Latest / Only Fee-Only / #150 - Referrals, Not Hype: Scaling a Boutique RIA the Right Way with Dann Ryan

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#150 - Referrals, Not Hype: Scaling a Boutique RIA the Right Way with Dann Ryan · Only Fee-Only

0:04
SPEAKER_02: How's it going, everyone?
0:06
SPEAKER_02: Welcome back to the OnlyFe Only podcast.
0:08
SPEAKER_02: And as always, we appreciate you all being here.
0:11
SPEAKER_02: In this episode, we sit down with Dan Ryan, founder and managing partner of Sincerist Advisory.
0:17
SPEAKER_02: Dan launched his firm in 2019, right before COVID.
0:22
SPEAKER_02: So interesting time to launch a business, and really speaks to the dedication that he has.
0:27
SPEAKER_02: He's grown his firm to$226 million of AUM, serving 150 families.
0:34
SPEAKER_02: We talk about what it was really like starting from scratch, navigating COVID, building client relationships through referrals, and handling the operational and compliance challenges that come with running a growing financial advisory firm.
0:48
SPEAKER_02: He also shares why he's chosen to work with the clients that he does.
0:52
SPEAKER_02: And overall, I think you guys are really going to enjoy this episode.
0:56
SPEAKER_02: So enjoy this podcast with Dan Ryan on the OnlyFee Only Podcast.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: How's it going, everyone?
1:04
SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of the Only Fee Only Podcast.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: I'm Peter Chiravolo.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: I'm here with my co-host Brock Buckles.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: And today we're extremely excited to have Dan Ryan on, managing partner at Censeris Advisory.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Really excited to have him on and see how he is helping his clients.
1:21
SPEAKER_00: So, Dan, welcome to the show.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me, guys.
1:25
SPEAKER_00: Yes, you bet.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, we've had the privilege of meeting in person and being able to work together, but for those who don't know who you are, you want to give a quick background before we dive a little bit deeper?
1:35
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
1:36
SPEAKER_01: I'm Dan Ryan.
1:38
SPEAKER_01: I've uh I am the founder and managing partner of Sinceris Advisory.
1:42
SPEAKER_01: We are a small RIA in New York City.
1:45
SPEAKER_01: We manage about$226 million for about 150 families.
1:52
SPEAKER_01: Um team four, myself, my business partner David Wilson, uh started the firm in 2019.
1:58
SPEAKER_01: Um, but I've been in this fee only space for this will be the 20th year as an advisor.
2:03
SPEAKER_02: So I've been around for a while in the fee only space.
2:07
SPEAKER_02: That's cool, man.
2:08
SPEAKER_02: So how did you like 20 years ago?
2:10
SPEAKER_02: Like now I almost feel like now fee only is kind of hip.
2:13
SPEAKER_02: Like it's cool, people have come around to the idea.
2:16
SPEAKER_02: 20 years ago, much less so.
2:18
SPEAKER_02: So, like, how did you kind of like find out about it, figure it out, and and decide that you wanted to pursue that?
2:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, back then it was you worked at broker dealers and warehouses, and uh I you know, I did the internship at Merrill, and I was like, this is awful.
2:35
SPEAKER_01: I I'll never, you know, I thought I wanted to be an advisor, and then I went and got an internship and knew it wasn't what I wanted to do.
2:41
SPEAKER_01: Um, I actually ended up going to grad school and uh in that time uh uh advisor who was at a fee-only firm, and and you're right, they were pretty rare then.
2:51
SPEAKER_01: Um but they you know charged flat fees and they were high flat fees, and uh uh reached out to me and said, Do you wanna do you wanna give this a shot?
3:00
SPEAKER_01: And so I just kind of jumped in with both feet um and was really, really fortunate to to to land in that space and get that excellent experience right out the gate.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
3:11
SPEAKER_00: And then when you were starting Sinceris, so that was right before COVID, right?
3:15
SPEAKER_00: 2019.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: So kind of what was the initial business plan and then how did that quickly change?
3:22
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's funny.
3:23
SPEAKER_01: Um when I started Sinceras, it was I'm gonna use this crazy thing called Zoom, and um it's gonna be really convenient for my clients, and it's gonna be really novel, and I don't need an office space.
