Business and Beyond's Feature Friday ft. Anya Bradford

Building a Business That Lasts | Feature Friday with Anya Bradford
Longevity in business doesn’t happen by accident—it’s built through discipline, adaptability, and a commitment to continuous growth.

In this Feature Friday episode, Anya Bradford shares insights from over 16 years in the financial services industry as a registered investment advisor and life insurance specialist. Her journey reflects what it truly takes to build and sustain a business over time—far beyond technical expertise.

Through her experience, we explore key business lessons, including:

• Why consistency is one of the most underrated drivers of success
• How resilience shapes long-term business growth
• The importance of leading with clarity through every stage of business
• Why sustainable success comes from prioritizing learning, responsibility, and service

Anya’s evolution as a business owner highlights a powerful truth: lasting success is not built on quick wins, but on steady leadership and intentional growth.

If you’re focused on building something that stands the test of time, this conversation is one you don’t want to miss.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Feature Friday by Business and Beyond. I am Tanya Bardellini, your host, and today I am so excited to introduce you to Anya Bradford. She is a registered investment advisor and life insurance specialist, owning her own brokerage with Primerica Financial Services in Ocala, Florida. She's been in the business for over 16 years and was a Disney princess before that. She became a professional financial advisor. She's married to her dream man, Kevin, and has three amazing kiddos who keep her busy. So, Anya, thank you so much for being with us here today. Yeah, I'm so excited. Thank you for having me on. Oh, I'm very excited. So, can you tell us and give us an overview of what your business does and more importantly, why you got into it?

SPEAKER_00 1:10

Yeah, so we are really kind of financial coaches. We like to tell people that we're going to teach you about money and how it works, and then craft a financial plan that will help you reach your goals in every area, including investments, insurance, paying off debt, saving for children. All of that fits into your financial house. And so a lot of it is educating people about that financial house and then putting a plan in place so that you can accomplish everything. Who married her Prince Charming and got swept up to Georgia and they don't pay to be a princess in Georgia. So I had to, you know, figure out money, figure out a job, figure out how to make our finances work because we both brought a lot of debt into the marriage. And we uh did some research on our own. We went and talked to some bankers and people we thought knew a lot about money, but they really just wanted to sell us a product or sell us a loan. And so um when we encountered someone from Pro America who said, Hey, I teach people about money. Why don't I teach you a few things that that really caught my ear? And in the process, he taught us about money, put together a plan for us. In two years, we had all of that debt paid off. We had bought a house, we had an emergency fund that was big enough to pay cash for a car, and um, we were able to really move forward in our financial lives. Um, whereas before we were just so held back from our, you know, with our debt and everything. So when it worked for us, that's when I said, you know, I know a lot of people who need to feel financially free. Um, would you teach me what you did? Because I didn't understand it. I was a music person, I was an actress, I was a performer. And uh I through the grace of God, yeah, he taught me everything, brought me on board, trained me, got me licensed. And that was 16 years ago. And I've just loved every moment of this journey. That is absolutely wonderful. So you're really a teacher at heart. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And my degree is elementary music education. Um, and so now I find I just I'm just teaching grown-ups the stuff that we should have learned all along.

SPEAKER_01 3:39

So I love that you said that stuff that we should have learned all along, right? And they just don't teach things in school. Um so you touched a little bit about people that you've talked to before finding Priamerica of trying to get some help for finances. And you know, I commend you for doing that because there are so many people that go into debt and bring it with them to their marriages and continue on with that because they don't know what to do with it or what else there's available. And so what do you see as the biggest problem in your industry and how are you solving it?

SPEAKER_00 4:28

So I think on the consumer side, um, the biggest problem is lack of knowledge. People, like you said, they just don't understand how money works and how uh, you know, specifically personal finances need to fit together and need to function well. And I think on the professional side, uh, people take advantage of that by saying, just trust me. Um, rather than educating and getting that buy-in from the client so that they understand what's going on and how the process is going to work and what all the ins and outs are, um, I think a lot of people say, you know, I think this is what you should do, just trust me, sign here on the dotted line. Um, and then that's the end of the relationship. You know, it's it's transactional, it's not relational. And um, I really think if financial professionals took a more relational and educational approach to, you know, I don't know, just trying to help people. I think we could really turn things around, especially in America. Um, because when when people have knowledge, that's when they're able to do the right thing and make the right choices. If they're ignorant, it's it's really not even their fault that they're in debt and making those poor choices. They were never taught.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

