nathanael, Author at Disruption Blueprint Podcast

Ep. 16 How to be Prepared for the Industry’s Succession Crisis Ft. Rick Wedell, CIO at RFG Advisory

Posted on May 10, 2022January 26, 2023 by nathanael

Rick Wedell is Chief Investment Officer at RFG, and he’s back on Disruption Blueprint with Shannon Spotswood, President of RFG. Together they tackle one of the biggest challenges in the industry—how to be prepared for a succession crisis. They also identify widely held misconceptions about valuation, deal structures, and everything else in between for advisors that have a $50 – $300 million AUM practice.

Rick is Chief Investment Officer of RFG and oversees RFG’s in-house investment strategies at Bluemonte. Prior to joining us on our mission to build RFG 2.0, Rick spent 12 years at Bain Capital Partners where he crafted financing packages, negotiated deal terms, and helped design buyouts. Rick played an instrumental role in helping Bain grow to become a global investment powerhouse, serving client assets in excess of $30 billion.

Selling a practice is tough, but Rick comes to this conversation with a unique perspective not found anywhere else. In this revealing episode, he exposes the real truth about advisor succession and answers the raw, unfiltered questions. He also gives straightforward advice on one of the toughest parts of a sale: deal structure.

Join the conversation to hear about:

Focusing on segmenting the market, financial packages & designing deal terms (3:21)
What is my succession plan? (11:03)
Protege vs. acquisitions (19:42)
Defining your practice (25:08)
Aligning your values & how you treat your clients goes a long way (30:08)
Getting “cute” with deal structure (36:19)
Do I have to accept a seller’s note? (41:51)
Developing a synopsis for your practice (53:52)
Behavioral modification (55:20)
Organizing a successful handoff of the client relationships (1:06:59)

Listen to this episode of Disruption Blueprint, featuring Rick Wedell, CIO of RFG Advisory. Below are three important takeaways from his discussion around advisor succession you’ll want to check out. Huddle up for this inspiring episode of Disruption Blueprint. Join RFG.

Ensure that you have a standard deal structure. The bottom line is that deal structuring is the bread and butter of M&A; advantages can be gained or lost depending on how a proposed deal is structured and how the negotiations go down.
Start having a conversation with an acquiring advisor as early as possible. Whether it’s measuring revenue, analyzing a transition period and what those benchmarks will look like, identifying the big picture with your advisor is what you ultimately need to do.
Develop your protege. As you’re entering the process of needing a succession plan, it’s important to understand that most acquirers are acquiring a revenue stream and are planning to integrate it into their practice.

This podcast is brought to you by RFG Advisory. The Disruption Blueprint Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear host Shannon Spotswood, RFG President, and our financial advisor guests talk about crushing everything and their unique stories. We’re here to help independent financial advisors amp up their A-game and stay on top of what’s going on in the industry.

Download this episode now and listen on your commute or at the gym.

Referenced Materials

Ep. 15 The Ultimate Balance: Optimizing Your Time to Do What You Love ft. Ethan Campbell, Owner & Financial Advisor at Stones River Wealth Management

Posted on April 14, 2022January 26, 2023 by nathanael

Welcome Ethan Campbell to this episode of Disruption Blueprint! Ethan is Owner & Financial Advisor at Stones River Wealth Management, a financial planning practice that helps clients grow their assets, mitigate risk, create a lifelong plan, and be confident about their financial future.

Ethan is a 2012 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University with a bachelor’s degree in Finance. Prior to founding Stones River Wealth Management, Ethan was a wealth advisor with Edward Jones. Ethan is a 31-year-old entrepreneur and successful industry leader who is building a rapidly evolving practice. He digs deep into how he is taking the leap of independence in this episode. His secret to long-term success? Ethan is building a family legacy not only to help those from an income standpoint, but also to be better servants to the community.

To help understand your long-term goals, it helps to identify three key tactics to run a successful practice. Ethan discusses that, what the first two months of your business look like, and how his children are a big part of both his personal and professional life in this episode.

