Fold under pressure or find ways to survive? That’s the question Brandon Dixon-James asked himself when he began his financial services career as an insurance agent with Prudential when he was 22. He chose the latter path.
“I had no natural market, but I took every call I could, developed a thick skin and pushed ahead,” he said.
Growing up in a single-parent household in Stockton, California, Dixon-James says he always got a kick out of earning money by mowing lawns, saving, and using the money to buy something he wanted, like a basketball hoop. “I didn’t know what my career would be, exactly, but I knew I enjoyed setting goals and working hard to attain them — and I saw myself somehow working in an office and dealing with money.”
A mentor at California State University in Fresno, where he majored in finance, introduced him to financial planning, which he continues to view as a way he can help people, especially minorities, who typically have been underserved.
After three years in insurance, Dixon-James switched to investments at bank brokerage units in Los Angeles. Six years later, in 2013, he returned to Fresno, became a certified financial planner and set up his own firm, affiliating with Royal Alliance Associates.
“It’s stressful to move and start a business and a family at the same time, but independence lets me do what I believe what I’m best at and also pursue my passion for education,” said Dixon-James, who volunteers in financial literacy programs for children and takes part in educational outreach programs for adults.