Your Assessment Results

You're in the Launch Series

You're in the earliest stages of building an advisory practice. The Launch Series covers everything from getting licensed and affiliated to building your first book of 50 households.

0
Affiliate
1
Monetize
2
Systematize
3
Delegate
4
Multiply
5
Optimize
6
Scale
7
Exit

Your Two Stages

The Launch journey

0
Stage 0

The Affiliate

You're entering the industry. The goal is to get licensed, find a broker-dealer or RIA to affiliate with, and lay the groundwork for your first clients.

Bottom line: Unlicensed → Licensed & Affiliated

Aspiring
Role
$0
AUM
$0
Revenue
1
Stage 1

The Hunter

You're licensed and affiliated. Now the job is simple: hunt. Fill your calendar with prospects, close clients, and build your first book to 30–50 households.

Bottom line: No clients → 30–50 households

Hunter
Role
$0–25M
AUM
$0–250K
Revenue
Jeremy Straub
“

The Launch stage is the purest form of entrepreneurship in our industry. You have no safety net, no established brand, no pipeline. But you also have no bad habits to unlearn. That's your advantage.

Jeremy Straub · Managing Partner, Coastal Wealth

Your Training

Launch Series training

Two focused modules designed to take you from zero to a thriving practice with 50 households.

Stage 0 training module
Stage 0

Affiliate: Get Licensed & Launched

Everything you need to pass your exams, affiliate with the right firm, set up your business entity, and build your initial tech stack.

✓ Licensing & exam prep strategy ✓ Choosing a BD/RIA to affiliate with ✓ Business entity & compliance setup ✓ Tech stack & CRM fundamentals ✓ Defining your niche & target market
Start Module →
Stage 1 training module
Stage 1

Monetize: Build Your Book

The playbook for generating leads, running discovery meetings, closing clients, and building your first book to 30–50 households.

✓ Warm market activation strategy ✓ The 3-meeting sales process ✓ Content marketing fundamentals ✓ Client onboarding workflows ✓ Revenue tracking & financial model
Start Module →

Constraint Analysis

What's holding you back —
and how to fix it

Every stage has 8 predictable constraint categories. Here's what's broken at your stage and what you need to fix to graduate.

⚖ Compliance
Service Model & Compliance
Constraint
No licenses, no compliance infrastructure, no E&O insurance, no ADV filing.
To Graduate
Pass Series 65/66 (or CFP exam), affiliate with a BD/RIA, establish compliance protocols, file ADV Part 2A.
📢 Marketing
Brand & Lead Generation
Constraint
No brand, no online presence, no defined niche or messaging.
To Graduate
Define target market and niche, build a basic website and LinkedIn profile, create initial outreach messaging approved by compliance.
📈 Sales
Pipeline & Closing
Constraint
No pipeline, no prospects, no sales process.
To Graduate
Build initial warm market list of 100+ contacts, develop a scripted intro conversation, schedule 20+ discovery meetings.
👥 Delivery
Service Delivery
Constraint
No client onboarding process, no service calendar, no deliverables defined.
To Graduate
Design a basic onboarding checklist, define your initial service offering, map the first-year client journey.
💻 Technology
Technology & Platforms
Constraint
No CRM, no financial planning software, no portfolio management tools.
To Graduate
Set up CRM (e.g., Redtail, Wealthbox), get access to planning software, establish custodial relationship.
👤 Talent
Talent Acquisition
Constraint
Solo — no team, no support.
To Graduate
Not applicable at this stage — focus on personal productivity systems and time blocking.
🤝 HR / People
HR & People Operations
Constraint
No employment structure, no benefits, no operating agreement.
To Graduate
Establish your business entity (LLC/S-Corp), set up basic bookkeeping, open business bank account.
💰 Finance
Financial Management
Constraint
No revenue, personal savings funding startup costs.
To Graduate
Create a 12-month cash flow projection, establish startup budget ($5–15K), define break-even timeline (typically 6–12 months).
⚖ Compliance
Service Model & Compliance
Constraint
Basic compliance in place but no documented service tiers, inconsistent client experience.
To Graduate
Define 2–3 service tiers with clear deliverables, document compliance review process, establish annual review cadence.
📢 Marketing
Brand & Lead Generation
Constraint
Relying solely on warm market and referrals, no systematic lead generation.
To Graduate
Launch a content marketing rhythm, run 2–4 educational workshops, build referral partnership with 3–5 COIs.
📈 Sales
Pipeline & Closing
Constraint
Inconsistent pipeline, no defined sales process, winging discovery meetings.
To Graduate
Implement a repeatable 3-meeting sales process, achieve 40%+ close rate, maintain 10+ active prospects at all times.
👥 Delivery
Service Delivery
Constraint
Every client gets a custom (inconsistent) experience, no templates or workflows.
To Graduate
Create templated financial plan deliverables, build standard onboarding workflow (7-day timeline), implement annual review template.
💻 Technology
Technology & Platforms
Constraint
Tools are set up but not integrated, manual data entry between systems.
To Graduate
Integrate CRM with planning and portfolio tools, automate meeting scheduling, set up document management system.
👤 Talent
Talent Acquisition
Constraint
Doing everything yourself — admin, planning, trading, marketing, compliance.
To Graduate
Evaluate virtual assistant or part-time admin support, identify which tasks to delegate first.
🤝 HR / People
HR & People Operations
Constraint
Solo operator, no time management discipline, approaching burnout.
To Graduate
Implement time blocking system, establish work-life boundaries, create a personal development plan with CE/designation goals.
💰 Finance
Financial Management
Constraint
Inconsistent revenue, no financial model, unclear profitability.
To Graduate
Build a revenue model tracking recurring vs. one-time fees, achieve $150K+ gross revenue, maintain 3-month operating reserve.

Free Download

The Advisor Scaling
Playbook

Download the full 8-stage framework as a PDF — including all constraint maps, graduation criteria, and tactical checklists for every stage.

Download PDF →
Advisor Scaling Playbook

The Full Journey

Where Launch leads next

You Are Here
Series 1 of 4

Launch

Stages 0–1 · $0–$250K revenue · Get licensed, build your first book of business.

→
Next

Build

Stages 2–3 · $250K–$1.5M revenue · Document systems, hire your first team, delegate.

→
Then

Scale & Exit

Stages 4–7 · $1.5M–$15M+ revenue · Multi-advisor firm, leadership team, acquisition, exit.

Ready for Guidance?

Book a strategy call

Talk with the Coastal Wealth team about your specific situation, constraints, and goals. We'll map out a personalized next-steps plan for your practice.

Schedule Your Call →