5 Tips for Successfully Starting a New Business
A Perform Consulting, Inc. White Paper
By Tom Dickson
Introduction
I have helped launch, or restart, fourteen financial service businesses and sales channels
for industry leaders such as Fidelity, American Century, Wells Fargo, Chase, Mellon,
PFPC, Scudder, and Vanguard.
The businesses include one of the first online brokerage firms; the trust industry’s first
outsourcing business; the world’s largest stock transfer agency; several non-proprietary
wrap programs; and a leading Internet aggregation portal designed for financial advisors.
I would like to share with you some practical ideas, based on real-life experiences, with
the hope of increasing the odds of success for any new venture you may be undertaking.
I have included some examples of what I have seen done well, with what I have seen
done not so well. While I prefer to focus on the positive, the missteps too can be a
valuable learning tool.
Bill Gates once said, “I’ve learned more from my mistakes than my successes,” but if I
can help you to learn from someone else’s mistakes, that’s even better. Because we all
know mistakes can be costly and, in today’s environment, unexpected costs can prove
deadly.
This initial publication offers “bite size” bits of insight, but as you can imagine there is a
lot more to each story. Accordingly, it is my intent to maintain a continuing dialogue with
you on startups and related topics.
I would welcome your feedback on this, and on all future publications.
Sincerely,
Tom Dickson