Advisor Freedom

What happens when your first client account crashes during Black Monday... and your client threatens to "blow you out of the water"?

You learn fast.

And that’s exactly what Steve Manuel did.

This week’s guest has seen every market cycle since 1975. His first mentor started in 1926 and watched the ticker tape in person during the 1929 crash.

Steve became a financial planner before most people even knew what a CFP was.

And his advice today?

Money follows trust.
Clients don’t stay for performance, they stay for relationship.
And you can’t fake that.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Steve went from selling stocks to becoming one of the first CFPs in the country

• The story of losing a $250,000 client during Black Monday and what that investment would’ve been worth today

• What makes a great advisor (hint: it’s not your credentials)

• The reality of building a book of business from scratch in the 80s

• Why some clients treat you like a stockbroker and others want a family CFO

• The importance of staying aligned with your values when building a practice

Whether you're just starting out or 30 years into your career, Steve’s story will remind you what really matters.

And if you’re wondering what The Game Changing Advisor actually looks like, it’s this guy.

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Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money.

Hosted by Conner Young, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience.

Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow.

We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build.

Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

Learn more about how to start and grow your practice: ⁠www.getadvisorfreedom.com

What happens when a college intern never leaves and ends up becoming a partner?

That’s Matt Gotchall’s (@matt_gottshall) story.

He started as a student at Ohio State, shadowing financial advisors. Now he’s helping lead a 12-person advisory team that’s reshaping what the client experience looks like.

One firm. Whole career. He earned trust from the inside and built a book that now spans 90+ client relationships.

Matt combines estate planning, tax strategy, and investment management into one seamless platform. And the results speak for themselves.

If you want to know what it looks like to grow from within and build real influence, this is the episode to hear.

We talked through:

• Why culture and growth opportunity beat firm size every time

• How Matt’s team made the leap from broker-dealer to RIA

• The “be the guy” mindset that earns deep client trust

• What it really takes to grow a book from scratch

• How they’re training the next wave of advisors from inside their own system

Whether you're building a firm or looking for a better one, this one’s packed with real-world lessons.

You can find Matt:

-Twitter/X: ⁠https://x.com/matt_gottshall

-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattgottshall/

Learn more about how to start and grow your practice: ⁠www.getadvisorfreedom.com

Thomas Kopelman (@TKopelman) has one of the fastest growing RIA firms today. And he built all of it off of doing what he does best: teaching people.

Thomas ran into roadblocks in the BD world where he was limited on what he could say or post, so he left. And within 3 years had a massive social media following, a collab partnership with one of the industry's biggest vendors and an RIA firm with dozens of great clients.

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Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money.

Hosted by Conner Young, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience.

Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow.

We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build.

Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

You can find Thomas:

-Twitter/X: https://x.com/TKopelman

Learn more about how to start and grow your practice: ⁠www.getadvisorfreedom.com

Today's podcast is with Doug Boneparth ⁠(@dougboneparth)⁠ and how he started his financial advising career in the fall of 2008 in New York City. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. His stories of that time are incredible.

Doug now works with hundreds of thousands of followers on social media and has built his practice and brand into serving people that everyone used to overlook: Millennials.

He has built one of the best organic funnels online for people to find him and immediately start working with him because he's naturally himself online, and that's exactly what people want.

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Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money.

Hosted by Conner Young, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience.

Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow.

We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build.

Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

You can find Doug:

-Twitter/X: ⁠https://x.com/dougboneparth

-LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasboneparth/

Learn more about how to start and grow your practice: ⁠www.getadvisorfreedom.com

Today's podcast is with Zach Ashburn ⁠(@zachary_ashburn)⁠ and how he started his own RIA and then partnered with someone who 10x the business.

We also cover his recent 'fame' status creating viral tweets using Gemini and Veo videos to get hundreds of thousands of people to see his profile and website. One of the top entrepreneurs in this field that I loved talking to.

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Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money.

Hosted by Conner Young, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience.

Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow.

We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build.

Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

You can find Zach:

-Twitter/X: ⁠https://x.com/zachary_ashburn

-LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyashburnea/

Learn more about how to start and grow your practice: ⁠www.getadvisorfreedom.com

Today's podcast is with Mark Cecchini (@markcecchini) and how he built one of the fastest growing social media followings on Twitter/X and LinkedIn walking through complex financial planning strategies.

We also dive deep into how he just crossed $100M AUM in personal clients and how a large piece of that just came over the last few years as he developed his own voice and brand for new clients to find him online.

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Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money.

Hosted by Conner Young, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience.

Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow.

We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build.

Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

You can find Mark:

-Twitter/X: https://x.com/markcecchini

-LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markcecchini/

Learn more about how to start and grow your practice: www.getadvisorfreedom.com

Advisor Freedom is the podcast for financial advisors who want to learn what it really takes to build a thriving advisory career & what wealthy clients are actually doing with their money.

Hosted by Conner Young, who launched his own independent RIA firm in 2021, the show shares real stories from advisors who’ve broken away, built their books from scratch, and refined their client service models through experience.

Each episode dives into how advisors got started, how they attracted their first clients, the systems they use today, and the best practices that help them grow.

We also open the doors to the other side of the table: interviewing high-net-worth investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs about the investments they love, the strategies they use, and the legacy they’re trying to build.

Whether you're just launching your RIA, growing your practice, or exploring new ways to create generational impact, Advisor Freedom is your behind-the-scenes guide to building a business and a life of lasting value.

Learn more about how to start and grow your practice: ⁠www.getadvisorfreedom.com