Latest / Financial Planner Life Podcast / Over 50% of New UK Financial Advisers Came Through This ONE Academy!

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Over 50% of New UK Financial Advisers Came Through This ONE Academy! · Financial Planner Life Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Financial Planet Life podcast, and we welcome back G Footing from the St.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy, and we talk about how 50% of new advisors into the profession have come through the St.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna take a deep dive into what's changed in 2026 and the ongoing improvements that they make.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's a fantastic episode for anybody that's thinking about becoming a financial planner, needs to understand exactly what it's like from start to finish.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna love this episode if you're looking to become a financial planner.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, gee, welcome back to the Financial Planner Life podcast.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: How are you?
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm very well, thanks for having me.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's been a while since I've been on, Sam, so I'm excited for today.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: I did ask you.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's been about over a year, isn't it, since we did the deep dive into the St.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy, which is gonna be in the show notes anyway.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: So if anybody wants to sort of take a look into the deep dive of the different terms that we're gonna talk about today, briefly, but if someone wants to go a bit deeper, they can check the show notes and get stuck into that one.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: But um these St.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy podcasts, they seem to be very popular.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: On your platform.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, great.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Massively.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: We get a lot of positive feedback from it.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, I'm not just saying this because I'm here today to work in with you, but you know, a lot of the guests that we've had that have gone through the St.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy have been really fantastic stories of success.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's the key, isn't it?
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Is that if you're gonna go and join any company, if you're gonna go down the route of becoming a financial planner and you're gonna join an academy, you want to know that people that have gone through it have been a success.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And St.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy now, it's not new, it's not the new kid on the block.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Why is the St.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy such an important part of the financial planning profession?
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: So we are the longest running and most established program out there, and we aim to be, I guess, the highest standard that people can want to replicate, and and they are replicating it elsewhere, which is a flattering uh place to be for us.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: But we don't ever want to stand on our laurels and not change things because you know there are new people coming in, and we need to make sure that we are at the forefront of those changes ourselves as well.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: I think the Academy was born from I guess an SJP-centric place.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: So it was for the St.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: James's Place partnership to be a sustainable business long into the future.
• 2:17
  unknown: St.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: James's Place has an ambition to be a 100-year company.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we're just over 30 now, so we've still got a long road to run to get to those hundred years.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: And having a business model that is sustainable when we can see it lasting out that long, the Academy is a fundamental part of that for us.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: And if we look at the broader profession, we know that there are a lot of advisors who are over 50.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's almost 50% of all financial advisors are over 50, and under 30% are under 40.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: So that just means that over the next five, 10, 15 years, there will be a significant number of advisors exiting.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: They'll be retiring in a positive way.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's great.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: But what happens to the clients?
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: So ultimately, St.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: James's Place is 100% focused on the outcomes for their clients, as are all of the advisors in the partnership.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: So the Academy was born from that.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what happens when our advisors come to retire?
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: We need to have a place for these clients to be looked after continuously, and we need to have a talent incubator.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: Because if we just recruit from the existing talent pool, well, as I said, oh, many of them are over 50, so they're going to start running out sooner or later.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: So we needed to have an incubator of our own that said, let's bring fresh talent in.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: And now we're in a position where all of our graduates in 2025 contributed to over 50% of those being appointed into the profession.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I feel like now we are not only benefiting from the infrastructure and the ecosystem ourselves, but we are influencing the broader profession in terms of gender makeup, for example.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: So 50% of all new people that joined the profession actually came through the St.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: In 2025, yeah.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's incredible.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: So you are having a hugely positive impact on the profession, not just on the clients and individual advisors going through the process.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's phenomenal.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, things don't always have to be fixed.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to be constantly looking for improvements for an academy.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: But sometimes changes are made.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: In 2026, what sort of changes have been made to the St.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy?
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: What's different from last year?
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: That's a good question.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I probably won't be able to list everything because I think on an average year we'll make over 500 changes to the program.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: So even if you spoke to one of the people on your podcast, they may have come through training six months ago.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: It will the training today will look different to how it was for them six months ago.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: And it might not look dramatically different, but there, as I say, these small incremental changes that we'll make.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we'll make big changes, like we did after COVID, with the move to much more of a virtual program or a I guess a hybrid program.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: So 500 changes a year, why make those changes?
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: And you said at the front, well, don't change something if it doesn't need changing.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: And we absolutely agree with that.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: So we have lots of feedback loops.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: We remain inquisitive.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: We like to be at the forefront, be at the top, you know, be that leading academy in the profession.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: So the feedback loops are AI supported.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: So at the end of any session, there's a learning sense check.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: How have you got on with this mod module?
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: And that gives us MI and data.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: But there's also end-of-term analysis with the with the delegates, as well as observations out in the field.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, all of the people going through the programme have access to lots of SJP people supporting them.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: So at any time, they can give us feedback to whoever they happen to be speaking to, and we take that on board as well.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: So we've got that broad view of both qualitative and quantitative data that says to us, okay, something might need tweaking versus changing quite dramatically.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: And we do that.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: We want to be the very best we can, so we keep changing things when we when we uh when we see that we need to.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: I see you're still working with Red Merle Advance as the exam trainer of choice when it comes to the qualifications there at St.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: How's that going?
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that I that I would say that's one of the things, if it's not broken, don't fix it.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: So one of the things that we have been working with since the outset of the academy back in 2012 and before is the chart of the insurance institute as the exam body and the route that we take.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: We like that approach because it's modular, and I think it's helpful.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, 45% coming through our academy have a non-financial services background.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: So learning about the financial products and the profession is all quite new to them.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: And we find that their you know, six exam modular approach helps them really understand in a deep way the products that they'll be recommending to their clients.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: And then, secondly, Red Mill Advanced, I think our relationship with them must be about five years now.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we have great outcomes for the people going through the training with us, our first-time exam pass rate with the combination of both their trainers, our trainers, the system that it is, and we can talk a little bit about that, um, is consistently between 80, 85, 95, you're just under 90%, um, just above, sorry, 90% first-time pass rate.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: And that's versus at a profession or industry whole of about 55 to 60% first-time pass rate.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: Why is that?
