The best advice I ever got
The nice thing about running your own business is you don’t have to answer to anyone. The scary thing about running your own business is you don’t have to answer to anyone.
When I was an English major my superpower was turning in a 6 page essay when the professor asked for 12, and still getting an A (okay… sometimes I got Bs). I found I was more effective in writing what I thought was useful and stopping, instead of hitting someone else’s stated threshold. Quality over quantity I guess you could say.
I figure it might be useful for me to start writing to our clients. I’ll try not to take up unnecessary space, but I realize we have an important responsibility in your lives and you guys might want to hear from us every now and again. Since we don’t have to answer to anyone (except you!) I’ll do my best to be interesting and useful. No dog and pony shows, just things we think are relevant to the people we serve.
I won’t bore you with the inside baseball, but last year was our best year ever by every metric possible. I think part of the reason is because we (finally) started to focus on a piece of advice I have heard a million times - Focus On What You’re Good At.
The last 30 months, since we launched ENZI Wealth, I personally have felt the effect of shiny object syndrome. In the post-Covid regime it felt like everything was an opportunity to do something innovative and exciting and change the way we delivered our client experience. I felt myself getting pulled left and right test driving every new piece of technology and peeking under the hood of every new investment strategy or listening to the latest business guru tell me how to run my business. By focusing on everything, I was focusing on nothing.
The 2024 focus is on clients. That’s it. That’s the whole story.
If we have an edge, it’s by knowing our client’s financial situations really really well, listening to their needs, and giving sound, actionable, and specific advice. If we can do that well, and over a long period of time, in our opinion everyone wins.
I’m in a unique position where I have a business partner who has been doing this for over 30 years - and I’ll get to be here for the next. I plan to continue the party by building up a team, and keeping the focus on you.
This year I’ll be writing more regular updates, as well as starting more YouTube/podcast content once our new Lake Austin Blvd office and studio comes online in the first half of the year.
More to come, we are excited for what’s next.
All for now,
William
