Building The Billion Dollar Business

Ray Sclafani
  • 4.9 (139)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Weekly

Hosted by industry-recognized coach and thought leader Ray Sclafani, "Building The Billion Dollar Business" is the ultimate podcast for financial advisors seeking to elevate their practice. Ray, a 2026 finalist for Chief Executive Officer of the Year (Wealthies) and Thought Leader of the Year (Luminaries), brings cutting-edge insights and exclusive interviews with top professionals in financial services. Each episode features deep dives into actionable advice designed to unlock your potential and build a successful, enduring financial advisory practice.

  1. 4d ago

    The Three Organic Growth Moves That Matter Most Right Now

    Advisory firms built on asset-based fees enjoy something most businesses would envy: revenue that grows even when nothing new is sold. In this episode of Building The Billion Dollar Business, Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, explores why that advantage has made organic growth feel optional for many firms, and why the leaders of the next decade will pair the fee model’s economics with the growth discipline other industries were forced to master. Ray explains why market-driven growth and organic growth look identical on a revenue chart but behave completely differently, and what happens to valuation, client base renewal, talent development, and market exposure when firms rely on the market alone. Drawing on the system used across sectors, from a defined target client to a feedback loop, he shows that the playbook already exists and simply needs to be adopted deliberately. Firm leaders will leave with three moves to start this quarter, including the ClientWise OG 10, a simple way to set a new client goal from the numbers you already have. It is a clear path to building recurring revenue and a repeatable engine for creating more of it. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE Why the asset-based fee model is a genuine strategic advantage for advisory firmsHow to separate earned, repeatable growth from growth borrowed from the marketWhat organic growth means for valuation, next generation talent, and client base renewalHow the ClientWise OG 10 rule turns current assets or revenue into a new client goalWhy naming a growth owner and choosing a segment makes growth repeatableTHE THREE ORGANIC GROWTH MOVES Measure organic growth separately every quarter, split into existing client wallet share and new client acquisitionName a growth owner with a target and a weekly reviewChoose a segment by defining the client you serve best, the problem you solve, and the channels where they can be reachedTHE FIVE ELEMENTS OF A REPEATABLE GROWTH SYSTEM A defined target clientA measured funnelAn owner and a cadenceInvestment tied to returnA feedback loopREFLECTION QUESTIONS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM If market returns were flat for the next three years, what would your firm’s growth look like, and what would you wish you had started building today?Which part of the growth playbook used in other industries would create the biggest change in your firm if you adopted it in the next 90 days?Who will own organic growth in your firm a year from now, and what would they need from you to succeed?What would it mean for your firm’s value and your team’s careers if organic growth became your most reliable source of new revenue?Building the Billion Dollar Business is hosted by Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, the financial services industry's leading executive coaching and team development firm for elite advisors and wealth management teams. Ray Sclafani is also a Wealthies CEO of the Year Finalist (2026) and Luminaries Thought Leader of the Year Finalist (2026). Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

