XYPN Radio

If you’re interested in learning how employment contract restrictions can seriously disrupt your plans to take clients with you should you decide to break away from your broker, as well working through growth and fee structuring decisions, this episode is for you!

XYPN member John Underhill, CFP®, founder of Acorn and Oak Wealth Management, based in Raleigh, North Carolina shares how his journey from ski bum to managing parts of a ski resort, and then several Starbucks helped bolster his business acumen as well as humility—in the best ways.

After having their first child, John and his wife moved back to the East Coast to be near family. He found a job on Indeed in financial services with a national firm. And he said without a plan B, he just committed to following their recipe for success. He knocked on a lot of doors and ultimately built a successful practice. 

In 2020, after listening to the Financial Advisors Success Podcast, he decided to launch his own firm. We talked about his experience with a difficult employment contract and how he navigated it to let his prior clients know that he had gone independent. John is at a really cool point in his business where now that he has three years of experience under his belt, he's trying to figure out his fee structure if he's going to hire another advisor and more. It was fun to catch him in the middle of these big decisions as they are choices that all advisors eventually have to make as they start to approach capacity.  

-Alan

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/362  

In this fun conversation with XYPN member Brian O'Neill, CFP®, founder of Winged Wealth Management and Financial Planning, we hear how niching not only what you know, but who you know can radically grow your business—even in the first year!  Brian spent the first 20 years of his career as an Air Force pilot, during which time he developed a passion for personal finance. After considering what to do after retirement from the military, he decided to launch a firm dedicated to working with fighter pilots like himself.

Brian launched his firm in January 2021 and came out of the starting gates hot, working with 30 clients in his first year, 23 of which were retainer clients. He's grown quickly and shared that he'll gross over $200,000 in 2023, just his third year in business.  He shared his marketing secret sauces that helped him grow quickly as well as build upon the equity of trust his fellow fighter pilots feel towards each other. 

Finally, we talked about his view of the future of the business and how that's changed from a plan to stay solo to a desire to grow, not only to serve more clients in need of his services but also his family—in the form of a succession plan for his business. Every entrepreneur has to make a similar decision, and I think you’ll find his thoughts on the subject illuminating if you’re near that junction in your journey.

 -Alan

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/361

If you are interested in what it takes to transition from a long-term wirehouse position to solo RIA ownership, what it means to truly answer a calling, and how to sustainably serve others without being self-sacrificing, this episode is for you!

XYPN member Kaysian Gordon, MBA, CFP®, CPA, CKA®, founder of Kaysi Gordon Financial Planning, started her career at UBS where her team grew over her tenure and ultimately focused on doing financial planning for ultra-high net worth clients.  She spent 14 years there learning the ins and outs of serving those clients and was the first on her team to get her CFP® designation. 

Seven years ago she was able to start a weekly devotional blog that was not finance-related, so she had the freedom to share her thoughts and insights.  It later helped lay the foundation for her current niche of working with women of faith that are in transition. 

When she felt called to leave UBS, she joined another organization that not only provided a unique “practice run” at RIA entrepreneurship, it allowed her to build a client base she could take with her when she decided to go independent—a rare opportunity.

In late 2021, she left that RIA and launched her own firm with the help of XY Planning Network. She's been growing quickly (60 households in less than a year!) and her clear niche has not only helped build her base, it’s kept her feeling fulfilled. 

We also talked about how important time of life is—as she is a single mom with a ten-year-old daughter (who, by the way, co-authored a book with her!).  Her life stage has impacted the design of her business and how she ultimately wants her life to look.  There is so much to connect with in Kaysi’s story, I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

-Alan

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/360

If you’re interested in learning about the advantages of growing your firm with like-minded advisors, the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant, and how none of it would be possible without a supportive spouse, this episode’s for you!

XYPN member Mike Troxell, CPA, founder of Modern Financial Planning knew he wanted to be a financial planner, but his career started off on the tech side of the business as an accountant. After being steeped in tax education for two and a half years, he made the move into financial planning and started working at an RIA. While he thought at that time he might want to start a firm one day, he loved that job and the people he was working with and thought he'd be there a long time. 

