Jasmine Renae Ball, MSW, CRC, CFP®
Early in Jasmine Ball’s career as a financial planner, she met a woman at a conference who said, “You can’t help me, I’ve never saved anything in my life.” But helping people is what Jasmine does. With an academic background in education and psychology, Jasmine approaches financial planning from a human-first perspective and sees financial literacy and education as a way to give back to her community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and beyond. So, Jasmine set up the worried woman with a plan to save $100 per month, all free of charge. When she called to check in about a year later, the woman had $1,000 in savings, and was so happy she cried.
Jasmine founded Bamboo Financial Partners in 2021 to educate clients and help them build a stable financial foundation. Besides empowering her clients to take control of their financial lives with a solid understanding, Bamboo also partners with local organizations providing food and educational assistance to the community, and Jasmine volunteers with the Tulsa Dream Center, as a court-appointed special advocate, with the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and more. She also gives financial literacy presentations at high school and colleges, inspiring the next generation to make sound choices for their futures.
We caught up with Jasmine to learn more about the values behind Bamboo, and how Jasmine is turning financial planning into community building.
How did you come to found Bamboo Financial Partners?
I grew up in rural Northern California. There were only five students in my graduating class, and I’d never even heard of the finance industry. I was the first person in my family to go to college, and I paid my way through school by babysitting for the child of a financial advisor. One summer, she took me on as a part-time assistant, and I got to see the career and the relationships she forged with my own eyes. I got licensed at 20 and joined Forresters Financial in 2011. I climbed the ladder and built my career there. But when I moved to Tulsa, I became more distant from the company, since they didn’t have an Oklahoma office, so in 2021, I went out on my own to found a company that aligned more with my own values.
Why did you choose the name Bamboo?
I wanted to choose a name that conveyed both a concept and a purpose. Bamboo can grow up to three feet in a day, which blows my mind. It has accelerated growth, is stronger than steel, and spends three to five years underground building its root system before sprouting. Foundations matter, whether people have wealth or are just starting out, and I want to help people build that.
How does Bamboo approach finances?
Our main goal is empowerment through education. We believe that when people have access to the right information, they’ll make the right decisions. We make sure the client has the full overview. Finance is not always black and white, so we help cover those gray areas. I give people the facts to help optimize their savings while understanding their comfort levels. I also want to make finances accessible, so even though we’re based in Tulsa, many of our clients are in different states, and while I love working with high-net-worth clients, I never want to stop working with families similar to mine and with lower socioeconomic status. There’s pressure to define who you work with, but I never want anyone to feel excluded. I want to work with everyone.
How does your educational background serve you in the world of finance?
My background is in understanding people. I feel the relationship with my clients should be truly reciprocal. I love educating them, but also learning from them. I can help them define and verbalize their goals as well as the accountability to work towards those goals, and I get to celebrate with them when it happens. I really just want to help, and finance is the medium through which I do that. I understand that clients’ lives are multidimensional, not just finances, so I incorporate the other important facets of their lives as well.
What’s your favorite aspect of your work?
The sharing aspect. The sharing of knowledge and passion. It’s mutual inspiration. I love working with people, and they enjoy working with me. I send a lot of handwritten notes, something I learned from my mom. It’s important that each client knows they mean something to me. I also love our monthly volunteering projects.
Jasmine Renae Ball, MSW, CRC, CFP®
Founder and Financial Planner — Bamboo Financial Partners
Website: www.bamboofinancialpartners.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasminerenaeball/
Facebook: Bamboo Financial Partners