The Advisor's Fuel Podcast with Adam Koos

If you want to work with the wealthiest and most underserved segment of the population, this episode is your starting point. In Part 1 of this 4-part series, Adam Koos breaks down exactly why business owners represent the biggest opportunity in financial advising today -- and more importantly, how to start that conversation the right way. From eye-opening statistics to the specific talking points that make owners nod their heads, this episode gives you a practical, repeatable framework for sitting down with any business owner and immediately adding value.

00:00 - Welcome & series overview

01:30 - Why business owners are the wealthiest, most underserved segment

02:30 - The baby boomer exit wave: $14 trillion in business value

04:00 - The 3 shocking stats that start every owner conversation

06:00 - What to say when you first sit down with a business owner

09:00 - Adam's personal story: what's at stake for every business owner

10:30 - The follow-up framework: what owners are missing (and what resonates)

13:00 - What advisors can actually do to move the needle

15:30 - Introducing Adrenaline Advisor & the Talking Points newsletter

💡 80% of owners' net worth is tied up in the business -- not investments, not savings. That one stat will get any owner's attention immediately.

💡 80% of companies never sell. They dissolve. That means most owners stand to lose most of their net worth without a proactive exit plan.

💡 You don't need to have completed a business exit to start the conversation. The statistics and the follow-up framework do the heavy lifting for you.

💡 Most owners are missing the same things: an updated estate plan, a continuity plan, documented processes, organized financials, and clarity on what their business needs to be worth to make work optional.

💡 Your job as the advisor is to quarterback the process -- not do everything yourself. COIs and strategic partners carry much of the execution.

🗣 "The wealthiest segment of the population in the United States is business owners -- and they're also the most underserved."

🗣 "80% of companies never sell. They dissolve. And those owners lose 80% of their net worth."

🗣 "75% of owners surveyed a year after they sell deeply regret selling -- because they didn't have a plan for what life looked like after."

🗣 "When you install an exit plan, you'll find yourself working less, making more money, and having a company that's actually worth something."

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos

Website: https://www.adrenalineadvisor.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/adrenalineadvisorconsulting

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrenaline.advisor

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@adrenaline.advisor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adrenaline-advisor-consulting/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adrenalineadvisor

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AdrenalineAdvisor

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.adrenalineadvisor.com

In this episode of Advisor's Fuel Podcast, Adam sits down with Bill Woods, co-founder and CMO of Fifty Marketing and host of The Missing Half podcast, for a candid, high-value conversation on what growth-minded businesses consistently get wrong about marketing, and how fixing those gaps can do more than drive revenue. It can materially increase the value of the business you've built.

For financial advisors, this conversation goes deeper than marketing. Whether you're a practice owner who may sell someday, an advisor focused on succession planning, or a Exit Planning Institute professional helping business-owner clients prepare for exit, the lessons in this episode are directly applicable.

Bill brings more than 20 years of B2B marketing expertise and hands-on M&A experience, and he shares practical insights on building a business buyers want, creating more transferable value, and avoiding the common growth mistakes that suppress valuation.

Whether your goal is to scale faster, improve profitability, increase your firm's multiple, or better advise business-owner clients, this episode delivers frameworks you can put to work immediately.

00:00 - Intro & Adam's take on why marketing strategy is the missing piece for most advisors and business owners

01:00 - Guest intro: Bill Woods, Fifty Marketing, and the Missing Half podcast

03:00 - The biggest marketing mistakes B2B business owners make - and why strategy beats tactics every time

05:00 - Voice of customer: why it's no longer a nice-to-have and how to build it into your process

06:30 - What the 'missing half' actually is - the gap in B2B marketing most owners never see

08:00 - Why 100 views on a niche B2B video might be worth millions (and why D2C metrics mislead you)

09:30 - What's changed in 20+ years of marketing - and what surprisingly still works

14:00 - The return of direct mail - and why Bill's agency changed their playbook

16:00 - Branding for business owners: brand promise vs. brand aspiration - and why mixing them up costs you

19:00 - AI in B2B marketing: where it actually creates value, and where the hype outpaces reality

22:00 - Marketing ROI: the patience problem and why B2B buying cycles demand a different mindset

25:00 - Fifty Marketing's content strategy - personal branding for founders and why most competitors aren't doing it

28:00 - Native posting vs. scheduling tools: the algorithm truth that could be hurting your reach right now

31:00 - The one piece of marketing advice for every business owner planning to scale and exit

💡 Strategy first, always. The biggest marketing mistake isn't a bad channel - it's no clear strategy. Owners who skip this step waste money at scale.

💡 Voice of customer isn't optional. Building products and marketing campaigns without consistent customer feedback is the fastest way to generate zero ROI on big investment.

💡 B2B metrics are not D2C metrics. Stop comparing your niche content to MrBeast. 100 targeted views on a long-cycle B2B product could represent millions in pipeline.

💡 Brand promise vs. brand aspiration is a critical distinction. Your promise is what you can deliver today. Selling your aspiration as your promise creates a customer experience disconnect that kills trust.

💡 Native posting beats scheduling tools. LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok all penalize third-party posting - sometimes by 20-30% or more. Post natively, especially for personal branding content.

💡 Personal branding drives outsized B2B results. In Bill's competitive analysis, fewer than 10% of competitors had a leader doing consistent personal branding. That gap is an opportunity right now.

💡 A repeatable marketing engine changes your exit multiple. Buyers want predictable, scalable systems - not just a good product. Build the marketing machine before you need to sell it.

💡 Patience is a competitive advantage. Marketing for B2B requires showing up consistently over long buying cycles. The advisors and business owners who stay the course win.

🗣 "If you have a repeatable, scalable, and predictable marketing and sales engine, you are going to attract a completely different pool of buyers and a completely different multiple range."

🗣 "Marketing is simple - but it's hard. It's simple to have a great strategy. It's hard to execute it consistently over time."

🗣 "Voice of customer isn't a nice-to-have anymore. It is a have-to-have - consistently."

🗣 "If you get a hundred views on a piece of niche B2B content, and fifty of those represent buyers with 20-million-dollar buying cycles - where's the ceremony? That is a huge win."

🗣 "Your brand promise is what you can deliver today. You cannot communicate your brand aspiration as your brand promise, or you're going to have a disconnect with your customer experience."

🗣 "If you're humble enough to work on what's in front of you today - the small, incremental steps - that's what actually gets you to the exit you're envisioning ten years from now."

• Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMissingHalfPodcast

• Agency Website: 50marketing.com

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/50-marketing/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/50marketing/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/50Marketing/

• Email: [email protected]

• Facebook: https://facebook.com/adrenalineadvisorconsulting

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrenaline.advisor

• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@adrenaline.advisor

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adrenaline-advisor-consulting/

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adrenalineadvisor

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AdrenalineAdvisor

• Email: [email protected]

• Website: https://www.adrenalineadvisor.com

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos

• Website: https://www.adrenalineadvisor.com

What happens when a family does everything right - saves diligently, works with advisors, builds real wealth - and still ends up in court?

It's not a hypothetical. It happens every day. And in most cases, it was 100% preventable.

In this episode of Advisor's Fuel, Adam Koos sits down with Professor Kelly Lise Murray - attorney, mediator, legal scholar, and host of the Wealth Litigated podcast - to break down the real-world estate planning disasters that land families in expensive, emotionally devastating litigation.

Kelly spent nearly two decades teaching law at Vanderbilt University before shifting her focus to wealth dispute resolution full-time. She covers real courtroom cases involving trusts, estates, divorces, prenuptial agreements, and family wealth conflicts - what she calls 'all the drama of true crime without the blood.'

This episode is required listening for any advisor who wants to know what can go wrong - and how to help clients avoid it.

• 00:00 - Intro & guest background

• 03:00 - Why estate planning failures lead to litigation (and why advisors should care)

• 06:00 - Blended families, second marriages & the #1 estate planning mistake

• 08:00 - Real case: Marinakis v. Marinakis - siblings sue over a $10M estate

• 11:00 - California case: When a stepchild inherits as a natural child

• 14:00 - The Garn St. Germaine Act & what advisors miss about irrevocable trusts

• 17:00 - Trustee abuse cases: when the people you trust most cause the most damage

• 22:00 - Co-trustees, trust protectors & structural safeguards to prevent disputes

• 27:00 - The $800,000 unchecked box: Estate of Griffin v. IRS

• 30:00 - Prenuptial agreements: what makes them hold up in court - and what doesn't

• 33:00 - Portability problems: why moving states can invalidate your clients' plans

• 35:00 - Incapacity planning & what happens when the wrong person holds the healthcare directive

• 36:00 - The one question every advisor should ask in every review meeting

• 37:00 - Where to find Kelly & the Wealth Litigated podcast

💡 The #1 estate planning mistake in blended families: failing to update documents before and after remarriage. A new spouse automatically has elective share rights that can override your will.

💡 Coordination is everything. Legal documents, beneficiary designations, and financial plans must work together - or the courts will decide how they interact.

💡 A missed checkbox on an estate tax return cost the Griffin estate $800,000+. Two sets of eyes on every execution detail is non-negotiable.

💡 A prenuptial agreement only works if it's executed correctly. A lawyer who drafts his own prenup, presented the day before the wedding, got it thrown out by the Ohio courts.

💡 If a client says 'my spouse will just control everything when I'm gone,' that's your cue - not to judge, but to introduce structural safeguards like co-trustees, trust protectors, and contingent beneficiaries.

💡 Estate plans are not portable across state lines. Clients who move need a full legal review of all lifecycle documents in their new state.

🗣"It's not a matter of if - it's when you get involved in some sort of litigation."

🗣"Coordination - the lack of coordination - leads to litigation."

🗣"I don't advise that you estate plan in a box. Go online and don't ask AI what to do with your estate plan. You really do need non-hallucinated knowledge of the cases in your state."

🗣"Frame it as structural support - not a condemnation of their financial budgeting abilities. It's a structure to prevent litigation, which would deplete the estate."

🗣"The number one most procrastinated financial planning item is estate planning. Without a doubt."

• Marinakis v. Marinakis (Ohio) - blended family estate dispute

• California stepchild inheritance case - definition of 'natural parent'

• Estate of Griffin v. Commissioner (IRS) - Q-TIP trust / unchecked box

• Ohio prenuptial agreement case - overreaching by attorney-spouse

• Texas trustee abuse case - disabled beneficiary trust mismanagement

• Wealth Litigated Website: https://wealthlitigated.com

• Vetting the House: https://www.vettingthehouse.com

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kellylisemurray

• Email: [email protected]

• Facebook: https://facebook.com/adrenalineadvisorconsulting

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrenaline.advisor

• Threads: https://www.threads.com/@adrenaline.advisor

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adrenaline-advisor-consulting/

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adrenalineadvisor

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AdrenalineAdvisor

• Email: [email protected]

• Website: www.adrenalineadvisor.com

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos

• Website: https://www.adrenalineadvisor.com

In this episode, Adam uses March Madness to break down a lesson every financial advisor can appreciate: most people want to win, but very few are willing to prepare to win. Using the NCAA tournament as a framework, he shows why excitement, prediction, and long-shot thinking often lead people in the wrong direction. Whether they're filling out a bracket or building a retirement portfolio.

This is a sharp, practical episode about probabilities, discipline, momentum, and why higher-probability decisions matter more than getting lucky once. For advisors and investors alike, the message is clear: sustainable outcomes are built on process, not prediction.

00:00 – March Madness, busted brackets, and why people still play anyway 01:00 – Seeding, probabilities, and why the higher-ranked teams usually win 02:00 – The data behind top seeds, championship trends, and bracket reality 03:00 – What bracket strategy teaches us about investing discipline 04:00 – Why people chase Cinderella stories and ignore the real drivers of outcomes 05:00 – Trend following vs. trend predicting in portfolio management 06:00 – Building retirement portfolios on probabilities instead of surprises 07:00 – Final takeaway: retirement isn't a game, and discipline matters

💡 Most people are drawn to exciting long shots, but outcomes are usually driven by high-probability decisions, not unlikely upsets.

