After years of working in the male-dominated industry of financial planning, Brittney Castro saw an opportunity to use her skills and create a company that caters toward female clients. Castro is a Certified Financial Planner and founder of Financially Wise Women, a Los Angeles-based financial planning firm aimed toward teaching money managing skills to women and couples in fun, easy, and simple ways.
Discussing finances can often be intimidating and extremely personal so it is important that clients find the right person they trust to work in a comfortable environment.
Brittney explains, “I wanted to work with clients the same way I talk about money with my girlfriends–in a smart, personal, feminine way that’s compassionate, fun, and non-judgmental.” Castro has become an expert in her field and has been featured on various media outlets such as CNN, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Glamour, and Elle to name a few.
Her success though has come after many years of hard work and dedication to her field.
Castro began her career working at a firm called Ameriprise Financial shortly after finishing college in 2006. From there she went on to work for an independent financial planning firm in West Los Angeles.
It was during this time that Brittney began to build her brand as the financial planner for women. Finally in 2012, Brittney took the plunge and created her company, Financially Wise Women. She craved the creative freedom that she could not find within the confines of the corporate structure.
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Financial planning for women and beyond
Creating her own company allowed her to focus on her female clients and build an environment that was more personal and inviting unlike the ridged corporate environments of the mainstream financial planning world.
Brittney describes the process of building her financial planning company as “an exciting journey” that has also come with great success and as well as “a lot of obstacles and challenges.” These challenges have not deterred her but instead have helped her grow stronger and wiser.
“Each time I was hit with a challenge, I persevered,” she said. This perseverance and resilience has followed her throughout her entire career and has been one of her keys to success. Castro credits many of these resilient traits to her “Latina ‘spice,'” as she says. She celebrates her Latina roots saying, “My drive, resilience and hard work are all traits I find in common in Latinas and I am very proud of who I’ve become and the things I’ve achieved in life and business.”
Financial Education Ambassador
When asked about a favorite moment in her career thus far, Brittney described her experience as the Chase Financial Education Ambassador. In this role, Castro has been able to help educate people, and specifically Hispanics, about the importance of credit and financial literacy.
This job has been an immensely rewarding experience for Brittney. “Growing up I always wanted my own business and to help people in life,” says Castro. After much hard work and determination, Castro has realized those aspirations.
Her advice to other Latinas aiming to achieve success in their professions is hard work and “just keep going.” Success is created through “a lot of hard work, dedication, and passion” she explains. “I have never seen an ‘overnight’ success because of the many years of behind-the-scenes work that goes into an ‘overnight’ success.”
She also advises to pick a career that excites you and that you are passionate about. “Enjoy it all!” she says. “Laugh and celebrate all the wins and challenges along the way as that is truly what life is all about.”
When she is not busy in the office, Brittney can be found working out, enjoying a coffee or smoothie, playing with her dog Arya at the local park, “and, of course, dancing.”
