For many advisers, the business they’ve built is both a livelihood and a calling. The days are filled with client meetings, product updates, compliance tasks, and the steady rhythm of keeping everything moving. But somewhere along the way, the business itself — its structure, systems, and long-term direction — starts running quietly in the background, almost on autopilot.
That’s when it becomes important to pause and ask: Am I working in my business, or on it?
The Difference That Changes Everything
Working in the business means being involved in every operational detail — servicing clients, processing renewals, resolving admin issues, meeting compliance deadlines. It’s the heartbeat of daily activity.
Working on the business, however, requires a different mindset. It’s the time you spend thinking strategically — improving systems, refining client segments, setting growth goals, and planning for succession. It’s less about immediate output, and more about long-term stability and value.
The best-run practices strike a balance between the two. But finding that balance rarely happens by accident.
Creating Space to Think
The hardest part about working on
your business is finding the space to do it. Advisers are trained to respond — to clients, to markets, to deadlines. Strategy requires the opposite: stepping back long enough to see patterns, inefficiencies, and opportunities that are invisible from ground level.
Sometimes this means blocking out time each month for strategic review. Sometimes it means bringing in a peer or adviser to act as a sounding board. However it’s done, the act of regularly reflecting on the business is what keeps it from becoming stagnant.
Data as a Conversation Partner
Modern advisory practices generate vast amounts of data — commission flows, retention trends, revenue per client, growth over time. Yet much of it remains underutilised.
When viewed with intention, that data becomes a conversation partner. It can show you which clients or product lines generate the most stability, where risk lies, and how the practice has evolved over time. In short, it provides the evidence you need to make confident decisions about the future.
Building for Tomorrow
Working on t
he business also means planning for what comes next — even if that’s years away. Whether it’s expanding, merging, or preparing for succession, a business with structure, clarity, and systems in place is one that can evolve with purpose.
It’s not about being ready to sell tomorrow; it’s about being ready for whatever tomorrow brings.
The Quiet Reward
Advisers often find that the more time they spend on th
e business, the smoother life becomes in the business. Clients are better served, teams are more empowered, and decisions feel less reactive.
Because when a business is built intentionally, it doesn’t just grow — it breathes.
Working on your business isn’t about stepping back.
It’s about stepping above — seeing the bigger picture, shaping the path ahead, and making sure the enterprise you’ve built is as strong and sustainable as the advice you give.