. I really thought deeply about what made me happy and what I wanted out of life. KC and I had dozens of conversations about our goals together and how we could work toward the life we wanted to build.

I knew I wanted to stay in finance. I knew I had so much more room to grow and had barely scratched the surface of my potential. I wanted to go somewhere that I knew would be challenging and rewarding. I wanted to be client facing and use my skills to help people, particularly business owners, to reach their goals. As I explored opportunities that matched this criteria, I was quickly picked up my recruiters for roles in Financial Planning.

The more I learned about it, the more I realized how exciting and deeply rewarding this career could be for me. I could really see myself being good at it and building a lifelong career. By this point, I was pretty comfortable diving head first into the unknown, so I went for it. Two years later, I am so happy that I did. I am finally in the right place, at the right time.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It takes grit to keep moving forward when you get knocked down. Without challenges, you never get the opportunity to find out how strong you can be. There will always be obstacles, no matter what, the only thing that matters is how you face them.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My professional experience has evolved from musical theatre performance and scenic painting, to investment banking, startup ventures and business development and now into financial planning at a nationally recognized firm. I am proud that my career path has been a roller coaster because it has provided me with opportunities to travel, be creative, build relationships with people from all over the world and never stop learning. My well-round expertise sets me apart from others in my field in allowing me to become a highly valued financial professional to individuals and business owners alike.

As a part of the advising team at Babcock Financial, I have the opportunity to collaborate with team members to provide clients with the best possible advice. The quality of the work we are able to accomplish for clients is truly excellent and a pleasure to be a part of. We believe that comprehensive financial planning should be delivered through an ongoing, collaborative and educational process. Building comprehensive financial plans that enable clients to seize opportunities for growth in business and personal endeavors is our shared passion.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
“First find out what you are capable of, then decide who you are.” ― Tara Westover

Contact Info:

• Website: https://babcockfinancialteam.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyjoydyerwolfe/