There are an almost infinite number of details that you can work on when planning to establish your own business as an independent financial advisor. But I want to outline those critical few things that you absolutely must have when you make the move. In particular, I’m focused on the first ninety days of your new practice.
If you’re working in employee model (at a wirehouse etc)-- here is the second thing I think you need to think about to set up your own practice.
If you would rather listen to this in audio, you can also listen to the entire list in episode 26 of our podcast by clicking HERE.
2) Commitment
Number two is very related but I made it its own item -- I call it COMMITMENT. So to be ready to make the move once you've kind of got your mind accepting in the fact that's possible and advantageous for your clients and for you.
Then you have to have the commitment to prepare, plan, do the work necessary to make it successful. I have worked with some people and talked to others who made the move but they haven't really gone full force -- they didn't have the commitment it required to establish the business as a viable entity.
I think it's a mistake or maybe it's just people not really caring enough if it's successful, but I've seen people make a move but not really go all-out-- not do the things they should have done to be ready. Some of that is due to ignorance at times and other times I think it's just due to overconfidence or lack of commitment to treat this like a new business because it is.
Certainly if you have existing clients, it's a lot easier than starting from scratch. But mindset wise, both times I've moved (one to a wirehouse and one's to independence) I've treated it like it was a brand new thing. I started from scratch 'cause guess what? On the first day you resign from your current firm and get re-registered at the new firm, you have exactly zero clients, you pull up that -- in our system it's a pie chart -- it's a big zero so that's a little scary 'cause you have to have the commitment to build that quickly and efficiently.
So those are two very related items: one is the mindset and the belief system; number two is the commitment to get it done.