💡 In both brackets and portfolios, discipline beats prediction. Adam emphasizes the importance of following strength, momentum, and repeatable processes instead of trying to guess what will happen next.

💡 A winning retirement strategy should not be built around "Cinderella stories." It should be built around probabilities, trend strength, and intentional decision-making over time.

🗣 "Most people have the will to win, but few have the will to prepare to win."

🗣 "We are trend followers, not trend predictors."

🗣 "We don't build portfolios on surprises. We build them on probabilities and repeatable outcomes."

🗣 "Retirement isn't a game."

Facebook: https://facebook.com/adrenalineadvisorconsulting

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrenaline.advisor

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@adrenaline.advisor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adrenaline-advisor-consulting/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adrenalineadvisor

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AdrenalineAdvisor

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.adrenalineadvisor.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.adrenalineadvisor.com

Is your advisory team underperforming or is your system setting them up to fail? In this episode, Adam Koós sits down with Matt Granados, founder of Life Pulse, Inc., to challenge conventional thinking about motivation, productivity, and team performance. Matt has worked with organizations like Google, Twitter, and the US Air Force, helping them move from high-performance burnout to optimal, sustainable success.

For financial advisors drowning in people problems, reactive workflows, and inefficient systems, this conversation offers a roadmap to reclaim your time, increase productivity by 10-15 hours per week, and build a team that bridges the gap back to you not the other way around. If you're spending more time babysitting your staff than serving clients, this episode is for you.

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro & Matt Granados background 03:00 – Your team isn't broken, your system is 10:00 – High performance vs. optimal performance 20:00 – Burnout is a design flaw, not a workload issue 30:00 – Sustainable growth & the 20-mile march principle

Key Takeaways:

💡 Your team isn't broken—your system is. People problems are symptoms of systemic issues. Fix the root cause, not the symptom, and your team will naturally perform better. 💡 Burnout is preventable, not fixable. The average person operates at only 40% capacity. With intentional planning and structure, you can double output without burning out. 💡 Money isn't a motivator. Bonuses under 10% of annual income (post-tax) lose impact by the next paycheck. Instead, create personalized motivational packages tied to what your people actually value.

Key Quotes:

🗣 "Your job is to be a firm foundation. Your team's job is to bridge the gap back to you—not the other way around." 🗣 "Are you babysitting or managing? Managing means ensuring others do their job. Babysitting means doing it for them." 🗣 "Every high performer burns out. It's not sustainable. What you need is optimal performance—same high output, but at a sustainable pace."

Connect With Matt Granados:

Website: https://www.lifepulseinc.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/life-pulse-inc/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LifePulseInc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifepulseinc/

Podcast: https://www.lifepulseinc.com/podcast

Episode Resources: https://www.lifepulseinc.com/afp

Follow Adrenaline Advisor:

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email: [email protected]

Website: www.adrenalineadvisor.com

Connect with Adam Koós:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.adrenalineadvisor.com

#AdvisorProductivity #PracticeManagement #TeamPerformance #AdvisorBurnout #FinancialAdvisors #LeadershipForAdvisors #AdvisorGrowth

Most advisors say they manage risk. Very few have a repeatable, data-driven process to actually do it - especially when markets get volatile, and clients want answers.

In this episode of The Advisor's Fuel, Adam Koós sits down with Vincent Randazzo, founder of View Right Advisors and former head of technical research at Lowry Research (now CFRA), to unpack how advisors can use market internals, breadth, and rules-based signals to reduce drawdowns, protect compounding, and build client trust, without drowning in charts and noise.

