Mary Rowland talks to top planners on the winning strategies To creating a business model that is profitable and efficient

Mary Rowland says that for many smaller planners, finding the model was a personal journey. Dave Yeske in San Francisco discovered that he couldn't say "no" to people and that that had made his practice unwieldy and unpleasant. So he took action.

George Kinder discovered over many years that it was helping people plan their lives and reach for their dreams that he enjoyed rather than the money management aspect of planning.

It seems for the planners in the book, technology has made a difference on how they choose to run their businesses. If not for technology, Rowland believes there wouldn't be the independent planners we have today.

Computers have allowed planners to analyze funds, manage assets, collect information and communicate with clients. Many of the planners she interviewed see a paperless office as a realistic goal.

Learn about the advisors who have chosen to embrace virtual office concept and have experienced little or no resistance from clients but are there disadvantages? While virtual planners can be successful like Dave Drucker and Ben Utley, Mary Rowland doesn't really see disadvantages for planners and clients who like the virtual approach.

The negative would come when planners and clients are not of one mind about this. Many clients would naturally resist the idea of doing business with a computer. Others obviously love it.

But the virtual office is not for everyone. There will always be clients who want to look the advisor in the eye and shake hands with him.

No matter what your level of experience planners are always trying to find ways to develop their own business model. What I like about this book is that you can get a look at different models, some may appeal to you some may not. (To buy this book click here) What this book does for you is to allow you to open your eyes to what the endless possibilities could be for you. All you need is the ability to think outside the traditional box.

Author Mary Rowland says the thing that surprised her most in her conversations was how the definition of financial planner had changed in the past five years. Today it is an umbrella term for a group of advisors who do very different things.

Successful advisors have defined their talents and molded a practice to fit them, outsourcing those things that don't fit. I discovered, for example, that many advisors outsource money management, which was once the core of financial planning.

A unique aspect to the financial advisor business is the non-standardized way to run a practice. As an advisor you choose the way you want to provide your services and Clients have the choice of how they wanted to be served. The top advisors have figured This out and thrive on it. Thankfully Mary Rowland has captured all of this and more in this book that should become required reading.