I had a podcast interview with Darren Jones of instinct HR, this week, and he asked me some questions, which really got me thinking.  Aside from asking about our business USPs in our marketplace, the questions that made me think were “what drives and motivates you” and “what’s the best piece of advice you can give?”

I could easily take up the whole half an hour talking about WKM Wealth, what we do for clients, and how we do it. 

There are many services we offer that are delivered differently to the approaches adopted by our competitors; independent proactive financial advice with independent proactive investment management being the biggest (I’m aware I repeat the words independent and proactive but it is honestly odd in our industry that so many competitors cannot and will not deliver this). 

I could happily chat away on how revolutionary it is to deliver a daily updated app (both app stores) to provide clients with accurate fund valuations not just covering our investments but those they hold elsewhere.  It’s beautiful to see our investments for clients alongside their buy to let portfolio and their legacy pensions, all tracking the underlying investments.  If you know of another independent firm our size delivering this, let me know, I’ll wait!    

But the ‘why’ is such a difficult question to answer.  Why did I co-create WKM Wealth?  Why was it at that moment?  I find it very difficult to answer these questions, as there were so many reasons.  If I had to pick one, I would say that when I look back on my career, I want to say that I challenged myself and achieved something special.  While growing your employer’s business can be satisfying and rewarding, I had been doing that for 19 years and my road ahead was no longer as challenging as it once was or could be.   The second reason is arguably as strong in my mind; I get to work with people at the top of their game, with as much if not more drive than me.

If I could only pick one piece of advice to give to someone else, again that is so difficult to do.  There are many things I do now on autopilot which all help to keep me motivated and mentally focussed, which is very important to me.  Small tasks such as making the bed in the morning, mowing the lawn, a clean work station, all help as even if the day hasn’t gone well, those tasks are a tiny piece of completed work which means the day was not wasted, and I get to come back with a clean slate – no mess to tidy up. 

But the one piece of advice I would give someone would be – trust yourself, and others, then go for it!  The more you trust in your own abilities and those of others, the more you will accomplish. For instance, try not to ask someone for a solution, ask for help in finding the solution.  The latter is harder but better, avoiding you asking the same question a second time. 

It’s a case of go hard or go home!  And I do not intend on going home yet!

Enjoy the journey podcast fans, and