He Built 40 Clients in a Library. Now He Manages £58M AUM

This week on the Financial Planner Life podcast, Sam Oakes speaks with James Westpfel, a financial planner at Foster Denovo, who shares his career journey from self-employed to employed and how going hyper-local helped him build a thriving client base from scratch.

After 22 years working in a building society, James made the leap into self-employment. With no client book and no lead funnel, he turned to his local community for opportunity. His strategy? Show up in person, build trust and offer financial guidance where people needed it most.

By setting up a weekly financial advice clinic in a local community library, James became a familiar, approachable presence. That hyper-local client strategy helped him win over 40 clients organically, through word of mouth and relationships built face-to-face.

In this episode, James opens up about:
✅ His transition from redundancy to retraining as a financial planner
✅ The highs and lows of being a self-employed financial planner
✅ How he used a hyper-local strategy to win clients and build trust
✅ Why he moved to an employed role at Foster Denovo
✅ How structure and support have helped him thrive, managing a book of 170 clients
✅ What financial planners should consider when choosing between self-employed and employed paths

If you're exploring a financial planner career, looking for new ways to connect with clients, or considering the realities of self-employed vs employed advice, this episode is packed with insight and real-world experience.

00:00 – Intro: Why finding clients is the hardest part  
00:30 – Redundancy after 22 years in banking  
01:45 – From cashier to branch manager: James’ early career  
04:00 – The reality of high street banking and community connection  
06:20 – Is banking still a good route into financial planning?  
08:00 – Retraining at 42: Overcoming fears and starting again  
09:40 – Finding opportunities after qualification  
10:20 – Choosing the self-employed route in financial advice  
11:30 – The biggest challenge: confidence and standing out  
12:40 – The hyper-local idea that changed everything  
14:00 – Setting up a financial advice clinic in a community library  
16:00 – Becoming “The Library Guy” and winning 40+ clients  
18:10 – Why James works with clients of all wealth levels  
19:40 – Building a referral network with care and integrity  
22:00 – Hyper-local visibility: how trust builds trust  
24:00 – Connecting with local businesses and schools  
26:30 – From library pop-ups to career opportunities  
27:20 – Why James chose to join Foster Denovo  
29:00 – Managing 170 clients: structure, support, and growth  
30:30 – Balancing work, family, and purpose  
32:00 – Keeping the community work alive at Foster Denovo  
34:00 – Advice for planners considering employed vs self-employed  
36:00 – Final thoughts: trust, career clarity, and client care  

Be sure to follow Financial Planner life on YouTube for extra content about career development within Financial Planning.

Reach out to sam@financialplannerlife.com in regards to sponsorship, partnerships, videography or podcast production.

Want to appear on the Financial Planner Life podcast? Drop Sam a message.

Chapters

• 0:00 From Banking To Advice
• 2:10 Face-To-Face Skills That Matter
• 4:25 Redundancy And The Exam Gauntlet
• 6:55 Choosing Self-Employment
• 8:55 Cracking Client Acquisition
• 11:10 The Library Pop-Up Idea
• 13:40 Word Of Mouth And Social Proof
• 16:00 Advice For Everyone, No Barriers
• 18:20 Building A Trusted Referral Network
• 21:00 Hyperlocal Marketing Playbook
• 24:00 From Self-Employed To Foster Denovo
• 26:20 Structure, Support And Impact
• 28:10 Keeping The Library Sessions
• 30:00 Managing A Legacy Client Book
• 32:00 Guidance For Bankers Considering Advice
• 35:30 Closing Reflections And Takeaways

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

You need to put a business development plan. You need to prospect, you need to find clients. Um, and that can be one of the most daunting and challenging things to do. But what was your story?

SPEAKER_00: 0:14

It was a hard time because suddenly, after 22 years of structure and routine, that wasn't there anymore. I don't care if you know you've got 10 pounds in a bank, you've got 10 million. Same service, seamlessly. Um, and it's really key that those individuals feel valued just as much as anybody else, so that they feel they can actually have the confidence to go, well, actually, I can't speak to James because I haven't got enough money. No, you can speak to James, yeah, and you can have confidence speaking to James, and James is going to help you. So I'll just make it key that there's no barriers, yeah. Financial advice is available to all ages, all wealth, and etc.