“You’ll be amazed at how profitable your business is because your business depends on your health,” says Ethan. “Maintaining intimacy with your clients, to maintaining emotional resilience; from the ups and downs in the market, from the mistakes that are made in the world and your clients’ mistakes, your mistakes, everything that comes into play.”

Strongly rooted in his Christian faith, Ethan discusses how in the book of Proverbs, a wise man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. Ethan knows when people, families, and businesses are financially healthy, communities can grow stronger.

Listen more to hear conversations about staying focused, disciplined, having faith in the system, and doing whatever it takes to make it.

Join the conversation to hear about:

Taking your destiny into your own hands & building your own business (5:38)
Cultivating an advisory practice in a metropolitan vs. small environment (10:15)
How to up your game and how they can be beneficial to their clients, from an educational standpoint (14:06)
Integrating faith into not just your business, but who you are (16:14)
Discipline of working towards a sustainable, scalable business (19:05)
Trust the team that you’ve built (21:26)
Opportunities, diversity & catapulting to the next level in creating a business (27:22)
It’s all about prospecting (32:18)
Generational wealth transfer and the emotional connection to money (38:58)
Understanding how to turn on and off the focus (49:49)
Stay committed, and create something really, really special (52:42)

Listen to this episode of Disruption Blueprint, featuring Ethan Campbell, Owner and Financial Advisor at Stones River Wealth Management. Below are three tips from Ethan that you will really want to check out. Huddle up for this inspiring episode of Disruption Blueprint. Join RFG.

Be honest and be merciful. Ethan discusses that it is always important to establish relationships built on honesty and mercy. “These are the principles upon which our business was built and how we promise to conduct ourselves every single day.”
Stay focused and disciplined. Focus and discipline are ultimately what you want to achieve. Surround yourself with people who also have this same mindset.
Cultivate relationships. Intimacy and emotional resilience are important when establishing yourself to your clients. Whether it’s continuing education or developing relationships, spending time with your clients is vital.

Download this episode now and listen on your commute or at the gym.

Join the huddle, join RFG.

Cut through the noise and focus on what’s important.

Referenced Materials

Tags

Generational Wealth
Financial Advisors
Wealth Management
Community
Building
Family
Relationship
Faith
Prospecting
Client & Business Relationships
Financial Services

Securities offered by Registered Representatives of Private Client Services (“PCS”). Member of FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered by Investment Advisory Representatives of RFG Advisory, a registered investment advisor. Private Client Services and RFG Advisory are unaffiliated entities.

Ep. 14 A Honey Hole for Advisors Working with Business Owners Before They Sell ft. Zane Tarence, Managing Director at Founders Advisors

Posted on March 29, 2022January 26, 2023 by nathanael

Welcome Zane Tarence to this episode of Disruption Blueprint! Zane is a managing director at Founders Advisors, a middle market boutique investment bank headquartered here in Birmingham, Alabama. As a boutique investment bank, they aren’t trying to be everything for all people. Zane helps run the technology practice for Founders Advisors, and he sits at the tip of the spear in this vertical.

The differentiator for Zane is that in addition to being an investment banker, he is also a serial entrepreneur. He’s built a couple companies on his own, sold several companies, and is absolutely fearless when it comes to disrupting his industry.

In this podcast episode, Zane discusses the game-changing conference that he started called “Silicon Y’all,” which focuses on highlighting the talent and companies being built in the southeast, as well as his book “17 Reasons Your Company is Not Investment Grade and What to Do About It.” He also gives advice about how the financial advisor world and investment banker world can blend together.

Join the conversation to hear about:

Introduction to Zane (1:58)
The genesis of the RFG MasterClass series (7:34)
One of the greatest opportunities for growth for advisors (9:39)
The number one question company owners ask Zane (14:25)
Questions advisors should ask business owners to get the ball rolling (18:00)
Different pathways a company can take to monetize their wealth (22:46)
How do financial advisors approach building the financial plan for these specific clients (28:13)
How does a financial advisor forge a relationship with an investment banker? (33:01)
Tips on how advisors can present research in a content strategy in a way that makes sense to prospects (37:05)
17 Reasons Your Company is Not Investment Grade and What to Do About It (41:28)
Don’t be afraid to get into the weeds (47:22)
Zane’s new valuation tool (48:47)
Work done specifically around logistics (54:11)
What is the No. 1 thing an advisor should do after this? (54:56)

This podcast is brought to you by RFG Advisory. The Disruption Blueprint podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear host Shannon Spotswood, RFG President, and our financial advisor guests talk about crushing everything and their unique stories. We’re here to help independent financial advisors amp up their A-game and stay on top of what’s going on in the industry.

