In our podcast, What Works: Over 2500+ Years Experience in Financial Planning, Don Patrick, founder of Integrated Financial Group, sits down with successful professionals to uncover the strategies that truly make a difference. The following article is an overview of Episode #19, in which Don chats with Josh Donley, founder of Mosaic Capital Management in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. As a founding member of the IFG consortium and key contributor to our collaborative network, he deeply embodies the meaning of shared expertise that is at the core of our mission statement.
In this conversation, Josh shares his unique journey into financial planning, his philosophy on client relationships, and how he’s built a thriving practice focused on deep, personalized guidance. From early entrepreneurial ventures to navigating significant professional and personal transitions, Josh’s story offers valuable lessons for advisors and insights for anyone seeking truly comprehensive financial support.
Don’t feel like reading? To listen to the full conversation, find the What Works podcast here.
From Entrepreneurial Roots to a Deep Financial Planning Approach
For independent financial advisors, the journey into practice ownership often stems from a unique entrepreneurial spirit. Just like Josh Donley, founder of Mosaic Capital Management, who ran his own car detailing business in high school, many advisors are driven by a desire for independence rather than a traditional corporate path. Josh’s early career saw him bypass larger firms to join the independent world, experiencing the whirlwind of building a business from the ground up, including navigating multiple broker-dealer changes in his first year. This foundational experience highlighted the agility required to thrive independently.
Later, launching Mosaic Capital Management in 2011 was not just a business move, but a deeply personal endeavor. This significant transition, happening amidst family growth and personal challenges, underscores the resilience often required to build a successful independent firm. Josh’s story of outfitting their first office for a mere $5,000, through resourceful connections, illustrates the lean beginnings that can precede substantial growth, as Mosaic grew from $18 million to approximately $145 million in AUM.
Josh’s passion, however, truly lies in what he calls the “deep financial planning approach.” This goes beyond basic portfolio management, evolving to include extensive tax projections and strategic planning. Utilizing tools like HolistaPlan, which he calls “the best software I’ve ever purchased,” has been a game-changer for financial planning, allowing him to deliver a much deeper level of service. For independent financial advisors aiming to excel, this commitment to in-depth planning, supported by effective technology like MoneyGuidePro for comprehensive planning and Redtail as a CRM, is a cornerstone for building a robust and client-centric practice.
How Independent Advisors Can Attract New Clients Through Organic Referrals
Many independent financial advisors find that traditional marketing avenues, like chamber events, don’t align with their strengths. Josh Donley, for instance, admits he’s “just not good at going out and generating new business by just meeting people in chamber groups.” Instead, his strategy for attracting new clients has been rooted in providing an exceptional client experience that generates organic, word-of-mouth referrals.
Josh’s firm has cultivated a strong niche within the medical community, a growth that occurred entirely organically. This happened because their service stood out. When new clients, often referred by other doctors and dentists, came in, they consistently expressed surprise at the depth of planning they received. “I didn’t know this was a thing,” was a common refrain. This kind of distinct client experience transforms clients into advocates.
The power of these referrals lies in the concept of “social capital” – people recommend services not just to help the advisor, but to empower their friends and colleagues. By consistently delivering a deep financial planning approach and providing exceptional service, advisors build a reputation that precedes them. As Josh emphasizes, “When you’re just doing the work… you don’t have to have those conversations because they would leave here excited and say, ‘I’m going to tell my partner to come see you.’” This highlights that the most effective independent financial advisor marketing strategies often boil down to simply doing excellent work, fostering trust, and letting client satisfaction drive growth.
Optimizing the Financial Advisor Client Review Process
For independent financial advisors, the post-implementation phase is critical for long-term client satisfaction. Josh Donley’s approach to the financial advisor client review process exemplifies a client-first philosophy. While annual reviews are typical, he designs his schedule to be flexible, aiming for fewer reviews during peak personal times, and ensuring proactive scheduling through his assistant, Michelle.