The stars unexpectedly aligned for him, however, and he decided to launch his own RIA. We talked about how he and his wife ultimately made that decision and made it work as they had just had their first child and had their second just 12 months after he launched. Modern Financial Planning works with clients with RSUs or stock options so many of his clients are in tech and we talked about how he helps clients navigate the financial decisions that come with that industry. 

While he thought he would stay solo, he ended up bringing on another advisor and is in the process of onboarding a virtual assistant. We discussed that decision and how he's been focused on growing his business. This is a really fun interview that I'm certain you'll enjoy.

- Alan

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/359

If you’ve ever found yourself questioning what “having it all” looks like for you, how to pull focus on those visions and find balance as you start and run your business, this episode is for you.

In this reflective and empowering conversation, XYPN member Betty Wang, CFP®, founder of BW Financial Planning, shares a very real look into her journey from a career in financial services on the buy side, to taking time off to care for her children with medical issues to returning to the industry in private equity and ultimately deciding to do her own thing as a firm owner. 

While she doesn’t describe herself as an entrepreneur—because she doesn't fit the image that she had of what it means to be an entrepreneur—she has built a very successful firm.

She launched in 2018, but struggled to put herself out into the world, so she didn't see much traction early on. 

That all changed in 2020 when she made the decision to lean into the uncomfortable parts of the business, primarily selling financial planning and the relationship with her as the product of her business—and it has grown rapidly since. 

She shares how she has been able to be intentional with her time—focusing on working 25 hours a week so she can spend time with her kids (something she hadn’t envisioned being a priority in the beginning of her career).  She also shares tools she uses to help with what she calls life planning—a way for her to focus on living from a fulcrum of integrity, according to her values. 

There are many aspects of Betty’s story that you may find familiar, but mostly I think you’ll appreciate her ability to turn the unexpected into an intentional and meaningful life.  I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

- Alan

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/358

If you’re interested in learning how to grow your initial firm investment five-fold in 3 ½ years in a dual-entrepreneurial household, this episode’s for you!

Join in the conversation with XYPN member Jake Northrup, CFP®, CFA, CSLP®, founder of Experience Your Wealth and hear about how he started his firm journey in late 2019, with no clients, at the ripe age of 27. As if that wasn’t challenging enough, his wife started her own wedding planning business at the same time. 

Jake always knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur, and after working in an RIA that served mostly older clients, he wanted to build a firm that focused on younger families that did a lot of traveling and wanted to experience more of life during their younger years versus just saving for retirement and hoping to have fun in their 60s. 

Jake spent a lot of his upfront money building a website focused on telling the story of who he wanted to work with and how he was different from other advisors. It has clearly worked as he made just over $80,000 in his first 12 months and he has now crossed the $500,000 of recurring revenue mark, just three and a half years into the business. 

We had a wide ranging conversation about how he has found success finding clients, his service model, what makes his business unique, how he and his wife have balanced being entrepreneurs at the same time, and how his views on building the business have changed from building a solo practice to hiring another lead advisor and other team members. Check out his interesting journey!

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/357

If you’re interested in learning how niching what you know and starting a group focused around your niche can grow your fee-only revenue to $250k in 5 years, this episode is for you!

We're excited to welcome XYPN member Andie Clark, founder of The Table Financial Planning, a virtual firm serving military members and their families on the show. Andie married her high school sweetheart, who was an Air Force pilot and started moving all over the world every two years. She found work as a math teacher at community colleges, and over time, that ended up shifting into the realm of financial planning.

She took part in a joint program between FINRA and the DOD that helped her get her AFC designation. That led her to getting her CFP® and, as her husband was retiring from the military and they were deciding where they wanted to end up, she started her financial planning firm.

She talked briefly about a couple of big planning opportunities that service members can take advantage of this year. And it is clear how important having in-depth knowledge of what all service members have access to is when working with them. She's also part of a group that she helped found called the Military Financial Advisors Association, which is a group of XYPN members that serve military members and their families. They host regular meetups and provide education to members and have a pretty awesome lead gen program that's set up for members to take advantage of.  Another great example of the power of being better together!

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/356

If you’re interested in hearing about building a unique firm that's more focused on helping people and having an impact versus just being focused on making money due to personal financial circumstances, this episode is for you!