00:00 – Kickoff + Vincent's background (Lowry/CFRA, market cycles, technical research) 03:10 – Why advisors struggle with risk: they "understand it" but don't have a process 07:00 – Gut feel vs system: why Vince started building Defender (and what he learned in 2008) 12:15 – The core of Defender: market breadth, internals, and "x-ray vision" under the index 18:10 – Simple execution: 100% / 66% / 33% / 0% exposure (no drama, no emotion) 22:30 – Sequence of returns risk: why the average return lie gets retirees hurt 28:10 – 1998–2000: breadth signals, mirage markets, and what tops can look like "under the surface" 33:30 – "We don't predict, we prepare": how to communicate risk without sounding like a doomer 37:10 – Current market view: correction risk vs "major top" risk (what Vince is watching now) 41:30 – Lightning Round: one chart to show skeptics, weekly checklist, biggest chart crimes 48:00 – The real ROI: advisor confidence → client trust → a practice that survives storms

💡 Risk management isn't a belief system—it's a process. If your "plan" is hoping the market comes back, you don't have a plan. 💡 Indexes can lie at market tops. Market-cap weighting can mask weakness underneath—breadth helps you see the real condition of the market. 💡 Drawdown control protects compounding. Avoiding deep losses changes the math of outcomes—especially approaching or living in retirement. 💡 Simplicity wins in the real world. A clean, directive exposure framework beats "more charts, more noise, more opinions." 💡 Clients don't demand you beat the market. They want to know you're paying attention and you have a plan when the house feels like it's on fire.

🗣 "People… don't have a process for actually managing [risk]. And worse than that, they're taught not to even try." 🗣 "We're looking under the surface… our x-ray is on all the time." 🗣 "The goal is a smart buy-and-hold… combined with active risk management." 🗣 "You cannot put a price tag on trust." 🗣 "The biggest benefit… is confidence."

• Website: https://viewright.ai/

• X: @CMTRandazzo

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincentrandazzo/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/adrenalineadvisorconsulting Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrenaline.advisor Threads: https://www.threads.com/@adrenaline.advisor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adrenaline-advisor-consulting/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adrenalineadvisor Email: [email protected] Website: www.adrenalineadvisor.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.adrenalineadvisor.com

Most advisors think "estate planning" is a checkbox: will done, beneficiaries named, move on. That's exactly why clients get crushed later—by probate, incapacity, outdated documents, and assets the advisor wasn't even looking at (real estate + businesses being the big two).

In this episode, Adam Koós sits down with estate planning attorney Dan Baron (founding member of Baron Law LLC) to break down the real-world blind spots inside most client plans—and how advisors can use estate planning conversations to deepen relationships, reduce risk, and build stronger COI alliances.

00:00 – Intro + why this matters for advisors 02:15 – Dan's background: from business owner to estate planning attorney 06:20 – The most common planning gaps (and why "a will" isn't the fix) 11:40 – Incapacity planning: why POA is the document everyone ignores until it's too late 17:10 – Why advisors underestimate business owners + real estate in estate planning 22:00 – Advisor questions that uncover planning issues fast (without giving legal advice) 26:45 – Trust triggers: minor kids, real estate, businesses, divorce/creditor risk 33:10 – Co-trustees/co-executors: why it turns into a deadlock 36:20 – When a trust is NOT necessary (and what to do instead) 39:30 – Trust types in plain English: revocable vs. irrevocable (and when each matters) 46:10 – Charitable planning + donor-advised funds 49:20 – How advisors should build attorney relationships (and what NOT to do) 55:40 – Rapid fire: most overlooked document, biggest advisor misconception, daily ritual

💡 A will does NOT avoid probate. If a client thinks "I have a will, so we're good," they're likely wrong. 💡 POA must be done while the client is competent. Once incapacity hits, families often find out the hard way that it's too late. 💡 Trust "no-brainers" for advisors: minor children, real estate with multiple beneficiaries, business owners, and situations with creditor/divorce risk. 💡 Advisors need to look beyond AUM. Real estate, closely held businesses, and tangible property create the biggest messes—because they're outside the portfolio view. 💡 Review cadence matters: revisit the plan every 3–5 years (not always to change documents, but to catch family/life changes). 💡 Best COI strategy: stop chasing quid-pro-quo "referrals." Start building real collaboration through scenario conversations and client-first problem solving.

