We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jillian Verdun a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jillian thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

My hero is my mom. My mom has been my rock throughout my life. She is the person who has always been in my corner from the beginning. She is the kind of person anyone can benefit from knowing. She is that one person who I can count on to tell me the truth regardless if it is good, bad, or indifferent. She doesn’t tell me what I want to hear but what I need to hear when I am evaluating a situation in my life. I watched her work full time and raise 3 children all while managing to be available when we needed her. She constantly tells me how proud she is of me and what I have accomplished. Just those simple words, motivates me to continue to push towards my dreams and goals in more ways than one. She has provided me with an example to mirror of how a person should be. She lead by example and taught me the importance of good work ethics and integrity. Because she worked so hard for us and our family, I am motivated to work just as hard to make sure I am able to be there for her like she has always been there for me. Regardless of the adversity she may have faced in her lifetime, she made sure we were taking care of and never wanted for anything. She taught me how to be grateful for what I have and not focus on what I didn’t have. If I set out to accomplish a goal, she never once made me feel that I was not able to be successful. She explained that everything doesn’t have to be perfect but as long as I put forth my best attempt was all that mattered.

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?

Jillian Verdun goes beyond the numbers. Since launching JMV Financial Services in 2007, Jillian has been committed to earning the trust of her clients and their referrals through her integrity, personal touch, charisma, and strong work ethic. She understands first-hand the stress and overwhelm that money and numbers can cause. That’s why Jillian is passionate about making her clients feel comfortable and confident while they’re learning to make the money they work for work for them.
Jillian is known for her pursuit of excellence as well as simplification. She’s always learning new ways to better serve her clients, and she’ll never offer a system or a process that doesn’t meet her high standards. JMV Financial Services is a Profit First Master Certified Firm, and Jillian has a heart for helping start-up businesses, non-profits, and s-corporations. She’s also proficient in bookkeeping, tax preparation, and referrals for other professionals when a need is outside her financial wheelhouse.
To add to her list of accreditations, Jillian holds a degree in Accounting and Computer Information Systems from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. She’s also earned her master’s degree in Accounting from the University of Phoenix.

Jillian is a member of Motivational World of Speakers, where she serves as a featured finance presenter with the organization. She’s a Certified Tax Coach with the American Institute of Certified Tax Planners and a Founding Fixer with Fix This Next Business Advisors. In her “spare time,” Jillian is also involved with professional associations such as the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) and, as well as her local softball team.
To sum her up in one sentence, Jillian Verdun is the calm in any financial storm and the radar that helps you understand and prepare for every season of financial management.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The pandemic created a pivot in my business and my life – People already working from home were faced with the necessity of relationships, self-care, and a work/life balance on a whole new level.

Learning how to pull myself away from work was one of the biggest changes I went through in 2020. With all of my trips being cancelled because basically the whole country was shut down, I no longer had an outlet or “escape” from my home office. I was able to go outside to the beautiful patio I’d created pre-pandemic (which in hindsight I can see how God set me up for that win!), but my commute was all of 32 seconds. Thirty-two seconds doesn’t count for much of a break in any environment.

At first when everything about the pandemic was unknown and no one knew how long the world would be under quarantine, working so much was a wonderful distraction.

Then it became a habit.

Then it became normal.

Realizing how unhealthy submerging myself in work could be, I also realized that “normal” is a completely relative term. I was forced to let go of my ideals around “normal,” all the while phrases like “new normal” were popping up everywhere. Because so many things were changing yet nothing seemed to be “happening,” I was also forced to embrace change and question if “normal” was even something worth going back to.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

My understanding first-hand the stress and overwhelm that money and numbers can cause.

That’s why I am passionate about making my clients feel comfortable and confident while they’re learning to make the money they work for work for them.

Repeat business and referrals have been the backbone of my business’ continued growth and success.

I am very relatable to my clients and their experiences.

I pride myself in my non-judgmental, non-techy jargon approach to show my clients what’s behind the numbers (and how to improve them.)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jmvfinancialservices.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JMVFinancialServices
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jillianverdun
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JMVFinancialSrv
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaHE1DOx-iB_ieplf4mVSIw

Image Credits
Jazzella McKeel Photography