    The Three Organic Growth Moves That Matter Most Right Now

  2. Oct 20

    Special Edition with Michael Kitces, Part 2

    In this special edition of Building the Billion Dollar Business, Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, welcomes Michael Kitces back for part two of their conversation. They cover the questions shaping the next era of advisory firms: whether AI can finally solve the industry’s integration problem, where the time AI saves actually goes, and why the CRM is positioned to remain the hub of the modern firm. Michael shares Kitces Research findings showing that staff leverage still predicts advisor productivity more than technology spend does, and explains why the entry-level bar for future advisors is rising. He describes clients who check their advice with ChatGPT as a sign of deeper engagement, walks through the custodial economics behind Vanguard’s acquisition of Altruist, and explains why in-person marketing is outperforming digital as client acquisition costs fall. Firm leaders will come away with a clearer picture of where to invest next: in team design, delegation, deeper client conversations, and growth strategies built to scale. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE Why Michael Kitces believes the CRM, not the AI platform, will remain the hub of the advisory firmWhere AI time savings actually go, and why AI is driving deeper planning rather than bigger client countsHow staff leverage continues to predict advisor productivity, and what that means for building the next generation of talentThe custodial economics behind Vanguard’s acquisition of Altruist and what it could mean for asset managers and advisorsWhy in-person marketing strategies are outperforming digital ones as client acquisition costs fallTHE 2027 LIGHTNING ROUND One tech tool to try. An AI note taker such as Jump or Zocks, valued for the client dossier it builds before your next review meeting.Most overhyped trend. The idea that AI will help every advisor serve 200-plus clients.Most underrated planning strategy. Tax-savvy tools, including tax-loss harvesting with direct indexing and tax-aware long-short strategies for concentrated positions.One article every advisor should read. Kitces research on what actually drives referral outcomes.Michael Kitces, MSFS, MTAX, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, CASL, is the Chief Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com and Head of Planning Strategy at Focus Partners Wealth, an independent RIA with more than $50 billion in assets under management. He is a co-founder of XY Planning Network, AdvicePay, New Planner Recruiting, fpPathfinder, FA BeanCounters, and NexGen, and hosts the Financial Advisor Success podcast. A recipient of the Financial Planning Association’s Heart of Financial Planning award, Michael is dedicated to helping financial advisors become better and more successful. Building the Billion Dollar Business is hosted by Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, the financial services industry's leading executive coaching and team development firm for elite advisors and wealth management teams. Ray Sclafani is also a Wealthies CEO of the Year Finalist (2026) and Luminaries Thought Leader of the Year Finalist (2026). Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

    Special Edition with Michael Kitces, Part 2

  3. Oct 13

    Special Edition with Michael Kitces, Part 1

    Every growing firm reaches a point where getting bigger requires changing how the business works. In part one of this two-part special edition of Building The Billion Dollar Business, Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, flips the script with Michael Kitces. Instead of discussing the industry, they talk entrepreneur to entrepreneur about what it takes to build and lead a growing organization. Michael has led multiple businesses from a handful of people to teams of 30, 50, and 100+, and he outlines the four stages every growing firm moves through, starting with the founder-centered “starfish org chart.” He shares the hiring roadmap that is guiding his next three key hires, explains why word of mouth eventually needs support from a deliberate growth engine, and opens up his EOS quarterly rocks, from data automation and management training to written culture statements and a careful approach to AI. Firm leaders will come away with a clear lens for identifying their own stage of growth and the structure their next stage requires. As Michael puts it, every day you wake up, you are running the largest company you have ever run, and that is where the opportunity lives. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE The four stages of business growth and how leadership changes at each oneWhen formal career tracks become essential for attracting and retaining talentHow a hiring roadmap helps leadership rank priorities across every departmentWhy a 15 to 25 percent annual growth target balances opportunity and sustainabilityWhere AI can add value in a firm, and where precision requires human controlMichael Kitces, MSFS, MTAX, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, CASL, is the Chief Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com and Head of Planning Strategy at Focus Partners Wealth, an independent RIA with more than $50 billion in assets under management. He is a co-founder of XY Planning Network, AdvicePay, New Planner Recruiting, fpPathfinder, FA BeanCounters, and NexGen, and hosts the Financial Advisor Success podcast. A recipient of the Financial Planning Association’s Heart of Financial Planning award, Michael is dedicated to helping financial advisors become better and more successful. Building the Billion Dollar Business is hosted by Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, the financial services industry's leading executive coaching and team development firm for elite advisors and wealth management teams. Ray Sclafani is also a Wealthies CEO of the Year Finalist (2026) and Luminaries Thought Leader of the Year Finalist (2026). Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

    Special Edition with Michael Kitces, Part 1

  4. Oct 6

    Do You Know Your People?

