The financial planning firm launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 52 steps in 8 phases, 23 of them specific to a financial planning firm. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan52 steps
- 01Not started0/6Fold
Decide with the numbersa week or two
Before a dollar is spent. Most expensive mistakes happen here, and this phase costs nothing.
A financial planning firm makes money primarily one way, and that way is powerful: a recurring advisory fee charged as a percentage of assets under management.
Typical for one unit is $500,000 to $5,000,000 a year; the owner keeps 20 to 35% of it before paying themselves. If that band does not cover what you need, that is the signal to pause and look again.
~50% survive 5 years. Roughly half of all new U.S. businesses reach five years.
Twelve questions about your money, time, experience and temperament, scored. Then the 5 questions this business asks of its owner, about the hours and the work. Answer both before you spend a dollar.
Rule of thumb: if you can buy a practice with sticky clients and a transition where the selling advisor introduces you and stays through a handoff, buying buys you years of asset accumulation. Answer it in your situation above and the plan reshapes.
Customers, prices, rent, staff pay, what it costs to open. We filled in typical numbers; change what you know and everything on this page follows.
- 02Not started0/5Open
Plan the moneya week
What it costs to open, where the money comes from, and the cushion that keeps you alive until the business pays for itself.
A financial planning firm is capital-light to start compared with a fixed-location business, there is no and no inventory.
The itemized cost to open8 lines
- RIA registration, compliance manual & legal setup: $3,000 to $11,000Form ADV, state or SEC filing, compliance manual, entity and advisory agreement review
- Series 65 exams, representative registration & bond: $1,296 to $3,131For three advisors, plus a state surety bond where required
- Computers, printers, scanners & network: $5,666 to $24,228Business laptops and monitors, a copier, scanners, firewall and backup
- Furniture & office refresh: $4,484 to $46,282Desks, conference table, locked files; paint, carpet and a private office at the high end
- Signs, website & launch marketing: $2,400 to $30,800Suite sign, logo and website, and the first client events and ads
- Insurance (E&O, office, cyber, workers comp): $4,585 to $8,557First premiums; E&O is the big one
- Lease deposit: $4,000 to $12,000One to three months of rent
- Initial working capital: $15,000 to $160,000Overhead and payroll while assets build; a three-advisor launch runs a year or more before fees cover costs
Costs start on day one; customers take months. Map the first twelve months of cash so the business does not run out of money while it is getting going.
The business has to earn your pay like any other bill. Set it in your numbers and watch the month it move.
How deals in this business are financed4 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to 10 yr · 75-85% government-guaranteed)The workhorse for buying an existing advisory practice or its book of assets.
- Seller financing (Often 10-30% of price · 3-7 yr)Very common when buying a book of assets.
- Earn-out / retention structure (Tied to retained AUM over 1-3 yr)Part of the price is tied to client and asset retention after the sale, aligning the seller with keeping the book in place through the handoff.
- Bank or specialty lender (Secured by the recurring revenue)Lenders that specialize in advisory-practice acquisitions underwrite against recurring revenue and AUM, sometimes outside the SBA program.
Most new shops pair an with 10 to 20% of your own cash. Know the monthly payment before you look at a single space.
Before you shop. A lender tells you what they would fund, what they need from you (credit, your cash in, a plan with numbers), and a pre-qualification letter makes a landlord or a seller take you seriously.
- 03Not started0/4Open
Set up the companya day or two
A day of paperwork, and it has to come before the space: a lease, a loan application and every permit are in the company’s name.
Your state’s business name search, the trademark register, and the domain, before the name is on a sign, a van, or a lease.
A , an , and the S-corporation election each change what you keep and what you are exposed to. Compare them with the numbers, confirm with a CPA and an attorney, then file with your state.
After:The is free from the IRS in minutes once the company exists. The bank account needs both. Keep business money separate from day one.
After:Pick the accounting software and connect the bank account now, so every cost of opening is captured and the numbers you later are real.
- 04Not started0/5Open
Find and secure the spaceone to three months
A financial planning firm has no storefront that matters; your "location" is the client base and referral market you serve.
