Falling in love with the business all over again.

I am a career changer and joined the financial services industry at 30. It's been a few years since but the reasons why I joined the business have grown into bigger reasons on why I want to stay. Every day I choose to double down and love each moment.

The Blueprint, An FPA NexGen Podcast.

We started this journey at the top of 2023 and it has been a full journey of peaks and valleys. After much hard work and the support of others, we are live. I learned a lot about podcast production, especially in financial services.

I have a profound amount of respect for those who have had a podcast. A lot happens behind the scenes, way more than expected. From compliance, scripts, equipment, interview scheduling, and more; it's work nonetheless.

I love the concept of a podcast. For this first season, we spoke with my fellow nerds for finance. We chose to speak to the up-and-coming professionals because, during the Great Wealth Transfer, these professionals will carry the profession into the next era.

I was humbled by how motivated, inspired, and driven each individual is. In addition, listening to their stories and sharing a similar interest in finance and how it can affect people's lives.

You can list to the podcast here on all your streaming services

Apple Podcast

Spotify

Amazon

FPA NexGen Gathering 2024

Communities are built with intention and not just by adding people to a group chat. It's one thing to communicate and host meetings online. It's a completely different atmosphere when everyone comes together offline for the same mission. A few things stood out which led to a great event.

Fewer Panels, More breakout sessions

No more PPTs, More round table discussions

We all attend conferences. Of course, I love a good panel or fireside chat like anyone else, but I am here for the networking. We coming out of COVID and are hungry for offline interactions. Teams and Zoom can't replicate that organic conversation when you meet in person. The human element was a priority at Gathering that was overwhelming. A huge congrats to the team.

Book Review: The Index Card Business Plan

Great read. If you're in sales, an entrepreneur, or in the mind frame of how to move the needle; this is the book to grab. It's about 100 pages, so you can burn through the pages in about a week. The tonality is simplicity.

I think we as humans tend to overcomplicate things. You don't get extra points for difficulty. Simple is often the highest level of expertise as I am constantly trying to exercise. A few key takeaways

• Set KPIs or "Pillars" that can be tracked week over week, instead of daily
• Start low and raise the bar accordingly
• You should be able to boil down your business plan and tactics onto a single index card, not double-sided.

I've been following their content for about a year and just using the free content available. As we develop and realize change equates to challenges, I thought this book would help in that growth. It didn't disappoint at all.

The views expressed herein are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.