🐶 To the Moon

When you think of Dogecoin, it's hard not to think about the face of the cryptocurrency, a Shiba Inu named Kabosu.

Unfortunately, Kabosu recently passed away after a long and eventful life. According to her owner, she went "very peacefully without suffering."

Kabosu first hit the internet scene in 2010. An image of her with crossed paws and a smirk went viral on Reddit and Tumblr. 

A user nicknamed her "Doge," a misspelling of the word "dog" made popular by the website Homestar Runner. 

Kabosu's image then went on to represent Dogecoin and in 2021, an NFT of the "Doge" meme sold for a cool $4M. 

Cheers to you, Kabosu! Big legacy. Very much wow.

- Team Advisorist

In Today’s Issue 👇

• How to find business opportunities in everyday activities

• Pro tips for meeting management

• What's keeping new grads up at night

🤑 Everyday Business Opportunities

Lead generation goes beyond spending the day at your desk. 🧑🏻‍💻

Sure, internet research and mining your CRM for lost gems can totally turn up a hot one every now and then, but so can your everyday activities.

With a little perspective shift, you can turn things you already do into meaningful business opportunities. Here's how!

⚽ Soccer Mom: If you have school-age kids, chances are you're spending part of your weekend at one or more of their sporting events. While you're hanging on the sidelines, you're probably chatting it up with other parents and making friends. 

To sell your services without selling, consider wearing something with your firm's logo on it to games. If you shuttle other kids to and from events, you'll get to know their parents, who could potentially become clients. 

🏋️ Hobby Lobby: Broaden your horizons at your own extracurricular activities and scan for prospects. Whether it's making friends at the local gym or pick-up games at the park, you never know who might need your expertise.

Pay attention to what folks are wearing or what they carry their stuff in. These little details often reveal where people work, live, and play. You might notice a logo or image that opens the door to a conversation where you can vet them as a prospect. 

🙏 Sunday Service: Church communities can also be big social centers with lots to do outside of just worship. Getting involved in church activities helps you meet new people, getting to know them on a more personal level.

Church isn't exactly the best place to prospect, but it is a place for you to become known as a respected member of the community. It's also a place where you can form long-lasting, trusted relationships with people who will refer you to their family and friends.

🎓 Alma Mater: The alumni clubs at your former university can be a great place to network with potential prospects. If your old school has a lively sports culture, there's a good chance a large alumni crowd holds season tickets. Why not catch a game or two?

Thinking outside of the college box, don't forget about prep schools. If you attended one, make sure you take advantage of those alumni events as well.

Headline Roundup

🏠 Affecting Your Clients

• Stocks are Making Americans Feel Richer, Fed’s Inflation Fight Harder [MW]

• Retiring Abroad is Growing in Popularity [CNN]

• Nearly 80% of Americans Consider Fast Food a 'Luxury' Due to High Prices [FOX]

📈 Markets & Economy 

• Oil Edges Higher with OPEC+ and US Demand in Focus [Y!]

• Economists Expect ‘Friendly’ U.S. Inflation Data this Friday [MW]

• China Creates $47.5 Billion Chip Fund to Back Nation’s Firms [B]

💼 Industry Roundup 

• U.S. Paves Way For Ether ETFs In Test Of Crypto Demand Beyond Bitcoin [FA]

• Starwood Latest Nontraded REIT with Concerns [IN]

• Actuaries Delve into Social Security Trust Fund Deficit [INN]

📆 Mind Your Meeting Manners

Meetings are a necessary beast. 

Whether you're catching up with clients, feeling out a prospect, or training the new guy, your calendar's likely chock full of appointments.

Scheduling and managing meetings takes equal parts art and science. Both pros and newbies could always benefit from a little meeting etiquette 101. 

Here are some meeting manners:

👉 Prepare a clear agenda. Every meeting should have a purpose. Sure, tangents happen, but make sure there's an outline to keep everyone on track. This ensures you cover everything you meant to and respect everyone's time.

👉 Make sure the meeting has value. No one likes meetings that should have been emails. Before scheduling a meeting, ask yourself what everyone else will get out of it. 

👉 Consider time zones. If you're dealing with clients or colleagues in a different time zone, be careful not to schedule things too early, too late, or over lunch (unless you agree on that). Use this handy time zone converter to help you plan.

👉 Schedule meetings in advance: Depending on the subject of the meeting, give other participants ample time to gather what they need for a productive session. Avoid the jump scare.

👉 Record your meeting. Planning a meeting with a lot of people? Even if everyone agrees on a time beforehand, chances are at least one person's gonna bail. Hit record on your meeting and send it to anyone who couldn't make it.

👉 Block your calendar: For your own scheduling sanity, create blocks in your calendar where no meetings are allowed and stick to it. You'll feel a lot less resentful and get a ton more done!

Looking for some meeting scheduling tech? Here are a few great options:

📅 Free Meeting Tools

• Calendly: Connect to your calendar, set your availability, and send a meeting link to contacts. Your invitees can book a time that works for them and that time is automatically scheduled on your calendar. 

• HubSpot Meetings Tool: Connect your Google Calendar or Office 365 calendar and automatically sync your availability. You can also create a meeting link, send it to your meeting invitees, and they can choose a meeting time that works best for them. 

• NeedToMeet: Create custom URLs for each meeting, capture attendee comments, and set up email notifications when you get responses to your meeting invitation.

🗓️ Event of the Week

Power Hour: Today at 12pm EST / 9am PST

Chelsea Ryckis, BenefitsPRO’s 2024 Advisor of the Year joins us for a deep dive into what the key factors for success are in our industry right now, including:

• Path to thought leadership

• How to become an award winner in your niche

• Using Joint ventures to grow your practice

We’ll also explore when it's time to sell your book and move on to bigger things.

👉 Click here to register for free!

🧮 By the Numbers

39% 

According to a recent WalletHub survey, that's how many new grads fear they won't be able to find a job.

Other top new grad fears included student loan debt (35%) and credit card debt (13%). 

The survey also revealed that 46% of students would put off pursuing their passions to make as much money as possible.

✌️Good Vibes

Graduates at UMass Dartmouth didn't just receive a stellar commencement speech. They also got some cash.

Founder and CEO of Granite Telecommunications, Robert Hale Jr., delivered the speech. He told the students stories from his career, including how he once lost $1B overnight.

Hale spoke of the power of resilience and then had one last parting gift. Two big duffle bags with cash-stuffed envelopes were brought out on stage.

Each student was given two envelopes of $500 each: one to keep and the other to give to someone in need. 

Hale ended by mentioning our world's dire need of a big dose of giving. His example and generosity to the UMass Dartmouth students will never be forgotten! 🌟😌

Sharing looks good on you.

When you copy that link at the bottom and share it with a few financial planning colleagues, you look like the smartest advisor in the room by keeping them informed.

Plus, you earn rewards. Sweet.