By Design, Not By Default

By Shelby Nicholl

This industry loves conformity. Blue shirts. Glasses. The alphabet soup after our names. Yet the most successful advisors I know do things differently. They break through. They follow their hearts. They are authentic.

Authenticity, I’ve learned, isn’t automatic. I spent 25 years in the corporate ranks, bending myself time and again to fit into whatever mold my firm and/or my bosses needed. I chased the next rung without pausing to ask, “Is this right for me?” While I hit my career goals, my stress was high and my fulfillment low. I was operating on default.

Too often, I see financial planners and advisors—even successful firm owners—defaulting to conformity, held back by fear, overwhelm, or inertia. In fact, only 17% of financial advisors are “thriving” according to Fidelity’s 2024 Financial Advisor Community Survey. “Thriving” advisors reported high job satisfaction, high effort in their roles, and low to no burnout.

At the same time, our industry edges toward massive transformation. A generation of advisors will hand off their life’s work, and trillions of dollars will move to a new generation of clients with new expectations. Now is the time to lift your nose from the grindstone and ask yourself:

• Am I building the legacy I am capable of and destined for?
• Is my current firm still right for my future? 

And firm owners need to answer an additional question: Do I have a thriving team and the right partners for tomorrow’s clients?

Whether you’re a firm owner or an employee advisor, your impact grows when you live with intention. It’s time to stop defaulting and start designing.

Everything Starts with Vision

Before you take action, envision what success truly looks like:  

• The firm you want: Create a one-pager of what a perfect firm would deliver to clients and to you. Will the firm offer in-house tax planning or estate solutions? Will it have a robust digital communications program for clients? Will it be owned by you or someone else? 
• The life you want: Picture your family life, your relationships, and the fit of work within the mosaic of life’s activities. Imagine what true alignment would mean, e.g., remote work, networking activities, learning, values sharing.

Evaluate for Fit

When we work with advisors who are considering their future, we define the criteria and then evaluate how well their current firm fits. To provide structure to our thoughts, we look at three categories: functional, financial, and personality.

Tip: Take out a blank page and create a three-by-three grid. Put the categories across the top and the words "needs, wants, and wishes" down the side. Write in your own evaluation with the following prompts in mind.

Functional

• What are the tools, products, and offerings you need to deliver an amazing client service to your ideal clients?
• What are the tools, support, and technology you and your team need to run a thriving practice?

This category might take half a sheet of paper!

Financial

• Do a deep dive of your practice’s revenue and expenses. It’s important to know your numbers. When looking at top-line, make sure it’s before the TAMP, custody, or advisory platform fees.
• Spend time also considering what type of “financials” you want your important partner vendors to have.
• Ask yourself hard questions: Are you willing to sell a portion of your practice to gain needed services and expertise that could supercharge your growth?

Personality

This is where the real love matches happen! Think about who you enjoy working with, who challenges you, who you learn best from, and who you aspire to be in the future. Write down those characteristics and find a firm that expands your horizons. Make sure you’re getting a diversity of input so you can achieve true greatness. 

Stay, Grow, or Go on Your Terms

With a clear vision, you’re ready to act:

• Stay: If after all the analysis and reflection, your current firm is the right one, you must stay! Challenge yourself to create even more impact.
• Grow: Growth should be constant—personal, spiritual, and business. Work within your current firm to increase the alignment to your vision. If you’re a firm owner, find consultants, coaches, and partners who can help you create the life and legacy you envision. If you want to attract advisors, define what makes your firm distinct and get out the message.
• Go: Sometimes “go” is the inevitable outcome. If you’re an entrepreneurial advisor, explore starting your own firm. Find an independent consultant to help you navigate the hundreds of decisions and move from vision to execution. Use the fit criteria you outlined to guide your decision-making.

If you need a new role at a new firm, network locally and on LinkedIn, and contact recruiters and career coaches. Keep your vision front and center in your explorations and decision-making. With more than 15,000 SEC-registered firms, there is truly a perfect fit firm for every advisor.

Whatever Your Path, Take Action

As you work to design your future, gain inspiration from the wise words of trailblazer Muriel Siebert, the first woman member of the NYSE: “Do not be afraid to go into uncharted territories. You might find some pretty good things there."

Muriel couldn’t find the right fit, so she designed it herself. She boldly built the firm and the life she envisioned.

My personal reflection finally led me to answer a call I heard decades earlier during my MBA program. I became an entrepreneur. Business ownership isn’t for everyone but ownership of your life is.  

You are not meant for a default life.

You are meant to design it. The time to start is now. 

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Shelby Nicholl is the founder of Muriel Consulting, a consulting and recruiting company that helps financial advisors move firms, break away, start their own, and add staff. She’s also the host of the Kick It Open podcast and creator of Muriel Network, a community of women in wealth management.

image credit: Adobe Stock Images