What does it take to build a successful career in financial advising? For Benjamin Williams, it starts with resilience, learning, empathy, and understanding what each client truly wants to achieve.

In this episode of the NY Professional Spotlight Podcast with Roman Kirzhner, Roman sits down with Benjamin Williams, MBA, a financial advisor who works with individuals, families, and businesses to help them plan for their financial goals.

Benjamin shares the unique path that brought him into financial advising. Before his current career, he worked in corporate America in research, development, innovation, and business transformation. He helped organizations improve areas such as their profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow. Today, he brings that experience to his work with individuals, families, and business owners.

Benjamin also discusses why resilience is so important when building a financial advisory practice. He explains why professionals should never stop learning and how greater knowledge can lead to greater confidence.

Roman and Benjamin also talk about retirement planning and Benjamin's goals-based approach to working with clients. His process begins with understanding where a client is today and where they want to go. From there, he looks at whether those goals are achievable, develops a plan, and continues meeting with the client to help keep that plan on track.

The conversation also explores one of Benjamin's biggest professional challenges: helping build a diversity and inclusion group from the ground up within a company. He shares how education, communication, and explaining the benefits to senior leadership helped him overcome the challenge.

For Benjamin, financial planning isn't about using the same answer for everyone. It's about listening to each client, understanding their goals, and creating a plan around their individual needs.

Connect with Benjamin Williams

Benjamin can be found on LinkedIn as Benjamin P. Williams, where he shares weekly reflections. He can also be reached through his Edward Jones website.

Listen to the NY Professional Spotlight Podcast with Roman Kirzhner on Apple Podcasts and discover conversations with professionals sharing their experiences, lessons, and ideas.

Be A Guest Are you a successful business owner or professional with insights to share? Apply to be a guest on https://nyprofessionalspotlight.com/guest and share your expertise with a wide audience eager to learn about you.