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What happens when you hire someone to run the business, but keep stepping back in? After Alan Smith’s appearance last month, his COO Chirine Harb joins Adam Carolan to share her perspective on running Capital. She explains how she and Alan learned to challenge one another, clarify who communicates decisions and give each other space to do the work they do best. They also discuss building client-service teams, making existing processes easier to follow and understanding what is happening when people become stretched. Chirine shares how she assesses new technology and uses business data to test whether an ambition has a workable plan behind it. A conversation for financial planning firm owners, operations leaders and the people making the business work behind the scenes. More from Plannex: Connect, learn and grow with the financial planning community. 💬 Join Plannex Connect: https://plannex.co.uk/connect/ 📚 Explore Plannex Training: https://plannex.co.uk/app/ 🚀 Grow your firm with Plannex Scale: https://plannex.co.uk/scale/ 🎟️ Discover Plannex Live: https://plannex.co.uk/live/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/company/plan-nex Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plannnex?igsh=MWluaXAwcmk4NjB3bQ%3D%3D Subscribe for more conversations from the Plannex Podcast.

What changes when you move from fund management into building your own financial planning firm? Stewart Heggie joins Adam Carolan to discuss the work behind setting up Heggie & Co and why he chose to focus his message on fund managers. He explains how his own search for financial planning helped shape the idea, what he wanted from a network and why getting the infrastructure ready took more work than he expected. They also explore LinkedIn, the first-year goal of working with 20 families, the psychology of fees and the role of human judgement as AI becomes more capable. It is an honest account from the start of the journey, with decisions still being tested rather than a finished formula for success. Business experience and opinions are discussed; this is not personal financial advice.

How do you move into financial planning when you already have an established career? And what happens when the relationship skills come with you, but the technical confidence needs time to catch up? Adam Carolan is joined by Oliver Jones from Five Wealth, who moved into the profession after nine years at Handelsbanken. Ollie talks openly about the decision to leave banking, weighing a lower initial pay package and what it felt like to take part in his first financial-planning client meetings. They also get into studying alongside a new job, setting exam deadlines, learning through real client examples and finding experienced people to learn from. For anyone considering a career change, or helping someone make one, this is a practical look at the transition beyond the job offer. Ollie describes his position at the time of recording. His experience is one route into financial planning, rather than a template for everyone.

What should a financial adviser say when a client asks about Bitcoin? Dan Parkinson, founder of The Bitcoin IFA, joins Adam Carolan to examine what Bitcoin means for UK financial planning. They discuss the difference between Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the changing regulatory environment and the practical limits advisers currently face. The conversation also explores client retention, intergenerational wealth, self-custody, large Bitcoin holdings and what advice firms can do now to prepare. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.

In Part Two of Adam Carolan’s conversation with Alan Smith, they move from operational growth to marketing, personal branding and client acquisition. Alan explains how content, newsletters, podcasts, referrals and professional partnerships have created a connected marketing ecosystem for his financial planning firm. They also discuss niche positioning, recurring-revenue complacency, succession, recruitment and what Alan would do if he were building an advice firm again today. Listen to Part One first: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7fbIlDDw85FWQWY9nSEyIb?si=a867952ad56a4992

Alan Smith built Capital Partners one client at a time, then reached the point where being involved in everything stopped the firm from growing. In part one, he explains why he handed over almost every client, stepped away from day-to-day advice and rebuilt his role around strategy, growth and culture. Alan and Adam also explore client handovers, consistent discovery, premium client experience, hiring the right operations leader and how AI could reshape financial planning and paraplanning. Part two continues with Alan’s marketing strategy and personal brand.

Want to start a business podcast that attracts the right audience and delivers meaningful results? Charlie Perry, founder of podcast network Astrid, joins Adam Carolan to explain what separates a successful business podcast from another show disappearing into the noise. Having built the podcasting arm of Steven Bartlett’s Social Chain and produced shows that have entertained millions, Charlie shares a practical guide to defining your audience, choosing the right format, booking guests and creating conversations people genuinely want to consume. They discuss why businesses shouldn’t simply copy The Diary of a CEO, the realities of studio and remote recording, what happens during post-production and how one long-form episode can power an entire content strategy. Charlie also explains why YouTube has changed podcast discovery, how to approach SEO, titles and thumbnails, and why conversions, trust and audience relevance matter more than vanity metrics. A practical conversation for financial planners, business owners and marketing teams who want to build a podcast with a clear purpose, not merely chase views. The Plannex Podcast is proudly sponsored by Iress.

What happens when the business exit you worked towards finally happens and the money creates a completely new set of problems?In Part 2, James Ashford gives Adam Carolan an unusually candid account of financial planning from the client’s side. Before building GoProposal, James describes himself as financially fearful, poorly informed and carrying the consequences of a failed business. Financial planning helped align him and his wife around their values, give their business a purpose and turn an unimaginable future into a route they could work towards.But selling the business changed the game. James went from playing to win to playing not to lose. He explains the fear of moving large sums away from the apparent safety of a bank account, why trusted referrals mattered more than a polished sales message and what advisers need to understand about communicating with entrepreneurial clients.The conversation also tackles the profession’s most difficult value question. For James, the greatest return has not been a tax wrapper or an investment figure. It has been the change from anxious weekend voice notes to calm, constructive decisions and the peace of knowing somebody capable is in control.Finally, James and Adam explore AI. James is an enthusiastic user, but he will not give it responsibility for his children’s and grandchildren’s financial future. His challenge to planners is not to resist the technology, but to use it safely so there is more time for the human relationship clients value most.

