Elo from Melo

11/05/2026

This Mental Health Awareness Week, check in on the people around you, but remember to check in on yourself too.

A small reminder for business owners who are used to carrying the pressure quietly.

The ones the team look to.
The ones clients rely on.
The ones making the decisions, fixing the problems and keeping everything moving.

Leadership comes with responsibility. But a strong business should have the structure around it to support the owner, not just depend on them.

That is why structure matters.
A scalable, saleable business gives the owner space to think, lead and step back, without everything sitting on their shoulders.

Because sustainable businesses are built by sustainable people. 💚

06/05/2026

Most firm owners build for the work in front of them 👇

It is how good businesses get made.

But the firms that arrive at exit with options were built with the future already in view 🔭

That doesn't mean rushing toward a sale, it means making structural choices now that don't lock you in later 🔐

How dependent is the firm on you? How transferable is what it actually runs on?

These questions rarely feel urgent, but they compound quietly 🌱

Building with the future in view preserves your right to choose, well before that choice is forced on you 🧭

05/05/2026

Where you are in the lifecycle of your firm shapes what comes next.

🌱 Grow up, for those still building.

✨ Glow up, for those getting close.

🤝 Sell up, for those at the point of exit.

Three different starting points. Three different conversations.

Wherever you sit, there's a version of this for you. 💚

16/04/2026

If you run an IFA firm, you’ve probably thought about exiting at some point… even if it’s a long way off.

We’re running a free LinkedIn Live next week that looks at the whole exit journey, not just the deal itself.

Most conversations focus on “selling”.

But in reality, what happens before and after matters just as much (sometimes more).

🗓 21 April

⏰ 12:00–13:00

We’ll be covering things like:

• What “exit ready” actually means

• How buyers really look at your business

• Where deals tend to wobble

• And what a good transition actually looks like

It’s a high-level session, but should give you a much clearer picture of what to think about early.

If it’s something on your radar at any point, you’re very welcome to join.

👉 Register here: https://www.linkedin.com/events/7440780612661182465?viewAsMember=true

1 billion members | Manage your professional identity. Build and engage with your professional network. Access knowledge, insights and opportunities.

02/04/2026

Coffee CHEERS ☕🍻 to you all this Easter weekend.

Enjoy the best weekend of the year (that only those in financial planning will truly understand).

And this time… you’ve got a four-day weekend to recover.

Happy Easter 🐣

02/04/2026

It’s rarely the big decisions that slow a business down.

It’s the quiet resistance.

The tasks you keep moving.
The work that drains you.
The things you know you’re not at your best doing.

And yet, they stay on your list.

Not because they matter most, but because no one else owns them yet.

Often, these are the clearest signals.

They point to where your role has outgrown the work, and where someone else’s strengths could bring energy back into the business.

This is where building a team becomes more thoughtful.

Less about adding people, more about aligning work with the right strengths.

Gaynor and Ben explored this in our recent webinar, Create a Self-Reliant Leadership Team.

If you’d like to watch the full replay, you can do so here: https://melo.co.uk/create-a-self-reliant-leadership-team/

27/03/2026

Most advice firms don’t lack talent.
They lack independence.

You’ve hired well.
You trust your people.

And yet your day is still filled with questions, decisions, and sign-offs that find their way back to you.

That isn’t a leadership team.
It’s managed dependency.

And over time, that quietly limits both growth and value.
The shift isn’t about doing more.

It’s about stepping back intentionally and building a business that can operate without you in the room.

In this session with Ben Wright and Gaynor Rigby, we explore what that really takes:
👉🏻 Moving from managers to leaders
👉🏻 Reducing key person risk
👉🏻 Creating clarity in ownership and decision-making
👉🏻 Designing a firm that is easier to run, scale, and eventually step away from

If you’re starting to notice where everything still depends on you, this may offer a useful lens.

Watch the session and access the Leadership Dependency Scorecard to reflect on where dependency still sits in your firm ▶️ https://melo.co.uk/create-a-self-reliant-leadership-team/

20/03/2026

We’ve only gone and done it again…
Melo has won Best Specialist Support Service at the Professional Adviser Awards this week 🏆

A brilliant night, surrounded by so many great people in the profession and to come away with this recognition makes it even more special. Huge thanks to Ben Wright and Gaynor Rigby for representing Melo on the night and picking up the award for the team.

This isn’t just an award. It’s a reflection of the work that goes on every day behind the scenes. Helping firm owners build stronger businesses, create real options and ultimately exit the right way.

Huge credit to the Melo team. The standards, energy and care you bring to what you do is what makes this possible.

The bar across the profession just keeps getting higher and it’s great to be part of it. A big congratulations to all the other winners and highly commended firms and individuals🌟

Onwards and upwards 🚀

16/03/2026

Most succession conversations happen far too late.

Six months before an owner wants to step away, the question suddenly appears: “Should I sell externally… or pass the business on internally?”

By that point, internal succession is incredibly difficult.

Because real internal succession isn’t a last-minute decision.

It’s a long-term process.

Not a transaction. A transition.

It involves developing leadership within the firm over time.
Giving people the space to grow into ownership, responsibility and strategic thinking.

Done well,
💪 It strengthens the whole business.

🏗️ It builds resilience.

🔎 It improves governance.

📈 It can increase valuation, even if you eventually sell externally.

Buyers look closely at how a firm is run.

Firms that develop leadership from within tend to be more stable, better governed and easier to transition.

Internal succession isn’t just about retirement. It’s about the long-term health of the business. 🌱

16/03/2026

Different brains. Different strengths.

This Neurodiversity Celebration Week, we are reflecting on how leadership teams can be built to harness different strengths.

Strong leadership teams are rarely built from people who all think the same way.

When different cognitive styles are present around the table:

🧠 Problems get examined from multiple angles.
📊 Risk is spotted earlier.
🧩 Established processes are challenged and improved.
🚀 New ideas emerge more naturally.

Diversity of thinking only works if the environment supports it.

A self-reliant leadership team needs clarity, structure and trust. People need the space to think, contribute and lead in ways that work for them.

Inclusion is not about asking people to fit the mould. It is about designing organisations where different minds can do their best work.

When the structure is right, every leader can contribute at their best.