Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/477247
40 Hartford Business Journal • July 21, 2014 www.HartfordBusiness.com Jarrett Solomon Age: 33 Title at work/what I do: Director at Connecticut Wealth Management LLC. Like all of my teammates with whom I work, my job is to organize, simplify, and oversee all aspects of our clients' financial lives. Ultimately, the goal is for our clients to focus on the important things in their lives knowing that they have a trusted team of experienced professionals giving them real, honest advice. In addition to these responsibilities, I oversee our firm's investment committee, spearhead the company's Community Outreach program, and write articles for publication. Town where I work: Farmington Town where I live: West Hartford College I attended: Amherst College My passion, hobby or special talent: I don't know if it's a talent, but it's special to me: the ability to make complicated subject matter understandable. Twitter handle: @jsolomonctwm No. of LinkedIn connections: 400 Favorite place to network: West Hartford Center Favorite drink at a networking event: Beer How do I create connections in my profes- sional life? Through friends, clients, their trusted advi- sors, and networking events, I am often intro- duced to other professionals in the Hartford area. More often than not, I end up gravitating to like-minded individuals who care only about doing what's right for their clients. Sharing this trait with fellow professionals forges an imme- diate bond and one that I expect will continue throughout our working lives. One way I have been able to deepen these connections is by inviting these professionals to our firm and demonstrating how we operate. What's been my biggest challenge professionally? I started in this field when I was 22, so early in my career I had to show folks that age does not necessarily equate to sound and honest counsel. I have heard countless examples of people receiving subpar guid- ance and poor service from their seasoned advisors; my biggest challenge has been to illustrate that good advice is more about an advisor's credentials and objective approach than it is the number of years someone has been in the business. What is the best advice I received? The best advice I have received may seem trite, but it is just to be a good person. Wheth- er it means being a good father, good hus- band, good son, good friend, or good advisor, I do my best not to let any outside influence obstruct my simple goal of being a genuine individual each and every day. What do I want my legacy to be? I want to be remembered, both person- ally and professionally, as someone who both never gave up trying to improve him- self and who enriched the lives of the people around him through humor, generosity, and selflessness. 40 Under Forty 2014 Jarrett was quoted in a Wall Street Journal article on Jan. 14. FUN FACT Zachary Schwartz Age: 39 Title at work/what I do: Creative executive officer at Fusion Cross-Media LLC. I help businesses grow! My passion is solving business challenges using creativity and strategy to integrate print, web, mobile, and social media together to create actionable, cross-media marketing strategies that drive measurable results. That was my elevator pitch. Simply put, I think up and develop innovative, data-driven, sales and marketing programs using emerging technolo- gies to engage with any audience online or offline. Town where I work: Manchester Town where I live: Longmeadow, Mass. College I attended: Marshall University My passion, hobby or special talent: Guitar Twitter handle: @FusionCMM No. of LinkedIn connections: 475 Favorite place to network: HBJ events Favorite drink at a networking event: Vodka and soda with lime How do I create connections in my profes- sional life? The past five years have been exciting, challenging, extraordinary and rewarding. Many small successes have helped me to both expand my professional connections and grow professionally. In 2011, we were awarded first place in a New England industry competition by PINE (PINE.org). In 2012 we were recog- nized with a national award by Printing Indus- tries of America (printing.org) for the category Customized, Personalized, Variable-Data Digital Printing. In 2013, PINE awarded us again in the category of Marketing and Cross- Media promotion for our 5Star GEM (guest experience management) program for restau- rants. In 2013 Fusion Cross-Media took first place honors for our 5Star GEM Restaurant program pitch at the CT Business Expo "Get Started CT" pitch competition by Cox Busi- ness and Inc. Magazine. At this event, I met many interesting entrepreneurs in varying business startup stages and connected with a mentor from CT Next. My new connections invited me to join a meet-up for startups and this lead me to XcellR8, a group that meets at NERAC and I love learning from the experi- ences of other startups. In 2013, I was asked to serve on the board of LEEF (Longmeadow Educational Excellence Foundation). We help to raise money and provide grants to all edu- cators within the Longmeadow Public School System — this year we awarded over $80,000 in grants. Also in 2013, I was nominated to serve on the board for Printing Industries of New England (PINE). Now in 2014, 40 under 40! Volunteering, events, competitions, refer- rals and just simple networking are some of the ways I make many professional business connections. What's been my biggest challenge professionally? I'm great at helping businesses tell their stories, but I'm very modest and have a dif- ficult time sharing my own story. What is the best advice I received? You should talk with as many people as you can because you never know who you are going to meet or the interesting conver- sations you are going to miss. What do I want my legacy to be? I want to be remembered for creating my own path and for my perseverance for taking the difficult steps on my journey to reach my success. 40 Under Forty 2014 Zachary has 14 recommendations written about him and his business on LinkedIn. FUN FACT