My Journey with Money Safari the first year

You have to work on the business first, before the business will work for you.

– Idowu Koyenikan

The above quote is the key quote, to sum up my first year of doing business as an FSP after receiving my FSCA License for Money Safari (Pty) Ltd at the end of July 2022.

During this past year, my emotions moved between pride and elation to frustration and disappointment.

This is not for the faint-hearted.

The Overwhelm

I have never been so overwhelmed with the amount of administration and systems I had to put in place in my entire career, but I know the actions that I have taken in terms of my personal development, putting plans and systems in place, and getting staff to help are small steps to build a business that I can be proud of in the future.

This blog post serves to encourage me and anyone else just starting on their own to keep going even if you and I don’t see the immediate results of our effort.

I have learned so much and have been encouraged by following James Clear and Francois Du Toit.

Both are a huge inspiration to me, and I love the following quotes.

Focus on the process rather than the results. – James Clear (Atomic Habits)

&

Raise the bar – Francois Du Toit (Propulsion)

(I highly recommend subscribing to James Clear’s newsletter and following Propulsion on YouTube and joining Propulsion for a healthy dose of encouragement)

The Steps

Below are some of the steps I have taken in the past year to build my business, these might be small steps, but I hold onto the promise doing all of the listed will pay huge dividends in the future.

1. Personal Development and Big Plans

•  I have completed a Digital Marketing Professional Qualification online through Red and Yellow Creative School of Business from October 2022 – February 2023 and passed with distinction.

Big Win for me to get my skills future-ready. I have planned a Digital Marketing Strategy and an online campaign for retirement products. I Still need to do a lot of implementations.  I need to focus on building my atomic habits to get the implementation done.

•  Completed an online starter course over six weeks with Kate Holmes on making great financial advisor marketing videos in November 2022  
•  I took part in the Speaker & Influencer programme from February 2023 and delivered a talk at the Global Financial Planning Conference in May 2023.

I have gained confidence in public speaking and delivered a talk at a “Woman in Business” event in my village in August in celebration of Women’s Month. Global and local in the same year.

The International Speaker and Influencer Programme has meant so much to me from a personal growth point of view and the friendship and camaraderie that I had with fellow advisors on the programme, rehearsing online in the evening (some in Pajamas) and adjusting backgrounds moving pictures on office walls virtually to get it “just right” will be something that I will never forget.

2. Systems

• I have moved my existing client base to my new license and signed contracts with some providers.  I am proud that I did not lose any clients moving to my own FSP but did miss some great opportunities to write new business by not being focused due to overwhelm with everything else going on.
• I investigated CRM systems, chose one and moved my clients to the new system and completed training in how to use the CRM.
• Investigated automated accounting systems – Chose one and moved my accounting to the system – Big Win for saving time but took a lot of time to implement.
• I am in the process of putting in writing the different processes to follow for new administrative staff joining my business.

3. Employees

• No person can run a successful business alone in the long run – This was a tough bridge for me to cross, investing capital in employing staff to free up my time. In the end, I was forced to do this for my own sanity and mental health.
• I have employed temporary staff members to assist with administration and this has made a huge difference in my life in terms of time to focus on the financial planning and the strategic part of the business. A big win.  I learned a valuable lesson that training a new person what I know will take a lot of time, so I must look at the time investment and how it will benefit the business and my clients in the long term when employing a permanent staff member.

I can highly recommend AVirtual as the assistant I got through their agency has proven to be a bright, dedicated and enthusiastic professional that went out of her way to help me. And the bonus I got by joining them through Propulsion, was a discount on their services.

Conclusion

These were just some of the many lessons I have learned on my journey the past year and the biggest lesson of all is that there are great people in our profession that will be there to support you on this journey, especially when you are down and need encouragement.

If you can resonate with any of the above, then I would love to hear your comments and learn more about your journey so please get in touch with me Juanita Moolman via LinkedIn or contact me via my website www.moneysafari.co.za

Surround yourself with people who have the habits you want to have yourself. You will rise together.

James Clear, Atomic Habits