Women in Wealth: Guest Hayley Brown

In this of the Women in Wealth series, Phil sits down with Hayley Brown to explore her unconventional path from theater and the creative arts into financial coaching and advice. She shares how years of juggling gig‑economy work, inconsistent income, and financial stress ultimately inspired her to become the kind of empathetic, judgment‑free guide she once searched for herself. The episode highlights how skills in acting, deep listening, empathy, improvisation, and storytelling, have become unexpected superpowers in helping clients navigate shame, uncertainty, and major life decisions around money. Her journey is a powerful reminder that the future of wealth management depends on relatable voices who can meet clients where they are and help them move forward with confidence. Immerse yourself in a fresh viewpoint on how empathy, real‑life storytelling, and accessible financial guidance are expanding who the industry can serve and how deeply it can resonate.

Resources:

Phil on LinkedIn

Hayley on LinkedIn

Transcript

Phil: I have a technique I learned to get into the flow, so we’ll start there: what is your favorite haircare product?

Hayley: My favorite haircare product is texture spray or salt spray. I’ve been into salt spray recently.

Phil: I inquire—what’s the difference between texture spray and salt spray?

Hayley: Salt spray will add a little bit of a curl to my hair, and texture spray just will add some volume and texture.

Phil: Sounds like I need both. Okay, so there we have it. One of the great joys that anybody who has been in business for any period of time comes to really appreciate is seeing individuals they have literally known their entire life mature and grow into not just adults, but accomplished adults. Today’s guest on Cannon Connect certainly fits that criteria. We are talking with Hayley Brown. Hayley is actually the eldest daughter of my colleague, Clark Brown, and is someone I have known literally her entire life almost. I think you were maybe in little smock dresses when you first came to Georgia some many years ago. Hayley, welcome to Cannon.

Hayley: Thank you. Thanks so much for having me.

Phil: Hayley, your journey to financial services was certainly a measured and linear path. I mean, it was step by step. It was something from age two that you had always wanted to do. Actually, from age two, I think the driving force in your life has been theater, the arts, acting, et cetera. How does somebody as accomplished as you in that field—I mean, you’re still in the world of acting, you’re in commercials and I think you’re still very passionate about the theater—how does a young lady go from that to financial services? What does that path look like?

Hayley: It’s pretty circuitous, and it involved a lot of personal struggle and strife in the freelancer grind. I went to school to study theater in Los Angeles at USC and stayed after I graduated to pursue acting. I was working up to eight part-time jobs at any one time, between driving for Uber and Instacart shopping and babysitting and temping and just literally anything and all very flexible, low-paying jobs in the name of being available for all these auditions that I wasn’t having.

That period of time was very stressful. It was exciting in some ways—I was creating my own work and producing short films and theater with friends in LA—but it was also very sad financially. I remember Googling at one point "financial therapist." Does that exist? Because that's what I wanted. I needed help with several things, including filing taxes with someone who I would not feel judged by, and who would understand a little bit more about what I was trying to do and why my job situation looked crazy.

I remember having a call with a guy who worked for a budgeting app. It was part of this LearnVest thing—I don't think it necessarily exists anymore—but I had a call as part of my setup onboarding with this budget tool that I was trying really hard to use. I was explaining all the things I was doing and he was like, "Well, what are you gonna make next month?" And I had no idea, man. He was like, "Well, it kind of sounds like you need a job." I was like, "Well, but I’m an actor." That was very frustrating, and I’d never felt like I had a handle on my own personal, just day-to-day budgeting, much less any kind of planning for the future. And for my dad, having been in the financial services industry for so long, he didn’t really teach me anything growing up.

Phil: Now, just so you know, we can't edit that part out, so that is gonna be included. Sorry.

Hayley: He knows; he’s heard me tell people. I guess a few years ago I had fallen backwards into marketing as my day job for about 10 years. That was great for a time. It did help me get some financial stability and I did what the budget guy said—eventually I did get a job that had benefits and regular, dependable pay for a few years, finally contributed to a 401(k) in my late twenties. It was like adulting 101 right there.

I didn’t love the marketing work. I was good enough at writing to be a copywriter/content writer. I liked the people I worked with and the clients, but I didn’t like the actual doing of the stuff. I was at my wit's end of "how do I get out of this?" This is the career that I accidentally carved out for myself, and I have no other marketable skills after being a theater major. I mean, there are many marketable skills that cross over into other things, but my dad was kind of joking and was like, "Come join me. Why not get into what I’m doing?"

I was like, "Ugh, math." I wasn’t very good at math. It sounds like a lot of numbers. I don’t really think I’d be good at that. And he was like, "Well, there are tools for the math. It’s more about working with people on these really important life questions about their priorities and planning for how they want to live their lives." That was something I really feel very passionate about. I did end up figuring out how to budget with inconsistent income using the YNAB (You Need A Budget) app. That was the only thing that's ever worked for me, and I am so obsessed with it. I became a certified coach with them so I can do budget coaching with YNAB, and I have wanted to be a certified coach because I would not shut up about it anytime it came up with my friends. I loved the idea of helping people with that kind of thing. And then the more that my dad and I talked about it, the more I was like, "Oh, maybe I can be the financial therapist I was Googling for in my late twenties."

Phil: Often it's those personal experiences—that inflection point where you can't find what you're looking for—and creative people step into the breach and say, "Well, I'll just simply build what I’m looking for." It sounds like that's exactly what you've done. You made reference to this: there are lots of marketable skills that come with expertise in the world of theater. In your role now as a financial therapist/coach, what experiences or skills do you take from theater and bring to the role?

