Does any of this actually work?

May 18, 2022

Doubt. One of the seven deadly sins. Or seven dwarfs. Can’t remember which.

But it can come at any point.

Do you ever doubt what you do?

I know that what I do works. But it’s subtle.

There’s no whizz, bang pop. It’s more tortoise than hare.

A bit like financial planning, if you don’t mind me saying.

Your message to clients is that long-term investing isn’t really like Wolf of Wall Street. More Coronation Street: stick to the plan, keep calm, who’s for hot pot?

There’s not necessarily much to see, you just have to trust it; slowly but surely, it’ll win the race.

This subtlety can, in my experience, make you question its power. It’s only natural.

If you ever doubt yourself, perhaps you can whip out your historical stock market cycles charts for reassurance.

I can do this too - look at the stats, the data, the award wins, if I wish.

Make a conscious effort.

But it’s much more effective when you accidentally experience the power of what you do naturally, in the wilds, as an actual punter.

And that’s exactly what happened to me last week.

Let me explain…

Due to a slight falling out I’m currently enjoying with HMRC, I found myself having to hunt down a solicitor for a second opinion.

Faced with a long list of contact details for firms who deal with business law, I found myself clicking on the ones who seemed ‘normal’. I based their normality on simple things like them having a named email address alongside an ‘info@’ one, a friendly looking head shot, and a modern and fresh-looking website.

These are things I of course recommend. But they’re so simple (and obvious) that I sometimes doubt their importance.

Not anymore. Because I appreciate what it feels like to be a prospect.

I was in a situation I imagine many find themselves in: time poor, slightly reluctant, but more importantly, like a fish out of water, and feeling rather vulnerable as a result.

I felt rather silly with my enquiry. Would these people laugh me out of town? My issue wasn’t exactly Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard.

I really wanted to find a friendly face, someone who looked like they’d be on my side, who’d sympathise, but also someone who’d know their way around a Zoom call. Not the stereotype I’m afraid I had of someone stony faced, old fashioned, peering out from beneath a fax machine.

Eventually I found a solicitor with the right blend of approachability and professionalism and enjoyed the fact that he wore a hoodie on our Zoom call.

All it took was a slick website, a smiley picture of him and easy-to-find contact details, which goes to show how simple but effective these things are.

But it still took me a while to find him, which shows how rare they are too.

Simple hack

Need to scan something on the move but don’t fancy lugging a scanner around with you? Genius scan allows you to scan documents with your phone camera and create perfect looking scans. The bureaucrats will never know!

New Nana

A new ‘aesthetic’ dubbed ‘coastal grandmother’ has been identified as this year’s most aspirational lifestyle trend. It’s said to be about projecting a wholesome but expensive seaside vibe. Think Diane Keaton and Jane Fonda in cream cashmere and high-end linen. Or any stock photo on a financial website.

Stat of the week

More than a quarter of British adults say they feel more creative than before the pandemic began.

Every little helps

Tesco is piloting a scheme that will see it hire out office space in its stores, as supermarkets increasingly look for new ways to make money from their physical stores.  

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Faith Liversedge writing on her laptop