Your Trusted Advisors

Trusted advisors are like the proverbial “honeycomb” to your business. If you have sought business advice before, you understand; trustworthy counsel is invaluable.

Trusted advisors are more than someone with a title and business cards – whether an attorney, accountant, consultant, or coach. A trusted advisor is someone with the experience and expertise to provide you with trusted counsel, someone who places your best interests first.

When you seek counsel from a trusted advisor – you are looking for perceptive solutions. The most valuable counsel a trusted advisor can provide is proactive counsel (e.g. they help you think through what to include with your LLC agreement today, and account for your future plans and the associated risks. They understand what is and is not a categorical exclusion in your legal documents.)

Proactive counsel is always in your best interest…. be wise…. count the cost beforehand; think through the risks, but don’t expect it to be gratis. The benefit is like planning for retirement, you need to think ahead; and the earlier you begin seeking advice as an entrepreneur, the better. If you want to do business with integrity and respectful reflections, a trusted advisor can help you achieve that.

So what should you look for in a trusted advisor? A trusted advisor should be someone with the combination of expert knowledge and experiential wisdom. Someone you feel comfortable with and ultimately can trust. A trusted advisor should understand not only what’s best for your business, but what’s best for you. Your relationship with your trusted advisor should be such that they work to understand your positions and counsel you accordingly. Trusted advisors are not someone you should contact from reading names in the yellow pages. You want an advisor that has a solid reputation, biography experience and valuable counsel. You are the one buying, do your due diligence: ask for references.

Character Traits

A truly trusted advisor should always demonstrate these character traits a) an understanding of the advice you need b) willing to answer questions c) shows their knowledge d) communicates.

You know your advisor is listening when they ask you insightful questions; and provide you with plausible scenarios; and you know they really care, if they listen.

A trusted advisor should always have the time to speak with you when you need advice; but don’t anticipate responsive attention if you are thinking gratis.

A trusted advisor will share their knowledge with you. They will read about your field so they can provide you with better insight and advice, they will educate themselves to add more value to the trusted relationship. A trustworthy advisor works for you longer than just the time you sit in their office, or chat on the phone.

Your trusted advisor should communicate with you periodically. They should call you proactively, and meet with you one-on-one; invest with them, and you will ultimately get truly trusted advice. Good advice is most often not gratis….but there are few things that are less expensive to your business in the long-term, than the price of trusted advice.