In 1988 John Burke was a 26-year-old broker at Merrill Lynch whose main method of finding new clients was cold calling from a phone book.

He was making just enough in sales to keep his job. Then he set up a company that provided continuing education courses to accountants. His hope was that these accountants would think of him when their clients were looking for a wealth manager.

It took a few years to get rolling, but Burke's idea worked. Today he manages about $230 million in client assets at his firm - Iselin, New Jersey-based Burke Financial Strategies Inc. Accountants in the area send him about five referrals a month, more than he can even use.

Taking on a side business may sound crazy to time-crunched financial advisers, particularly because the side job could trigger regulatory headaches if it isn't properly disclosed. But if done right, a side venture can help advisers build their wealth management brand and their revenue stream.

"I'm surprised that not more advisers are doing this," Burke said.

THE PITFALLS

A big risk to running a side business is that clients may wonder where your real loyalties lie.

"Most clients want to know that their adviser is 100 percent committed to them," said Wayne Badorf, a practice management expert at Wells Fargo Asset Management.

That's a concern for Paul Carroll, founder of Houston-based Efficient Wealth Management LLC and a part-time commercial airline pilot. A few days out of every month, his airline job takes him to cities like Paris and Amsterdam. (He has an agreement with the airline that he won't name it publicly in work for his wealth management firm.)

When Carroll first opened his firm in 2005, his connections in the aviation industry were a key referral source, and currently the majority of his 80 clients are pilots. But these days, he doesn't need to keep flying to attract referrals.

"I can get the introductions I want without me having to fly a jet to do it," he said. But he's sticking with piloting for now because it offers good benefits and he feels comfortable with his staff's ability to operate in his absences.

The biggest mistake advisers make when it comes to side jobs is failing to properly disclose them, said Francois Cooke, a managing director with ACA Compliance Group, a firm based in the Washington, D.C., area that provides compliance consulting services to broker-dealers.

Advisers should clear side jobs with their compliance officers ahead of time, and the side ventures should be declared on public disclosure reports submitted to regulators, compliance experts said.

Another potential landmine for advisers is that side jobs might expose them to non-public information, which could lead to insider trading charges.

To avoid that risk, advisers should be vigilant about reporting any potential inside information to their compliance officer, said E.J. Yerzak, a consultant with based Ascendant Compliance Management, a Salisbury, Connecticut-firm that works with investment advisers on compliance issues. The compliance officer can then help the adviser determine how to properly handle that information.

FINDING BALANCE

So with all these risks, is it worth having a side business? It all depends whether it can help build your brand - or if it's just too much fun to give up.

San Diego adviser Deborah Fox balances her wealth management work with a side company called Fox College Funding, which helps high-income families reduce out-of-pocket college expenses.

When Fox started her college funding business in the late 1990s, it was a tremendous source of referrals for her wealth management firm, Essential Planning Services LLC. These days she doesn't even have time to pursue all the leads the college business generates. Running multiple businesses works for Fox because her side business enhances her wealth business.

"This is a true niche that is within the financial advisory industry," she said.

For some advisers, their side job is an escape.

Patrick Berry, a San Diego-based investment adviser and a U.S. Navy SEAL reservist, said his military experience helps build his brand and gives him cachet that wins over prospective clients. Berry, who works with CONCERT Wealth Management, a firm with about $1.5 billion in assets under management, has no plans to give up the U.S. Navy Reserves - the jogs on the beach and conversations with other soldiers are a nice break from money management.

"Where else do I go on a weekend and we might jump out of a plane?" he said.