Spencer Financial Planning Turns 5!
Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash.
Happy Birthday to us! Spencer Financial Planning turned 5 years old this month! And wow what a 5 years it's been! It's been the most wonderful, frightening, exhausting, and rewarding journey! Let's do some looking around, looking back, and looking forward for Spencer Financial Planning. Get ready for some honest updates, reflections, and dreams (I'm not crying, you're crying!).
By the way, if you’d like to see previous birthday installments, check out these links:
A few facts
Spencer Financial Planning was “born” on June 26, 2020, with its investment advisor registration being finalized then.
Our client relationships thus far:
During the past 12 months, we served 22 Comprehensive Financial Planning clients.
5 clients signed up for a Financial Check-Up during the past 12 months.
5 clients signed up for a Jump Start Call during the past 12 months.
In total, we’ve served 61 clients/families during the past five years.
Spencer Financial Planning is currently a company of two. Our staff includes:
Founder and financial planner, yours truly Keith Spencer.
Our low-key brilliant (but also high-key brilliant) Operations Manager, Nina Klein. Nina works full-time to help with all things business operations and development. She has recently absorbed many client-related details as well.
I’m still a member of the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners (“ACP”), which is a national community of tax-focused, fee-only financial advisors committed to working in our clients' best interests. I've learned so much from the top-notch advisors in that group, and I'm trying to give back a little now (more on that below).
I’m still a member of three mastermind groups with other financial planners, who meet both locally and virtually. This gives us a place to run ideas by one another, encourage one another, and talk about really nerdy financial stuff.
I'm on the Planner Advisory Board for the best retirement income planning software out there, Income Lab. It's pretty cool to be able to help shape the direction of their products.
And I'm still blessed to have an incredibly supportive wife, Melissa, who encourages me and my business in so many ways.
A few NON-facts
We were recently named the most likely to succeed at something awesome by my 2-month-old puppy.
Keith has been recognized by Spokane, WA as the most silverest of foxes in all the local land.
Nina has run so many miles recently, she is starting to receive frequent flyer miles from the trail near her house.
Looking around
So what's poppin at SFP? Well, I'll tell ya.
We currently have 21 Comprehensive Financial Planning clients. And let me just say, we are working with really cool people. We love our clients, being a part of their lives, celebrating the wins, navigating the challenges, and helping improve their financial, and overall, well-being wherever we can.
Otherwise, here are a few updates on what's currently happening at SFP...
Some recent wins
> As mentioned above, my long-term part-time employee Nina recently came on full time, and it honestly has been so cool. Little ol' me, the small fish that SFP is, now has 2 FTEs! (That term brings me back to my last job, where we talked about "full-time equivalents", or FTEs, when discussing staffing issues.) It has been wonderful to increase her involvement in the business, as she has improved our operations, driven the business, and taken much of the load off my shoulders. I know my shoulders look super strong and sturdy, after all I'm often mistaken for a bodybuilder (liar!), but they can only hold so much. Her taking some of the load frees me up to devote even more of my focus to what I really love, financial planning and taking care of my clients.
> I joined the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners (ACP) Board of Directors this past year. I was nominated and voted into the position by the current membership, and I am now serving a 3-year term as a Board Member. It's a pretty cool honor, one that I don't take lightly, and I'm happy to be able to give back to the organization that's given me so much.
> We've continued to be quoted in several media posts by various institutions, including CNET, Nasdaq, Newsweek, and many others. For some odd reason, people sometimes find something I have to say worthwhile, and it's an honor. Check out the "As Seen In" section on my website home page and click on the logos for a few of the articles.
Some recent struggles
> Back when I was working for a major investment management company in a skyscraper in Los Angeles, IT problems weren't a thing for me. If something came up, no worries, I'd involve the IT folks and things magically got fixed. Fast forward to now, and I'm incredibly lucky to be guided by an IT/cybersecurity contractor who's basically a genius at this stuff, but it still needs to be done by some guy named Keith who's not very techy. It seems there have been a lot of issues lately, mostly related to having to update our computers or dealing with glitches in some platforms we use. Nothing majorly wrong, and there haven't been any security issues, but it has taken more of our time recently than we would prefer.
> Growth isn't linear, and sometimes things slow down. The way that has applied to SFP is that we haven't grown as much as I would have hoped over the past year or two. We've gotten a good stream of shorter-term engagements, but fewer long-term clients, which has felt slightly discouraging.
Looking back
So what has the last 5 years been like? In a word - amazing. Such an incredible journey and I am so thankful for the opportunity. I love this stuff, finances and helping people. I liked my job before at Capital Group, but now I love my job. Part of that is because I love what I'm doing and if I may humbly say so, I'm pretty good at it.
I also love being a business owner. And, yes, being a business owner has its good and less good sides to it. Things I love about it: making my own schedule, taking vacations when I want, working from home and being around my family, having to take frequent breaks to take our new puppy out, and the overall autonomy of running a business. The other side is that work is right there all the time, and can result in a sort of "always working" mode. Taking a real break can be difficult and longer hours can easily occur.
Another aspect that I love, but cuts both ways, is that it is incredible to be doing something where I get to work with and help so many people, ranging from optimizing wealth later in life to setting up the foundations for an early accumulator. I love being a part of my clients' lives and celebrating the wins. Unfortunately, this also means sharing in the bad. I hurt when my clients hurt, I share their worries and burdens, whether it's money-related or not. But it's also reflective of the deep trust my clients place in me, of which I am so so honored and do not take lightly.
Looking forward
As I mentioned, it has felt like a little business slump lately, between time-consuming IT and fewer new clients. But I also feel like we are gearing up for a business bump, the next phase of learning and growing. We are actively editing our practices, trying to improve our operations, and enhancing our clients' experience. We are updating our data tracking, analyzing our prospect funnel, and looking to develop a better marketing strategy to connect with the right people to work with us. We haven't reached our limit for the number of clients yet and are actively looking for new clients (subtle plug to check us out or refer us to someone you know).
As I look around at what's going on, look back on the past 5 years, and look forward to what's next on the journey, one feeling is overwhelmingly present... gratitude. I am so grateful I get to do this for my job and that I get to work with such incredible people. So whether you regularly read our newsletters, you are a long-time SFP client, or are just now reading about us for the first time, let me just say, thank you. Here's to the next 5 years🎉.