Download this episode now and listen on your commute or at the gym. Join the huddle, join RFG. Cut through the noise and focus on what’s important.

Referenced Materials

Tags

Investment Banking
Silicon Y’all
Growth
Entrepreneur
Valuation

Ep. 13 How to Build a High-Performing Team ft. Matt Hottle, Co-Founder of Redhawk Advisory

Posted on February 11, 2022January 25, 2023 by nathanael

Matt has held several operating positions where he was deep in the trench in a lot of different industries, building high performing teams, and even coached Shannon Spotswood, President at RFG Advisory.

Matt is a fountain of information in this episode. If you don’t have a team of people who thrive at being adaptable you’re going to struggle because you’re going to be dragging them every time. “Laser focus in on your culture, and what are those attributes of success within your culture.”

Listen to this episode with Matt Hottle, Co-Founder of Redhawk Advisory and Managing Partner of the Alabama Futures Fund. In this episode, Shannon and Matt discuss topics such as why teams need to define the roles and responsibilities, why you have to hire for adaptability, tracking your organization from a data perspective, and so much more.

Join the conversation to hear about:

Do you have the right people in the right seats doing the right things? (1:45)
Let’s talk about talent (4:30)
What are ‘attributes’ and how does it fit into hiring? (7:00)
It’s all about the best fit (10:35)
Sequencing: defining the roles and responsibilities (12:35)
Focusing on talent and diversity (16:30)
What is opportunity cost? (20:20)
Taking inventory of what is important: identifying team routine and impact (24:00)
Small, short, concise, and frequent communication (27:55)
Creating repeatable and scalable processes (32:20)
Preparing a team for the marathon versus the sprint (35:10)
Why you have to hire for adaptability (36:35)
Advisor behavior modification (38:55)
Tracking your organization from a data perspective (41:10)
No longer a fit: navigating underperformance (43:50)
The power of reviews (50:00)
Evolving your short term goals (54:50)
20 things you should know about me (56:15)

Article:

Welcome Matt Hottle to this episode of Disruption Blueprint. Matt Hottle is the Co-Founder of Redhawk Advisory, and Managing Partner of the Alabama Futures Fund, an early stage VC fund that is driving entrepreneurialism and economic development right here in the state of Alabama. Matt has held several operating positions where he was deep in the trench in a lot of different industries, building high performing teams.

Matt helps people crush it with the resources and expertise they need to be successful, including Shannon Spotswood, President at RFG Advisory! Matt is Shannon’s strategic coach. Shannon mentions that she and Matt talked frequently in those first two years of building RFG Advisory 2.0. Tearing the house down and creating a new version of RFG involved working through how to build culture, how to align mission, vision, values, how to hire team members, how to build high performing teams.

Matt drops epic knowledge throughout this episode. “Every day in your practice is different than yesterday, and every day after today will be different than today.” If you don’t have a team of people who thrive at being adaptable you’re going to struggle because you’re going to be dragging them every time. “Laser focus in on your culture, and what are those attributes of success within your culture.”

The best place to start is by identifying each person’s ‘attributes’ and the part they play in their role. Attributes might be creativity, adaptability, competitiveness, need for achievement. Every person brings something different to the table. When hiring, you can consider their personal attributes to help you pick the right person. It’s about finding the right person, that person has to have the right attributes for the kind of performance you’re asking for.

Once you have an idea of what each person’s attributes are, it is important to understand where your practice is at. Are you in a growth mindset? Are you at the stage of nurturing the client relationships? Get nitty gritty in your definitions, and set frequent reviews amongst your team.