SPEAKER_01: 0:53

Sort of think about it, and you walk down the high street, you look around, there aren't these financial outlets, and it's almost crying out for it, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00: 1:01

Definitely, because you're exposed to so many different scenarios, different clients, different ages, um, different situations. Therefore, you have to adapt as an individual when you're face to face. One of my turning points was the redundancy, and I think that suddenly opened up a new world to me because it was like starting again. I was a what do you want to do, James? Well, actually, I know what I want to do.

SPEAKER_01: 1:30

So, James, thanks so much for joining me today on the Financial Planner Life Podcast where we get to hear a little bit about your financial planning uh career journey. Sure. Um, obviously it's a special relationship we have with Foster De Novo. We're here in London today. So thank you for joining me.

SPEAKER_00: 1:43

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01: 1:44

I'm really looking forward to it. Top man. Well, we've had the luxury of having a conversation already, haven't we, on the on the telephone? Yeah, we have. And uh I got to understand a little bit about your background and your career, and I find it really fascinating. We're going to get onto a little bit about hyper-local marketing and how you generate clients on a hyper-local basis, sure. Which I always think is really, really fascinating.

SPEAKER_03: 2:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 2:03

Um, and how you've really kind of lent into a local community, but I think this really begins at the start of your career. So tell us a little bit about how you got into financial services.

SPEAKER_00: 2:14

Yeah, so it started back in 1998, so quite a long time ago. Um, and I joined um a building society um as a cashier. Right. So I'd left college um and was looking for work. So, you know, back then it was in a paper ad in the newspaper, applied for the position as cashier and and was lucky enough to uh get the job. And from there, um I spent 22 years. So um one of the greatest decisions ever made, uh, working as a cashier, personal banking manager. So, you know, that's interviewing for current accounts, credit cards, loans, etc. Um, and then the last 15 years as a branch manager covering many branches, um, where obviously as a branch manager, you're responsible for the performance of the team and also um the client customer service. So um great sort of experience over that time to allow me to think about what I wanted to do moving forward until I was made redundant just after COVID. Right. So, with redundancy, uh, to be fair to the building society, they actually offered me another position as a project manager to stay. Um, but once the redundancy was offered after 22 years, I'd always flirted with the idea of financial advice over many years. Internally, there'd be many of the managers saying, James, you're very suited to that position, maybe more so than a manager. Um, and I used to look after as a district um of managers, I used to run um the area for financial planning within those branches. So I was responsible for understanding how other branches uh could make appointments for financial advisors within the building society. So it was always my I suppose the way that I worked, the way that I did it with customers, even as a branch manager in the banking hall, I was very successful at it. So that was always handed to me to pass on to other branches. So I was in control of that as a district.

SPEAKER_01: 4:10

So working within banking for so long, what about banking did you enjoy the most as a bank manager?

SPEAKER_00: 4:17

So the bank manager days of the bowler hat, you know, have gone. Um, I was never sat in an office at the back, you know, where's the manager? I want to see him. You'd find me in the banking hall. You'd walk in, there I was, waiting to greet customers or members of a building society. Um, but being the director, so understanding that my cashiers were busy, that my personal bankers were busy, and also the financial planners, but it allowed me to also be there to greet and meet and discuss with members um what their needs were. Um, and from that, obviously understand where to direct those members to the right person.

SPEAKER_01: 4:54

Brilliant, being a vital part of the community as well. Yeah, um, let's just for anybody listening here, and we got a lot of people that are thinking about becoming a financial planner, and a lot of them actually work within banking, and they might, or they might be looking for a route into financial services and might be considering banking. I mean, yeah, we know that bank assurance, for example, the financial advice side of banking is isn't as big as it once was, and it was a fantastic place for people to train, cut their teeth, and develop their skills. Um what do you think about the kind of route from cashier to to personal banker? Do you think it's a really excellent route into kind of exposing yourself to um client scenarios where potentially later on down the line this will lead you into financial advice? 100%.

SPEAKER_00: 5:32

Um, with cashiering, um, you know, it's a hard job. Um, and you know, it's a a job that's not easy. Um, but making that jump from being behind a glass screen, doing transactions all day to actually being on the other side of the glass, face to face with members, um, and getting to know members, understand their situation, and linking products to those situations is probably the best training that it gave me uh because I was able to do that through insurances, through banking, through mortgages. Um, and then it's also going a bit further and understanding, well, you know, there's actually other needs here that I actually don't discuss myself, but we have professionals that do. So actually explaining what these other professionals do within your branch and how to make a smooth referral across was was key, really. And that's the only you're only going to get that from being on the other side of the counter.

