Why Profitability Problems Aren’t Productivity Problems

Financial Advisors Want to Know: Why Profitability Problems Aren’t Productivity Problems | Ep 96 Stephanie Bogan

Welcome to the Financial Advisors Want to Know Podcast, I’m Catherine Tindall a CPA with Dominion where our focus is helping financial advisors navigate income tax planning and compliance for their firms.

In this episode of Financial Advisors Want to Know, I sat down with Stephanie Bogan to unpack one of the most common—and least understood—problems I see in advisory firms: growth that looks successful on the surface but feels exhausting underneath.

Stephanie and I talk about what really happens when firms hit their capacity ceiling, why more revenue doesn’t automatically fix margin or time issues, and how misaligned pricing, service models, and leadership decisions quietly compound over time. We also explore why so many advisors try to solve profitability problems with productivity tools—and why that almost never works.

This conversation is about moving from successful but stretched to successful and sustainable—with clarity, intention, and leadership that actually supports the next stage of growth.

Key Takeaways
Most growth problems aren’t growth problems—they’re capacity problems.
Firms often outgrow their structure long before they realize it.

You can’t fix profitability with productivity alone.
Pricing and service-model misalignment is usually the real issue.

Technology leverages teams, not advisors.
Without the right client and team structure, tech only moves the needle marginally.

Overdelivering to misaligned clients creates invisible weight.
Providing “Four Seasons” service at “Holiday Inn” pricing erodes margins, morale, and joy.

The real signal to pay attention to isn’t revenue—it’s how the business feels.
If success doesn’t feel good, something is out of alignment—and ignoring it compounds the problem.

Connect with Stephanie:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sbogan/
https://limitlessfa.life/

Connect with Catherine:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctindallcpa/

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