As financial advisors and business owners, it’s important to make intentional decisions on how we grow our firms. But how can we transfer that intentional practice to our clients who are also on a path to financial growth?
Brian Thompson, Founder of Brian Thompson Financial, focuses on serving LGBTQ entrepreneurs. His firm’s growth—along with the growth of his clients’ businesses—is very intentional and based on figuring out what it is that his clients want, what they want to accomplish in life, and the legacy they want to leave.
How is he able to serve his niche in a practical way and repeatable fashion?
First, by finding a community that’s a right fit for his firm’s model. Brian ensures that the new clients he takes on are aligned with his framework of combining the technical side of building a business with the emotional side of planning for the future.
Second, with a strong niche, Brian is able to be more efficient and a true expert with a deep understanding of the challenges LGBTQ business owners face. More so, he has a very replicable process that he engages client after client.
After an initial exploration meeting to determine if a prospect is a match for Brian Thompson Financial, he launches a step-by-step process with every client.
Brian uses a kickoff meeting, or as he refers to it, Dreaming Session, to dig deep into what matters most to the client and how their business and money can serve them to that end. This session is all about dreaming big and putting all of their hopes and ideas on the table. Armed with this information, Brian then creates a vision of his client’s business and life with everything they want it to be and prioritize their goals to help bring that dream to fruition.
Next, he brings the client in for an organization and obstacle meeting to assess where they are now and taking a holistic view of their entire financial life. The goal of this session is to review and discuss assets and liabilities, as well as current income and expenses for business and personal finances. The majority of the time, this also leads to exploring what obstacles might get in the way of the client’s vision and how to tackle them head-on.
With the legwork done up front, Brian takes all the knowledge shared to develop a thoughtful, intentional process for how the client can use financial planning techniques to build the choice and opportunity they want in their business and life. He focuses on building systems, habits, and automation to ensure the most effective use of time, money, and talent.
With the energy and inspiration of an ideal life—as well as an initial financial plan—in place, Brian and the client work together to help bring this vision to life as quickly as possible. After the execution phase kicks in, he continues to check in on progress, and serve as a thought partner whenever clients feel stuck or need reassurance.
So how can financial advisors build a similar intentional model that works for their specific niche? Brian’s best piece of advice is to do your own internal work - know exactly who you want to serve, why you want to serve them, and what you want to create.
Use that lens as you build your business, search for your niche, and determine your own process. That is what will continue to give you the energy and motivation to continue serving your clients to the best of your ability.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this video by the participants are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Altruist Corp or its subsidiaries. No compensation was provided.
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