3:35
SPEAKER_01: Um, of course, everybody caught up with that in COVID, and now nobody wants to meet with me over Zoom because they're fatigued.
3:42
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but but at that time it was, you know, I was jumping in, I I left all my clients behind at a big firm uh and started fresh.
3:50
SPEAKER_01: And it was scary as it is in those first years.
3:53
SPEAKER_01: And it's funny, I was just talking, kind of recapping.
3:56
SPEAKER_01: We were we were going through the exact dates of of March 2020.
3:59
SPEAKER_01: And I remember having two prospects uh in March 2020, and it was gonna be about$25 million of AUM.
4:08
SPEAKER_01: And I remember feeling this is so easy, and I've just got to go to these meetings in person, and then everything shut down, and and two major meetings got canceled for me that week in March.
4:17
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and and you know, it was was not easy to recreate those opportunities.
4:22
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but but everybody was in that boat.
4:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, it was a it was a tough time, man.
4:28
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it redefined a lot of uh it redefined what work meant for people all across the world, very literally.
4:35
SPEAKER_02: Um, but so you you start doing that, you had that, which is is uh very familiar.
4:41
SPEAKER_02: I think Peter and I at the same time, we were like trying to get BC brokerage off the ground and we were like, we gotta figure this thing out, and I guess now we're doing it all virtually, which we thought would be a part of it.
4:52
SPEAKER_02: But then it's like you don't have a choice.
4:54
SPEAKER_02: This is just what you're doing.
4:56
SPEAKER_02: And yeah, I remember calling people and some of them being like, I can't even imagine talking to someone about any of this stuff right now.
5:02
SPEAKER_02: I'm just trying to make sure my business is gonna survive.
5:05
SPEAKER_02: So, like, what did kind of like throughout that year and then the next couple building years really look like for you, man?
5:12
SPEAKER_01: Uh it was crazy.
5:14
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and and I mean, I think a lot of advisors experienced this.
5:17
SPEAKER_01: It was at first, you're right, there was the shutdown, and then people started to fill their time, and and that meant a lot of we'll call them tire kickers.
5:25
SPEAKER_01: You know, a lot of people were like, Let me hire my first advisor, let me experience this.
5:30
SPEAKER_01: Uh and and and in our world, we had nothing better going on either.
5:34
SPEAKER_01: So let's work 80-hour weeks and and just try and capture all this growth and be here.
5:40
SPEAKER_01: There's nowhere to go.
5:41
SPEAKER_01: And so let's try and onboard as many people as we can and grow as fast as we can.
5:46
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and we'll figure it out when the dust settles.
5:49
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I'm still hoping that that's someday soon.
5:51
SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, uh that's that was it was a it was a good time to be growing and building a firm for sure.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you mentioned your business partner.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: What's their name again?
6:01
SPEAKER_01: David Wilson.
6:02
SPEAKER_01: Um, and he actually joined me in May of 2020.
6:05
SPEAKER_01: So we did that whole transition and brought all his clients.
6:08
SPEAKER_01: And again, Zoom was still novel, so people were happy to hop on Zoom calls and sign new paperwork and uh, you know, uh get a get a break.
6:17
SPEAKER_01: Um, so it was it was good timing there for that.
6:19
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
6:20
SPEAKER_02: What is it?
6:21
SPEAKER_02: What's the dynamic?
6:22
SPEAKER_02: Go ahead, Pete.
6:22
SPEAKER_02: No, you're good, man.
6:23
SPEAKER_02: You had a better question.
6:24
SPEAKER_02: I could tell by the look on your face.
6:26
SPEAKER_02: Go ahead.
6:26
SPEAKER_00: No, I was gonna ask the same one.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: You know, what you know, you started off by yourself, right?
6:31
SPEAKER_00: And then um, you know, maybe a little over a year into it, you know, you joined forces.
6:36
SPEAKER_00: What kind of made you consider that?
6:38
SPEAKER_01: Um, so David's somebody I've known uh gosh 15 years now, probably.
