Scaling With The Right Clients with Christopher Dale

Brian chats with Christopher Dale, CFP, the founder of Life After Grief Financial planning. Through his practice, Chris helps clients in grief navigate financial matters by providing objective, impartial, and confidential financial advice.

On the episode, Chris shares how his own life experiences, including the loss of a parent and a child, served as a catalyst for him narrowing in on the niche of his business. He also shares his strategies and tactics for keeping the business impactful and profitable as it grows.

Episode Highlights

A mission-driven business is a life passion.

Chris has a very specific definition of a mission-driven business: "I describe it as a life passion turned into a career where you never feel like you're working."

That definition certainly rings true for Chris, who started his financial planning firm to step away from his stressful corporate job and focus on his family. It also allows him to use his own life experiences to help others navigate death and illness.

"I had all of this grief life experience, and then you couple this with the financial experience, and I'm uniquely suited to help somebody that is exactly like me," Chris said.

Owning a niche can lead to unexpected opportunities.

Chris knew he had found his perfect niche when he couldn't find any other companies that provided financial expertise to clients experiencing grief. But while marketing his niche to clients, he also connected with financial advisers aspiring to learn more, which led to opportunities he didn't imagine at the start.

"It evolved into me making an online training course, and the feedback that I got from it was wonderful," Chris said.

Grow with the right clients.

At this point in his career, Chris doesn't have to grow his business that fast. He's instead prioritizing picking the right clients for his skills and services than picking clients he'll have to stop serving in the future. By being picky with clients, Chris can have a unique relationship with each person.

"When I look at my client base, there's not one individual that I would like to shed," Chris said. "That's a pretty good feeling."

Even though Chris is holding capacity at the moment, he's still laying the foundation to grow his business in the future by nurturing the marketing for his services. However, as a business owner, he appreciates that he doesn't have to pick between growing his business and spending time with his family.

"If I have to choose between something to do with my boys or my wife or bringing in new clients, I am going to absolutely choose to impact my family," Chris said.

Resources + Links

• Life After Grief Financial Planning
• Life After Grief Consulting
• Chris's Social Media: Twitter, LinkedIn
• Brian's Social Media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook

About Brian and the Mission Driven Business Podcast

Brian Thompson, JD/CFP, is a tax attorney and certified financial planner who specializes in providing comprehensive financial planning to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs who run mission-driven businesses. The Mission Driven Business podcast was born out of his passion for helping social entrepreneurs create businesses with purpose and profit.

On the podcast, Brian talks with diverse entrepreneurs and the people who support them. Listeners hear stories of experiences, strength, and hope and get practical advice to help them build businesses that might just change the world, too.