Time to Fire Yourself?
The following scenario is pretty common these days especially in the independent advisor space:
Revenue growth is in the double digits year over year, client meetings go really well (when they happen), referrals are coming in and being an advisor is FUN.
I heard this scenario from a client recently and couldn’t help but wonder, “what’s wrong with that?” Well, this advisor came to me because aside from all the good stuff, there was just something “not right” within his business. He was working harder and more hours than he had in the past, he recently had his best junior advisor leave and there was a noticeable tension building within his team. Everybody seemed stressed.
Several conversations later (not always easy ones), both my client and I determined that the only solution to this problem was that a major personnel change needed to take place. We weren’t talking about letting anybody on the team go, but my client needed to fire himself.
Let me be clear, as a Financial Advisor, my client excels. He needed to remove himself from trying to run the business. The truth was, acting as CEO/CFO/COO/CMO brought him very little joy, he never really knew how to do it well anyway and as a result, it didn’t get done.
Independent advisors, no matter how much they may try to fight it, wear at least two hats:
- Advisor
- Business Owner
Neglecting either one of these roles will be problematic. However, as the advisor and owner, you don’t have to do both yourself if you don’t want to. There are many ways this can be accomplished, but it must start with an honest conversation.
If it is time for you to make your own personnel change, we’d love to help. Feel free to call, email or click here to get started.
By Ben Mossman
Cofounder & Partner