6:44
SPEAKER_01: Uh we met at the gym doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
6:47
SPEAKER_01: Uh and so before it was cool and before Zuckerberg did it.
6:52
SPEAKER_01: Um and so when you're that close, you kind of talk about you know what you do for a living.
6:56
SPEAKER_01: And so we'd always stayed in touch and like had lunches and what are you doing for clients and what's this?
7:01
SPEAKER_01: And he always told me, I I think you can do this.
7:04
SPEAKER_01: I didn't think you can start your own firm.
7:05
SPEAKER_01: And and then after I did and got things running, he was like, I'm coming to join you.
7:10
SPEAKER_01: Um, and so it it was good timing about that.
7:13
SPEAKER_01: Um, he was able to extract some of his clients from uh his prior world, and so that gave us a little bit of a boost too.
7:21
SPEAKER_01: And um, and that was just kind of this like doubling exercise, you know, like double into 2021, double into 2022, double into 2023.
7:30
SPEAKER_01: Um and uh and here we are today.
7:33
SPEAKER_02: That's awesome, man.
7:34
SPEAKER_02: So I have to ask, side note, just because you mentioned, are you still doing BJJ?
7:39
SPEAKER_01: Nah, I'm we're we're both too old and too achy now.
7:43
SPEAKER_01: It's brutal on your body.
7:44
SPEAKER_01: It is when you wake up and you're just sore every day.
7:47
SPEAKER_01: Uh first thing, it's uh it's a different experience.
7:51
SPEAKER_02: I I heard people say that they were like, uh, because I do crap vaga and I I really like it, I enjoy it.
7:56
SPEAKER_02: It was like something new and challenging to learn.
7:58
SPEAKER_02: But I I talked to a guy because I thought about doing Brazilian jujitsu, and I was like, well, like quick question, man, like before I pursue this any further, like, is it hard on your body?
8:07
SPEAKER_02: And he was like, Oh yeah.
8:09
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, okay, like how hard is it?
8:10
SPEAKER_02: He's like, Do you have any like previous injuries?
8:12
SPEAKER_02: I was like, Yeah, I've torn my ACL like four times.
8:14
SPEAKER_02: He's like, Yeah, don't do Brazilian jujitsu then.
8:17
SPEAKER_02: It's a terrible idea for you.
8:19
SPEAKER_01: I suffered from turf toe, which like sounds like the lamest thing ever, but it is a brutal injury, and it just keeps recurring and you're constantly injured.
8:29
SPEAKER_01: Um that was the end of my BJJ career.
8:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so you mentioned um like doubling, you know, year after year.
8:38
SPEAKER_00: Like what were maybe, you know, now you know you started the business in 2019, 2026.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, what were some good principles that you guys stood by there's four, you know, this first few years?
8:48
SPEAKER_00: Like, was doubling revenue every year?
8:51
SPEAKER_00: Was that a goal?
8:51
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, what did that look like?
9:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um I I I think I had this kind of idealistic model coming out of a big firm where you know we were very high touch, very high service level.
9:36
SPEAKER_01: And in my mind, if you just provided that high service to people, then the rest would follow.
9:42
SPEAKER_01: Um and maybe that's not the best thought-out business model.
9:46
SPEAKER_01: Um, but but the reality is if you look at the stats of big and growing firms, more than half of their growth is coming through referrals.
9:53
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and so that's what really moves the needles.
9:57
SPEAKER_01: Um in like digital and social media and marketing efforts, yeah, they do, but they're only ever gonna be what 15-20% of your growth.
10:07
SPEAKER_01: Um COIs can be some, but the the reality is the big needle movers always gonna be referrals, it's always gonna be the best business, the most qualified, the stickiest.
10:17
SPEAKER_01: Um, but it's not as exciting to talk about.
10:20
SPEAKER_01: And it's and it's not as much of a silver bullet as social media.
10:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
10:25
SPEAKER_02: No, it's it nobody wants to talk about just like honest, good, hard work and how you can get referrals through doing that.
10:30
SPEAKER_02: Because it is so true, and you know, successful people that are good with their money, that want to work with someone often hang out with who?
10:38
SPEAKER_02: Other successful people who also want that same thing.
