Do Business. Do Life. — The Financial Advisor Podcast — DBDL

I’ve been working with advisors for many years, and I’ve seen this pattern play out over and over again. Advisors get to a point where their marketing and selling are on point, but as they start to scale, that growth has a way of exposing cracks in the foundation.
In this episode, I’m breaking down the most overlooked role inside growing advisory firms: operations. I’ll explain why most advisors procrastinate on developing their ops department, how the best operations leaders evolve as you scale, and why doing more of what worked early on as a small team eventually stops working.
If you’ve ever left the office at the end of the day thinking, " Why does this business feel like a prison,” this episode will give you the framework to step out of the chaos, create leverage, and build a firm that fulfills the promises you make—without having everything in the business flow across your desk.

3 of the biggest insights from Brad Johnson…

#1.) Operations Is the Missing Role in Most Growing Firms
Most advisors don’t hit a growth ceiling because of marketing or sales. They stall because the execution of their operations stops working. Without a clear operations leader, the founder becomes the bottleneck and the team gets stuck.

#2.) Ops Is Not a Side Project—It Evolves as You Scale
What worked as a team of five eventually breaks at fifteen, forty, or seventy-five. Your operations must evolve from task-based delegation into true responsibility, structure, and division leadership as firms grow.

#3.) Great Operations Drive Referrals Better Than Any System
The most referral-rich firms don’t rely on scripts or programs. They remove friction, create remarkable client experiences, and let execution do the selling.

SHOW NOTES
https://bradleyjohnson.com/156

FOLLOW BRAD JOHNSON ON SOCIAL
X
Instagram
LinkedIn

FOLLOW DBDL ON SOCIAL:
YouTube
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Facebook

DISCLOSURE
DBDL podcast episode conversations are intended to provide financial advisors with ideas, strategies, concepts and tools that could be incorporated into their business and their life. No statements made in the episode are offered as, and shall not constitute financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Financial professionals are responsible for ensuring implementation of anything discussed related to business is done so in accordance with any and all regulatory, compliance responsibilities and obligations.
The Triad member statements reflect their own experience which may not be representative of all Triad Member experiences, and their appearances were not paid for.
Triad Wealth Partners, LLC is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Please visit Triadwealthpartners.com for more information. Triad Wealth Partners, LLC and Triad Partners, LLC are affiliated companies.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I’ve worked with hundreds of top financial advisors over the years, and I keep seeing the same problem show up in different ways: incredibly talented advisors with empty calendars.
The issue usually isn’t effort. It’s how marketing decisions are made. Too often, advisors run their marketing on emotion instead of math.
In this episode, I break down the exact marketing framework I’ve shared with some of the fastest-growing firms in the country. We walk through how to evaluate marketing like an investment, not an expense. Why ROI and high frequency matters. And how shifting from one-to-one to one-to-many marketing creates leverage that allows you to scale beyond yourself.
If you want a calendar that stays full without grinding harder, this episode gives you the mental model to build it intentionally—and scale it sustainably.

3 of the biggest insights from Brad Johnson…

#1.) Marketing Must Be Driven by Math, Not Emotion
Advisors often abandon proven strategies after one bad experience. When you understand the true numbers behind your funnels, you stop guessing and start investing with confidence.

#2.) Frequency Is Just as Important as ROI
A high-ROI strategy that runs only a few times per year can’t scale your business alone. The best growth comes from balancing return and how often you can turn the volume up.

#3.) One-to-Many Is the Ultimate Growth Lever
The most scalable advisory firms don’t rely on one-to-one outreach. They use seminars, events, and content to serve many people at once—without sacrificing quality.

