This webinar will delve into the realities of building a business in the financial services sector, offering reflections from varied perspectives within the industry. The conversation will centre on purpose-driven entrepreneurship, the practicalities of setting up an advisory or brokerage business, and the mindset needed to overcome challenges.
Key Themes for Discussion
- Entrepreneurship in financial services: why professionals choose to build their own practices.
- Living your ‘why’: aligning work with purpose, values, and long-term impact.
- The changing nature of financial advice: shifting from product focus to holistic financial planning and wellbeing (sometimes with no product!).
- The practical realities of starting a brokerage or advisory firm: regulation, compliance, client trust, and business development.
- Building credibility and reputation in a highly regulated industry.
- Intergenerational perspectives on financial services and entrepreneurship.
- Mindset and resilience: dealing with uncertainty, criticism, and imposter syndrome.
- Experiences working in a traditionally male-dominated profession and supporting diversity in the industry.
- The role of mentorship, professional networks, and industry bodies such as the LIA in supporting advisers.
- Lessons learned from entrepreneurship: what the speakers would do differently and their advice for those considering starting their own practice.
- The importance of designing a career and business that supports a meaningful life, recognising that financial success alone is not the ultimate goal.
Shannon Cullen, Sinead Cullen and Nigel Groarke
Sinead Cullen
Sinéad is a Chartered Tax Adviser, Certified Financial Planner™ and coach with over 20 years’ experience in financial services. Her work focuses on financial literacy, economic empowerment, and helping individuals make confident, values-led decisions about their money and their lives.
Sinéad works with individuals and organisations to demystify pensions, investing, and long-term planning, particularly at key life and career stages such as growth, transition, redundancy, and retirement. She is known for translating complex financial concepts into clear, practical guidance that people can actually use.
Alongside her advisory work, Sinéad is a sought-after speaker who has delivered high-engagement talks and workshops for corporates, professional networks, and organisations including 100 Women in Finance, She Speaks Agency, CIF, local Enterprise Hubs and many corporates. Her sessions consistently resonate for their honesty, clarity, and relevance, empowering attendees to take control of their financial futures with confidence.
Shannon Cullen QFA, RPA
Shannon is a financial planner, wellness coach, and co-founder of Lifecraft Ltd and Cullen Financial Planning Ltd, where she helps individuals and families design lives that align financial freedom with personal wellbeing. She holds a Diploma in Business & Management from DIT and a Level 8 Certificate in Environment, Sustainability & Climate Change from University College Cork. Currently completing her Certified Financial Planner (CFP) qualification, Shannon combines strong technical financial expertise with a deeply human approach.
Her career spans financial advisory, brokerage, and life assurance, alongside roles in retail management and quality control. This broad experience allows her to bridge the gap between technical financial product knowledge and real-world human decision-making. Shannon is known for her balanced, emotionally intelligent guidance, helping clients not only manage money but also understand the motivations and behaviours that shape their financial choices.
Outside her professional life, Shannon’s journey reflects her belief in holistic growth and resilience. She has summited Mount Kilimanjaro, lived and trained as a yoga teacher in Rishikesh, India, and travelled extensively through Asia, Africa and South America. An avid hiker, meditator, and lifelong learner, she brings mindfulness and perspective to every conversation.
Shannon helps clients merge technical financial planning with wellness principles, empowering them to build sustainable, intentional, and fulfilling lives.
Nigel Groarke QFA, FLIA, CII, RPA.
A founding director of Full Circle Financial Services Ltd with over 25 years of relevant industry experience. Nigel started his career in 1988 and worked for Scottish Provident for 16 years - holding key marketing/sales roles.
Nigel then moved to a well established Blackrock brokerage in 2003 - being Head of Financial Services and a Director of the firm for a number of years. Nigel left in 2013 and set up Full Circle Financial Services Limited.
Date: 26th May 2026
Time: 10am-11am
Location: Online via Zoom.
Non-CPD
ACCESSING THE EVENT
Upon completing your registration for this event, you will receive a confirmation email. This email will contain a Zoom access link to join the event at the scheduled time.
Alternatively, you can access the event through LIA Elevate by following the steps below:
1. Visit our website lia.ie.
2. Log in to the members area (top right).
3. Hover over ‘LIA Elevate’ in the top navigation bar and select ‘My Events and On Demand Learning’.
4. Click “Go to your Learning Centre”.
5. Details of the event, including an “Attend” button will appear here. Launch the event directly in Zoom by clicking ‘Attend’.
HOW CAN I ACCESS THIS EVENT ON-DEMAND?
If you register for this event and find you cannot attend on the day, the event will be made available On-Demand within seven working days.
You can view the event On-Demand via LIA Elevate. To obtain CPD, you will be required to complete a short series of multiple-choice questions at the end of the recording.
1. Click here to log into your LIA account.
2. Hover over ‘LIA Elevate’ in the top navigation bar and select ‘My Events and On Demand Learning’.
3. Click “Go to your Learning Centre”.
4. The On-Demand module will appear for you to complete within your Learning Centre. This will only be available 7 working days after the event.
If you register for this event and find you cannot attend on the day, don’t worry. The event will be made available On-Demand within seven working days for members who registered but did not attend the event. You can view the event On-Demand via LIA Elevate. To obtain CPD, complete a short series of multiple-choice questions at the end of the recording.
Should you require more information, our team is more than happy to assist you. You can chat with a member of our team via Live Chat on our website (weekdays 11am – 4pm), by email at events@lia.ie or by phone at 01 456 3890 (weekdays 9am – 5pm).