SPEAKER_01: 6:24

Do you think as well getting that exposure from a face-to-face basis as opposed to being saying sat in a contact centre where a lot of people end up you know in their careers? I did the same, I didn't do anything really face-to-face in the early stages when I was at a Viva talking to financial advisors or you know, clients about their pensions and investments, it was all telephone-based stuff. Do you think you know, do you feel like the exposure to face-to-face gave you the a different a different level of skill set?

SPEAKER_00: 6:46

Definitely, because you're exposed to so many different scenarios, different clients, different ages, um, different situations. Therefore, you have to adapt as an individual when you're face to face. And you know, sales is tough. Um, you know, let's not get away from the fact that it is a sales world that you're in, but actually linking sales with doing the right thing is the key. Um, so yeah, I think being exposed in that way in the banking hall, face to face, is a lot different than being behind a phone or being behind a screen.

SPEAKER_01: 7:14

Yeah, absolutely. I think if anyone's listening to this and they are looking for that exposure of like, how can I upskill very, very quickly? I think looking at banking, um, especially on the banking hall floor, is a fantastic opportunity. I I recruited for years for the banks, and it's quite interesting actually. If I look at my LinkedIn profile now, so many people that I used to place into like personal banking roles are now financial advisers. Yeah. So there is that still is that transition, there's still that opportunity to move into it. And I think it's just good to give advice to people who are maybe at the beginning of their career and they can't quite work out where they should go. You know, don't dismiss banking, it's still a fantastic place to get your training in development and give you that step in the right direction. There's still things like mortgages being done. There are still banks delivering advice, just not as many as there used to be. So you got made redundant. People were telling you that you've got the skill set, the attributes, the personality, the charisma, probably to become a financial planner. So, what happened? Did you become one?

SPEAKER_00: 8:03

So, um, yeah, we took the redundancy. Um, then it was kind of uh time to evaluate where I was at in life, uh, in terms of my career, what I wanted, uh not just for me, but for my family. Um, so I took it upon myself to complete the exams. Um, worried me a little bit due to age. Um, a lot of financial planners now, you know, all different ages, but you tend to sort of think of them being a bit younger than me in terms of starting off. How old were you at the time to set up interest? 42. 42, okay.

SPEAKER_01: 8:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 8:37

42 or 43.

SPEAKER_01: 8:38

We think the average age of an advisor is 56 years old, so younger than the most.

SPEAKER_00: 8:41

So it was more the exam side that I was worried about in terms of age, but um yeah, self-study. So I didn't join um a group or anything like that. I actually just joined the the exam board that uh offered the exams and and studied at home. Self-study, working out of blessing, my daughter's bedroom who had a desk at the time. Yeah, um, but I it was more about making sure that I was still focused on nine till five in my mind. So it was a hard time because suddenly, after 22 years of structure and routine, that wasn't there anymore. So I still made sure that I was studying 9 till 5, having a lunch break, back to the books, back to the revision. Um, and yeah, the the exams really paid off in the end. So the time taken to do it, I was really, you know, really proud that I'd achieved that. Love it. Um, and in between that, sort of taking some family holidays to relax a bit more before considering my next step.

SPEAKER_01: 9:34

Great stuff. So you decided to get into financial planning. Was there an abundance of opportunities for you? You got your qualifications, was there loads of opportunities out there, or was it a struggle? How did you find that?

SPEAKER_00: 9:43

Well, interestingly enough, um, from my building side days, quite a few connections that worked worked at other wealth providers. Um, so I sort of connected through LinkedIn with them, um, had a few discussions and a few chats, um, had a discussion with a few different uh wealth providers, um, but a very well-known wealth provider um seemed to really resonate with me um once we had the discussion.

SPEAKER_01: 10:08

Yeah, fantastic. So you got yourself stuck in. Now, there's plenty of opportunities out there, but there's more of self-employed than there is employed. What route did you go down in your first entry into financial planning?

SPEAKER_00: 10:19

Yeah, so I decided to go into the deep end and I went I went self-employed. Right. Um, kind of wanted to be in control of my own destiny and actually build something for myself. Um, yeah, I'd seen others that have done it, not just in financial planning, but in other, you know, my brother's self-employed, for example, and he's he's been a great career. Um, so yeah, it just started to make me feel actually I can own this. I've got no nobody to answer to apart from myself and be responsible for my own success and performance.

SPEAKER_01: 10:48

And what did you like about it?

