The Constant
Starting at Impressions front desk in 2006 when he was 19 years old, General Manager Paul Petrowsky is a seasoned professional who owner Sarah Taylor says is responsible for much of her own success.
by Stacey Soble
The Four Phases of a Sound Financial Plan
Everything looks like a nail if your only tool is a hammer – that’s what financial planning expert Brad Berger finds himself telling clients all the time. What does he mean?“A lot of the people in the financial services ...
September 22, 2015
4 min to read
Everything looks like a nail if your only tool is a hammer – that’s what financial planning expert Brad Berger finds himself telling clients all the time. What does he mean?
“A lot of the people in the financial services industry have only a hammer; they have specific products to sell, so they present them as the perfect solution for you,” says Berger, author of the book “Stop Trying to Keep Up With the Joneses – They’re Broke Anyway.” (www.LiveYourIdealLife.com).
“Some financial professionals tend to serve as salespeople, and clients can grow defensive and numb to the products an advisor might be pushing on them. But there are many tools available for financial planning that may be ignored at the expense of a product. Clients should better understand that there are other tools, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, REITs (Real Estate Investment Trust), annuities, insurance, real estate, commodities, futures, ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), precious metals—the list goes on and on.”
Despite all of these tools that some financial advisors may ignore in this solution phase, there are also three other phases when creating a sound financial plan. Berger reviews the phases.
• Discovery. It’s important to focus on the “why” of financial planning before considering the “what.” A computer can calculate the what, but it cannot tell you the why. It cannot define your personal values and your goals—and unless those are established first, how can you know that a potential solution is appropriate for you?
“That’s why, in my firm, we use something called the Financial Road Map® to help clients articulate their values,” he says. “Then we help them establish goals and milestones for reaching them. How will they feel when they achieve them? When do they want to attain a particular goal, and how much money will that require? We look at their current financial situation to assess the possibilities.”
Berger's book can be found at LiveYourIdeaLife.com.
• Planning. Here, it’s important to make sure the right product is used for the right job. “In my opinion, there are no bad financial products, but there are many financial products applied badly,” Berger says. Financial regulations keep these products out of the marketplace unless they have been vetted—at least somewhat. But such oversight tends to break down when it comes to whether the products are being used for the purpose for which they were designed. You could hammer in a screw as if it were a nail, but in doing so you would be misusing both the hammer and screw.
• Solutions. Again, here is where some advisors try to push products. “In this phase, we collect all the pertinent numbers and review them, and we talk about approaches and products,” Berger says. The goal is to uncover whether the client would object to a particular strategy.
“Because I’m an independent advisor, I’m not beholden to specific products,” he says. “There really are many tools for folks to use when mapping their financial future.”
• Monitoring. “We’ve uncovered more than 150 checkpoints for our clients during the course of a year,” Berger says. “Many may not apply to a client at a particular point in time, if ever. Nonetheless, our financial team considers how each one might apply and how we would deal with it.”
The monitoring phase is critically important, and it has become more complex. Life’s pace is faster. People are subject to more rules and regulations, Berger says, which can provide many opportunities but also present a lot of potential pitfalls.
Brad Berger, a managing partner and owner of Cornerstone Financial Strategies LLC (www.LiveYourIdealLife.com) in Tacoma, Wash., is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional with more than two decades of experience. He also is the author of the book “Stop Trying to Keep Up With the Joneses – They’re Broke Anyway: A Financial Planner’s Guide to Living Your Ideal Life.” He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and served as a Scout Platoon Leader in Berlin, Germany, during the fall of the Berlin Wall. Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Financial Planning and Investment Advice offered through Financial Advocates Investment Management, a Registered Investment Advisor, DBA Cornerstone Financial Strategies LLC and a separate entity from LPL Financial.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
More Salon Management
The Most Wonderful Time in Salons and Spas
Planning is in full swing for the most anticipated events and promotions for the 2026 holidays. As owners share their favorite ways to celebrate, they prove that a carefully planned event can also build culture, increase client loyalty, boost sales, and set a business up for a successful 2027.
by Stacey Soble
Leading with Empathy, Humility and a Mastery of Systems
When things run amok at Mane Attraction Salon, Owners Chris and Jenny Knudsen say General Manager Sami Hernandez is their go-to resource and ultimate sounding board. Meet Sami in this installment of Meet the Manager.
