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Episode Summary
The profession of financial advice is obsessed with volume and growth.
Think about it.
When you first start your practice, the recipe for success is to talk to as many people as possible.
If the person can “fog a mirror”, they’re a potential client.
Leaderboards, conferences, “Best of” lists, and more are all heavily weighted based on volume and growth. It could be size of the firm, number of clients, assets under management, or something similar.
The directive is simple: grow, grow, grow. The bigger the better.
At the same time, it makes perfect sense. This is a profession that got its roots selling insurance and investments that generated a commission.
If you weren’t always moving, active, and growing, you were essentially dying.
Yet all these years later, despite the prominent revenue model now being recurring revenue, the “volume and growth” mindset is still deeply entrenched.
And, that’s why Jeremy Walter’s article titled “Enough”, where he talks about his intentional decision to cut off new clients and stop growing, captured the attention of the entire industry.
Jeremy mapped out the life he wanted to live with his family, stiff-armed the growth-oriented mindset he has been preached his whole career, and reverse-engineered what he wanted his practice to look like to fulfill and fund the life he wanted to live.
He chose to optimize for satisfaction rather than revenue.
And that meant saying no to new clients. That meant saying no to referrals. That meant saying no to future revenue.
But, it also meant saying yes to more time with his family and creating more capacity in his calendar to pursue other things he’s passionate about.
Jeremy shared with us his thought process on the decision, the mental struggles he had, and the lessons learned in building his practice. He’ll also break down the process he uses to have “off the balance sheet conversations” with prospects and clients to identify their values and walk us through the one-page financial plan he uses in his meetings.
If you’re interested in intentionally and purposefully growing a practice to fund your life, having deeper conversations with clients about their values, or the benefits of using a one-page financial plan, you’ll love this episode with Jeremy Walter.
Things You’ll Learn
- How Jeremy defined “Enough” for himself and his family
- The surprising challenges he faced in building his practice without a growth mindset
- Why a “Discovery Meeting Recap” email has been so powerful
- Jeremy’s three favorite questions to ask prospective clients
- “Generosity Philosophy” – a method for deepening conversation and uncovering values
- What a Values-Driven One-Page Financial Plan looks and sounds like
About Jeremy Walter
Jeremy Walter, CFP® is the Founder of Fident Financial, Content Creator at Calibrating Capital, and co-creator of The One-Page Financial Plan course. He founded Fident Financial in 2017 after nearly a decade with another advisory firm and grew it to his desired capacity after only a few years. Everything he does is focused on helping his clients “calibrate wealth with values.”
Other Episodes You’ll Like From Other Fellow Advisors
- Episode 5: Focusing On Managing Humans Instead of Assets To Deliver Better Outcomes w/ Andy Hart
- Episode 33: Values-Based Financial Advice That Works In Real Life w/ Natalie Taylor
- Episode 36: Integrating A Life Planning Approach In Your Practice w/ Scott Frank
Resources
Discovery Recap Email Template
Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you master the human side of advice:
- HSOA Masterclass: An 8-week group program on building trust & connection, aligning money and life, and delivering frictionless advice.
- The Ultimate Discovery Meeting: A proven framework to seamlessly convert prospects into life-long clients in one meeting.
- HSOA Community (COMING SOON!): An online space to meet, collaborate, discuss, brainstorm, learn and grow with other advisors passionate about the human side of advice
If you’re interested, let me know here.