There’s good stress and there’s bad stress. Bad stress? Relationship problemsFinancial worriesWorking too much Good stress? Challenging work ExerciseLearning to play Hendrix on my guitar And while we know we need a certain level of stress in our lives to feel alive, if we go too hard for too long, stress can build up. James Clear wrote a blog about it: The Theory of Cumulative Stress. Here’s one great point (one of many in fact) he made about his gym … [Read more...] about Should you be working harder? (Not in my opinion)
Forward Thinking
Financial Planning by numbers
Financial Planning firms that understand their numbers outperform those that don’t. Why? Because they can pinpoint where the issues are and fix them. They spend their time working on the right issues. Let’s Consider Profitability Are you making as much as you could or should? It’s a question every business owner asks themselves periodically. To answer that question you need to know that there are two profitability numbers to focus on; Gross Profit and … [Read more...] about Financial Planning by numbers
Mistakes are a win, win situation
“Please, please let your team make mistakes.” That was the plea from a leading US consultant at a recent conference I attended. One of the keys to building a business that can continue to grow and perform in the long-term is creating future leaders, and it’s something that many business owners are struggling with. When you reach the latter stages of your career you can feel like you’ve arrived. That is, finally, after all these years, you know your stuff and the business is going … [Read more...] about Mistakes are a win, win situation
What’s Different About The Best Firms?
A recent 2018 adviser survey by Schwab in the US noted that the top 20% of firms were growing at almost 15% pa (ok, it was 14.3% pa), and the remaining 80% were averaging 3.7% pa.1 If you grow at 15% pa you double the size of your business every 5 years. If you grow at 3.7% pa it takes nearly 20 years to double in size. It’s a dramatic statistic. Think of your current level of annual revenue and double it. That’s what you could be doing in 5 years. Double it again, and that’s … [Read more...] about What’s Different About The Best Firms?
The professional development tool you’ve never heard of…
I’ve spoken to several business owners who are trying to develop a struggling adviser. Here’s an idea you probably haven’t thought of that just might work. Do you have any advisers in your business who are struggling a bit? Are you an adviser who just knows you could be better in front of clients? I’ve got a solution for you that changed my life and my career. My story My financial services journey started in January 1991. I was 23 years old and started as a … [Read more...] about The professional development tool you’ve never heard of…