THE FINNOVATOR

Deep Strategy with Zuraida Arifin

When Zuraida Ariffin cleaned up at the 2018 IFA Excellence Awards with not only the Innovator Award but the overall individual Excellence awards, the cheer in the room was the loudest of the night. With good reason. Zuraida's commitment to doing advice very differently is worthy of recognition.  
 
In this episode of The Finnovator, we dive deep into Zuraida's about her unique way of working with clients, an approach she calls "Deep Strategic Planning". What makes this special is the depths to which she goes to ensure that each and every piece of advice is backed by deep exploration into what's going on, what's needed and modelling at length the outcomes of it all.  
 
Along the way, we also talked about staffing, pricing, systems, technology, outsourcing, the kind of clients she works with and how she's risen to the challenge of providing her style of award-winning advice.  
 
Join our list and get the latest best practice insights in your inbox every fortnight > https://audere.com.au/blog/

Astute Engagement with Hans Egger and Michael Topper

In the mid-2000s, Hans Egger had an idea for improving the way clients engaged with advice. So, he released a presentation and set his business on a path to leveraged income. 
 
His story was so compelling that when I was thinking of the best intro for my book, Finnovation, the Astute story seemed like the logical choice.
 
Since then, the success of Astute Wheel has continued and I felt that reviewing the lessons learnt from the interview with Founders Hans Egger and Michael Topper might be an interesting look back, but what I found is the lessons they shared with me those years ago are just as relevant today as they were then.
 
I hope you enjoy this episode of The Finnovator from the archives and it inspires you to find your own "Astute Idea".
 
Join our list and get the latest best practice insights in your inbox every fortnight > https://audere.com.au/blog/

The Licensee Transition with Geoff Whiddon and James Williamson

The numbers show that a record number of advice firms transitioned licensees over the last 12 months.
Whether it's due to a desire to be self-licensed, making the choice to switch or being forced to by the close of a dealer group, it can be a stressful, complex and fatiguing experience with many decisions to make. That's why I wanted to share this.
I'm joined by three advisors (Matt Bruce, Geoff Whiddon & James Williamson) who have been through the experience of the last 12 months for all three of those reasons.
In this episode of The Finnovator, we explored:
how to decide whether to stay or go,
assess your options,
prepare to transition,
the pitfalls to watch out for and,
maybe most importantly, how to manage the change personally.
I hope it helps you to make the right decision for yourself, your clients and your practice.
 
Join our list and get the latest best practice insights in your inbox every fortnight > https://audere.com.au/blog/

The Experience Game

In this episode of The Finnovator I wanted to take a slightly different tack, and share two things that I learnt at the beginning of the year.
The first was a lesson on the importance of being willing to ask questions instead of assuming that you have to work it out, resulting in me fulfilling a long-held ambition of running a workshop at Bridgeclimb Sydney.
The second is about what that experience solidified in the minds of participants about the two key factors that provide the core framework for designing and delivering a client experience that will make your business become a client satisfaction and retention machine.
 
Join our list and get the latest best practice insights in your inbox every fortnight > https://audere.com.au/blog/

The Practice Factory with Dean Holmes

Pivot Wealth. Fox & Hare. If those names are familiar to you, how about the Wealth Network? For some of you yes, but if not there's a success story that you'll want to hear.
In 2016, Dean Holmes having already built a successful practice in Absolute Wealth set sights on a new challenge.
His plan?
Create a startup incubator for advice firms, taking the expertise and know-how that had helped them succeed, adding the right young advisers into the mix and growing next-gen practices from scratch.
Four years later the "experiment" has succeeded - Pivot was the first, Fox & Hare the second - and primed for more, but what's most interesting about this story is the contrarian approach.
Instead of controlling the brand and marketing like traditional Licensees, Wealth Network focuses on ambitious individuals who can attract clients and build networks, and helps build the operational side. Which is what makes this such an amazing "Intel Inside" story.
In this episode of The Finnovator, we unpacked it all:
the idea,
the iteration,
the wrong turns and what went gloriously right,
and a model that I feel we'll all be hearing a lot more from in the coming years.
 
