Winter is time when everything seems to move a little more slowly. The dark mornings make it tempting to press the snooze button. The excitement of the winter holidays are over and we begin pulling out the “to do lists” composed of items that we told ourselves we would address in the new year. In many areas we are deep into the rainy, snowy, and cold seasons, making it much more appealing to curl up with a book then to go for a walk.
Speed is Commonly Encouraged
That infamous trio of oppression – Patriarchy, White Supremacy, and Capitalism – all encourage speed. We are constantly told to “git ‘er done” quickly and efficiently and then move on to the next task. I confess that I have spent most of my life buying into this messaging.
An Alternative
During this season I am contemplating the idea of purposeful slowness. What if we allow ourselves to take our time and fully appreciate the moment we are in?
One of my greatest luxuries is a slow morning. You know those mornings where you wake without an alarm and rise slowly? I love to lounge with my coffee, read a bit, and just draw in the spaciousness of the day ahead.
Business Building
I have approached the building of Maura Madden Financial Planning with intentional slowness.
One of my desires in leaving my prior firm was to have more flexibility and time for myself and my family. I have heard from multiple entrepreneurs that they started their own business but found that they were working 24-7 and constantly exhausted. I don’t want that lifestyle for myself nor do I want to model it for my child.
Spaciousness Allows For Alignment
Additionally, growing slowly allows me to ensure that my clients are people with whom my views and services are closely aligned. Every firm I have previously worked for has shared marketing information on their “ideal client.” Also, all of my prior firms have accepted every client who is willing to pay their fees. This results in advisors who are constantly concealing their true views and opinions to retain business. I don’t want to build a generic business whose goal is to never offend anyone for fear of losing business.
Others are certainly welcome to world views that don’t match mine. There are plenty of people who want to make as much money as they can, avoid paying any taxes, and are unconcerned with exploiting others or the environment. These are persons to whom I should not be providing planning work, as our views are not aligned. As a fiduciary , it is my responsibility to put my clients needs above my own. This is much more challenging when their goals conflict with my own ideology.
To clarify, I don’t expect or even desire to work only with people exactly like myself. But, the ability for people to show up as they are and be accepting of others is an important principle of mine.
Room for Purposefulness
Building my firm slowly allows me to express my views and allows prospective clients to make an informed decision as to whether we are in alignment. This would not be possible if I were in a race to grow a client list as quickly as possible.
Additionally, growing my firm slowly allows me to act purposefully in developing my services and processes. Taking the time to contemplate my procedures and deliverables allows me to provide the most benefit to my clients.
As I charge my clients on an hourly basis, I do want to clarify that I do not mean I am working slowly while I am “on the clock.” Rather, setting up structures allows for greater efficiency when I am doing client work. Because I do not have “billable hours” goals, I believe it works to my clients benefit. I am continually exploring, learning and reflecting so that when I do sit down to work on a specific client situation I bring prior knowledge and contemplation to the situation.
Space for Accuracy
Slow does not mean negligent, ineffective or lazy. It means purposeful, paced and spacious. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard “leaders” voice the need for proactive employees while weighing them down under workloads so heavy that even completing reactive work is a struggle. Slowness allows room for creativity and accuracy.
Embracing slowness also means encouraging clients to work on their own schedule. If I continue to press a client to return information quickly, they are likely to do a less comprehensive job. When it comes to financial planning, gathering quantitative information is an important step. Financial projections will not be accurate if the assumptions are lacking vital information.
Furthermore, many of the clients I work with are those who do not enjoy exploring their finances. My experience has taught me that if people are already uncomfortable discussing their finances, rushing them is likely to make them shut down completely. That is antithetical to my goals as a financial planner. We all operate best at a pace that does not distress our nervous system.
For those who have financial issues on their mind that feel they could use help with but are not quite ready to commit, I encourage you to contact me anyway. It is easy to delay car hunting, researching activities, etc. until we feel completely ready to act because of the salesperson’s pressure to buy immediately. My approach is quite different. I am happy to speak to individuals about what they are looking for, including their potential time frame. Others are encourage to take time to think over major commitments and purchases. I promise not to pressure anyone or relentlessly follow up.
What are some ways that you embrace slowness in your life?