The Confident Advisor Practice Podcast Pete Bush

In today's episode of "The Confident Advisor Practice Podcast", a podcast from the Horizon Advisor Network, hosts Bill Bush and Chad Soileau talk about working on the business and working in the business.
 
 
Episode Highlights
40: As per Chad, many advisors are struggling with the differences between working on your business and working in your business and what it does to your business. 23: Chad talks about the importance of bigger-picture thinking tools and how they play an important role in "working on the business." 37: Chad explains how "Working in your business" is more of a tactical piece of your business. 41: The two most important things as an Advisor are keeping the clients you have and finding the ones you don't have yet. 51: There are advantages, certain distinct advantages in working in your business. There is the fact that working in your business hopefully is building strong relationships with your current clients. 46: Being in the trenches and working with clients on a daily basis, you are able to stay informed and ensure that you are providing your clients with the best possible advice. 46: By focusing on the bigger picture and working on the business, advisors can identify and address inefficiencies that lead to more streamlined and profitable operations, which is always a good thing for the bottom line. 56: Bill shares how he has noticed at the beginning of the year that there have been a lot of educational opportunities around marketing which is working on the business and practice management and things of that nature.  
 
 
Three Key Points
Bill and Chad discuss the meaning of working on the business and working in the business. Chad explains why as an advisor you should be doing dollar activities as much as possible. Chad explains how many advisors tend to kind of get caught up more on working in the business as opposed to really working on the business  
 
 
Tweetable Quotes
"Working on your business is you thinking of the ideas that you can help your revenue in a better way." - Chad "Working in the business, it's not typically something or an activity that is driving revenue or keeping revenue or growing the practice, it's more of the involuntary things you have to do like service request, distributions, trades." - Chad "Working on your business is kind of taking a step back, looking at the big picture of things." - Bill  
 
Resources Mentioned
The Confident Advisor Practice Podcast csoileau@horizonfg.com | 225-612-3820

In today’s episode of “The Confident Advisor Practice Podcast”, a podcast from the Horizon Advisor Network, hosts Bill Bush and Chad Soileau talk about the opportunities that advisors may have given the current market conditions. They go through the list of five down-market opportunities for advisors to improve their practices now.
 
Episode Highlights
01:10 – Chad says there are opportunities around every corner. If you're new or may have been around for a while or maybe at the end of your practice, there are always opportunities in every situation. 03:00 - The idea of being first to reach out to your clients, when things get ugly, instead of having them call you, a lot of clients appreciate that, regardless of if it's good or bad news. 05:00 – We need to start and see how far we've come in and change that perspective to the client of like that this will pass and this creates opportunities, says Chad. 06:55 – Bill states that their second point or opportunity in a downturn market would be to introduce alternative ideas and offerings to their practice. 09:10 - We've had several advisors in the network itself who historically did a lot of the portfolio construction and management more like a Fund Manager. 11:10 – Bill mentions you also need to be cognizant about what else is happening out there with the advisors that are not being proactive. 13:15 – Chad states that they do a really good job of communicating with their clients, and with all the different groups of people they want to tell their stories. 15:20 – Bill tells Chad to talk about the number five opportunity which is ‘Increasing Your Knowledge Base’. 17:30 – This is a good time for reflection, and a good time to take action. Downturns are never fun for anybody but certainly some opportunities. Difficult times always bring opportunities; you just have to look for them, says Chad.  
Three Key Points
Chad thinks that proving your worth and galvanizing your relationship with your clients is one of the things that we always do as advisors. We know our worth, and we believe in ourselves but in an up-market when things are going well it's not so hard to kind of prove your worth. It's whenever the market takes a turn that becomes a little difficult and it is where you pay your dues in a sense of having the opportunity to show your clients while you're here showing them your expertise and your knowledge in the market. Such things paint a good picture for you as the advisor. They all independently came up with one thing that was consistent with each one of their speeches and it was that if you're not doing financial planning yet then probably this is the perfect time to do it. However, in markets like this that are a little difficult, if it's been more transaction airy in its nature, bringing the financial planning aspect into it kind of sets them apart from a lot of other advisors who are maybe not bringing that into their practice and it helps them along as well to whenever they're talking about returns and market conditions. The fourth opportunity for the advisors could be Acquisition and Book Management. So there could be an opportunity to hear that this is not a good opportunity. That this is one of the best times you can probably do that because again, advisors who are maybe kind of at the sun setting of their career, difficult times like this are some of the best times to start reaching out because compliance is getting a little bit more difficult. If you're looking for those opportunities, especially in markets like we have right now, you may find that you're going to have a lot more opportunities and success while finding someone that may be willing to have a good conversation with you about secession. Being introspective at this time is also a good time to do that too.  
 
