‘Wearing two hats’: Balancing being an adviser and business owner

Speaking at the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) Roadshow in Sydney last week, attended by ifa, Warr Hunt principal and head of advice Bianca Musico suggested that the first thing to do is create clear boundaries for both yourself and staff regarding how time is split between roles.

One way of doing this, Musico said, is by “owning your own diary”, meaning she clearly illustrates to both herself and staff that she has dedicated time periods in which she will focus on one of her roles at a time rather than always trying to juggle “wearing two hats”.

“It took me a long time to realise that blocking time out in your diary for specific tasks. It makes it really obvious and clear to everyone else what’s going on. Where are you? What are you doing? And it sets the expectation that you’re not available,” Musico said.

“Wednesday is my management block. So, that is my dedicated time just to think about leadership, business and business growth and by doing that, you’re effectively being able to be present in that role on its own.

“You’re not worrying about clients. Clients can come in on a Monday, Tuesday and a Thursday. That’s client days. It’s really important that you own your own diary, and you set that expectation both with clients, but with staff as well, because it’s crucial.”

She added: “You can’t be trying to juggle. You can’t multitask, as much as we all like to think we can. You need dedicated time.”

Another tool she uses are “clarity breaks”, where she takes time outside the business to work on the business, allowing her to fully concentrate on developing ideas without the distractions of the office.

“Just resetting those small boundaries to allow you to actually critically think about business is really important,” Musico said.

“Remember, it’s important for you and the business, but it’s important for the staff too, right? Because if you’re not thinking and building and growing the business, then there’s no opportunities for staff.”

Finally, Musico noted the value of delegating tasks, ensuring that internal talent is being utilised, which fosters a more collaborative workplace environment while also freeing up leadership to pursue more growth opportunities.

“A lot of us jump to, well, how am I going to do that? I don’t have time, I don’t have the capacity, I don’t have the ability to take that on. So, it’s really changing that mindset and going, well, who is out there that can help me do that?” she said.

“Now this doesn’t just mean pushing work down to people … It might be that you’re actually going to someone above you and asking for their help, or the people that are sitting beside you and asking for their help because they’ve got better experience or expertise in that area.

“By doing that, you can then set bigger goals. You can set bigger growth plans, because the bigger the goal that you set, you’re now forced to involve people into that goal. And by doing that, you’re building a really strong team culture, a culture where people can collaborate, and where ideas start to thrive.”

By involving other team members in development projects, Musico said that staff feel trusted and valued, motivating them to “go that extra mile”.