SPEAKER_00: 10:50

Yeah, the freedom. Um, it was an open, open book. You know, I was able to um generate business myself, make new connections. Um, you know, um, I was able to work through an academy, um, which gave me the stepping stones to understand what financial planning was and how to actually approach it. Um, so that gave me the the steps to to start. I think once I'd got to through the academy, it was then an open world of, well, now you're on your own, now you're on your own. But I did have the back end of a big practice.

SPEAKER_01: 11:23

Okay. So you're out there, you're on your own, you're self-employed. What then became one of the biggest challenges to you?

SPEAKER_00: 11:29

Um, I think becoming more confident and I think being a bit more selfish. Okay. Uh you know, I think with a self-employed world, you need to sort of realize that you've got to stand on your own two feet, um, grow organically, yeah, from scratch. Yes, you can have a practice behind you, but to be successful, you're gonna need to make some changes yourself. Change the way you work. We're not nine to five anymore. Um, we work 24-7. Um, and how you promote yourself through um face-to-face, whether it be social media, um, is gonna be key to attracting potentially new clients or new businesses.

SPEAKER_01: 12:08

Well, it's one of the biggest challenges you come against anybody coming into the profession starting out on a self-employed basis. You are, you know, you're you you you need to build a business development plan, you need to prospect, you need to find clients. Um, and that can be one of the most daunting and challenging things to to do, especially when you throw yourself, as you say, into the deep end, into a brand new career that you've you've never done before. It's nice to have a blueprint, it's nice to have people around you that can support you and maybe give you some guidance, etc.

SPEAKER_03: 12:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 12:31

But what was your story? Is there anything unique that you did that helped you generate clients?

SPEAKER_00: 12:36

Well, look, I had great mentors, okay, in my time at a huge wealth provider, um, who guided me, um, full of ideas um about what they had done and what how what worked for them. I'm one of those that, well, what's worked for you doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna work for me. Um, we're all different, and you've got to accept that as well. So mine was actually close to home. So I was actually walking locally to where I live uh with my daughter one day, uh, as simple as that. And where I live is actually a community library. So a lot of people call it a community hub because it's not a library like everybody thinks, because the minute I say it's a library, everyone assumes it's like a shh, you've got to be quiet, someone's reading a book. No, this is a hub of a community where you have classes going on, such as uh computer classes, you've got people playing Scrabble, uh, you've got um bread making, you know, you've got kids singing. So this is all advertised on the front. So I walked up to the window, as simple as that, and thought, well, I come from a background locally, of a known face locally as a branch manager, but I know that the nearest branches are in two separate towns. So, where does anyone go for a quick question for advice on financial planning? So on the whim, I walked in and said, Can I have a quick chat with the library manager? I've got an idea. Um, and Paula came out um and I just suggested to her that look on a Friday I generally work from home, working on my cases, but actually instead of working at home in my four walls, I could be positioned here inside their lovely cafe and provide free advice where potential customers, clients can walk into the library if they're returning a book or joining a class, can come over for a chat and a coffee. Now, when I say free, that's free as in we're having a discussion today. Um, we keep it obviously from a data protection point of view, we keep it very short. Um, but if obviously there's a need area there that I can help with, then we book the appointments outside the library with the client at their home or or somewhere else. Um and then Paula couldn't believe you know when I'd come in for an offered. She was like, This is this is brilliant. Um, we don't have anything like this locally, and we certainly don't have anything here now that provides that. So my take on that was no question for a client is a silly question. I don't care how simple it is, and whether it's a one-word answer that makes them walk out of that library feeling 10% better. That was my aim. They may just be walking in because they've got money problems, not because they're looking to invest money or get a pension, but to help solve some problems and make people feel a lot more better from a well-being point of view. Um now the charity is a charity-run library. So in turn, I offer my services to the library to help with their charity work. Um, and as I was working at the time for a large wealth provider, I was able to donate a grant to them for two and a half thousand pounds actually. Wow. Which really makes a difference to the um longevity of the library continuing. Yeah. Um, I advertise my sessions on a Friday on LinkedIn, on Instagram, um, and that has just attracted and and ballooned over the last two years. And I've probably gained around 40 new clients that are on board now.

SPEAKER_01: 16:08

That's fantastic. It's essentially like a wealth clinic, isn't it? Like a financial health clinic. Yep. I find it really interesting. As the banks start to move out of these localized areas, it's losing its kind of uh safe space for somebody to walk through the door and just have a conversation and talk about the things that might be bothering them about their finances. And when you do sort of think about it and you walk down the high street, you look around, there aren't these financial health clinics. And it's almost crying out for it, isn't it? That ability to walk through the door and just ask the question. It's a byproduct of that as well. If you've just helped somebody maybe about just just to get some clarity around maybe their financial security and put their minds at ease about it could be something really simple to you, not complex, not IHT, not investments, it could be credit cards, it could be bank accounts, it could be anything, couldn't it? Really? Did you find that a byproduct of that was that word of mouth spread spread quickly?

