Spencer Financial Planning Turns 2!
Woah. Spencer Financial Planning just hit its 2nd birthday!
Let’s talk facts. Let’s talk observations. Let’s talk reflections.
A few facts
Spencer Financial Planning was “born” on June 26, 2020, with its registration with the State of Washington being finalized then.
My client relationships thus far:
I currently have 12 Comprehensive Financial Planning clients (my ongoing service covering all areas of personal financial planning).
4 clients signed up for a Project-Based Financial Analysis during the past 12 months.
In total, I’ve served 22 clients/families the past two years.
I have clients in California, Oregon, and Washington.
I registered my firm in the State of California once I reached 5 clients there (registration is required if you want more than 5 clients).
I was quoted/published in Barron’s, which I gotta say still feels pretty cool.
A few non-facts
Spencer Financial Planning is the largest company in the world by market capitalization.
Spencer Financial Planning has the world’s largest following on TikTok, despite not having a TikTok account.
Keith Spencer was named Employee of the Month every single month this year.
How’s it really going?
I’m having an absolute ball.
Financial planning is just so much fun. (I know, nerd alert.)
I’ve always enjoyed doing financial planning for my own family, but to be able to help other families with it as well has been amazing. I feel extremely blessed to be able to do something I love, while making a living from it.
Of course, it’s challenging and not everything is fun, but the journey has been a blast.
Even with the craziness of the world right now?
Yeah, it’s been crazy out there. The war in Ukraine. Inflation. The stock market downturn. Political turbulence.
But helping my clients through all of it has been so fulfilling. We choose to focus on the financial planning ideas we have some control over, trying not to allow things outside of our control to drastically affect our decisions.
Do you like working from home?
Oh my goodness I love the freedom that comes with running a business where I can work from home.
I love being home with my family. I love the lack of a long commute. I love getting good sleep each night.
And during this past year, it came with a super cool perk of being able to work from Hawaii for a month.
Wait, what?
Yeah, my family decided to spend about 5 weeks in Hawaii earlier this year. We figured we had a unique opportunity to do something like that because (a) I can work remotely (with my trusty portable firewall to provide the necessary security), (b) we homeschool our three youngest kids, and (c) our oldest was doing online school last year (before probably going to in-person school next year). So we decided to go for it.
It was, to no one’s surprise, absolutely amazing.
So is it just you in the business?
Kinda sorta.
I am a solo advisor, so it’s just me in that way.
But I feel like I have so much support. For example:
I’m 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 their clients' best interests. ACP has equipped me to serve my clients well. Plus, I’m able to lean on that community when I have questions or would like some input on tricky financial situations my clients are facing.
My ACP mentor has been wonderful. He’s been in the business for a long time, and I’ve learned so much from him.
I’m a member of three mastermind groups with other financial planners. This gives us a place to run ideas by one another, get input on client situations, and generally talk shop.
Side note: The term mastermind still kinda cracks me up. But the other options don’t sound quite right either: brain trust, study group, collection of folks planning to take over the world.
Finally, my wife and family continue to give me so much support.
I’m truly thankful.
Tell me all about your internal business processes, because that’s like SUPER interesting to me.
The way I’d characterize things is that I feel like I’m starting to settle in. I’m getting more comfortable with my processes, completing tasks, figuring out what I need to do and what I don’t need to do, etc.
I feel like I have a loooooong way to go in this area, but it’s coming along.
What’s next?
I’m in the process of trying to narrow my focus on which types of clients to try to attract.
For example, I’ve really enjoyed working with retirees, and also folks who are approaching retirement, helping them “cross the finish line” into retirement.
I’ve also really enjoyed working with current or former Capital Group associates/retirees (my previous employer of 18 years). More than half of my current clients fit this description, and I’d love to continue that.
Enough business talk. Any personal milestones?
Why, yes, thanks for asking. :-)
A few highlights:
My beautiful wife and I celebrated our 20th anniversary.
My oldest daughter completed her first year of high school. (Seriously, where have the years gone?)
My other three children also keep being fantastic.
Thanks for a great 2 years
Finally, I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to all of you. If you’re reading this, you’ve been part of this journey, and I’m so thankful.