Latest / Financial Planner Life Podcast / Becoming a Self-Employed Financial Planner, with James Wallis. JUST DO IT!

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Becoming a Self-Employed Financial Planner, with James Wallis. JUST DO IT! · Financial Planner Life Podcast

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: Hi, and welcome to the Financial Planner Life Podcast, where we talk to professionals at varying stages in their career about what it's like working in the wonderful world of financial planning and financial advice.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: This podcast is proudly sponsored by Recruit UK, a recruitment consultancy specifically focused on the financial services.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: They have a niche specialism, recruiting, within the financial planning industry.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: So check out their website for the latest job opportunities, hints and tips, and blog articles.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hello everyone, it's Elena here, the brand new co-host of the Financial Planner Life podcast.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's my first show, and I'm really excited to introduce my first guest, James Wallace, chartered financial planner and owner of Aristotle Financial Planning, who started his own business in lockdown.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: In this podcast, we'll be talking about the journey of being a financial planner and then starting your own business, how COVID has influenced this journey and the industry as a whole, and putting a positive spin on the pandemic.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: We'll also be talking about hiring your first employee as a small business and the benefits of using a recruitment consultant.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm here today with James Wallace.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: How are you, James?
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm really good.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks, Elena.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_02: How are you?
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm very good, thanks.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: And this is my first podcast, and I'm really excited to have James here.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: I've worked with James previously, so I'm really excited to share a lot of his story to the audience.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, I have been listening to the podcast previously.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: My dad is a financial advisor, so wealth management is a lot of what I know and what I've grown up with.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm really excited to also be involved now with the Financial Planner Live podcast and inspire people not in the industry and people within the industry as well.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm really grateful that you've joined us here today, James.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for setting the time aside to speak with me.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: But I thought it would be great for us to start off by you just explaining a little bit about yourself, what you do, and sort of how you've come to this point, really.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no problem at all, Elena.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I am James Wallace.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_02: I am the founder and chartered financial planner at Aristotle Financial Planning.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_02: So we're an independent financial advice business based in Derby, which is right in the middle of the country.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um, in terms of how I got here, um, I guess I won't keep it too long, but um, but but yeah, I mean, I went to university, I didn't really know what I wanted to do when I came out of my degree.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I was interested in the finance modules, and I think, you know, like lots of other people, decided to continue my education uh rather than going to the real world of work.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um and so then I did a master's in finance, and really it was there that I stumbled across financial advice as a potential career opportunity for me.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um so yeah, I had the opportunity to do some placements, some which I liked, some I didn't like so much.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_02: And financial advice was the one which really did connect with me in terms of it's being able to be analytical but also have chats with people and make a difference to people's lives.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: So um, so yeah, and then I kind of then tried to get a job.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_02: And uh that was uh 2009.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and that was 2009-10.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_02: So after the kind of financial crisis, really.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, it wasn't the easiest time to try and find a job.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but thankfully, after you know, sending lots of emails, telephone calls, and a few meetings, I did manage to find myself in a sort of trainee position in a firm in Derby.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_02: And that's kind of how I've ended up in Derby, really.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I sort of progressed there, doing administration, then paraplanning, and then eventually advising.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I was very happy there.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I think at some point then I sort of just decided to um, you know, I thought the time was right really for me to go and set my business up.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_02: And so a year ago today, uh, well not today, but coming up to a year ago, um, I set my business.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, 11th of May is when I launched the business.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: So we're not too far away from there.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, no.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: And now you run Aristotle Financial Planning, that's the your firm now, you are the director and you're the chartered financial planner there.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_02: So um, yeah, everything falls on my head.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_02: So uh anything good is uh I can take a little bit of credit for anything bad is my responsibility too.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: So uh so yeah, kind of captain the ship now, so to speak.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_02: So um, so yeah, I'm absolutely loving it, really enjoying it.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_02: But um, yeah, that's how I'm here today.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: So we obviously have spoken now about your journey, that you came out of university, that you explored different avenues.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you're at that firm in Derby, and then you decided coming up to a year ago today that you were going to start your own wealth management firm.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: So, what made you want to start your own wealth management firm?
