Stepping outside of his comfort zone is one of the best things Alan Gow, founder, Argonaut Paraplanning says he has done, both as a paraplanner and for the business.
Alan Gow is a well known face in the paraplanning community, frequently attending paraplanning events, presenting at those events and chairing the PFS Paraplanning Panel.
What isn’t as well known is that he has had to step well outside of his comfort zone to take part in the various events and webinars he has undertaken.
He started, he says, by getting out and about in the paraplanning community. This has been a boon he adds, both personally and professionally. “When I was an employed paraplanner I wasn’t allowed out the office, so I didn’t go to events. I didn’t meet anybody. I didn’t know what was happening at these at these events. So as soon as I set up my own business, in 2011, I made it my mission to attend as many relevant events as I could. As a result, I learned a lot, made some fantastic contacts, many of whom I am still in regular contact with today, and I also made some good paraplanning friends as well.
“Getting out helped me develop as a paraplanner and also was good networking for my outsourced paraplanning business.”
Being up in front of people at events was another thing, however, and he admits, has pushed himself beyond his comfort zone.
His first speaking session at an event was in 2014 at a then IFP conference in Scotland. “Although I was horrifically nervous and very far outside my comfort zone, somebody had put me forward for it, and I felt kind of obliged to say yes.
“But having done it, you find yourself thinking ‘I can do better than that,’ which makes you want to try again.”
It was that combination of the personal and the professional which drove him on. “You’ve got to put yourself out there if you want clients and you want to build the business. We all have something to say and we can demonstrate our knowledge.”
He has since presented at Professional Paraplanner events, taken part in paraplanning panels at conferences and been the paraplanning representative on webinars.
He is also Chair of the PFS Paraplanning Panel, as part of which he has hosted some of the PFS’s Paraplanning Labs – hour long webinars on specific topics
“I get nervous whatever I do but I think the more you do something the easier it becomes. The first few Paraplanning Labs I did I felt awkward and the nerves were really getting in the way, whereas the last couple I’ve done have felt more natural and conversational.”
At the PFS Paraplanning conference in May was the first time he had been on stage as part of a panel. He says he found that easier than standing up to present. “It was a really natural conversation from me and my panel colleagues. People were asking some really great questions and what we had to do was ensure we didn’t talk over one another and give our tuppence worth.”
Presenting a session, however, he says was far mor nerve wracking. “When you’re on your own and everyone’s looking for you to give them something they don’t know, and you have to try to judge the right level at which to pitch what you’re talking on, that’s a very different kind of pressure and I found that far more difficult.
“But every time I do one of these things, I find myself thinking ‘Right – next time I’m going to do this, this and this so I can do a better job. And I think there’s a lot of satisfaction in doing that and moving outside your comfort zone.”
Does he have any preferred techniques he uses to help when being on stage?
“There’s all sorts of stuff out there on how to give a good presentation, but the best piece of advice I received was from Les Cameron, Head of Technical at M&G. He said to script just the first few lines. After that you’ve got past that difficult first opening bit and your mind is on the topic and you’ve got a flow, then you’re OK. You just need the structure and some prompts. That’s worked really well for me.”
It’s also reassuring to know that the people who stand up and present on a regular basis still get nervous, he adds. “You assume that it’s natural to people and easy for them to do, and then when you talk to them about it, you find out they’re nervous, just like you are. And there’s lessons in that as well, because you realise you don’t feel different from how everyone else feels.
“Knowing that, I can deal with it differently because I know they feel the same way and they don’t show it, so I’m not going to show it. I’m just going to try to be confident and not panic. That again is something that just comes with practise.”
To any paraplanners who feel they want to do more but have yet to do so, Alan says, “take the step. “It’s one of those life moments. Don’t just shy away and go, that’s not for me. that’s for other people. Put yourself out there, give it a go. It’s nerve racking. I’m not going to say it’s easy. But I’m glad I did it. You’ve got nothing to lose and there’s so much to gain from it.”
Alan has been on the PFS Paraplanner Panel since it started in 2015. “The panel helps shape what the PFS does for paraplanners. We come up with ideas for content for the PFS Paraplanning conference, including finding speakers. We arrange the Paraplanner Labs, and sometimes host events, as well writing articles for Professional Paraplanner and for the PFS magazine.”
The Paraplanner Labs are lunchtime, online sessions that the panel do every couple of months, are about an hour long and focus on a particular topic, including sessions on how to use LinkedIn well, ethical investing “and later in the year we’ve got an event where CATS are coming along to do a session on compliance for us.”
Last year the Panel wrote a Guide to Suitability Report Writing, “which was very well received”’ Alan says. And they are currently updating an earlier guide, Getting started in Paraplanning.
Main image: Alan with fellow director, Christina Georgiou.
Alan was awarded Personality of the Year Year at the Professional Paraplanner Awards 2025 – presented by Richard Ley, director of Research in Finance and publisher of Professional Paraplanner.
