Meet the Team: Tim Connolly
Tim Connolly has joined the Yeske Buie team as an Associate Financial Planner in our San Francisco, CA office, and his authenticity and warm smile have been a welcome addition to our robust team. Tim joins the team with several years of professional experience in tax consulting and financial planning. Tim’s favorite part of financial planning is the ability to work with so many talented and interesting people, and he’s excited to start working with YOU, our amazing Clients, very soon.
In this edition of Meet the Team, we learn more about Tim’s perspective on life, family, and financial planning, including what he thinks is the secret sauce to genuinely caring for our Clients. We think you’ll find this conversation to be a deep and meaningful introduction to our new team member who we can’t wait for you to meet and work with in coming time. Welcome to the team, Tim!
Yeske Buie: Thank you for being willing to share in this space – we’re looking forward to getting to learn more about you! Just like we do with our Clients as we get to learn more about them, we’d like to start by asking you to simply tell us about yourself…
Tim Connolly: Sounds good – I think a good place to start is at the beginning. I was born and raised in San Francisco and lived in the city for 18 years before moving away to college. I went to Kenyon College in Ohio where I studied economics and played basketball, and I did reasonably well at both. After college, I went through a bit of a figuring it out period. My parents owned a bar and restaurant which was a big part of my life growing up. From my experiences at the restaurant, I knew I found fulfillment in being a part of making someone else’s day a little better, but I wasn’t sure how to match that with a degree in economics. I considered the field of consulting because of the interpersonal aspect, but the world of finance also called to me because it’s so deep. I knew I wanted a career that truly fulfilled me – one where I went to bed at night feeling good about what I’d done and like I’d made an impact – and I’m glad to have landed in financial planning as I feel it gives me the fulfillment I was searching for.
Yeske Buie: That’s not something everyone can say – kudos to you for putting in the effort to get to that place. If there’s more to share, we’d love to dive deeper into your journey into financial planning.
Tim Connolly: Yeah! So an important facet of my upbringing is that my parents are Irish immigrants. Looking back now, I can really appreciate how this aspect of my life impacted my childhood in a fun and interesting way. I had one foot in American (San Francisco) culture and one foot in Irish culture, which meant that from a young age, I was exposed to different experiences, perspectives, and ways of doing things. I started to internalize that family – specifically my Mom, Dad, and Brother – was extremely important to me. As I grew older, “family” expanded to mean not just the immediate people around me, but also the “family,” the friends, and the community that I chose (which now includes my wife and two more cool parents and a brother-in-law who are very important to me!).
Fast-forward to 2020, and times became very tough for my family – COVID was very difficult for the restaurant world. This was the first time I gained an awareness for how important financial planning could be for people. I spent a lot of time on the phone with my Dad, Mom, and Brother during COVID stressing out about how the restaurant was doing. And in those moments, a light bulb went off for me where I realized helping people in situations like what my family was experiencing was what I was really passionate about. It was the blend of thinking strategically and working with people on a personal level that I’d been looking for. A friend helped me connect with someone in the financial planning profession, and that’s how I landed my first job in financial planning.
Yeske Buie: Wow – their grit and resilience is inspiring and clearly had an impact on you, as well. What have you discovered are some of the most important skills for a financial planner to serve their Clients to the best of their abilities?
Tim Connolly: I’ll start by sharing that the thing that caught my eye about financial planning is that you can work with people on a really deep and authentic level and think strategically with them. Like helping someone make a plan to save for their child’s college education; that’s really exciting to me! The technical skills of being a financial planner are important, but they have to be considered table stakes, in my opinion. The secret sauce is, like we say at Yeske Buie, becoming a good person to think with. I think a Client should feel like their financial planner is truly listening to them, taking in everything that they’re saying, and merging that with being resourceful and compassionate. It’s one thing that I think is striking about each person at Yeske Buie – everyone is an amazing listener. They don’t just sit and nod, you can tell they’re really hearing what you’re saying and thinking about it deeply.
Yeske Buie: That’s really kind of you to share and we’re glad it feels that way! Tell us more about why you chose to join the Yeske Buie team.
Tim Connolly: One of the things I was really drawn to was how the Founders, Dave and Elissa, have shown up within the profession and within the Golden Gate University program that I am currently enrolled in. Everything that Dave has shared in the lectures and assignments has resonated with me in how I think financial planning should be done for Clients. Even more so than that, it’s clear that the firm has a broader mission of deeply serving and caring for Clients.
Sydney Woodward’s pro bono work for San Francisco’s Financial Planning Days was also an inspiration for me. I admire her commitment to giving back and doing what she can for the community. I’ve also seen the Yeske Buie team at various conferences and events within the community, and they seem to be truly enjoying what they’re doing. These are just some of the reasons I wanted to join the Yeske Buie team.
Yeske Buie: I appreciate you sharing that. It sounds like a lot of our values are aligned. In sharing the story about Sydney’s pro bono work, would you say that Give Big is the Yeske Buie core value that resonates most with you?
Tim Connolly: The Yeske Buie values, and values in general, are of top tier importance for me. While Give Big is up there, I’d say that Be Big is one of the most important to me. If I think back on my life, I recognize that there are so many people who have made me into the person I am today, and many of those people made big sacrifices for me. This makes me appreciate that everyone who comes into my life is giving me something, and I feel that it’s my responsibility to be a good steward of that gift to help me be the best version of myself. I appreciate everything that I’ve been given, and I hope to Be Big in return.
Yeske Buie: We admire that philosophy, Tim. That’s beautiful. We have one final question as we wrap up here. What motivates you? What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Tim Connolly: It’s my family. My Mom, Dad, and Brother have always inspired me, and my wife, Leslie, is now also one of my biggest motivators. She’s an amazing human being and she makes my dreams possible. She’s supported me through every choice I’ve made throughout our relationship, including this recent choice to join the Yeske Buie team. A lot of who I am and what I have isn’t possible without her, and I want to make sure she gets a big shout out. She’s great in so many ways but she shows up for me every single day, supporting me unconditionally, and that serves as a huge motivation to be the best person I can be for her.
Yeske Buie: What a sweet way to end this conversation! Thank you again, Tim, for everything that you’ve shared with us. The way you’ve shown up for the Yeske Buie team and our Clients so far and we can’t wait to see what all lies ahead in our relationship together.