BooST 2020: You, Chalice, and Overall Business Efficiency

CHAIRMAN’S CORNER - March 2020

BooST 2020: You, Chalice, and Overall Business Efficiency

What’s the difference between an investment advisor and a wealth advisor?

It’s a question I’ve been asking for years, and it’s usually followed by a long pause while people wonder where I’m going with it.

Then I tell them the answer. “Two thirds.”

Typically, people want to know what I mean by that, so I explain it. An investment advisor “gets” one third of a client’s real wealth. The other two thirds? Well, that’s in the business she built with her husband, the horse farm they own, his big pleasure boat moored down at the yacht club, the peppermint farm she and her sister inherited from a grandfather.

Going Above and Beyond — with a Purpose

The point is, there’s more going on in your clients’ financial lives than the contents of their investment and retirement accounts. And this really isn’t a criticism. It’s just a fact, a common thread in the lives of financial advisors, with analogous things going on across the financial-service spectrum.

In this context, it’s not enough to provide one particular product or service. You have to go above and beyond, you have to deliver a more holistic approach. When you’re doing that, and providing — or at least consciously striving to provide — 360-degree advice for your clients’ finances, then you’re a real wealth advisor.

But what about other aspects of your business? Are you making strides in building efficiencies and enhancing the overall value of your financial-advice practice as a business?

A Brief Overview of BooST 2020

We had the opportunity to explore these questions in detail at BooST 2020, Chalice Network’s conference in San Diego earlier this month. It was a deep and genuine pleasure to talk about holistic wealth management and a host of other pertinent ideas with attendees.

So this month in Chairman’s Corner,  we summarize some of the points we touched on there, with more granular video presentations coming out in coming weeks to highlight specific subject-matter sessions.

Those of us who are business owners, in whatever sector, share the characteristic of being risk takers. We gather together partly in an effort to discover strategies for diminishing risk. That’s why we’re building Chalice. We’re creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem to support each other, and help each other take advantage of the experiences and the knowledge that we have all accumulated in our careers. We have come together to share and learn from our mistakes and our successes.

Putting the “Unity” in “Community”

As a forum for ongoing discussion between members we’ve launched an initiative to connect our 54,000-plus members via Chalice Community. It’s a bit like a Facebook or a LinkedIn in that it exists to forge and strengthen life-changing connections between members, and between members like you and Chalice itself.

I like to say Chalice Community is about empathizing the “unity” part of the word “community.” So while it’s definitely about sharing ideas for success in business, it also solves for a personal challenge we all face as entrepreneurs. I’m talking about intellectual loneliness, the feeling of isolation that can come with independence.

Chalice Community is a digital marketplace for ideas and insights where people like us can come together and celebrate our successes and help each other succeed.

And our new online Community is just one component in Chalice’s platform as a service.

Our Marketplace for Economies of Scale

Another main piece is our Marketplace. That’s about leveraging our combined economies of scale to secure — at steep discounts and/or with unique value-add — products and services that are critical to making your business better, stronger and more efficient.

I’ll just say it. We are going to save you no less than 25% to 30% on the cost of your day-to-day operations. We’re talking about the resources you need not only for optimal efficiency, but for organic and inorganic growth.

In terms of functionality on offer through Chalice — and this is just the tip of the iceberg — we’re talking HR, IT, CRM, payroll, benefits, marketing, prospecting, portfolio management, succession planning, and more. All in one place.

One Login for Everything You Do

And because we’re bringing together the products and services you want and need at prices that, traditionally, only the biggest players in the industry could enjoy, we’re also able to provide a benefit that’s near and dear to my heart.

I’m talking about a single login for everything that keeps your business humming. I use five or six logins every day — I mean at least — and I have to say, it drives me crazy keeping all those usernames and passwords straight. Well, we do away with that. One login, and you’re good to go.

I think that’s an extraordinary benefit of being a member of Chalice.

It’s also symbolic of Chalice. We’re dedicated to passing on to our members the benefits of pricing power and efficiency so that you can institutionalize the facets of your business that can benefit from such treatment while leaving you free to chart your own courses and uphold your own cultures.

Tl;dr: We had a great BooST 2020 conference in March, where we talked about the benefits of community, the power of common purpose, and the joys of a single login.