Are you waiting for the “right time” to start your succession planning? Does the word “succession” feel more overwhelming than empowering?

In this episode, hosts Tyson Ray and Kim Cochenour welcome Ironstone Founder & CEO Andrea Schlapia to talk about how EOS transforms succession from an intimidating afterthought into a practical, energizing business strategy.

Discover how structure, vision, and a mindset shift can preserve your legacy, empower your team, and set your advisory practice up for lasting success.

• Andrea Schlapia kicks off the conversation with Tyson Ryan and Kim Cochenour by explaining why so many advisors think that they’ll get to their succession… “some day.”
• Remember: Exit is merely a good business strategy, it is NOT an event.
• Andrea wants to help advisors move from a single business owner-run practice to a leadership team-run business – that way, all pressure won’t be only on you.
• Tyson explains how hearing the word “exit” shouldn’t be something that paralyzes you. Think of it as exiting some of the things you don’t like to do anymore and that are sucking out your energy.
• When it comes to hurdles Andrea helps advisors get past, she likes to start by looking at what the EOS (Entrepreneur Operating System) process is and does inside a specific firm.
• Andrea is a firm believer in “structure first, vision second.”
• Andrea touches upon the role of an accountability chart, as well as what Gino Wickman’s EOS is all about (his book Traction is a highly recommended reading!).
• Did you know that 70% of companies do not have any kind of exit strategy and succession plan?
• The SEPA industry’s four intangible capitals are human capital, structural capital, client capital, and social – or cultural – capital.
• “You literally can have mental freedom by having more structure in your business,” says Andrea.
• Reality check from Tyson: You need to realize that you’re going to exit your business…no matter what.
• Tyson goes over the thought process that led him to start considering the idea of business succession.
• Andrea shares her thoughts about what she sees coming the advisor industry’s way over the next decade, while Tyson illustrates the S.P.A.C.E. (Seeing, Preparing, Acting, Committing, Exiting) approach.
• The beginning of the entire business exit process is where Andrea sees advisors having the most difficulties.
• For her, you should undergo a mindset shift and swap “exit” with “what’s next.”
• Andrea shares her thoughts on S.P.A.C.E. and talks about the eight questions of the VTO (Vision Traction Organizer).
• Andrea breaks down the process she has created to assist advisors and shares her admiration for Patrick Lencioni’s work.
• According to Andrea, failing to plan is going to equal value erosion.

Mentioned in This Episode:

TotalSuccession.com

FORM Wealth Advisors

Tyson Ray

Kim Cochenour

Andrea Schlapia’s email: andrea@ironstonehq.com

Andrea Schlapia on LinkedIn

Ironstone

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

“What would happen to your business if you weren’t around tomorrow?” That’s the key question that Tyson Ray and Kim Cochenour unpack in this episode.

From the importance of succession planning to finding and training the next generation of advisors – they share insights that will help you future-proof your firm and build a lasting legacy.

• Tyson and Kim address the question “What would happen to my business if tomorrow I wasn’t around?”
• As Kim points out, most advisors still have their practice revolving around them.
• Is that you? Then know that if the business only works when you are in the seat, you are NOT succession ready.
• When Tyson had his first son, he had a realization. He did take care of his own estate planning but didn’t think about all the people who were dependent on him…
• Tyson and Kim go into why having a bench matters right now, even when you’re years away from retirement.
• When planning his bench, Tyson made sure that he had enough time and energy to look for and coach G2, the second generation of advisors.
• Keeping your ego in check is a key part of the process. Tyson sees looking for someone who has skills and talents that you don’t have as a recipe for succession success.
• Are you getting referrals for clients? You can do the same for G2: Get referrals for folks who would like to join a financial services firm.
• Kim touches upon the fact that the process of mentoring a G2 who doesn’t end up being a good fit for your firm is still valuable for the advisory industry as a whole.
• Tyson and Kim discuss common mistakes and succession planning failures.
• Kim recommends starting the process by listing out the three most important tasks you still personally handle at the firm – then ask yourself: “If I was out for a month, who could still do this?”
• Building a legacy revolves around answering the question “If I wasn’t here tomorrow, who could step in?” says Kim.

Mentioned in This Episode:

TotalSuccession.com

FORM Wealth Advisors

Tyson Ray

Kim Cochenour

Succession planning isn’t just for advisors who are ready to sell – it’s for anyone who wants to build a stronger, more resilient business.

In this episode, Tyson Ray and Kim Cochenour explain why preparing your firm to run without you makes it more scalable, more valuable, and, ultimately, more sellable, whether you’re years away from an exit or just starting to think about it.

