Starting Your Own Practice

Provides expert insight and advice for professionals looking to strike out on their own, fully updated to reflect current trends and issues 

Considering the overabundance of professional service providers toiling at monolith employers, you might want to start thinking about business independence. Starting Your Own Practice: The Independence Guide for Investment Advisors, Attorneys, CPAs and Other Professional Service Providers offers you step-by-step guidance on the entirety of the independence process, from your initial decision to break free, to managing your business, to your ultimate exit strategy.

In the 15 years since he first wrote Starting Your Own Practice, author Robert Fragasso has gained invaluable practical experience continuing to lead his own independent investment management and financial planning firm. Now in its Second Edition, this popular guide provides more depth on management considerations, transition to business maturity, and eventual profitable business succession. The author has added a wealth of alternative ideas on how to leverage your skills and talents in your own business, license your services and infrastructure, plan for your retirement, and more. Sharing new insights on making the independence move quicker, easier, and less costly, this new edition:

• Provides straightforward information on both the financial benefits and risks of starting your own practice
• Helps you decide if you truly want to go into business for yourself
• Offers expert guidance on planning your move and structuring your marketing, managing, staffing, and general business operations
• Discusses practical considerations such as leaving your current employer, converting existing clients, protecting your confidentiality, and financing your new business
• Provides new and revised content throughout, including additional in-depth commentary on management considerations and transition to business maturity

Starting Your Own Practice: The Independence Guide for Investment Advisors, Attorneys, CPAs and Other Professional Service Providers is indispensable for anyone providing skilled personal services.

Foreword xi

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Chapter One: Is It Your Time To Move To Independence? 1

The Financial Benefits 3

Risk 7

The Entrepreneur’s Test 11

Chapter Two: What Does It Mean To Be In Business For

YOURSELF AND WHO DOES IT WELL? 13

Time 13

People Make the Difference 14

Chapter Three: Creating Your Business 17

Choosing Your Market Niche 18

Structuring Your Business to Serve Your Market Niche 21

Your Unique Value Proposition 24

Creating Your Organizational Model 31

A Corporation with Departmental Special Ops Teams 35

Should You Build Resources Internally or Acquire Strategic Partners? 36

The Licensing Solution 40

Chapter Four: Staffing And Compensation 43

Your Fringe Benefit Package as a Recruitment, Retention, and Productivity Tool 48

Fringe Benefits Summary 53

Managing Workforce Growth 54

Chapter Five: Leaving Your Current Employer 57

Protecting Your Confidentiality 61

Chapter Six: Choosing Your Business Space 65

Interior Design 65

Office Location and Image 67

Finding the Right Building 68

Negotiating for Space 69

Chapter Seven: Equipment And Supplies 75

Financing 76

Legal Format and Protecting Your Investment 78

Protecting Your Business Investment 80

Ask What Your Government Can Do for You 82

Chapter Eight: Converting Existing Clients Or Customers To Your New Business 87

Chapter Nine: Gaining New Clients And Customers—The Right Way 93

The Sales Continuum 94

Advertising 94

Public Relations 96

Create Your Own PR through Newsletters and E-Newsletters 98

Direct Mail and Digital 104

Direct Mail and Email Tied to Demonstration or Consultation 105

Direct Mail or Email Offering Information upon Response 106

Networking 110

How to Network? 111

Educational Seminars 114

Teaching the Seminars 120

Referrals 124

Chapter Ten: Managing Your Business 131

Getting Started 131

Manage Your Business or It Will Manage You 134

Time Management 134

Activities Management 135

Putting Your Goals into Action 140

Personal 141

It Is as Easy as A-B-C 147

Techniques of Activities Management 148

People Management 153

Talk, Talk, Talk, and Talk 155

Creating Your Organization’s Employee Structure 156

Clerical/Secretarial Support 158

Revenues – Expense = Profits 158

CEO 159

Evaluate Results but Manage Activities 161

Corrective Action with Employees 162

Creating and Implementing Your Business’s Strategic Plan 165

Appreciate and Validate 166

Which Clients or Customers Do You Want? 167

Managing Your Clients and Customers 169

Treating Clients as People 175

Managing During Tough Times 176

Chapter Eleven: Your Exit Strategy 181

Who Will Buy or Receive Your Business? 181

Possible Exit Purchase Scenarios 182

Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) 183

External Sale to a Large Entity 185

External Smaller Entity 186

Price 186

How to Receive Payment for Your Business 187

Special Considerations in Selling to Family Members 188

Retirement Planning 189

The End of the Rainbow 189

Appendix 191

Index 197

About the Author 207

ROBERT FRAGASSO, CFP^®, has over three decades of experience in the investment and financial planning fields. He directs the planning, management, analysis, research, and review of all client programs at Fragasso Financial Advisors. He graduated from Duquesne University, served in the Marine Corps, and did post-graduate work in accounting, finance, and economics through Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh, and in investments via the New York Institute of Finance. Fragasso has been a Certified Financial Planner (CFP^®) Professional since 1982 and is a member of the Financial Planning Association.

Does your current work situation bother you? Do things beyond the ordinary, day-today issues of working in a business environment —such as lack of input into important company decisions and compensation —continue to frustrate you? If you're tired of working for someone else and have contemplated striking out on your own, Starting Your Own Practice: The Independence Guide for Investment Advisors, Attorneys, CPAs and Other Professional Service Providers, Second Edition can help make the transition as smooth as possible.

Written from the perspective of successful entrepreneur and investment advisor, Robert Fragasso, Starting Your Own Practice, Second Edition has been designed to help professionals who provide skilled personal services—especially those who are already experienced in the professional services industry—make the right choices as they pursue their independent business endeavors.

Filled with in-depth insight and practical advice, Starting Your Own Practice begins by helping you decide if you should go into business for yourself. You'll gain a realistic look at the financial benefits and risks associated with going at it on your own—as well as take an entrepreneur's test that offers an honest assessment of whether self-employment is right for you.

Once you've made the decision to move forward, Starting Your Own Practice will help you plan your next moves, with valuable information on structuring the marketing, management, staffing, and general operation of your business. Fragasso lays out a complete blueprint to independence that includes all the aforementioned issues.

Going into business for yourself requires careful thought and consideration, but with Starting Your Own Practice as your guide, you'll quickly learn how to turn the dream of owning an independent business into reality.

The world is not waiting for you to start your business. But it may welcome you with open arms once it sees what you have to offer.

"In the quarter century since he himself went independent, Bob Fragasso has steadily built one of the smartest, deepest, and best-managed financial advisory firms in the country. In this greatly expanded Second Edition of his landmark book, Bob offers an encyclopedic guide to independent success. I can't imagine how any service provider would begin his/her journey to independence without it."
—NICK MURRAY, AUTHOR, SIMPLE WEALTH, INEVITABLE WEALTH

"Maybe one of the single greatest shifts in the history of our economy is yet to come as more and more workers in this service-based economy cut the ties to their employers and go into business for themselves. If you want to be a part of this new wave, your first step is to read Starting Your Own Practice."
—DR. BOB FROEHLICH, FORMER VICE CHAIR, DEUTSCHE BANK; OWNER, KANE COUNTY COUGARS BASEBALL CLUB; MUTUAL FUND TRUSTEE