by Stacey Soble
Pagoda Brings AI-Powered Operations to Skinovatio Medical Spa Locations
Pagoda, a new AI-native operating system for scheduling, payments, patient records, marketing, and client communications, launches at Skinovatio Medical Spa in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
by Staff
How Women are Rewriting the Rules of Grey Hair
At a panel discussion hosted by L’Oréal Professionnel in Paris in early July, French Philosopher Sophie Galabru explored the cultural shift where women are increasingly choosing natural, personalized color results over traditional grey coverage. In an exclusive interview with SALON TODAY, Galabru and L’Oréal Professionnel Colorist Pierrick Beringer discuss this shift and how salons and colorists respond.
by Stacey Soble
Warm Leadership and Analytical Precision
At Salon Blonde, Director of Operations treats the staff as the salon's most important guests, while her wonderful 'nerdy' side, loves data, systems, and numbers. Find out how she makes Salon Blonde tick.
by Stacey Soble
Trotting the Globe, Forging Connections, Fostering Artistic Creativity
In an exclusive interview with SALON TODAY, Salon Owner Salvatore Minardi reflects on his past 18 months as Intercoiffure America Canada's World Talent Exchange Ambassador and how his experiences will help encourage cultural and artistic exchange and support greater engagement between ICA and the global organization Intercoiffure Mondial.
by Stacey Soble
Client Retention Guidebook
Everything you need to know about client retention as a salon owner.
Success Grown from Within
Owner Shelby Bills says her general manager, Sydney Osborne, reminds her of the power of leading with heart. Find out how Osborne became a great leader in our lastest installment of Meet the Manager.
by Stacey Soble
How Salon Leaders Can Process the Pain and Lead Forward When a Team Members Leaves Unethically
In her latest blog, Kati Whitledge identifies the five stages salon owners go through when a team member leaves the salon unethically, offering advice for each stage.
How AI Is Closing Revenue Gaps for Salons and Spas
The beauty and wellness businesses pulling ahead aren’t just working harder—they’re using AI to capture demand, personalize pricing, and convert more of every guest interaction into revenue. Here’s what the benchmark data reveals about the growing gap between AI adopters and everyone else.
Sponsored by Zenoti
The Premium Talent Magnet: The Modern Salon Playbook for Attracting Six-Figure Stylists
Stop chasing recruitment ghosts on generic job boards and start curating an elite team. Discover the framework that top-tier salons use to bypass phone tag, automate visual portfolio vetting, and attract high-earning, culture-first beauty professionals directly through real-time messaging. Turn your recruitment process into an exclusive brand invitation that keeps your highest-ticket chairs permanently filled.
Sponsored by Beautista
Five Revenue Leaks Hiding in Your Salon
Your calendar looks full, but is all of that demand actually converting to revenue? From phantom rebookings to underpriced peak hours, the 2026 Benchmark Report exposes five revenue leaks that most beauty and wellness businesses don’t even know they have.
Sponsored by Zenoti
The Heartbeat of Zandi K's Success
After moving to Colorado and teaching at a cosmetology school, Allison Stock joined Zandi K as a stylist, eventually becoming part of the Leadership Team, Education Team and Master Bridal Team. Today, as Director of Operation, Stock is Owner Nicki Wenz's right hand, managing human resources and operations, education and career development, and coaching and culture.
by Stacey Soble
Rethinking Retail in the Era of E-Commerce
In a world dominated by e-commerce, salon owners push back with proven strategies to increase retail sales while motivating team members to educate their clientele and delighting clients with retail-themed events and clever merchandising displays.
by Stacey Soble
The Harper Ellis Hair Co. Certification Program Teaches Stylists a Smarter, Safer Way to Install Extensions
The company's Concealed Bead Method is raising the bar for what professional extension education can deliver.
by Staff
The Micro-Salon Blueprint: How Kat Scott Quadrupled Income by Maximizing Her Suite
Scott maximized her micro-salon by transitioning from stylist to strategic owner, focusing on recruiting and station-sharing. By prioritizing her ownership role over behind-the-chair work, she grew her team to six stylists within the two-chair, 150-square-foot space before eventually moving to a larger facility.
by Staff