A great quote came through my e-mail the other day by Graeme Wood an Australian entrepreneur, philanthropist and founder of Wotif.com
Change has never happened this fast before, and it will never be this slow again.
No matter what industry you are involved with change and innovation has become a priority. Nokia, Blockbuster and Kodak to name a few are prime examples of companies that fought against the speed of change and lost.
On the other hand, industries like Financial Management, Medical and Pharmaceutical are more regulated than ever before. To be innovative my company must meet strict complex guidelines and submit approval requests, often to multiple departments, making sure changes we wish to implement are compliant with the growing regulations.
Big companies like Amazon, Apple and Tesla are often looked to for the latest Innovations but what I have learnt is these companies are in the minority. When I listen to CEO's and representatives I noticed there seems to be an innovation paradox where the larger companies able to invest take longer to implement changes and smaller companies that can implement change quickly lack resources.
So the question I had to ask myself was,
How do we, at the front of change and innovation, navigate uncharted territory in a heavily regulated profession without the resources of a large business?
Here is what I came up with,
Our processes are innovative, but our Core Values will stand the test of time. Knowing who we are, what we stand for and what we would never stand for is more important than being innovative.
For example, we want to be innovative in the ways we deliver value to our clients but we would never do anything that takes away from our core value of delivering an exceptional client experience. For this reason, we do not have webcam meetings because we want to be able to connect with our clients on a more intimate level.
As a student my AMP Horizons teacher taught me in business all paths must lead to Rome. For me that meant being true to ourselves. So, what did I do? I used an online business portal granted to me by Claire Wilson from The Alternative Board to clearly and effectively display the companies Vision, Mission Statement, Core Values, Client Value Proposition and Brand Identity. This laid the foundation of what was yet to come.
All the information I got around my prospect client and how to best serve my existing clients came from someone else and I questioned, in the fastest changing world we have ever experienced by the time the information got to me how relevant it was. Also, with everyone being fed the same information how innovative could it be and what advantage did this give me over my competitors.
With the help from boutique Marketing advisory firm Action Communications I ran my own focus groups selecting contributors of various ages, genders, marital status, family arrangements and financial positions. Some had sought financial advice before and some had not. I also arranged for a third party to survey and hold phone call interviews with consenting clients. By doing this I was able to learn firsthand exactly what I needed to know about my clients and future prospects without any time delay or influence.
If you wait until your plans are 100% ready you will never accomplish anything so just get the basics right. Using information already gathered and expertise help I brainstormed projects I could use to grow my business. Then for each project I mapped out the Who, What, Where, When and Why. By doing this not only am I able to hold myself accountable but it helps with the project design.
One of my goals is to be more efficient on social media so I came up with the following,
| Purpose | Build Public Relations, direct people to our website and get people to book consultations |
| What | Use Social Media to keep constantly deliver value and engage people with our business |
| Who | People using their mobile phones |
| Where | Facebook & Linked in |
| When | Minimum 3x a week |
| Deliverables | Use Videos where available to provide education content, tools, give aways, questions, brain teasers, entertainment, success stories, horror stories and testimonies |
The design is not complete, but it allowed me to prioritise what will have the biggest impact to the business, which will best serve our Core Values, which will cost the more and which will have the best return on investment.
For me being a financial advisor is not a career it is a calling however I am not an expert on everything. So I sought out and hired the best people in their fields to assist me.
By best I do not mean the most expensive, the most technical or even the most experienced. I mean I sought out and hired people who were most aligned with my business and what it is I wanted to achieve.
Outsourcing is more expensive than when I hire people to work for me directly but at this stage in my business it is a better fit. I like that I can turn the tap on and off when it comes to cash flow expenses, that it brings in a level of expertise above my own in certain fields and those I outsource to will work as hard as I do because they are trying to build their own business.
Innovation means I won't always get it right and I will never get to the final destination but if I didn't implement change, forget to track or review then I wouldn't be the business owner I am today.
I will never know all the answers and I am OK with that. I just need to know I have mitigated risks where I can, able to back my decisions based on research, my clients always come first and trust us to still be in business when they need us the most.
As a Brisbane Financial Advisor, I can help you get clarity around your future, your options and the next steps in plain English. Book an appointment today to learn more.
Constancy Wealth Management Pty Ltd ABN 51 168 427 361 trading as Constancy Wealth is an Authorised Representative and Credit Representative of AMP Financial Planning Pty Limited ABN 89 051 208 327 Australian Financial Services Licence 232706 and Australian Credit Licence 232706.
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This post contains information that is general in nature. It does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. You need to consider your financial situation and needs before making any decisions based on this information
This website contains information that is general in nature. It does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. You need to consider your financial situation and needs before making any decisions based on this information.
Constancy Wealth Management Pty Ltd ABN 51 168 427 361 trading as Constancy Wealth
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