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, if we kind of go back a little bit, my parents were business owners.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_02: So my uh parents ran a news agent shop.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_02: So I would kind of grew up in that environment where uh my mum and dad were self-employed, they did have some flexibility, but I also understood the um challenges of kind of running your own business.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: So I think to a little bit of a degree, there's maybe something in the genes there about wanting to kind of run your own, run your own business and do things your way.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, like I say, I was quite happy where I was.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_02: There wasn't kind of a major issue there really, but I think that just naturally over time, I kind of thought there's things that I'd like to implement um and there's things that I'd like to do, and I'd like to do it in a different way.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: And I just think naturally that came to a point of well, the only way you're going to be able to do that is to actually run your own business and then you can implement everything exactly how you want to, um, rather than kind of compromising a lot of the time.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_02: So um, so yeah, that's kind of the kind of rationale behind it, really.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because lots of um sort of financial planners decide at one point in time that they want to start their wealth management firm.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Was there a particular time when you decided that was what you wanted to do from where you're working, or was it just something, as you said, that was always within you, you thought you were always going to start your own firm?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_02: So that there was a particular kind of trigger point, I guess, insofar as the business that I was in was um was sold um uh about I'm getting on for about three years ago now, I guess.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: And and obviously had a change of ownership and I knew that there would be a change of management incoming.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_02: And um, and yeah, I guess that's the point really at which I thought, well, what are you doing?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_02: Where are you going?
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_02: It wasn't that I didn't like the new ownership or or you know, there was a really particularly bad reason.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: I just kind of that that kind of did trigger a seed in my head of, you know, actually, what are you doing?
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_02: Where are you going?
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_02: Let's let's figure this out.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_02: And then from there, that journey kind of started to, well, actually, let's let's go run your own firm and do it the way exactly the way that you want to do it.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Because that transition, I appreciate when you're sort of in a financial advisory and you decide to take that leap to run your own business.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: As you said, you're going to be wearing lots of different hats, you've got a lot more responsibility on you.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: It is quite a daunting step.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: What sort of tips would you give to other financial planners that are in the same similar or the similar situation to you and they're looking to start their own wealth management firm?
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think there's probably three things I would say on that, really, Elena.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_02: So I think one is understand what the bigger picture is.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_02: So understand why you're doing it, what's the vision, know who you want to work with, why you want to work with them.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_02: I think the second thing I was, and this is a really important thing, as I'd say surround yourself with good people.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I don't necessarily mean go and get loads of staff straight away if you can't afford it, but go and ask people who've done it.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_02: Try and find other people in a similar situation that you can go along the journey with.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: Have a team of people who you can speak honestly with, because you know, it's not all sunshine and roses.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: Sometimes there are challenging times, and sometimes, you know, it can be a little bit of a lonely place running a business.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and and I think also having a mentor.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_02: So that that wider team is really important, I think.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_02: And then the final thing is I'll just say just do it.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, if you never, if you never do it, you'll always spend life wondering what might have been.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_02: And um, I just think there's nothing worse.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I sit there with clients and kind of say that, you know, what's the worst that could happen if you go on this holiday and you decide you don't like it?
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_02: If you try cruising and you don't like it, so what?
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_02: You wasted a week of your life and and a couple of thousand pounds.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, you know, at least you've tried it and you know.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, you know, people who are put off by that, I think you should just give it a go.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_02: The worst that could happen to me is I go back into an employed advisory role.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that that's still not a particularly bad position to be in.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: I do completely agree, especially with any big decision that you make in life, there's always such an element of fear behind it.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: And often those biggest risks or the largest leaps, like opening your own wealth management firm or, you know, even make taking that leap from being an employed advisor into a self-employed advisor, is daunting and can have a lot of fear sort of surrounding that.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I do agree that it's one of those things where you've just got to take the leap and be like, what's the worst that's gonna happen?
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: And if it does go that way, you know, are you gonna be able to manage it?
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I think this is a nice pointer for people that are out there that are maybe thinking about, should I do that leap, should I not?
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Just take the plunge.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Is that what you'd just recommend?
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, if I look at my situation, so you know, it goes back to that idea of just do it and you know, there's never gonna be a perfect time.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_02: Last year we had a global pandemic.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I was basically working from my back bedroom, launching the business from my back bedroom with an office that I was paying for, which was totally vacant.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um, my wife was heavily pregnant.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_02: My parents were living with me because they were in between downsizing houses.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_02: So there's never going to be a right time, but I'm still here today.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I've got another beautiful daughter.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_02: My parents have thankfully moved back out again.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and and we are where we are.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, I just I just think sometimes you just kind of need to go and do it.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it's got to touch the process sometimes.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Just trust that the universe knows what it's doing.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously, we touched on that when you started your own business.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: There were so many different things going on, you know, the global pandemic.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: How has running your own business impacted your life?
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: How has that changed your life?
