2 years into Building

2-years ago I left my prior firm - a $1B+ RIA in California - and set out to build a practice more authentic to me.

My wife and I had a happy life in the Bay Area, but were ready to start a family and move back to Texas where it all began.

So there I was: a new home in Texas, planning for a baby, and only a few clients to seed the vision of this new practice.

How was I going to pull this off?

Those early days were tricky.

I had a healthy runway and a strong reputation.

But I felt insecure daily.

I used to be the young Partner with a corner office and a calendar full of meetings.

And now I had…. Time.

Suddenly I had to tell the world what I did for a living. I’m not a natural salesman or marketer. And I really dislike “advisors” who just sell stuff. I knew I was different, just needed to spread that gospel.

My only real marketing plan and energy-spent was quite simply being helpful. Letting the world know my style & flow, one pro bono call at a time. I get so much pleasure out of those, I still do them today.

Slowly but surely, quality work trickled in.

The real treat has been seeing where all my cases & projects have come from. More specifically, who they have come from.

By far my biggest driver of growth has been people referring friends, colleagues, or peers to me.

Not just referrals from clients, but also other Financial Planners who know my style & strengths.

This is a very big deal to me.

When someone says “you should talk to Bryan”, that person has now taken a risk. If that connection goes sour, it reflects back on the original connector.

So even when I’m not the right person, I still help. Even if it’s not business for me, my only goal is to make the connector look good.

Now that I’m at the 2-year mark, I feel like I’m in the middle of a sudden wave.

I have never been more busy with a schedule full of new potential work & intros. Not even when I was a Partner at a big firm.

I certainly haven't done it alone. My business partner, Mike, set the stage for me to fly. And my wife holds it all together at home, while juggling her own career. And of course, I appreciate the intros from clients and other CFPs more than they know.

I feel like I’ve found my calling. Doing it the “right” way. And building what my family and son will be proud of.

It really is just the beginning.

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