So, you want to grow your advisory business—that much you know. But where should you begin? It all depends on where you are now and how quickly you want to achieve the growth you envision. To help you get started, try one (or more!) of the actionable ideas below.

Hiring an advisor is similar to acquiring a client: both require you to identify, attract, qualify, interview, close, and assimilate him or her into the practice. While you likely have an ideal client profile that lays out traits (e.g., occupation, net worth, personality) of individuals you most want to work with, I bet you don’t have the same document for an advisor joining your firm. If you’re planning to expand, here’s how to create one and use it to recruit the right advisor for your firm.

Whether prospective clients are referred to you or are conducting their own search for financial advisors in their area, the first place they’ll go to learn more about your firm is your website. And where’s the first place they’ll look on your website to learn more about you? Your biography! So, what does that mean for you? Without a shred of a doubt, you need an informative, well-crafted, engaging bio that wins over prospects and motivates them to explore the rest of your website—and, ultimately, get in touch with you.

Brian Sullivan is Commonwealth’s newly minted senior vice president, chief marketing officer, and he brings with him experience from a variety of industries, including academia (Northeastern University), sports (the Boston Red Sox), and consumer brands (Oreos, Bagel Bites). If given a moment, he’ll tell you that great marketing is all about storytelling and experience, and he’s worked with all types of marketing talent to create memorable and effective messaging. In some cases, that talent has included third-party marketing support firms, a resource that many advisors need at one point or another. So, I decided to sit down with him to talk through what’s involved when assessing the need for third-party marketing support and how to evaluate the best fit for any firm.

In 2017, following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), a dramatic step was taken to double the federal estate tax exemption amount. Today, individual estates valued at less than $11.4 million are not subject to taxation at a federal level. This new threshold means only a small fraction of estates will be subject to the federal estate tax upon death for the foreseeable future.