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because I'm sure lots of financial planners out there that are looking to take that leap will be interested to know about you've done it now and you've obviously gone to strength to strength.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: How has that benefited or changed, you know, your whole life, whether way that be your working life and your personal life also?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I think from if we kind of look at the work perspective, it just feels really liberating.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_02: You know, there's lots of freedom.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, ultimately I make the decisions about everything.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_02: And that that's brilliant because if I don't like something, I can theoretically go and change it.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you're not shackled to that degree.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_02: But with that also comes that burden um of needing to make every single decision on every single thing.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, sometimes it can be a little bit overwhelming from that point of view, but you know, that's the reality of it.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_02: If you want the freedom, there's the compromise that comes with it.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_02: From a sort of personal point of view, I think that actually, you know, physically, not much has changed really.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean, quite I have quite strict boundaries in terms of my work-life balance and try and maintain that.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, I don't try not to work at weekends, I try not to work in the evenings, I try and be around for the children in the morning and to put them to bed.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_02: So physically, I'm still there and you know, things haven't changed from that point of view, uh, and still able to do the things that I was able to do.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_02: I think mentally it's really challenging.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you're constantly thinking about things all the time.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_02: It's a lot harder to switch off a lot of the time.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think during the early months, if I'm totally honest, there was lots of highs and lows and what I would call moments or wobbles, if you want to call them that, where, you know, what am I doing?
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: Do I really know what I'm doing?
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_02: Is this really the right thing?
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I think as time goes on, that kind of levels out a little bit.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, I have to say, you know, I'm part of a, I don't really know what you call this, a study group of like six or seven of us.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_02: And we've all started a business at a similar time.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: And I think having that has really helped us all to be able to control our highs and our lows a little bit more.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, when someone's having a bad day, we can all give each other encouragement.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_02: When someone's having a high, we can all celebrate.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, you know, that really does help from that point of view.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_02: And I think the final thing I'd probably say on that is, you know, personally, I think it probably I do feel like I've almost grown up a little bit.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_02: There is an extra kind of responsibility there and a burden, and there is some esteem to running a business.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I think, you know, so that that's probably the final thing is kind of, yeah, just that a little bit feeling of maybe a little bit more mature than I felt maybe a year ago.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: And you've talked there about the highs and the lows, and obviously with running your own business and even in general life, really, with lots of roles within financial planning, especially advisor positions, there's always going to be highs and lows.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really easy when you're in those lows to think that that is it or to just quit.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: And you spoke about that support network, but what is it when you're in those down points that sort of made you keep going?
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think other people could sort of gain insight from that and tips, really.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it's going back to understanding a why.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_02: So what's what's the bigger vision?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_02: Where are you trying to get to?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_02: You might be having a bad time, but if it's still making progress towards where you're going, then I think you can understand that.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I think that it that that just comes over a period of time is that you kind of learn to control those ties and lows a little bit more.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and the lows don't feel so low.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_02: But then I get, you know, counter to that, the highs don't feel quite so high.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_02: But but it's a a lot more of an even keel, which is kind of what you want to have, I think, over periods of time.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_02: So so yeah, it's you know, it's just taking it back into perspective and and again going back to well, what's the worst that can happen?
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, a hundred percent.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think it is, as you said, so easy to get bogged down in the loads, but it's about realizing what's the worst that can happen and keep on pushing forward.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I think you know, you've gone from strength to strength considering the year that we've had in a pandemic.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: So that's pretty incredible in itself.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: You've gone through what would probably be one of the biggest lows or weird years in everyone's life.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: But it must have been strange starting your own business in a pandemic.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Did that make you think about things differently?
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: Did that make you have to innovate new ideas?
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_02: Definitely.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_02: I think that the when you start a business, you have this idea of how it's going to be.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna go into my office and you know, I'm gonna, you know, send out all this nice paperwork, and clients are gonna come in and they're all gonna sign it.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_02: And then a global pandemic hits, and you can't see any of your clients, and you're not allowed into your office.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um, your office is closed.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, uh and so you just have to adapt.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_02: So, like I say, I was fortunate I was able to bring some existing clients with me, but I wasn't able to see them.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_02: So everything was done remotely, um, over the telephone, video call, things through in the post.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that actually, in some ways, it it helped because it made things a lot quicker and everything was more digital.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, knowing all everybody's at home means that you know that nothing's gonna, if something's needs to be signed, it can be signed and sent back.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that to a degree that did help uh in terms of the transition of particularly moving existing clients across um there.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_02: But I also think it you know you just have to have different ideas about how you're going to kind of build the brand of the business, how you're going to get awareness out, because you you can't go and do physical networking.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you can't put on a uh you know um a launch event to say, look, here we are, here's it, here's our brand.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um, because because it just wasn't possible.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: And so you've got to go out and find different ways about doing it.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, challenging.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: But I think you know in this industry, everything's always changing all the time, anyway.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: And so it's just a the only constant is change.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_02: And so just having to adapt it, it's just another one of those things.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I think you know, you just make the best of a situation rather than get bogged down by a bad situation.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: And you've obviously done really well.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh nearly a year on with Aristotle financial planning and it's gone from strength to strength.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: I know you touched on there obviously that things are a lot more virtual now and you had to do things differently because of the pandemic, you couldn't go out and do a big physical launch or you couldn't physically go out and meet your clients.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: And potentially some of the ways that you've adapted due to the pandemic, things that you're going to continue as a business.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: So do you think that some of the changes that you've had to implement because of COVID, you know, that is the way now it's going to be?