But I love that you say that because what you're doing is empowering people to make their own decisions and become really financially savvy rather than just depending on someone who doesn't even know that. Right. So, how can you give someone advice as to their finances when you don't know who they are, you don't know what their life goals are, you don't know where they've been, you don't know their money habits. Right. So I love that you're actually educating people so that they can take that and use their own life experience and their goals to figure out what they want to do and how they want to do it to financially empower themselves.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Exactly. Yeah, and and I would say probably, you know, a lot of my daytime activity is educational. Um, I just I mean, you've said in on one of my educational seminars, you know, complete with jokes and stories and metaphors and everything, because that's how people learn. And if you can make finances less intimidating, people will retain it more and they'll be more willing to improve and to make those sacrifices, you know, where it comes to saving and spending and things. Um, but yeah, I just finished a three-week series at a doctor's office and just coming in and on their lunch break, just educating them about investments, credit score, insurance, all the things that that they should have learned, you know, budgeting, everything. Um, it's it's so fun to me. And I don't charge for it. It's not something that puts money in my pocket, but it's something that really builds a lot of um rapport and it really builds those relationships so that people then in turn can trust me. If I'm offering them education and steering them, you know, in the direction of their goals, they're gonna trust me when it comes to actually putting those pieces in place. So that's that's how I prefer to do business, is really just relational.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

And yes, I have seen you give educational seminars, and I think you are absolutely fantastic. You really do connect with your audience, and you know, finances is a very um big obstacle for most people, right? And it is something that's foreign and it makes people on edge, it makes people anxious, so they're less likely to understand it because they're already, you know, on this anxious side of things. Um, and you really do have a way of just calming people and making it fun for you know those who might not otherwise find it fun. So um I love and that's one of the reasons why I invited you on this podcast. Um you know, and do you think that your approach of relational, educational empowerment, would you say that's what has helped you become successful and be successful for 16 years of doing this?

SPEAKER_00 9:04

So success means a lot of things to a lot of different people, right? It can be different to everyone. And success to me is I'm getting chills, is that I made a difference in someone's life that is gonna be lasting beyond the moment. Um, that I've I've given them something. Um, it's not necessarily reaching a certain income level or, you know, having you know any kind of recurring revenue. Um, like I'm of the mindset, you know, my bank account's gonna take care of itself. Like that's in God's hands. My job is to take care of the people that He puts in front of me. And so I feel wildly successful when I have a conversation with someone and at the end of it, they feel less stressed about money and more prepared moving forward. And you see, you know, that gratitude in their eyes. Um, that's that's really what makes me feel successful because I know that that's gonna last, but also that I can put my head on my pillow and know that I accomplished my goal. There's so many things in business that aren't tangible. You can't force someone to buy something or or force a sale through, but man, if I can help someone, that is how I feel successful. Um, and it's also where I feel comfortable building relationships, making friends. Um, you know, if I make a living making friends, I think that's a pretty great business.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

But I have to agree. Um that is amazing. And so you've been in business for 16 years, and one of the things that I like to have my audience understand is that everybody has obstacles in business, and there are different ways of overcoming the same obstacles. And so, would you share with us uh one or two obstacles that you have faced or are facing and how you overcome them?

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Yeah, um, one that's very prevalent on my mind right now, because I do have the three kiddos that are keeping me busy, is um when we did start having children, I very much wanted to make sure I didn't sacrifice my family on the altar of my business. I wanted to make sure I could somewhat balance my life. We'll never completely be in balance. And I don't know that that's the goal, but I wanted to put things in place that would make sure that I wasn't regretting being at work and not being with my family when I was at work. And then every moment I was with my family thinking about, you know, the people I should have texted or the deals I should have closed or the plans I should have made. You know, I wanted to be able to be present where my feet were. And so I've just made it very practical in my schedule where these are the days that my kids go to either daycare or school. These are the hours they are taken care of, and these are the hours that I completely dedicate to work. And I've structured my schedule, I've structured everything around, really partitioning off those time blocks because I think that's so important and it's so easy to let our schedules just kind of slip and slide. Um, but if I'm gonna be fully present for my kids and my husband, and if I'm gonna be fully present for my clients and my business, I have to be able to have that distinction in my schedule. So I tell people, um, oh, you caught me on a deodorant day. Because, you know, if I'm hanging out like tomorrow, it's it's a day with my daughter. She's three. So tomorrow we're at home and we've got activities and errands, and I may or may not, you know, be in yoga pants and a messy bun. And, you know, so I kind of joke with clients. I say, you caught me on a deodorant day. Um, you should feel special. Um, just letting them know that I do have those priorities in place. Um, so that's that's one of the things that I knew was going to be a struggle. Um, but the other one I think a lot of business owners deal with is even just belief, just believing that we can succeed, that we can um become a professional in a new field, or you know, when we restart. And what I've really tried to do is surround myself with people who um who believe in me, but also who have experience in my field and can coach me and can build me up and can point me in the right direction. And just this past week, um, I hit a you know a huge roadblock and started spewing some some negative self-talk. And I was on the phone with one of my mentors up in Georgia and she said, Hold up, hold up, you stop right now. Stop what you're saying. That is not how you talk, that is not how you talk to yourself, that's not how you talk about yourself. And um, I don't know that she's ever spoken that bluntly with me before, and it was it was what I needed. And so surrounding myself with people who believe in me, even when I don't, I think that um really, really helps. Even after 16 years, you know, you're gonna have those moments where you need that support.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

