This month, we’re excited to spotlight ELS Vision Wealth Management, a financial planning firm and valued member of our Strive North Dallas community!
Led by Lawrence Smith, President & Wealth Planning Advisor, ELS Vision Wealth Management helps individuals, families, and businesses navigate their financial futures through comprehensive financial planning, retirement management, and wealth-building strategies.
From helping clients build generational wealth to creating lasting relationships, the team is passionate about making a meaningful impact beyond the numbers.
Read on as Lawrence shares more about the company, its mission, and the lessons learned along the way.
Tell us a little about ELS Vision Wealth Management, PLLC.
ELS Vision Wealth Management, PLLC is the parent company of ELS Vision Wealth Management, a financial planning firm with two primary areas of focus.
The first is our Retirement Asset Management (RAM) Division. Our firm currently manages 18 employer-sponsored retirement plans from Pennsylvania to Utah, representing more than 3,000 participants. Our team works with those participants to provide education, guidance, and support as they prepare for their financial futures.
The second is our private wealth management practice. Our team of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals provides comprehensive, advice-based financial planning for high-net-worth individuals and families, many of whom are the first generation in their families to achieve significant financial success. We help them align their investment planning with their tax, estate, and legacy planning so that the vision they have for their future—and for the generations that follow—can come alive.
What led you to start ELS Vision Wealth Management, PLLC?
I have 17 years of experience in the wealth management industry. When I started ELS Vision Wealth Management, I wanted to make sure that my experience and expertise were reaching clients who truly needed it.
A great deal is said about helping people find their passion, build successful careers, start businesses, and earn higher incomes. What isn’t discussed nearly enough is what happens after someone achieves that success.
Just because someone has reached a certain level professionally or financially does not mean they automatically know what to do next. How do they turn income into wealth? How do they create generational wealth? How do they use their success to leave a legacy for their family and make an impact on the communities and institutions that have meant so much to them?
Those are the questions ELS Vision Wealth Management was created to help our clients answer.
What sets your business apart from your competitors?
I have to be honest: I don’t see other good CFP® professionals as my competition. I see them as my colleagues.
Far too many successful professionals and business owners, regardless of their stage of life, believe they don’t need a financial planner. So, in many ways, my competition is ignorance. My competition is the belief that professional financial planning isn’t necessary. My competition is the bad financial purchase someone makes without understanding how it fits into the bigger picture. My competition is the idea that real estate, a particular investment, or the newest financial product is all someone needs to be financially successful.
We live in the information age, where almost anyone can find financial information on the internet. But access to information is not the same as having access to professional advice and comprehensive planning that applies that information to someone’s unique personal situation.
That is where I believe we provide tremendous value.
What is something you wish you’d known when you were just starting your business?
I wish I had understood earlier just how important it is to have team members who genuinely believe in what you are trying to accomplish.
One of the biggest reasons ELS Vision Wealth Management has become the firm it is today is that we now have a team where everyone believes in the mission of our practice. They aren’t simply coming to work to perform a job; they understand what we are trying to accomplish for the families, businesses, and organizations we serve.
I’ve learned that when your team believes in the mission, they take ownership of the vision with you.
What is one unexpected way your business has changed so far in your journey?
When we started, approximately 95% of our client meetings were in person. Today, approximately 85% are virtual.
I can now be responsible for managing a client’s $6 million portfolio and have never shaken that client’s hand. Before COVID, that would have been almost unheard of in our industry. Today, it has become commonplace.
What I’ve learned, though, is that relationships aren’t defined by whether you’re sitting across the same table. Trust, communication, accessibility, and caring for the client are ultimately what make the relationship personal.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
The most rewarding part of my job is being one of the people my clients call to share their success stories.
It’s seeing the tears when someone realizes they can retire earlier than they ever thought possible. It’s hearing the joy in their voice when they finally take the dream trip they’ve talked about for years. It’s watching the feeling of accomplishment when a business owner sells the company they spent decades building.
And sometimes, it’s the hug I receive from a client’s children when they realize that the work I did with their parents helped create a legacy that will be transformational for their family.
Those moments remind me that what we do is about much more than money.
What is something you have learned about yourself/the industry since starting your business?
I’ve learned that one of the biggest reasons I’ve been successful is because I genuinely care about what I do.
I have a real passion for this work. My clients matter to me, and because they matter to me, the things that are important to them become important to me as well.
Financial planning is ultimately a relationship business. Numbers are important, but behind every number is a person, a family, a goal, a fear, a dream, or a legacy. I’ve learned that I am at my best when I never lose sight of that.
How has being a part of the Strive North Dallas community affected you and your business?
When I entered this industry, my primary office was in the North Dallas community, and many of my clients are still based in Addison and North Dallas.
COVID changed the way we worked, and the virtual experience became a much larger part of our practice. But I realized that my North Dallas clients still needed a place where they could come see me in person—to shake my hand, give me a hug, look me in the eyes, and have an important conversation in a professional environment away from their home, campus, or office.
Being part of the Strive North Dallas community has allowed us to maintain that physical connection to a community that has been an important part of my career and our firm’s story.
If you could have a conversation over coffee with yourself from 5 years ago, what would you say to him/her?
It’s going to be OK. Enjoy the ride.
I would tell myself that not everything is going to happen according to the plan—and that’s OK. Some of the detours, challenges, unexpected opportunities, and even disappointments are going to help shape the business and the person you eventually become.
Work hard, trust the process, appreciate the people who are taking the journey with you, and don’t become so focused on where you’re trying to go that you forget to enjoy where you are.
If you had a friend in town, and you could take them to one of your favorite restaurants or spots in your community, where would you take them?
I’ve always enjoyed my experiences at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, so that’s probably where I would take them.
It’s a great place to enjoy an excellent meal, have a good conversation, and give someone visiting Dallas a taste of the kind of hospitality and experience that I enjoy.