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, definitely.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_02: I think if everybody kind of now looks at their kind of what you call digital footprint, I think that everybody's been forced to now go down that route of having a digital footprint.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that actually it's really effective.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_02: It can be really powerful to do that because you have that kind of multiplier effect.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_02: You put something out there, and it's not just two or three people who might see it.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_02: It could be hundreds or even a few thousand people who might actually come across that.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_02: And so it does have that big multiplier effect and it does have that ability.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I, you know, I launched my own podcast because I thought, right, well, how am I going to get to go and speak to local business owners?
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_02: Because I can't just say, let's go for a coffee.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but if you ask someone to come and talk about their business, most of the time they're quite happy to.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so it's been a really good way to get to meet people.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: And I'll obviously continue the podcast because it's, you know, it's also quite enjoyable and interesting to find out about people's lives.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: So was the podcast a different way that you sort of innovated to help with your business as such?
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: Was that a different sort of method that you used?
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, definitely.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: It's, you know, it's a way of getting yourself and your brand out there to a particular target of clients that you would like to work with.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and also just to the wider audience and population.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, my podcast is called Inside Darby, and so it's very derby-centric and derby focused, but that's kind of the people that I want to work with.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_02: And so it's about targeting that particular area as opposed to, you know, wanting to hit everybody.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_02: It's about hitting the right people.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, we're talking about now about all the virtual side of things now and the LinkedIn and the digital footprint and your podcast.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the industry as a whole is sometimes perceived to be quite archaic.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's definitely changing.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, LinkedIn is now a massive professional tool and professional body within financial planning.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: And it's great that it provides such a supportive community.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: But do you think we're going to see an increase of, you know, the virtual side of financial planning becoming more important?
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_02: I would say so, yes.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_02: I think there's kind of two elements to that, isn't there, really?
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_02: In terms of there's one dealing with more clients remotely and virtually.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I definitely think that there'll be elements of that that I'll certainly incorporate.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I think also lots of potential clients would be a lot more open to um advice remotely now.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas in the past, maybe there would have been some resistance there.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_02: But having been forced down that route, I think that the they're actually saying, well, actually, this does work and it's fine.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, for some of my clients, it fits in better um with their lifestyle, you know, instead of me needing to see them and them, you know, and physical location and them needing to drive there or me needing to drive there, we can just say, look, okay, let's let's jump on a video call and you know, a time that fits you and a time that fits me, and it works.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_02: So I think from a client's perspective, that that's really great.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_02: And I think from a personal perspective, in terms of um, you know, getting out there and being a lot more digital, I think, you know, you've got the ability to educate and help a lot more people by doing it virtually.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_02: And and so many more people are on um social media these days, whatever they're on, whether they're on Facebook or Instagram or TikTok or LinkedIn, whatever, whatever takes your fancy, so to speak.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and there's lots of content being produced.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I think more and more interesting and engaging content will do that.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_02: And I, you know, I would hope that that also might change that perception that the industry is quite old-fashioned.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, because you might see these young people kind of, you know, and talking and they're not wearing, you know, they're not wearing pale grey suits and and you know, stuffy ties and, you know, um talking with lots of jargon.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_02: They're they're talking like normal people, dressing like normal people.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: And I think a lot more people will be able to engage with that.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: I completely agree.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: I do think, you know, the past year has made the industry go a lot more virtual.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's been very beneficial, as you said, you know, even the ease that as um a client who's getting sort of financial advice, everyone is so busy and there's so many different aspects of life, and so everyone's got so many different priorities and different places to be.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think the fact that you can sit in on a Zoom call and you don't have to travel to an office and we can do exactly what we're doing now, it is great and so beneficial.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it's so glad to see that change.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: And it's nice to see that the pandemic pandemic has brought across some goodness in that sort of sense.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I think everything transitioning to online is definitely more modern and it is definitely changing the way that the industry is coming across, especially with the new generation that are really big on using platforms such as LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram and showcasing the industry to a wider platform.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: So if we go back to Aristotle financial planning, your your lovely business, um, and obviously you broke away and decided, you know, this was your time, this was your company, this is what you wanted to build.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I know Aristotle, from having the pleasure to work with you, has a very strong ethos behind it.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Would you like to sort of explain what that is?
