Meet Member Jamie Sladky
Meet Jamie Sladky, Independent Financial Planner with Raymond James
When Jamie Sladky was asked what she wanted to do when she grew up her response was, “Save the world or at least do something useful for the world.” An aspiring thought for this woman who was born in Portland, Maine, growing up in Warwick (Upstate), New York, while continuing to spend her summers in Maine.
As so many professionals who gravitate to working with people seem to do, Jamie started her college life as a Psychology major at the University of Buffalo. She
realized fairly quickly that she needed to major in something else because one thing that became clear right away was that she didn’t want the heavy responsibility of working exclusively with someone’s mind. That decision led her to becoming a Business major with a focus in Finance and Marketing.
Jamie met her husband Mike in school and they went for the five-year plan. As soon as Mike was done with school they decided to make the move to Colorado. Sending out her resume to a variety of financial planners in Colorado, Jamie got her first response from a financial planner who said, “You don’t think this all about the money do you – 90% of this is psychology.” Jamie’s response was, “Sign me up!” She could save the world and work in business at the same time – a perfect solution!
That financial planner who initially showed Jamie the ropes, very gently shared with her that moving to a new city and just cold calling was not the way to grow the business she was envisioning. Her recommendation to Jamie was to learn the business from the ground up starting with running the financial planner’s office. Jamie agreed and was hired to take over the office while getting to know the business and the clients. When the financial planner retired a few years later Jamie easily took over the business. Jamie found the transition was seamless, as the clients had come to know her very well. The financial planning that Jamie had come to know ran the gambit from simple office procedures to strong financial planning.
Jamie was very clear during our interview about the special relationship she builds with her clients. She likes to talk “to” her clients not “at” them. She does not believe in lecturing at them but in educating them. Her niche really grew out of her want to work with people who really needed her special style of incorporating heart with finance. She found herself working with people who had become fragile due to the life situations that had thrown money at them unexpectedly such as divorce or death of a spouse.
In further discussion with Jamie it became clear that her compassion in this area of financial planning stemmed from watching her own Mother go through divorce. The planner who worked with her Mother took on her affairs and monies with little to no care paid to the circumstances or the person. It was clear to Jamie that her mother was treated as simply an end to a means, just another number. Jamie knows there is much more behind the funds that take a person into the next stage of their life. “There is never a shortage of tears in my office.” Jamie says of working with her clients. “I get to the money last, I get to the person first. I don’t care if they have 20,000 or 20 million I want to help the person first.”
Jamie shared a story of a couple that remains near and dear to her heart. “Although I work with a lot of divorced clients my favorite clients were a very special couple. The woman had called at the age of 55, telling me that she needed to move up her retirement because she had been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. She had been given only five years to live at most.” Jamie shared, “The money comes, it’s the people I take care of first.”
Starting with a much smaller company, in 2002 Jamie decided to move to her current position at Raymond James because of the strength behind the company. She was also very impressed with the fact that within this company she would have the ability to work as she needed to, because there is no favoritism, pressure or quotas. Due to Raymond James’ size she has lots of back office support while maintaining the flexibility of running her own business.
Over the course of the last eight years, naturally the past fifteen months have been the Jamie’s most challenging as a Financial Planner. On Monday September 15th, 2008 Jamie decided each one of her clients needed to hear from her personally - that day. She did not stop dialing until every one of her clients had been contacted. What was amazing to Jamie is that her business continued to flourish through referrals by staying in touch with her clients in good times and in bad.
“I am cautiously optimistic”, Jamie responded when asked her thoughts about the financial world in 2010. Starting in 2009 she has taken the philosophy that the past is the past. While some people have become paralyzed in the financial world Jamie says this,
“There is what you need the money to do and then there is what you can handle watching it do.” Her goal is to help her clients and educate them, letting them know the market will continue to go up and down. Her clients will call and say, “I know you told me this would go this way now explain that again to my heart!”… And Jamie does.
When asked what it takes to be a financial planning entrepreneur here is what Jamie had to say, “It is hard to be a woman in the financial world but you can do it and still stay ‘a woman’ by being tough enough to do the job and soft enough to still care. That also goes for being an entrepreneur - you need to have the business desire to do it and the heart to care.” Working in a male dominated industry is one of the things that Jamie loves about The Victory Circles. For her it has become a great way to now interact with strong women on a regular basis.
Jamie Sladky is a Victory Woman who has managed to bring her heart into her business while at the same time creating financial plans for her clients in the process. That heart of Jamie turns into puddles when she sees a puppy. She loves animals and nurturing them as well as people. She moved to Colorado to be outdoors and is here to stay. She calls Colorado, “Definitely home!” You could say that Jamie is in fact keeping close to her original goal of saving the world here in Colorado…one heart at a time.
Jamie Sladky, CDFA™
Financial Advisor
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst
Raymond James Financial Services, Inc.
Member FINRA/SIPC
1212 Pearl Street, Suite 200 | Boulder, CO 80302
303-323-4293
303-323-4295 Fax
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