Tweetable Quotes
“I'm one of the board members of the Financial Planners Association of Louisiana and I was a panel speaker a few weeks ago.” – Chad

In today’s episode of “The Confident Advisor Practice Podcast”, a podcast from the Horizon Advisor Network, hosts Bill Bush and Chad Soileau talk about the retirement plans and 401(k) plans for advisors. They discuss various company retirement plans, where most of which are 401(k) plans.
 
Episode Highlights
02:35 – Bill mentions that they have about 75 company retirement plans. Most of those are 401(k) plans, a few simple IRAs, and a 457 plan. 04:35 – They probably spend any given week 50 to 60 to 70% of their time inside that retirement plan space, says Chad. 06:32 – Bill shares some of the good things about getting into this sector. It does bring some value to those existing relationships where they can offer something that they have some knowledge and specialization in helping them. 08:24 - People have to get very competitive to attract new employees, unemployment being so low and the need for workers being so high that a lot of folks are looking at how do we attract, states Bill. 10:40 – Bill says, when we run into opportunities, oftentimes, it is a case of where a plan has an advisor and they're not present and they are not servicing the plan. 12:00 – Chad says, it's the opportunity to bring in a more diversified clientele, or to bring in a diversified revenue stream. 14:29 – Bill highlights that it is the time for commitment, especially if we build that practice and it becomes a real division where we have like 75 plans. 16:18 - We've got to know where those parameters are on Plan size and building pricing accordingly, says Bill. 18:40 – Chad states that there are those considerations that one needs to look at and it's one of those things with an advisor that they have to look at their business and say that the ROI on this is going to be what they want it to be. 20:15 – Bill mentions that in a start-up plan, there are no assets. One is starting from ground zero, and so in those instances, they will charge a project fee. 22:00 - Just have those conversations with companies that already have a plan and maybe are being under-serviced. 24:14 - One of the things they do have on the horizon website is a webinar they did for business owners. It's about starting a 401 K plan. 26:00 – Bill mentions that they do have a system here and it's important when they show this to potential clients, it's called the 401k Confidence System.  
Three Key Points
Bill shares some of the other things one should consider if they're going into this to become a plan advisor - the time commitment and the willingness to say, “I'm going to do this and do this means education to the plans”. It means helping that plan sponsor fulfill their fiduciary duty which means quarterly monitoring of the funds, making sure that the funds are up to speed compared to their peers, and following the investment policy statement. Bill mentions it is a lot to think through in terms of how are we going to service, how are we going to bring value, and whether we are appropriately pricing things to be competitive. Bill shares there are other breaks to have automatic enrollment, those were enacted and boosted as a result of the securities act. There's other legislation being drawn up now that will even make it more beneficial for business owners to do that. So, it is getting a lot of attention on the national level, and for those types of things and just having that conversation is a great thing.  
Tweetable Quotes
“I came out of the healthcare industry and got licensed and part of my indoctrination with the horizon was to help Andy on the 401(k) side.” – Bill Bush “A lot of times in a company retirement plan, that employee the only advisor that they'll ever know, will be the 401(k)advisor.” – Bill Bush “Healthcare makes up about 30 35% of the plans we have.” - Bill Bush “Regardless of what your industry is, there's typically going to be a lot of opportunities.” - Chad Soileau “Other ways of attracting and r

In today’s episode of “The Confident Advisor Practice”, a podcast from the Horizon Advisor Network that explores tips, strategies, and perspectives for building, maintaining, and growing confidence in your practice as a financial advisor. In this episode, hosts Bill Bush and Chad Soileau discuss the topic ‘How to Elevate Your Practice Marketing via Podcasting’. They will dive into some best practices, some barriers, and ways advisors should be doing podcasts for expanding their marketing efforts.
                                                           