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: Why do you think that is exactly that's that is a phenomenal pass rate?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's the combination of the system itself.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: So the system itself has different learning styles.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: So if somebody has dyslexia or they like they just prefer to learn through an audio book rather than reading something or watching a video, they just take the information in more in that way.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: Red Mill Advanced has all of those different learning styles built into it.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: It also has knowledge checks, it has an app for your phone.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: When you're on the commute, you can be testing your knowledge.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: So I just think the the broad range of how you can learn through it is really helpful because it caters for lots of different learning styles.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: And then when you partner that and marry that with the support that people have in the SJP Academy, I think that's the thing that makes us stand out from others is the level of support that you have here.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: So when you're on that learning journey in learn in term one, where you're getting through the qualifications, you've got access to exam trainers, both from Red Mill and from St.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: James's place, who are experts.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: These people sit every single sitting of the exam, they really understand what they're looking for.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um so to pass that knowledge on to you when you're about to sit the exam is second to none.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: But also, I think the emotional support.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a peer group, you're, you know, you're joining the academy, you're in a room full of both virtually and in person, 20 other people, 25 people on the same career change journey as you.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that connectivity, that peer-led support is super helpful.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: So they all have a WhatsApp group, you know, they're texting things in there all the time, and that WhatsApp group continues for the rest of their journey in St.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: James's place, and often the questions go from exam-based questions into actually real client, you know, scenarios, and how do I help?
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: Has anyone had a client in a similar position to this?
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that is super helpful too.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: And then, of course, the development managers that we provide.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: So, intern one, when you are learning the exams, you have a relationship manager, so there's that one person you can go to when you do need support, but around, of course, all of that are experts in anything that you might need.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: So it could be technical expertise in a particular product line that you are finding challenging to understand, um, or it could be, I think we mentioned this on one of our previous podcasts, just some emotional support.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: We call it pastoral care.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: So actually, I'm going through something personally at the moment, I might need to postpone my exam for one reason or another, and it's just helping, holding hands with that person, making sure from a personal and health perspective they have everything they need in place, and then once they're ready supporting them through the through the journey at a time, that's right.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, you know, moving from one career to another into financial planning with the support of the St.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy is fantastic.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: But what about financial support during that period?
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: Are you still supporting people financially through the academy or through their journey to become a financial planner?
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and it's a really important part for people to understand when they're coming through.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: And we have two, really two routes that somebody can take coming through the Academy training.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes people come with a set route in mind and that doesn't change.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: Others won't know which might be right for them, and our onboarding or selection process is designed specifically to give them lots of information for them to do some homework to be able to make a very informed decision about it, and part of it will absolutely be the financial picture.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: So we will need to understand from the individual what their personal circumstances look like from a household perspective, you know, not just an individual.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then that helps you make a decision.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: So the two routes I mentioned before is I'm going to start my own business, which is super exciting, yeah.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: And but obviously you've got to spin a lot of hats.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: You you're becoming a financial advisor for the first time.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: Often you're running a business for the first time as well.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: We do have uh people that have been entrepreneurs before come and join us as well, which is fantastic.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: They understand a little bit deeper some of the other things that they need to do on top of advising.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um but if you're new to this for the first time, there's lots of things to consider.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: And your financial resilience, I think, is an important part of that process and that learning journey.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: So, what I don't have is one answer on what the financial support looks like for everybody.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: It does differ if you're starting a business versus joining an existing practice of uh of St.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: James's Place.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: So, just really quickly, just as a recap for people, I know I've mentioned this on the other podcast that I've been on with you, Sam, but if we've got new audience watching, and this is the first podcast that they've seen me on with you, I think it's important for people to understand the SJP model, the infrastructure, the how the business works.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: So we've got 2,000 employees, none of our employees give financial advice.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: We are there to support the partnership.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: So the partnership is where the advice happens, and in the partnership at St.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: James's Place, there's two and a half thousand or two over 2,600 individual businesses and around 5,000 financial advisors who work within those businesses.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: So when you're coming through our academy, the two routes out are I become an advisor in one of those existing businesses under the partnership umbrella, or I start my own business under the partnership umbrella.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: Now there is a third route because if you do join a practice, there's a choice between being an employed or a self-employed advisor within that business.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: And again, that's down to the person's person's personal circumstances and what they need.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: So back to your question: is there financial support?
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_01: There is, and there's lots of different ways that we can support you.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: Our onboarding process is very much designed to understand them as an individual, what their needs are from a financial perspective, how resilient their finances are, and then that will help drive the right decision and outcome for that person on the program.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: That said, if somebody's personal finances aren't necessarily in a position to start their own business now, you can stepping stone into a into a practice before running your own.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: So again, there's lots of flexibility in the ecosystem once you're in the partnership to get the outcome ultimately that you want in the end.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Brilliant.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: So if someone listens to this podcast now and they're just trying to find out a little bit more about St.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place, and they're kind of slightly worried a little bit about the financial side, is look, put that to one side for the time being.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: If your heart is set on becoming a financial planner and you want to explore that career route, there are multiple different routes within St.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: There isn't just one.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so do reach out and have that conversation in the first step and you know, find out what it's all about, what route might be suitable for you.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: And as you sit down with somebody and they uncover and discover, then hopefully the solution will actually kind of present itself.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: And our recruitment managers are dealing with people all of the time and they're placing into different opportunities all of the time.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: So they're very well equipped to give you all of the answers that you need.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: So be inquisitive, ask lots of questions.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I would say the things to look out for and ask your recruitment manager about that will help you, particularly if you're going to become an advisor in an existing practice, is really understanding the contract.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: So there will be a contract, whether you're employed or self-employed, but you need to understand the intricate details of it.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: And some of the feedback I've had personally is oh, I became an advisor in a practice.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: They were talking to me about all of these things ongoing advice fee, initial fees, and all of these terms that at the time when you're new in, all just sounds great because you're just you're fresh in, you're so excited, you want to get started.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: The contract maybe doesn't quite make sense to you as much, or maybe it you think it does, you know, you feel like 100% it does, and then might be a year, two years down the line that with you you realize what aligning that contract means.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: So really be inquisitive, ask lots of questions.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: We are here to be 100% transparent with you and share with you everything you need to make an informed decision.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: So don't be shy, just ask a lot of questions.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: So have you found that more people are becoming more entrepreneurial and wanting to run their own partner practices?