10:41
SPEAKER_02: Um, so yeah, no, that that's a great point.
10:44
SPEAKER_02: And you know, when we talk to advisors, man, I feel the same way.
10:47
SPEAKER_02: Like, there's no better feeling than when someone was like, Hey, I so-and-so said they had a good experience with you guys.
10:52
SPEAKER_02: So I wanna I want to work with you guys as well.
10:54
SPEAKER_02: Like, it does not get better than that because they feel like they kind of already know you because they're coming to you that way.
11:01
SPEAKER_02: Um, so digging into me, like what are kind of like the different responsibilities, or how do you and your business partner kind of like divide and conquer?
11:09
SPEAKER_02: Because I knew that was something Peter and I had to figure out over the years.
11:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and we're still uh figuring it out for sure.
11:15
SPEAKER_01: Um, nobody will ever accuse me of being a good businessman.
11:19
SPEAKER_01: Um it's uh it's very much I'm a reluctant business owner, I just want to serve clients.
11:25
SPEAKER_01: Um and we both do serve clients.
11:28
SPEAKER_01: Um, we do have you know, as the firm's grown, there's a big administrative and operational undertow.
11:34
SPEAKER_01: Um, we did actually just hire somebody to help alleviate that because, you know, as every RIA does, they wait two, three years past when they should have made that hire uh and and let it become a problem before they actually address it.
11:47
SPEAKER_01: Uh but but that's the reality.
11:49
SPEAKER_01: And it's just it's always becoming more complex with new compliance stuff, and now we've got AI stuff to worry about and new regulation and and technology growing.
12:00
SPEAKER_01: Um, and so yeah, it's just not getting any easier anytime soon.
12:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
12:05
SPEAKER_02: So you you kind of wanted to be, you're like, I know I want to be a financial planner, I want to serve people, I want to have a financial planning practice, but then all of the other stuff that comes along with it, you're kind of like, I could really, I don't really want to do any of this stuff overall.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it was all I can do it.
12:20
SPEAKER_01: And I wish somebody would have taken me aside and shaken me and been like, you shouldn't do this.
12:24
SPEAKER_01: Um not you shouldn't start a business, but you shouldn't be keeping these these tasks on your plate.
12:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
12:31
SPEAKER_01: Uh you should be outsourcing these and hiring these away at the first opportunity.
12:35
SPEAKER_01: Um but you live and you learn.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: So what would you say maybe some of those weaknesses are that you know now you've hired out or you've you know you got somebody, but like what were some of those core key you know, pain points for you?
12:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's always you know, it's your billing, it's your your compliance, your uh you know, your bookkeeping.
12:57
SPEAKER_01: It's absurd to still be doing your own bookkeeping at this point, but guess who still does his own bookkeeping, you know, or you know, and so like uh dirty secrets there.
13:08
SPEAKER_01: Uh and I'm sure there's a lot of advisors that feel that way too.
13:11
SPEAKER_01: It's like uh any day now, I'll get it off my plate.
13:15
SPEAKER_01: Uh years go on.
13:17
SPEAKER_02: I I love the level of transparency and humility that you're having, though, Dan.
13:21
SPEAKER_02: I have to tell you that, man.
13:22
SPEAKER_02: Not everybody would would have the gumption to get on here and be like, look, here's the deal, here's what it looks like.
13:27
SPEAKER_02: And and honestly, man, I think that's such a relatable business concept because so many people want to act like, oh, we have it all together.
13:34
SPEAKER_02: It's like, no, you don't.
13:36
SPEAKER_02: No one has it all together, right?
13:38
SPEAKER_02: Even the most successful firms that you hear about out there where you think they've got all this stuff going on, there's still pain points, there's still challenges.
13:45
SPEAKER_02: And guess what?
13:45
SPEAKER_02: As you continue to grow and scale, those never go away, right?
13:50
SPEAKER_02: They just increase, like you said, they increase and multiply.
13:53
SPEAKER_02: Um, so you know, you kind of mentioned you guys AUM, team of four, like where do you see the direction of the firm, you know, going?
14:02
SPEAKER_02: And how do you guys want to be intentional about that?
