Blog - How To Go Independent: Recent Episodes
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Common questions and concerns financial advisors have when considering move their business to the independent channel.
I’ve brought back the podcast!
Below is the transcription of the first new episode after a year-long break.
Welcome to Episode 101 of How To Go IndependentWe published Episode 100 back in September of 2019, just over a year ago. If you're a longtime listener, thank you for sticking with us. If you're new... “Welcome aboard!”... I hope we can be of use.
I say “we”, but I mean “me”. My name is Sean Kernan and I’m the creator and host of the show.
When I published the last episode, I had just hit my 10th anniversary of setting up my own practice in September of 2009. I figured it was a good time to take a break, as I had simplified and streamlined my business over the last couple of years and also dialed-back some of the things I was doing personally - whether that's coaching kids soccer, kids basketball, etc. I enjoyed it. It was a blast, but my son had outgrown the extent of my soccer coaching skills... which was to say, “kick the ball into the goal.”
So, let’s reiterate who my intended audience is for How To Go Independent. The person I'm really talking to, is me.
I had explored different models on the IDEA of “independence” from 2003 to 2009. I didn't look at a lot of platforms, it was more to verify what I was hearing over and over:
- Yes - going independent is the real deal.
- Yes - you really do have this much flexibility, freedom, and control of your day.
- Yes - you really do control who you hire, where you office is located, and how you work with your clients.
... all of which continues to be true 11 years later. So, I’m basically talking to myself, 15 years ago, when I started this journey.
Well, what does that advisor look like?In most cases, they’ll already have a practice that can support their income needs if they move between 50 to 80 percent of it from their current employee-based structure to an independent platform.
“What is that income level, Sean??” you ask?It's actually a lot lower than a wirehouse or other employee firms would have you think. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take a ton of revenue to generate the same income, or better, as an independent adviser.
That discovery, for me, was one of the greatest of my professional life... I love talking about it. There can be a lot of moving parts, depending on how your practice is structured, but the economics and the freedom of flexibility by themselves are well worth at least THINKING about a change.
Does this scenario sound like you?
You currently bring in between $200,000 to $600,000 of revenue at an employee firm, but don't feel like you're getting the income you need or have the flexibility to run your practice the way you see fit?
That’s who this show is for.
Now, while I say “$200,000 to $600,000 of revenue” - because, if you can retain a decent chunk of your clients, you should be in good shape at that lower end - there really is no upper limit.
In 2009, my trailing 12 month gross revenue was about $265,000. At that stage of my life, my wife was staying at home with our 2 year old and I was 34 years old.
The difference between $265,000 gross (which is about $90,000 to $100,000 net at most employee firms) and taking that exact same revenue and moving it to an independent practice where you could net an additional $75,000 to $100,000 per year of income... that was life changing was for me.
You can probably imagine what an extra $75,000 a year can do for your family. Even if you don't change your overall lifestyle - just saving for retirement, your children’s college education, or building a family legacy for future generations - that extra money can be invaluable.
The same holds true if you're towards the back-end of your career. Making the move to an independent model can allow you to hire a rock star associate or an additional adviser, or even bring on one of your children that are now grown and looking to start their own career.
Or maybe you are looking to exit the industry all together and retire? Becoming independent can provide a lot more value for the practice because you can negotiate your own deal, versus taking the one your employee-structured firm gives you.
There are so many benefits for that extra revenue... and as it goes up, they get even better.
I've touched on this in the past, but I'll also reiterate the WHY that I have for doing this show... it's just to be available for your questions and to share my life experience.
When I started this podcast, my wife told me, “You just like to hear yourself talk.” Guilty as charged. However, I have heard from enough advisors to confirm that I can be of service sharing some of what I’ve learned.
What kind of topics will I talk about in this latest “season” of How To Go Independent ? Here's some things I have in mind for future episodes...
- What are the basics I need if I'm going to go independent?
- How do I know if I'm ready to go independent? How do I know if the numbers will work? How do I know if my clients will come with me? All the questions around, “Am I ready?”.
- What firms or platforms should I consider?
- What questions should I be asking a consultant, recruiter, or a potential platform partner? How do I know if they are a good fit?
- How should I structure my practice for maximum time/energy ROI? Should I build everything from scratch or look for a “pre-packaged” solution for a faster startup?
- What other industry content should I be reading and listening to?
To close this episode - just like changing a “bad habit” - it will take some time and effort to find the right team and infrastructure to support your firm, but it’s never too late to go independent and start your own practice.
I look forward to the next 100 episodes.
Let me know what’s on your mind.