SHOW NOTES
https://bradleyjohnson.com/155

FOLLOW BRAD JOHNSON ON SOCIAL
X
Instagram
LinkedIn

FOLLOW DBDL ON SOCIAL:
YouTube
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Facebook

DISCLOSURE
DBDL podcast episode conversations are intended to provide financial advisors with ideas, strategies, concepts and tools that could be incorporated into their business and their life. No statements made in the episode are offered as, and shall not constitute financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Financial professionals are responsible for ensuring implementation of anything discussed related to business is done so in accordance with any and all regulatory, compliance responsibilities and obligations.
The Triad member statements reflect their own experience which may not be representative of all Triad Member experiences, and their appearances were not paid for.
Triad Wealth Partners, LLC is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Please visit Triadwealthpartners.com for more information. Triad Wealth Partners, LLC and Triad Partners, LLC are affiliated companies.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Every advisor wants more referrals, but very few have built a business that consistently earns them.
In this conversation, I sat down with Duncan MacPherson to unpack what actually makes an advisory firm referable. Duncan is the founder of Pareto Systems and one of the most respected coaches in financial services, with nearly 30 years spent working alongside top advisory firms.
He explains why the advisors who scale fastest stop pitching products, start positioning a clear planning process, and build businesses that get found instead of chased.

3 of the biggest insights from Duncan MacPherson…

#1.) Advisors Don’t Need More Referrals, They Need to Be Referable

Most advisors focus on asking for referrals, but Duncan explains why that actually creates friction. The real breakthrough happens when clients clearly understand (and can easily explain) what makes your process different.

#2.) The Best Advisors Don’t Sell Products, They Position Their Process

The biggest shift in financial services isn’t technology, it’s philosophy. The most successful advisors have moved on from pitching products by effectively using branding and clearly articulating a proprietary process, creating deeper engagement, stronger loyalty, and a business that scales without becoming more complicated.

#3.) A Business That Depends on You Is a Business That Limits You

One of the clearest signals of a healthy business is whether it can operate without the founder’s constant presence. Duncan explains why documenting intellectual property, empowering teams, and depersonalizing the business isn’t about ego—it’s about freedom, sustainability, and enterprise value.

SHOW NOTES
https://bradleyjohnson.com/154

FOLLOW BRAD JOHNSON ON SOCIAL
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn

FOLLOW DBDL ON SOCIAL:
YouTube
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Facebook

DISCLOSURE
DBDL podcast episode conversations are intended to provide financial advisors with ideas, strategies, concepts and tools that could be incorporated into their business and their life. No statements made in the episode are offered as, and shall not constitute financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Financial professionals are responsible for ensuring implementation of anything discussed related to business is done so in accordance with any and all regulatory, compliance responsibilities and obligations.
The Triad member statements reflect their own experience which may not be representative of all Triad Member experiences, and their appearances were not paid for.
Triad Wealth Partners, LLC is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Please visit Triadwealthpartners.com for more information. Triad Wealth Partners, LLC and Triad Partners, LLC are affiliated companies. TP02255163072

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What would make a 30-year-old with a corner office, a clear path to CEO, and more money than he ever imagined… walk away from it all?
That’s the question at the center of this conversation with Daniel Harkavy.
Daniel spent his 20s grinding in the mortgage banking world, chasing deals, money, and success. By 30, he was next in line to run the company—but a quiet inner voice told him this wasn’t the life he was meant to live. So he walked away.
For the last three decades, Daniel has helped high-performing leaders do what this show is all about: build successful businesses without sacrificing their life in the process. As Founder of Building Champions, he’s coached CEOs and executive teams at organizations like Chick-fil-A, Pfizer, and Bank of America.
We talk about why so many leaders burn out after they scale, how culture and leadership behavior quietly shape everything, and what it really means to do business and life by design.

5 of the biggest insights from Daniel Harkavy…

#1.) Walking Away Wasn’t Quitting, It Was Clarity
Daniel walked away at the height of his career because success didn’t feel sustainable anymore. A one-year sabbatical forced him to realize that continuing would have meant building a life he didn’t want, no matter how successful it looked.

#2.) A Smart Approach to Hiring Top Performers
Daniel built his team by intentionally spending time building relationships with his competitors — learning their goals, understanding where they were stuck, and finding ways to help them improve. By genuinely helping competitors grow where they were, he built trust, loyalty, and credibility. And when the time came, people chose him willingly.

