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Meet Jessica Taylor

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Taylor.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jessica. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a native Coloradoan, an entrepreneur, backcountry skier and a surfer (and I may have been a mermaid in my past life). I was born in Colorado Springs and grew up with the belief that the perfect time to get outdoors in Colorado is all the time. I adopted my parent’s affinity for the Colorado mountains, I ski and hike regularly in the backcountry, plan to surf every continent, and am a financial curator for creative business owners.

My unconventional journey to ownership of my financial planning practice started in Ft. Collins, where I studied apparel merchandising at Colorado State University. My initial goal was to work in the fashion industry and design clothes. Relatively quickly in my education, I realized I was more business savvy than creative, so I switched from apparel design to apparel merchandising, allowing me to stay connected to the fashion industry. While most of my classmates headed to NYC and LA, I packed my car at graduation and headed west to the mountains. Despite the odds, I was confident I would land a position working in the apparel industry.

For two months, I slept in a makeshift bed under my mother’s kitchen table in Silverthorne while I finagled a position at Copper Mountain in apparel merchandising. I quickly bought my first residence – a lovely two bedroom/two bath condo – in Dillon shortly after I turned 22. I went from an administrative role to a retail buyer for Copper Mountain in five short years. Unfortunately, ski resorts have a low ceiling for career development and growth. I saw that ceiling fast approaching and recognized it was time to move on. I landed a sales position with Oakley representing its eyewear and apparel.

My territory was the western slope of Colorado. I found myself cultivating a business with little guidance, no mentorship and a few close friends to help along the way. It was a sink or swim business. Fortunately, my personal experience in the outdoors made it easy for me to educate and inform business owners and their clientele on the benefits and advantages of Oakley gear. Suddenly, another five years had ticked by and I was still roaming the western slope, sharing the latest and greatest of Oakley’s action sports collection. Fortuitously, my financial advisor was located across from the showroom I worked out of and we would connect to talk about dreams and interests.

My story took a sharp turn when I walked away from the sales territory. I spent five years in to start over in a big way. My story added a new chapter when I decided to start my own financial planning practice with Northwestern Mutual. I gained autonomy, flexibility, community impact and endless growth. I recognized the enormous gap in the access to financial planning for small business owners, creatives and women. It took a huge leap of faith for me to start my own business in a mountain community, but I am so glad I did. I found my place working with small business owners, creatives and a community of amazing female clients who I know I can make an impact in their lives and businesses. It’s no secret the financial services industry has not served women particularly well, tending to make female and LGBTQ clients feel undervalued and thus engendering little trust in their financial advisors.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It was no smooth road. It was a rocky first year, followed by an anxiety-ridden and stressful second year. I found myself unable to pay my bills to support the lifestyle I had built over the past ten years. There were some high, highs in those first two years, but there were some really low, lows. Starting your business is not easy, especially in a seasonal resort community. My training, development and mentorship were 80 miles away in Denver. I found my situation to be incredibly challenging and I had to figure it out on my own. I was determined and made some good decisions and some mistakes, but I learned from my experience and never gave up on myself.

Please tell us more about your work.
I work with lady bosses to help them improve their self-worth and net worth. I own and operate a financial planning practice and serve as a financial advisor supporting clients with financial wellness, planning, business transition, insurance and investments. Simply put, I consider myself to be a money mindset coach. I work together with my clients to build flexible, personalized financial plans, integrating everything from budgeting and saving habits to buying/selling businesses. Utilizing the products backed by the industry-leading strength of Northwestern Mutual, I serve my clients by helping them map out their plan to save money, achieve their goals and feel confident in their money-making decisions.

I believe understanding the psychology of money, the essence of how people are brought up and think about money and how they apply it to life is critically important to helping them achieve their goals.

What are you known for?
Connecting people. I like to think I have a good network, connecting great people to other great people; I’m always making introductions. I love connecting people to a range of talented individuals and entrepreneurs, anyone from attorneys and CPAs to jewelry designers and reiki masters. In today’s world of social media and resort-living isolation, it is easy to not be connected to each other. We get so lost in technology, and in my mountain community, there are so many isolated small groups, that it can be even more difficult to find your way and find your people. Good things happen when you connect and real connections are made.

What are you most proud of?
I’m proud of being able to help people even if they don’t become clients. I can help someone and point them in the right direction to get going or think differently. It’s not always about the end result for me. It’s about how I can be helpful and impact everyone I meet with here and now.

I started a collection of notes as a keepsake of the thank you notes I get from clients to help navigate the bad days and keep a reminder of the importance and impact I have on people. I make it a priority to send hand-written notes to my clients to show my appreciation and break through the noise. The responses I have received are motivating; it can be a differentiator in quality customer service.

What sets you apart from others?
I am a woman in a male-dominated industry. A person’s finances are very personal and emotionally charged, so I take the time to really listen to my clients and allow them to share at the level they are comfortable. I recognize people are from all walks of life and have different needs and goals. I create plans for my clients’ best interest, not for their money.

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Image Credit:
Kelsey Booth Photography

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