You often hear the term Blueprint bandied about in popular culture, it can be used to describe a successful sports team i.e. “Dublin have  found the blueprint for winning the All Ireland” or musicians have found the blueprint for a successful album , even politicians have claimed to have found the blueprint for extra jobs or reduction in expenditure.

The Cambridge dictionary defines a blueprint as  ‘a plan that describes how to do or achieve something in the future’ – it’s as simple as that, it all comes back to planning, as the saying goes ‘Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance’ or as our own Roy Keane put it more succinctly ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’.

When launching my business I really wanted a name that encapsulated what I do as a financial adviser , hence I choose Blueprint as I felt it described exactly what I do on a daily basis i.e. I create a plan that will help an individual achieve something in the future.

What that something is depends on the client in question, it might be to retire early, educate their children , clear their mortgage or take a round the world trip, no matter what it is a plan (a Blueprint) is needed.

When I meet a new client for the first time, I ask them the following two questions

1.      What financial goals and aspirations do you have personally and for your family?

2.      What are your main financial worries at present?

This is the foundation of your financial plan, once we know what is important to you and your family and what stresses you have, we start developing your blueprint, which will be reviewed on a yearly basis as your goals and aspirations change.

A survey carried out by Brokers Ireland and Standard Life found that those who get financial advice

• Have a higher value pension
• Are better protected for the unexpected
• Have more savings and investments
• Are reassured and confident about their financial future
• Make better financial decisions with the help of the advisors
• Achieve their long-term financial goals

 Furthermore, a recent workplace study from PWC found that 54% of employees rate financial worries as their main source of stress.

 So I’ll pose this question again – have you a blueprint for financial success? If you don’t, why not?