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, when you set when you set up a business, you kind of want it to be your footprint.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_02: What are you about?
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_02: What is your business about?
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_02: And and the only way that I can kind of describe it is not having that is kind of like having a house that's built on sand.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: So if you don't know what you're you don't know what you're made of, then you don't know what you stand for, and therefore you don't know what where you're going.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um and so yeah, so when I start the business, as you know, I have kind of six core values, three really key behaviors that I like to follow.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_02: And and I've got a, you know, I've got a kind of a vision for the future over the next 10 years of what I'd like to be doing.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I think and I think that the benefit of that is that you can hold yourself accountable for that, because it's quite easy for me to kind of um say, I'm not going to do that, um, or I'm going to do this instead.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_02: But when you've got your values, and for me, they're stuck up on the wall in the office, like they sit in my face all day long.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um when it comes to making decisions, then I I just look at those.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: And it's like, well, what's the value what does the value say that I should do?
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um and is that taking me closer to my 10-year vision?
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um and is that in line with how I think that we should act?
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: And if I can answer yes or three of those questions, then it's probably an easy decision to make.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas I think you kind of get away from those decision making processes, um, and sort of end up end up going not quite in the right direction.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas obviously I know where I'm going, I know what I'm doing, I know why I'm doing it, and I know kind of how I want to act along the way.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, for example, for me, my you know, all my core values, the the very top one to me is family.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_02: So um, I like working with people who are very family-centered, first of all, but second to me, it means that as much as I love running my business and I'm really passionate about it, and I you know and I love to see my clients and I'll I'll do as much as I can for my clients, ultimately my family comes first, and so that does mean that I haven't quite got something done and it's 5:30 and I need to go home, then it's an easy decision to make because I'll just go and do it and then I'll I'll come in a little bit earlier the next day because the values of are kind of family first for me.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_02: So it just makes it a lot easier with decision making.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: Do you think it's crucial then when you're starting your own business?
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: I know you just said then, like it's like building a house on sand.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Do you think it's really important then to know exactly how you want that business to act and outline before you go out and sort of start it?
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_02: I think yes.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but equally, I I wouldn't be so kind of righteous as to say that you can't change that.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I think yeah, it's really important to have like a vision and identity and and understand where you're going and what you're doing it, because otherwise, are you just kind of setting up a business because you want to be self-employed, or do you actually want to run a business and make a difference?
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that there is that differentiation there between those.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I think it I would I would say yes, I think you need to understand where you want to go.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_02: I think and understand some outline of some values, but equally those might be moulded over uh you know, the first year or two years and and the vision might change, and that's fine.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but as long as you kind of know the direction of travel and you know broadly um the outline of it, I think that you're not going to go too far wrong.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: And we've sort of gone through this whole whirlwind year, whirlwind year for yourself, obviously starting your own business and all that entails whirlwind year generally, because it has literally been the strangest, craziest year.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: I can't believe that it's now actually been a year.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we've obviously met before, James, because um it got to the point where you were looking to sort of move from having all your back office support um out of house to in-house.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously, when you're starting your own business, there can be issues with sort of um cash flow and things like that.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: So, what made you sort of think about using a recruiter when it came to that point in time of bringing this individual in?
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I think I, you know, I'm fortunate I've got I had I was able to bring uh over a number of existing clients and I was able to sort of onboard some new clients at a fairly steady pace despite the pandemic.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I just found that I was really very busy from that perspective.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_02: And what kind of happened over a period of time is because I wasn't uh willing to kind of break my values, as I said, in terms of like working evenings and weekends, then it got to a point where the only thing that I could really do is kind of not do marketing and and not try and drive the business and not not focus too much on improvement and just look at servicing the clients.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_02: And that's not really what I wanted to do.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I really did want to continue to drive the business and and build the business, and I think it's the right thing to do.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_02: So naturally, it just came to a point at which it was kind of like look, you really need to just bring this in in-house and um and sort of look at that.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_02: And in terms of why user recruiter, I think I'm very much a believer that you should just use experts.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you know, people come to us because we're experts.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and and so why would I not go to an expert from that perspective?