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: Is that something that you've seen as a trend in St.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: James's place?
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um it ebbs and flows.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: So when we have people come through our programme, they all sit on the same program initially.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: So that training and skills part, we'll come on to the terms in just a moment.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: So you can come and get your qualifications with us, or if you already qualified uh with a financial advice qualification, I mentioned that we've partnered with the CII, but we accept people who are fully qualified from other exam bodies as well.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: If you are already fully qualified and you want to come and be an advisor for the first time, you've never given advice before, you would skip term one for us, the qualification section, and just start at turn two, which is the skills.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: So, how to actually do this job?
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: What do I need to know from a skills perspective, an SJP perspective, an FCA regulatory perspective to do this job safely?
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: Ultimately, is what happens in term two.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's probably a good point, actually, just to kind of go over the terms briefly, just to remind people.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: And again, if someone wants a deep dive into this, there are some links in the comments section where we can do that.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: But let's give an overview of the terms and what someone can expect when they come into the St.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: So, first of all, term one is the qualifications.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a couple of exams that are a prerequisite to starting the programme.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: But I make that point quite clear starting the program, not having a conversation with us.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: So if there is anybody out there watching this and hearing that, don't let the fact that you haven't ordered an exam book or what you know got one of the exams under your belt hold you back.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: Come and speak to us, get all as much information as you need.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: You can even get all the way along our selection process be selected before you do an exam.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, others like to get started a bit earlier and do it while they're in conversation with us.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um so there are six exams that make up the qualification with DCII.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: Two of those exams are past before you start the program, and that gives you a sense of confidence in yourself and a sense of what to expect.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: So often people are working still in another job while they're doing those exams and trying to balance that with everything else going on in your lives.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: There's a good sort of sense check of well, how resilient are you?
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: How much determination have you have you got to get through these?
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: But once you start on the program in term one, it's a three-month or 14-week program to get through the qualifications.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: There's one exam every four weeks.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: So that's RO2, three, and four.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: So those are slightly more technical than the ones that you sit before you join.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: So it's pensions advice, it's tax and planning, and all of those things where perhaps people need a bit more handholding, even if they do come from within financial services.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: There can be some tricky things in their tax calculations and things like that.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: So term one is all about qualifications, and that is a pretty much a virtual term, Sam.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: So people aren't having to travel, come into an office, they're sort of mostly online.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: There will be workshops available, exam cram days, you'll have a structure.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, a lot of it though is on demand and you can do in your own time during that period.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: But it is a full-time commitment.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: I want to um make that clear too.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: So if you have got a full-time job, you will need to have finished that job before you start on term one.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then so turn two.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: So for those who are qualified already qualified, they can skip term one and start at term two.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: So this is about the skills you need to be a financial advisor.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: What do you need to know about St.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: James's Place and the industry and the profession, the regulator?
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: And also how do you behave in a client meeting?
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: What is going to get the best from a client ultimately to give them the best outcome?
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: How do you make somebody feel at ease?
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: How do you acquire clients in the first place?
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: So there's a lot to learn in term two.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: But what here we have done is reduced term two in terms of time in the classroom to nine weeks, and that's based on delegate feedback.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: We've been talking about that feedback loop.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: It was a full three months before, but actually, what people have said is, I'm ready to give advice, I want to get out there, I want to be in front of clients.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you've equipped me well.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: So we took a really close look at term two and said, what are the essentials that somebody needs to go out and see a client for the first time?
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: And what things are nicer to have and can be learnt a bit later.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: So it might be, you know, I don't want to alarm people and say, Well, I want I want a fully trained financial advisor, thank you.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: They are 100% fully trained, but these are more elective areas of expertise that somebody could dip into depending on what their clients are like.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: So it could be cash flow modelling comes a bit later, it might be IHT planning comes a bit later in terms of its detail.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: So let's give you the full picture in nine weeks so you can get out and see clients.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: And that reduces the impact on your uh reduction in earning potential because during turn one and turn two, you are committed to this full-time.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: There isn't a salary as such, particularly if you're starting a business.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: So if you are starting a business, SJP do support you financially,£2,000 per month during that period.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: If you're joining a practice, the financial support will be between you and that business.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but we understand from you what you need financially and we'll will help you navigate the partnership to find a practice that can do that for you.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: And you'll plan that anyway in the planning session before you even start the terms.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, absolutely.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'll come on to that in a sec, yeah.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: And then term three is a 12-week, sorry, a 12-month programme getting you to competent advisor status.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: So you move from the care of an academy relationship manager into the care of an academy development manager.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: So this person is FCA regulated, they are, you know, uh authorised to give advice, so that gives you peace of mind for one, and they'll be out there observing you in the field.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: So you will have observed meetings with clients until you are signed off as competent advisor, which means you can go off and do that by yourself.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, just at this point here, I just want to go back and just make sure that the types of things that you do with somebody like a delegate that's interested in joining St.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: James's place, so they're they really are keen, they really want to become a financial planner.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: Can we just go back to just what you do as a care of duty to that person to make sure that they fully understand everything about what's expected of them and what they really um uh need to do in this academy to be a success?
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: What do you what do you do?
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: What do you how do you how do you qualify them, let's say?
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we've got a team of highly engaged recruitment managers, shall we say, and they uh take you on a journey, I would say.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: And the initial meeting that you have with them isn't like a formal competency-based interview that you might have for an employed role.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: So don't expect that when you come.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: When you come, expect a human-led experience, very much led by the person sitting in front of the recruitment manager.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: And the first meeting is really get to know you.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, what brings you here today?