14:04
SPEAKER_02: I know, you know, we always bring we've actually I don't think we've asked this question a while, Peter, but we always have this question of like there's like the solarpreneur route, right?
14:11
SPEAKER_02: Then there's kind of like the boutique, which is kind of where you guys are at.
14:14
SPEAKER_02: And then there's those like call it call them crazy people that want to like do the enterprise.
14:18
SPEAKER_02: Holy cow, we're gonna grow as big as we can model.
14:21
SPEAKER_02: So, where do you guys kind of see yourself here in the next maybe five years getting to?
14:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I I can speak for myself, not my partner, but I I don't think either of us have a desire to enterprise.
14:33
SPEAKER_01: I don't think we just have that DNA.
14:36
SPEAKER_01: Um, and so the and I and I do think our clients appreciate the boutique approach and appreciate the service level they're getting.
14:43
SPEAKER_01: There's there's never any pigeon ditch here.
14:46
SPEAKER_01: Like, and it's it's just shocking to me when clients come in and they're like, Will you always be my advisor?
14:50
SPEAKER_01: And it's like, oh my god, yes.
14:51
SPEAKER_01: Like I know there's no handoffs here.
14:55
SPEAKER_01: Uh and so uh that that limits what you can do right there.
15:00
SPEAKER_01: Uh but I think uh I think at least me personally, I am in a stage where I'm trying to let the let the reality of the world drive it too.
15:09
SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, like I said, costs are going up, but there's costs to keeping clients, and and it's hard to hire.
15:15
SPEAKER_01: And so just being realistic about what the resources are at our our disposal, and and that is what our growth limitations are, really.
15:24
SPEAKER_01: Um, because I think we've all been there where you try and grow too much, and that puts a strain on your team, and it puts a strain on yourself, uh and you burn, somebody burns out, someone's got to give.
15:35
SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's it's usually a human being.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: Um, and so uh trying to be cognizant of that.
15:41
SPEAKER_01: Um, and and not all growth is equal.
15:44
SPEAKER_01: You know, at some point you're you're making trade-offs.
15:47
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
15:47
SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's definitely efficiency and you know how much you can squeeze out of each employee, right?
15:52
SPEAKER_00: Because just hiring and hiring, I mean, it adds to the bottom line.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: And you know, you can always add more staff, but are you you know, are you moving the needle forward?
15:59
SPEAKER_00: Are you making any more money, right?
16:02
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I mean, we saw you an XY uh last year in Austin.
16:07
SPEAKER_00: So are you on the XY chassis?
16:09
SPEAKER_00: Uh is that where you started?
16:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I did start on the XY chassis.
16:14
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I've known Michael for many years, so I was very aware of them went from the jump.
16:19
SPEAKER_01: Um uh I think I've been uh on XY, I mean, since the start, uh I was an XY member before I started my own firm.
16:26
SPEAKER_01: Um and so uh I've been there.
16:28
SPEAKER_01: I you know, I've spoken at their conferences many times.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: Hopefully I will again this year.
16:33
SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, uh and uh try and get that plug in.
16:38
SPEAKER_01: And uh, but uh yeah, we've we've been a happy XY member.
16:42
SPEAKER_01: Um and uh uh and I think honestly, I and I it's a part of our discussions.
16:48
SPEAKER_01: I think you know, again, what you see is not always reality.
16:51
SPEAKER_01: The people that are most vocal and the most successful and most gross focused who you're gonna see at a conference um are not representative of everybody out there, you know.
16:59
SPEAKER_01: And again, conference material is about marketing and and interesting topics.
17:04
SPEAKER_01: And the reality is there's a whole world of advisors out there that are growing through referrals only and are making a good living and have very well-served clients.
17:13
SPEAKER_01: Uh and there's nothing to be vocal about there.
17:16
SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, they they go spend their evenings with their family uh and and don't have to to broadcast it.
17:23
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
17:24
SPEAKER_02: And and it's not like what some people might call boring, right?
17:28
SPEAKER_02: It's just like, no, I enjoy my life that way.
17:30
SPEAKER_02: Like I like being able to have dinner with my family every night.