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, I didn't have the time to sift through a thousand CVs and and and also, you know, I know everybody says that their business is different and this job role is specific and very unique, but when you take on your first employee and you're sort of trying to understand for what am I actually going to get them to do and what what am I then going to do, it does actually start to look quite unique and it and it does become a challenge to actually filter down what it is that you exactly want.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, never mind then find the right person for that job in a location that lives somewhere in the vicinity of you.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_02: So um, so that's kind of the reason why, really.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, I so obviously I'm here on the Financial Planet Live podcast, but also work with Recruit UK.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I got the pleasure of working with you and supporting you to bring in this first um individual.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously, recruitment can have and recruiters can have a bad name.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: You've listed so many excellent reasons about why business owners should use us and about why, you know, especially when you've got so many different hats and so many things to do, as you just mentioned, shifting through a pile of TVs is not on the top of your list.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: But did you have any perceptions from, you know, you're starting your own business, you're looking to bring in this individual.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: Did you have any perceptions on how you thought it was gonna go or how you thought the journey might look before sort of like well, before we sort of um connected?
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think like you say, um the there maybe is that perception in the recruitment industry that they're just going to send you a load of people who aren't necessarily suited and that they're not actually going to listen to you and they're just gonna send you what they want in terms of they want somebody to fill a position, so they're gonna send you that person.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and I actually that wasn't really my experience, Elena, um and know that you know that because you didn't send me all those uh you know hundreds of CVs that were the not the right type of people and you did listen.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_02: So I think, yeah, there's that perception that that's going to be the case.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_02: But I think, you know, as well, like I said, for me, it was also a filtering process from my point of view of what do I really want.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_02: And and you actually, you know, to some degree, kicking back a little bit on me in terms of, you know, actually, you're saying you want this, this, and this, but some of these things are conflicting uh and you can't have them all.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_02: So as much as you'd like to have your cake and eat it, everybody would like someone with 10 years of experience who really wants to work three days a week and only wants to get paid uh, you know, a small amount of money.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_02: But the reality is that that that isn't happening.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_02: So actually having someone to sort of say, look, actually, I can guide you a little bit is really useful.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: So did you find it useful in that process then having someone that could push back and having someone that could, you know, as you said, be consultative in the sense of these are the options on the table and guide you in the right direction.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that, you know, there's that total honesty part is is just really crucial because, like you say, otherwise everyone has this fantasy of, you know, you you want this person and that person just doesn't exist.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_02: Or if they do exist, there's like one of them in the country and they don't live anywhere near you.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_02: So the the chances of them wanting to work with you are just very slim.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_02: And and also, you know, I'm fully aware that you know, I started my business just coming up for a year ago, and and you know, a lot of people would say, one, a small business, and two, a new business.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_02: That that's maybe a little bit of a risk from an employment perspective.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and so it's, you know, and the as much as kind of me not thinking it's a risk and I know about my business, there's that reality.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that actually consulting with a recruiter about that is really useful.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm glad that your overall experience um was very beneficial.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: What would you would you recommend then for people that are in your position that are looking to bring in someone in someone onto onto their team and they don't have the time?
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: Would you recommend then that they find a good recruiter that they can build a trusted relationship with like like you have?
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_02: Definitely.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's that, like you say, it's that whole idea of experts.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_02: So put the right people in the right seats to do the right jobs.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, if you don't do that, then you know you might end up not going in the right direction uh or sort of taking a lot longer than you actually thought.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so so yeah, I would definitely recommend that because I just think otherwise you're just gonna kind of, so to speak, spend so much more time for um not really much of a better result.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: So do you think then the main thing then was it was a it was a good time, time-saving um exercise for you as a business owner is like the main benefit of why that was beneficial?
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's definitely a time-saving, like I say, in terms of you know, not having to filter through, not having to um yeah, not having to spend masses and masses and masses of time on it when you're already very busy is a is a big plus.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_02: But I think that the other plus is that expertise, i.e.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_02: understanding this is the right person for that position.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, it's as you know, I didn't do lots and lots and lots of interviews.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_02: We did some interviews, but you know, broadly they were there or thereabouts in the first place.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas I kind of feel like had that not been the case, then maybe I would have just interviewed lots and lots of people.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and then I would have eventually found two or three to whittle it down to.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's the thing about a great consultative relationship, as we had.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, as we touched on, there was that element of pushing back and forth.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: That was that there was that element of an honest, in-depth, transparent discussion about what you're looking for and that adaptability and also that expertise, as you said, of what else is on the market, who who is out there and sort of who who we've got that could potentially be a really good fill and good fill for the role.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, we're in the position now where you've bought your first employee in house, and we took and I was so happy to be part of the process.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: And it was lovely that I was like a little extension of the Aristotle financial planning business.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel really, really proud to be involved.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: And we've touched about this, speaking about this before, we sort of got on camera, but being a business owner and going from working on your own and having to wear all the hats and having to do anything, what was the benefit of being able to bring that first employee to work with you?