Join our list and get the latest best practice insights in your inbox every fortnight > https://audere.com.au/blog/

The Specialists’ Specialists

Most of us who've worked in the industry will know a bit or two about niching, the idea that gearing your business up to work with a specific market with a specific proposition and putting a whole lot into it is a route to fast growth.
Still, it's something that often gets challenged, and that's why I wanted to share this.
In the businesses I've worked with who target a specialist space, I think Wealthmed are one of those who have really put their head down more than most, and two principals who drive the business, Scott and Carolyn, are really very special people. Entrepreneurial, driven but most of all, really great to work with and full of business acumen and in this episode of The Finnovator, I went deep with them on what the specialist game means.
They've also got a really interesting approach to technology, team, and branding that has really put them on the cusp of not just having a great business but having a really significant footprint in their market.
If you are interested in what niching looks like when you've been doing it well for a number of years, how to take your business from being a firm to a really strong brand and the mistakes to avoid when working in a specialist market, this should be extremely enlightening.
 
Join our list and get the latest best practice insights in your inbox every fortnight > https://audere.com.au/blog/

Wise Words with Reuben Zelwer

Reuben Zelwer is one of a number of advisers I I feel genuinely blessed to have worked with. As well as being an award-winning adviser, he's also one of those people who spends his time thinking about his clients and their situations more than most. It's not just a job for him, it's something he takes personally.
When he embarked on solving the issue of how to market Adapt Wealth better, he asked similar questions we all do. What's the best medium? How to get it out there? What should be his message? How to make it effortless?
This journey has lead to a place where he found his voice. As the host of the Finance Hour radio program and Podcast, Reuben has built a body of intellectual property and an audience based on simply being himself and sharing his expertise.
In this episode of The Finnovator, I chatted to Reuben about what he's learnt in making it happen, the behind the scenes systems he's built to make it simple, how he's approaching leveraging it all and the challenges along the way.
If you'd like to get insight into how to expand your marketing efforts into spaces few advisers are playing in, as well as understanding the nuances of how to structure your output and focus on connecting your expertise with the right audience, you should find this enlightening.
 
Join our list and get the latest best practice insights in your inbox every fortnight > https://audere.com.au/blog/

The Value Formula with Kim Payne

If you haven't heard from Kim of 9Rok; she's one of those people that just has the ability to pinpoint what it is about you, your business and what you do that makes the difference.
In this episode of The Finnovator, we talked about her work with what she's called her "Value Formula"; four steps she takes clients through to have them mastering their own value proposition.
With all that's going on in the industry, I think the hour spend with Kim will be a real boost for anyone looking to get really really clear on how to respond to that question "What is it you do that makes such a difference?".
 
Join our list and get the latest best practice insights in your inbox every fortnight > https://audere.com.au/blog/

The Sweeper System with Chris Yena

What would you do if you got the chance to start afresh?
What would you change? Chris Yena set out to create a business that could run without him having to see clients, and that's exactly what he's done.
In this episode of The Finnovator, I chatted to Chris about:
how he built his business Warrringal FS to run without the need for him to see clients,
his dedication to systemising everything and making XPlan dance to his own tune,
what he's learnt along the way from being part of the industry over the last three decades.
If you value straight-talking insight into how to build a business where you can play from the back - a Sweeper System, as it's known in football - then enjoy the insight.
 
Join our list and get the latest best practice insights in your inbox every fortnight > https://audere.com.au/blog/

The Middle Way with Rhett Das

Rhett Das is one of a new breed of compliance experts in our industry, operating in the independent space and working with businesses who want to know not just about licensee standards, but about the broader legislative framework.
If that all sounds a bit dry, it needn't be because Rhett is also an expert on charting the middle way for businesses; that beautiful sweet spot between running a highly profitable business, and also making sure that you're taking all the boxes when it comes to the requirements.
In this episode of The Finnovator, we covered:
The evolution of compliance.
What's going on with ongoing service models, and
Questions to help to clarify exactly what is the status quo when it comes to being able to navigate the compliance landscape and come out smelling of roses.
Enjoy!
 
Join our list and get the latest best practice insights in your inbox every fortnight > https://audere.com.au/blog/