17:32
SPEAKER_02: I don't always have to be at the next conference or doing the next thing.
17:35
SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, I think that's why at different times in people's lives, you know, they love the conference season or going to those.
17:42
SPEAKER_02: And then in other times they're like, all right, you know, maybe I'm gonna limit I'm gonna pick like one or two this year.
17:46
SPEAKER_02: Whereas when you're first in the business, maybe you went to five or six that first year just to try to like get it all in and feel like you were accomplishing all of it.
17:54
SPEAKER_02: Um, but no, hope you do speak, man, because it'd be cool to meet up in San Diego.
17:58
SPEAKER_02: That's a that's a cool city for sure.
17:59
SPEAKER_01: It's a great, it's a great location this year.
18:01
SPEAKER_02: So um yeah, that's awesome.
18:03
SPEAKER_02: So talk to us a little bit, man, about like your um like clientele.
18:07
SPEAKER_02: Like I know you find clients mostly by like referrals and all of that, but who are you working with?
18:11
SPEAKER_02: What kind of problems are you guys solving together?
18:13
SPEAKER_02: And and what's kind of the right fit for you guys?
18:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, uh, I think that was a big part for me.
18:19
SPEAKER_01: Um going, I you know, I worked at a big firm, they sold, and I went from, you know, I remember when I left my average client age was 76, and then it was 36, you know, and it was it was that that much churn younger.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: Um, and everybody said, Oh, you know, you're focused on this Henry space, how you're making it work.
18:36
SPEAKER_01: Well, it was just losing a bunch of money.
18:38
SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, like it was uh it was this shift to like having a younger and um more uh growth focused client base that I you know I plan on being their one and only advisor for.
18:53
SPEAKER_01: Um and so that's it's a bit on a lot of our client base, but at the same time, we've got plenty of retirees.
18:58
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, like I've done you've done retirement planning your whole career.
19:01
SPEAKER_01: Uh you can do it.
19:03
SPEAKER_01: And I uh I'm pretty outspoken on I don't feel the need to niche into anything.
19:07
SPEAKER_01: And and I think it's how I grow as an advisor is that I'm getting a lot of different stuff.
19:12
SPEAKER_01: Uh uh uh and again, uh, you know, Michael's done this talk about what's you know, are advisors burning out or are they boring out?
19:21
SPEAKER_01: And uh I can't think of any way to become bored faster than to have a niche.
19:26
SPEAKER_01: Like if I'm only doing the same thing all day, every day, I'm pretty bored pretty fast.
19:30
SPEAKER_01: And so that's how I keep myself engaged throughout my career, is is having a diversity of client issues.
19:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
19:37
SPEAKER_02: So would you mind giving us like a couple like examples of like, you know, maybe you have one client doing this, and that's kind of been interesting.
19:43
SPEAKER_02: And then over here, there's another side where you're doing something completely different.
19:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
19:48
SPEAKER_01: So I mean, I've got the like, you know, I'm in New York City, there's tech people, so I've got my handful of Google clients, and then I love it.
19:55
SPEAKER_01: But I've also got uh a group of doctors in upstate New York who are a partnership and started a private practice, and so I'm you know, I'm doing key man insurance for them and uh you know getting their their payroll solution set up meanwhile I'm doing RSUs or GSUs over here.
20:13
SPEAKER_01: Um and and things like that, like you know, could I be 10% better on those subjects if I was all if I was always doing?
20:22
SPEAKER_01: But I think my clients are very well served, and I get to get to have uh you know different levels of financial planning, and and it it's incredible how much it bleeds over, you know, like all of a sudden somebody's partner is starting their own business or something, and you know everything you need to get them up and running.
20:40
SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, yeah, that's really cool.
20:43
SPEAKER_02: That's really cool.
20:44
SPEAKER_02: Um, well, man, if there was something that you could tell an advisor out there that's maybe like interested in starting their own practice, they're like, Man, I I think I can do this, but I don't know if I'm like ready yet.
20:57
SPEAKER_02: Um, what would be your recommendation to maybe someone out there that's at like a you know help desk or a Charles Schwab answering the phones or whatever it might be that wants to go out there and start their own practice and they're like, I'm listening to this podcast because I'm trying to figure out like what do I even know to start?
