In a recent advisor team meeting at Beck Bode, I drew a parallel between financial planning and my experience with pre-flight checklists for helicopters. I am a student helicopter pilot, and my dad was a decorated pilot who served in Vietnam, a story I have shared in several blogs here ..read more

If you’re thinking you’d like to sell your practice at some point, you’ll want to know what it’s worth. As a prospective seller, it makes sense to get a valuation from a  third-party professional valuation firm, and to update it periodically. A big chunk of a third-party valuation is based on revenue. Let’s be clear here, revenue is an essential component of the valuation, but there is more to the story than revenue ..read more

At Beck Bode, we see fitness and finance as going hand in hand. You want to be financially prepared for a long life, but that requires you to be physically, emotionally, and mentally prepared for a long life, too. Which means tending to health and wellbeing in all aspects of our lives ..read more

Every financial advisor - in fact, anyone who provides advice to others - needs to do a certain amount of preparation before a client meeting. Once you master the basics, most of that preparation becomes mental preparation. The question is: are you really ready to meet with this person? Let’s see ..read more

What do you do when you’re not getting enough referrals from your Centers of Influence (COI)? Or maybe you are getting referrals, but they’re not of the quality you need. In the realm of business, relationships are the cornerstone of success. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a financial advisor, or a professional in any field, the ability to foster strong connections with centers of influence (COIs) can make a significant difference in your growth trajectory. However, cultivating these relationships requires intention, effort, and a strategic approach ..read more

What I want to talk about today is what we call the GPS here at Beck Bode. GPS stands for Goals Planning Statement, and it’s our objective to make it the foundation for the relationship we build with all our clients. I may need to remind you: we got our start in the business on the wealth management side; using financial planning as a basis for our work was the evolution of our work, it was not how we started doing things initially ..read more

Humans are emotional creatures. When it comes to investing, because of our emotionality, we run a big risk of being our own worst enemies. Intellectually, of course, we are perfectly capable of rationalizing, saying things like, “Oh, I understand the markets go up and down. I know that in the long-term I need to stay put…I’m “good,” I don't want to do anything rash with my money ..read more

Most financial advisors know that they need to have a succession plan in place – whether they follow through on it or not or leave it until it’s too late, that’s beside the point. But many financial advisors, even those who have a plan, aren’t clear about how important it is to prepare their clients for a successful transition. Having your plan figured out is the first step. You also need to make sure that your clients are on your side and supportive of your next move ..read more

One of the ways in which we have been successful in growing Beck Bode is by inviting like-minded advisors to partner with us. For those advisors who see the world as we do, a partnership with Beck Bode could take the form of merging with our company. This is one way we facilitate the succession plans of advisory firms that may not have the infrastructure, desire, or capacity to provide services for future generations of clients ..read more

Here at Beck Bode, we have grown our firm organically (meaning one client at a time) and through acquisition. While buying other financial practices, we have learned a few lessons the hard way and also by developing a thoughtful and intentional process.  ..read more