You have just touched on so many different things that are so extremely important. One of them, boundaries, right? So many people fall into this trap of oh my god, if I don't service my clients when they need me right away, anytime, day or night, I'm gonna lose my clients, I'm gonna lose money, I'm not gonna be successful. And that is not true, right? Right, right. You've done it for 16 years with healthy boundaries. And one thing I always tell people you owe it to your clients, you owe it to your family, you owe it to your friends to give each one of them a hundred percent of yourself, right? And so taking care of yourself and having these healthy boundaries is not selfish, it is actually for their own benefit. Right. And so, from what you said, because you have those boundaries and you have those healthy boundaries of this is my time with my family, this is my time with my clients, you're giving each person that you're with a hundred percent of your attention, of your intellect, of your skills, of everything that you have. And I mean, what more can anybody ask for? Right? So thank you for that. Everybody listening, right? Have those set boundaries. Um, the other thing you said was surrounding yourself with people who believe in you and people who have been where you want to be. I'm putting those words in your mouth, but that's what I don't think.

SPEAKER_00 16:03

Yes, you're exactly right.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

Right, because we so often listen to people who love us but don't know what our goals are or haven't done it themselves. And the human brain automatically goes to fear of the unknown. Right. So anytime we're asking people who have not been there, done that for advice, especially those who are closest to us, they're gonna want us to not do it.

unknown 16:35

Right.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

Why? Don't do that. You're comfortable where you are, you don't need to, you know, try new things and risk failure, and it's all unknown, right? Yeah, where and it's coming out of love, right, right, to sabotage us, right? But we have those who have been there done that because they've already overcome that fear now, it's known to them, and so they're in a better position to help us, you know. Um and then with the people surrounding us, you also said she was blunt with you and said, No, don't do that. Right, right. We need that. We need people who are gonna push back and challenge us and get us out of our comfort zone rather than yes, yes, yes, you're right, you're awesome, yes, yes, yes. And then what happens? You don't grow.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

Giving them that permission, yes, to I I think that's really important.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

Oh, thank you so much. See everybody, those are like amazing nuggets. You have to write them down. Um, because it's it's something that you have to hear multiple times and practice, you know, because these are skills that you have, right? And these are skills that you're building. Um, so thank you so much for all of this.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

Um absolutely. Yes, if it helps anybody, that's I'm all about sharing. Anything that'll help anybody.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

That love it. So now it can let's continue sharing. What is actually working in your business and how did you get it to work?

SPEAKER_00 18:21

Yeah, um, so one thing that's really helped me was um belonging to a networking group. Um, because like we were talking about, like I I live in the relationship space. I really enjoy making friends and getting to know people. And so um, before moving to Florida, I wasn't a part of any kind of networking group or anything. And so that has absolutely blown the doors off of the possibility here. Um, just having that network of fellow business owners that we can bounce ideas off each other, but also we can pass referrals and um for me, just making more friends and learning from their wisdom. Um, some of my best friends have come from my networking groups, and I think that has been a huge uh change in my business, moving from Georgia to Florida, just being in that kind of environment.

SPEAKER_01 19:17

So to you, business isn't business, it's also personal. And you just said some of your best friends came from networking.

SPEAKER_00 19:26

Yes, yes. Um, it's hard for me to keep things separate because I do pour so much of my heart into my clients and my business. Um, so yeah, um, I I like to make friends everywhere I go. And whether they're clients or not, um, I love learning from the wisdom of those fellow business owners.