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: It tends to be they're moving towards something that isn't available where they currently are, or they're moving away from something that isn't satisfactory or sustainable for them right now in their current role for whatever reason.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: So we like to understand what that is for that individual.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: We won't get to know everything in the first meeting, and of course, in the first meeting, they're inquisitive, they've got lots of questions.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: So it's probably about 50-50.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_01: We're getting to know them and they're asking us lots of questions.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: But then as we move through the process, there's different things that they can do to kind of gather information for themselves.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that might be attend one of our events, either virtually or in person.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: We absolutely recommend coming to an event in person where possible, because not only are SJP going to talk to you about the program, what it looks like and feels like, there will be an academy person who's you know graduated the program in the room, at least one.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: So you get the opportunity to you know speak to that person, ask them what's on your mind, and everybody will have different things on their minds.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: And so everybody learns from each other's questions in the room, which is great.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: So you can go on our Academy website, click on events, and you can find an event local to you that happened around the country, or if it's not convenient, there is a virtual one that you can look at on demand, which is great.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then the onboarding process really takes you on a journey.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: I think I did speak about this in one of our other our other episodes, but to become a financial advisor, and again, those two routes spring to mind, it's helping somebody make that informed decision about I'm going to be an advisor in somebody else's business or I'm going to start my own business.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: If you're going to start your own business, that means everything comes from you initially.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: You're the solo person in that business from the outset.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: So that means client acquisition is probably the most important thing that you do in the early stages.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because without clients, you don't have a business.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: And that some people that's intimidating, or they're fearful of it, or they're not sure if they have the resources or the network for that.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: So our process is to help give people confidence or enough information to make the opposite decision.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: And there is no right or wrong.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: So we have a business plan.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: No, I don't want to scare people off with the plan.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: And 95 plus percent of people haven't ever written a business plan before when they come to us.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: So we have a templated model, we have a lot of help and support for them going around that.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: And what's in that plan is to help somebody to start to think what's important for a business.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: So having some clients is important.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: So how am I going to find them?
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: Take a step back from that.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: How am I going to market myself?
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: What ideas could I have?
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: Where could I access lots of clients in one place?
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: So a professional connection, for example.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: So all of these things you're thinking about.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: And then also one of the most common questions that we get asked as the recruitment managers is how quickly can I earn X?
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: And X is always what I'm currently earning, they're currently earning or what they were most recently earning.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: So we have a lot of career returners come to us as well.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's their previous benchmark.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: And that number is different for everybody.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: So we have people who are, you know, earning a level and they see financial advice as a huge step up and they're really excited about it.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: We have people who are already high earners and they might need to take a dip in earnings before they get back up to where they were.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: So we need them to understand that journey and be resilient to understand that as well.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: So the business plan is really to help them understand what it takes to earn X and whatever that is for them.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: And that goes into granular detailers analysing their personal network and understanding the fee structure.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: So if I write X amount of business, the fee revenue is Y.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: And then you multiply that by that many clients to equal the revenue that they're looking for in a 12-month period.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: And then once you've got those numbers in place and you kind of understand how that works, you then start to think about well, how active do I need to be then to generate that number of clients?
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and what does that look like in a typical week?
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Where am I going to find them?
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: Where am I going to source them?
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: So this all sounds quite detailed, and it is, but it's deliberately so.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: So that they really feel like, oh my gosh, I didn't realise my network was this vast, you know, until I've sat down and done this bit of homework.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and often people might think, Oh, friends and family, that's a bit scary.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: But actually, you probably know loads of people from lots of different places.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: So previous workplaces, do you have children?
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: You've probably got clubs, schools, you know, families, friends, parents, and all sorts of places you can meet people there.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: What are your hobbies?
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: What do you love to do outside of work?
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I would say lean into those things heavily because the more you're enjoying putting yourself in a position where you're going to be meeting people, the more you're going to be consistent.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: Also, also, it's well worth leaning into your existing experience.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: So the plenty of people that we've had come on the podcast via the St.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy have gone back into the industry where they worked and have actually picked up clients that way.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: And some of the most interesting ones for me, and you didn't think it would be that way, are people that work in finance, right?
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: So people in private banking, for example, or investment management.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: Just you kind of think these people would have financial planners or have a good understanding of their own financial plan.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: But what's become apparent is they don't.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: They don't have time.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: So it's been very interesting to hear people go back into financial services with people that you do think would have that level of experience and then delivering those financial plans for them, which is it's quite refreshing to think actually.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the things that we also ask people to do on the way in is a process that we describe as soundings, which is a bit of what you've just described.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: Speak to some people you already know and tell them you're thinking of having a career change.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: Financial advice is on the list.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know, can you see me doing this job?
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: Gauge their reaction.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: And you want to ask some people who know you really well.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, your friends and family, the ones you know who really know you.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: You also maybe want to ask some ex-manager or you know, people on your slight peripheral, um, because they can give you that feedback.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: One of the questions you can ask them is Have you ever sat down with a financial advisor, but do you have a financial advisor?
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: If the answer is yes, to everybody says yes, then your personal network might feel a bit saturated.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: But I guarantee they won't all say yes.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: So that again it gives you confidence in your plan.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: But even the ones that do say yes, this is an information gathering exercise.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: So are they giving you a good service?
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: What were you really happy with?
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: What do you wish they'd done differently?
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: And you're just gathering information that you can apply to your business.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: So that whole process to go through the you know, the business plan, the network analysis, understanding how you can write business to earn what you used to earn is all a step-by-step process to give you confidence in making a decision.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: And if the decision is I don't have the resources, like personal resources, financially or network or you know, whatever it might be, to start my own business today, as I said before, you can join an existing practice and maybe eventually one day own a business.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: You might eventually own the business you're joining because there are people looking for advisors to come into their business and succession plan with so they can exit in five or ten years' time, and the advisor takes on the client.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: So there's lots of exciting opportunities no matter what route you're looking to take.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so we covered a little bit there about the about the terms and what happens prior.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of work that goes in prior to it before you even start.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's great actually.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's just exactly what people need is to explore why.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: Why are they doing it?
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: What does their network look like?
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: What's the realities of being a financial planner?
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: What are you going to earn in year one, year two, year three?
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: How are you going to pay the bills?
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: All these things you'll bring into the surface and the deep amount of knowledge that you have over that 19 years of taking people through the process, you're able to actually give them advice from a place of knowing because you've got the people that have actually gone through it.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I think along the way, there's lots of expertise in the people that you meet, but lots of sense checks as well.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: So you move from your recruitment manager's care and support into our selection team, and they provide that independent view as well.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: So they are going to be probing and challenging that all the work that you've done with your recruitment manager.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: There's a fresh pair of eyes on suddenly.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and even if the outcome of your selection meeting is negative, it might not be a no forever, it could be a it's a no for now, but go and work on this.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's great.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: And actually, somebody who does go and work on that and then comes back, they're gonna get a huge green light because they've been resilient, they've taken action.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 100%.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: So, how many people went through the academy last year out of intros?
