What if succession wasn't the end of the road, but the start of something greater? In this episode, Tyson Ray and Kim Cochenour sit down with Bryan Sweet of Sweet Financial to uncover the lessons from his 47-year journey.
Hear about how early planning, team buy-in, and focusing on your unique abilities create a smoother transition – and how to approach succession not just as an exit, but as an opportunity for growth, freedom, and lasting impact.
- Tyson Ray and Kim Cochenour explore successful succession, the importance of team buy-in, and exiting into opportunity with Bryan Sweet.
- Bryan starts the conversation by sharing the story of his 47-year journey in business, stressing the difference between working in a financial advising firm and owning one.
- Tyson goes through each letter of the S.P.A.C.E. acronym: See, Plan, Act, Commit, Exit.
- For Bryan, success expands exponentially when advisors realize that they should spend as much of their time in their unique abilities and get others to do what they're really great at.
- Bryan lists the tools and resources he and his team have used to help cultivate the next generation of leadership.
- Having complete flexibility in what they could do for clients is one of the main reasons why Bryan and his team went to their own RIA.
- Kim stresses the importance of having buy-in from your team.
- Bryan and Tyson go into the pros and cons of changing custodians in business.
- For many, succession is "the end of the road" but not for Bryan, who sees it as a new beginning – he tells more about the perspective he's gained after doing an internal succession.
- In 47 years, it's the first time that Bryan feels as if he has every piece of the puzzle for his team and clients… He explains why that's the case.
- Thinking about succession? Bryan has a specific recommendation on how to approach it and look at the future.
- When it comes to succession, "You want to do it once, as right as you can", says Bryan.
- Starting early and doing things in thorough fashion are key elements of a successful succession.
- Tyson illustrates how looking at what the future holds isn't about exiting into nothing, rather exiting into something, a new opportunity.
- Bryan talks about what he had to do differently, from a preparation standpoint, when it comes to legal documents and structural changes when he was ready to make the change.
- If you do things well, your clients will feel like friends – this is something that will also lead you to improve your overall business performance.
- Tyson recently heard that a financial advisor's fiduciary duty is to introduce the client to the successor, to the next generation advisor who's going to take the place for the peace of mind of that client.
Mentioned in This Episode:
TotalSuccession.com
TotalSuccession.com/podcast
FORM Wealth Advisors
Tyson Ray
Kim Cochenour
Bryan Sweet on LinkedIn
Sweet Financial