• Tyson and Kim address a topic every advisor needs to hear: How to build a business that’s ready to transition – even if you’re not planning to sell right now.
• This is a topic that has to do with the “P” in the SPACE framework: Prepare.
• As Kim puts it, “Succession is something you have to prepare for, and it’s the preparation that makes your business stronger, whether you sell it or not.”
• Tyson explains why you need to think about having a sellable business even if selling isn’t something you’re thinking about for the near future.
• Planning for when you’re not there is something Tyson sees as a key step in successful succession planning.
• Tyson touches upon what may happen to your business if you were to pass away unexpectedly and without having had a succession and relevant tools in place.
• Kim believes that you should ask yourself whether you’re going to leave your team and clients a map to follow or a mess to clean up.
• Those gaps make the business harder from a succession standpoint, as well as from a scaling-it-now standpoint.
• Tyson lists several questions it may be worth asking yourself even if you’re not currently thinking about selling your business in the foreseeable future.
• Tyson believes that “You’re going to exit your practice and are going to have a succession. It’s a matter of whether you determine it or it’s going to be determined for you.”
• Tyson and Kim talk about why preparing WELL matters.
• Kim shares a critical question you should address. If you were to hand off your business in 90 days: What would break?
• Tyson and Kim wrap things up by sharing how to get started with a succession.

Mentioned in This Episode:

TotalSuccession.com

FORM Wealth Advisors

Tyson Ray

Kim Cochenour

Scott Danner

Dan Sullivan

Andrea Schlapia

What does successful succession really look like in today’s advisory landscape? Tyson Ray and Kim Cochenour sit down with Dave Patchen to explore the complex dynamics of succession planning – from generational mindsets and private equity pressures to the systems that truly sustain a business.

Whether you’re planning to sell, pass the torch, or build a lasting legacy, this conversation will help you through value-packed insights and actionable takeaways.

• Tyson and Kim are joined by Dave Patchen who shares his insights on business succession and the role millennials play in the process.
• Dave starts his contribution by talking about where he has seen internal transitions done right – and why it’s a good idea to have a “plan to fail” mindset.
• He points out that it is rare to be able to do them right the first time.
• Dave touches upon whether private equity and the multiples make it harder for the next generation to step in and have the internal succession.
• Tyson discusses the relationship between quality, cost, and service, and how you tend to get two out of the three.
• You have a similar dynamic on the transaction side, with multiples, the client’s best interest, and keeping your team.
• Dave shares his thoughts on advisors realizing that you can’t get high multiples while keeping everything else the same.
• Kim, Dave, and Tyson talk about the next generation of advisors and the implications their mindset, focus and goals have when it comes to successful business successions.
• Dave explains why he believes that, in the professional context, baby boomers need to be more flexible than millennials.
• Dave isn’t a fan of mainly using social media and growing one’s business through “accidental referrals”.
• A client-referral system, a center of influence referral system that is 100% process-driven and a client feedback system are three processes that Dave sees as critical for a business.
• When it comes to selling as an advisor, there’s an important question you should ask yourself: “What’s next?”
• A scientific fact you probably didn’t know: there’s a brain in the gut.
• Dave, Tyson and Kim discuss why approaching business succession requires a plan, whether you like it or not.
• Dave sees Be, Do, Think as the highest order of internal engagement – despite it being the opposite of what we tend to do in Western society.
• “The most powerful practice is the ability to put space around your thoughts,” says Dave.
• Remember: the way toward helping someone is an open and curious mindset, not a persuasive and thought-driven one.

Mentioned in This Episode:

TotalSuccession.com

FORM Wealth Advisors

Tyson Ray

Kim Cochenour

Dave Patchen on LinkedIn

Raymond James

Bob Dunwoody

If your business can’t run without you, it’s not built to last…it’s as simple as that! Tyson Ray and Kim Cochenour dive into the tough but necessary conversations around delegation, team building and preparing for succession.

From letting go of control to right-sizing your client base, they reveal the mindset shifts every advisor needs to make to lead with vision – and eventually step back with confidence.

• Tyson and Kim look at whether it makes sense to grow your team, fire some of your clients or sell your practice.
• Kim starts the conversation by highlighting the fact that, if your business needs 100% of you to function, you’re dealing with a weight that’s only going to keep getting heavier…
• Tyson shares his story of right-sizing his business twice – and why it was a good idea (both times!).
• During that process, Tyson basically ended up saying “you’re not good enough” to about half of his clients, and this had MAJOR repercussions!
• Ask yourself this: Is delegating part of the decision of growing my team or is it part of someone who’s already done that?
• Tyson opens up about when he got to the realization that he couldn’t keep running his business – and his life – at that pace.
• When building your own team, whether it’s for business, football, basketball or something else, you need to remember that you typically don’t pick all the right players the first time.
• A big win Tyson had in his business was to let go of responsibilities and letting go of control.
• Being able to let go, getting rid of that ego part leads to better business and leadership decisions.
• Tyson touches upon the difference between micromanaging and empowering team members – something he has done with Kim herself!
• Kim shares an important reminder: whether you’re going to plan to grow your business or to start building a succession plan, it’s going to take you a while to get there.
• Tyson and Kim wrap the conversation up by addressing a career-defining question every advisor should ask themselves.