🗣 "A will does not avoid probate." 🗣 "Stay in your lane… there's a lot of disconnect and misconceptions." 🗣 "37% of our calls are from a child saying mom or dad is incapacitated… and it's too late." 🗣 "Banks are changing their rules every single day… a one-size-fits-all POA doesn't work."

● Website: https://www.baronlawcleveland.com

● Baron Law LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/baron-law/

● Dan Baron LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-baron-55abb326/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/adrenalineadvisorconsulting

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrenaline.advisor

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@adrenaline.advisor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adrenaline-advisor-consulting/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adrenalineadvisor

email: [email protected]

Website: www.adrenalineadvisor.com

Connect with Adam Koós:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoosWebsite: https://www.adrenalineadvisor.com

This episode is a repurposed conversation from Get Your Fill: Financial Independence and Long Life, where Adam Koós joined the show as a guest to talk candidly about what actually happens when business owners approach an exit — and where advisors often underestimate the risk.

In this discussion, Adam breaks down why the majority of business owners never monetize the asset that represents most of their net worth, and why "I'll deal with that later" is one of the most expensive assumptions advisors inherit from business-owner clients.

Rather than focusing on tactics or deal mechanics, this conversation centers on the advisory conversation itself — what needs to be addressed years in advance, what buyers truly care about, and how poor planning quietly erodes enterprise value.

For advisors who work with business owners, this episode highlights the difference between retirement planning around a business and planning for the transition of the business itself.

⏱️ Episode Timestamps

00:00 – Why most business owners never sell their business 04:00 – The concentration risk advisors often overlook 08:30 – How businesses are actually valued (and why owners are surprised) 13:00 – Owner dependency and why buyers discount for it 18:30 – Customer concentration, retention, and perceived risk 24:00 – Why waiting "a few more years" costs real money 30:00 – Planning early vs. selling reactively 36:00 – Life after the sale: the emotional blind spot 42:00 – What advisors should be addressing long before an exit

🔑 Key Takeaways

💡 Exit planning is not a transaction — it's a multi-year advisory process💡 Most business owners overestimate value and underestimate risk💡 Owner dependency is one of the fastest ways to reduce enterprise value💡 Advisors who address exit planning early create better client outcomes💡 Planning years ahead creates optionality — waiting removes it

🧠 Notable Quotes

🗣 "Most business owners don't realize how much of their net worth is tied to their business."🗣 "If you don't plan ahead, you don't get what your business is worth — period."🗣 "Exit planning isn't about selling tomorrow. It's about being ready when the opportunity comes."🗣 "The goal isn't just to sell — it's to sell on your terms."

Follow Adrenaline Advisor:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/adrenalineadvisorconsulting

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrenaline.advisor

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@adrenaline.advisor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adrenaline-advisor-consulting/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adrenalineadvisor

email: [email protected]

Website: www.adrenalineadvisor.com

Connect with Adam Koós:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://www.adrenalineadvisor.com

In this repurposed episode, Adam Koós joins Scottie Taylor for a wide-ranging conversation on what it actually takes to grow a financial advisory practice without working 70-hour weeks.

Adam shares the real lessons from building and scaling multiple businesses — including his RIA, Elevate & Exit (focused on business transition and exit planning), and Adrenaline Advisor (education and community for financial advisors) — while staying focused on systems, delegation, and long-term sustainability.

This conversation goes beyond surface-level growth tactics. Adam and Scottie dig into the mindset shifts advisors must make as they move from "doing everything" to building firms that can grow without them being the bottleneck.

If you're an advisor who wants more leverage, better clients, and a business that doesn't depend on your constant presence — this episode will resonate.