This inspiring and really interesting conversation with XYPN member, Frank Austin, CFA, ChFC®, founder of Sustainable Financial Planning, was a little different from many other conversations we’ve had on XYPN Radio in that he is technically retired after a long career in financial services, mainly on the institutional side. 

Frank achieved his FIRE goal of retiring at 50 and starting his own financial planning firm. His goal in starting the firm wasn't to make a lot of money as he was already set up for retirement, but instead to impact the lives of as many clients as possible. 

We talked about some of the things he thought he would focus on early in the business, such as ESG investing and how those plans evolved over time as he found the clients he enjoyed working with and learned the challenges of running his own solo practice. He's made a recent pivot to moving into more advice packages and away from ongoing planning, and he shared why he made that move and the clients he hopes to help with that new program. 

I hope you enjoy hearing about Frank’s journey as much as I did!

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/355

This episode’s for anyone who:

• Has made or is considering making the transition from tax prep to financial planning
• Understands the impact every financial decision has on taxes
• Is looking for conversation starters with your clients about the value add tax-optimized financial planning offers them
• Wants to shift tax prep from being reactive to proactive
• Wonders how to structure fees when you offer tax services, financial planning, and investment solutions
• Is looking for inspiration to pursue their passion at any age

In this informative conversation with XYPN member Joanne Burke, CFP®, CPA/PFS, founder of Birch Street Financial Advisors, we learn why Joanne left a big four firm to join a partner who’d split off to go independent and help start their accounting practice.

After a few years and the birth of her second child, she decided to launch her own tax practice to give herself the flexibility to spend more time with her family than public accounting would have provided.

Fast forward after her youngest left for college, she decided to pursue her passion for financial planning and made the leap in 2020 to start her own RIA. We talked about her original plans to convert tax clients over to ongoing financial planning clients and the challenges she faced as she tried to move from being seen as their tax preparer to being seen as their financial advisor. Her deep tax knowledge has proven to be a real asset as she’s shifted tax prep conversations from reactive solutions to proactive planning. We talked about the upcoming decision she'll get to make as she decides if she wants to stay solo or hire and begin to grow the firm.

This is a really fun interview that covers a lot of bases you don't want to miss.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/354

Whether you live in a single or dual-entrepreneurial household, have children you’re balancing in that equation, or are just looking for effective tips to convert prospects into clients, this episode is for you!

In this fun and informative conversation with XYPN member Sarah Ponder, CFP®, MBA, founder of Real Estate Wealth Planning, Sarah joked that she's 37 and on her fifth and hopefully final career.

She started out in the Enterprise Car Rental Management Training program, then ended up in a financial literacy software startup before getting her MBA. She was then recruited to Dimensional Fund Advisors, or DFA, where she moved up into a regional director role, during which time she got her CFP®.

She always knew she would launch her own firm one day and decided that the fall of 2020 right in the middle of COVID was the right time. We talked about her decision to become an entrepreneur as she had two kids under four and another on the way, and she had historically been the breadwinner for her family as her husband is a realtor. She said she drank the niche Kool-Aid from this podcast, and after doing a round of interviews with real estate professionals, she decided to specialize in working with realtors.

We talked about her fee structure, successful marketing programs, her new course for realtors, and also how her family has leveraged an Au Pair to be able to support them with childcare so they can build their respective businesses.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/353

We’re excited to welcome back XYPN member Kay Dee Cole, CFP®, founder of Clarity Wealth Development, on the show today. Kay Dee was on the show back in 2017 and we wanted to bring her back on now, to give us an update on her firm and how things have progressed and changed. I have to say it was hard to find anything that was similar to the business she was running five years ago, aside from her being there and her niche.

Kay Dee shared the various transitions that have happened from splitting with a business partner, finding her integrator, which is something we talked a lot about, building up the team, selling a portion of the company to her employees, and ultimately setting herself on a path to spend more time on passion projects.

If you’re interested in being really intentional about building the business that makes sense for you and where you're at in life, this episode is for you!

