How do you approach your self-employed clients?

Thanks Rainier. While the article provided a number of interesting insights and tips as to how best serve the needs of SME clients, we've also received a number of interesting suggestions from the broader Advisely community.

Expanding your solution suite to being able to accommodate key person, buy/sell, transition and succession needs was frequently suggested. Providing not only 'fit for purpose' products but also facilitating access to aligned services such as legal, taxation, accounting, estate planning and cyber protection.

And from left field - facilitating a forum for discussion between your SME clients as to their experiences and 'lessons learned' in operating a small business. It's always nice to hear from others who have experienced what you could be going through (as an owner) and, if the opportunity has been provided by your adviser - all the better. What a great value add!

This suggestion reminded us of a US practice which ran regular workshops for their SME clients who were close to retirement (and therefore sale, succession and transition were top of mind) - with the main speakers being past clients who had recently exited their business. Experiences being shared in a meaningful, tangible way!

Food for thought?

Terry-Bell we dont necessarily have a different approach to our SME clients, rather they do get more detailed service due to the type of clients they are, we spend time with their Accountants, and Lawyers around growing their wealth through contributions, ensuring they have adequate estate planning in place including if they have a SMSF POA for the fund seperate to the personal ones.  A lot of time counselling on ensuring they have the right agreements in place.  

Awesome question Terry-Bell and can't wait to hear what the community's experiences with self-employed clients have been.

For those who haven't read the blog post, click here – some fascinating insights from the research and practical tips to boot!