Only Fee-Only

Reaching $500 million in assets under management is impressive. Building a firm that can thrive without its founders is a different challenge. Tommy Blackburn, managing partner at Mason and Associates, joins us to discuss how a fee-only RIA grows beyond “everyone does everything.” He shares his experience joining a family-run practice and helping build the leadership, systems, and career paths nee...

Building a successful business doesn’t always mean building personal wealth. In this episode, we sit down with Miguel Gomez, founder of Sophronia Wealth Advisors, to discuss how he helps Latino entrepreneurs turn business income into lasting financial security. Miguel shares why serving clients in Spanish goes beyond convenience—it builds trust and makes conversations about money easier. We explor...

In this episode of the Only Family Podcast, we sit down with Seth Shepherd, founder of Pillar Wealth in Franklin, Indiana. Seth shares his journey from working at Charles Schwab to taking the leap and starting his own independent, fee-only wealth management firm. We discuss what motivated him to make the transition, the challenges of building a business, and how his approach to financial planning...

You run the review meeting, the small talk lands, and nobody complains. Still, you walk away wondering if the client truly sees your value, or if they’d leave the moment a hungrier advisor shows up. We dig into why that happens and how to fix it with Brendan Frazier, host of the Human Side of Money podcast, who sees the review meeting as the anchor of the entire client experience. Brendan explains...

Most financial planning software is great at math and oddly bad at the part clients remember: walking out of a meeting knowing what to do next. We sit down with returning guest Taylor Stewart, a fee-only financial advisor and founder of Kerdora, to talk about building planning software that translates complexity into clarity without drowning people in charts, portals, and projections they never as...

Dentists face an unusual financial timeline: years of student debt and delayed earnings, followed by a sharp increase in income and a lot of decisions to make at once. In this episode, we sit down with Ryan DiFabrizio of Wealth FD to talk about how his firm helps dentists navigate that transition. Ryan explains why good planning starts with the decisions dentists face early in their careers: manag...

A major change in health insurance premiums can reshape an early retirement plan—especially when decisions are based on outdated information. In this episode, Cole Craven from Move Health joins us to explain what’s happening across health insurance and Medicare. We clear up common misconceptions about ACA marketplace tax credits, pre-existing conditions, and guaranteed coverage. We also discuss th...

If you’ve ever thought, “I like my clients, so why do I feel stuck at my firm?” this episode is for you. We sit down with Carmine Carino, founder and CEO of Cornerstone Planning Group, to talk about why advisors leave insurance and broker-dealer environments for independent, fee-only RIAs. Carmine shares the story behind his book Broken Dealer , the common frustrations that lead advisors to make a...

What does a successful financial planning firm actually look like? For Andrew Damcevski, founder of AJD Wealth Management, the answer isn’t building the biggest firm possible. It’s working with 100 great clients, providing a high level of service, and building a business that gives him control over his time. In this episode, Andrew joins us to talk about his path from starting in the insurance wor...

What happens when a Dow Chemical employee turned real estate investor can't find a financial planner willing to look at his whole picture? He becomes one himself. In this episode of Only Fee Only, Peter and Broc talk with Ethan Kok, owner of Sage Wealth Planning. Ethan shares how his search for real financial advice as a young investor in Midland, Michigan opened his eyes to the fee-only mode...

Your clients may have millions in company stock and still struggle with the decisions that matter most: exercise now or later, hold or sell, diversify or stay concentrated. In this episode, we sit down with Marcel Miu , founder of Simplify Wealth Planning in Austin, Texas, to discuss how advisors can help clients navigate equity compensation while building a successful advisory firm. Marcel shares...

A $10,000 commission check can feel like a reset button—until the next closing gets delayed. In this episode, we're joined by Cody Hawkins, Lead Planner at PeaceLink Financial Planning, to discuss why his firm specializes in helping top-producing real estate agents navigate the unique financial challenges that come with variable income and running a business. We discuss:  Why lifestyle creep...

