Thanking TJ Weir For His Time with Aurora
Back in August, I was participating in a golf outing near Indianapolis and struck up a conversation with an advisor with a practice based in Muncie, IN. Flash forward to November 1st as the first day for TJ Weir to start a new opportunity in the town he now resides. This might come as a surprise to some, but we are excited for him as he continues to grow in the industry. Cardinal Capital was an excellent path for him to continue to grow in the profession!
Getting Started as a New Advisor
While there are many who do it the right way, there aren’t enough good people in the financial services industry to take care of all the potential clients looking for advice. A big part of creating a financial advisory practice that will succeed is dedicating the time, capital, and expertise it takes for a firm to truly thrive. Not everyone has the luxury of those things when getting started (or the patience required to create a lasting practice that sticks around). Some may rush into products and strategies to “get rich quick” or that pay the largest commission. Sure the compensation may be a plus in the short run, but if you aren’t truly taking care of clients and their needs, you won’t be serving clients for very long.
Too many young energetic people get into this industry ready to make an impact only to be a sales quota on a product that pays a higher commission to their bosses and create or deepen lasting relationships with their clients. Many times, this type of an arrangement can only end in a couple of ways:
1. The new advisor gets burnt out of always being on the chase and finding new people, or runs through the list of their contacts and cannot find anyone else to sign up for the offering, so they leave the industry.
2. The light bulb turns on and they pursue a path to interact with their clients (both existing and future) in a way that supports a healthy relationship moving forward.
I’ll give TJ a lot of credit, when he decided he wanted to focus on being a Financial Advisor, he was able to avoid the step where many fall into the 2 paths above. Before he started with Aurora Financial Strategies, we created a plan together for him to transition to this career that would give him a chance to be successful. It is a stressful time to leave a guaranteed salary, pass the required exams, gain some industry experience, and raise a toddler all at the same time! It was a leap that he was ready to make, and we were glad to help him in the transition.
Connecting with Cardinal Capital
Back to the golf outing. After introductions, the other financial advisor and I discussed the basics of the conversation above about how hard it is to get started the right way in our industry. During this time he mentioned that he might looking at adding someone to his firm to help him deepen relationships with clients as he enters a different phase of his career. TJ has been working out of Muncie since joining Aurora Financial Strategies back in January, so it seemed like a natural fit that they should meet. Originally, we discussed a myriad of ways for TJ to stay associated with our company while exploring the relationship with the Cardinal team. Although we still have an incredibly positive relationship, it became clear that the path for TJ’s own personal growth was in joining a firm in the town where he resides.
You never know who you are going to come across in life and when your paths may cross again. A random interaction at a golf outing led to finding TJ a home with a firm in the town he resides. He will have the ability to take care of his clients and continue to integrate with the clients at his new firm. Like I said above, there are not enough good people in our industry that take care of clients the right way, but TJ Weir is a good one. The team at Aurora Financial Strategies wishes him nothing but the best as he makes his transition!
Billy Cardwell, CFP®
Founder
Aurora Financial Strategies