David Ortiz is the founder of Financial Chef, a unique independent RIA that operates as a lifestyle practice in Southern California. David has combined his experience as a classically trained chef to create an experience unlike any other for his clients: literally breaking bread with them as he provides financial advice.  Listen in as we dive into David’s journey through the advice business, from being a chef to working for a software company, and then from life insurance to ultimately opening his own independent RIA. We also discuss how he got started with his business model, why he decided to take it mobile, and how this unique services package has helped David deepen his relationship with his clients. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/260

Patricia Houlihan is the Founder of Houlihan Financial Resource Group, an independent RIA based out of Washington, DC, that oversees $345 million in AUM for 150 households. She joins the show today to share how she has successfully implemented an internal succession plan with her son and a second advisor that ensures continuity of services for clients over maximizing the value of the sale, as well as why having her name as part of the firm’s name is not a hindrance in her plan. Listen in as she opens up about how she has built her succession plan to put clients first, including how she has ensured relationships between all of the firm’s advisors and their clients so there is trust with more than just Patricia herself. You'll learn what it was like being a female financial advisor in the 1980s—when the industry was very much a “boy’s club”—and what Patricia sees as the key to success for any financial advisor. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/259

Joe Pitzl is the founder of Pitzl Financial, an independent RIA based out of Minneapolis that oversees nearly $270 million in assets for 270 households. Joe had a unique next-generation career path into the financial advice business, and with only 10 years of experience under his belt, launched his own firm. Listen in as he shares how he navigated into the financial planning field despite his struggles in the traditional classroom setting, how he built a network of support to the point where he never struggled to land his next career opportunity, and how he scaled his firm to $250 million of AUM in just seven years with a team of five people. We also discuss how forming a study group with other advisors at a similar age and stage was foundational to Joe’s career success, as well as how he navigated the challenge of finding himself out of a job at the same time that he was starting a family and buying a house. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/258

Beth Jones is the co-founder of Third Eye Associates, an independent RIA based out of the Hudson Valley of New York that oversees $125 million of assets under advisement for 200 households. Beth’s firm is unique in that they go deep with clients into creating a personal vision statement that truly aligns their money with their values. Listen in as we dive into Beth’s financial planning process, fee structure, and client deliverables that have been a cornerstone for building her expertise as an in-depth financial planner and have led to a waitlist of new clients. We also discuss some of the challenges that she faced as she was scaling up, why she made the decision to let go of 85 of her earliest clients that were actually costing her money, and how she navigated the transition of having her co-founder retire while she continued to run the firm and serve clients. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/257

Vincent Barbera is the founder of Newbridge Wealth Management, an independent RIA based out of Philadelphia that oversees nearly $120-million of assets under management for 75 households. Vince stays on the cutting edge of advisor technology by continuously experimenting with new tech tools and by setting a new strategic focus every year to identify and try out a new category of solutions. Listen in as Vince gives a rundown of the technology tools that he has tried this year to improve his client experience, where he finds the latest and greatest in tech to try out, and how he compares the cost of new tools against those he already uses. We also discuss how Vince uses technology in his independent firm to stay competitive without an asset manager’s size and scale, and why he has decided not to scale up to the billion-dollar mark but rather slow down and enjoy the ride. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/256

Cody Garrett is the founder of Measure Twice Financial, an independent RIA based out of Houston which has managed to grow to nearly $150,000 per year in annualized financial planning fees in just over six months. Cody uses an “advice-only” financial planning model that has quickly attracted a waiting list of clients who want to do it themselves, but not necessarily learn it themselves. In this episode, Cody shares why he launched with the advice-only model, where clients don’t have the option to have their investments managed by the firm, but do get personalized education that they can use to manage their own finances. Listen in to learn how this model has allowed Cody to build a practice that supports his own personal lifestyle and work no more than ten hours per week, as well as how he has generated a steady stream of clients and kept the business lean so he can take home more than 90% of his gross revenue after business expenses. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/255

Eliza De Pardo is the founder of her eponymous advisor consulting firm, which works with mid-to-large-sized independent advisory firms. Eliza takes a unique focus on the human capital issues that arise as advisory firms scale and believes that attracting, retaining, and developing the firm’s people is the biggest key to long-term success. Listen in as we discuss why the ability to attract and serve clients is crucial for firms to scale to the first $1 million of revenue, but is less important as the firm reaches and exceeds the $3 million mark. Eliza also shares why the advisors who are most effective at moving away from client-facing work have the most success scaling up, some of the key business metrics that firm owners should be monitoring as they grow, and why most advisory firms need to learn to hire sooner—but not necessarily faster. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/254

Robyn Crane is the founder of her own eponymous consulting firm, which offers sales and marketing coaching services with a focus on female financial advisors. Robyn has a well-defined approach for how financial advisors can not only identify their ideal client, but also implement a sustainable leads system to reach out and book appointments with qualified leads. Listen in as we discuss the issue of gender disparity in the financial planning industry, including what Robyn sees as the true reason for the disparity and what the solution is to better gender representation. She also shares the specifics behind her system for generating cold leads, how to encourage engagement from those leads, and how she teaches advisors to identify and market to their ideal client. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/253

Kyle Moore is the founder of Quarry Hill Advisors, an RIA based out of St. Paul, Minnesota, that oversees $165 million of assets under management for 137 households. Kyle has been able to generate extremely strong growth for his firm in only 5 years while also navigating a plethora of challenges that are common among advisory firms in the early years. Listen in as he shares why he decided to forge his own path and start an advisory firm, the techniques he used to make his firm findable online, and how one of his very first clients was a super-referrer that boosted his business in the early days of the firm. We also dive into why Kyle decided to bring on a partner—despite having a business that was growing well—and the benefits that he has gained (as well as the pitfalls he has avoided) thanks to practice management coaching programs. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/252

Bill Cates is the founder of Referral Coach International, an organization that helps financial advisors attract more ideal clients through referrals. He teaches advisors how to use their communication and messaging to make themselves more “referable” and to ask for an introduction instead of a less meaningful referral. Listen in as Bill shares why he makes a clear distinction between referrals and introductions, why clients are sometimes reluctant to give introductions, and how advisors can overcome those concerns. We also discuss why it's important for advisors to help clients work towards their bucket list goals in addition to their financial goals, how they can hone their messaging so that they can achieve “radical relevance” in the eyes of their clients, and why clear messaging is more important than ever in a post-pandemic world. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/251