SPEAKER_00: 16:59

Very quickly. Um suddenly I'd be getting messages via Facebook, like I said, Instagram and even LinkedIn, um, around, you know, when am I there? When am I there next, James? Like, you know, um, and yeah, it's it's self-satisfaction as well. Um, like I said, because I was quite a known face locally. So many uh you know individuals have walked in that library and spotted me straight away, huge smile on their face, oh, used to you know work at the building site, that's that's right. So sometimes the the confidence was already there with you know with with with the individuals. Um but yeah, I think it's more down to one of the you know, one of the things that's quite funny is is now I've become the library guy of a walk down the street, um, which uh you know is from a daughter's point of view, the street cred doesn't help. Yeah, right. Um so it's happened and it's become, and yeah, I suppose the only way to explain it is is we've ballooned in scale over the last two years. Um so everyone knows I'm there locally.

SPEAKER_01: 17:56

So fantastic. So you talked about generating, say, 40 clients. Yeah. So, you know, it was it a new did did you think with these type these are obviously the type of clients that you would consider to be a financial planning client?

SPEAKER_00: 18:10

Yes. Yeah, okay. So for me, um I think this is where sometimes I may differ slightly to some other financial planners. I'm not just looking for clients that have a certain amount of wealth. Yeah, financial advice from my point of view is open to everybody. I I don't care if you know you've got£10 in a bank, you've got 10 million, same service, seamlessly. Um, and it's really key that those individuals feel valued just as much as anybody else so that they feel they can actually have the confidence to go, well, actually I can't speak to James because I've got enough money. No, but you can speak to James, yeah, and you can have confidence speaking to James, and James is going to help you. So I'll just make it key that there's no barriers, yeah. Financial advice is available to all ages, all wealth, etc. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 19:00

When you become more and more popular in a situation where you're kind of almost leading with altruism, it can also become a little bit overwhelming as people come to you with more and more questions where you might not be able to offer your expertise and services in a way that is beneficial to your time as well because you are also a self-employed trying to run a business. So I've I've been there myself with the Financial Plan of Life, you know, you get countless people contact you asking just for you know free advice and because they feel like they know you. And I, you know, I try and answer as many questions as I can on the Financial Panel Life podcast. I set up an academy and send them to the academy now where they can start their qualifications and get some support and help in there. What did you do to kind of um expand your network really to be able to signpost people to the help that they required so you didn't perhaps feel so mm possibly guilty that you couldn't help everybody?

SPEAKER_00: 19:45

Connections, so social media connections, um, working as self-employed, it was important that I had connections in areas away from my expertise, but also feel confident in those areas in terms of who I was referring clients to, because there's nothing worse than you know, send them somewhere else where they're not going to get the same level of service they've received from myself. So I prided myself on my own service, and that anybody that I would refer for any areas that I didn't deal with had to come back level to that. Um, so connections is key. Um, and also having the mentors behind you to guide you as well. It's really important to have the right people backing you, um, providing their advice and their experience in those situations. Um but yeah, connections in in in certain areas such as estate planning, for example, or solicitors or accountants, having the right connections in place to be able to provide that seamless journey.

SPEAKER_01: 20:42

And when you led with that sort of um giving back mentality, did you find that your network started to grow as well? You know, when you tend to hear the if you if you give out things come back to you, correct.

SPEAKER_00: 20:53

So yeah, referrals from from accountants, yeah, yeah. So self-employed, like I say, it's really important that you you have many streams of um inflow of clients. So I couldn't just rely just on the on the library. Um there was also accountants, word of mouth is huge. So for me, the big one is if you get your personality across, I want to be a family planner. So when I'm dealing with an individual, I'm not just thinking about the individual, I'm thinking of how this affects their sons, their daughters, sisters, brothers, the wider, the wider scope. Um, so word of mouth to me is something that you know if I I was on many um platforms such as a little bit like Check a Trader, you know, there are certain platforms out there where you can have reviews from clients, vouched for and all. So um I was on vouch for for a good few years, um, and always um you know came out in the top uh top 100 or whatever it may have been uh at the time, could be more than that. Um and because we are we we're as human beings, we're as humans, we we look for reviews, we look for who's the best, you know, who's the who's the best plumber in the area, well, who's the best advisor in the area? So the only way to do that is to make sure your credibility is where it should be and that it's maintained. Um so vouch for a game that platform to be able to get my name out there, build upon the library, um, exposure is key. Um, and if you can use it in the right way through the various platforms, such as um, you know, social media, um, then yeah, it it puts you in good stead.

