Q: What was your job before you came to Edward Jones?
A: Before I came to Edward Jones, I was working for a London-based consulting company on bank reform projects in the former Soviet Union. Q: What is it that made you start looking for something else?
A: My wife and I lived overseas for about four years, and we were home one summer for an extended period of time, maybe three or four weeks. I was actually meeting with my Financial Advisor at that time, and he said, “If you ever come back to the States, give some thought to coming to work for Edward Jones.” And I hadn’t really thought about it prior to that, but that kind of got the wheels turning. Q: Did you know much about Edward Jones prior to that?
A: I didn’t. Probably one of the things that jumped out at me most was, in many ways, when you work for Edward Jones it’s close to running your own business. You’re developing your own office, you’re building your business, you are fully responsible for the development of that office, and at the same time, you reap the rewards based on how hard you work. That was one thing that attracted me. Another thing that attracted me was when you look at the culture and the values of Edward Jones, I think they might be a bit different from what you come across in a lot of companies. And that was quite appealing to me. I think the thing that jumped out most was the absolute commitment to doing what is right for the client. Something that Edward Jones has always stressed and always will stress is the importance of keeping the client first. That impressed me. Q: How has taking the job at Edward Jones impacted your life?
A: Probably the most significant impact that it’s had on my family is the fact that we’ve got a great deal of freedom. But one of the best aspects about working for Edward Jones is having the freedom to spend more time with my family. Q: Talk a little about the culture at Edward Jones.
A: Probably the first thing that jumps out at me about the culture of Edward Jones is the whole philosophy of volunteerism. When I started in this business, there were any number of Financial Advisors and home-office staff who would do anything they could to help me be successful. And now I will do anything I can to help other people be successful. Part of it is just my innate instinct to help people. But the other part is the culture that is ingrained at Edward Jones. Q: If you could give advice to a new Financial Advisor, what would it be?
A: I would say try to control the emotional aspects of the business. Early on, especially, there are a lot of ups and downs. It’s important to learn how to control those emotions because they can mess with you a great deal in this career. Also, if you become a Financial Advisor, you have to have the desire to help others achieve their goals. Yes, you’ll achieve your goals, but you have to be driven to help those people achieve their goals, also.
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