Hayley: I’m really good at memorization. For memorizing lines—I'm not memorizing lines before I'm meeting with people, obviously—but remembering things about them and their story. If I've already met with them or if I have any information beforehand, I'm usually good at holding that in my mind so I don't have to have them repeat a whole lot of information. And improv—I'm pretty good on my feet. "Yes, and-ing" anyone's situation. I think it's also just an overall empathy thing. Generally, people who are actors are very empathetic or have trained their empathy a lot to be able to have delicate conversations with people about things that maybe they're scared about or ashamed of, and making it feel comfortable. It's a thing that I think actors are pretty well-suited for because we have worked so much on our own empathy and approaching characters and stories.

Phil: I got it. In your work, I’m gonna guess that you probably naturally gravitate towards those individuals that maybe are more creative or maybe finance wasn't "their thing," and you're trying to help them unpack that. Is that a fair characterization?

Hayley: Yeah, I think so. The clients I'm currently working with are not necessarily people who are super like me with a creative background, though I do have one career changer. I would like to work with more creatives with inconsistent income—like the people that I'm on sets with in the commercial world. All these crew people are working job to job; you're not employed full-time by one company. A lot of these people have families and I'm curious about how they're managing their financial futures. I've had a few conversations here and there on set, but I don't really know how people are doing it currently, or if they are, because it doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of information out there.

Phil: That's the scary part, right? In the gig economy, we’ve certainly seen that emerge over the last 15, 20 years where individuals are doing four or five, six different things. They're hustling. It's being a good steward of finances even when you didn't have that upbringing or education early on. Finding somebody that "speaks your language" and is empathetic, and doesn't apply rote financial planning to every situation, that's gotta be professionally attractive.

Hayley: Absolutely. My dad has an exercise he does with cards that have priorities on them in the first discovery meeting. I love that exercise because that looks so different for different people. We can take those priorities and build a plan for them rather than just following "best practices" that could be someone else's dream financial plan, but not yours.

Phil: You represent what is exactly right about the direction financial services is taking. It's Women's History Month and we're having this conversation with a focus on successful women in the industry. It began as a focus on highlighting successful female professionals, but it has evolved into a recruiting tool to find the next Hayley Brown—someone who has that approachability, communication skillset, and empathy that allows people to lower the guardrails and have real conversations about hopes, dreams, and fears. What do you say to other younger women who maybe didn't major in finance but are looking to make an impact? Is this the right career for that individual?

Hayley: I think if something interests you—like how I found myself down deep rabbit holes on personal budget related stuff and YNAB—it's an ideal combination. I at one point thought I wanted to be a therapist, and then I realized I could combine these two interests. I have ADHD, so when I get interested in something, I will really hook into it. When I can combine something that hooks my interests with making a living, that's ideal.

Phil: What have you discovered for yourself that you wish you had known at age 22 about financial planning or money? What's something you wish other younger people getting started in their career understood?

Hayley: I wish I had found YNAB way earlier. I didn't really understand how credit cards worked—I mean, I understood the concept, but I wasn't good at using them until I had a system. In my early twenties, I wish someone had given me the tool to manage that responsibly. And I think the messaging I got as a theater major was "don't have a plan B," because if you have one, you'll fall back on it and won't be an actor anymore. I resisted having any other career for years because of that. The reality is there isn't really a working-class journeyman actor class anymore due to how streaming and residuals work. I wish I'd understood that having a job that paid me regularly with benefits gave me so much more freedom to invest financially and time-wise into my acting career. I didn't have to stress about headshots or asking my mom for help with an improv class. I wish I'd accepted that you can do more than one thing a lot sooner.

Phil: Work ethic has never been a challenge for you. Unfortunately, sometimes members of your generation get a bad rap for not being committed, but really it's just that you're not following the traditional linear path of your parents' generation. Life and industries evolve. You're now preparing to take the College for Financial Planning board exam to become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). How has that education evolved your thinking?

Hayley: There is just the reality that as a theater major, there's so much information I don't know. I'm filling a lot of knowledge gaps at this stage. I did my Series 65 last year and gained a lot of knowledge there. With my CFP course right now, frankly, I have not been super "in it" because I've been working on these commercial productions so much the last several months, but I am getting back into it soon and I'm excited to see how things further evolve.

Phil: You've used the term "therapist" and "coach" a couple of times. Financial counsel has really shifted to the positive over the last five or ten years. Your dad is right: there are hundreds of tools to do the number crunching, but the role of a financial coach today is helping people make sense of the information and create an agreed-upon pathway forward. What else do you want to see evolve and change in the industry?

Hayley: I would love to see more people accessing financial advice earlier in their careers. In my age range, there is an idea that financial planning is for rich people getting ready to retire. It's for everyone. Starting to think about things even earlier is only going to benefit you, and I think having more accessible levels of financial advice for up-and-coming generations will continue. I would love to be a part of that.

Phil: The best time to plant a tree was yesterday; the second best time is today. Start early, even if it's pennies or just the basics of budgeting. Having that foundation is critical.

Hayley: Yeah, and I think it's important to keep things flexible. When I'm budget coaching, I tell clients that the spending plan is not written in stone. If you deviate, you haven't failed. It's constantly evolving with how your priorities shift and what you are valuing today versus next month. Life happens, and that's okay.

Phil: I'm struck by the authenticity and humility with which you tell your story. You're on a pathway for your clients, and you're going through the same evolutions they are. That makes you so approachable. Thank you for being part of Cannon Connect and for the work you're doing to shape the future of financial services.

Hayley: Thank you so much for having me. This was fun!

Phil: Cannon Connect is a production of Cannon Financial Institute. Executive producer is Sarah Jones. Editing and mixing is done by Danny Brewer. On behalf of my guest, Hayley Brown, and all of the team at Cannon Financial Institute, I'm Phil Buchanan. Wishing you a great week. Bye-bye for now.