.jpg)
Terry Braun: Edward Jones’ guru
Life is only as short, or as long, as you make of it and by that definition, Terry Braun has lived multiple lifetimes.
Recognized by Forbes for her work as an Edward Jones Financial Advisor, Braun was named as a 2025 Forbes Top Woman Wealth Advisor Best-In-State this past February. It’s not the only recognition Braun has received in her vast career and is rather a testament to her pure grit and the determination she gives to every job she’s ever held or wanted.
Originally hailing from Coldspring, Braun found her way to Houston after acquiring an interview for a sales job in Houston selling epoxy coatings. Braun’s tenacity had been a major part of her upbringing, having come from humble beginnings, and wanting to make a successful career for herself.
Despite her lack of knowledge and the fact that she was in the running against 600 other applicants, Braun says she was offered the position because she never stopped learning and working hard towards her goal, an ideology that helps her even now in her work with Edward Jones.
“Without good clients, I would’ve never got this award, it makes me feel grateful,” said Braun. “I’m just overjoyed to be with this firm, in this company and have this opportunity. I’m a big proponent of people having opportunities. I’m living proof that if you want it bad enough, all you have to do is work for it. You have to go out and never think that you can’t do something, because anything you want to do you can do.”
Braun’s work ethic has seen her land in career paths that have all stemmed from her desire to learn more and surround herself with opportunity. In her time as a Houstonian, she acquired a job as an Executive Recruiter, working in the position for 25 years where she found “people for companies” and not “companies for people.”
Her time living in Houston would slowly start to fade as her favorite hobby became a craving she couldn’t resist; riding horses. With the landscape of Houston not suitable for the open-riding Braun was looking for, she ventured out to look for land and ended up in Weimar. What initially was supposed to be a weekend home turned into a place she found herself in constantly, eventually giving up the fast-paced life in Houston to enjoy her equestrian life in Weimar.
Braun’s work- ethic would creep into her hobby as well, and before she knew it, she had a full-fledged horse breeding business, created after a stallion she bought won the United States equestrian team a gold medal. That business allowed her to travel all over the world showing and selling horses.
Despite the fun Braun was having, all good things must come to an end, with Braun eventually deciding to sell the business and head in a different direction in 2008; starting an oil field service company.
The company stemmed from Braun’s quick thinking, realizing the demand for generators to oil fields in Eagle Ford. Despite her lack of knowledge surrounding the generators, her intuition told her to chase the opportunity after driving down to the Eagle Ford area to see what all the excitement was about.
After a conversation with her son, who worked in the oil and gas industry himself, Braun decided to drive two hours to San Antonio to purchase the generators and rent them out to those in the oil fields. That business began to take off, with Braun ultimately deciding to sell the company in 2013.
It was that year that Braun would unknowingly embark on her next journey within her professional career and meet the love of her life. After selling her oil and gas business, she went to Edward Jones to find a way to invest her money properly, encouraged at the time by the representative she met with to look into a career at Edward Jones.
“I sold my company, so I had some money,” said Braun. “I came to Edward Jones, I met with Gary, and I talked to him about different jobs I was looking at doing and that I sold my company, and he said, ‘you should think about being an Edward Jones person.’” Braun was initially skeptical about the opportunity because just like some of the other jobs she’s held in the past, she didn’t know anything about the field, but with her tenacious personality, she embarked on yet another career path at the ripe age of 50 after passing the required tests to be an Edward Jones Financial Advisor.
“Edward Jones provides great training,” said Braun. “We have very strict guidelines, and we have to adhere to all the laws and rules. I contribute the training that they’ve given more over the years to my success.”
Braun believes that anybody with a strong sense of will can achieve anything they put their minds to, advising any and all to “never be afraid to ask questions,” emphasizing the cliche that there are no such things as dumb questions.
“Never be afraid to ask questions and never try to bully your way in,” said Braun. “Don’t make stuff up if you don’t know the answer, just say you don’t know the answer, but you will find out and let the person know. I had great teachers that said there are no such things as dumb questions, we’ve heard it over and over. But it’s intimidating when you ask a question because you think ‘well everyone else in the room knows the answer’ just for you to ask it and realize no one else knows the answer, so it was a good question. You just have to be able to listen but also know when to ask.”