SPEAKER_01: 22:32

Well, this is this is the hyperlocal that we're talking about. You know, I think a lot of people come in to financial planning and feel like they've got to smash out LinkedIn and have thousands and thousands of followers, they're all over the place, and everyone should know who they are. We have this thought in our head that the whole country needs to know who we are, but you don't. I think a lot of people just think too big now. And if you think hyperlocal and you think about who am I as a person, who is like me, what problems might they have? How can I relate to them? Where can I position myself where I'm gonna see people on a regular basis? How can I create that social proof? And I love what you said about going into the going into the community, building a being part of a community project, which is like charity, and people are only going to speak quite highly of you in that respect. You start to get mentioned probably in the social media posts that they're putting out, right? Correct. People get behind it and they support it and they start seeing you. And all those people are just thinking like they're watching and they're going, oh, remember when I need, you know, I need a financial advisor. Great, I'll walk in there and I'll see that person. Um, so I think you know, remaining hyper-local and having a hyper-local mentality when you are a financial planner, I think in any business really, it's it's just super important. Don't don't dismiss what's on your doorstep. When you look to the left and you look to the right and you just step slightly, there's a whole market that you could be missing. Correct. And that whole market is so close to you. So when you knock on that door, it's just around the corner. So what they're gonna do, they might tell a neighbour. It's it's the classic old school way of building relationships, which you learn directly through being the bank manager and the bank manager being the centre of the community. It's it's it was it's important. Yeah, you know, everyone knew the baker, everyone. I know it sounds a bit old school, but it's true, like local um community is being lost a lot of the time, which is quite sad. It is. And I like things like this.

SPEAKER_00: 24:14

I like hearing with the lack of branches, like I said, over time, not just um building societies but banks. Yeah, um, where the library is, for example, all of them were there. Yeah, apart from the the building society, that was uh the next town, but the banks were there, yeah, all gone. Yeah. Um, and if they disappear, well, the the service disappears.

SPEAKER_01: 24:33

Yeah. Um did you did you connect with the local businesses as well? Did they start to get to know you? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 24:38

So that's the key when you said about sort of networking, if you like. Yeah. Uh telling networking events as well. Um, the the library has opened a door to connecting with many of the businesses that come in there because some people just come in out of the library just for a coffee. Yeah. Um, and when obviously I'm sitting there and I've got a sign on the table which says financial advice, I've got my business card set up, um, and it's a chat over coffee. Yeah, but some of those businesses will walk in um and just say, look, just want to run through a few bits with you with regards to what I do, and yeah, making those connections and again that being passed on to further afield.

SPEAKER_01: 25:12

I bet it was Facebook communities as well that supported this.

SPEAKER_00: 25:15

So I advertise through the local community group on on Facebook. Yeah. Um, on that, I didn't then have my links within the message to say, look, I'm at the library this week, come along, have a coffee, have a chat. It shows the areas that I'm going to cover, you know, right the way through. And then at the end I'll have my links attached to that, which is for Instagram. Yeah. Got my own business Instagram page as well as LinkedIn.

SPEAKER_01: 25:37

I suppose a couple of ladies yesterday, uh, Bishop Stalford, they are based, and um, again, hyperlocal strategy, very small area, but they do all their business at the school school gates with other other mums. Uh but then they create the mummies group on Facebook, which created even more of a hyper-local feel, but a community where people could ask questions and they would answer questions within it. I was sort of suggesting to them. The next stage for you ladies is to really start to create QA sessions and put those videos in there. So all those regular questions that people are asking you that maybe you might not have the time anymore to give, put those videos in there and people can then watch them. But as they watch them, they're starting to get to know you and build that relationship with you as well. Yeah. So the kind of like um I think the whole hyperlocal thing is definitely yeah, another friend of mine.

SPEAKER_00: 26:18

And I was approached by the local school as well. Yeah, well. Which I've not got around to just yet, but that's the head the headmistress approached me from the work from the library to say, look, maybe the last year of primary would be a great, yeah, great way of giving financial education before they move into secondary. Yeah. Um not got around to it yet, but it's something that's um on the agenda, and that was created from being local.

