Oli runs a good advice firm.
Possibly too good.
Revenues of $1.23m.
He’s built a solid young team of six, including an adviser in her mid-thirties, an associate adviser who completed his professional year last year, an award-winning paraplanner/client service lady, and two great support staff who have been with him for years.
His reputation precedes him.
The bush telegraph either makes or breaks you in the tight town of Newcastle. As a result, he spends near-zero time or money on his marketing or social media.
He passes excessive referrals to other firms, as he has enough demand from strong centres of influence and existing clients with new needs due to aging parents, retirements, empty nesting, new grandchildren, or tree-changes.
Business is growing.
But.
He is not looking forward to 2026 if it is as busy as 2025.
Over the last few months, two close mates who he started in the industry twenty-two years prior at AMP Horizons, both signed up their firms with one of the aggregators.
They’ve had enough.
Being closer to his 60th than his 50th birthday, their decision has unsettled Oli.
He, too, has had enough of the time-consuming parts of his role.
Particularly tech, HR and compliance.
Following his mate’s decision would make parts of his life easier and more predictable.
But the cost is too high.
He is at the peak of his game and, if anything, wants to make his 2026 even better.
Fundamentally, he doesn’t trust the advice aggregators to care for his team and clients as he has.
He has worked hard for his clients, this team and for Newcastle.
Any new business partner needs so much more than a big balance sheet for Oli to risk his reputation, years of hard work and well-earned respect in his town.
What options does Oli have?
More Than He Thinks
Here’s what Oli already knows:
His mates chose the aggregators not because they had no other options, but because building those other options felt more complicated than signing on with an aggregator.
The irony is that Oli has already done the hard yards.
Twenty years ago, he left the safety of AMP.
He backed himself to build something better for his clients.
He’s already hired and grown a solid team of advisers and support staff.
He’s already implemented his own license.
He’s already created a high-quality flow of new business opportunities.
He’s already built a renowned reputation in the place he loves to live and work.
The decisions behind each of these outcomes weren’t easy.
But they worked.
His $1.23m revenue and reputation in Newcastle didn’t happen by accident.
They happened because Oli consistently chose the more challenging path when it mattered.
The question for 2026 isn’t whether Oli has options.
It’s whether he’ll make the same hard decision again.
The Real Problem
Oli’s mates didn’t sign with aggregators because aggregators solve tech, HR and compliance better.
They signed because they didn’t or couldn’t commit to a plan to solve it themselves.
Every advice firm owner knows the value of planning.
The vast majority have numerous planning discussions about their growth option. But between team issues, client meetings, compliance deadlines, and the daily demands of a growing practice, their own plan stays in the drawer.
Until one day it feels too late.
That’s what Oli is feeling right now.
His mates’ decision has exposed something he’s been avoiding.
He has let the business grow.
He hasn’t built it on purpose.
Revenue is up. Team size is up. Client demand is up.
He feels he is working for his team, his clients, but not for himself.
What Happens Next
Here’s his uncomfortable reality:
If Oli doesn’t prioritise his plan to become CEO, someone else’s plan will consume him.
It might be the aggregators’ plan to absorb his business alongside his mates.
It might be the ongoing compliance initiatives that are not expected to be resolved anytime soon.
It might be the tech plan trying to convince him he can handle more clients per team member with yet another upgrade.
But it will be someone else’s plan.
Here’s the Insight
The path forward isn’t external.
It’s not about finding the right partner, the right technology, or the right compliance framework.
It’s internal.
It always is.
It’s about trusting the same instinct that got him here: the belief that building something better, even when it’s harder, creates the future he actually wants.
Oli already knows how to make hard decisions that work.
He’s been making them for twenty-two years.
The hard decision now is to trust his business plan as he once trusted himself to leave AMP.
To prioritise becoming CEO over remaining as the chief cook and bottle-washer.
To prioritise the leadership, decisions and approach so the firm can run without consuming his days with tech issues, HR problems, and compliance headaches.
To create a business that gives him what the aggregators promise but can’t deliver: actual control over his working life and the returns he deserves.
The Price of Growth.
This isn’t a quick fix.
Building the business while running the day-to-day takes focus, frameworks, and support from others who’ve walked and are walking similar paths.
That’s what Certainty Advice does.
Starting in the last week of January 2026, I’m working with a small group of advice firm owners, like Oli, who are choosing to build rather than sell.
Two live sessions per week. Direct coaching on your specific advice implementation and situations. Proven frameworks for value pricing, team development, and business systems. A community of firm owners solving the same problems.
$3,000 per month. But only through the end of January.
From February, the investment increases to $3,300 per month.
If you’re like Oli – successful, growing, but feeling like the business is consuming you rather than serving you – this is your option.
Reply with “2026”, and I’ll send you details.
Happy Christmas and the best of everything for you in 2026.
Jim
P.S. – Oli’s mates made their decision. They chose certainty over building. That’s their choice. But if you’re reading this and thinking “I really want to build something better, and am ready to prioritise MY plans,” then let’s talk about 2026.
Photo Credit: ChristmasInscription2026OnTheSummerBeach_CANVA_photos_MAGyZSv2XDU