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/352

At XYPN we talk a lot about community. This holiday season feels like a great time to celebrate what a powerful gift being independent, but never alone can be.  So, we invited three members of an XYPN Mastermind Group, Dillon Cobb, CPA, CFP®, Andrew Gray, CFP®,  and Allen Mueller, CFA, MBA, to share how their group has become a gift that “keeps giving” toward their personal and professional successes. We’ll hear about how the group has become a place of shared strengths and divided weaknesses – kind of like a family.  A family whose support betters themselves, their firms, and their clients.  It’s impact acceleration at its absolute best.

Their varied backgrounds and unique paths to launching their own firms enrich and inform their conversations as do their commonalities – like facing the challenges of raising young kids and building solo practices. We had a wide-ranging discussion about the value of a mastermind group – from helping navigate family dynamics playing out in their firms to imposter syndrome. You can feel the difference their support of one another has made in their lives and practices.  If you are already in an XYPN Mastermind Group, you’ll recognize the positive impact and feelings our guests share.  And if you aren’t – you may find yourself seeking the powerful gift of community by the time you're done listening to this episode.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/351

We’re excited to welcome XYPN member, Daniel Yerger, MBA, CFP®, ChFC, AIF, CDFA, founder of MY Wealth Planners, a fee-only firm based in Colorado on the show today.  Today’s podcast follows Daniel’s career path from joining the Army and specializing in PSYOPS to becoming an IT manager for IBM before deciding to pursue financial planning.

He effectively started his own firm at a broker-dealer because he didn't have a salary to build his own client base from scratch. Looking back, if he found a salary position in financial planning, he would have taken it and maybe would have never started his own firm.

In this show we talk about the importance of meeting like-minded financial planners and his decision to launch his own RIA after attending an FPA NexGen conference. We cover a variety of other topics, including fee structure and using net worth in fee calculations as well as leveraging interns in his practice - one of whom ultimately became his associate advisor. He discusses the importance of firms hiring and paying interns in order to expose more young people to the work we do as financial planners. We closed our discussion on his PhD research on financial advisory fees, advisor compensation, and ultimately how the fight on Twitter regarding fees is really missing the point.

If you’re interested in the importance of finding a passion that fits and exposing next generations to financial planning, this show is for you.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/350

We’re excited to welcome XYPN member Jessica Goedtel, founder of Pavilion Financial Planning, on the show today. Jessica started her career thinking she wanted to be an archeologist. After a few jobs and a few different industries, her love of personal finance brought her to her first job in financial planning. She worked for a couple of different firms, including an online startup RIA, and learned as much as she could about doing financial planning and the types of clients she wanted to work with before ultimately launching her own firm in September of 2021.

Jessica has two niches listed on her website’s home page: tech workers and online sex workers. We talked about the decision to have two niches, which she admits can be difficult at times, but also wouldn't go back and change it if she could. We dove into the service model and fee structure of both niche markets and how she's ultimately bringing value to her clients, including how she has incorporated tax preparation and tax planning into her business just over a year in, and she's doing amazingly well. This is an interview you don't want to miss.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/349

Today we welcome XYPN member Andy Panko, CFP®, RICP®, EA, founder of Tenon Financial, to XYPN Radio.

Andy always knew he wanted to be a financial advisor—but the harsh reality of financial planning opportunities (or the lack of them) for a fresh college graduate was discouraging. So, Andy spent the first 19 years of his career working in insurance, banking, and brokerage firms. It was in 2016 that Andy discovered XYPN Radio and realized that his dream of helping others with their finances could be a reality.

Andy spent the next three years preparing to launch—and that preparation really paid off. COVID soon followed Teton Financial’s 2019 launch. Rather than seeing this as a roadblock, Andy took it as a sign to double down on his marketing efforts, and it paid off handsomely. He got his first client in June 2020 and quickly reached capacity at the beginning of 2022. Andy is truly passionate and candidly talks with us about his growth and how he has worked to intentionally build a high-efficiency solo practice.

If you’re interested in working with clients to and through retirement and building a great firm in the process, this is the episode for you.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/348

Co-Founders Alan Moore and Michael Kitces review the highlights of the sixth-annual Member Benchmarking Study in this episode of XYPN Radio. Each year, the study gathers information from XYPN member participants to get an accurate picture of how advisors are doing in their firms.