The review meetings themselves are designed to be entirely client-led. Josh doesn’t rely on rigid agendas or pre-sent checklists. Instead, every meeting begins with, “Tell me if there’s anything on your mind first.” This ensures the discussion addresses the client’s most pressing concerns. During these sessions, the financial planning software integration is paramount; Josh conducts meetings live on screen, making real-time adjustments and exploring “what-if” scenarios based on client input. This interactive approach, where clients see the immediate trade-offs of decisions, empowers them and fosters deeper engagement.
Beyond formal meetings, consistent and low-friction client communication strategies for financial planners are key. Josh’s firm implements thoughtful touches like birthday calls and periodic “Behavior Gap” emails, which feature Carl Richards’ sketches and personalized commentary. These highly engaging emails, with a remarkable 78% open rate, provide valuable insights on life and money, creating ongoing touchpoints that strengthen the client relationship and demonstrate a commitment beyond just portfolio performance.
How the Brain Trust and IFG Helped Solve Capacity Issues and
As an independent financial advisor practice scales, solving capacity issues becomes a central challenge. Josh Donley himself faced this, reaching a point where he was turning away new clients to ensure existing ones received optimal service. To address this, he’s strategically exploring IFG’s virtual assistant program to offload administrative tasks from his assistant, Michelle. The goal is for virtual assistants to handle the bulk of new business processing paperwork, freeing Michelle to focus on critical roles like managing the client calendar and local office operations. This focused delegation is crucial for maintaining a smooth workflow, especially when new business arrives in “lumpy” bursts.
Furthermore, a powerful resource for any independent advisor is a strong community. Josh is a founding member of IFG, which he values immensely. The benefits of IFG as an independent financial advisor consortium lie in the shared knowledge and support system, providing what he calls a “much bigger army” than a single firm could ever possess. This collective expertise allows advisors to bounce ideas, share best practices (like how others use virtual assistants or manage different CRMs), and troubleshoot complex issues without expecting a “split” or payment. This collaborative environment embodies the ideal of “being independent, but not alone,” providing an invaluable resource for continuous learning and problem-solving, which is essential for any advisor looking to optimize their practice.
Navigating Compliance Challenges and Technology Integration for RIAs
For independent financial advisors, the administrative realities of running a business can be daunting. Compliance challenges for independent advisors are a significant and ongoing burden. Josh, like many, finds the constantly changing rules and requirements exhausting, noting how simple tasks, when multiplied across various regulations, consume significant time. The lack of clear, consistent guidance on complex issues, even within larger networks, often leaves advisors struggling to find definitive answers.
Beyond compliance, financial planning software integration and broader technology management present their own unique hurdles. Josh recounted a frustrating three-week ordeal to get a crucial link between his client management system and MoneyGuidePro to work, highlighting how seemingly simple integrations can become unexpectedly complex. This experience underscores a common struggle for RIAs and technology challenges for financial advisors: getting disparate systems to communicate effectively.
The lesson here is that while advisors might excel at client-facing work and financial strategy, the operational “business part” – including navigating compliance and streamlining technology – often requires different expertise. Recognizing this, and actively seeking solutions like the virtual assistant program, or leveraging the collective knowledge of peer groups, becomes paramount. By minimizing friction in these areas, advisors can dedicate more time to their passion: deepening client relationships and providing exceptional financial guidance.
What Works for Independent Advisors?
As we’ve explored through Josh Donley’s journey and insights, building a thriving independent financial advisory practice hinges on several key pillars: a commitment to deep, comprehensive financial planning, the cultivation of organic client referrals through exceptional service, a client-led review process, strategic capacity management, and the invaluable support of a peer community. While the challenges of compliance and technology integration remain, the ability to prioritize client needs, leverage effective tools, and seek collaborative solutions are hallmarks of truly successful independent advisors.
Josh’s dedication to making life easier for his clients, reducing friction in every interaction, and consistently exceeding expectations, serves as a powerful testament to the “people business” that financial planning truly is. He finds immense reward in the unique window into clients’ lives that his profession provides, learning from their wisdom and helping them plan more confidently.
To hear more about Josh Donley’s strategies, his experiences, and the invaluable lessons he’s learned building Mosaic Capital Management, listen to the full conversation on the What Works Podcast with Don Patrick.
