I am providing SEO and digital marketing consulting for a design-build firm operating in established and up-and-coming luxury mountain communities in the Colorado Rockies.

I'm looking to connect with a financial advisor who might be willing to answer some questions about my prospects with a one-year credit history, the tax implications I should be aware of, and so on.

If your goal is to eventually solicit from people who are not your friends and are looking for passive income, then you need to consider establishing a syndicate.

If you have an excellent financial advisor who understands real estate investing I'd be interested in talking to him/her.

Establish Track Record (Small Deals & Personal Equity): Most GP's start by acquiring/developing smaller properties where they alone can fund the equity side of the capital stack (IE - no raise). 

I could just get better at establishing relationships with the trades and hope that my cost to manage will go down in the future.

Labor hoarding in parts of the goods sector, coupled with fiscal stimulus buoying nonresidential construction, has temporarily delayed the usual job losses.The trend isn't our friendEven taking the latest numbers at face value, the August jobs report showed year-over-year employment growth – according to both the establishment and household surveys – hit 29-month lows.

I left tech in 2021 after 15 years to join my financial advisor's team. 

Also, is there any reason I would need to establish an LLC?

It sounds like you should bring on an established PMC as a partner to help walk you through the steps of growing instead of trying to learn everything on your own.