Financial Advisor Success

Latest Episodes:

Ep 120: Building A Personal Finance Media Brand By Focusing On Being Your Authentic Self with Manisha Thakor Apr 16, 2019

Show notes

Manisha Thakor is the founder of MoneyZen, a financial literacy and education platform focused on empowering women, and the VP of Financial Wellbeing at Brighton Jones, an independent RIA with $5 billion in assets under management. After following quite a unique path into the industry, Manisha built her own platform to share her message of financial literacy for women through speaking gigs and media appearances—despite being an introvert.

In this episode, Manisha shares what it really takes to build a personal finance brand, as well as how she learned to view her introversion as an asset rather than a hindrance. Listen in to learn how she built her confidence, what she wishes she had known earlier, and how she has remained successful by forming relationships, building connections, and relying on the power of being her authentic self.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/120

Ep 119: Career-Changing Into Financial Planning By Creating A Niche Serving Your Former Profession with Kenneth Robinson Apr 09, 2019

Show notes

My guest today keeps up our recent trend of speaking with advisors who serve a unique niche. The founder of Practical Financial Planning, Kenneth Robinson focuses his planning services specifically on Ohio public sector employees. A former public sector employee himself—before he transitioned into financial planning 20 years ago—Kenneth has managed to maximize the efficiency of his practice by developing a specialized knowledge of public sector employee issues and pensions.

In this episode, Kenneth shares how he built his business in such a narrow niche, as well as how his heavy specialization not only built his confidence as an advisor, but also made him comfortable increasing his fees. Listen in to learn how he structures his business, tips for dealing with toxic clients, and powerful advice he has received over the years.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/119

Ep 118: Passion Prospecting To Small Business Owners Through A Niche With Bass Fishermen with Jared Reynolds Apr 02, 2019

Show notes

Jared Reynolds is a partner at Wilkerson & Reynolds, an advisory firm that oversees nearly $160 million in assets under management. With a heavy focus on working with small business owners and their 401k plans, Jared has grown his business by serving a niche of bass fisherman, for whom he regularly organizes fishing and hunting trip expeditions as prospecting activities.

In this episode, Jared shares how he turned his passion into an effective business model, as well as his experience building his firm into the success it is today. Listen in to learn his strategy for networking and building relationships while having fun, what kind of marketing activities he's found to develop the best prospects, and how any advisor can create a similar opportunity with his or her own hobbies and passions.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/118

Ep 117: Forming A Specialized Advice Process To Add Real Value In Serving Small Business Owners with Josh Patrick Mar 26, 2019

Show notes

Josh Patrick is the founder of Stage 2 Planning, an independent RIA with a niche focus on working with small business owners. Leveraging his own personal experience as a small business owner—before he transitioned into his second career as a financial planner—Josh has been able to create a deeply specialized advice process for his clients that commands retainer fees in excess of $50,000 per year.

In this episode, Josh shares what he has done to make his expertise known and build a steady flow of prospects who seek him out. Listen in to learn what he says most advisors don't understand about building a successful business, the important lessons he learned while building his own, and what advisors can do to lessen the demands of their businesses on themselves, while simultaneously making significantly more profit.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/117

Ep 116: Building A Consumer Media And Author Presence To Gain Credibility As A 'Small' Independent Advisor with Harold Evensky Mar 19, 2019

Show notes

My guest today is one of the pioneers of financial planning under the RIA model. Harold Evensky is the co-founder and chairman of Evensky & Katz / Foldes Financial, an independent RIA in South Florida that oversees nearly $1.5 billion in assets under management. With over thirty years of experience in the field, Harold literally wrote the book on taking a holistic, goals-based wealth management approach to portfolio design with his 1997 publication, Wealth Management: The Financial Advisor's Guide to Investing and Managing Client Assets.