SPEAKER_01: 26:38

And then from that, maybe the local newspaper. So I do love yeah, I love that hyper-local strategy. A friend of mine is a financial planner, did very, very well up in Newcastle by connecting with all the um hairdressers, barbers, all of that. They love it, they love chatting, and you know you know, would offer I think he was doing like haircuts and financial service and financial advice or something. So he was like in there at certain times. People would sit in the desk and he'd like just openly talk about finance. But business cards in there, and he was picking up so much, and then obviously hairdressers were referring in business. Well, so they were getting these little kickbags.

SPEAKER_00: 27:09

Well, better off is a hairdresser than she's self-employed, right? So, yeah, I have clients from her too.

SPEAKER_01: 27:15

Fantastic. So, self-employment, right? You're not self-employed anymore, you're now at foster de novo, right?

SPEAKER_00: 27:20

Tell us about that transition. Yeah, so look, you know, um, it all started from a LinkedIn point of view. Um, you know, I was I was realising at times that I was looking over my shoulder a little bit too much. Um, and that's nothing to do with the other wealth provider. That was just me personally thinking month on month, suddenly having a great month, following month might not be so good, fruitfully. Um and that went on for quite a while to the point where I just started to think, do I really want to carry on this way personally? I can understand that those that have been very successful um and have seen the fruits of their labour, and they're gonna see the fruits of their labour for many, many years to come. But actually, I really miss structure. Um, I really missed personally my work-life balance. Uh, I've got two daughters. Um, so it was important to me to think, well, actually, James, you did you did like 9 till 5. Um, that was you kind of set in your ways, and actually, if I didn't have the money worries on my mind, actually, a settled James is a better advisor. So the communication started via LinkedIn. Um, I was contacted um by a recruiter um who put me in touch with um Fosser Danovo. So uh we just had some discussions, that's how it started. There was nothing set, it was just literally uh an introduction call.

SPEAKER_01: 28:40

Who was that with? Uh Helena. Helena Boltonovsky.

SPEAKER_00: 28:43

Correct. Um and yeah, like any individual, I did my homework, um, great chat with Helena uh to understand the proposition that was being put to me. So that a uh a retired of retirement uh sorry an advisor that was looking to retire um with 58 million under management. So it was a huge task, but exciting. Um I was currently at this point looking after probably around 13 million. So suddenly I was sort of putting the ingredients together and thinking, well, it's a great firm. I did my homework on the firm and the values of the firm because I wanted to make sure it aligned with my own. So further discussions took place, and it was definitely the right fit. And yeah, I mean Helena reeled me in, yeah, um, as she does, and yeah, it was just an exciting opportunity that I couldn't pass up.

SPEAKER_01: 29:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 29:38

Not just for me, but for my family.

SPEAKER_01: 29:39

Fantastic. So impact on you then personally, well being wise, lifestyle wise, you know, self employment to to employment. What are the what what have been the benefits, if any? Have you seen them?

SPEAKER_00: 29:51

Yeah, so look, you know, steady income. So that's a huge weight off my mind. Um I've come, you know. Into a huge company and a team that has been given to me from a management perspective and an admin team allow me to see clients and go out and do what I do best, which is talk. Yeah. So it just allows me to put drop the tools and concentrate on the client, understand the client, understand their needs, and make sure that I'm there to do the right thing for now and for their future.

SPEAKER_01: 30:30

No, I love it. Do you feel like a bit more of an intrapreneur? Like, so you've got the entrepreneur, you're out self-employed, you now feel a bit more of an entrepreneur.

SPEAKER_00: 30:37

I'll tell you what's been really clever is I've they've given me this opportunity that actually allows me still to feel self-employed.

SPEAKER_01: 30:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 30:44

You know, it's not like where are you, what you're doing? It's James is out with clients and they've got that trust, and trust was key to me. Yeah. That yes, I'm gonna be out seeing, you know, we've got a huge client book, that I'm gonna be out, I'm gonna be busy. But we trust James to be out there seeing his clients, um, you know, booking the appointments and making sure that the admin team behind him was supporting him, which I mean they've been absolutely amazing. That's awesome. Um, yeah, the team I've got of have really given me the the tools to go out and let me do what I do best.

SPEAKER_01: 31:13

So, how many people you you know, how many clients you're looking after now? How much like AUM are you looking after?