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I just think it's kind of a weight off your shoulders, so to speak.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_02: So it's kind of two things.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_02: One, you're not on your own anymore.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_02: So when you want to kind of run something past or you've got something going through your head, I mean, I'm one of those people who just I've got seven things on my whiteboard that I want to have a look at right now.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and actually someone saying, like, that's a stupid idea is really great.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, um, and just taking that weight of workload off as well, you know, um, you know, thankfully, um, Gemma's been able to kind of hit the ground running, which has been great.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_02: So it kind of just means that actually I can get back to working on and growing the business and and really building relationships with clients.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that, yeah, so far, so good from that point of view, I would say.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but but those are the kind of two benefits, really, is kind of like not being so lonely anymore, if you want to call it that.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then kind of, you know, you've got much more capacity in terms of workload.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, you bought Jammer in now.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: The business is looking to be expanding.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: We are thinking, well, we are out of lockdown now.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: I always feel like I can't fully say it because you're always sort of on the precipice of when the next one's gonna be.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: But now Aristotle Financial Planning is leaving the lockdown era.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_00: And we've spoken about how you're sort of looking to carry on a lot of the things that you've been doing in the lockdown period.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: But what are you looking forward to doing as a business as we emerge out of all of this?
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I mean, look, I think as much as video calls agree, I would I'm absolutely desperate to see my clients again in person.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I just think you can't get away from actually sitting in front of someone, looking at the whites in their eyes, being able to read the body language so much more and taking those hints so much better.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so I'm absolutely desperate to see clients again and to kind of see them in person um from that point of view.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_02: And I think the second thing that I'd like to do is actually, you know, it's kind of a delay really, but actually have some kind of launch event and actually get the community back involved and uh and do something like that as and when we're able to, because yeah, it kind of feels like, you know, 11th of May last year, I started it in my daughter's back bedroom and there was no kind of, you know, there was no big pomp and ceremony there.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_02: It was kind of like, okay, open your laptop, here we go.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_02: Whereas I think actually, you know, it would be great to actually get, you know, a lot of particularly a lot of the people that I have met and the ones that that have helped me along the way, it would be, you know, really nice to sort of give something back and actually say, look, I check, okay, we are actually here.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I think that those are the kind of two things that I would really look forward to doing.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you can change a launch party into a one-year party now, which is super exciting.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can celebrate sort of how you've how well your first year has been.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's such it's so well, James.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you started a business just well, in in lockdown in May.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: And look, you know, you're nearly a year later and you've gone from strength to strength.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: As you reflect on the past year, is there anything that you would think you would have done differently?
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: Or do you think your experience would have been completely different if it wasn't because of COVID?
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, it's you know, it's hard to say because, you know, there's things that, you know, had I known at the time, I probably, you know, for example, I wouldn't have taken a lease lease on an office from the 1st of January had I known that COVID would be there and launching your business in May, your office is going to sit empty.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you know, no clients are ever going to come in.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we've got nice sofies, we've got TV screens for you know to show clients things vigilally, and they just sat there for a whole year and and done nothing.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, maybe there's things that I wouldn't have done from that point of view.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but but then equally, you know, that that has meant that I've been able to, like you say, launch a podcast, get a lot more digital from that point of view.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_02: Clients have been able to be a lot more digital with me.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I try not to kind of be that person who has regrets.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_02: I try to be that person who's always looking forward if I can.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_02: So so yeah, I think it yeah, ideally wouldn't have spent so much money, but that we are where we are.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, you're still doing um in terms of the low points or the little things um that have happened that haven't necessarily gone to plan.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_00: I do totally live by by the mantra sort of no regrets.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I don't think that's the way you can live, and everything happens for a reason, and all the little mistakes have sort of led you to the point where you are now, which is fantastic.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think lots of people that will watch this podcast are in a situation where they're looking to start their own business, will be so inspired by you, James.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_00: If you know you can do it within a pandemic, it definitely gives people the motivation and the inspiration that they can do it themselves.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_00: I think we've just spoken then about maybe what you would have done differently or your regrets.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_00: But do you have any very particular highs from the past year that you remember that really stand out to you that you think, this is why I did this, this is why I wanted to start my own business?
