This presentation presents a blueprint for how financial planners can build a simple business plan for their RIAs. Many firm owners are walking in the dark without a map of where they WANT to go. A business plan acts like a GPS, they still have to move around obstacles and barriers, but it points them in the right direction of their revenue goals.

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Building Your One Page Business Plan
Stephen Alred Jr.

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• Raise your hands if you saw this session and thought:
1. I can research everything he’s going to say
2. I’m a financial planner, why do I need a business
plan?
3. I’ll make a business plan when I’m more established!
Quick Poll #1

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• Who here has started a business before?
• Did you create a business every time?
• Why?
• Why not?
Quick Poll #2

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Stephen Alred Jr.
Originally from Nashville, TN. Attended University of Tennessee.
First taste of financial services was at Dave Ramsey.
I’ve since started three companies and consulted with 10-12
organizations before joining XYPN team.

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“By failing to prepare, you are
preparing to fail”
- Benjamin Franklin

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The Four Objectives
Why you should you create a
business plan
How to hold yourself
accountable
How to create an effective
business plan
Give a talk that others will
be jealous of (aka tons of
value!)

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A business plan is
about focus

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The Why
 Your business plan will serve
as your litmus test for
assessing your success
 You are not creating this to
follow it to the letter
 At the end of the day your
business plan is a guess
0%
* Rough estimate

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“People don’t buy what you do,
they buy why you do it”
- Simon Sinek, Start With Why

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 What’s your mission statement?
 What’s your vision statement?
 What is your “why” for being in this industry?
Your ”Why”
Your mission statement reveals the reason for your
existence, your vision describes your efforts’ end result.

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We call it this for a reason…you are in fact
building a complex structure.
When you build a skyscraper, what do you
need first?
Building A Business
A solid business plan will help you lay a
foundation for your firm and alert you to
adjustments that need to be made.
Laying A Foundation
A blueprint for your company

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“If you don’t know where you’re
going, you’ll end up someplace
else”
- Yogi Berra

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Separate this part of your business plan into THREE sections
 Who will you serve?
 What will you do for them?
 How will you reach them?
The ”How”

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Who will you serve
 Niche firms receive almost 10%
more clients through online
searches than non-niche firms
 Build your ideal client profile/avatar
 Think to yourself, ”Does this
resonate with my avatar?”
38%
Niche clients from search
29%
None-niche clients

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 When you identify your target market, ask three questions:
1. Is it meaningful?
2. Is it sizable?
3. Is it reachable?
Identifying your target market

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 Your niche will play a large role in determining marketing
 At this stage you will be doing a lot of market research
 Do not downplay informational interviews
 Use interview to figure out two things:
1. Where to market
2. What messaging will resonate with your niche
How will you reach them?
Which reminds me….

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Go to where your
niche is!!

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Questions?

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The 4Ps of Marketing
• What does the customer want
from the service?
• How will customers experience
it?
Product/ Service
• Are there established price
points for products or services in
this area?
• Is the customer price sensitive?
Price
• Where does your niche look for
your service?
• What do your competitors do,
and how can you differentiate?
Place
• Where & when can you get your
marketing to your target market?
• Will you reach your audience by
advertising online? Direct? PR?
Promotion

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 What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow
 Always test, monitor, and adjust
 Consider your marketing mix like an investment portfolio
 You will be able to use:
 Social Media
 Advertising/PR
 Networking/COIs
 Many more…
Marketing

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 Where should you go if you want to serve young lawyers?
 Do not waste your time when networking
 Once you build a network….USE IT!
 1,000 Cups Of Coffee
Networking

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 Take ownership of getting your brand’s name out
 Start with a site like HARO (Help A Reporter Out)
 Quoted 15+ articles in six months
 Offering unique viewpoints to your niche will get you
quoted
Public Relations

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COIs
16%
Existing Clients
18%
Online/Google Searches
19%
Network/Biz Dev
22%
Sources of Client Growth
Results from the 2017 XYPN Benchmarking Study

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Marketing & PR
efforts are
cumulative!!

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Selling Value vs. Selling
Features
 Focus on your target market
 Consider your brand
 Focus on benefits
 Focus differentiating
- Who are your ideal customers?
- How are you perceived?
- What problems do you solve?
- What’s your “X” factor?

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Subhead, Open Sans Light, 16ptObjectives
& Goals

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 What are your objectives?
 What does success look like to you?
 Reverse-engineer your goals into measurable actions
 Break them down into weekly, monthly, annual
Staying Accountable
This is how you can determine if you’re being
productive.

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What’s Your BHAG?!
Big. Hairy. Audacious. Goal.

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I want to have 15 retainer clients
by month 13!
Example of a Goal
This goal is S.M.A.R.T.*
* Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Relevant. Time-sensitive.

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I want to have 15 retainer clients
by month 13!
Reverse-engineer your Goals
• Work backwards:
• 15 clients
• 45 prospect meetings
• 105 suspects
• 150 contacts

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 Michael Gerber talks about this concept in The E-Myth
 You should have days where you meet zero clients and
focus on processes, strategy, and learning
 These days allow you to stay ahead of the curve
 Study your business (metrics, performance, data)
Working On Your Business

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 Planning is a process, not an event
 Iterate on your business plan and use the data to hold
yourself accountable
 Respect the marketplace
 To be successful takes determination, focus, and
discipline
The Impact of a Business Plan

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A study of thousands of businesses in Palo Alto found that
entrepreneurs who created a business plan were able to
grow 2x as fast.
Another study* in 2010 found that companies who created
business plans grow 30% faster than those who don’t.
*Burke, Fraser, Green: Multiple Effects of Business Planning on New
Venture Performance, 2010
Importance of
Planning
30%

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In Closing…
Remember what a GREAT philosopher once said:

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Questions?

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Thank you