Lessons from 40 years in business as a Financial Adviser

The start of this year, the first day of January 2025, was a significant milestone for me. It marked 40 years to the day since I first opened my office to trade on my own account.

I’d achieved my Associateship of the Chartered Insurance Institute and I was ready to take on the world! During my career I’ve had a brilliant time and learned so much, and I’m still learning! The world doesn’t stand still and the more you know, the more you realise there is to know. Long may it continue.

But it all seems to have gone so quickly! If you’re of a similar age to me then you too are quite likely wondering where those years disappeared to. It seems like only yesterday that I climbed the stairs above the (then) travel agents in Frederick Street to offer my service to the public for the first time. But then, of course, I reflect on the huge amount of water that has passed under my proverbial bridge since that day and realise that an awful lot has happened over the last four decades.

During that time I have;

• Set up and run my first office on Frederick Street in Loughborough
• Started employing staff
• Moved to an office on Leicester Road under a new lease
• Took on a business partner and started a new Financial Services company
• Had to let staff go when business wasn’t as good as expected
• Sold the original (insurance) business
• Bought Chesterton House, a historic listed building
• Refurbished the building with the very capable support of my wife Sue and moved the business again
• Learned how to deliver ‘proper’ financial planning
• Went through a painful ‘divorce’ from my business partner
• Rebuilt the business along more modern lines
• Took on a new business partner (Richard)
• Introduced fee charging for services (in contrast to the more usual method of remuneration by commission from sales)
• Became one of the first advisers in Leicestershire to gain a Financial Planning qualification and later to become a Certified Financial Planner professional
• Made numerous trips to San Diego to learn how to implement the ‘Financial Road Map’ process as part of the Values-Based Financial Planning methodology that we still use today
• Implemented various forms of innovative software designed to help us to analyse, recommend and solve our clients’ financial planning problems
• Built a successful investment process to help fulfil our promise to our clients to deliver a plan that would give them the highest probability of achieving their goals
• Attended countless trainings, presentations and seminars to gain a deep understanding of investments, insurance, financial planning, trusts, accounts, people management and a host of other topics (still going on!)
• Created a second financial planning business, Woodgate Financial Planning, as a joint venture with Moss Solicitors of Loughborough
• Employed David Wright as MD of the new business and worked with him to introduce the service to Moss clients
• Created a new accounting practice from nothing, starting with handling tax returns for key clients and last year achieving over £500k of revenue for the first time
• Creating a new legal practice from nothing, being one of the very first financial advisers in the UK to take advantage of changes introduced by the Legal Services Act
• Purchased a second building, 3 Rectory Place, which became our main reception as our business continued to grow
• Acquired long-established solicitors’ practice Woolley Beardsleys & Bosworth LLP from the retiring owners and entered into a lease to occupy their offices
• Refurbished the offices to bring them up to date and attractive as a home for our teams
• Experienced demand from other financial professionals as a speaker to describe how we had built our practices, what made us different, and the things we had learned along the way, including speaking at national conferences.
• Learned (very quickly) how to run a business remotely as the Covid pandemic struck and the country went into lockdown
• Strengthened our board with key appointments to the roles of Compliance Director, HR Director and Managing Director
• Completed the purchase of the whole of the share capital of Woodgate Financial Planning Ltd from the partners of Moss Solicitors, creating a holding company to acquire the shares of both financial businesses

Over the years I have worked with a wide variety of clients, and have very much enjoyed the deep relationships that have developed. I’ve seen many of them become very wealthy as their plans came to fruition, and I’ve sadly presided over the demise of others, knowing that they had carefully-made plans in place to help their families and heirs to receive, use and distribute their assets in an orderly and loving way.

I’ve held countless meetings with clients and non-clients, and conducted Financial Road Map meetings with hundreds of people, including most members of our various teams. Each one has increased my understanding of that most essential link between our values, our goals and our actions that is at the heart of a great Financial Plan.

I’ve enjoyed the sterling support of many people, including team members, clients, suppliers and coaches, and not least my lovely and ever-loving wife Sue. I couldn’t have done it without you.

What are the most important lessons I’ve learned over the years? I could write a book about that (some people have suggested that I should!). I’ll be mentioning some of them in my next blog.

Until then, have a great 2025 and don’t forget to stick to your Plan!

Andy Jervis