Start With "Why?" -- Here's Mine
Simon Sinek has popularized this powerful concept. I got into the financial planning business for only a few reasons:
To work in a discipline I have a passion for -- personal finance -- while helping people feel more in control of heir financial lives
To build a business that could support my family through working with client families directly (with minimal outside influence or distraction)
To give me flexibility to build my life around my career (and not vice versa)
That's it -- very simple....right? I found satisfying my first "Why?" could be done just fine as an employee of a large organization. The second "Why?" seemed achievable as an employee for awhile, but I increasingly noticed that people beside my clients wanted to have input and influence on what decisions I made on their behalf. The third "Why?" is clearly best achieved when you work for no one other than your clients. This conflict with the employee model started me down the path to figure out how to own my own business while still doing the best possible job for my clients.
You probably know that there are multitude of ways to do business in our industry -- or maybe you don't. Either way, I have shared a lot of the lessons here from establishing and running my own business and helping many other advisors do the same. I am a practicing advisor with clients and staff, facing the same challenges that most of us do.
I have talked and met with many advisors who seem uninterested in ever doing anything different, even if they do not feel energized by their current situation. For many, it just feels "safer" to remain at a big firm rather than striking out on "your own." Going Independent is certainly not for everyone, but I firmly believe you that owe to it yourself, your family, and your clients to thoroughly explore the idea to make sure you fully understand it. I hope the content you find here will make that easier to do. Let me know if I can help.
You can read more about my path to independence by clicking HERE.
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“All of our dreams can come true if we just have the courage to pursue them.”