If you walk around your firm or your office and ask three people what’s the number one priority for the business in 2022?, and if you get three different answers, you’re in trouble, Matt says. One way to achieve this is with intentionality around the cadence of communication on your team.

If you’re looking to build a high performing team you need to have a formalized process around reviews. Continual assessment will allow you to accurately determine areas for growth, areas of strength, and of course, a person’s most current attributes. Matt says to aim for “small, short, concise, and frequent communication.”

In this episode, Shannon and Matt discuss topics such as why teams need to define the roles and responsibilities, why you have to hire for adaptability, tracking your organization from a data perspective, and so much more. Matt has an inviting approachability to him and gets straight to the point when it comes to his advice on what’s working (or not working) in advisory practices.

Listen to this episode with Matt Hottle, Co-Founder of Redhawk Advisory and Managing Partner of the Alabama Futures Fund. Below are three tips from Matt that you seriously won’t want to forget. Huddle up for this incredible episode of Disruption Blueprint. Join RFG.

Figure out your opportunity cost. Matt walks us through what is an opportunity cost? He says, one is obviously of value, one is not of value, and the delta between those things is the opportunity cost. “As I’m spending time doing the low value thing, I’m losing the opportunity cost over here on the more valuable thing.”
Diversify your workforce. The more diverse a workforce, the more diverse a team, the more diverse thought the more diverse the outcome. Diversify to move forward.
Get regular with your reviews. Matt advises to have “very concise, very frequent communication with your team.” It shouldn’t be an hour-long meeting once a year, it should be shorter and more often.

Referenced Materials

Tags

Succession Planning
Technology
Next Gen
Practice Management
Growth Strategies
Work Life Balance

Ep. 12 When Two Worlds Collide ft. Nate Reynolds, Financial Advisor at Billings Group

Posted on January 13, 2022January 25, 2023 by nathanael

“It was very challenging, but the energy and the drive and the passion you felt there from both Bobby and Dom and the other guys there was just incredible.”

Challenge yourself and change how you communicate with clients. After a background in the U.S. Army, Nate Reynolds, dove headfirst into working with his father-in-law as a Financial Advisor at Billings Group.

It’s been eye-opening to hear from the Billings Group in their individual Disruption Blueprint episodes, Ep. 9 with Lance Billings, and Ep. 10 War Room Huddle Ft. Josh Kilsch as Lance is father-in-law to both Nate and Josh. You’ll also learn more about Nate’s military background as a U.S. Army veteran, how he found RFG Advisory through Dom Raso, and even how he got introduced to Dom’s ARMR-UP program.

Through each episode, you can piece together how Lance, Josh, and Nate work together so well, how their different life experiences come into play, and how they aim to continue crushing it through succession planning. “We have the responsibility to continue that legacy,” says Nate.

“It really is all about the client and service we provide for them,” Nate says.

From Salina to the surrounding four states, the Billings Group is planning for decades in the future, not just for tomorrow. Listen to this episode with Nate Reynolds, Financial Advisor at Billings Group, a wealth management firm and family-run business with deep community ties in Salina, Kansas, to learn about shattering the box and helping your clients find their ‘why.’

Join the conversation to hear about:

Being intentional and finding the crush everything mindset (1:40)
Confirming RFG was the right choice (6:00)
Focusing on mindset during a transition (9:35)
Preparing for training with Bobby White and Dom Raso (12:15)
Succession planning: continuing the legacy (16:10)
Taking the life journey and growing with a client (18:00)
Using tools to redefine the client experience (22:10)
Dedication and discipline (24:50)
Family and working as a team (27:20)
Helping your clients find their “why” (30:10)

It’s been eye-opening to hear from the Billings Group in their individualDisruption Blueprint episodes, Ep. 9 with Lance Billings, and Ep. 10 War Room Huddle Ft. Josh Kilsch, as Lance is father-in-law to both Nate and Josh.

You’ll also learn more about Nate’s military background as a U.S. Army veteran, how he found RFG Advisory through Dom Raso, how he got introduced to Dom’s ARMR-UP program, and Billings Group aims to continue crushing it through succession planning. “We have the responsibility to continue that legacy,” says Nate.

