There’s an old song that describes the end-of-year holidays as the most wonderful time of the year. The people in it are laughing and singing, enjoying dinners and friends, and relaxing by the fire. Somehow, they’ve completed their to-do lists so they can enjoy the season of giving stress free. It sure doesn’t sound like me—or anyone I know, for that matter. But maybe this year will be different.

When we communicate verbally with one another, we string together words to express our thoughts, opinions, and expressions. When we combine the right words in the right way, we can use storytelling to educate our clients and inspire them into action. But are there words advisors should avoid using with clients? In our industry, there is a wide vocabulary of terms and acronyms we use casually with our peers and other financial professionals (alpha and beta are a couple that come to mind). But do our clients understand these terms? Most don’t, and we shouldn’t expect them too. We need to use relatable words with which to communicate with clients.

With unemployment rates at historic lows, competition is fierce in the marketplace, and employers are at a risk of losing candidates—or even key employees—to competitors offering additional perks and benefits. So, it’s more important than ever for business owners to understand how they can maximize employee engagement and, therefore, retention. The good news is there are a number of small enhancements you can make—ranging from communication to professional development—that can help keep your employees happy in their roles. 

Running an efficient and profitable advisory practice, with happy, satisfied clients who refer you to their colleagues, friends, and family is the goal of financial advisors everywhere. But over time, as your practice grows, you may find that you have too many clients, leading to bandwidth issues among your staff and diluting the client experience. Or, you may not have enough ideal clients to maintain your continued trajectory, which is a different problem altogether.

Many advisors often struggle with determining when to hire a new employee, and it can be difficult to decide if the costs—whether it be money or time—are worth it. Is it better to be proactive and add someone to the team ahead of time to avoid disaster, or to save money and wait to see if existing employees can handle the additional work?