Whitepapers

Why You Need A COO

Written by Ginny Hudgens, President | 16 July 2009

So, What Exactly Does a COO Do and Why do I Need One?

COO or Chief Operating Officer…more than likely you’ve heard someone mention this before in the context of your financial advisory business, right? Well, if so, I want to address it again with you and if not, let me help you understand what this person does and why you desperately need one ASAP! First, let’s talk first about what a good COO can bring to your firm. If you have more than one employee, you will appreciate this next description. You close your office door, you gather all the paperwork you need to work on your next project or you sit down to review your emails for the day. What happens next? Just as you settle in for some quiet time, a knock on the door and then the door opens. It’s one of your employees with a problem, complaint, situation, joke, whatever. The point is they’ve once again interrupted your private time. Now, being the nice person that you are and not wanting to upset this employee, you stop what you’re doing and listen to them. The resolution may take one minute or one hour but whatever the amount of time, you’ve stopped what you were doing and now have to switch gears and deal with them. I bet this has happened to each and every one of you and it only multiplies with each additional employee.

Read more...

Using A Solid Back Office to Leverage Yourself to Greatness!

Written by Ginny Hudgens, President | 16 July 2009

We all know that growing your business requires your full time attention. Yet how do you do this when there are so many things pulling at you from every angle? This is a disease that all entrepreneurs suffer from whether you’re just starting out or are farther down the road. Whether or not you intend to, most financial advisory firms grow their business to the point where they need additional staff to respond adequately to clients. This “additional staff” can take the shape of full/part-time employees or vendors to whom you outsource certain functions. In any event, having a solid back office is key to you achieving your goals and living the life that inspired you to become an entrepreneur in the first place!

Read more...

Hands-On Coaching

Written by Inside Information | 14 March 2008

When you decide to make progress in your firm, you create new tasks and responsibilities. Here's how to outsource those as well.

Resource: www.bobveres.com - I'm one of the coaches. 

As you can see from the previous article, planners can benefit from a coach who has more of a hands-on style, who can bring detailed practice management information into the discussion. But what if you want service that is even more hands-on- -somebody who will not only help you figure out what you want to accomplish, but also help with the implementation? What if you want to outsource some of those new tasks you just created for yourself?

Read more...