    Before you evaluate anyone else this review season, take a moment to evaluate yourself. In this episode of Building the Billion Dollar Business, Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, explores followership: whether the people you lead believe in your vision, believe you are committed to their development, and believe you have their best interests in mind. Your title gives you authority. Followership is earned one conversation at a time. Drawing on research from Robert Kelley, Korn Ferry, SHRM, Steven Rogelberg, and McKinsey, Ray shows why one-on-ones are the clearest window into whether you have earned it. He shares a six-question self-check that reveals how well you truly know each person on your team, along with a personal story about what happens when a leader shuts down a team member's ambition instead of supporting it. Firm leaders will leave with a practical next step: run the self-check for every person who reports to you, turn any gaps into the agenda for your next one-on-one, and ask the hardest question of all about what you might be making harder than it needs to be. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE What followership is and the three beliefs that define itWhy one-on-ones are the best place to see whether you have earned your team's followershipWhat the research reveals about engagement, meeting quality, and why people leaveSix questions every leader should be able to answer about each team memberHow to support a team member who tells you who they want to becomeTHE SIX-QUESTION ONE-ON-ONE SELF-CHECK When their week goes really well, what happens? When a week wears them down, what's usually behind it?Do they know what kind of support they need from you right now, and have they asked for it?How do they want to be recognized when they excel, and how do they want to hear about it when something misses the mark?Where do they want to be in two to three years, and what skills, competencies, and experiences stand in the way?What matters to them outside of work right now?Have they completed their own professional development plan, and have you read and discussed it?REFLECTION QUESTIONS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM What do you need to know about your team that would help you support them more effectively in achieving their career goals?What is one thing you, or your organization, do that makes your team's job harder than it needs to be?RESOURCES MENTIONED Robert Kelley, "In Praise of Followers," Harvard Business Review (1988)Korn Ferry research on leadership and followershipSHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) research on one-on-ones and engagementSteven Rogelberg's research and Harvard Business Review writing on one-on-one meetingsMcKinsey research on career development, attrition, and on-the-job learningClientWise Executive Coaching and Team DevelopmentBuilding the Billion Dollar Business is hosted by Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, the financial services industry's leading executive coaching and team development firm for elite advisors and wealth management teams. Ray Sclafani is also a Wealthies CEO of the Year Finalist (2026) and Luminaries Thought Leader of the Year Finalist (2026). Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

    Do You Know Your People?

  5. Sep 29

    Capacity Is The Place Where Strategy Gets Honest

    Every growth plan reaches the moment where strategy meets the team that will carry it. In this episode of Building the Billion Dollar Business, Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, explores team structure and capacity planning, one of the ten interlocking areas of the ClientWise Talent Strategy Operating System. Ray shows why capacity is a strategic lever for advisory firms of every size, from multi-office regional firms to advisors concentrated in a single hub. Drawing on Michael Kitces' 2025 research on delegating to associate advisors, Ray explains how the right support structure frees lead advisors for business development and deeper client relationships. He then walks through a practical 12-month capacity forecast that helps leaders map future work to the right roles, track measurable capacity signals, and prepare for the service models that tomorrow's more complex, multigenerational clients will require. Firm leaders will leave with a simple next step: build a one-page capacity forecast for one advisory team and ask what will break first. It is a focused way to hire ahead of demand, protect top talent, and build a firm ready to absorb its next stage of growth. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE Why capacity planning is a strategy issue as well as a staffing issueWhat Michael Kitces' research reveals about the time savings of delegating to associate advisorsHow to build a 12-month capacity forecast that works as an operating toolHow mapping work to roles frees senior advisors and leaders for higher-value workWhy the future firm builds growth on capacity, role clarity, delegation, and leadership disciplineTHE ONE-PAGE CAPACITY FORECAST Client segmentsHouseholdsRevenueMeeting volumePlanning workService loadAdvisor ratiosWorkload distributionManager span of controlExpected growth over the next twelve monthsCAPACITY SIGNALS Number of households per advisorNumber of meetings per monthPlanning cases per team memberOpen service requestsTurnaround timeOvertimeMissed follow-upCRM backlogManager span of controlNumber of exceptionsREFLECTION QUESTIONS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM What part of your growth plan does your current capacity model not support?Where is work being carried by the wrong person because the team design is outdated?Which client segments require a different service model?RESOURCES MENTIONED Kitces Report: What Actually Contributes To Advisor WellbeingClientWise Executive Coaching and Team DevelopmentBuilding the Billion Dollar Business is hosted by Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, the financial services industry's leading executive coaching and team development firm for elite advisors and wealth management teams. Ray Sclafani is also a Wealthies CEO of the Year Finalist (2026) and Luminaries Thought Leader of the Year Finalist (2026). Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