To understand the full picture, let’s go back a few chapters. Nate was born and raised in Salina. He went off to serve the U.S. Army and during that time, he got married and had kids. Four years later, he and his wife, Rachel, ultimately made the decision to come back home to be closer to family. “We got out of the military, came back, and started working for my father-in-law,” says Nate. The father-in-law being Lance, Founder of Billings Group.

In 2016, Nate joined Billings Group, a wealth management firm and family-run business with deep community ties in Salina, Kansas. “It really is all about the client and service we provide for them,” Nate says.

Nate crushed it working with Billings Group for six years, when he came to a personal crossroads. He tells us in this episode that he wanted to find his purpose and questioned his financial advising career.

He was ready for a new challenge. Ever since getting out of the military, Nate wanted to find not only a workout program, but a community that offered support and accountability to his life. He took a week off from work to stay home with the kids and his wife and just regroup. On that first day off, his wife Rachel introduced him to Dom Raso, Dynamis Alliance and the Crush Everything world.

He completed the first week of the ARMR-UP and felt motivated, intentional, and purposeful, and found himself seeking the next step in life. He wanted his three major passions to come together: financial advising, physical fitness, and Bible teaching. He wondered though, if it was possible to meld his three passions together.

The next day, Dom posted Just Show Up, Ep. 8 of Become a Warrior Advisor with he and Bobby White, RFG Advisory Founder and CEO. Nate saw that and immediately went to Lance and Josh to say, “This is where we’re going to be in one year. This is the one year goal for us to go to RFG,” he says.

He went from feeling burnt out to finding his mindset to go training in Virginia Beach with Bobby and Dom. “It was very humbling. It was very challenging, but the energy and the drive and the passion you felt there from both Bobby and Dom and the other guys there was just incredible,” says Nate.

In this episode, Nate and RFG President, Shannon Spotswood, talk about his military background, the growth of the Billings Group, what succession planning looks like in a family-owned business, and how to really be a multi-generational business. “We do life with the client and the client invites us into their life,” Nate says. From Salina to the surrounding four states, the Billings Group is planning for decades in the future, not just for tomorrow.

“We’re growing through their life journey, but they’re also growing with me and my life journey too,” says Nate. “It’s vulnerable on both spots, but it makes that trust even more important and it builds trust that much quicker.”

Listen to this episode with Nate Reynolds, Financial Advisor at Billings Group to learn about shattering the box, going against the grain of what everybody else does, and completely revolutionizing the industry. Below are three tips from Nate that you’ll want to remember. Huddle up, you don’t want to miss this incredible episode of Disruption Blueprint. Join RFG.

Figure out your “why” to avoid burnout. Nate tells us that Dom and Bobby talked a lot about What is your why? “Why do you wake up? Why do you go through the suck? Why do you bust your butt every day to do what you do?” Identify that ‘why’ to realize your life’s purpose. Fulling the why avoids burnout.
Being busy just to be busy is a waste of time. There’s a difference between actual work and staying busy. “You can be busy just to be busy and get nothing done,” Nate says. Don’t try to fill in time, it’s a disservice to clients, it’s a waste of time, and it’s a waste of resources.
Find somebody in your life who will call you out. We all need someone who will be there for us, call us out, and who will challenge you and make you uncomfortable. That’s the only way you’re gonna grow.

Referenced Materials

Ep. 11 Changing How You Communicate with Clients ft. Josh Kilsch, Financial Advisor at Billings Group

Posted on January 13, 2022January 25, 2023 by nathanael

“Show up every day, try to crush it.”

This Disruption Blueprint episode with guest Josh Kilsch, Financial Advisor at Billings Group, dives into why succession planning is a necessity, how to build your practice for the future, and how to take ownership of your life no matter what path you’re on. From a very young age, Josh was called to the importance of communication and compassion, the importance of being present with skills that serve him well as an advisor. He is someone who can listen to a client’s story and understand their goals.

“There’s so much that is detailed to a client’s story that you have to be able to have compassion, you have to be able to listen to them, you have to be ready to hear what they want, and then see how you’re going to help them achieve that timeline goal,” Josh says.

