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Watch for warning signs, Brown advises. Run if the advisor criticizes every financial step you've taken. "The advisor should build on what's been done previously rather than want you to redo everything," she says.
The same applies if an advisor tries to pull you away from financial advisors you already trust. "I'd be suspicious of that," remarks Brown. "Just because someone else put a policy in place, it's not necessarily bad."
She also notes that no advisor can truly know how a specific investment will perform in the future, so avoid planners who promise a particular investment return. That also goes for an advisor who doesn't disclose fees or expenses involved in transactions.
If the advisor starts selling solutions too quickly, find someone else, says Kemprecos. "The advisor should ask a bunch of questions about your financial goals and time frames. They need to get a handle on that before making recommendations."
Be cautious if the advisor doesn't have a track record. It's a rapidly growing industry, and many advisors have been in it less than five years, Kemprecos notes. That's not an automatic negative, however, because the person may have accumulated deep experience in an allied field before moving into financial advising.
The complicated ins and outs of finances and investments can make a small-business owner hesitate to act. However, Barnes says it's not as hard as it looks.
"Don't assume you won't understand, because you can understand and you will," he says. "The more the advisor is your coach and interpreter, [the more] they will help you understand."
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