#157 - From Furlough to Founder of a Fee-Only RIA - Ryan Johnson

A "backup plan" PowerPoint deck can become a real firm faster than you'd think, but the messy middle is where most people quit. Ryan Johnson, founder of Hundred Financial Planning, joins us to talk through what it actually takes to build a fee-only firm from the ground up.Ryan shares how he found the fee-only RIA community through cold outreach, why he wanted ownership of a book of business, and what the first two years really felt like. We get into client experience, including the early mistake of overwhelming plan presentations and how he's shaping an ongoing service model that stays structured without feeling rigid.We also dig into growth: why LinkedIn finally started generating leads, why silent followers often turn into your best prospects, his niche focus on high-earning young families, and the values-first discovery meeting that helps clients feel heard before any numbers come out. We close with AI in financial advice, where it helps, where it breaks, and why the risk of a wrong answer makes a human advisor worth the cost.Subscribe, share with an advisor friend, and leave a review with your biggest growth question!Ryan's Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanjohnsonku/Music in this episode was obtained from Bensound