Indie - no Sales Asst
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[quote=B24]SFB,
You're right, and I probably went off a little too hard. I know nothing about you and your business. Actually, I think my thoughts recently (if you happen to catch some of my other threads) revolve more around some of the things I have witnessed lately in this industry. So it wasn't actually directed at you, more the industry in general. This is quite the tangent, but I feel like our industry is shooting itself in the foot. I feel like we are moving further and further away from being "professionals", and more towards, well, I don't know what to call it (for fear of offending someone in another industry!). But much of that is the result of greed at the very top (not the FA's) - look at what it did to the wirehouses. As much as the wirehouses get their share of bashing, I truly believe that the Merrills and Morgans and AG Edwards of the world were critical to the reputation of our industry. As went those firms, so went the reputation of our industry. Not that the industry didn't have some negative connotations already. But those names represented something. And now you have shells of their former selves, and a small handfull of huge banks running all the big firms. Sorry for the tangent, and sorry for how I came across. Peace out.[/quote] No prob - and a well thought out post. I agree with what you are saying. I believe that as a newly minted indie, i, and the rest of us, have a golden opportunity to take advantage of that. Build it into your mission statement. Independent advice from independent advisors. I think the situation as you describe it can help us, if you are smart about leveraging it.Problem here is the amount of time and effort it will take to get a temp up to speed on how your platform works. Sure, it sounds cost effective and time efficient in theory, but unless this temp has a background in financial services (and has ideally worked on your platform before), chances are you’re going to be spending an awful lot of time training this person and correcting errors. It’s not worth the time/cost/effort in my opinion. Plus if this temp bolts because of a higher paying, more stable job, you’ll have to go through the whole process again if/when you hire someone else. That’s not showing business savvy, in my opinion.
SFB, I think you’re going about this the right way. Keep your costs down. When you’re ready to take on an assistant, hire someone experienced and capable. Pay them well and treat them well and they will be loyal to you and stay with you for a long time.
[quote=Sportsfreakbob][quote=B24]SFB,
You're right, and I probably went off a little too hard. I know nothing about you and your business. Actually, I think my thoughts recently (if you happen to catch some of my other threads) revolve more around some of the things I have witnessed lately in this industry. So it wasn't actually directed at you, more the industry in general. This is quite the tangent, but I feel like our industry is shooting itself in the foot. I feel like we are moving further and further away from being "professionals", and more towards, well, I don't know what to call it (for fear of offending someone in another industry!). But much of that is the result of greed at the very top (not the FA's) - look at what it did to the wirehouses. As much as the wirehouses get their share of bashing, I truly believe that the Merrills and Morgans and AG Edwards of the world were critical to the reputation of our industry. As went those firms, so went the reputation of our industry. Not that the industry didn't have some negative connotations already. But those names represented something. And now you have shells of their former selves, and a small handfull of huge banks running all the big firms. Sorry for the tangent, and sorry for how I came across. Peace out.[/quote] No prob - and a well thought out post. I agree with what you are saying. I believe that as a newly minted indie, i, and the rest of us, have a golden opportunity to take advantage of that. Build it into your mission statement. Independent advice from independent advisors. I think the situation as you describe it can help us, if you are smart about leveraging it.[/quote]B24,
I agree our business has taken a reputational hit, but it was much deserved in my opinion. Especially in light of how most of the major brokerages operated. While the industry is reeling, it presents a fantastic opportunity for smart and talented independent advisors to emerge from this wreckage and take market share from the wirehouses. There will also be a need for what we do -- especially when we do it well, demonstrating to our clients why they are paying us. The beauty of being indy, I've discovered, is that the buck stops with me. There's not some faceless trader in Singapore f***ing things up by making agressive derivatives bets or some I-banker slinging garbage CMOs. It's me and the investment decisions I make for my clients. If I do a crappy job, they will leave. If I do a great job, they will stay and refer me business. It's a great feeling not having to worry about the firm you're working for making headlines in the press for breaking the law. This is the direction our industry is moving in, in my opion, and I think it will ultimately be in the best interest of both advisors and clients.
Thanks for all the feedback guys. I think Georgiaclose, you hit it. I can do this on a low budget without an assistant for a while. When i get to, i think 400-450 annualized gross, thats when i hire someone who wil l commit to helping me build y business
Obviously thats an arbitrary number, but i’ll adjust as i go along.
What about an intern? You could post at a college or university for a student wanting to prove their self and get in the business. You get cheap labor now and a properly molded assistant maybe producer later. We are going to have one in a couple weeks. Owner’s family, I think, so not sure how that will work yet.
SFB,
I wouldn’t bother with an assistant at this point. Anyone who has gone Indy has had to deal with the enormous amount of paperwork involved. It sucks for a few months and then it will be fine and worth the hard work in the end. Remember how hard you worked your first year in this business? What’s a few months?
I agree with other posters who say that spending money on a shat intern is not a good idea. You’ll have to train them and they will likely make mistakes. At this critical point in your career, you don’t want to give your client any reason to doubt their move.
Take full control of your business and when the dust settles, if you still need help, you will be able to hire someone with experience. In the meantime, do what I do. I take care of my paperwork while listening to some music and drinking a fine single malt!
I debated going without an SA when I went Indy 20 months ago but I hired one anyway because i knew I needed the help organizationally. Over the last twelve months her referrals brought in 2.5 million in fee based assets. She has more than paid for herself. The way I look at it the less time I spend doing Admin tasks the more time I have to prospect and services my existing clients. it’s a cliche but sometime you need to spend money to make money.
SFB,
I now share your pain as I recently went Indy. Yup, I’ll be working 7 days a week for a while…
Omar
Best of luck to you!!!. It will all be worthwhile. If its any gauge, i left July 30th for a 12 day vacation in the Carribean, and on the day i left, i felt i was more or less done with the transition in terms of bringing in clients. I have 95% of my assets in. That was 2 months in. I dont have a giant book, about 50 households, 155 accounts. It was a lot of work, but i have a great sense of satisfaction.
Hope you get the same feeling, I’M sure you will
The other challenge is the technology learning curve. I was so used to knowing exactly where to go for everything. Now simple things take me time to find. But thats my project for the next two weeks. Then after Labor Day its on to growing it.
I am pretty convinced you can do this without an SA, if you have the right kind of book, and the right support from the B/D, up to about $400k.
Where did you go? P me if you prefer.