 
Episode Highlights
01:20 - Chad thinks a lot of advisors are starting to look at podcasting as a marketing tool with a lot more interest in how we start. 03:00 - One of the barriers Bill thinks is that a lot of people might consider how to get started. The other thing is that even if you decide to jump in and don't just stick your toe in the water, the cost of the equipment, the grand scheme of things is pretty minimal. 05:00 - You can go as expansive as you want or you can keep it as simple as you want but obviously spending a few dollars on it, mentions Chad. 07:30 - The world is constantly changing, especially in the digital world. So to keep up and participate in that and to be a part of that is certainly welcome, says Bill. 09:00 – Bill says that they have some good headphones that everybody can listen to, and hear what everybody's saying. So you hear things live and then beyond that, you have the ability to do a podcast with a remote guest. 11:05 - It's all about networking - if you can feature a guest on your podcast, and then share the link with them, they will further share it in their network and in their social media posts, that just exposes more people to you. 13:00 – The next thing Bill talks about is the process or post-production work. So, after recording the conversation you'll want to make sure your audio levels are good and the show notes are in order. 14:20 – There is a lot of post-production work like checking audio levels, editing audio, and writing show noes before finally uploading the podcasts on sites. Bill says that they are associated with a company called com that takes care of all these post-production tasks for them. 16:00 – There is little time involved in compliance and once the compliance is done, then they can post the podcast. 18:15 - There is a cost to have someone else do post-production work and a lot of times it's worthwhile. Beyond that, what episodes are done on the platforms, sharing the content via networking or social media, is what matters. 20:20 - If you're doing something fairly, and timely, there could be a little lag on the production or compliance end, but not a lot, says Bill.  
Three Key Points
A podcast can be posted on a website, it can be shared on social media, and people can experience that 24 hours a day. It's not an appointment of television or whatever that multiplies your message because literally hundreds and thousands of people can hear that message if it's appropriately distributed. So to multiply yourself and your message if you have a good message, to have that kind of open fire and have that power is a good thing. Pre-pandemic, they were using ‘Skype’, and ‘FaceTime’. Also, there were some technical things they have to go through to make sure mics, inputs, and sounds were correct. But during the pandemic, there was a meteoric rise of a platform called ‘Zoom’. They did podcasts using ‘Zoom’ and if you record those, zoom actually records the video and it also records the audio split out already so that you can go back and download it so you can have a remote guest anywhere. We have three podcasts that are up and running now pretty regularly. One of those is ‘Inside the Plan with the 401k Brothers’, hosted by brothers Andy and Bill Bush, there chiefly their audience is 401 K participants because they

In today’s episode of “The Confident Advisor Practice Podcast”, a podcast from the Horizon Advisor Network, hosts Bill Bush and Chad Soileau discuss the best practice for advisors including continuity and succession.  
Episode Highlights
01:12 – Bill mentions that only about 10% of advisors have written, executable continuity documents in place. 03:50 – Bill asks about the ‘Continuity Agreement’, he enquires what is it, how do you get one in place and what does it cover? 06:10 – There are two pieces with continuity agreements. It can be temporary, and it can be triggered by a short-term disability or it can also be triggered by the owner passing away or death, says Chad. 07:33 – Chad says, the other thing that it does for the protector is typically there's going to be something called a right of first refusal. 10:05 – Buy Sell is a confirmation that yeah, I do want to buy it and you're like, Yeah, I do want to sell it to you. So, we're formally agreeing that we're going to go into this relationship of a future purchase, states Chad. 12:45 –Internal succession is the easiest thing to do because that internal partner is usually very knowledgeable about the book, the clients, and with staff. 14:46 – Bill asks about some of the things that could potentially go wrong when you're looking at continuity and secession. 16:50 – Bill says, it's in everybody's best interest; you find the right partner, whether you're the buyer or the seller, it's ultimately an agreement in a partnership, and that hopefully is successful, so that's key.  
Three Key Points
The reason why an advisor should even consider the steps when we’re talking about continuity is, that it's the beginning process of you having a plan for your business. The importance is, that it does a lot of protecting, and in that it protects your clients, assets, team, your practice, family and protects the value of your book of business. It can also be your foot in the door to becoming a secession partner, but at the end of the day we own businesses, and that's your book of business. The very first step is having the continuity agreement and that does so many things to do protecting. Chad explains that ‘Continuity agreement’ is typically a shorter-term protection policy in a sense that lets that protector come in, lets that owner step back and take care of themselves. You have that span of time that the protector will come in, manage the book, and do the servicing. The biggest thing with Continuity Succession is, that it's not communicating well about what's expected to happen or to not happen. You should have an understanding of each other's philosophies.  
 
