Welcome back to Don’t Retire… Graduate! On today’s episode, we’re excited to bring you another entry in our “Diary of a Financial Advisor” segment, where we spotlight the unique voices, journeys, and motivations of financial professionals passionate about their clients’ success. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jillian Howell, a rising star at BFG Financial Advisors and one of the dedicated Client Service Associates who keeps everything running smoothly for nearly 800 families nationwide.
Jillian joined BFG in March 2025, bringing with her a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies (with a minor in general business) from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her background sets her apart, blending strong communication skills with a desire to help others achieve financial well-being. Throughout our conversation, Jillian shared her journey from a family full of pharmacists (and her conscious decision to blaze her own path), her early experience engaging clients in the T. Rowe Price call center, and the drive to bring accuracy, care, and continual learning to her current advisory role.
We dove into what it’s like to enter the nuanced world of insurance, the importance of always being a “sponge” for new knowledge, and the unique challenges of juggling countless client needs under pressure. Jillian also opened up about her “why”—drawing inspiration from a late high school mentor who guided her into the business world—and how she channels that legacy in her work every day. Outside the office, we got a glimpse of her adventurous spirit, love for skiing, and her golden retriever, Beau.
If you’re curious about the people working behind the scenes to deliver exceptional service and guidance, you won’t want to miss Jillian’s perspective on finding purpose in financial planning, building client relationships, and balancing detail-oriented work with meaning.
5 Key Takeaways:
- Charting Your Own Path: Jillian illustrates the courage and clarity needed to pursue a career that aligns with your natural strengths and interests, even when it departs from family tradition.
- The Power of Being a Sponge: Whether starting out or pivoting to new areas—in Jillian’s case, insurance and annuities—success comes from humility, curiosity, and a commitment to learning from seasoned professionals.
- Client Service at Its Core: Jillian’s journey underscores how detail-oriented, empathetic support can make a real difference in clients’ lives—whether helping with urgent distributions or navigating the intricacies of insurance.
- Finding Your ‘Why’: A personal “why”—rooted in relationships, legacy, and the desire to make others proud—fuels growth and resilience, especially in a demanding service environment.
- Building Relationships Beyond the Screen: Even in today’s world of digital forms and remote service, Jillian demonstrates that taking time to get to know clients personally, whenever possible, adds an invaluable human touch to financial advice.
Join us for an inspiring look behind the curtain, and meet the people who help families graduate into retirement with confidence and care. Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share this episode with anyone who values the dedicated professionals guiding their financial futures!
Transcript
I'm sorry Bo couldn't join us today, but welcome to Don't Retire Graduate.
Jillian Howell [:Thanks for having me.
Eric Brotman [:So, Jillian, this is your first foray into podcasting. I'm delighted that you've agreed to do this. Why don't you share a little bit about your story and how you. How you fell into this industry first and foremost?
Jillian Howell [:Sure. So I come from a family of pharmacists, so I always knew that that was not the route that I wanted to go, but I've always been a math person. My high school mentor kind of held my hand and got me involved in the business world, so that was always something that I was interested in, but I never quite knew what I actually wanted to do myself. I know that I always wanted to be financially independent and have a job that I look forward to getting up every day to go to. You know, I don't want to be miserable waking up every day for my job. So I started out at TiVo price in the call center. It built some. Some character, and the call center was definitely a challenging experience, but that definitely kind of led me towards the customer service role and making sure that the information that we provide to clients is accurate and just being super knowledgeable about whatever it is at that point in time.
Jillian Howell [:You know, when I was there, it was workplace retirement accounts. And I've been able to expand my knowledge. Now I know a little bit about annuities. Definitely still have a lot to learn there, and I have my insurance license. So getting to work with Dan and learn more about insurance here in the office as well. So it's been really Great. But retirement planning, I think, has always been an interest of mine. I've always enjoyed working with old folks.
Eric Brotman [:Old folks. Okay. So as I'm planning to graduate into retirement, you're talking about me. Thank you for that. I appreciate it. You know, payback is right. At any rate, it's. It's nice that you bring not only that, the knowledge of a big company environment, because this is clearly not that, and it's designed to be not that, but the.
Eric Brotman [:Some of the skills you learn. I mean, my first job out of college was also in a large wirehouse environment, and it wasn't my jam, so to speak. I really wanted a smaller environment where I could make a difference and play a big role. And in only. I mean, it's less than a year. It's been half a year you've been here, and you've already taken on some additional responsibilities, some additional things that you feel enthusiastic about, insurance being one of them. So this is a place where a lot of clients don't like to think about it. People don't like to talk about it all the time.
Eric Brotman [:No one's at their water cooler bragging about their insurance policy. But it's an important part of financial planning. So for you to tackle that, having come in kind of green in that space, what's that like?
Jillian Howell [:It's challenging, for sure. Especially working with Dan, somebody that's been doing this for years. I definitely recognize that I have a lot of learning to do, a lot of growth. So I like to say that at this point in my career, I'm just trying to be a sponge. I just am trying to take in as much knowledge as I can, and I. I want to be an expert before I'm in front of a client talking to them about something. I want to be confident in the information I'm providing in. If it's a product that I'm talking to them about, I want to know all the ins and outs of it.
Jillian Howell [:I want to be an expert. So I recognize that I'm not at that stage yet. So just being. Being a sponge and taking in as much as I can, working with people that are more experienced has definitely been super helpful for me in this. This stage.
Eric Brotman [:So it's. It's very wise not to guess. Right? I mean, a lot of us learn, you know, we learned in. In school back in the day, fake it till you make it. If you do that in this business, people will get hurt, and then bad things will happen. So I'm glad that you're not taking that approach. That's a lovely thing. Now.
