Behind The Advisor

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

Most people are very careful to keep politics out of their business in order to not offend or alienate potential clients. Zach Teutsch has found that his unapologetic political stance has actually helped his business. He discusses why he thinks his practice has grown due to his political views and why he decided to choose the controversial niche that he did. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/170

Entrepreneurs view risk differently and Martin Lundgren is the perfect example of this. We'll chat about his career journey into financial consulting and eventually his own successful business. He talks about the unique challenges and risks involved as an immigrant and shares many tips on what to do (and not to do) when it comes to starting your own firm. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/169

Today I'm excited to have XYPN member Deb Meyer on the show. The founder of both WorthyNest and SV CPA Services, Deb started her career on the tax side of the business before eventually finding her way into financial planning. After working for a large family office firm, she realized that her passion wasn't in working with super wealthy families and decided to switch gears. Deb launched WorthyNest two years ago, and her focus is now on working with Christian parents who share her values. She continues to run her tax practice in addition to the RIA, and managed to do so while living in Spain for three months with her husband and three young sons. In this episode, she shares how she balanced her work and family time throughout her entrepreneurial journey, why she felt compelled to launch her RIA, and advice for listeners who are considering starting a business of their own. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/168

Steve Crawford is a financial advisor, a coach to other financial advisors, and the founder of both Experience Wealth and XY Adviser in Australia. After working in the industry and realizing he wasn't serving the client base he wanted to focus on, Steve started his own financial planning firm at what was probably the worst possible time to start a firm: 2008. Despite the timing—and despite committing four major don'ts with his own firm—Steve has been steadily growing his business and helping his clients become financially independent. Since bringing on a couple of other advisors, he's shifted his focus to providing cash flow planning services, and also training other advisors on how to provide this service. Listen in to hear how Steve integrated cash flow planning into his service model, where the majority of his clients come from, and what to expect from the cash flow presentation he'll be giving at the XYPN LIVE 2018 Conference. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/167

Today I'm excited to have XYPN Member Eric Gabor on the show! Eric has spent his entire career as a financial advisor, but he realized early on that he wanted to work with a different client base than the one most firms serve. After making the decision to leave a high-paying job to follow that desire, he ultimately launched his own firm, Eagle Grove Advisors, in 2016. In this episode, he shares the struggles he went through in his first year as an entrepreneur, dealing with very little interest from prospects and limited revenue. Now averaging one prospect meeting per week, Eric has built a successful firm that allowed him to spend 5 months out of the country over the last two years. Listen in to hear how he did it, as well as his advice for other financial planners hoping to start their own businesses one day. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/166

The financial planning industry has mostly targeted the higher earners and often been less accessible for those that really need financial planning and advising services. Michael Anderson joins us to talk about how he is working on providing options for the lower income clients. He also discusses the importance of having a relationship with his clients and why he works so hard on communicating effectively in order to understand his clients' needs and serve them in the best way. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/165

Breanna Reish is the founder of Wealth of Confidence, a women's wealth firm that aims to transform the financial planning experience for women. After starting her career on the tax side of the business (and having to plan pregnancies around tax season), Breanna decided to leave and work for an RIA doing financial planning. Still finding herself unsettled, she ended up meeting a coach who helped her really understand the clients she wanted to serve and rediscover why she was in this business. Breanna ultimately chose to start her own firm, making the decision with her husband to become a two-entrepreneur household—while having two young children. In this episode, she shares her journey to finding her place in the industry, as well as encouragement for women who want to start a firm, but also want to start a family. Listen in to hear how Breanna managed her own firm launch, how she determined her service model, and how she balances it all so well that she's hit her revenue goals for her first twelve months and first full calendar year in business. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/164