Sometimes, instant updates matter. Can you imagine a traffic report arriving after the fact? But at 228Main.com, the news cycle isn’t our schedule: your schedule is our schedule.
Want content like this in your inbox each week? Leave your email here.
our business
It’s All Beginnings, Endings, and Transitions
In Roman mythology, the god Janus had one face looking forward and another looking back. It’s natural in this season to look back, take stock of where we’ve been, and think about the best way forward. That’s what we’re doing at 228 Main.
Want content like this in your inbox each week? Leave your email here.
Beginnings and Endings
As the end of the year draws near, it makes sense to look back on where we have been—and to look forward at the path ahead.
Our lives have threads; the life of our shared enterprise here at 228 Main does, too. One thread is talking with you, meeting you where you are, striving to connect your money to your life. Other threads pertain to finding worthy opportunities in which to invest, managing your portfolios to take advantage of that research, and communicating with you about what we are doing and why.
It’s been an interesting year! The markets have been challenging; the economy is dealing with the aftermath of the shutdown and the restart relating to the pandemic. Disruptions continue to affect many aspects of our lives.
Turmoil brings opportunity, of course, and we are always thinking about opportunities. Our underlying theory is that we survive, the economy recovers, and we end up sooner or later with record levels of GDP, income, and wealth. No guarantees, of course.
In other words, a lot happened in 2022, but the big story has not changed. We are looking forward with anticipation to 2023.
Our story may not have changed, but our structure is evolving to better reflect our work together. We have talked about the collaborative enterprise we’re becoming, and our regulatory structure will soon reflect that. I can’t work to age 92 by myself—and I would not want to! So the New Year will include a transition to a more sustainable form of organization. (More details will follow, and you can refer to our previous discussion on this process.)
My sense is that we’re more capable than ever of taking care of business for you—with more time spent by more people searching for opportunities, managing portfolios, attending to the details of service, and communicating with you in more ways than ever. The new structure will be a better way to organize this reality.
Clients, what are your plans and planning for the New Year? Any parts you’d like to talk about with us? Email or call, any time.
Want content like this in your inbox each week? Leave your email here.
Play the audio version of this post below:
Beginnings and Endings – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services
This text is available at https://www.228Main.com/.
Oh Yay! Oh Yay! Oh Yay! It’s Here!
I’m usually excited—but you know that. Right now I have a really good reason for it. Clients, you have made this enterprise a roaring success, larger than I can manage on my own. By operating as a team with next-generation talent, our capabilities are at new levels.
Now our structure needs to reflect this enterprise form of organization.
Leibman Financial Services is now officially registered as an Investment Advisor (RIA) with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Instead of me as a person being responsible for managing your accounts, you’ll have our whole team working for you. This is the step that will enable me to work to age 92, help me recognize the contributions of my teammates, and serve you more effectively than ever before.
You may be happy to know that new clients will be taken care of by newer team members. I’m going to be available as long as I am able to you folks who signed up in years past. Reorganizing will give me more time to work with you—and ensure that new clients will have the resources to be taken care of too.
The three additional officers will include Greg Leibman, a stalwart partner as Office Manager through the hard times; Data Analyst Billy Garver, a key addition to our Research Team and the keeper of systems and processes; and Director of Communications Caitie Leibman, a great talent who drives our communications with you. These three will do more and more consulting with newer clients as they are able over time.
The Service Team—Larry (Client Service Specialist) and Patsy (Client Service Assistant) and Whitney (Client Service Specialist)—will still be onboard and helping us along, of course. They will take care of the details and logistics as always.
Right now, we need your help to make the transition. You’ll soon find an email in your inbox with forms to sign electronically to effect the transition of your advisory accounts from LPL’s RIA to Leibman Financial Services. Everything stays at LPL; you keep the same account numbers. But we do need a couple of things signed.
It’s important to us that this transition be simple and easy for you. If you have questions, please email us or call.
Want content like this in your inbox each week? Leave your email here.
Play the audio version of this post below:
Oh Yay! Oh Yay! Oh Yay! It’s Here! – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services
This text is available at https://www.228Main.com/.
Here We Grow Again
We spend a lot of time thinking about business. Shares of common stock are percentage ownership interests in businesses, after all. But lately we have had to spend some time thinking about our business. It keeps growing.
Our idea has long been that growing your buckets is the best way to grow the business. So we put all of our energy into that task, and talking to you clients instead of strangers. You evidently talk about us–word of mouth is an amazing thing.
We think the best strategy to manage growth is a concept we learned by revamping our communications beginning in 2015. The digital venues like 228Main.com are scalable. In other words, when we communicate to dozens of clients, hundreds or thousands of others can listen in with no additional cost or effort or time on our part.
Scalability in our operations means systematizing the things that would be done better if they were systematized. Scalability in our staff means getting understudies in place for every human activity, and documenting those processes.
When you think about it, our efforts in these areas will make our enterprise more durable and resilient. These are good things for everyone.
The first steps in the scalability project:
1. Hire an understudy for Larry, to work in client logistics (forms, paperwork, and organization). This will happen soon.
2. Develop a custom operating system for the business. Portfolio analytics, our longevity-driven fee administration, task management and client contact records will ultimately all be in a single system. This is in development, and will probably take many months to complete.
3. Hire an understudy for Greg, to work in research and trading. This will be a longer-term project.
Of course, we all pitch in on many different activities as needed to meet your needs. Clients, if you have questions about this or anything else, please email us or call.
You must be logged in to post a comment.