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: Just give some people some context of the numbers of people that you're actually taking through the programme.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so our academy takes on average to get sort of graduate is about 18 months.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: So on any given year, there's people in that process somewhere.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: But in terms of actual people that graduated last year, it was over 350.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, that's huge.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's big numbers.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, great stuff.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now, percentage-wise, we talked about financial services.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: We had a few people on the podcast that have been in financial services, but what percentage of people that go through the St.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy are actually from financial services and the rest from elsewhere?
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it does ebb and flow, as you can imagine.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: At the moment, as I say, the cohort from 2025 is about 45% non-financial services.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then financial services is quite broad.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: So they typically might be in financial services somewhere.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: It could be accounting, it could be banking, it could be any number of roles, but it's not hasn't been an advisor advisory role.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: Or a power planner or something like that.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it could be a power planner because that's a non-advisory role.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: So that's within the profession.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: Are you taking people on who are in power planning roles?
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: Are you seeing an increase in power planners thinking about becoming financial planners?
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: I suppose in my head, they might feel a bit more under threat, especially with AI coming in and looking at some of those more um administrative heavy roles such as power planning, compliance, administration.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: Are you seeing an influx of people from power planning?
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't say a huge influx that we've seen in the last sort of 24 months, a change in numbers really, but there's a consistent flow of those people.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: I do believe that there is a route into the profession that is more traditional, where you start out, if your first career is, for example, you finish university or A levels, you're looking for a role, you join financial services as kind of a safe pair of hands for your career, you think you're going to earn good money, you know, you come and work in an A city near you.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you start out as an administrator, you can get some exams under your belt, power planner is the next kind of step in that progression.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of people don't want to stop there, so they'll look for the next opportunity.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_01: And whether that advising opportunity is in the business that they're working in as a power planner or not, there are these opportunities at academies where they can come and take that leap and take that step.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we help a lot of people who are power planners within our partnership businesses progress progress to be advisors in those businesses as well and help the businesses themselves prepare for that moment because they need to backfill that role because that person was obviously invaluable in their power planning role.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: So before they become an advisor, we really like them to have a clean break from that.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: They're not a power planner anymore, they're not going to do that for you.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: So you need to backfill that person's job before they make the step into academy.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: So there's lots of work that happens to make that a reality.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, we see people joining us from power planning from outside of SJP as well.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: So in 2026, then, what's one of the biggest changes that you've that you've made?
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: 2026, one of the biggest changes we've made.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_01: So our early years cohort.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_01: So I think we've got a business owners program now, okay.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: So, which is dedicated for those that come through our training who want to start a business.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, academy training is term one, two, and three up to competent advisor status, and then you get to the point where you graduate the program and there's a celebration event, you've been to one of our graduations, Sam.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know, really nice moment to celebrate the hard work that's gone in, but it also marks the beginning of a journey ahead, which is quite nice.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: After that, um, SJP's whole business structure has changed actually since 2025, and we've organized ourselves into business units, and those units are organized in looking after practices of certain sizes, and what that gives is real expertise at the phase and stage of life and business that those people are, and access to others in a similar position.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_01: So historically, we were organized geographically, now we're organized nationally by the type of business that you sit within.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: So you move from the academy, if you're a business owner, into what we call early years.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_01: So those are the early years where you're establishing your business, and that's splitting across two 12-month programs.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: So one is establishment, the other is sustainability, and we can walk through what we what we cover in those.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: But just to continue on what the rest of the business looks like, you then move into the small business owners, medium, large.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_01: So you could be anywhere in the country now geographically, but you'll fall into one of those business units.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_01: And the reason why I'm telling this is because the support doesn't ever stop.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: So at St.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_01: James's Place, when you join us, from the academy all the way through to when you retire, you'll have a business development manager working alongside you in the business.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_01: So in the academy, in at the end of term three, if you're an advisor and a practice, you move to the care of that in uh business development manager within your business, wherever that sits in the business unit structure.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_01: Does that make sense?
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it makes perfect sense.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_01: And then if you're a business owner, you start in the establishment stage.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_01: And that program is really designed to increase uh productivity because we want them to be sustainable as quickly as possible.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a real um high-touch environment.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, in terms of the number of businesses each development manager is looking after, it's a low number in that business unit deliberately because it's that high level of support that you experience in the academy continues for another two years.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like having your own personal business consultant, right?
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_01: It is, yeah, absolutely.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_01: They're all ILM5 qualified coaches, business coaches.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_01: So you do really get that deep dive into uh business coaching.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, brilliant.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_00: When do you get into the conversation of um buying practices within St James's Place's ecosystem?
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: Do you talk to people in the early stages about the fact that they could acquire clients?
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: There are retiring IF uh financial planners within St.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place that you can buy clients from.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_00: Does that, you know, is that something that you want more people to do?
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: Is that the design of it?
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_01: Or um so we said right at the beginning, didn't we?
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_01: What's the purpose of the academy?
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I think initially it was it was helping us to be a sustainable business for that reason.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_01: So we have retiring partners.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_01: What happens to the clients?
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_01: Ultimately, it's about having continuity of service for the clients that we serve.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_01: And so if a partner retires, or an advisor retires, we don't want the relationship with St.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_01: James's place to end.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: So it's having a community of advisors who are ready and willing and wanting to look after those relationships, you know, for the long term moving forwards.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's a really exciting thing for people to understand, and it's it's quite unique still in the in the industry in the profession, although there's it's being replicated as you would imagine.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_01: But at the moment, we're again it's the longest standing program like this.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: So our business talent purchase proposition is a handheld exit for one and purchase for another.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: So, how does that benefit you or why should you be excited about that coming in, maybe becoming an advisor here and having a business within our ecosystem?
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_01: Is that every stage of your business startup all the way to exit is supported and has been thought of?
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: Versus if you think about being a financial advisor, an independent financial advisor outside of our ecostructure, what does the exit look like right now?
