256 Meredith Jones / Your People Are Your Product. Most Business Owners Still Don't Get It.
32m | Oct 23, 2026In this episode of the Elite Financial Advisor Podcast, Sten Morgan, CFP®, welcomes Meredith Jones, SPHR, founder and CEO of Sera Business Advisors, to talk about the part of your practice that rarely gets planned: your people. From hiring and onboarding to growing future leaders, Meredith makes the case that HR is a growth strategy, not paperwork.
Meredith started her career as an auditor at Deloitte, moved into HR there, and later worked on the people side of bank mergers before founding Sera Business Advisors. She explains why recruiting is really sales, why structure doesn't make you "corporate," when a growing firm needs an HR process or an in-house hire, and why the best leaders act more like coaches than critics.
Communication is the second of the three focus areas of EAN's Elite Model, and this conversation shows how it reaches past clients to the people who serve them. They also cover why advisors put off getting help for their own business.
As Meredith puts it: "At the end of the day, people are your product."
In This Episode
- Recruiting is sales. If you can sell a client, you can sell a candidate, so be clear about who you are and why the right person should join.
- Structure isn't corporate. Hiring, onboarding, reviews and training are how your culture shows up.
- Lead like a coach: stretch your people, support them, and congratulate them, instead of only pointing out what's wrong.
- Around 30 to 35 people you need an HR process; around 100, a dedicated HR person. Before that, a fractional expert can fill the gap.
- Waiting until you can "afford" a coach delays your full potential. Treat every new hire as a possible future leader.
Episode Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
00:29 - From Deloitte auditor to HR leader
04:27 - What HR means for a firm of any size
06:49 - Hiring against a bigger offer
08:32 - Structure isn't corporate, and leading like a coach
10:55 - What AI can't replace
11:34 - When you need an HR process or an in-house hire
15:04 - Why advisors rarely ask for help
19:12 - What having a coach signals
21:48 - Why "when I can afford it" costs you
23:24 - Spotting and growing future leaders
26:29 - The movable middle and owning your career
28:12 - What Meredith is excited about
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