Welcome everyone! Welcome to the 385th episode of the Financial Advisor Success Podcast!
My guest on today’s podcast is Danielle Howard. Danielle is the owner of Wealth By Design, a hybrid advisory firm based in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, that oversees about $35 million in assets under advisement for 35 client households.
What’s unique about Danielle, though, is how she has created a process she calls “Financial Fingerprints To Footprints“, where she helps clients who are struggling to implement their financial planning recommendations by working with them to unlock their money memories and help them understand how the financial lessons of their past may be creating a financial identity that’s preventing them from taking the actions necessary to achieve their goals of the future.
In this episode, we talk in-depth about how Danielle structures her financial planning engagements, which includes a 5-meeting sequence during their first year that explores both the client’s financial situation and the “why” behind how they view money, how Danielle uses tools such as Money Quotient and George Kinder’s 3 Life Planning questions to dig deeper into clients’ money memories and money identities, and how Danielle positions these conversations to occur after she presents her initial financial planning recommendations, at a point where clients are engaged enough with and buy-in to the process that they’re willing to explore these more sensitive topics that can lead to real breakthroughs.
We also discuss how Danielle’s transition from having an insurance-focused practice to a planning-centric business was influenced by her and her husband working through Kinder’s 3 Life Planning questions themselves, how Danielle has increased and reduced her client headcount to meet lifestyle goals during different stages of her life, and how building a financial planning business has fit Danielle’s personality as a ‘cook’ who is able to make changes and ‘season to taste’ in the moment, rather than as a ‘baker’ who has to follow a certain fixed path to the letter.
And be certain to listen to the end, where Danielle shares why she thinks women can make important contributions in the financial planning industry, particularly when it comes to listening deeply to clients and bringing integrity and authenticity to the table, how Danielle’s own definition of success over time has shifted from gathering clients and assets to feeling that she is helping her clients succeed, and why Danielle thinks the financial planning industry offers advisors a unique opportunity to blaze a career path for oneself that meets our own individual needs and interests while being aligned to helping clients achieve theirs.
So, whether you’re interested in learning about Danielle’s transition from an insurance-focused practice to a planning-centric business, how to strategically schedule deeper discussions about money identities, and why Danielle believes women have a unique role in deep listening and authenticity in financial planning, then we hope you enjoy this episode of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, with Danielle Howard.
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