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: Sam, you'll probably know more than me because you're speaking to all these people on your podcast.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_01: But consolidators market is prevalent at the moment.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and my challenge to that would be how are you really focusing or staying staying focused on good customer outcomes when you're being bought by a consolidator and they're giving you targets to meet in order to exit your business?
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_01: Is that really best for the clients?
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas at SJP, you don't have that challenge, you don't have that um, I don't it is a challenge.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_01: So is this the right consolidator for me?
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_01: What does happen to my clients?
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_01: I've got business targets to meet so I can exit, and at the same time, they're trying to put all our systems in place to match other businesses that they're buying.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_01: So there's lots of things vying for their attention, and it's a difficult thing to navigate.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_01: Versus at SJP, you've got an ecosystem where somebody's retiring, you've got a purchaser, and there's a lot of work that happens to make make sure that match is right, and those business units are part of that because there's a lot of um meeting of others in the area, right?
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and the every part of that process is taken care of.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_01: So, what's the valuation of this business?
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_01: Is it fair?
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, do I need a solicitor and account?
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what do I need in orders for this sale to go through?
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: What are the loan, what's the loan uh facility?
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: What are the terms of that loan?
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_01: And and what's quite nice about having our early years business unit or just the academy that's evolved over the last 19 years is that our business sale and purchase structure has changed too.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: So we now have first-time buyer loans which structured which are structured differently.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_01: So there's less to pay in the first few years of the loan, and then it gets it increases later.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_01: So there's all sorts of different things that are exciting.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_01: Do people have to buy?
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_01: Of course they don't.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_01: So we've got people that you've met on your podcast, Sam.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_01: So let's use Karen Beresford as an example.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_01: She came to one of our earliest academies, she's built her business to over 150 million pounds of assets under management, all organically.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_01: So she hasn't bought a retiring partner's book of clads, she's chosen to build it all herself, and she's built it all from referrals.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_01: So she's a shining example of what's possible.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_01: Versus Mark Norris.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_01: So he came to our academy much more recently than Karen did, but he's very much business-minded in a sense that he saw an opportunity to grow his business by acquiring a retiring partner's business.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: So there's lots of different models, and then he now fills the servicing to those clients through the academy.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_01: So he's growing his business by purchasing retiring partners' uh businesses and then training somebody, getting somebody through the academy to service them going forwards.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_01: So there's an ecosystem and an infrastructure that serves you.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_01: If you're early stage, you can grow your business that way if you wish, but all the way up to exiting at a time that's right for you.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_01: The other nice thing about the exit model is from an SJP perspective, it could be a partial or a full sale.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_01: So you can wind down at a time and a pace that suits you, versus I think outside you probably need to sell your business or you don't, like it's probably a little bit more clear-cut, I would imagine.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_01: But here you can say, actually, I'm now 60, whatever.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_01: I love still working because I love my clients, but actually I would like a slightly different pace of life.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I can sell some of my uh business, but not all.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_00: So you're creating an ecosystem where there is no pressure and there is flexibility, and you can move at a pace that suits you and at a point in life that you're at.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_00: So that's yeah, it's not so black and white.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and what's exciting about it is as soon as you start your business, you have access to our systems.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_01: So we have Salesforce for clients, but also we have my practice, and in my practice, you'll always know at any given time from a compliance perspective where you stand, but also the value of your business.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's a nice um position to be in, and and it's exciting, I think, for people coming in.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_01: I think building capital value is one of the um things that differentiate the financial advice role to you know another employed role.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I think building capital value is exciting for Sam.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_01: So let's use another example of on your interview at Dell and Victoria.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_01: So what did they tell you, Sam, when they came in?
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Adele came from a completely different industry, and she was saying, now she's gonna she told me that she's gonna be the oldest person ever at St.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_00: James's.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_00: She doesn't want to stop working ever.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_00: She doesn't want to stop working.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean she became she came in within her 50s, didn't she?
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_00: She did.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then she's doing phenomenally well.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_00: Then brings her daughter in, who, if I'm not mistaken, is about 21 years old.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_00: She's one of the top partners now within St.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_00: James's place for protection sales.
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_01: Protection advisor, yeah.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: And what was really impressed with her as well is when she sat down with me and she talked about her business, she could give me a valuation of a business there and then.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_00: And it was like an ongoing valuation, so she's always knowing what the valuation of a business.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: And at 21 years old, I think she is, um, it was valued over 400,000 already.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_01: So she's become an advisor in her in her mum's practice.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, you don't have to have a parent in the business to become an advisor and have this same model work for you.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_01: So she now owns some of those uh clients within that business already.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_01: And just because she's done that transaction, that business cell purchased, doesn't mean that that value sits with her today because there's a loan to pay off.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_01: Typically takes about seven years, but that loan is paid off over time from the fees that come in, the revenue that comes in from the clients that you're looking after.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_01: But let's fast forward to when she's 30.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_01: What's that value going to be, right?
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_01: She's gonna be a millionaire, probably, by the time she's 30.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_00: And no doubt about it, actually.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly, no doubt about it.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_01: Listen to that podcast, go and watch it, because you'll have no doubt when you watch it as well.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: But it's just an example of it's an exciting proposition, not only about building capital value for yourself, but it's the rewarding part of the role.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, looking at Dell, looking at Victoria, looking at anyone that we've already mentioned and any other of the episodes that you have, whether they're from St.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_01: James's Place or not, they have one thing in common, which is they love helping people.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's that meaningful, you know, you are creating good client outcomes, you are giving back to somebody, you're giving them peace of mind, you're giving them a future they dream of.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's the part of the role that people enjoy the most.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love it.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_00: We've spoken a lot about um women on the podcast.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I think the majority of the examples we gave there were women.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_00: So 18% of financial planners are female.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_01: Only 18.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_01: Only 18%.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_00: And what's it like at St.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place in the Academy?
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so we're we're we we have progress, and it's that's good.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_01: So the profession, as you say, is 18% women in our partnership.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_01: The 5,000, we just recently passed a milestone of over a thousand women in the partnership.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_02: Fantastic.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_01: Over 50% of those were trained in our academy.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_01: So back to that comment before, um, what's SJP doing for the not just itself but the broader profession?