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's I don't think there's any one specific thing.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_02: I think there's obviously been lots of smaller wins along the way.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_02: I, you know, there's that kind of relief that clients did want to come and work with you.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_02: And and uh and you know, there's been great feedback about, you know, okay, this this looks and feels a lot more different and it's a lot more engaging.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm really pleased that, you know, we've made that decision.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_02: So yeah, those kinds of feedbacks is great.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_02: But like I say, it's kind of trying to not have too many two highs and getting ahead of yourself at the same time as not trying to suffer those lows too much.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's one of those where you just try and have that that balanced outlook.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, I mean, at the I guess at the point of you know, the first of September when all of my existing clients have moved across and actually I did have a, you know, did have a flurry of activity um in terms of, you know, interest and and prospects, then yeah, I think that that's the point which you think actually like this is going all right.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_02: This is probably gonna be all right, I'm probably gonna actually be okay as a business owner.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that, you know, just reflecting on that is really great.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it's must be so crazy when you look back at the past year and you think about all those quibbles and all those little wobbles and you know, is this gonna happen?
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_00: And what you're here nearly at your one-year anniversary and you've gone from strength to strength.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_00: So are there any particular things now, if we talk about the future, that you're obviously you're excited to go meet your clients, you're excited to sort of be able to have a business outside of the pandemic.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: But have you got any sort of things that you're really aspiring for at the future that you're really excited to do as a business owner?
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, like I said, I've got a whiteboard full of things that I'd like to do.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_02: So it's, you know, and I go back to that idea of, you know, I guess evolution, um, not necessarily revolution.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, if I could make every little part of the whole client journey and the whole experience much better, then I think that's that's great.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_02: And I think, you know, going back to kind of like my 10-year vision, um, you know, if I could achieve that, i.e., having, you know, 250 or so client households um uh, you know, that we're that we're helping, we're delivering great financial planning to, then I think that would be amazing.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you, you know, and and also if we can do a good job and just help people along the way, I think, you know, a lot of the time, you know, maybe sometimes there's that perception that, you know, financial planners just want to charge you money and uh and they're not gonna give anything away for free.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_02: And actually that's not the perception.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you know, the reality doesn't match that.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I'm quite happy to give somebody an hour of my time.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_02: And if they think that they got something, one little thing from it, then that's super rewarding for me.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_02: It doesn't have to always be they turn into a client that, you know, and we sort of change their life and and they go off and and do these amazing aspirational things.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_02: Sometimes the little things are just as important.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I completely agree.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: And as I've touched um on before with you, you know, I was so grateful and so honored that I got to help you with bringing Gemma in and um seeing sort of on LinkedIn pictures of you two together and smiling.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: That is what that is what is the best part of my job.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's about, you know, matching people together.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I assume for you it's a similar thing.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the best part of your job is being able to help people reach their financial goals and reach their financial stability.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like you say, it's it's super rewarding and you know, it's one of those things where it's kind of, you know, it almost feels a bit selfish to be selfless.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, that I I can celebrate someone achieving what they really wanted.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but but yeah, I mean, when you see, you know, when you see these clients do these amazing things that they've always wanted, or you know, you you have these moments like a couple of years ago, I had a moment with a client where, you know, we sat down and they, you know, I told them that they could retire instantly if they wanted to.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, the next day, one of them literally just went and handed his notice in.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, those are kind of like life-changing moments for people.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_02: And I think sometimes, you know, it's if we can get bogged down in the day today and forget that sometimes that that those amazing things do happen.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's the joy of, you know, being in having a people-based role and a client servicing role and being able to speak to people.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_00: And it's been a pleasure to chat with you today, James, and hear about your the story of Aristotle financial planning and hear how you've gone from strength to strength throughout such, I don't even know the words to describe this year, such a strange, confusing year.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it will definitely give a lot of inspiration to our audience that are in positions where they want to start their own business or whether they're literally on the precipice, like, do I do it, do I not?
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_00: That you can take the leap and you know, there's gonna be ups and downs, but it's all gonna be okay.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I think you've definitely given lots of tips and explained, you know, the the cause of the business and um why you know that is so important.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: And also it's been lovely to speak about bringing Gemma in-house and the role I got to play in that.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope you busted some myths there on um the recruitment process and that we actually can be a very, very helpful tool when you're looking to bring someone in your chip into your team.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm so grateful that you've spoken to me today, James.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I'm sure we will catch up soon.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_00: But thank you very much for being my first guest on the Financial Planner Live podcast.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_02: No, thanks, Elena.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks a lot for your time.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_00: No worries, thank you very much, James.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'll speak to you soon.