SPEAKER_00: 31:17

So I'm looking at about 167 clients. Yeah. Yep, yeah, very busy. Um, let's just say the mileage is uh been ticking up on the car. Yeah, um, but I love it. Um meeting new people every single day. Um, it's a tough, tough position because these are clients that have have been with an advisor for 30 years. So suddenly building a new relationship from scratch with myself has been key. So I'm turning up at doors and it's suddenly like, who's this gentleman? Um, but all of them so far have been so welcoming and have all wanted to continue the relationship with myself, um, which has been really important.

SPEAKER_01: 31:52

I love it. What about the community library though? Did you carry that on?

SPEAKER_00: 31:59

Well, it was a big worry to start with because my heart's in that library. Um, and the agreement when I joined through Helena was that we would look at slowing it down from every Friday to every other Friday, and that also won me over because that was where the trust came in. It was like, well, that's fine, James. We really like that because two is great work in the community. Um, it's great, obviously, exposure for Foster Danovo. Um, but we want you to continue what you enjoyed doing, and that was that was really also one of the reasons that it made me feel that this was the right fit.

SPEAKER_01: 32:32

Yeah, I like that. People, people plan it and purpose were the things that I was quite keen on when I had my recruitment company. We had a we had went through the B Corp accreditation and social responsibility was a big part of it. Yeah, so we used to go out and do a lot for the social community, like picking up rubbish, going to the beach, doing all that sort of thing, putting on events and stuff. So I do feel like that giving back part um is so so important. So if you're able to continue on with the altruistic work that you're actually doing and making that positive impact, then you feel good, right? Correct. And it's good to hear that Foster De novo are behind that, which you know they are because they do a lot of work themselves, don't they around that type of thing. So it's really, really good to hear. So, you know, you're in this point of your life now, some self-employed to employed, you feel like that financial perhaps insecurity has been um lifted. Yeah, it allows you to focus your attention more on the clients, which is the bit that you actually enjoy. You've got a team and an infrastructure around you, whether you look up or if you look down, left or right, there's support there for you. Yeah. Um, what does the future look like for you?

SPEAKER_00: 33:28

Well, look, you know, yes, I've got the clients that I've inherited. Um, I'm here to make sure that those clients feel that continuity is brought for the service that they had through the previous advisor. But at the same time, like I said, I've still got there is that there is that self-employed advisor inside, and that's what it allows me to do. It still allows me to go out and meet new new individuals, build my client bank even further. Um you know, it's early days, it's only been since December. Uh, we know now in June. Um, just got through my probation. Um, so yeah, I'm not I don't sort of plan too far ahead, I just enjoy the moment. Um, you know, and at the moment, the key is to get out and see as many of the client bank that I can um and make sure that that relationship is built from the start, and obviously from there we we move forward um and grow further.

SPEAKER_01: 34:20

I love it. So from high street banking into financial planning, self-employed to employees, community spirit, yeah, you're loving your new role, you're loving your new career.

SPEAKER_02: 34:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 34:30

And it's uh probably a career that you would suggest to others that are maybe hitting a bit of a point in their life within banking, high street banking, thinking where should they go? Like the person who said to you, you'd be a financial, you could be a fantastic financial planner. What would you say to the people sitting in the banks right now, the bank managers, etc., thinking, what should I do?

SPEAKER_00: 34:49

Yeah, look, there's not not one glove fits all. Um, you know, a lot of the time you don't really see branch managers go to financial planners. It's never normally that route. And I was always, I was always in the the the in the back of my mind thinking, well, maybe that's not right for me. Something just kept telling me, no, no, James, that's that's what you're good at. You you you see customers already, you you interview as a branch manager. You you support the local community with products and services, so you are good at what you do. I think the stumbling block for myself originally was can I do the exams? And no, it's it's the destiny is in your control, yeah, is to think, well, if you want it that much, you can still achieve it. Um, I think you know, one of my turning points was the redundancy, and I think that suddenly opened up a new world to me because it was like starting again. It was a what do you want to do, James? Well, actually, I know what I want to do to get to there, though, I'm gonna need to take on some challenges. Those were the exams, yeah. Um, and then finding the right fit in terms of uh wealth provider, and obviously that started the journey, but yeah, anyone that's considering it within banking, you've got a great um platform to start on, from like I said, being on the other side of the counter to seeing different types of interviewing. Um, interviewing is key.

SPEAKER_01: 36:12

James, fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing your career journey. Absolutely love it. Bit of purpose in uh it sounds like you found something you're really, really enjoying. So um looking forward to connecting with you again in the future and hearing about all the success you've had here at Foster today, though.

SPEAKER_00: 36:24

Thank you so much.