The future of Billings Group is bright. In this episode, Josh and RFG President, Shannon Spotswood, talk about the firm’s growth and the move toward being fully independent. The next steps involve continuing to grow, showing up every day, trying to crush it.

From good relationships to good communication, Josh talks about what he loves about RFG Advisory and the Billings Group coming together. Huddle up, you don’t want to miss this incredible episode of Disruption Blueprint.

Join the conversation to hear about:

Josh’s beginnings: from dropping out of high school to master’s in theology (1:30)
Blending qualities as an advisor and as a minister (5:30)
How human capital comes into play through work (8:45)
“What I love about RFG and the Billings Group coming together” (13:25)
What does mindset mean to Josh? (15:45)
Taking ownership of your life (19:40)
The dynamic Billings Group team of different personalities (25:00)
Building the firm for the future (28:15)

This Disruption Blueprint episode with guest Josh Kilsch, Financial Advisor at Billings Group, dives into the importance of communication and being present. Josh pairs his intentionality with his compassion to be a force multiplier in the industry.

At the age of 16, Josh dropped out of high school. Unsure of what to do next, he met a youth pastor that he began hanging out with; the two talked about theology, philosophy, finding your way. The youth pastor encouraged Josh to go back to school and continue his education. “I felt like it was God’s movement in hand on all of it,” Josh says.

Josh went back to school, graduated with his class then moved to Colorado Springs to attend a Bible college. Years later, that same youth pastor introduced Josh to Andrea, the daughter of Lance Billings, Founder and Financial Advisor at Billings Group, a wealth management firm and family-run business with deep community ties in Salina, Kansas. The rest is history.

Josh and Andrea got engaged, got married, and had kids. Now Josh has been working with Lance for 12 years, and he’s ready to face a new chapter as part of a succession plan. He’s pursuing his CFP, and the next steps for Josh involve “continuing to grow, show up every day, try to crush it.”

In this episode, Josh and RFG President, Shannon Spotswood, talk about The Billings Group growth and the move toward being fully independent. From good relationships to good communication, Josh talks about what he loves about RFG Advisory and the Billings Group coming together.

From a very young age, Josh was called to the importance of communication, the importance of being present with skills that serve him well as an advisor. He is someone who can listen to a client’s story and understand their goals. He’s able to create a holistic approach to his work as he blends his master’s in theology, his background in ministry, and his qualities as a financial advisor together.

“It takes data, but it also takes the willingness to have compassion and mercy and grace and all of these other things that humans value,” Josh says. There’s so much detail that comes to life within a client’s story.

“You have to be able to have compassion, you have to be able to listen to them, you have to be ready to hear what they want, and then see how you’re going to help them achieve that timeline goal,” says Josh.

Listen to this episode with Josh Kilsch, Financial Advisor at Billings Group to hear why succession planning is a necessity, how to build your practice for the future, and how to take ownership of your life no matter what path you’re on. Below are three tips from Josh that you’ll want to remember. Huddle up. Join RFG.

Using armed neutrality to help others. Josh mentions using armed neutrality as a way to step back and better listen and add value to a client. As a financial advisor, you have to be able to have compassion, you have to listen, you have to be ready to hear what the client’s goals are, and then you have to see how you’re going to help them achieve that goal.
The today matters mindset. Mindset isn’t a set it and forget it type of thing. When it comes to mindset, Josh says that you have to surround yourself with the right people and try at it every day. Each day is a new day because discipline is an everyday thing. What will you do today?
Compassion is key. “There’s so much that is detailed to a client’s story that you have to be able to have compassion, you have to be able to listen to them, you have to be ready to hear what they want, and then see how you’re going to help them achieve that timeline goal,” Josh says.

Referenced Materials

Ep. 10 Be Intentional About Growing Your Practice ft. Lance Billings, Founder & Financial Advisor at Billings Group

Posted on January 13, 2022January 25, 2023 by nathanael

“I always have my faith, my family, and then my business,” says Lance Billings, Founder and Financial Advisor at Billings Group. This Disruption Blueprint episode features Lance Billings, who so powerfully weaves community, the love of his hometown, and his faith into building his business.

