The Opportunity: Building Practice and Leadership Together
Gino Lavorgna came from public accounting with a specific goal: help families plan their financial futures. But at most firms, advisors who wanted leadership roles had to step back from client work. Those who stayed focused on clients had limited advancement options.
“We’re not forced to have to give up clients. We’re allowed to keep our practice and also stay in leadership. I’ve always wanted both. I’ve always wanted to grow a big practice. I’ve always wanted to get into leadership.”
This platform offered a different structure. Advisors receive training in financial planning, client acquisition, team building, and organizational development. The systems support growth in both directions.When Tommy connected with Jason and Allyson Mickool, he had no financial services background and no industry connections. He bet on the people.
The Leadership Progression
Orlando: First Leadership Role
Gino’s first leadership position came in Orlando, where he developed advisors while building his own practice. This set the pattern: lead by example, help others grow.
“If you understand people and you’re good at relationship management, leadership comes natural. You get good at leadership by learning how to understand people, how to lead people, how to read people, how to communicate better.””This past Saturday, I had an advisor book time with me. We sat there for an hour and a half, went through business processes, case design, marketing strategies. I’m sitting there having a coffee at my house, and I’m accessible to him. I don’t think at most companies you could book into the senior executive’s calendar on a Saturday morning. He booked that with me two days beforehand.”
Tampa: 30 to 72 Team Members in 2.5 Years
When Gino arrived in Tampa, the office had 30 people. Two and a half years later: 72 people. Year-over-year production growth exceeded 60 percent consistently, with some years reaching 90 percent. Current quarterly production runs between 40 and 60 million dollars.
“When I came to Tampa, there were 30 people. When I left and got promoted out of Tampa into my current role, there were 72 people. We more than doubled in size in two and a half years.”
National Expansion: Eight Offices
Gino now oversees eight offices: Chicago, St. Petersburg, Tucson, Fort Worth, Miami, and others. The Tampa playbook scales to new markets.
“All the offices are doing so well, it’s created opportunity for the leaders to go and establish another branch, see if they can have more people under them and see if they can do a good job in a different type of office setup.”
What Drove the Growth
Leaders Who Develop Leaders
The organization expects leaders to develop other leaders. For Gino, this created accountability that pushed his own performance.
Tommy started in an apartment living room with a computer and a desk.
“I love leadership because it’s the ultimate accountability. When you see somebody who tries really hard, gives their best effort, somebody who you don’t want to see fail, I won’t let somebody like that down. It kept me going when I felt like I didn’t want to do stuff around the weekends or the holidays.”
“When you have people who are the hardest working in the room who are also the most talented, it creates an environment where everybody wants to become better.”
Daily Systems and Activity Culture
“It’s classes every morning, classes in the evenings. It’s a culture of filling out your calendar and a culture of activity. You’re taught early on, this is how you have to be successful. Fill your calendar, prioritize your schedule, do your key activities. It’s just mastering the simple things.”
The Expansion Model
New markets follow a specific approach: start lean, develop talent, then scale.
“You start off very lean. You go in a co-working space, and you build a small team first, and you develop those people. When you have a small team of productive people who know what they’re doing, then you can expand and move into bigger offices.”
For Advisors Considering a Move
“If you want to build your practice and develop as a leader, you do not have to choose one or the other here. This is a phenomenal career to get into. For the people who want to be entrepreneurs and want to build something, it has that aspect to it. You get to build a business and have an exit strategy at the end.”
COMMUNITY BUILDER
COMMUNITY BUILDER
