ITL Financial Planning turns 10!

Today marks 10 years for ITL Financial Planning. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d get to this point when I started...

I remember paying myself a monthly salary of $2,000 but having mortgage repayments of $3,500 and three kids five and under. So I feel an enormous amount of gratitude as ITL Financial Planning celebrates 10 years of being in business so please indulge me as I give my thanks to the many who been an important part of the last decade.

Holidays were limited to short camping trips in the early years (by both time and money). I remember the “joys” of answering client calls while simultaneously trying to pitch a tent. We still love going camping, but gee it’s great having a team that can look after clients without me so our family can now go on holidays and relax.

Making a decision to buy an office before anyone even knew I was starting out on my own was a huge risk, but investing in the ability to share an office and now many mutual clients with The Brian Group (both excellent accountants and friends) made a massive difference.

My decision to recruit Shereen nearly six years ago (who was twice as expensive as the person she replaced) remains my best investment decision ever that I don’t think I’ll ever top. We would not be where we are today without her. I am blessed to count her as my business partner. Courtney has been our rock for over four and a half years and we couldn’t have got through the mountain of work changing licensees without Luna who joined the team early last year. While it was just me at the beginning, we are very much a team now and it isn’t about any one person anymore.

A big thank you to our clients. We genuinely have the best clients and love being able to help them. While I’m just as passionate as ever about markets, the most memorable moments have not been about telling clients how good their returns have been. The biggest joys have been the phone calls telling clients that their insurance claims have been paid or telling the widow that financially, everything is sorted and under control and they don’t have to worry about money. I am thankful to be a part of these moments.

I am also grateful to my family who continue to be my biggest supporters. Thank you to my amazing wife Robyn and our three daughters. From the first year where we committed to buying nothing new for a year so we could make ends meet, I am grateful that our business now gives us the opportunity to be involved in areas we are passionate about, like enabling us to foster additional children and share our home with others.

As I look ahead to the next 10 years, running a financial planning business is no less daunting. Regulators and licensees are still struggling to figure out how we can become a true profession that can provide personal advice efficiently, honestly and fairly. We are remaining disciplined in focussing on those clients that we know we can deliver the most value to and keeping client numbers to those we can maintain our best levels of service to and maintain close relationships with. It might mean we grow slower, but the plan for ITL was never to become big, just a great business that cares about each client and punches above its weight in delivering excellent advice. I am thankful this is a vision we achieve every day and we will strive to continue to do for the next decade and beyond.