by Jim Stackpool | Sep 15, 2025 | growth, Growth Stress
Owners of financial advice firms face two different types of business risk. The risk of starting & the risk of growth. I reckon the most significant difference between these risks is ignorance. Initially, most brand-new business owners are ignorant of what is...
by Jim Stackpool | Sep 20, 2023 | advice skills, best practice, Certainty Advice, client conversations, Client Meetings, Client Offerings, Consultative Approach, Delivering Value, dependency, Engagements, future of advice, Future of Financial Advice, growth, Growth Stress, Leverage, Meetings, perfectionism, Profitability, underdelegation, Value of Advice
I know the problem with my golf game. The guy holding the club. My instincts want to hit the ball too hard because my ridiculous golf brain believes ‘bigger is better’. On the odd occasion when my instincts produce a great shot, it’s usually a fluke....
by Jim Stackpool | Jun 15, 2023 | Activity v Productivity, Advice is not a Product, growth, Growth Stress, Referrals, referrals, Successful On Purpose
With two good friends, Anna and I just completed a 17-day walk across Northern England – the Coast to Coast – a through-trek charted fifty years ago by Alfred Wainwright. It was challenging. It couldn’t have been better. Britain’s Right to Roam offers walkers...
by Jim Stackpool | Feb 2, 2023 | Acquisitions, Advice is not a Product, Advice Products, advisers v distributors, Certainty Advice, future of advice, Future of Financial Advice, growth, Growth Stress, Mergers, Takeovers, Valuations, Value Proposition
I’m currently working with several firms considering a client base or business purchase. Each has different reasons. One wants to achieve more significant ‘economies of scale’. One wants to fill a gap in the range of expertise. One is on an...
by Jim Stackpool | Dec 19, 2022 | Advice is not a Product, Business Performance, Business Planning, Future of Financial Advice, growth, Growth Stress, Leadership, Mindsets, Separation of advice from product, Value of Advice, Value Proposition
Advisers thrive because they anticipate, worry, prepare and manage complex client issues. Good advisers are masters at it. Great advisers are masters at doing the same for themselves. There are several hurdles facing advisory firms in 2023 – for advisory teams...
by Jim Stackpool | Aug 24, 2022 | Advice is not a Product, advisers v distributors, Brand Development, Case Studies, Commoditisation, Future of Financial Advice, growth, Growth Stress, Leadership, Separation of advice from product, stages of growth, worth
For different reasons, all our kids left home once they finished school. The eldest, the family’s best writer, went west to Bathurst to study marketing. The determined actress left Australia to chase opportunities in Vancouver’s film industry. The quiet achiever and...