Money advice tends to break down in one predictable place: the messy middle between knowing what you should do and actually doing it this week. That's where Linda Grizely shines. Linda is a financial coach, speaker, and podcast host who took a winding path into financial services. She brings a rare mix of empathy and practicality for people who feel behind, ashamed, or priced out of tradition...

Money decisions are rarely just about math. The hardest part is often the human side. Rafael Melendez of NextGen Financial Planning joins us to discuss how fee-only financial planning helps younger families move from stress and uncertainty to confident, intentional decisions. We explore Rafael’s path into the profession, what he learned from sales-driven environments, and how those experiences sha...

A hedge fund job that started with weeding a garden? Colin Page's career story is unique, but the lessons are practical for anyone building a fee-only financial planning firm. We sit down with Colin, founder of Oakleigh Wealth Services in Charlottesville, Virginia, and trace his path from teaching high school math after the 2009 financial crisis, to more than a decade investing in distressed...

Your income can grow fast and still leave you feeling behind. That's the paradox we dig into with Sean Rawlings, founder of WealthBound Advisors, who works with young, high-income earners scaling toward $500K or seven figures only to realize they have no system for taxes, spending, or big decisions. Sean shares his story: Southern California roots, a start at a mutual firm, and the growing di...

A lot of wealth management still assumes you've already "made it" before you deserve real advice. Chelsea Ransom-Cooper, CFP®, co-founder of Zenith Wealth Partners, is challenging that assumption by building a fee-only RIA designed to serve women and people of color with relatable, high-quality financial planning. Chelsea walks us through the turning points that shaped Zenith: disco...

A lot of advisors want to launch their own fee-only RIA, but the gap between "I'm ready" and "I have clients" can feel enormous. We're talking with Matt Ryan, founder of Focused Mission Financial in San Diego, about how he made the leap in 2022 after nearly a decade inside planning-focused firms, and what it actually looked like to build momentum from the ground up. W...

A "backup plan" PowerPoint deck can become a real firm faster than you'd think, but the messy middle is where most people quit. Ryan Johnson, founder of Hundred Financial Planning, joins us to talk through what it actually takes to build a fee-only firm from the ground up. Ryan shares how he found the fee-only RIA community through cold outreach, why he wanted ownership of a book of...

You can feel stuck in a successful career and still know it's not the life you want. In this episode, we talk with Jacob Tally of Prospero Wealth about what it actually looks like to pivot later, especially after years in high-intensity environments like startups, corporate finance rotations, and big-name financial services. Jacob shares the practical side of making the move: deciding between...

Most financial advice is built around a default life plan — and it quietly breaks down when you've opted out of that script. Cory Smith is a fee-only financial life planner and founder of Discretionary Inc. in Reno, Nevada, where he works exclusively with childfree individuals, couples, and business owners who want their finances to support the life they actually want — not the one they were...

Ethan Miller had a six-month waitlist… while still working a full-time job. We sat down with the founder of Planning for Progress to talk about how he went from union organizing to building a thriving fee-only firm just outside DC—without taking a reckless leap. He shares how he found fee-only planning, built early momentum through project work, and knew commissions weren’t the path for him. We al...

He didn’t grow his RIA through ads or a content machine. He grew it through trust, a simple fee model, and doing the unglamorous work when it mattered most. In this episode, we’re joined by Logan Valentine, CFP®, founder of Valentine Wealth Management in Seymour, Indiana. We unpack his path from insurance to Charles Schwab, how earning the CFP shifted his thinking, and what clicked when he discove...

One of the most uncomfortable questions in financial planning is also one of the most important: if you can’t speak for yourself, who will? We’re joined by Maddy Roche, Chief Growth Officer at Childfree Trust and a long-time leader in the fee-only advisor community, to explore the planning gaps that often arise for clients who are child-free or permanently childless. This isn’t a niche situation—a...

Geoffrey Schaefer thought he’d work in finance. The Army had other plans. After serving as a U.S. infantry officer, Geoffrey eventually found his way back to the industry—now as a fee-only fiduciary wealth advisor and partner at an independent firm serving families, retirees, and small business owners. In this episode, we talk about starting out in a product-driven environment where the tools can...