What If You Could Turn Ambition into Action?

When you have big goals, it can feel like they’re always just out of reach. But what if you could achieve more, without compromising on the things that matter most? What if you could grow the business of your dreams, while still maintaining the freedom to live your life?

It’s possible — with a little help. From dedicated administrative professionals and experienced CFOs, to services like marketing, paraplanning, and Partial Book Sales, LPL Business Solutions offers the resources you need to boost your efficiency, broaden your capabilities, and scale your business.

Read on to find out how to turn your “what if” into “what’s next” from two LPL advisors, Tim Evans and Carrie Mullins, who leveraged LPL Business Solutions to build their dream businesses.

What if you could...take control of your business?

Tim Evans, CFP®, CLTC

Founder, Eastwood Wealth

For Tim Evans, the freedom that comes with owning his own business is no longer a lifelong dream — it’s his reality. As he puts it, he has the ability to “design [his] own life, and help clients do the same.”

But things were very different at the start of his career. He was working at capacity, sleeping in the back of his office. As Tim recalls, “I could not come in any earlier. I could not stay any later.” He was stuck, wanting to prioritize his clients, while recognizing that he needed to make some big professional changes in order to do right by them. He sat for the CFP® exam and left his bank to become an independent advisor.

Though he struck out on his own, he wasn’t alone; he leveraged LPL Business Solutions to get all the support he needed: “Delegating takes some getting used to, but Business Solutions has allowed me to delegate to people who are much better at what they do than I will ever be at what they do, and that is a game changer. It allows me to help my clients to live abundantly, and subsequently, helps me do the same.”

Tim found success with:

• LPL’s Marketing Solutions, working with a marketing consultant to build out a strategy for reaching his clients on the platforms they use the most. This was critical, he explains, since “I wanted a way for them to be able to see me and hear from me, and not just from my phone calls, because you can only call so many people a day.” Staying in front of clients helps him expand and grow a vast referral network, which he says is “priceless.”
  
  
• The Assurance Plan, which safeguards his business in the event of an unplanned exit from the industry, a constant concern for solo advisors. This was particularly important to Tim, who “did not want to have a reason that a client sitting in front of me would not do business with me.” Now, his clients know that they will always be taken care of.

• Technology services from LPL, which has helped him remain secure, compliant, and legally protected. He was even able to right-size his book with Partial Book Sales, so that every client receives the service they deserve.

He mentioned one client, who started with just a $2,000 contribution to her IRA. When she passed away unexpectedly, her family found Tim’s Christmas cards alongside her family photos. “You never know how much you touch people until you know,” he says. Now, Tim is helping her beneficiaries, advising her two nephews so that they’ll be set up when it’s their time to retire.

Though his own hard work, perseverance, and clarity of vision helped Tim go from sleeping in his office to living the life of his dreams, Tim gives LPL a lot of credit. “LPL gave me an opportunity…who does that?”

As he explains, “You can live the life you have always dreamed of. You have to design it, and you have to create it. We’re in a quality of life business. And what I share with clients is that I’m here to help you pursue an extraordinary quality of life on your own terms, with freedom, independence, and peace of mind. And if clients get to do that, then I get to do that as well.”

Key Results

With LPL in his corner, Tim was able to:

• Delegate critical tasks like marketing
• Right-size his book with Partial Book Sales
• Leverage the Assurance Plan to give his clients peace of mind

The life-changing support gives him the ability to live his dream of owning his own business, while freeing up time for himself and for his clients.

What if you could...achieve your most ambitious growth goals?

Carrie Mullins, CFP®

Co-Founder and CEO, Firenze Wealth Management

Carrie Mullins and her team of financial professionals are on an impressive growth trajectory, taking their business from $300 million to $500 million AUM in just 5 years. Now, they have their sights set on $1 billion AUM.

Before they came to LPL, Carrie and her partner were at a firm that couldn’t support their ambitions. Lacking key resources and critical infrastructure, Carrie’s team was unable to offer clients the level of service or array of tools they deserved. As a result, their ability to grow — and to help their clients grow — was limited.

LPL made it possible for Carrie and her team to set up an ensemble, facilitating the transition to LPL in a way that wasn’t disruptive for their clients. Once they were settled, the team at Firenze Wealth made use of LPL Business Solutions to level up. “We only have so much capacity as advisors,” Carrie explains. “When it comes to Business Solutions, the big factor for me was just scale. With the growth we want, you can’t achieve that unless you scale your practice. There’s just not enough time in the day.”

Key Results

With LPL in her corner, Carrie was able to:

• Scale rapidly with their LPL CFO’s thoughtful strategy
• Implement capacity-increasing measures like Partial Book Sales and critical client offerings like financial planning
• Reach their goal of $500 million AUM — now well on the way to the next target of $1 billion

For Firenze Wealth Management, the key to that scale has been CFO Solutions:

• Their LPL Financial CFO works as a member of their team, designing strategies that drive growth while allowing them to maintain a holistic approach to client service.
  
  
• Not only does he take budgeting off Carrie and her partner’s plates, he also looks at the bigger picture of their team’s capacity. “We needed to hire, but we were waiting too long,” Carrie recalls. “Our CFO has been really great about helping us to determine within our budget if we’ve got the revenue to be able to hire more staff and when we need to do it.”
  
  
• He also helped them free up capacity by segmenting their books, leveraging Partial Book Sales to ensure that clients who fall outside their target are still well taken care of by LPL. With more time for their remaining clients, the team at Firenze can realize their vision of holistic support. “We’re covering all the facets,” Carrie explains, “investments, life insurance, even debt planning.” And with Paraplanning Services from LPL, they’re able to charge for financial planning, something that wasn’t possible at their last firm. Their $37,000 investment has yielded $200,000 in additional revenue, while helping them retain accounts and grow their AUM.

Their clients have enjoyed the benefits from this holistic approach. With the assistance of Paraplanning, Carrie designed a plan that will make it possible for one of her clients pursue her dream of retiring at 45. “It’s so fun to be able to walk through that software and show them that it’s potentially doable, that it’s a realistic goal for them,” Carrie says.

Working with LPL has also had other benefits, namely a strong network of peers and the opportunity for continuous learning. In particular, every Firenze advisor attends Focus, using the breakout sessions to hone in on key areas, like financial planning, and trade insights with other experienced advisors.

Live Your “What If”

Tim and Carrie are making their ambitions a reality with LPL Financial, while helping their clients pursue theirs. Now it’s your turn. You too can take action to boost your efficiency, increase your capacity, and take control of your business.

Schedule a consultation to find out how LPL Business Solutions can help you unlock your potential.

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