Content provided by J.J. Schenkelberg

Sometimes I’m a little embarrassed by this fact, I know I’m spoiled and I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to enjoy this luxury, but I’ll admit it. . . I have someone who comes and cleans our house every two weeks.  Actually, we’ve had this luxury since I gave birth to our first son 10 years ago.  At that time, our family lived in a small, split level, starter home and we did not have a great deal of discretionary income.  However, this delegation of duties was, and is, one of the best investments I feel we could have made.

I would happily forego new clothes or eating out in order to enjoy the peaceful feeling that comes with entering my home after everything has been picked up, swept, and smells like cleaning products.  For some reason, it just makes everything else easier.  As a household with two working parents we don’t have to worry about cramming the cleaning in throughout the week, I feel more organized when it comes to work and we have more time to enjoy with our kids.  There is enough to cram into the week with work, meals, laundry, sporting events, and other extracurricular activities it’s just nice to have a clean place to come home to.

Delegation isn’t always easy.  Sometimes, standards can be pretty high when you are paying for something.  Oftentimes, many of the details do not get as clean as you might expect.  Blinds still get dusty and cobwebs can still accumulate in small areas.  But, in the end it is all worth it.  I am not going to kid myself, if they didn’t come every two weeks the blinds and small crevices wouldn’t be noticed behind the grime that would build up everywhere else.  All in all, our household is better kept with their assistance and I’m free to do a better job at work and with my children.  Quite frankly, I believe it also made my husband and I more profitable by freeing up time to study for advanced education and become better qualified for raises.

I think about this when I consider advisors and their financial planning practices.  There are many details to maintain when managing their business, just like managing a household.  As an independent advisor there is the complex world of financial planning to guide clients through, the operational details of paperwork, the face to face interaction with clients and the ever-changing investment landscape.  Not to mention, sales, marketing, and compliance.

I find that whenever there are opportunities to delegate duties that are outside of my core competencies, or can be accomplished by others equally as well, it frees me to be better at the core competencies I enjoy and can do for others.  For an advisor, I see the opportunity to delegate investment decisions, operations, sales, and compliance as an opportunity to focus on what they do best thus benefiting their business, as well as their clients financial future.  Overall, it can make the business cleaner, more presentable, and more profitable.

0289-CLS-2/11/2014