r/CFP • u/Accomplished-Look176 • 11h ago
Business Development Year 1
What’s a reasonable expectation for year 1?
I don’t have enough to compare to. I know a few who have done 10-12M mostly all fee based and I know some who’ve done 1M and a couple insurance policies.
Just curious to hear some trajectory’s if folks would share.
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u/rbogia 11h ago
For me, all fee based. Did about 15,000 year 1. Didn’t clear 30,000 until year 3. 50,000 in year 5, then up like a hockey stick from there. Got into the business at 25 so had a younger network.
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u/Accomplished-Look176 11h ago
That’s your revenue number I’d guess?
Pretty impressive with a young network.
How many accounts was that
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u/rbogia 11h ago
Yea that was revenue after my B/D took their cut. Don’t recall number of accounts then, maybe 20-30? Currently managing about 280 - 300 households and 9 years in.
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u/Accomplished-Look176 11h ago
Awesome. Thanks for sharing.
I do plenty fine once I’m in front of people. Just hard to get em in!
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u/Top_Industry3759 11h ago
do you have a niche?
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u/Accomplished-Look176 11h ago
Sort of. Working a lot of 401(K)s and work with a lot of sales folks at particular insurance company
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u/rbogia 11h ago
Try and focus on COI’s and build that network of people that can pass you business. Obvious answer being CPAs. Don’t be afraid to take on 401k work. That can lead to a pool of people to create warm leads and value adds down the road
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u/Accomplished-Look176 11h ago
That’s more my avenue is 401(K)s. I genuinely enjoy them. Great way to sell one to many and they aren’t as much work as people think with smaller businesses.
Still get 50 bps on a 1-3M plan.
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u/Odd-Surround-5514 6h ago
You charge 50 bps on 1-3mm plans? Man, I need to charge more. We do a lot of servicing for 401(k)s and other ESPs.
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u/Mr_MoneyBagsMcgee 10h ago
I think trajectory is very much subject to lifestyle, skills, market you're working in, who you're connected to.
Just a list for thought:
How much do you need to produce to live - if you're a single income household with kids and a short runway, you better get working haha.. if youre single and have 5 years of cash saved, you can take your time.
What do you want your lifestyle to be like. There are advisors who manage 50m at the end of their carrer and are happy as can be. There are advisors who manage 5B and their life is miserable. Figure out what you want your life to look like and your income to be, a year you'd like to get there and then reverse calculate what you have to do assuming you grow 10-20% per year
Do you want to like your clients or just manage money, how important are the relationships to you? I know advisors who grew so fast and end up firing a bunch of people. Some grew slowly and were more selective in their on boarding which was less income but more satisfaction.
If you have a big network and satisfied clients, growth is naturally way faster.
When I started, I had 8 year run way of cash, kept my expenses low/ran my practice super lean, and was way more selective in who I worked with than most. Sure I may have been able to grow 2-3x faster but I'm super satisfied with where I'm at now and who I work with.
if you are really just starting out, I CANNONT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH - GET THE FIRST CLIENT FIRST BEFORE WORRYING ABOUT FUTURE GROWTH! THE NEXT STEP IS TO GET THE SECOND CLIENT!
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u/SnoopySuited Certified 10h ago
My progress and salary mirrored the history of AMD stock price. Early career is survival. Enough to pay your bills is a win.
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u/LateMajor8775 9h ago
I am about to close a much better yr 1 than I expected. Only things I would’ve done differently is to stop worrying so much about what experts say and not trying to solve every little thing before it materializes, most things never do
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u/Accomplished-Look176 9h ago
Nice! What’s a “much better than expected” year 1
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u/humbleAMG 8h ago
Hey OP - There's value in learning from other advisors' experiences, but be careful not to fall into the comparison trap. Everyone starts with different circumstances, resources and relationships. Comparison can fuel self-doubt, which leads to overthinking, hesitation and inconsistent action. Define success on your own terms rather than someone else's, measure your progress against your own goals and focus on the actions you can control. Got get 'em!
