Only Hire The Best Clients
Frank Presson III has been thinking about early retirement, or how he'd seize opportunities for fulfillment, since he was a young manager working for IBM and saw colleagues founder when they were offered an early out. "I became a big believer in staying very active. If you don't have something meaningful to do, you won't last long," says Presson, who recently turned 66.
So when his break came and Xerox offered him an early retirement package, he was ready to accept it by 8 a.m. the next morning. Within the year, he launched his financial planning career, hanging out his own shingle in 1994 as a sole proprietor.
Today he has 25 clients and manages about $10 million in assets. He spends much of his time counseling clients to plan not only for their financial futures, but for their emotional and psychological futures as well. "You have to retire to something, not away from something," says Presson. He counsels clients similarly, and finds a sympathetic chord. "Most of my clients are bright, energetic people, and they're not going to be happy shutting down at the end of the day."
Today, after being on the board of numerous professional and civic groups since launching his firm in Tucson a decade ago (he's been president of his town's Rotary Club, chairman of the local Arthritis Foundation and president and chairman of the West Region of NAPFA, to name a few), Presson says he'll be happy to have the time to devote to his firm.
His constant professional networking gives him access to future partners and buyers, when the time comes for him to gently hand off clients. His work with NAPFA study groups and conference planning has included local, regional and national roles.
He attributes his success to finding the right clients and firing those who are aggressive or a poor fit, a job that all advisors in this article agree is critical to personal and professional happiness. "I'm trying to develop a mix of clients I want. Right now I'm working off a backlog and am not accepting any new clients until fall. I'm slowly building up retainer clients. I like to work with nice people and deal with complex issues that give me the opportunity to be creative. That keeps me fresh. And I earn enough income to support my lifestyle," Presson says.
That lifestyle includes the exotic trips he and his wife love to take. They traveled through Australia and New Zealand not too long ago. This fall, they're cruising along the coast of Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands on a trip that starts in Barcelona and winds up in Lisbon.
So far, Presson has done a fine job finding clients who "fit." They regularly ask him if he's taking enough quality time for himself and family. He believes the fact that he switched from an asset-based charge to a retainer fee more than a year ago has aided his search for like-minded clients.
"I did it because I wanted to remind people that they're paying me for financial planning. I want to get involved in everything: Kids, divorces, refinancing houses and their personal lives. I didn't want them to think every time they got a windfall, their fees were going to go up," Presson says. "Sure enough, when I switched to a retainer, assets were coming out of the woodwork. We got back into what I like to do, life planning. That's why I got into this business, and it keeps me strong. I plan to reach the ripe old age of 100 and so do a lot of my clients, so we have a lot of discussions ahead of us."