We’re back with the second edition of Secrets to Scale, where we’ll be joined by advisors to see how they’re using technology to scale their business.
Scott Sheffer, the CEO of Carnegie Wealth Management, was a recent guest; and one of LibertyFi’s first clients. His story is unique because he came in as a successor, bought a firm, and has retained those clients, continued the value that the previous owner and advisor had, and brought his vision to the firm and its clients.
Click here to view Scott’s podcast episode or read some highlights from Alli and Scott’s conversation below.
“I’m of a mind that if we’re not constantly changing, your business long-term will be in big trouble.”
Lead with Financial Planning
Scott and his team have found that while investment performance is essential to clients, it leads them to discuss with Carnegie or any other firm; in reality, clients tend to be focused in the wrong area.
The Carnegie team leads with planning. While investment performance will be a given as clients build a thoughtful financial plan around being good stewards of their capital, planning is more than just investments. It’s credit and lending, risk, and other factors aside from, “Am I under or outperforming some benchmark or blended benchmark?” When a client works with the Carnegie team, they are paired with a team that knows what they want and can anticipate what they need well before they need it because there is a plan in place.
Improvement Over Change
“If you can’t grow your own business and grow your client relationships … odds are, you’re not going to do a good job growing somebody else’s business that you somehow acquired.”
As Scott became more involved in his growing business, he saw the need for improvements — not changes. They included making the firm an RIA, switching to a custodian at Schwab, and partnering with LibertyFi. When improvements are conducted with the client’s best interest in mind, they have a better chance of succeeding.
Scott’s advice? Keep swimming. Otherwise, you’ll sink. Always be on the lookout for new opportunities and ways to improve your business.
Time is Your Biggest Commodity
When it comes to scale, the one asset Scott believes we can control is time. As the competition for talented people and the cost of talent grows, businesses will have opportunities to add technology, develop scale, and empower their employees.
To learn more about how Carnegie Wealth Management, visit https://carnegiewealth.com/.