Behind The Advisor

XYPN co-founder Michael Kitces is back on the show! For the second year now, we have collected data from our member firms to help us better understand their businesses and how they’re operating, and Michael joins me today to talk about what we found. We dive into our 2018 Benchmarking Study's primary charts and cover key data points that will help advisors thinking about launching a firm set realistic expectations about growth. How much revenue should you expect for your first years in business? Is it really necessary to find a niche? Does the CFP even matter? Listen in to get those answers and more! You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/180

XYPN member Michelle Gass has had quite a unique path into the financial planning world. After starting her career as a tax accountant, Michelle transitioned into a family office, and then ended up launching and running a successful hedge fund for over twenty years. It wasn’t until after she retired that she decided to get her CFP and launch her own financial planning firm. Now the founder of Paradigm Advisors, a fee-only financial advisory practice that focuses on guidance and support, Michelle joins this episode to share her professional journey. She opens up about what it was like starting a firm from scratch, what her business looks like today, and the important lessons she learned along the way. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/179

Morgen Rochard started out trading but eventually ended up owner her own RIA firm. In this episode we will learn how her trading experience has affected how she does business and actually guided her into financial planning. She shares her journey with us and tips from her experience in breaking into the financial planning world, growing a firm and even advice for women who want to start a firm AND a family. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/178

Danna Jacobs and Rob Colon are an impressive brother and sister duo that went from launching a firm in 2013 with just one client—who happened to be their grandfather—to running not just one, but two successful businesses. The founders of Legacy Care Wealth and Inspired Vision Accounting, Danna and Rob have figured out how to balance their particular strengths and weaknesses to form a strong partnership. In this episode, they share how their brother/sister dynamic works for their business, as well as how they divide up responsibilities between Danna’s role as the integrator and Rob’s role as the big-thinking visionary. Listen in to hear what they did to grow their businesses to where they are today, the technology tools they use to help manage their assets and to-do lists, and advice they’d give themselves if they could go back and do it all over again. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/177

Todays' guest decided to start his own firm just six months after buying into a partnership to become the succession plan for a retirement-age advisor. Now the founder of Greater Than Financial, Wakefield Hare began his journey to starting his own firm after he learned about XYPN in 2015 and realized that he wanted to serve clients his way. Three years later, Wakefield runs a successful practice serving just over 100 client households, and he has started to focus more on his niche of working with homeschool families. But now that he has achieved all that he initially set out to achieve, he admits that contentment has kept him from actively pursuing more opportunities. Listen in to hear our discussion about what made him decide to take the leap and start his own firm, how he built it to the success it is today, and what drives you in your entrepreneurial journey when you realize you have enough. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/176

My guest today is a great example of how powerful it can be to nail down a niche. David Barson is the founder of Barson Financial Planning, and nearly two years after starting his firm, he has really started focusing on his ideal client profile: Genentech employees. Having started his own career in biotech and worked at the company himself, David is able to connect with current employees in ways most other advisors can’t, making his client relationships that much stronger. In this episode, David shares his experience transitioning into the financial planning world and ultimately making the leap to starting his own firm. Listen in to hear how he built his firm from the ground up, as well as key advice for other advisors hoping to do the same. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/175

When it comes to balancing work and life, Linden Cornett seems to have found a really interesting way to do that. Last time we spoke with her she had promised her family to not work as much by taking on only 5 new clients per year. In this episode we catch up with her to see how this plan has gone and how she is balancing family life, her practice and a part-time job. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/174

Balancing two careers, Police sergeant Mike Bronson brings us some serious motivation and inspiration with his whirlwind life and career. He has some great insight and advice to share on time management, niche marketing, resilience and much more. Mike talks in depth about where he found his passion for finance and noticed an important need for financial help in the field he is so passionate about. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/173

Many people start a business as a side-hustle with the goal to take that full time but Leo Nunez and James Estep of Everest Financial Advisors have two full time jobs. On this episode you’ll learn how two firefighters fell into finance and decided to follow their passion for helping firefighters manage money while remaining with their original careers. They have some great insight into managing two careers, letting passion lead the way and ensuring work/life balance. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/172

Rebecca Connor took the leap and started her own financial planning firm. Her early success is something she credits to having a specific niche from the start and implementing processes that nurtured growth. She discusses the risks she took on, her unique niche in tech and the various experiments she made to figure out the right path for her firm. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/171