This episode tells the data-backed story of an XYPN firm's journey, from the average growth in revenue, client profitability, and client relationships, to the value of community. Alan and Michael pull graphs from the study to paint a clear picture of what’s working and not working for member firms. And yes, the survey includes insights from XYPN members who started with the Network from scratch that yields incredibly impactful for those considering starting an independent fee-for-service RIA.

If you’re interested in learning what really works for fee-for-service advisors, then this is the episode for you.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/347

We’re excited for today’s episode with Nancy Hetrick, AWMA, CDFA, founder of Smarter Divorce Solutions—serving clients through collaborative divorce. Today, Nancy represents both a financial neutral and mediator for her clients and remains committed to a kinder, gentler divorce process for all involved.

After her own divorce in 2007, Nancy realized just how few resources were out there for people getting a divorce. Traditional divorce proceedings include clients each bringing their own financial advocates to the table. Nancy wanted to play a role in offering better choices to people facing this unfortunate reality and became a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst. The Smarter Divorce Solutions tagline captures her passion: No lawyers. No judges. No courtrooms. That’s how Nancy has reimagined the role of financial advocacy during divorce proceedings.

Nancy is truly dynamic and shares with us some of her most fulfilling experiences as an advisor—from serving clients through collaborative divorce to creating a CDFA training. Last year, Nancy made the decision to sell the wealth management side of her business to focus exclusively on building her divorce planning practice, which is growing like crazy. The divorce planning practice side of her business will do over $1,000,000 in revenue this year alone. Nancy has a lot of great advice to share with you today—from finding your groove within the divorce niche to marketing FYI’s.

If you're interested in working with divorcing clients or just want to learn the power of a niche, this episode is for you.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/346

Today we talk to Maggie Beach, CFP®, CPA/PFS, and XYPN Member who is the founder of NexJenn Financial Services—a fee-only firm servicing the real estate niche—and NexJenn CPA—an accounting firm that specializes in individual and trust taxation. Today’s podcast is full of information as Maggie shares her expertise in real estate, and how her early career path gave her the ability to provide advice on a personal level.

In this show, we talk about everything in the real estate niche, from prospecting to outsourcing. For Maggie, real estate isn’t just a niche, it’s a family business. Maggie uses her personal experience in real estate investing to provide a holistic approach to advice to her clients. She also talks candidly about what it’s like to offload aspects of her business. Bottom line? Trusting your instincts is one of the most important skills advisors should hone while building their firm.

If you’re interested in real estate as a niche, and finding better ways to serve your existing clients, this show is for you. 

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/345

We’re excited to welcome XYPN member Cody Garrett, CFP®, founder of Measure Twice Financial—an advice-only firm based in Houston, TX. After 10 years in the music industry, Cody jumped into a career in financial planning. As Cody learned about financial planning, he shared blogs to teach others at the same time. His generosity changed the trajectory of his career.

Cody lasted two and a half years at an RIA before the floodgates opened. Dozens of clients started reaching out wanting planning advice—without investment management. After two months, he generated more revenue than an entire year. So, he made the decision to go solo.

In this episode, Alan and Cody discuss the importance of empowering clients to get involved with their finances. Measure Twice Financial leads by example—simplifying financial topics to help DIY investors to align their money with their values. Cody built his firm from the ground up, finding his ideal client before choosing a service model and fee structure. His goal is to change the perception of a financial planner's role by increasing the transparency of planning.

If you’re interested in advice-only planning or are looking to align your professional goals and values, this episode is for you.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/344

Today, we talk to XYPN member Ethan Miller, CFP®, founder of Planning for Progress—a fee-only firm based in Washington D.C.

Ethan started his career in labor and union organizing which gave him the passion for working with individuals one-on-one to empower them to make the world a better place. Financial planning seemed to be the perfect way to help clients lead socially responsible lives while building financial stability. He launched Planning for Progress in 2016 part-time to build slowly (and remain an active part of movements for social and economic justice). After 4 years, his network and niche aligned. Ethan relaunched in 2022 as a full-time advisor and now serves 70 clients in a calendar year.

This episode is fun—and brutally honest. Ethan shares his experience of transitioning between service models to fit his ideal client by embracing both comprehensive and project-based service models and getting his existing clients on board.

If you’re thinking about starting a firm part-time or looking for ways to incorporate your values into your business, this episode is full of advice for you.

You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/343