3 Ways To Start Your Career As A Financial Advisor at Consolidated Planning

Whether you’re exploring financial advising as a career change, already working in financial services but seeking a better fit, or a current advisor ready to exponentially grow your practice — the first question is usually the same: where do I begin?

Here at Consolidated Planning, we’ve been helping advisors answer that question since 1981. What began with four advisors has grown into more than 110 advisors across 12+ offices, managing over $1.4 billion in assets over the years. Our growth is built on one thing: putting people first — our clients and our advisors.

In this article, we’ll share how your journey towards building a thriving financial advising practice may start based on where you stand today. Let’s explore the three primary entry paths into this career.

Where Should Your Career With Consolidated Planning Start?

Here there are 3 paths that may fit the stage of life you find yourself in:

1. The Launchpad Program
2. Protege Role, and
3. Financial Advisor (Practice-Building Path)

So, how do you know which is right for you? Let’s break these paths down.

 

Path 1: Consolidated Planning’s Launchpad Program

The Launchpad Program is our structured path for those who want to become financial advisors but don’t yet have either:

• A strong natural/target market to immediately build from, or
• A senior advisor to work with

What you can expect in Launchpad:

• Licensing and training support
• Early production expectations — proving yourself quickly in the field
• Accountability and coaching to build habits that last

Launchpad is designed for:

• Career changers who need guidance and structure while they learn to develop their own market
• Financial services professionals who may already have licenses but want a stronger foundation in planning and client acquisition
• Individuals without a strong natural market who need time, structure, and support to identify and grow into a target market

Your next steps:

• Step into a Protégé role if the right fit arises, or
• Move directly into building your own practice

This path is a great fit for self-starters who want to develop quickly while building a sustainable foundation for their future practice.

Path 2: Protégé Role

The Protégé path is for those who want to learn directly from a senior advisor while gradually stepping into production. Protégé positions exist for two reasons: synergy (an advisor has clients but limited time) or succession (an advisor is preparing to transition their practice).

What you can expect as a Protégé:

• Join client meetings, take notes, and oversee communication
• Learn CP’s products, services, and planning systems
• Build proposals and client tools
• Work with the advisor’s “C” and “D” clients, while gradually building your own practice as part of a team

Protégé roles last up to four years. Along the way, you’ll gain invaluable experience and a front-row seat to how a successful practice operates.

Protégé is designed for:

• Career changers who want mentorship, client exposure from day one, and a smoother transition into production
• Current advisors who may want to attach to an established advisor, learn CP’s planning-first process, and build a future succession opportunity

Your next steps:

From here, you step into your own advisor role, prepared and confident.

 

Path 3: Financial Advisor (Practice-Building Path)

The Financial Advisor role is the core, long-term career at Consolidated Planning. Unlike Launchpad and Protégé, which are designed as on-ramps, this path is indefinite — it’s the foundation for building a sustainable practice you own.

Within this role, we set five-year benchmarks to guide your growth and measure progress, including:

The 250k in 5 Playbook

• Serve ~125 clients within five years
• Build a mission-driven, strategy-first practice
• The potential to reach an income of ~$250,000 annually by year five
• Work for yourself, but never by yourself, thanks to CP’s resources and community

For advisors who are capable of achieving more, we set our sights on the 750k in 5 path.

The 750k in 5 Playbook

• Built on the same foundation as the 250k path, but scaled up for advisors with larger markets and higher client complexity
• Advisors here are fully licensed, consistently charge planning fees, and serve a clearly defined target market
• The result: faster growth, larger average client cases, and the ability to scale a practice toward $750,000+ annually

This is the most natural path for current advisors looking for a better firm fit — one that offers the culture, resources, and support to build a practice you truly own, not just for five years, but for the entirety of your career. Practice building through succession.

 

Get Started Building Your Practice At Consolidated Planning

LaunchPad? Protege? Financial Advisor? Regardless of which path is right for you, one thing remains true, you are propelling your career forward when you choose CP.

The advisors who thrive here are:

• Entrepreneurial and self-starting
• Gritty and resilient
• Independent, yet coachable
• Motivated by impact, not just income

If this sounds like you, reach out to our team to begin paving the right path forward for your career.

 

Exp. 9/2027

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Consolidated Planning, Inc. is an Agency of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), New York, NY. Securities products and advisory services offered through Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS), member FINRA, SIPC. OSJ: 6115 Park South Drive, Suite 200, Charlotte NC 28210, Phone # 704-5528507. PAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian. This firm is not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS. This material is intended for general use. By providing this content Park Avenue Securities LLC and your financial representative are not undertaking to provide investment advice or make a recommendation for a specific individual or situation, or to otherwise act in a fiduciary capacity.