Behind The Advisor

Denise Downey is the owner of Financial Trex, a fee-only firm located in Spokane, Washington. One of the first 50 women to join XYPN, Denise has worked on the trading floors of the Chicago Stock Exchange, pursued her CFP, and gained a deep understanding of financial planning. Today she joins the show to discuss why she decided to move on from her 9-5 job to make time for her family and the lifesty...

Today XYPN member Rob Brown, owner of Brownsboro Financial, joins the show. After starting his career in the film industry as a production manager, he craved something new and decided to start a career path as a financial advisor. In this episode, he describes the challenges of starting a new business, as well as what it's like running a business while being a first-time father. You can find show...

Erik Klumpp is the owner of Chessie Advisors, a fee-only firm in Rochester Hills, Michigan. After gaining invaluable experience at four different firms straight out of college, Erik built his practice from the ground up in 2014. Today he joins the show to talk about what pushed him to start his own firm and the sacrifices he had to make to be a stay-at-home dad while growing his business. You can...

Relationships, trust, and follow-through with clients are all incredibly important in the financial advising field. XYPN member Hillel Katzeff joins us on this episode to share how he has truly taken the importance of meaningful relationships to heart and integrated it into his practice and how he works every day. Originally from South Africa, Hillel opens up about his journey to the U.S. for scho...

Scott Arnold is the owner of Impact Folio, a fee-only firm in Denver, Colorado. After starting his career in this industry—working both at Schwab and an RIA—he realized he wanted to offer impact investing to clients on a broader scale, in a personalized way. Today he joins the show to discuss how the ESG investment model impacts his business and why he decided to go from a solopreneur to a partner...

Leighann Miko is the owner of Equalis Financial, a fee-only firm in Los Angeles, California. Although she began her career in this industry, her money scripts that led her into this career were formed much earlier. Leighann grew up poor and was the first member of her family to graduate from high school. Because of this, she has a deep understanding of the stress that finances can have on someone...

BB Webb is XYPN's sales coach, having joined the team with the unique experience of being an entrepreneur herself. Today she joins the show to discuss the challenges she faced as a business owner before becoming a part of the XYPN team and how she is helping XYPN members perfect their sales process. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/237...

Kingston Hollman is one of XYPN's compliance consultants and a former regulator with the state of Minnesota. Having been a financial advisor and firm owner himself in the past, Kingston now provides firm owners with expert advice on how to embrace a culture of compliance and what to expect when it comes to audits. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://www.xyplanning...

Today we are joined by the team from Financial Design Studio (FDS), a fee-only firm in Deer Park, Illinois. Husband and wife duo Michelle and Stephen Smalenberger started FDS three years ago with the intention of eventually growing their team, while Trevore Meyer and Rob Stoll each started their firms at approximately the same time with the intention of always being their own bosses. After knowing...

Today we have XYPN member David Shotwell on the show! Now the owner of Shotwell Rutter Baer, David says he feels like he is just getting started—despite beginning his career in the brokerage world over 20 years ago. He is a great example of a successful succession plan and how you never stop learning in this industry. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://www.xypla...

Alex Yeager started his career out of college at Vanguard, gaining valuable experience working with clients and their investments. After feeling as though he would like to work more intimately with clients in a comprehensive way, Alex moved to Texas and started working at an independent RIA. Now the owner of Everlong Financial, he specializes in the personal relationship side of the services. You...

Today XYPN member Craig Joncas and his partner, Jim Bradley, join the show to share their experience building Penobscot Financial Advisors. As Jim reveals how the practice originally got started and Craig discusses what it was like beginning his career interning for Jim, you'll hear about the ups and downs they faced along the way and the difficulties they've navigated over the years as they've bu...

Lorri DeFoor started her career as a math teacher, and though she loved it, she became restless just a few years ago. Realizing her skills were transferable and that she had a passion for helping people with their money, Lorri decided to open up her own fee-only firm and founded Sustain Financial Inc. She joins the show today to discuss the challenges of starting a firm after only one year of expe...

Every year, we collect data from our members to track where they are in their business so we can better understand their journeys and what new members can do to supercharge their businesses. So today, I have Michael Kitces joining me on the show to go over this year's benchmarking survey and share the results. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here:  https://www.xyplanningne...

Today we have the founder of Holistiplan—and winner of this year's XYPNLIVE FinTech competition—Roger Pine on the show! After starting out as an energy consultant, Roger discovered financial planning through his wife and embarked on a whole new venture that he's here to tell us all about. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here:  https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/229

This year, we announced that we would be suing the SEC over Regulation Best Interests, better known as Reg BI, and many people have asked some great questions about this process and what it entails. So today Michael Kitces joins the show to help answer those questions, discuss how this came about, and explain why this is so important for financial planners everywhere.  You can find show notes and...

Today XYPN member Miguel Gomez joins the show to share how his marketing career turned into a financial planning career. Originally from Mexico, Miguel came to the United States to work for a firm as a marketing expert before moving to a different firm and ultimately transitioning into working as a financial advisor. He now works as lead advisor for his firm, and he gives us a glimpse into how he...

Hui-chin Chen specializes in working with U.S. citizens around the world, as well as visa holders in the United States. Using her own experience living all over the world, she helps globally mobile clients make smart financial decisions. Now the owner of Pavlov Financial Planning, Hui-chin joins the show today to share what has changed since we spoke two years ago, back when she only owned 20% of...

After working in corporate banking for 11 years, Megan Donnelly saw a need arise as she witnessed firsthand the fear and mistakes people made during the financial downturn in 2009. That need made her decide to start her own firm, Quabbin Advisors, and she joins the show today to share why she became so passionate about who she serves and how she serves them. You can find show notes and more inform...

You have the chance to gain or lose mana with everything you do. What is mana ? Today you'll find out the importance of this word, as well as the value of life planning and building a meaningful business from Mana Financial Life Design co-founders, Stephanie Bucko and Cristina Livadary. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here:  https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/224

From broker-dealer to independent broker-dealer to building his own independent RIA, Adam Cmejla has had quite the journey to creating a business and lifestyle to fit his needs and the needs of his family. He joins the show today to discusses how achieved such an impressive rate of growth for his firm and how finding a niche helped along the way. You can find show notes and more information by cli...

Starting and running a business takes intentionality, but it's easy for that intention to fizzle in the chaos of entrepreneurship. Today Eric Roberge, successful practice owner and contributor to Business Insider and  Forbes , joins the show to weigh in on the importance of keeping intentionality alive and using it to build a business that exceeds expectations. You can find show notes and more inf...

Today we have XYPN members and founders of Brooklyn FI, AJ Ayers and Shane Mason, on the show! The pair has achieved explosive growth, and they join us to share how they did it, as well as how their unique career paths ultimately led them to financial planning. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here:  https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/221

Today I've got XYPN member and founder of Hyland Financial Planning, Ryan Bayonnet, on the show to share his experience moving into owning his own practice. Having had his firm up and running for about two years now, Ryan opens up about the major hurdles he's faced and his victories along the way. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here:  https://www.xyplanningnetwork.com/220

Daniel Hannoush is an excellent example of how well niches can work. After spending years trying to build his business, it wasn't until he met his partner and found his niche in Chick-fil-A franchises and corporate staff that he saw the rapid growth he had been searching for. Daniel is now the co-founder of One & Done Financial, serving around 300 clients and on track to reach $45 - 50 million in...