20+ years in the trenches
building advice businesses
that deliver both
profit AND freedom

The Wealth Network Why

While we love business in general, financial advice is our superpower—it's where we've spent the last 20+ years making mistakes and figuring out what actually works.

Our biggest learning—one that didn't come from any book—was discovering how to actually execute on ideas.

Like many entrepreneurs, we suffered from having too many ideas, moving too quickly, getting bored, and jumping to the next shiny thing. This entrepreneurial curse taught us the power of slowing down, planning methodically, and doing fewer things but finishing them properly.

We built The Wealth Network because most business coaching programs are just suggestion factories. They give you more to-dos for your already overwhelming list, then disappear until the next session.

We knew there had to be a better way.

The Multiplication of Impact

Ultimately, we want more Australians to benefit from financial advice.

The maths is simple and compelling. Every financial adviser touches about 100 lives directly.

When I coach one financial adviser to build a stronger business, those 100 clients get better service, clearer guidance, and more confidence in their financial future.

Our story started in 2008 when we founded Absolute Wealth. After capturing a fair share of the high net wealth market in Sydney, we saw value in nurturing and investing in the rising talent of Australia's financial advice industry.

The Wealth Network came to life in 2015 with a simple truth: business coaching only works when it leads to actual execution.

We were tired of seeing advisers handed more "should-dos" without any help implementing them. So we built something different—a coaching approach based on our three-part framework - The Wealth Network Way - that transformed our own advice businesses from exhausting jobs into valuable assets.

Since then, we've partnered with some of Australia's most progressive advice practices – Pivot Wealth, Fox & Hare, Boulder Wealth, and many others – proving that our model works across different business styles and target markets.

Our approach isn't for everyone. We're direct, occasionally blunt, and completely focused on results.

But for advisers serious about building businesses that work without them, we offer something rare: a partnership with people who've actually done it themselves

About The Wealth Network Way

Our Story

Hey We're Dean and Paul

Dean Holmes and Paul Barrett founder of Absolute Wealth.

The Wealth Network co founder - Paul Barret

Meet Paul Barrett

Like Dean, I co-founded Absolute Wealth Advisers in 2008, but my adventures in financial advice started well before that. I've experienced firsthand the challenges of growing a practice, managing teams, and creating a business that doesn't need me for every decision.

I primarily take care of business at Absolute Wealth Advisers, lending wisdom at a board level to members of The Wealth Network.

I get genuinely excited when I hear about advisers who've made the shift from working frantically IN their business to strategically working ON it. The freedom that comes with that change doesn't just create better businesses—it creates better lives.

While I love the challenge of building successful businesses, I'm equally passionate about enjoying the lifestyle those businesses can create. You'll often find me traveling the world, seeking out new adventures and cultures. Why build a business that works without you if you never step away from it?

The Wealth Network co founder - Dean Holmes

Meet Dean Holmes

As co-founder of Absolute Wealth Advisers in 2008, I've lived the same challenges you're facing. I've hired the wrong people, wasted money on useless tech, and worked too many hours for too little reward. I've also fixed all those mistakes—more than once.

Through trial, error, and more than a few expensive lessons, I've cracked the code on what actually builds business value. Now I get to help talented advisers avoid those same soul-sucking and costly mistakes.

I'm known for being direct (sometimes bluntly so), but my clients appreciate that I won't ask them to do anything I haven't successfully done myself.

I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to get results.

A total softy at home as a Dad to two daughters, I'm a runner (yes one of those), ticking off a few marathons every year.

We built our financial advice business deliberately to function without our constant presence—creating solid systems, training skilled teams, and establishing clear processes that don't depend on us being physically present.

Freedom + Profit

This isn't theoretical for us—it's how we live.

We built our financial advice business deliberately to function without our constant presence—creating solid systems, training skilled teams, and establishing clear processes that don't depend on us being physically present.

This approach has allowed Dean to spend time working overseas, and now managing multiple businesses. Paul works 2 days a week and is about to embark on his Retirement Hedge—an extended overseas adventure doing all the things he may not be able to do when he's older.

The result isn't just personal freedom. Our businesses are actually more profitable now than when we were working in them full-time. The discipline required to make yourself unnecessary creates a level of efficiency that directly impacts the bottom line.