What does it actually take to build a team that sells confidently, protects standards and performs without the founder becoming the bottleneck?James Ashford, founder of GoProposal, joins Adam Carolan for a characteristically honest conversation about ethical selling, client experience, culture and letting go.James explains why clients compare financial planners with Amazon and Uber, not simply with other firms. Why knowledge has little value without implementation. He challenges founders who project their own discomfort withselling onto younger team members and argues that ‘great clients’ are created by the standards set from the very first meeting. The conversation then turns to building a 12-person team that produced the output buyers expected from a business four times its size. James shares how playbooks, weekly training, radical candour and safe-to-fail experimentscreated freedom rather than bureaucracy. He also reveals the two-poker-chip exercise that finally trained him to stop solving every problem himself.Expect an unusually direct conversation about sales, delegation, standards and the truths business owners too often avoid. You don't want to miss this! Find out more about Plannex: https://plannex.co.uk/

What does it really take to scale a financial planning firm? In part two of our conversation with Laura Pearson, founder of Storeton Rose, we explore the systems, people and leadership decisions that have fuelled the firm's growth. Laura shares how client experience has become their biggest marketing channel, why hiring the right people matters more than hiring the most experienced, and the challenges every founder faces as a business grows beyond them. We also discuss how AI is changing recruitment, building a high-performance culture, and the operational rhythms that keep the business moving. In this episode: Why client experience drives referralsBuilding a team that can scale with the businessThe founder bottleneck and knowing when to let goHow AI is changing hiring decisionsCreating systems that support long-term growthLeadership lessons from scaling Storeton RoseWhether you're building your first advice firm or leading a growing business, this episode is packed with practical insights from someone who's doing it today.

Building an advice business is one thing. Building one without existing clients, recurring income or previous wealth advice experience is another. In Part 1 of the Plannex Podcast, Laura Pearson shares the journey from corporate mortgage management to launching Storeton Rose from her spare bedroom. We discuss: Leaving corporate lifeStarting with no clientsWhy she chose independenceBuilding confidence despite inexperienceThe power of simple marketingGrowing to £180k revenue in year oneA practical conversation for anyone thinking about starting or scaling a financial planning business.

AI is dominating conversations across financial planning but what does it actually mean for advice firms? In Part 2 of our conversation with Juniper founder Jon Doyle, we move beyond the hype to explore where technology is genuinely creating value, and where the industry risks getting carried away. Jon shares how his team has built automations that save time, why he's sceptical of claims that AI can replace the human side of financial planning, and the principles guiding Juniper's investment in technology. We also discuss developing advisers, building scalable systems, and why, even in an AI-driven world, people skills remain the profession's greatest competitive advantage. If you're a financial planning firm owner trying to work out where AI fits into your business, this is a conversation you'll want to hear.

When Jon Doyle launched Juniper in 2018, he didn't set out to build the fastest-growing financial planning firm. He set out to build the right business for his life. Starting with £18 million of assets under management and around 40 client families, Jon shares the lessons from growing Juniper to more than £140 million while balancing family life, navigating difficult hiring decisions and building a business with intention. In Part 1 we discuss: • Why he turned down the opportunity to sell • Starting Juniper with just one administrator • The hiring mistake that slowed growth • Why building around your lifestyle isn't a weakness • Growing from £18m to £140m • Developing advisers from outside financial services A refreshingly honest conversation about building a financial planning business on your own terms.

What makes a financial planning business valuable? And more importantly, what makes it sellable? In Part 2, Gaynor Rigby and Vicky go behind the scenes of more than 100 financial planning transactions to explain what buyers are really looking for, why some firms struggle to sell, and how owners can maximise the value of their business. We discuss: • How financial planning firms are valued • Why profit matters more than revenue • The data every firm should be tracking • Common mistakes sellers make • What buyers really want • Succession planning and exit readiness • Why culture and people can impact value Whether you're planning to exit next year or in the next decade, this episode is packed with practical lessons for building a stronger business.

From £120m TO £1bn After helping grow Equilibrium from £120m to more than £1bn in assets under management, Gaynor Rigby learned a simple truth: Most advisers become business owners by accident. In this episode, Gaynor and Vicky discuss what it really takes to build a successful financial planning business, from leadership and culture to marketing, systems and growth. We discuss: • How Equilibrium grew from £120m to £1bn+ • Why many advisers accidentally become business owners • The importance of data, structure and accountability • Building a strong culture as your team grows • Why marketing should be a business priority • The biggest mistakes firms make when trying to scale A practical conversation for advisers and firm owners looking to build a better business, not just a bigger one.