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STEVE CONLEY
CONSULTING & COACHING
Independent thinking for complex problems.
Bring me the problem. We'll work out what matters, what is possible and what to do next.
Sometimes the problem in front of you doesn't fit neatly into a professional category.
It might involve your business, career, finances, relationships, an institution or a decision you've been putting off.
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You may already have advisers, accountants, lawyers or consultants.
What you need is someone who can step back, see the bigger picture, challenge assumptions and help you make sense of the situation.
That's where I come in.
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I'm Steve Conley. I've spent decades working in financial services, business leadership, financial planning and developing alternatives to conventional ways of doing things.
I offer independent consultancy and coaching to people facing complex decisions and difficult challenges.
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No products to sell. No assets to gather. No predetermined methodology to follow.
I'm paid for my time, experience and independent judgment.
50-minute Zoom meeting. Usual price £50. Foundation offer available until 10 December 2026.
What problem are you facing?
Business strategy and commercial challenges
Perhaps you're running a business that isn't delivering the income, freedom or satisfaction you expected.
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You might be:
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Reviewing your business model or commercial proposition.
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Struggling to turn expertise into paying customers.
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Facing changing market conditions.
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Considering a partnership, acquisition or exit.
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Trying to reduce your personal dependence on the business.
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Developing new services or income streams.
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Questioning whether your current strategy is sustainable.
I can help you understand the underlying commercial problem, test assumptions, explore alternatives and develop practical next steps.
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Professional and career transitions
Perhaps you're considering leaving an established career, changing the way you work or developing something of your own.
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You may be balancing the security of existing income against the attraction of greater independence.
I help professionals explore questions such as:
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Should I stay, leave or change direction?
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What opportunities can I create from my existing experience?
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How can I make a transition without unnecessarily jeopardising financial security?
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What business model would support the life I want?
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What must I resolve before I can move forward?
The objective isn't to persuade you to leave your profession.
It's to help you make a better-informed decision about your future.
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Financial services and institutional challenges
My professional background includes senior leadership roles in banking, investments and financial planning.
I understand how financial institutions operate, how commercial incentives shape decisions and how difficult it can be to challenge established arrangements.
I work with professionals and business owners facing issues involving:
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Financial services business models.
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Commercial incentives and conflicts of interest.
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Professional independence.
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Adviser and business transitions.
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Institutional relationships.
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Complex commercial disputes.
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Strategic responses to industry and technological change.
Sometimes the most valuable contribution is recognising the underlying problem before committing to a particular solution.
Developing new ideas and propositions
You may have an idea for a new service, business or professional initiative but be uncertain how to make it work.
I can help you examine:
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Who the service is for.
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What problem it solves.
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Why customers would pay.
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How it could be delivered.
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What resources are required.
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Whether the economics are sustainable.
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What should be tested before committing substantial time or money.
I enjoy developing innovative ideas.
But experience has taught me the importance of distinguishing an attractive possibility from a commercially viable proposition.
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An idea becomes a business when someone values it enough to pay for it.
What makes my approach different?
I start with your problem
I don't begin by selling you a training programme, business model or methodology.
I begin by listening.
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What is happening? What have you already tried? What do you want to achieve? What is preventing progress?
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I look beyond the obvious
Many problems are shaped by underlying incentives, assumptions, dependencies and relationships.
I help you recognise those connections.
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Sometimes what initially appears to be a financial problem is actually a problem of identity, control, confidence, purpose or competing priorities.
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I challenge constructively
You aren't paying me simply to agree with you.
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I'll question assumptions, consider alternative explanations and explain where I think the evidence points.
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You should feel equally free to challenge my conclusions.
The objective is clearer thinking, not agreement for its own sake.
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I respect your independence
My role is not to make decisions for you.
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I help you understand your options, consider the consequences and exercise your own judgment.
Sometimes that means supporting a course of action I would not personally choose.
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Sometimes it means explaining why I cannot support a proposal that would harm or exploit others.
Your agency matters. So does the agency of everyone affected by your decisions.
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I help you move forward
Insight is useful. Action changes things.