    Capacity Is The Place Where Strategy Gets Honest

  6. Sep 22

    Where Real Learning Happens

    Most advisory firm leaders think the cost of isolation is paid in loneliness. It's not. It's paid in months of problem-solving you'd solve in nine minutes with one peer conversation. The most expensive sentence in business is "I'll figure it out myself"—it sounds like strength but costs like a mortgage. While you're quietly working through a decision, someone else already solved it, already paid the tuition, and would have handed you the answer if you'd asked. Ray Sclafani reveals why peer networks and community aren't nice-to-have luxuries for advisory leaders—they're the fastest ROI you can get on your time and attention. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE Why the "lone founder in a garage" narrative is misleading and what actually builds remarkable advisory businessesHow to build real community as a practice (not a membership) with one honest conversation at a timeWhy strategic planning must start with gathering, not deciding, and how to gather the three things that matter mostTHE COMMUNITY PRACTICE FRAMEWORK Start with one honest conversation. Not a conference, not a mastermind application. One conversation with someone who's done the thing—a former colleague, a supplier who serves firms like yours, a non-competing peer two markets over. The community builders Ray admires didn't find their room; they started it usually with two people and a standing phone call.Ask real questions, not polished ones. The mistake is protecting your image. Instead, ask the slightly embarrassing question: "How do you actually handle that? What did it cost you? What would you do differently?" Then do the harder part—be the one who shares your real number, your failed launch, your wrong hire. Vulnerability builds permission for everyone else to be honest.Tap the scar tissue you cannot buy. Five years of somebody else's hard-earned experience cannot be purchased. It can only be given to you by someone willing to share. Every successful leader Ray has studied had someone three steps ahead willing to tell them the uncomfortable true thing over lunch and save them two years of hard knocks.Gather before you decide. Most bad decisions aren't bad thinking—they're good thinking on bad inputs. Before your next planning cycle, collect three things: your actual numbers (not the ones you feel), the exact words your clients use to describe their problems (sitting in your inbox right now, free), and what someone slightly ahead of you did when they were standing exactly where you are. Two of these three you can start in the next hour alone.REFLECTION QUESTIONS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM Who in your network is three steps ahead of you and willing to share? If that list is short, what's one honest conversation you could start this week?What decision are you currently "figuring out yourself" that a peer could solve in nine minutes?Where is your team protecting image instead of asking real questions? What permission do you need to give them to be vulnerable?When you plan next year, will you gather actual data from your network and clients, or will you invent the future from a blank document?If building a peer advisory circle became a business practice (not a nice-to-have), how would that change your firm's decision-making speed and confidence?Building the Billion Dollar Business is hosted by Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, the financial services industry's leading executive coaching and team development firm for elite advisors and wealth management teams. Ray Sclafani is also a Wealthies CEO of the Year Finalist (2026) and Luminaries Thought Leader of the Year Finalist (2026). Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

    Where Real Learning Happens

  7. Sep 15

    Career Paths are Becoming Design Work

    Your employees do not experience your growth plan directly. They experience whether their own future at the firm feels clear or vague. That clarity, or the lack of it, shapes retention long before compensation ever does. Many advisory firms avoid career path conversations because they fear making promises they cannot keep, so employees are left guessing at what growth actually requires. Schwab's 2025 Advisor Services research found that 77% of firms now offer career pathing and 67% offer coaching and mentorship, meaning this has moved from a nice to have to a market expectation. Ray Sclafani reveals why career pathing is really a design exercise built on skills, experience, and contribution, and why AI is quietly rewriting what every role in your firm requires next. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE Why career paths should be built on skills, experience, and contribution rather than tenure or personalityHow AI is shifting the value of roles like associate advisor toward judgment, interpretation, and client insightHow to build a credible one page career path for a single role using six simple sectionsTHE CAREER PATH DESIGN FRAMEWORK Skills- Every role needs technical skills, relational skills, judgment skills, and communication skills defined clearly. For an associate advisor that might mean planning software and tax awareness alongside listening, follow through, and knowing when to escalate.Experience- People grow by doing harder things with support, not by reading role descriptions. A future lead advisor needs to lead parts of a client meeting. A future manager needs to coach someone. Experience is the bridge between potential and readiness.Contribution- A larger role should require a larger contribution, measured through client impact, team leadership, business development, mentoring, or culture. Promotion should be based on evidence, not tenure.AI Fluency- As AI takes over meeting notes, drafting, and data organization, the human value in each role shifts toward better questions, judgment, tone, and interpretation. Career paths need to train toward that shift, not ignore it.REFLECTION QUESTIONS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM Where do employees have a job description but no visible growth map?What experiences should become required before someone moves into a larger role?How will AI change the skills required for each career path in your firm?Which roles in your firm are being held together by personality and memory instead of clear structure?If a high performer asked you tomorrow what their next two years could look like, could you answer with specifics?Building the Billion Dollar Business is hosted by Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, the financial services industry's leading executive coaching and team development firm for elite advisors and wealth management teams. Ray Sclafani is also a Wealthies CEO of the Year Finalist (2026) and Luminaries Thought Leader of the Year Finalist (2026). Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

