Nicole Burdick recalls one of her first memories of creating organization for someone else. “I remember playing hide and seek at a friend’s house and hiding in the closet. I rearranged her closet while I was waiting to be found by the other kids.”
At the young age of 10, Nicole had already established herself as a person who knew that she could help others lessen the stress of their lives by simply making things just a little bit easier through her passion for organizing.
“It’s something about that fresh perspective,” says Nicole of working with people needing organizational assistance. “I see the hard choices that have to be made.”
Nicole’s youthful reorganizing skills blossomed into Simplified Space, a business around organizing for people based on their needs. While the business no longer exists, the experiences have propelled her forward.
Nicole, now a financial advisor with Waddell & Reed, has always been committed to making people’s lives easier and better and helping them to see a fresh perspective.
Growing up in a budget-conscious family, Nicole knows the importance of planning and what kinds of choices need to be made in order to achieve her goals both professionally and financially.
“If I wanted something, I figured out how to get it,” she says as she recalls picking up jobs such as dog sitting, nannying, and coaching gymnastics at the age of 13.
This entrepreneurial spirit came out of a necessity to plan, organize and make choices and has helped her throughout her career and life in working to meet the needs of others. Nicole says she’s learned to pick up on those clues when working with clients.
She recalls her family being very connected to the community. They knew the people in the town and liked connecting with them. Dinner time often meant discussing the day and who in the community they had seen.
Nicole enjoys building those same relationships today in Bellingham. She loves connecting – connecting with people and connecting people to people.
“I’m always interested in what resources are out there to help the people I know,” she says. “It brings me a lot of joy knowing I can bring the right people together for the right reasons.”
“I’m not afraid to have the tough conversations,” says Nicole of working with her financial clients. “I know that hard choices sometimes have to be made. I want to help make people’s lives easier and better by understanding those choices and how they can make a difference in their lives.”
“I want to see them reduce their stress loads and put themselves in a better situation,” she says.
Nicole goes on to say that, when working with clients, she sometimes sees a lot of shame around the discussion of money, whether they are comfortable or struggling. Situations are often stressful and hidden. But, as a compassionate and trusted resource she works with them to identify the tools that will help them understand budgets and goals.
“It’s budgeting and organizing melded into one,” she says.
She goes on to say that making financial decisions or engaging in financial planning isn’t always about avoiding stress but rather finding peace of mind. “There’s a lot of peace in simply knowing and understanding what you have and what your future can look like,” she says of the process.
For Nicole, it’s also about understanding the “why” behind a client’s motivations. She can help with framing the choices available so decisions don’t seem like a hard sacrifice but rather putting what’s more important at the front of the line.
And, it’s the understanding of the “why” that helped Nicole better understand the motivations of people in general. It’s something that’s always been important to her.
“Changes are hard and can be painful, but not as painful as the situation you may currently be in,” she says of working with people who may be in the midst of making difficult decisions. “When it comes down to it, you have to ask: are you willing to sacrifice what’s comfortable for what’s most important to you?”
It’s more about the quality of life than the quantity of things, she says. Sometimes working less hours may mean less money, but it also means more family time. There’s a lot of peace and confidence that comes with understanding why you’re doing the things you choose to do.
“I love helping people have a long-term perspective,” explains Nicole. “It’s helping people look to their future and protecting it while also creating the peace they desire in the present. I enjoy seeing people better their situations.”
It’s this giving with no expectation of getting back that has positioned Nicole as a resource for her clients and her community and has made her successful.
Recently, Nicole was honored to be nominated as one of the Top 7 Under 40 in the Bellingham community, a true testament to her commitment to the community and her clients and friends.
“In a nutshell, I just want to help,” says Nicole of her continued efforts and success in connecting and bringing her community together.
To reach Nicole Burdick, visit her website or call 360-714-3388. You can also send her an email at nburdick@wradvisors.com.