What decides it for this business: households with investable assets, middle-to-upper household income, centers of influence & referral sources, life events creating advice needs, not oversaturated with advisors.
One call to the planning desk with the address: is this use allowed there, and what will it take (, permits, fire sign-off)? A space that needs a change of use can add months.
Rent, free months for the , who pays for what, the and the renewals, subject to financing and permits. The lender needs this letter or a draft lease to take your application.
After: ,, renewal options, increase caps, what the landlord adds on top of rent, and what happens if you have to leave. For a location business the lease is part of the purchase price.
After:at minimum; property, workers’ compensation and the rest as the business needs. The landlord asks for a certificate at signing and the lender at closing.
- 05Not started0/2Open
Get the loanfour to eight weeks
Four to eight weeks with an SBA lender, longer if the file is incomplete. Everything else waits on this, so send a complete file.
Your plan with numbers (download it as a PDF from this page), the company’s papers, the or draft lease, the and equipment quotes, your personal financial statement, and proof of the cash you put in.
After:The lender approves against the ; you sign the lease once approved; the loan closes against the signed lease and the insurance certificate. Ask for the to match the or longer.
After:
- 06Not started0/14Open
Permits and the build-outone to three months
A financial planning firm is one of the more regulated businesses you can own: you give investment advice for a fee, so registration as an investment advisor and a fiduciary duty are real barriers, and a moat against...
Bind the policies you had quoted before a contractor, a vehicle or a customer is in play. Keep the certificates; the landlord, the lender and the city will ask.
After:Your contractors pull the building, plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits and close them out by inspection. Hold the free rent months for this.
After:Most cities approve exterior signs separately; signs take weeks to make. Order early.
Register your or corporation and obtain a city or county operating license.
With your state, before the first taxable sale. Usually free and online; check your state.
Register as an investment advisor, with the SEC above an asset threshold or with the state below it.
The disclosure document filed with regulators and given to clients, describing your services, fees, and conflicts.
Series 65 (or equivalent) for investment advisor representatives; advisors often also hold the CFP credential.
A written compliance program, a designated chief compliance officer, and a code of ethics, of registered advisors.
An arrangement with a qualified custodian to hold client assets; advisors generally do not custody assets themselves.
Professional liability coverage for the advice you give; often expected by custodians and clients.
Maintain books, records, and archived communications per the advisory rules, available for examination.
Fire-marshal review of exits, extinguishers and load, after the build and before the .
After:The city’s sign-off that the space is approved for this use. You cannot open the doors without it.
After:
- 07Not started0/11Open
Set up to runduring the build
During the build, so the business runs from day one: the systems, the prices, the people and the routine.
Tracks holdings, rebalances to targets, and reports performance across the whole book.
Builds the plans that are the heart of the advice and the planning-fee layer.
Holds the client relationships, the review cadence, and the documentation.
ADV filings, the compliance program, archiving, and audits.
A custodian holds client assets and clears trades.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Federal plus state employer and withholding registrations once you hire staff or advisors.
After:Wages are the start: , insurance, training time and the hours you stop billing. Owners usually post the jobs a month out and hire two to four weeks before opening so training happens before the doors open.
Morning: Review markets and accounts, check for anything that needs... Client meetings: Annual reviews, planning conversations, and life-event check-ins. Portfolio & planning work: Rebalance, implement plan changes, and update financial plans.
Opening, closing, the sale, the complaint, the cash. One page each. This is the manual a franchise would have sold you.
Free, and it is how most people will find you. Address, hours, photos and the menu or price list, live before opening day; then the sign, the soft opening and the first regulars.
- 08Not started0/5Open
Open and measurethe first ninety days
You own it. Now run it on the numbers.
Friends, neighbors and a short menu or list. Find the problems while the room is forgiving.
Enter the real numbers and see every cost line against the for this business.
Advisor compensation; Compliance & registration; Client acquisition.
Growth consumes cash before it produces it. Find the rate your own cash funds before you push.
Financial planning practices are in steady demand from buyers, because recurring advisory on sticky client assets is exactly what acquirers want.