We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeffrey Maciejewski. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeffrey below.

Jeffrey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Appreciate you joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Absolutely! I appreciate the opportunity to tell you and your readers about my journey with Edward Jones as a financial advisor! I think the biggest risk I’ve ever taken was jumping into this career.

I joined Edward Jones in the Summer of 2017 after serving eight years of active duty in the Air Force. It was a tremendous leap into finance after working as Nuclear and Missile Operations officer (also known as missileer) where I served in various operations and training positions with Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) and B-52H bombers. My wife, an Army optometrist stationed at a different base at the time, and I decided to make the change so we could start a family. I was on a great career path, had great pay, amazing benefits, and the opportunity for a pension, but we were looking for more. As anyone who’s been in the military knows, military life can certainly put a strain on family life and that wasn’t want we wanted anymore.

As I was looking at making a change, I considered my passion for investing and planning for the future and realized how much I enjoyed it. When I found out about opportunities to help others take control of their futures as a financial advisor with Edward Jones, I jumped on it and haven’t looked back. I love what I do.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up Avon, MN, a small town in the center of the state. It is a largely rural area, and I had a lot of jobs doing physical labor, both yard and farm work. Looking back, I realize now how much of an impact that had on my relationship with money. When spending all day out in the hot sun toiling for money, you quickly learn the value of a dollar.

After graduating from high school, I attended the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, graduating in 2009. From there, I started my Air Force career. I was hoping to be a pilot, specifically fighter pilot, but due to some issues with my eyes, I was not pilot qualified. During my time as a missileer, I was stationed in California, Wyoming, and Louisiana. It was
early on in my career that I started investing on my own as I knew the importance of starting early. I learned more and more as time went on and that ultimately inspired me to pursue a career as a financial advisor.

I met my wife, Caitlin, in 2011 at a mutual friend’s wedding and we got married in 2014. We have two young children and a dog, we love life in the mountain west!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I believe building meaningful and trusting relationships with current and prospective clients is vital when doing business. When you are dealing with sensitive issues like retirement, clients must know you have their best interests in mind. For me, it starts with knowing what is most important to the client, using an established process to build a personalized strategy for them (cookie cutters are only good for cookies!), and keeping them aligned with their goals through the highs and lows of life. The trust between my clients and me means the world to me, and I do not take it for granted.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have two from very different challenges. The first one happened right at the beginning of my career as a financial advisor. At Edward Jones, we prioritize connecting with the community that we serve. Two months after I became a financial advisor, I broke my leg while skiing. For over a month I couldn’t even drive, much less get out into the community to grow my business. While it was a setback, I used the time I had to refine my skills and expand my knowledge so I could be even better when I got back to it.

The Covid-19 global pandemic presented significant challenges for my business. Without being able to get out and meet people traditionally, I had to find new ways to continue growing my business. It was tough. I had to pivot, and it paid off, giving me great momentum going into 2021. I used the extra time we had in 2020 to expand my skillset, eventually earning my designation as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional in August 2021.

Contact Info:

• Office phone number: 719-358-8195
• Email: jeff.maciejewski@edwardjones.com