Tweetable Quotes
“90% of clients want their advisors to have a plan in place to protect their assets knowing what's going to happen in the event should something go wrong.” – Bill Bush “Continuity agreement can also be your foot in the door to becoming a secession partner.” - Chad Soileau “The great thing about the continuity agreement, you can really make it to whatever you want it to be.” - Chad Soileau “Buy-sell is typically a game you have, an owner and a buyer.” - Chad Soileau “If something happens, I'm not obligated but what I want to write the first refusal.” - Chad Soileau “Revenue is key in valuation. So, you want to protect that as much as you possibly can.” - Chad Soileau “Always making sure that the agreements are up-to-date.” - Chad Soileau “The secession agreement is basically the agreement to buy right now.” - Chad Soileau  
Resources Mentioned
The Confident Advisor Practice Podcast csoileau@horizonfg.com Horizon Advisor Network Website  Horizon Advisor LinkedIn Bill Bush Call the Horizon Financial Group: (225) 612-3820 Podcast Editing  

In today’s episode of “The Confident Advisor Practice Podcast”, a podcast from the Horizon Advisor Network, hosts Bill Bush and Chad Soileau bring us Part 2 of their discussion on “Growth by Acquisition”. They’ll continue the conversation by talking about networking, continuity and succession partnerships, marketing and outreach programs, and looking for the “seeds of discontent”.
 
01:22 – Bill enquires from Chad that who needs to know the story? 03:05 – Chad suggests considering the support staff that helps you through your broker dealer. He mentions that their growth officers and consultants have been very good for them, because they lean in a lot. 05:35– He highlights to pay attention to some of the people who might be approaching retirement and those things that are going on right now may be within your own circle. 08:25 – Chad says that face-to-face discussion with clients / prospects is worth, it's always better than, an impersonal approach. He also states that as far as for prospecting and making connections is concerned, he leverages it every single week and day, he’s on LinkedIn, looking for opportunities. 10:40 – Chad points out that the avenue of continuity of succession, it doesn't matter the age, but typically somebody's coming-up to the age of retirement somewhere around 65, 70 or 75 years, that's a good one. That's a good conversation starter. 13:15– Bill questions that what can we do marketing wise, and kind of that outreach to really push prospecting forward? 15:40 – Chad highlights that the other thing he’s going to probably do next year is start doing like a gift card campaign. 17:50 – Bill asks about the subscription service and asks Chad to elaborate on that. 19:15– Chad explains about the Message Movers service, that's a communication that we come out typically every month or two months. 21:15 – He says there's this term called ‘Seeds of Discontent’, this is one of the first things he learned when he got into this business. 24:00 – Bill thinks that “If you're in a partnership or you're in a silo situation and some other guy dissolves that, then it's like what do I do.” 26:40 – He says that if there's one thing that kind of take away from all this is really the timing portion of this based on the statue game alone, the opportunity is really out there   Three Key Points
Bill and Chad dive deep into the topic - ‘Growth through Acquisition’; they give some suggestions that they have and advise to have an open mind because there are a lot of things going on to make things work. They discuss some of the things to consider before even starting getting into that growth by acquisition mode.  
Chad says that they have kind of a legacy platform which is called Legacy Builder and it's available to Advisors who are willing to do certain things through the broker dealer so, maybe you need to check with the resources / websites that you have for them. All of these resources have a free membership but the bigger deal with most of these is that your membership will typically give you quicker access. Chad advises to not to be scared of trying new things. According to him, it's in this age, in this day, you have to be inventive and you have to find a new angle to get in touch with those opportunities. The big deal is just to be prepared, be top of mind and to be preferable.  
Tweetable Quotes
“Also consider the support staff that helps you through, your broker dealers, growth officers and consultants has been very good for us, because we lean in a lot and we leverage a lot of our partners.” - Chad Soileau “There are all these external sources that are out and running into other advisors. We don't even know another opportunity, so obviously, that's important place.” - Bill Bush “Well, boards, like for me, I'm on the FPA board, right.” - Chad Soileau “Only you know, between 25 and 30% of these people have continuity partners.” - Chad