SPONSORED
BIZ FORWARD
BUS IN E SS E S DI S CUSS TH EIR ROAD TO RECOV E R Y
UNPRECEDENTED TIMES CALL FOR UNPRECEDENTED MEASURES. As our city, our state and the world adjust to ever-shifting standards of normalcy, businesses are finding innovative ways to adapt and position their teams for continued success. While the road to recovery may be paved with uncertainties and challenges unique to each industry, one thing is certain: New Orleans is no stranger to resiliency, and our professional community has all the expertise, prowess and determination needed to emerge stronger and more prosperous than ever. In this exclusive section, Biz New Orleans asked business leaders about their tactics for readjusting, working remotely and staying focused on their corporate missions during the historic COVID-19 pandemic.
S P ON S OR E D
B I Z F O R W A R D : T H E R OA D TO R E COV E R Y
FINANCIAL PLANNING
Emerging Even Stronger With every experience comes a better ability to adapt and plan.
BEZOU FINANCIAL PROVIDES financial planning
beyond a portfolio—the team works to understand people’s needs, wants, and long-term goals. Clients of Bezou Financial get the benefits of big-firm resources with the personal touch of a reliable local team. According to Founder Jason Bezou, this group doesn’t predict; it plans. The team matches appropriate, available tools to each client, helping families, individuals, businesses, and organizations make smart decisions with money. The group’s level of meticulous client care has propelled Bezou Financial to six branches and future expansion beyond the 32 states it currently serves. Jason Bezou is currently writing a book on financial planning and is also working to provide a platform for other advisors to better care for their clients. In what ways are you thriving and pushing forward as a business throughout the pandemic? Clients know now that they need a financial advisor more than ever. When markets were plummeting last year, news outlets like Biz reached out to us about the economic effects of the pandemic on their readers. We suggested in interviews, articles, and directly to clients that investors with a long-term horizon not panic. Instead, they might consider shifting some of their conservative holdings to more aggressive positions to take advantage of the dip. For others in the income phase of life, it could be a time to switch to cash reserves for their monthly distributions for a while, giving volatile investments time to recover.
We also took the opportunity to help people focus on legacy planning and issues beyond money after more than 10 of our clients unfortunately died from COVID and other causes. That advice was meaningful for our clients and increased our business growth and client referrals. Since June of last year, our inflow of new clients and assets has nearly tripled. Are there any lessons you have learned over these last few months? Any new technologies or methodologies you’ve embraced? Adaptability is the priceless skill of this era. Working through the pandemic helped us learn that we can run an efficient business with one person at each branch and with the rest of our team working remotely. That forced us to improve our technology, create more efficient systems, and even hire more employees. It also allowed for more time to expand the depth of our financial planning and client care. At first, these were challenging, sad, and stressful times for us, as they were for everyone. But, in the end we are coming out of it better than ever. In nearly 20 years, I’ve never had a more efficient team firing on all cylinders. Do you anticipate your business will change in any way when the community fully opens back up? If so, how? One of my clients excitedly burst into my office exclaiming, “Does anyone want a hug? I’ve got my proof of vaccine card in my hand and just got the vaccine on my way here—I’m safe now!” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that immunity takes a while to kick in, but it made us smile knowing that life could be on the verge of getting back to normal. On the other side of this, we’re confident that we’ll be stronger, more able to acclimate to change, and have deeper relationships than ever before with each other and with the clients that experienced all of this change with us. I can’t wait to see what the future brings. Whatever it is, we’re ready.
Adaptability is the priceless skill of this era.
JASON BEZOU CFP ® AND FOUNDER OF BEZOU FINANCIAL PLANNING GROUP
Securities and investment advisory services offered through Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., (WFS), member FINRA/SIPC. WFS is separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of WFS.
BEZOU FINANCIAL PLANNING GROUP 422 HARRISON AVENUE • NEW ORLEANS • 504-598-5388 • BEZOUFINANCIAL.COM
BIZNEWORLEANS.COM
49