Finance Fridays: The Wealth Management Trailblazer: An Interview with Paul Franco – Certified Financial Planner and Founder of Life Well Lived Financial Group

Paul Franco is a Certified Financial Planner™️️️, Chartered Financial Consultant®️️, Behavioral Financial Advisor, and founder of Life Well Lived Financial Group, an independent wealth management firm. A thirty-year veteran of the financial advising industry, Paul operates three locations in Colorado, where he enjoys skiing, hiking, running, fishing, and traveling. He is the author of Success with Succession: How to Sell Your Asset Management and Financial Advice Practice.

Summary

Paul Franco's background and business strategy @ 0:00 Paul Franco is a 30-year veteran of the financial services industry, with a firm called Life Well Live Financial Group in Colorado. Over the past 8-10 years, he has focused on acquiring the practices of retiring financial advisors as a growth strategy, rather than trying to build his client base one client at a time. The importance of succession planning @ 4:39 Paul explains that he came up with this acquisition strategy after realizing that most financial advisors and business owners are unprepared for their own succession and retirement. Many think they will never retire, but fail to plan for the unexpected. Paul emphasizes the importance of having a clear succession plan in place, even for younger business owners. Challenges with abrupt transitions @ 12:57 Paul shares an example of an early acquisition where the retiring advisor did not provide enough time for a smooth transition, leading to many clients choosing to leave rather than work with the new advisor. He stresses the importance of allowing ample time for the new owner to get to know the clients and build relationships before the full transition. Collaboration over competition @ 18:19 Michael and Paul discuss the value of viewing other businesses in the same industry as colleagues rather than competitors. They emphasize the importance of networking and building relationships with potential buyers or sellers, rather than operating in silos. Paul's book on selling financial advisory practices @ 19:27 Paul shares that he wrote a book called "Success with Succession" to help financial advisors and other business owners prepare their practices for a smooth sale or transition, rather than just closing their doors and leaving clients in the lurch. Recap and resources @ 23:04 Michael and Paul wrap up the conversation, with Paul providing his website (successwithsuccession.com) where listeners can find more information and sign up for his newsletter.