SPEAKER_01 19:47

So now let me ask you a question though. Have you found it to be a detriment in any way, shape, or form being friends with your clients and your networks and your referral partners rather than separating it as business and personal?

SPEAKER_00 20:06

Um, so not for me, because I always try to approach it um, you know, from a standpoint of I'm gonna, I'm gonna speak truth and I'm gonna speak what, you know, in my professional opinion, I believe is the best for you. But there's never any judgment and there's never any, you know, you have to do this or you have to go with me or you have to, yeah. I there's no requirements. Um, so I think I'm able to balance that. I'm able to be friends with people who aren't clients and um, you know, people who are clients, we can be friends or we can just keep it professional. But I I really just like to have relationships without any expectations, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

It does well to me, it does. I don't believe it's business is business and personal is personal because I think it's all right, right? We're all people, businesses are made up of people, so no matter what, it's always going to be personal in one way or another, right? Um, and it's just a matter of the degree that we know each other and that's basically it. Right. Yes. So I love that because another little nugget that everybody needs to understand when you are friends with your clients, it doesn't change the relationship in a bad way, right? You can still service them from a business perspective, you can still have those healthy boundaries, right? Yes. Um, they don't expect you to now all of a sudden be free just because you're a friend. Right. It just I don't know if it's your experience, but my experience is when you're friends with your clients, they tend to be more advocates for you and refer you to more people and speak about you even more, and you become more successful. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

I I would agree. I would agree. Because there's there's more, like I said earlier, there's more buy-in. There's more, you know, on the table. Like I've told you who I am. I've been vulnerable with you. You've been vulnerable with me. And and so there's that trust, that mutual trust that really goes a long way. And you said something interesting. You don't expect things to be free just because someone's your friend. And um, I've always tried to practice that. Like if someone, you know, does me a favor, or you know, if my friend has chickens and she's, you know, got eggs, I don't expect them to be free. Like I want to make sure people feel appreciated and not taken advantage of just because we're friends. Um, I always want that appreciation to be there. Um, you know, and and same thing with clients. If they send me a great referral, whether they're my friend or not, they're gonna get a gift card because that, you know, that just shows that appreciation in more than a smile. You know, when you when you put a check with a smile, it just goes a little deeper. And so that's that's important as well.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

It is appreciation goes such a long way. Recognition goes such a long way because we all like to be recognized, we all like to be appreciated. That's why we do a lot of things that we do is to help, right? To bring value. And when it's recognized and appreciated, it motivates us to want to bring more value and do more. So thank you so much for that. Um, before I let you go, how can people get in touch with you and do business with you, get to know you, network with you?

SPEAKER_00 23:46

Yeah, um, obviously, they can call me at any time. My cell phone number is right there on my website. Um, and there's a scheduling link on my website where people can click to schedule an appointment and goes right to my calendar. Um, but my favorite kind of appointments are hey, let's go grab coffee at such and such coffee spot. And we can talk about business, we can talk about your finances, but we can also talk about life. You know, like I've said over and over, those are my favorites. Let's grab lunch, let's talk over lunch. Why would we need to sit in the stuffy office when you know we can be enjoying a meal together? Um, that's that's really how I prefer to do business. So, yes, anyone, email me, call me, text me. Anytime I'll probably text you back at 10 p.m. just because I'm up because those kids are keeping me busy. Um, so uh, you know, yeah, they can always get in touch with me. And what is your website? So it's www.primerica.com slash Anya Bradford. That's A-N-Y-A-B-R-A-D-F-O-R-D. Super simple.

SPEAKER_01 24:51

And if you missed that, don't worry, it will be in the chat and at the end of this podcast. So you can always get a hold of her. And one last thing. What is the one thing or one advice that you one piece of advice that you would give a business owner to succeed or um to just to succeed? Yes.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

Yeah. Um it's integrity is so important. And I would say always doing the right thing, even when it's gonna cost you the sale, or even when you know it's really gonna hit hard, um, even when you don't want to be nice to that person because they were so rude to you, doing the right thing is always gonna come back. It's always gonna make you look better. Um, and God's got your back. So I would just say keep that integrity level high and don't don't compromise that. That will lead you to success. That thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

You've heard it here on Feature Friday with our princess, beautiful inside and out, Anya Bradford. Thank you so much for being here with us today. And for all of these business nuggets, um, I wish you continued success and see you all next time. Hi, everyone.