Salina, Kansas is home, it’s work, it’s family, it’s the center of everything Lance holds dear. Lance was born and raised in Salina. He raised his family there, started a business there, runs a business there, and will eventually pass the business on to family there. The Billings Group isn’t solely a wealth management firm, it’s a family-run business with deep community ties in Salina, Kansas.

Lance’s two son-in-law’s, Nathan Reynolds and Josh Kilsch, are also Financial Advisors with the Billings Group. Lance’s daughter, Alyssa Mitchell, spearheads client relations alongside an A-player operations team. Prior to founding the Billings Group, Lance watched and worked alongside his father, Larry R. Billings, in his tax practice Billings Tax, who at the age of 86, still does taxes.

Listen to this episode with Lance Billings to understand more about building your business during a transition, creating a multi-generational family business, and why you have to surround yourself with good people.

Join the conversation to hear about:

Growth in the future and building your business during a transition (1:15)
The importance of hiring good people and surrounding yourself with good people (1:50)
Lance’s advice to young advisors getting into the business (5:10)
Engaging in a conversation thanks to technology (7:30)
Navigating a multi-generational family business (10:15)
Relationship building with clients to establish succession-planning (14:25)
Walking into independence with succession-planning in mind (18:25)
Why is it so hard for advisors to unplug? (22:20)
Partnering with Bluemonte for investment management (24:20)
Growing up in Salina, Kansas (26:55)
Faith first (28:55)
Facing growth boldly (30:50)

“I love to hear people’s stories,” Lance says. Over the years, you get to see your client’s passion and you have a deeper understanding of what’s important to them. Those stories make the career both fun and rewarding, says Lance.

Salina, Kansas is home, it’s work, it’s family, it’s the center of everything Lance holds dear. Salina remains in a special place in Lance’s heart filled with stories, history, triumph, and life well lived. Lance was born and raised in Salina. He raised his family there, started a business there, runs a business there, and will eventually pass the business on to family there.

Prior to founding the Billings Group, Lance watched and worked alongside his father, Larry R. Billings, in his tax practice Billings Tax. (Lance shares in this episode that even today at the age of 86, Larry still does taxes.) Lance’s foray into the finance world started as a child when he watched his father start the family tax business, watching it grow and evolve all through his grade school years, into junior high and high school.

By the time Lance was a teenager, his interest in the family business expanded as his father explained capital gains and dividends, showing him different investment options. He witnessed firsthand the importance of sound financial planning and stewardship. His father introduced him to the financial planning world and Lance never left

“My first four or five years, I had a secondary job. I was working a night shift and I promised myself that when I made enough money doing this as a living, I can quit my night shift job,” Lance says. Lance’s story reiterates the importance of getting 1% better each and every day. Success adds up as a result of daily effort. Life isn’t a smooth, paved path, it’s a twisty, windy path.

After spending the bulk of his career at Waddell & Reed, Lance chose to walk the route to independence. In this episode, Lance and host Shannon Spotswood, President at RFG Advisory, talk about making the move to being fully independent. “We’re making decisions that are going to impact us and, and no one’s out there dictating the steps we have to take, or how many we can take, and what direction it has to be,” Lance says about navigating the path of independence. Technology and a good team help too.

Listen to this episode with Lance Billings, Founder and Financial Advisor at Billings Group. to understand more about building your business during a transition, creating a multi-generational family business, and why you have to surround yourself with good people. Below are three tips from Lance that you’ll want to remember. Huddle up. Join RFG.

Establish an A-team. “Hire good people and surround yourself with good people,” Lance says. You can’t do it all alone. Team up with a good team that has similar goals as you and is willing to work together and focus on the same objective.
Think about succession-planning now. Succession-planning isn’t an immediate process, it’s something you have to plan for. Think about what it looks like when you are ready to step down, changing the ownership, and how much percentage and how fast over time.
Let tools and technology help you. For financial advisors, tools such as Bluemonte, which is a personalized investment platform that utilizes investment strategies to create a financial plan, makes it so you don’t have to constantly think about building a portfolio. Use the tools that are already there.

Referenced Materials