21:15
SPEAKER_02: Like, what would you what would you say to them?
21:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, uh first you can you can do it.
21:20
SPEAKER_01: I mean bigger uh bigger idiots than me have pulled it off.
21:26
SPEAKER_01: Um and so uh everybody can do it.
21:28
SPEAKER_01: Uh uh and to you know, not to be cheeky, but it doesn't get any easier.
21:33
SPEAKER_01: Um and it shouldn't.
21:34
SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's that's that's business ownership.
21:37
SPEAKER_01: Uh and uh the autonomy that comes with being able to serve your clients the way you want to is is very freeing.
21:45
SPEAKER_01: Um and that's would get you up a lot of days.
21:48
SPEAKER_01: Um saying, like I I get to choose how this problem is gonna be solved um and and getting there for my clients.
21:57
SPEAKER_01: Uh so yeah, uh when when the days are hard, you can always fall back on that, I think.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: Great point there.
22:05
SPEAKER_00: Um any other little golden nuggets you were thinking about before you jumped on here that you wanted to get out to the audience?
22:12
SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, I think uh you as far as like traits for an advisor, and we talked about a little bit, I you know, I think and I've been trying to deal with this myself, is is I I would say for advisors, a key skill is compassion.
22:27
SPEAKER_01: Um and and that's empathy for others, which you're gonna come across a lot of this and it's gonna break your Heart, some of the things you'll see in this industry, and and and you'll want to just help everybody.
22:37
SPEAKER_01: And I do think having uh a bit of self-compassion goes a long way too, and saying I can't help everybody, you know, and sometimes I have to run a business and I have to uh I have to separate myself, and me not being able to help somebody is not a reflection of me, or I'm gonna do that in my in my personal time pro bono, and that's gonna be my service.
22:57
SPEAKER_01: Um, but but you know, not everything can can be done.
23:01
SPEAKER_01: Uh there's only so many hours in the day, and you got to take care of yourself and have some self-compassion too, as much as you have it for others.
23:08
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, that's a fantastic point.
23:10
SPEAKER_02: I mean, one of the yeah, that's that's so good because and and realistically, man, like the the the more well structured you are and knowing what your business offering is and making sure that you and your family are gonna be taken care of, and this is a sustainable business that's gonna be around for a long time for your clients, the more people you can actually help, right?
23:31
SPEAKER_02: It's like when you're not charging enough or you're taking on clients that you shouldn't be taking on, or you know, you're not you're not doing business in a way that's gonna be sustainable long term.
23:40
SPEAKER_02: I feel like that's when a lot of people run into big issues.
23:43
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, we've we've heard that time and time again.
23:46
SPEAKER_01: I uh I just went through an exercise with with Michael Kitz's and he's got a new platform where they're doing some KPIs.
23:51
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, when you actually drill down and see what it costs you to keep a client on your platform, and you're like, oh gosh, and if I'm charging less than that, I'm losing money.
24:01
SPEAKER_01: And of course, I've got clients that subsidize it, but there's a real trade-off there when you put it in numbers.
24:06
SPEAKER_01: Um I do have to charge a fee, unfortunately.
24:10
SPEAKER_01: Uh to stay in business.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: Amazing.
24:13
SPEAKER_00: Amazing.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: Well, Dan, thanks so much for your time today.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: For those who want to learn more um about you, or maybe even reach out, what's the best way to learn?
24:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm on sincerisadv.com.
24:25
SPEAKER_01: Uh, you can always email me.
24:26
SPEAKER_01: I'm on LinkedIn, you can find me.
24:28
SPEAKER_01: I don't I don't go on LinkedIn much anymore.
24:29
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't spark my joy these days, and so I just don't open it.
24:33
SPEAKER_01: But feel free to add me.
24:35
SPEAKER_01: Awesome, man.
24:36
SPEAKER_02: Well, thank you so much for the time.
24:37
SPEAKER_02: It's great to get the chance to talk to you, man.
24:39
SPEAKER_01: Thanks, guys.
24:40
SPEAKER_01: Pleasure.