    Career Paths are Becoming Design Work

  8. Sep 8

    Managers Are the System

    Your people do not experience your strategy directly. They experience their manager. That manager sets the tone for clarity, feedback, accountability, and growth, yet most advisory firms treat management as an honorary title rather than a craft. Only 44% of managers globally have received formal training, and advisory firms routinely promote strong individual contributors into leadership roles without building management skills. The result: retention risk, performance risk, culture risk, and ultimately client experience risk. Ray Sclafani reveals why management is the delivery system for everything that matters and introduces the four-part operating rhythm that scales culture and prevents leadership fracture as your firm grows. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE Why managers are the delivery system for strategy, culture, and employee experience, and why founders often overestimate how much strategy reaches employees directlyHow only 44% of managers have formal training, yet advisory firms promote their best individual contributors without teaching them management skillsWhy strong producers often make weak managers, and what happens when you assume management talent transfers from client workThe four-part manager operating rhythm: monthly one-on-ones focused on development, quarterly performance calibration, documented development plans, and team health dashboardsWhy a 90-minute calibration meeting with four key questions reveals more about firm culture than most annual retreatsTHE MANAGER OPERATING RHYTHM FRAMEWORK 1. Monthly One-on-Ones Move beyond status updates. Cover priorities, obstacles, decisions, feedback, learning, capacity, and development. Manager leaves knowing what the person needs. Employee leaves knowing what matters next. 2. Quarterly Performance Calibration Bring managers together to discuss performance consistency across roles. Define what meeting, exceeding, and far exceeding expectations look like. Reduce favoritism, vague feedback, and compensation surprises. Identify high-potential talent early. 3. Documented Development Plans Every employee gets one or two development focuses: client presence, planning skill, follow-through, leadership behavior, delegation, communication, AI fluency, business development. Plans connect to role and firm future. 4. Team Health Dashboard Managers track engagement, workload, retention risk, development progress, client pressure, meeting rhythm, and open issues. Dashboard makes invisible problems visible. THE 90-MINUTE CALIBRATION MEETING QUESTIONS Ask your leadership team these four questions together: Who is performing well and ready for more?Who is underperforming and needs direct feedback?Who is overloaded?Who might leave if nothing changes?REFLECTION QUESTIONS FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM What do employees experience consistently because of your managers right now, and does it align with your stated strategy?Which of your managers are carrying titles without enough training, support, or clarity about their role in culture and retention?Where do your managers need a clearer operating rhythm, and what is the cost of that gap?How would performance and retention improve if feedback became normal instead of occasional or avoided?What should your managers be held accountable for beyond personal production, and how will you measure it?Building the Billion Dollar Business is hosted by Ray Sclafani, Founder and CEO of ClientWise, the financial services industry's leading executive coaching and team development firm for elite advisors and wealth management teams. Ray Sclafani is also a Wealthies CEO of the Year Finalist (2026) and Luminaries Thought Leader of the Year Finalist (2026). Find Ray and the ClientWise Team on the ClientWise website or LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

    Managers Are the System
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Hosted by industry-recognized coach and thought leader Ray Sclafani, "Building The Billion Dollar Business" is the ultimate podcast for financial advisors seeking to elevate their practice. Ray, a 2026 finalist for Chief Executive Officer of the Year (Wealthies) and Thought Leader of the Year (Luminaries), brings cutting-edge insights and exclusive interviews with top professionals in financial services. Each episode features deep dives into actionable advice designed to unlock your potential and build a successful, enduring financial advisory practice.

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