Lessons From a Decade of Creating Investment-Grade Content
When I started Wentworth Financial Communications in 2015, I didn’t know if it would work.
I didn’t know if our potential clients would trust an upstart firm with their most precious assets—their ideas. I didn’t know if their marketing budgets had room for outsourcing their content creation and thought-leadership writing. I didn’t know if I could convince other talented writers and content strategists to join me.
But I knew investment and finance professionals needed help turning their ideas into clear, compelling writing. I knew I was passionate about doing this work. And I knew others believed in the importance of helping people articulate their expertise.
This was enough to convince me to make the leap and open Wentworth’s virtual doors on Feb. 2, 2015, a cold, snowy day in Chicago.
After 10 years of delivering great work for clients, building relationships, and refining our approach, the Wentworth team has learned much more than we can distill down to one blog post. In reflecting on a decade of growth, though, these 10 lessons stand out.
10 lessons from 10 years at Wentworth:
1. Start with why. It’s impossible to create good content unless you first understand what you’re trying to accomplish. Start every project by getting clarity about the client’s goals and their vision for success.
2. Trust your process—and own the outcome. Many coaches and leaders tell their teams to focus on the process. This is sage—but incomplete—advice. It’s equally important to remember that we’re ultimately responsible for delivering great outcomes for clients, not just executing steps in a process. This is the essence of accountability.
3. Invest in relationships. The relationships we’ve built with our colleagues, clients, and partners are the most valuable results of the past 10 years. Strengthening relationships requires intention and effort. Prioritize getting to know what people care about and ask lots of questions.
4. Do what you said you’re going to do. Dependability is the foundation of trust. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. (Advice that’s easier said than done and impossible to overestimate.)
5. Stay curious. We get to interview many brilliant financial minds and inspirational business leaders. The wisest ones recognize what they don’t know and always push themselves to explore new ideas.
6. Deliver more than writing. The value we deliver is about much more than the papers we write and the messages we craft. Guiding clients through important conversations and navigating all the different aspects of taking a project from idea to completion are central to our value proposition.
7. Embrace feedback. Tough but honest conversations make us better. Truly hearing our clients’ concerns and embracing their suggestions are essential to delivering the outcomes our clients need.
8. Sweat the details. Big wins are the result of doing many small things with excellence and precision. People may not always notice the details, but they appreciate the cumulative effect.
9. Celebrate the wins. It’s easy to get caught up in the next project or the deadline that’s always around the corner. Taking time to celebrate what we’ve accomplished and recognize everyone’s contributions gives us perspective and joy.
10. Count your blessings. Getting to partner with some of the finance industry’s leading thinkers and marketers is a tremendous honor. Doing it alongside kind, passionate, and talented colleagues is an immense blessing. Remembering this inspires us to make the next decade even brighter.
As we celebrate 10 years, we’re deeply grateful for the clients, partners, and colleagues who have shaped our journey. The last decade has been an incredible adventure—and we can’t wait to see what comes next.
About the Author Scott Wentworth, CEO at Wentworth Financial Communications. Scott leads a team of writers and editors at Wentworth to help firms across the financial services industry build their brands and articulate their expertise by creating investment-grade content.