Eric Brotman [:Now a lot of us gradual, we gradually achieve this why in this business, you know, and we've had a lot of members of our team on the diary segments talking about their why and what, what this career means to them, what the firm means to them, what working with clients means to them. Have you begun to formulate that why in your head? I know it's early, but. But do you have a sense of this is why I choose to make this? Not just that you don't hate your job, which is a lovely thing. I'm glad to hear that.
Jillian Howell [:Yeah.
Eric Brotman [:Even though you have to work in close proximity to yours truly and that's difficult. But have you started to discover what that why looks like?
Jillian Howell [:So I spoke earlier about my high school mentor. He was really kind of the one that got me into the business field. And I just have always felt kind of lost with what I wanted to do. And he really kind of gave me that guidance towards the business field. He knew someone at T. Rowe Price, which is how I ended up getting the job there. And when I was working for T. Rowe Price, he unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack in his.
Jillian Howell [:I think he was in his 50s. It was really unexpected. And now I kind of just think, like everything that I do, I want him to be looking down and be proud of me about what I'm doing.
Eric Brotman [:Wow.
Jillian Howell [:And I know that he would be really proud to see where I am now. And I think that motivates me a lot. Like, I of course want to make my parents proud and I know that they are proud of me, but somebody like that, that they're in the industry and, you know, we really got to know each other on a personal level. That for right now is, is my.
Eric Brotman [:Why I love that. And your folks are going to see this. Your daughter's a rock star and we're very glad to have her. That's true. Although I have never said that about anyone else on the diary segment. So I'm not going to say it again. So just you don't tell anyone. So as your career advances, you're working with more and more families across the country, you're helping solve some logistical things, some technical things.
Eric Brotman [:Your world is very, very detail oriented. And for me, I have a hard time multitasking. I think it's the Y chromosome actually, but I have a hard time multitasking without feeling like I'm, like I'm not concentrating. How are you managing what I like into a nine headed hydra? You might like, you might liken it to just a barrage and avalanche of emails or messages. Or how do you determine your sense of focus when things are coming at you in so many different directions?
Jillian Howell [:Definitely have to know how to prioritize things. You know, sending a beneficiary change form is not going to have the same priority as somebody that called in and is requesting a distribution that they need for a down payment on a home. Working on things like that, knowing where in the line of priority that things can fall, I think is super important. And then also just being able to really kind of tune other things out. Emails are popping up, other tasks are popping up. Being able to tune that stuff out and just focus on what it is that you're working on, then I think is really important as well.
Eric Brotman [:I mean, I think a lot of people watching don't realize that our CSA team, our client service associate team, is four amazing humans and caring for close to 800 families, which is an enormous lift when you think about it. The varied needs that people have at different times. And again, some of them are time sensitive, as you mentioned. So you're prioritizing. Are you feeling like you're getting a chance to meet and get to know some clients, or do they still feel a little behind the veil? Because it's mostly docusigns these days and it's a little less of a. Of a human interaction. Are you feeling some of that?
Jillian Howell [:I think within the past two months, probably I've felt more of the veil kind of fallen down. I've gotten the chance to talk with clients on the phone, kind of get to know their situation a bit more. I actually had the chance to go into one of the meetings and meet with a couple clients. One day I was picking up some checks. They dropped off and finally got the chance to see them face to face after doing rollover calls with them. So that was super nice. So I think as time goes on and I am becoming more trusted by the team as well, they are more willing to bring me in and start those relationships too, which I'm super excited about.
Eric Brotman [:All right, so your, your bio includes some personal stuff. So I'm going to get personal with you because your parents are watching and I feel like we need to do this. Where do you like to ski?
Jillian Howell [:ar. I'm going to Park City in:Eric Brotman [:All right, well, Vail and Breckenridge are not West Coast. That's like, you know, come on. That's not West Coast.
Jillian Howell [:That's west compared to us.
Eric Brotman [:Well, it's west compared to us, what I'm used to. All right, well, so if you're, if you're doing all of these dangerous activities, are you also absorbing and paragliding and, and, you know, jumping out of helicopters and stuff?
Jillian Howell [:Not yet. I would like to at some point. I asked my dad for his 50th to go skydiving with me, but he. He wanted to live a little bit more. So I'm still trying to find somebody to go with me.
Eric Brotman [:Okay, no, I'm not happening. I. I like ski lodges and I like. I like the, the social aspect of ski resorts, but that's about it. So, Jillian, I gotta thank you for, for doing this. You know, this is a nerve wracking thing when you're not used to it. You did a beautiful job. And I think for clients of BFG to be able to put a voice and a face with a name and sort of get to know you a little bit as a human being, I think is a wonderful thing.
Eric Brotman [:So I really appreciate you doing this, and I know you're headed for stardom, and I hope you're very careful on ski slope, because that sounds terrifying to those of us who don't participate in that activity.
Jillian Howell [:I'll be careful so I can be back to work on Monday.
Eric Brotman [:Oh, I appreciate that. Thanks for being here.
Jillian Howell [:Thank you.
Eric Brotman [:I'd like to thank all of you for listening and watching today. If you enjoy our show, please subscribe so we can continue to be a part of your path to financial independence. We'll be back next week with another engaging guest and in two weeks with another entry in our diary of a financial advisor. For now, this is your host, Eric Brotman, reminding you, don't retire. Graduate securities offered through Kestra Investment Services llc. Castra is member finra sipc. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services llc. Kestra as an affiliate of Kestra is.
Eric Brotman [:Kestra is or Kestra as are not affiliated with Brotman Financial or any other entity discussed.