⏱️ Episode Highlights

• Why most advisors struggle to scale — and how control is often the real bottleneck
• The difference between marketing that builds familiarity vs. prospecting that creates action
• How automation and systems create freedom (not distance) from clients
• What it really means to hire the right people — and when the wrong hire caps your growth
• The shift from "financial planning firm that does marketing" to "marketing firm that does planning"
• Why growth isn't about working harder — it's about removing friction
• Lifestyle practice vs. scalable firm: choosing intentionally, not reactively

🔑 Key Takeaways

💡 Growth doesn't come from one tactic — it comes from building an entire system that works together💡 Delegation only works when the right people are in the right seats💡 Advisors have a responsibility to market ethically — not a discomfort to avoid💡 The ultimate scale comes when clients trust the firm, not just the founder

🧠 Notable Quotes

🗣 "If you know, but you don't act — then you don't know."🗣 "We're not a financial planning firm that does marketing. We're a marketing firm that happens to do financial planning."🗣 "The badge of honor isn't working 70 hours a week — it's building something that runs without you."

Follow Adrenaline Advisor:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/adrenalineadvisorconsulting

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrenaline.advisor

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@adrenaline.advisor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adrenaline-advisor-consulting/

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@adrenalineadvisor

email: [email protected]

Website: www.adrenalineadvisor.com

Connect with Adam Koós:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamkoosWebsite: https://www.adrenalineadvisor.com

In Part 2 of Adam's conversation with Cambria CIO and researcher Meb Faber, they dig into the realities of global investing, why home-country bias hurts more portfolios than advisors realize, and how disciplined rules can turn "losses" into part of a long-term edge. They also discuss value cycles, trend signals, real assets, and why diversification still works—even when it feels uncomfortable. Whether you're refining your portfolio process, rethinking risk, or helping clients understand how markets really behave, this episode offers clear, practical insight advisors can put to work immediately. ________________________________________ Episode Timestamps 00:00 – Welcome & Part 2 kickoff 00:45 – Why U.S. investors are overexposed by default 03:00 – Home-country bias in both advisors and clients 05:20 – When foreign markets outperform the U.S. 08:10 – Value cycles and market regimes 12:00 – Why diversification feels bad in real time 15:00 – Trend following and the role of "good losses" 18:30 – Thinking in decades vs quarters 21:15 – How narratives help investors stay disciplined 24:40 – Small caps, value, and non-U.S. markets entering new cycles 28:00 – The emotional challenge of sticking with a system 31:00 – Real assets, gold, and inflation regimes 34:00 – Portfolio construction lessons advisors overlook 37:00 – Closing thoughts from Meb (end of Part 2) ________________________________________ Key Takeaways 💡 Home-country bias is one of the biggest blind spots in portfolio construction. Most investors dramatically overweight the U.S. without realizing how often other countries lead. 💡 Diversification still works — it just rarely feels good in real time. Global markets rotate in long, humbling cycles. 💡 "Good losses" are part of a disciplined system. Trend following isn't prediction — it's survival through deep, behavioral drawdowns. 💡 Value, small caps, and foreign markets may be entering a new leadership cycle. Patience is required because these cycles play out over years, not months. 💡 Clients absorb stories better than statistics. Simple analogies often outperform charts when explaining market behavior. ________________________________________ Key Quotes 🗣 "Home-country bias is one of the biggest problems investors don't realize they have." — Meb Faber 🗣 "Diversification works in practice, not in emotion." — Meb Faber 🗣 "A good loss is one that follows your rules." — Adam Koós 🗣 "Markets move in decades, not quarters." — Meb Faber ________________________________________ Connect with Meb Faber Website: https://mebfaber.com Cambria Investments: https://cambriainvestments.com The Meb Faber Show: https://themebfabershow.com Idea Farm Research: https://theideafarm.com X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MebFaber YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MebFaber ________________________________________ Follow Adrenaline Advisor Facebook: https://facebook.com/adrenalineadvisorconsulting Instagram: https://instagram.com/adrenaline.advisor Threads: https://www.threads.com/@adrenaline.advisor LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/adrenaline-advisor-consulting TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@adrenalineadvisor Email: [email protected] Website: https://adrenalineadvisor.com Connect with Adam Koós: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/adamkoos Website: https://adrenalineadvisor.com