In this episode, Harold shares his experience starting an RIA in the early days of the independent advisor movement, before platforms like Schwab Advisor Services even existed. Listen in to learn what he did to help his firm compete against mega wirehouses, how the industry has evolved in the three decades since he started, and what it will take for financial planning to truly be recognized as a profession by the public.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/116

Ep 115: Building The Confidence To Turn A Personal Mission Into An Advisory Firm Niche with Hilary Hendershott Mar 12, 2019

Show notes

My guest today has crafted a niche of not just serving, but also trying to empower female clients. Hilary Hendershott is the founder of Hendershott Wealth Management, an independent RIA that oversees nearly $75 million of assets under management, as well as the creator of a coaching program for women trying to accumulate wealth and the host of a very successful podcast focused on helping women take control of their finances.

In this episode, Hilary shares her professional journey and how she grew her business into the success it is today. Listen in to learn how she set up and leveraged her podcast to grow her client base, how she overcame impostor syndrome to build up her confidence as a financial planner, and her advice for women just starting out in the industry. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/115

Ep 114: Why Creating A Great Client Experience Is About More Than Just Great Service with Dennis Moseley-Williams Mar 05, 2019

Show notes

Dennis Moseley-Williams is the founder of DMW Strategic Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that works with financial advisors to help them design and deliver a great client experience. Not simply focused on how to improve client service, Dennis studied under Joseph Pine, co-author of the seminal book The Experience Economy, and is trained in applying the book's concepts specifically to the domain of financial advisors.

In this episode, Dennis breaks down the difference between simply giving better service and a creating truly distinct experience. Listen in to learn what practical steps you can take to start adapting your firm toward improving client experience, how to more effectively target who you want to serve, and so much more.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/114

Ep 113: Scaling An Advisory Firm To Serve A Greater Mission Beyond Yourself with Stacy Francis Feb 26, 2019

Show notes

My guest today has made it her mission to empower women to take control of their finances. Stacy Francis is the president and CEO of Francis Financial, an independent RIA with a unique niche focus on recent widows and women going through the divorce process. She is also the founder of Savvy Ladies, a nonprofit focused on improving the financial wellbeing of all women.

In this episode, Stacy opens up about the challenging family situation that led her to enter the financial services industry to help women in particular, as well as why she says today's market is the worst one for divorcees that we've seen in nearly a decade. Listen in to learn how she built her business up to managing nearly $280 million in assets, why she hired business coaches for both herself and her team, and how making the decision to go all-in on a niche has helped Francis Financial grow as much in the past three years as it did in the 15 years leading up to the change.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/113

Ep 112: Finding The Time To Get The Right People Into The Right Seat Of Your Advisory Firm with Andrea Schlapia Feb 19, 2019

Show notes

Andrea Schlapia is the founder of Ironstone, a practice management coaching and consulting firm for financial advisors who are struggling with the business execution challenges of transitioning from a practice to a business. Building upon her own experience as a financial advisor and a practice management consultant, Andrea has developed what she calls the "fundamental four" pillars of practice management, as well as tools and strategies to support each one.

In this episode, she shares her fundamental four framework and where most advisory firms struggle within those key elements of running a successful business. Listen in to learn how often Andrea advises firms to take development days to work solely on the business, why she says it's so important to be ultra-selective when hiring and developing your team, and her specific process for assessing prospective hires and training staff to ensure her team stays as strong as possible.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/112

Ep 111: Why The Right Advisory Fee To Charge Is The One That Not All Clients Say "Yes" To with Jim Stackpool Feb 12, 2019

Show notes

Today I'm joined by our first international guest, who gives us a look at not only what financial advisor businesses look like in other parts of the world, but also how all advisors should start looking at their value propositions. Jim Stackpool is the founder of Certainty Advice Group, a practice management consulting firm for financial advisors based in Australia. With a unique focus on how to price and demonstrate the true value of financial advice, Jim is a firm believer that the expert value of advisors should be distinct from the products we implement.

In this episode, Jim shares what advisors need to consider when it comes to setting fees, as well as his advice for demonstrating value instead of simply justifying prices. Listen in to learn how to know whether your advisory services are priced appropriately, what many advisors fail to understand when it comes to being business owners, and what firms everywhere should be doing to make advice more valuable.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/111

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