Terry Parham Jr. is the CFO and Co-Founder of Innovative Wealth Building, an independent RIA based out of Maryland that oversees nearly $330 million in assets under management for nearly 900 households. After almost failing out of the business because of a struggle to secure new clients in the first two years of his career, he changed his approach and within 18 months was one of the fastest-growing advisors in his entire company. Listen in as Terry shares how the small pivot to asking prospects upfront to commit to making a referral—only after he had shown them real financial planning value—turned his career around. We also discuss why he took time to confer with colleagues and conduct research before deciding to go independent, how he used dinner seminars as a way to consistently get $ 3 million to $ 5 million of new assets under management with every event (that cost less than $2,000 to host), and how a simple tool early in his career helped him to gain confidence and better relay information and connect with clients. For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/311