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I was reading The Economist on a commuter train when the fellow in the next seat started a conversation: “What advice would you give a young person to be successful in life?” Social media gives us plenty of opportunities to engage, but nothing will ever replace face to face conversation. As a financial professional, you might find yourself in this situation. Maybe a client is seeking advice for their child. What would you tell them?
Part 1 of the conversation. Although I could have asked lots of probing questions, I decided to respond with a direct answer. Thanks to LinkedIn we have become good friends with a husband and wife accounting professor couple. They have advised their students to identify a service people need, that cannot be replaced by AI and is difficult to do on your own. (Accounting and tax advice fits that description. That is their field.)
Part 2 of the conversation. We had time, so I probed for more information. It became obvious he was gathering advice for himself. I asked how old he was. He did not feel he was still young, but it’s a matter of perspective. He is a lot younger than me! He has been working in a field aligned with private equity, but did not get an equity stake in these new firms. He attended college and dis his postgraduate work in Europe.
Part 3 of the conversation. When you work in industry, you are either on the revenue or the expense side of the equation. Sales puts you on the revenue side. When companies get acquired or need to navigate downturns in the economy, they often layoff staff. You have more job security if you are bringing in money, not costing money. However, working on the sales side has it’s disadvantages. The higher you move up the management heirarchy, the further away you are from personally generating revenue. (Firms often consolidate sales regions to save money.) Aligning with revenue was a new idea.
Part 4 of the conversation. We talked about being your own boss. This means owning the business. We talked about Certified Government Contractors. This has advantages because the government is often less sensitive to economic cycles. They are always buying spare parts, uniforms and other stuff. They also seek to promote doing business with minority, veteran or women owned firms.
Part 5 of the conversation. He has a bachelors and graduate degree. He attended university. Although the schools are in Europe, there should be an alumni office. In my opinion, they have an ongoing moral responsibility to provide “aftermarket service” to graduates. They can likely hook him up with fellow graduates in the US. This was an idea he had not considered.
Part 6 of the conversation. He expressed a desire to get involved on the research and analytics side of Wall Street. I mentioned the Certified Financial Analyst(CFA) credential was important. It was complicated to earn, but it was the credential that should open doors.
Part 7 of the conversation. If he went to school in Europe it is a safe bet he is bilingual. He is. There are trade associations that are country specific here in the US. These often support businesses that are seeking to do business in the US or US businesses seeking business abroad. He has picked up on this idea and is already executing on this strategy.
Part 8 of the conversation. What did this fellow do? He started a conversation with a stranger on a commuter train. He asked questions and kept the conversation going. That is a skill. I told the story of the financial planner who started off as a sole practitioner and gradually build up a firm of 35 people who are Senior planners, associate planners and para planners. He built up a clientele of executives, many in the pharmaceutical industry. In the early days of his career, he would get on the commuter train, find someone interesting to sit next to and have a conversation, When the ride was over, he would cross the platform and repeat the process, riding in the opposite direction.
When you are asked to give career advice, how do you answer the question?
Related: Why Your Client Should Work Even if They Can Afford Not To