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The Agile Financial Planner

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After Surviving The Hunger Games, Where Will Your Financial Planner Career Path Take You? Ep # 10

Nov 25, 2019

Finally, your financial planner career path is starting to take off. The beginning of a financial planning career is a lot like being in the Hunger Games. The difference is that we volunteer for this journey. Younger advisors often love the craft of financial planning but they soon discover that they signed up for a different role entirely. Find out how financial planning can be like the Hunger Games and what to do next once you have survived that journey. In this episode, you’ll learn how to plan what comes next in your financial planning career. 

Outline of This Episode

  • [3:22] Younger financial advisors love the craft of financial planning
  • [4:06] Young financial advisors are living in a Hunger Games type environment
  • [8:10] What does life look like after the Hunger Games period?
  • [12:12] How do you grow?
  • [22:40] Pro tips for acting on your vision

Why do I compare being a new financial planner to being in The Hunger Games? 

Being a new financial planner is a lot like being in the movie, The Hunger Games. There are emotional challenges. You’re cold and totally out of your element. As a recruit, you’re desperate to find clients, you cold call people and ask friends and family if you can manage their accounts. There’s dealing constantly with rejection. Nobody told you that being a new financial planner is more of a sales job than anything else. There are constantly changing alliances. In big firms people band together and team up, often looking for a senior advisor to team up with. Plus there is a myriad of artificial obstacles in the way. Few advisors actually survive this Hunger Games stage. 

What does the financial planner career path look like after the Hunger Games period?

Often after you have finally survived the Hunger Games period, you’re not in a great place. You’re saddled with debt since you didn’t earn much during that time. And you don’t really have a sound foundation for growth. Many financial planners will take any client they can get and don’t think much about their ideal clients. But this really is the perfect time for you to figure out the direction you want to take in the world. Dolly Parton once said, “Figure out who you are and then do it on purpose.” I’ve taken this quote to heart and every day I am living my life with purpose. Wouldn’t you like to as well?

Follow these 3 steps to figure out who you are and grow the financial planning business you want

  • Step 1 - Know that you have made it through the Hunger Games and congratulate yourself on this accomplishment. It’s time to acknowledge your hard work.
  • Step 2 - Start to cast a vision for the next 3-5 years. Be specific about your vision--not just your business, but be specific about your life too. What will your life look like in 3-5 years? What types of clients do you want to work with? Think about where you want your office to be, what type of team you want, and how much free time you want. 
  • Step 3- Find your direction. Now you can create a roadmap for yourself. Think about how to get from here to there. Should you create your own firm, how do you do that? How can you manage your time? Figure out if you are looking for collaboration. 

4 Pro tips for taking the steps to grow the business you really want

  • Avoid people that look down on your vision. You need to isolate yourself from the naysayers so that you can focus on where you want to go. 
  • Find foxhole buddies that do share your vision. I did this by stepping away from financial circles. I learned from entrepreneurs in other industries and it expanded my own vision. 
  • Consume information that prepares you for who you want to be. Sure we all like a little light reading. But if you want to change who you are you’ll have to start learning from people that have already done that. 
  • Realize the person that you want to become is not who you are now. Your vision is based on who you are today. Remember that it’s okay that you are not that person yet, it will take time to get there. 

Resources & People Mentioned

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