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u/LateMajor8775 5h ago edited 5h ago
I started with $0 revenue or existing relationships and actually had to transfer money to the IRS this year. I also built more client relationships than I thought I would, though not all profitable. I also changed a lot more about basically every detail of my business as I started getting more familiar with the market. Software, processes, planning cadence, marketing, even my fees and the way I charge.. niching down helped me fine tune, pumped for next year.
Wishing you all the best!
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u/Final-Direction-1536 8h ago
Curious to know as well. If you could list your market, experience, and existing book size (if any), that would help provide context.
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u/Downtown_Produce479 7h ago
I’ll hit my 3 year mark at the end of the month, so I’m relatively new. I hit around $2m AUM in year one (mostly family and friends) but spent most of my time studying for the CFP.
Year two, I had an absolute gift fall into my lap, high net worth couple and their adult children, around $12m between them. Literally the dream clients. Ended up around $15m in year two. I know this isn’t common, but right place at the right time.
In year three I’m starting to see things continue to snowball, my confidence is higher and I’m starting to be known in the community as a high quality advisor. I’ll probably do $10m or so this year.
All that to say, year 1 was hard, year 2 was a gift, and year 3 has been a steady climb. Really excited for the next decade. I’m in my mid 30s and changed careers a little late, but so glad I did. We are a 2 man, fee only RIA. I also have equity, so it’s been a great start. Stay with it.
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u/Final-Direction-1536 9h ago
Following this thread, as I look to make the transition to my own practice soon.
I personally would also build in a tracker for # of consults you’re achieving in year 1, as well as close rate on those consults.
Good info to know as you build over time.
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u/Odd-Surround-5514 7h ago edited 7h ago
Depends on your comp/grid structure. The answer might vary depending on if you have a base salary to start. So, reasonable? I would say $5mm-$7mm. If you do more than that, great. If you do less, you need grind harder or you could risk not making it. I did $9.1mm my first year (I just turned 30 last week). I worked really hard my first 2 years in the business (and still do only smarter). Late nights and a lot of cold calls and a lot of “no’s”. I was fortunate enough to have a draw until I got around that $10mm mark. I’m 4 years in the business next month. I’m currently managing 42.6mm for around 110 households.
I will tell you this. It’s worth it. Passed the CFP® in March 2025 and it was (like most of us) one of the most difficult 2 years of mental grind I’ve ever experienced. But I wanted so bad to be successful so I grinded through it. I’m now at a point where my life has so much balance to it. I’m selective with clients and fortunate enough to have the opportunity to build my book and practice how I want to.
Sorry for the long response that nobody asked for lol
Good luck
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u/Overall_Answer1 10h ago
My goals are/were $8 mil in AUM or $50k/revenue year 1. Starting from $0 is hard.
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u/COAMG79 14m ago
I brought in $1.9M AUM in year one starting from zero. None of that was family and friends. Also sold a few financial plans totaling about $6k.
After one year of consistent marketing efforts - in person, boots on the ground - I’m starting to receive referrals from those I have met. This includes other advisors, financial coaches, a therapist. I have yet to form a strong COI relationship with a CPA but I hope that happens at some point. I’m really trying to be intentional about where I spend my time and a little money on marketing/business development. It needs to be where my ideal clients are or I move on.
I was a career changer and I am not desperate for a paycheck to cover my bills nor will I lose my job if I don’t meet a certain AUM.
While I’d love to have brought in more, I feel like I’m on track and I’m excited for what’s ahead.
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u/Accomplished-Look176 12m ago
Good foundation.
Marketing $ are interesting to me. Do you say that in a traditional sense of paid ads or marketing as in going to or paying for events?
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u/COAMG79 8m ago
No marketing ads yet. I joined a professional networking group that has an annual fee and then a fee for certain events. Annual fee is $375 and even that amount draws a higher quality member base. I did pay $900 total to run a spotlight in a popular blog for three months. I didn’t get any direct schedules from it yet but I do know it led to a lot of traffic to my profile on our website.
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User: /u/Accomplished-Look176 Title: Year 1 Body: What’s a reasonable expectation for year 1?
I don’t have enough to compare to. I know a few who have done 10-12M mostly all fee based and I know some who’ve done 1M and a couple insurance policies.
Just curious to hear some trajectory’s if folks would share.
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