World Financial Group Senior Marketing Director Angela Bradford used to work in the blue-collar industry of trucks and training horses.
However, Angela Bradford decided to move on to the white collar world of “finances and training people” when the trucking industry slowed down. She spent 5 years to transition fully into her new career.
Angela Bradford has “opened multiple offices and started expansion into two countries.” She also works with an amazing team.
At World Financial Group, Angela Bradford pursues her goal of “having agents in every state and province in North America within the next 10 years.”
According to Angela Bradford, World Financial Group stands out because they “are a broker.” They work with “over 40 companies so we can offer our clients more than one option.”
Angela Bradford says her company can “save money on almost everything people need in the financial industry.”
Moreover, Angela Bradford believes that you can avoid burnout by having a “strong reason for getting up and going to work everyday.” People need to build a “strong connection to why you work hard and the life it can give you.”
Likewise, Angela Bradford says she “makes sure I have relaxation time scheduled into each week to refresh my body and soul.”
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I sat with a family just last year and because we are a broker I saved this family $2600 a month! I think this was an amazing present just before Christmas! Angela Bradford, World Financial Group
Jerome Knyszewski: What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Angela Bradford: What makes my firm stand out is that we are a broker.
This means we work with over 40 companies so we can offer our clients more than one option.
Because of this, we are able to save money on almost everything people need in the financial industry.
I sat with a family just last year and because we are a broker I saved this family $2600 a month! I think this was an amazing present just before Christmas!
Jerome Knyszewski: Often leaders are asked to share the best advice they received. But let’s reverse the question. Can you share a story about advice you’ve received that you now wish you never followed?
Angela Bradford: Wow, this is a good reverse question! Let me think. I was given lots of advice that I didn’t take and I am glad I didn’t, that is for sure.
One piece of advice I was given that I did take was that I should have talked to my leadership about first was an assistant I started working with.
The advice was that as someone relatively new in the business, I should talk to my leadership before choosing an assistant for my team.
It seemed easy at the time to find a person who could fill the role of an assistant, but I soon came to see that I took a chance of losing my license.
As it turned out, things went very downhill with everything with them because of the mess I had created through my hurry to fill a position.
The result also kept me up many nights, but I am grateful that I learned that the ‘easy’ way is not always the best way!
Success is something I am not sure I have achieved but am working on it for sure!
Jerome Knyszewski: You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Angela Bradford: Success is something I am not sure I have achieved but am working on it for sure!
There are a few character traits that are definitely instrumental to the successes I have achieved and, in my opinion, are needed to be successful in any business.
- Self discipline. I have set a daily routine to do certain things every day.
Those daily things have attributed to everything I have and am becoming.
Getting up when my alarm goes and not hitting the snooze button is the start to a powerful day! - Commitment to personal growth. I was told, you attract who you are, early in my career. This thought changed my perception of reality.
In that moment, I made a decision to ‘obsess’ about growth.
I make sure to read and listen to good audio everyday. By changing my associations I was able to change my results — internally and externally. - Coachability. When I started my business I had people trying to coach me, but I didn’t want to do everything they suggested.
Then one day, I got tired of being where I was and wanted to get to the next level, so I decided to become as coachable as I could. {a possible variation- you decide: The positive results were obvious over the next couple of years!
Jerome Knyszewski: Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Angela Bradford: One way to avoid “burn out” is to have a strong reason for getting up and going to work everyday.
Have a strong connection to why you work hard and the life it can give you, or the people you can help. That has helped me so much in the times I was tired and grumpy.
Another tip is to make sure I have relaxation time scheduled into each week to refresh my body and soul.
What I mean by for the soul, are activities such as meditation, reading, walks, or anything that helps refresh my mind and spirit.
Jerome Knyszewski: What are the most common mistakes you have seen CEOs & founders make when they start a business? What can be done to avoid those errors?
Angela Bradford: Most people try to manage, not lead their people.
They think because they are the CEO and/or the founder they can push their weight around rather then just leading by example and from the front.
One suggestion for helping with this, is reading or listening to lots of John Maxwell’s books and audios.
John is one of the foremost leadership experts, and he knows what he is talking about regarding leading a successful organization.
Jerome Knyszewski: In your experience, which aspect of running a company tends to be most underestimated? Can you explain or give an example?
Angela Bradford: From my experience, the behind-the-scenes internal personal growth part isn’t talked about enough.
I was told in my first year that we all attract who we are, not what we want. In that moment I committed to reading and growing everyday into a better version of myself.
As I changed and grew, the people around me and in the company also changed and grew.
The results were amazing! Major growth in the business and also in my life happened and that makes everything became more fun and fulfilling.
They think because they are the CEO and/or the founder they can push their weight around rather then just leading by example and from the front. Angela Bradford
Jerome Knyszewski: You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Angela Bradford: I am working on creating a movement to empower women to reach their full potential. Ladies, you are capable of everything you want to become and accomplish.
Jerome Knyszewski: How can our readers further follow you online?
Angela Bradford: They can find me on Instagram at @realangelabradford and I would love to hear from anyone there! Here to help if I can!
Jerome Knyszewski: This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!