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_01: We are increasing diversity across our you know, our own partnership, but also the profession.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_01: But because of our scale 5,000, you know, 1,000 of them are women 20%, it is difficult to move our needle in terms of percentages.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_01: In our academy, in training at the moment, it's 27% women, okay, which is great.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_01: So we're you know above the industry average, we're above our own partnership.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_01: But as I say, those numbers need to increase more so to really impact that needle in terms of percentage in the partnership, just because of our scale.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's why is that important?
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's important because there's a transfer of wealth into the hands of women coming over the next decade or so, um, already, already beginning now.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_01: So for the first time ever, we're close to 50% of wealth that's in the hands of women already.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_01: And that's due to lots of reasons.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_01: So more women than ever are working, more women than ever are entrepreneurs and own their own business.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_01: And then the second, sorry, the third factor that influences that is that women outlive men.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_01: So as that wealth transfer happens over the next, I think it's a couple of decades, in the trillions, 30 trillion pounds of assets will move from one generation to the next.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_01: If women outlive men, it will have an impact on how many assets are then in the control of women.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_01: So if we're already at nearly 50% in the control of women and the advice profession is just at 18% women, there's a disconnect.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_01: And we want our partnership to accurately reflect the clients that we serve and the UK population who, you know, are our potential clients as well.
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_01: And that isn't about women only giving advice to women because the women that we speak to, all the women who have sat on your podcast and the men, if you ask them the same question, what does your client book look like in terms of makeup of gender?
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_01: Is all near or near 50-50.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_01: Even if I'm a female advisor and I my my starting point is helping women with financial advice, often you end up looking after the family, the household, other people in that person's family.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_01: So that's how that gender split comes back to almost 50 50 usually.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so but I think what it does give is is choice.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_01: So if somebody comes to the SAP, find an advisor, we want to make sure that there's female advisors across the country, women advisors that they can choose if they wish.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_00: Brilliant.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_00: There was a campaign you did called Outgrow Your Career.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_00: What what's what's that I want?
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: About.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: So this is to attract ambitious women who want to help other women or you know just people in general with their finances.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_01: So we chose the theme of outgrowing your career to appeal to those who are currently doing doing well for themselves, but something isn't working or they can't see it continuing to work long time long term.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_01: So something maybe isn't quite sustainable for some reason or another.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_01: It might be that there's a glass ceiling where they are, it might be that there's a lot of travel involved, it might be presentedism, having to come back to the office.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_01: We're seeing that more uh more prevalent these days, back in from two to three to four, oh, suddenly it's five again.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it could just be flexibility, it could be any number of things.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_01: So outgrown your career or a set of circumstances.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_01: So we've got some quite fun and creative imagery to go with the campaign that we hope will stop people, you know, scrolling.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_01: What's that picture of an a large woman sitting here?
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_01: Well, actually, it's just a metaphor for saying that you know, my life currently as it is is not sustainable for me anymore going forwards and putting a really positive spin on that.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_01: You want more or something different from your life in general, and you can come and have that here.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_01: So often people are looking for flexibility, more autonomy, um, without impacting earning potential, and more and more actually, they're looking for entrepreneurial opportunities, they want to own their own business, and often taking that leap from a you know a safe employed role to starting your own business.
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_01: First of all, it's what's the business going to be, and second of all, if it is something whether that you know they've never done before, never owned a business before, there's a lot of risk involved.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_01: Versus I can use the skills and network and everything else, the all the attributes that I already have, and I've got this blueprint to follow.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_01: And the success rate is really high, so the risk goes down.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't say there's no risk, you know very well from the people that you speak to, not just in the SJP community, any advisor that's sort of new into this, it probably takes, in terms of earnings, let's just say I was earning X in my employed job, how quickly can I get there if I start my own business?
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_01: It usually takes between two and three years, and so it's having somebody with the ambition, but also the resilience to be able to take that dip to get back to where they are.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_01: But once they're back to where they are, the only way is up.
• 46:25
  SPEAKER_01: So I do a lot of events, and I'm gonna mention some men's names now because I've been name-dropping all the women, haven't I?
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_01: So um, I did some events with um a redeployment company, and so we try to match our you know graduate who's had a similar situation with the audience that we're speaking to.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_01: And we had a guy who was at Santander Bank 27 years.
• 46:45
  SPEAKER_01: No, it wasn't, let's think of a different one.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_01: JP Morgan, 30 years, I think it was, he'd been there, director level, you know, flown all around the world.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_01: And he'd come here, obviously, he knew his earnings were going to drop dramatically, but after a two-year period, he could see in his my practice the value of his business, and it had already surpassed his redundancy package.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_01: After 30 years of service in a really, you know, in a high rug, this is not, you know, this is not an insignificant out like payment at redundancy.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_01: This is a at a very nice lump sum.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that just goes to show on paper on what you're taking home is less, but actually, what you're building once you surpass that earning threshold, you'll that only goes up, but also the value of your business is there.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely love that.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_00: Brilliant.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_00: So one of the biggest changes in 2026 is has been the business ownership side and the support there.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_00: But let's just go into a little bit of detail then.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_00: Just tell us what's involved in that, just so people know 100% what they're getting themselves into and how you're going to support them if they do go down the route of setting up their own partner practices.
• 47:46
  SPEAKER_01: That's it.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_01: And you mentioned quite rightly, Sam, the difference between those two routes and making sure you understand everything that you have to do as a business owner.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_01: You're you're a business owner, there's a lot of different hats that you have to wear, including obviously the most important one is you're an advice business, is being a great advisor for your clients.
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_01: So the program is is has got five areas of key focus.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_01: The first one is commercial fundamentals.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_01: So if you are a business owner, you do need to understand your cash flow, you do need to understand lots of things that your business is doing from a financial perspective.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_01: So really leaning into that so that they understand from day one what they need to achieve and what they you know, their plan makes perfect sense, they know what they need to do.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_01: The second one is client acquisition.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_01: I said this at the beginning was the most important thing because without clients, you don't have a business.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_01: So really holding their hands to experiment, you know, try new things, how are you going to market yourself?
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_01: Is it going to networking events?
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_01: Is it professional connections, having a niche?
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, how do you come across in these circumstances?
