Are You Ready For Independence?
Take the Test....
For the best results, be honest with yourself when answering these questions. Your answers will help organize your thought process and perhaps even force you to acknowledge some aspects of your personality that you’ve been ignoring, whether they are conducive to owning your own business, or in stark contrast to it.
Answer each question on a scale from 1 – 10.
(1 = strongly disagree, 2-9 = disagree up to agree, 10 = strongly agree)
Write each answer down and add them up at the end. This is your total score.
1. ____ I am a risk taker.
2. ____ I like to be in control.
3. ____ I like to challenge myself.
4. ____ I dislike inefficiencies and poor processes.
5. ____ I always seek new and better ways of doing things.
6. ____ I am self-motivated and a self-starter.
7. ____ Winning is very important.
8. ____ I don’t like people less capable than me having control over my life.
9. ____ I am rarely complacent or satisfied.
10. ____ I have strong relationships with most of my clients.
11. ____ I am very focused on reaching my goals.
12. ____ I have higher than average energy.
13. ____ I strongly dislike Corporate Bureaucracy and politics.
14. ____ When there is a serious problem I jump right in and solve it.
15. ____ I think I would do a good job running my own business if I choose to do so.
16. ____ I am good at delegating responsibilities.
17. ____ I have good time-management skills.
18. ____ My family supports me and my decisions pertaining to my career.
19. ____ Over the years I have thought about starting my own business.
20. ____ If I leave my firm, at least 50% of my clients will move with me.
21. ____ I don’t think my firm deserves as much of my production as they take.
22. ____ I get mad when I have to live with bad management decisions.
23. ____ I dislike aspects of my firm’s compensation structure – i.e. “Haircuts, bonuses, payout, fees, etc.”
24. ____ I dislike the constant changes to my firm’s compensation plan.
25. ____ I want more control over my Sales Assistant, i.e. Selection, Schedule, Tasks, Sharing with others, etc.
26. ____ I want more control over hiring & firing (Jr. FA’s, Interns, Analysts, Portfolio Managers) for my team.
27. ____ I hate when my firm wastes money – they could better invest it helping me market and grow.
28. ____ It drives me crazy if management shows favoritism.
29. ____ I don't like it when my firm declines one of my reasonable requests.
30. ____ Owning my book and being able to one day sell it at 2 – 3 times its revenue is important to me.
If your total score is:
0-120: I am surprised you are even an FA – Do not consider Independence!
121-150: You are happy, and should remain at a W2 Firm.
151-180: W2 Employee is probably best or maybe a good Plug & Play.
181-240: You should go Independent, RIA or Hybrid.
241-300: You should have gone independent years ago. Don’t let fear hold you back any longer.