Nobody is an expert at everything and recognising and surrounding yourself with people who may know more than you is vital. In this episode, we talk about the importance of building a team of experts to have around you and how you might go about finding some great people to help you out:

A Great Accountant

When you are looking to hire someone to help you out, it is difficult to be certain that who you hire is great at what they do. As Host Andrew Baxter points out, everyone’s website will tell you they’re the best in the business but figuring out whether this is true is the hard part. Referrals tend to be reliable indicators, particularly when the reference comes from someone you trust. When it comes to accountants you may have certain needs and these are an important consideration for picking accountants as many have different specialties and specific skills. Overall, a good accountant can help you get your structure right as well as save you some money come tax time which will both help you get where you want to in the long run.

Lawyers

A common opinion is that you do not need a lawyer unless you’re in trouble but the reality is there are many different circumstances in which a great lawyer is very handy to have around. Host Andrew Baxter notes particularly for those in the property space, having someone on hand who is highly skilled at conveyancing for properties can be very valuable. There are things you would never know about in the fine print in every space and having a go-to player in your team for these particular things can be majorly beneficial. Services like this can be expensive but the value they provide far outweighs it and in the end – they’re probably worth it. Much to the theme of our show and what we do, building a great team is an important investment.

Money Coaches

Many people require the help of others to boost their finances and like the other spots on the team – a good money coach or mentor is vital. Money coaches come in many forms including financial advisors or stock brokers and getting help from the experts again is important. Host Andrew Baxter does note however that playing to someone’s specialty is important and generalists, those who endeavour to assist in every aspect of your finances may not be the right person for all of those jobs. For example, someone who can set up your super and insurance well may not be the right person for stock tips and vice versa, so it may be worth thinking about surrounding yourself with specialists rather than generalists. When you are looking to engage someone for their assistance, before chatting with them you may want to go in prepared by knowing what you need and asking if the person you’re talking to can help you.

Potential Problems

Few people have been lucky enough to have never received bad advice from someone. There are some avenues open to you should you be faced with poor advice. When it comes to accountants specifically, Andrew has some advice. Typically having a big name on the letterhead can help you avoid accountants looking to take accounts offshore or take other actions that are likely to lead you to trouble in the future. Another issue you can find yourself having is the service level dropping off as time goes by which is fairly common. Another trait you may see come through in a similar instance is that fees may increase over time but you do not necessarily see an improvement in service. As your advisors begin to get more comfortable with you, you may find their effort level decreases which is evident in most aspects of your life. These are all things you should look out for and it is a natural thing to need to chop and change a little bit along the way.