Shoot me an email at kernan@hey.comAlso, check us out on Twitter: @HowToGoIndy and Facebook by clicking HERE.
I recently passed my eleventh anniversary of going independent on September 3, 2009. A year ago, I published my last podcast episode and blog post here. I have enjoyed a break from sharing content and focused only on serving clients in my practice and other advisors through our network. However, I still love talking to anyone who listen about How To Go Independent and how—and when, where, why, what, with whom—to go independent. I plan to be back to creating content here.
As always, my main goal is to be of use and spread the increasingly common idea that being an independent advisor is more achievable than ever. I am by no means an expert on every possible configuration of being an independent advisor. I have, however, learned enough to know what kinds of questions to ask when exploring a platform or opportunity around an independent practice (or who else to go to for advice).
I have talked or emailed with a few dozen advisors that have reached out over the last few years and done my best to point them in the right direction. I love being even a tiny little part of someone moving towards the fulfillment that comes from having more control of your destiny and being able to serve your clients with much less interference from an employer. That is enough to get me back into publishing after a year off.
If you want more in depth help, I can potentially do it a consulting-for-a-fee basis to make sure you feel there is value and I am focused on serving you the best way I know how. I can’t promise I can give you the perfect answers, but I can promise to tell you how I would think about things if I were in your shoes.
Full dislcosure: I am a part owner in a firm that helps advisors become and stay independent. However, that business is doing fine without any lead generation from this project—if you want to hear about it, great, but if not, all the above is still true.
Shoot me an email at kernan@hey.comAlso, check us out on Twitter: @HowToGoIndy and Facebook by clicking HERE.
I want to give you my insightful industry lessons learned from my most recent trip to Old Navy. Yes, that’s right….Old Navy—the clothing store.
Considering independence? Check out the articles below for more info on going independent. Have your own thoughts? Let us know in the comments below or email us at Sean@IndyFA.com
This is an example of the kind of practice buyout that could propel your career and life as an independent advisor.
If you are going to be a business owner---even with a lot of support--you may want to expand your universe of content you read/listen to/watch. Jason Fried of Basecamp (formerly 37signals) is a great example of someone who can help you "think outside of the box."
Introduction to a resource to help you find a buyer, seller, OSJ, RIA, or resources to start your own new platform.
If you are a financial advisor going independent, you need to make a decision about your office space. Here's how I went about making that decision and why it worked out well for me and my clients.
I recently met with an advisor who is researching going independent from a big firm, and he asked me this...I didn't feel great about my response at the time, so I recorded this video to more thoroughly answer.
This is part four of an interview I did recently with an advisor currently in the transition process. He built a successful practice and decided to make the leap to independence despite being a "one firm for life" advisor early on. I've changed his name in the article to protect his identity.
Those of us that have been independent for a while sort of instinctively know there's a nice economic advantage to being independent. However, if you're not there yet, I want to go through each category that you need to have a sense of, both in your current situation and in an independent model, and how to account for each one. You can then do a hypothetical profit and loss statement. How would it look if you had your own practice? It is hard to nail down the numbers (especially on the "what if you go independent?" side), but you can certainly get a pretty good estimate of what the numbers look like, and that will help you decide if it's worthwhile to you. I will touch on some of the reasons or situations where it might not make sense to go independent.
Being an independent financial advisor doesn't mean you are stuck by yourself with no opportunity to share ideas with other advisors like you would at a wirehouse. In this video, I wanted to share my thoughts on my firm's annual conference where I was able to network with independent advisors from across the country.
This is part three of an interview I did recently with an advisor currently in the transition process. He built a successful practice and decided to make the leap to independence despite being a "one firm for life" advisor early on. I've changed his name in the article to protect his identity. You can read the first part of the interview by clicking HERE or check out part two by clicking HERE
This is a transcript of HTGI podcast episode 9 (click HERE to check out that show) I did with Brian Ruff. It has not been edited to a final draft quality, so please excuse any hard-to-follow passages. You can also listen to the show using the media player to the right or below if on mobile.
When I was talking to independent financial advisors before I made the move, I came across a strange phenomenon: they didn't seem to know what their net payout was!
Number five of why not to go independent (a pretty big one), if you don’t think you’re clients will go with you then you should not go independent because all the economic benefits, the flexibility, the control - if you don’t have clients, it’s sort of pointless.
This is a transcript of HTGI podcast episode 13 (click HERE to check out that show) I did with Todd Simmons. It has not been edited to a final draft quality, so please excuse any hard-to-follow passages. You can also listen to the show using the media player to the right or below if on mobile.