In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Brandon Powell, a financial advisor and recruiter at Mutual of Omaha. Powell shares a pivotal early‑career story where, after a low point and dwindling resources, a birthday call from a client turned his fortunes around, leading him to exceed first‑year production goals. He emphasizes the critical importance of financial planning, stating that "failing to plan is planning to fail," and explains how advisors provide knowledge and accountability. Powell offers broader business advice centered on "controlling the controllables"—aligning daily actions with intentions in health, fitness, and finances. He reflects on embracing failure as a catalyst for growth, urging younger selves to view setbacks as learning opportunities. Discussing happiness, he highlights the value of a supportive community, including colleagues, family, and a men's group, that challenges and holds each other accountable. Powell cites the book Game of Numbers by Nick Murray as his top industry read, underscoring prospecting as the lifeblood of financial advising and warning that stopping prospecting guarantees failure. His favorite quote, "If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room," reinforces the need for surrounding oneself with smarter, challenging peers. Finally, he directs listeners to connect via LinkedIn and provides his email at Mutual of Omaha Investor Services.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner, and today I have Brandon Powell with us. He is a financial advisor and recruiter with Mutual of Omaha and has received numerous awards in his 4 years in the industry through his dedication in serving clients and helping new advisors get started in the new career. So welcome to the show, Brandon.
I appreciate you having me today.
Of course, thanks for joining us. We'll dive in. The first question I have for you is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Well, I was brand new to the business, you know, back in 2014 when I started. Only had been working a few months, and really I was failing miserably. My resources were running out. I was kind of in a panic, but I had fallen in love with an industry that, you know, I was just going to have to leave basically just because I couldn't make it work. I felt like I had hit rock bottom and was just in a really tough spot. And it was actually the day of my birthday and I received a really encouraging call from a client who decided to move forward with me. And, and that really just changed the course of my career. After that day, Things turned around dramatically. I achieved all the standards and requirements for all first-year financial advisors and actually doubled my production goal that I had set, set for myself in my first year. So moral of the story, really, sometimes you just got to hit rock bottom before you can get to the top.
Yes. And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Failing to plan is planning to fail. And many people try to manage their own financial planning on their own, and really they lack the knowledge to be able to stay on track and stay disciplined and reach their goals. So this is where a financial advisor may be needed. We bring the knowledge, accountability, and so forth to help that client pursue their goals and reach their dreams.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice, so not necessarily industry specific?
Um, you know, really just control the controllables. I mean, if you get up every day knowing that you're going to give it your absolute best in every category of your life, you're going to succeed. I mean, for me, I make sure that my actions are aligned with my intentions. So in other words, If I want to remain healthy and physically fit, I'm not going to have a cheeseburger every day of my life. I'm going to hit the gym and take care of myself. And so in terms of business, if I want to succeed financially, I need to align my financial resources in accordance with that end goal.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Um, you know, really failure is inevitable. I mean, failure makes you successful. So For too long, I was afraid of failure. Now I embrace it and really look forward to the challenges and learning from them just to be a better business person. And so, you know, I embrace that in business and in my personal life and those that I have influence over. I really make sure to tell them that, hey, you know, the way to get better is to actually, you know, fail, learn from it, you know, pick yourself back up and move forward.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
You know, for me, it's surrounding yourself with people who love and care for you and that are on the same mission with you and are really willing to challenge you when you need to be challenged. In order to grow, you need to have a support system that will be there for you through the ups and the downs that life brings. And but also, you know, there to challenge you, you know, to bring out a better version of yourself. Every single day. You know, I've got colleagues, family, actually a men's group that I attend that all hold me accountable just to make sure, you know, I'm on the right track. And I actually, you know, do the same for them as well.
And what's the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
That's a tough one. There's so many great books out there and so many great resources, but for my industry specifically, I'm going to go with Game of Numbers. By Nick Murray. Um, and, and what I've really learned from that is, you know, prospecting is the lifeblood of our industry. There's, you know, so many industries out there where you've got foot traffic, you've got people, uh, coming to you for, for things. But especially in the beginning in this career, um, you know, uh, you're in charge of going out there and being proactive and finding the clients. Um, you know, so you can't You know, you can't fail if you achieve, you know, the right prospecting methods and numbers. And, you know, if you don't stop prospecting, you're going to do well. So, you know, one thing that he says is you're guaranteed to fail to achieve your goals if you do stop prospecting. So I kind of take that, you know, and think about that every single day.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
Well, I would say if you're the smartest person in the room, then you're in the wrong room. And, you know, for me, that's, you know, you've got to surround yourself with people that are willing to challenge you and hold you accountable, like I said before, and that make sure that you're always learning and you've got people around you that are smarter than you.
Yes, man. Thank you so much for coming on. And the last question I have for you before we let you go is, where's the best place for people to find you online?
Yeah, well, first off, you know, I offer security and advisory service through Mutual of Omaha Investor Services, you know, member of FINRA, SIPC. But, you know, really LinkedIn is huge for me. I'm a big LinkedIn guy. You can contact me on there if you've got any questions on anything.
Brandon.Powell@mutualofomaha.com.
Perfect, man.
Thank you again for joining us. We appreciate it.
All right. Thank you so much for having me. The podcast you just heard was recorded with Anchor. If you want to make your own, download the Android or iOS app completely free from anchor.fm/podcast. That's anchor.fm/podcast.