Mentioned in This Episode:

TotalSuccession.com

FORM Wealth Advisors

Tyson Ray

Kim Cochenour

What if selling your advisory business wasn’t the end, rather the beginning of something new? Tyson Ray and Kim Cochenour sit down with SkyView co-founder Aaron Hasler to explore the emotional and strategic layers of acquisitions and succession planning.

From preparing Gen 2 successors to avoiding common retirement pitfalls – it’s a candid conversation about legacy, leadership, and what it really takes to step away with purpose.

• Tyson Ray and Kim Cochenour are joined by SkyView co-founder Aaron Hasler.
• One of SkyView’s strengths is adding capital and fueling the industry with the funds advisors can use for the succession plan of their choice.
• Aaron is really excited about fueling the next generation and thinking about how to get more advisors into his industry.
• The idea of what’s coming into advisor retirement is something that’s top of mind for a lot of advisors.
• Aaron believes that today advisors have more choices than ever when it comes to retirement.
• Over the last 24-36 months, Aaron and his partners have noticed a trend: the generation 2 of a practice is starting to buy out the founders.
• A talent drain is something Aaron sees as a current industry challenge.
• Aaron touches upon where he thinks someone who’s thinking about potentially selling their practice should start from.
• Advisors’ education has been SkyView’s #1 challenge since the business was started seven years ago.
• Tyson brings up a big mistake advisors tend to make: they know so much about financial and retirement planning and take them so much for granted that they end up not doing them for themselves…
• Aaron takes back the curtain on how he helps his clients – he advises them to work on their succession plan while they’re working in and on your business (even if they’re in their 30s or 40s).
• Aaron talks about the key things advisors preparing themselves to go through a succession should consider, as well as his best practices regarding acquisitions and finalizing deals.
• “I think that a lot of why advisors struggle with retirement is this is a fun business,” says Aaron.
• Aaron illustrates an example of a client he has recently helped with the succession planning process.
• Tyson, Aaron and Kim talk about the good and the bad of “downloading” the knowledge that’s in your head and preparing yourself to pass that along to the next generation of advisors.
• Advisors need to keep in mind that it may take multiple people to replace them.
• Kim points out that many advisors confuse the sale of their business as the end of their business or their career.
• However, an exit can be a move toward something else...
• Aaron recommends addressing your succession planning annually.

Mentioned in This Episode:

TotalSuccession.com

FORM Wealth Advisors

Tyson Ray

Kim Cochenour

Aaron Hasler on LinkedIn

SkyView Partners

Ameriprise Financial

Stop your succession planning from becoming a list of regrets! Tyson Ray and Kim Cochenour tackle the overlooked, yet vital, element of vision – revealing how advisors often miss defining their own “What’s next?”

Tune in to learn why, without this foundational piece, tactics are just numbers and how asking “What do I want to do when I grow up?” (even in retirement) is key to a fulfilling transition.

• Tyson Ray and Kim Cochenour address something many advisors skip when it comes to succession planning: VISION.
• Kim brings up the fact that, while advisors are supposed to be planners and help their clients with a long-term path for success, they tend to jump straight to the logistics when it comes to their own transition.
• Kim discusses how, without vision, all tactics and data are just numbers – everything becomes a reactionary piece, instead of being strategic.
• Tyson points out that the question “What do you want to do when you grow up?” is something that should be asked both personally and professionally, even in retirement, because people are trying to define what their life purpose is.
• Tyson believes that not defining what you want to do both personally and professionally when you exit can lead to some regrets… or, ultimately, even death.
• Your financial advising career is never ending: You’re helping people but that can suck everything out of you and end up draining you.
• Tyson shares an example of a client who initially didn’t have a vision for his professional and personal life and what that ended up leading to.
• Tyson goes through a mental exercise that can help you spur your reflection process.
• An important question to ask yourself is “What is success for me if I take the money out?”
• Tyson and Kim emphasize that people who care about you play a crucial role in your journey, as they can help you identify “blind spots” you aren’t seeing.
• Kim and Tyson share a small challenge. Over the next month or so, focus on: 1) walk in the morning; 2) talk it out; 3) picture your successor in your role.
• Tyson wraps things up by explaining why you need to have space in your life – even if you feel that you’re always busy!

Mentioned in This Episode:

TotalSuccession.com

FORM Wealth Advisors

Tyson Ray

Kim Cochenour