What Independence Really Takes - A Real RIA Launch Case Study

On this episode of RIA Confidential, hosts Jonathan Andrews and Ray Gettins II bookend a real-world case study with Skee Orr, co-founder of Kinetic Wealth, a fee-only planning firm in Knoxville, TN.

Jonathan and Ray open the show by reframing what “going independent” really looks like: Less like a single leap and more like a chain of decisions around motivation, timing, support, and capacity.

Before cutting to the full 9:47 case study interview, they give listeners a simple three-question framework to evaluate their own readiness to go RIA: who they're really building for, what client experience they're actually delivering, and what support system they truly have in place.

After the interview, they return to the studio for a fast, conversational post-game breakdown. Together they unpack the key themes from Skee Orr's first year as a fee-only RIA: why being genuinely client-first becomes a decision filter, how timing is more about personal and operational capacity than markets, why community functions as real infrastructure in independence, and how to realistically tackle the "all the hats" throughput problem.

They close with practical next steps for advisors who are seriously considering the leap: from pressure-testing the economics at RIAconfidential.com to thinking through tech stack, support, and the first 90 days as an independent RIA.

Ideal for: wirehouse and broker-dealer advisors considering a move to the RIA model, fee-based advisors curious about full independence, and teams wrestling with how to align their structure with a truly client-first standard.

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Because you don’t have to be caught in the shuffle. You can write your own story.