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_01: And let's use a couple of examples again.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_01: I think from a business owner perspective, you know, Adele's just so energized about what she does, she's so passionate about helping people that anybody that comes to her house, these are her words, they don't leave without a pension, right?
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_01: So that might be a plumber, it could be a makeup artist before an event, you know, they all leave with a pension plan because Adele's so passionate about making sure that they have that.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_01: She also always takes the middle seat on a plane, she says, because she's got two opportunities to speak to people.
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's that kind of thing.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, how do you come across?
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_01: How do you create opportunities for yourself?
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're like Adele and you're just buzzing and you just love it, it just makes it so much easier.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, mindset, super important.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_01: So resilience has come up, I think, a lot with your guests.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_01: And from our perspective, one of the things that we have as an acronym when people are coming in, they see it at our events is pride.
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_01: I think I've been through this with you before.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_01: So personal impact, resilience is number two on that list.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, integrity, determination, and empathy and emotional intelligence.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_01: But let's talk about resilience because I think that's probably the most important, particularly if you're going to be a business owner.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_01: We already know there's a dip in what you were earning to getting back to where you were and then beyond, but that line isn't straight, it's going to be like this, and then back up again.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_01: So it's how do you have the right mindset to accept the no's gracefully, knowing that a yes will come.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_01: You don't know when it will come.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_01: And you've said yourself in your business, you can give us some examples, right?
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_01: Where it feels like everything's falling apart on this day, the next day works out something you've been working on land, so you feel like you feel super like so excited about it.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just being ready for those ups and downs in business.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, technology and optimization.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of talk of AI in our profession, and I guess fear and worry that is AI just going to take the role of a financial advisor.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_01: We don't see that they'll take the it'll take the role of a financial advisor, but financial advisors that use AI will outperform those that don't.
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_01: So it's using technology to your benefit and making sure that the people coming through to you know to run their business with us are optimizing everything they can so that they can spend as much time as possible with the client.
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_01: So we have you know, meeting note scribe where it organises the information for you.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_01: It can have notes that you send back to the client to recall what they said, as well as creating reports for you.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just systematizing all of that.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that you use a lot a lot of AI in your business as well.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, chat SJP, it's like a closed circuit um information gathering.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you ask it a question, it's only gathering information from our own internal policy.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_01: So it's there's no hallucinations happening that we know happens within um other AI models.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_01: You tap in a question, it gives you an answer, and it really looks like it's a true answer.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, it might not be based on on fact.
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_01: Within SJP, we have a chat SJP model, it is fact, it's only coming from our closed, closed net.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_01: So it's making sure technology optimization is is very much um in place from day one.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_01: And then probably the most important thing is regulatory oversight.
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_01: So, what are the expectations of our regulators on you as a business owner?
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_01: And how are you making sure you're evidencing all of those things?
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_01: Is all of our saying, oh yes, I do that in my business.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_01: Well, no, no, we've got to evidence things.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_01: So from day one, making sure that you are again optimizing the fact that these are the regulatory requirements.
• 52:05
  SPEAKER_01: How do I evidence that and making sure that you're you're doing that from day one?
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_01: So it's very much focused around getting the foundations you know in place, and then you can fly as a business.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so my final question would be because the word partnership gets used a lot, but what does it actually mean?
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_01: I think for the individuals themselves who sit within our ecosystem, and for the clients, more importantly, actually for the clients, is that they get a trusted local advisor, somebody who's geographically close to where they are, maybe a you know a face in the local community, but they are they have the backing of, if you like, the FTSE 100 St.
• 52:44
  SPEAKER_01: James's place.
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_01: So we're small enough to know the individuals and care very much so and build that long-term relationship with the backing of that company that sits behind you.
• 52:55
  SPEAKER_01: So they've got the scale, we're building out that digital ecosystem, we're making their business as efficient and compliant as it can possibly be.
• 53:03
  SPEAKER_01: So our standards are at the very forefront of the profession.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_00: So it doesn't matter if you're somebody with ambitions to grow a team of 100 or you're an individual partner, having that partnership is like the best of both, isn't it?
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly, the best of both worlds.
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_01: Trusted local relationship backed by that FC100.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 53:18
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, today has really been about business owners.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's the biggest change by the sounds of it.
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, there's been lots of intricate changes that you're continually doing with the Academy to make it better and better and better.
• 53:29
  SPEAKER_00: There's a big emphasis in 2026 to help support those people, who's entrepreneurial individuals who want to build a business within an ecosystem that's going to continue to support them.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_00: The one thing that I've always loved about St.
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_00: James's place is uh the spirit of the partnership.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_00: So the ability to actually lean into so many experts within the ecosystem following a blueprint.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_00: So, as you rightfully said, it just reduces the chances of failure and increases the chances of success and understanding the problems before they come up.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, just to make everyone feel included, Sam, for everybody, whether you're an advisor or a business owner, is our competency framework.
• 54:05
  SPEAKER_01: So this is around self-evaluation and making sure that they understand whether you're an advisor on a business or a business owner, what are the skills and behaviors required to be the most successful version of yourself, a self-analysis, what are the gaps, and then putting that plan in place to make sure that you have got a successful outcome and you're evolving.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_01: And that might be a competency framework for you when you're in the academy.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_01: Two years out, you've just finished early years.
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_01: Let's do another competency assessment because your skill set and your you know gap in knowledge will will shift and change, but there'll always be somewhere there'll be room for improvement and you'll have evolved.
• 54:42
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely love it.
• 54:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, brilliant.
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, look, 2026 sounds like it's gonna be a fantastic year for St.
• 54:47
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_00: They're not slowing down in respect to people going through the Academy, which is a good sign.
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_00: And um, listen, we wish you all the best and all the success, and we continue to also bring people on who've gone through the academy.
• 54:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's really, really important to me.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's all willing good sitting there, G and saying how brilliant the St.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy is.
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_00: But if you've got people that are coming on the podcast that are genuinely successful because they've gone through that route, that's super important as well.
• 55:12
  SPEAKER_00: So if anybody's listening to this, head to YouTube, you'll find the playlist for St.
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_00: James's Place Academy, and it's plenty of people that have gone through the process and can tell you exactly how it is.
• 55:22
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, G.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for having me.