When was the last time you did something for yourself? Or spent quality time with family?
It may be time to have a tough conversation if the answer is “not recently.”
After all, you started your firm to impact people’s lives while building a life of freedom and self-determination. You’ve found success for your clients and are providing for your family, but the work-life balance may have slipped along the way. That was never the goal.
So if you’re fighting to keep up with building the business, providing value to clients, and keeping up with the latest market trends, all while putting in more hours than you would ever ask of an employee, it may be time to seek some trustworthy help.
Here are 6 cues that shouldn’t be ignored.
1. Are your employees filling too many roles?
Small business employees and owners have to wear many hats to keep the business going. But this flexibility can come at the cost of quality and efficiency. A jack of all trades is a master of none, after all.
It’s easy to let things fall by the wayside when juggling too many jobs; the consequences of which can be painful.
2. Do you dread certain work?
Sometimes, work is work. There’s no getting around it.
But as the owner, you can pick and choose tasks that suit your strengths and passions. Perhaps you’d like someone else to help with compliance documentation or outsourced marketing, or maybe you’d like somebody to compose high-quality investment analysis of interest to your clients.
In any event, delegating empowers you to focus on what you do best, provide the most value to your firm, and ultimately transform an upfront investment into a long-term asset.
3. Is keeping up with new business a challenge?
This is a good problem, but it’s still possible to suffer from success.
Servicing more clients means you need to find more time. You could shed some of your other responsibilities, like marketing and lead generation, but if you don’t have time now, how can you expect to find time later? A little proactivity can prevent a potentially catastrophic snowball effect.
4. Do you know you need help, but can’t find it affordably?
An OCIO firm may be the perfect solution if you’ve decided against hiring a full-time employee or using a TAMP.
We can provide high quality service and expertise at less than the cost of a full-time employee. Since we provide our specialized service to a wide client base, we leverage economies of scale that make our work as efficient as possible. The end result is we can pass these savings on to you.
5. Are you tired of being the point person for investment related questions?
In an ideal world, you’d like to focus on the planning aspects of your practice while also ensuring your clients have access to detailed know-how when they ask. But the market changes constantly, and keeping up with the latest information is time-consuming.
An OCIO firm can take this important task off your plate by being your go-to resource.
6. Would you like to be part of a larger community?
Engaging our OCIO firm means joining a larger community of like-minded advisors passionate about financial planning. We’re learning and growing beside you and can relate directly to your daily challenges as an advisor.
However, we understand that a decision like this is not to be taken lightly. That’s why a partnership with us begins with an intensive non-judgemental “get to know you” process. We ask a lot of questions, over several months, to learn about you, your practice, and your investment philosophy.
If you’d like to begin that conversation, let’s talk!