#3.) Scaling Without Vision Is How Advisors Get Stuck
A lot of advisors scale because they think they’re supposed to. But if the “why” isn’t clear, growth just adds complexity, stress, and people problems. Scaling only works when you’re being pulled forward by a clear vision — not pushed by ego, comparison, or fear of missing out.

#4.) Emotional Volatility Quietly Destroys Culture
Emotional blowups cost more than most leaders realize. The energy spent repairing internal damage is energy not spent growing the business. Over time, volatility wears down culture, momentum, and trust, even when intentions are good.

#5.) Fear Loses Power When You Zoom Out
When you really ask, “What’s the worst case?” most of the fear driving decisions starts to shrink. Failure is part of building anything meaningful, but it’s rarely the disaster we imagine. Perspective changes the weight of decisions and helps you build with intention instead of fear.

SHOW NOTES
https://bradleyjohnson.com/153

FOLLOW BRAD JOHNSON ON SOCIAL
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn

FOLLOW DBDL ON SOCIAL:
YouTube
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Facebook

DISCLOSURE
DBDL podcast episode conversations are intended to provide financial advisors with ideas, strategies, concepts and tools that could be incorporated into their business and their life. No statements made in the episode are offered as, and shall not constitute financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Financial professionals are responsible for ensuring implementation of anything discussed related to business is done so in accordance with any and all regulatory, compliance responsibilities and obligations.
The Triad member statements reflect their own experience which may not be representative of all Triad Member experiences, and their appearances were not paid for.
Triad Wealth Partners, LLC is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Please visit Triadwealthpartners.com for more information. Triad Wealth Partners, LLC and Triad Partners, LLC are affiliated companies.TP01255162010

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, I sit down with Triad members Matt Dixon and Byron Hurren to break down how True North evolved from a founder-led advisory firm into a scalable, system-driven business.
Just a few years ago, Matt was still running client appointments, and growth flowed almost entirely through him. Byron was another advisor on the team, trying to keep up inside a model that relied heavily on individual talent. Today, Matt is fully out of client meetings, Byron is leading and training a five-person sales team, and the firm is pacing for over $200M in new assets this year.
We unpack exactly what changed — how they replaced personality-driven selling with a repeatable sales process, why conversations are replicated nearly word-for-word, and how training, accountability, and culture turned individual production into firm-wide scale. This episode is a clear look at what it actually takes to grow beyond the founder without losing control of the business.

3 of the biggest insights from Matt Dixon & Byron Hurren…

#1.) Scaling Requires One Process, Not Multiple Styles
True North didn’t grow by hiring more talented closers. They grew by eliminating variation. Once every advisor followed the same repeatable process, results became predictable, coachable, and scalable.

#2.) Selling the Plan Changed Everything
The shift from pitching products to selling an ongoing planning process created clarity for clients and confidence for advisors. Planning became the product, and the team became the value.

#3.) Accountability Is the Growth Multiplier
Weekly training, recorded meetings, and direct feedback created a culture where improvement was non-negotiable. Advisors either followed the process or self-selected out.

SHOW NOTES
https://bradleyjohnson.com/152

FOLLOW BRAD JOHNSON ON SOCIAL
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn

FOLLOW DBDL ON SOCIAL:
YouTube
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Facebook

DISCLOSURE
DBDL podcast episode conversations are intended to provide financial advisors with ideas, strategies, concepts and tools that could be incorporated into their business and their life. No statements made in the episode are offered as, and shall not constitute financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Financial professionals are responsible for ensuring implementation of anything discussed related to business is done so in accordance with any and all regulatory, compliance responsibilities and obligations.
The Triad member statements reflect their own experience which may not be representative of all Triad Member experiences, and their appearances were not paid for.
Triad Wealth Partners, LLC is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Please visit Triadwealthpartners.com for more information. Triad Wealth Partners, LLC and Triad Partners, LLC are affiliated companies.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.