Financial Planning Partnerships Blog​

Starting your own financial planning firm is exciting. But the first few years after your launch can be really challenging. So what can you do to make sure your startup not only survives the early days ... but also thrives? Here are four suggestions: Start with the right mindset – plan for success, not failure Tighten your purse strings – keep your fixed expenses to the bare minimum Invest in your personal growth – so you develop as a leader Know who your ideal client is – an

Pop quiz time. You want to grow your financial planning business. Is it better to: a) Do lots of marketing to get hordes of new clients through the door? b) Build and nurture the relationships you have with your existing clients? Sometimes, Option B is the way to go. Your business doesn’t need a million new clients. Rather, all you need is a relatively small number of devoted clients who truly appreciate what you do and keep coming back for more. By all means, try to grow you

Pricing your financial planning services as a new start-up can be tough. Charge too much and you may struggle to get clients. Go in too low, and your fledgling business might not cover its costs. So how do you choose a pricing strategy? There are several approaches you can take: Cost-plus pricing – adding a percentage (say, 40%) markup to your costs Competition-based pricing – using your rivals’ fees as a benchmark Penetration-based pricing – undercutting your rivals to incre

We all know the fable of the tortoise and the hare. And the moral is pretty clear. Slow and steady wins the race. And it’s a lesson that can be applied to many things in life. Take marketing your financial planning business, for starters. You can’t expect results if you take a start-stop approach. Rather, you need to be in it for the long haul. That’s because effective marketing is all about building relationships with your potential clients and referral partners. That requir

Swapping the security of a regular salary for the ups and downs of self-employment isn’t for everyone. It takes plenty of courage. But it also takes the right mindset. Because if you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. So how do you switch from an employee’s mindset to an entrepreneur’s? You need to: Focus on results, not time Give yourself permission to make mistakes (as long as you learn from them) Get comfortable with uncertainty Develop both short-term and long-t

If you’re into sport, you’d know that many good players turn out to be lousy coaches. Why? Because the skills you need to be a good player are different to the skills you need to be a good coach. The same rule applies in the financial planning industry. Just because you’re a good adviser, doesn’t mean you’d be good at running a financial advice firm. Here are five of the key skills you need to run a successful business: Sales Marketing Strategy Networking Leadership Notice ho

When you run a financial planning business, you have to deal with a never-ending list of problems. Most problems are bad – like managing compliance. But some problems are good – like onboarding new clients. Either way, there are constant problems. And it’s how you respond that defines you as a business owner. Contrary to popular belief, when a financial planning business fails to reach its full potential, it’s generally NOT because the owners weren’t smart enough or hard-work