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I want our work to produce something practical: a decision, a tested assumption, a clearer strategy, an agreed plan or an obstacle removed.
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You should leave more capable of acting independently than when we began.
Experience you can draw upon
I am a Chartered Financial Planner, Chartered Insurer, mathematics graduate, author and founder of the Academy of Life Planning.
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My career includes:
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Former Head of Investments, HSBC UK.
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Senior roles with RBS Group, Santander and Royal London.
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Extensive experience of financial services strategy, investments and business leadership.
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Founding and developing the Academy of Life Planning.
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Developing independent, non-intermediating planning propositions.
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Supporting people navigating complex financial services and institutional challenges.
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Advocacy for transparency, accountability and consumer empowerment.
I am also the author of Your Money or Your Life and a Transparency Taskforce Ambassador.
My experience spans large institutions, small businesses, entrepreneurship, financial planning, technology and public-interest advocacy.
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That breadth helps me recognise connections between problems that might otherwise be treated separately.
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But experience is not infallibility.
Where an issue requires specialist expertise beyond my competence, I will say so.
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How we can work together
1. Strategy Meeting
50 minutes. One presenting problem. A clearer way forward.
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We examine your situation, identify what matters, explore your options and agree a useful next step.
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The meeting is a complete service in its own right.
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You do not have to commit to anything further.
£45 Foundation Offer until 10 December 2026. Usual price £50.
2. Second Brain
Three focused 30-minute sessions — £297
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Sometimes a single conversation identifies a problem that deserves further thought.
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Second Brain provides structured support to help you work through a decision, develop an approach or maintain momentum.
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We agree the focus of the engagement and what we are working towards.
The aim is to help you make progress, not create an indefinite advisory relationship.
3. Focused consultancy
Some challenges require more substantial investigation, analysis or development.
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Examples might include:
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Business model and proposition reviews.
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Strategic options assessments.
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Commercial transition planning.
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Stakeholder and incentive analysis.
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Service development and implementation planning.
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Preparing for important business decisions or negotiations.
We agree the scope, deliverables, fees and boundaries before work begins.
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I do not undertake open-ended consultancy without a defined purpose and agreement.
How I decide whether to help
My work is guided by the Academy's five ethical principles:
Stewardship. Non-exploitation. Transparency. Empowerment. Accountability.
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I believe our knowledge, talents and capabilities carry responsibilities as well as opportunities.
Professional expertise should create genuine value, strengthen human agency and respect the interests of others.
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I welcome people who are seeking to improve their circumstances, even when they hold different beliefs or professional opinions from mine.
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However, I will not knowingly help someone become more effective at deceiving, manipulating or exploiting others.
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I will help you become more capable. I will not knowingly help you become more capable of exploiting others.
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These principles apply to my consultancy just as they apply to the Academy's professional accreditation and partnerships.
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You don't have to become an Academy practitioner
The Academy of Life Planning develops and accredits Total Wealth Planner practitioners.
That is one professional pathway.
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Steve Conley Consulting & Coaching is another.
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You can work directly with me on a specific problem without joining the Academy, undertaking accreditation or adopting the GAME Plan.
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If you subsequently decide to develop an independent life-centred financial planning practice, the Academy offers a separate pathway for doing so.
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But there is no expectation that consultancy should lead to accreditation.
The right service is the one that helps you address your actual need.
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Bring me the problem.
You may not know exactly what kind of help you need.
That's fine.
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You may have a complicated situation, several competing options or simply a feeling that something needs to change.
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We can start there.
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A Strategy Meeting gives us fifty minutes to understand the problem, examine your options and decide what deserves attention next.
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You may leave with enough clarity to act independently.
You may decide further support would be useful.
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Or we may discover that someone else is better placed to help.
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All are legitimate outcomes.
The purpose is to help you move forward with greater clarity, control and confidence.
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Book a Strategy Meeting with Steve Conley
£45 Foundation Offer — until 10 December 2026
50 minutes by Zoom.
Usual price £50.
Bring me the problem, not the portfolio.
Self-directed by default. Supported when it matters.