What's the #1 concern clients have?
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Is debt the #1 concern why clients reach out to a financial coach?
Garrett - While debt is something that many clients who go to a financial coach will want help with, it's not what your outward marketing should necessarily highlight, for a couple of reasons:
- If you say "I help people pay off debt" as your lead marketing message, then people will pigeon hole you and believe that's all you do. And since it's something many people offer, it can lead to a race to the bottom in how much you're able to charge.
- When prospective clients come to me, yes, paying off debt is something that they want to do, but that's simply a means to an end. What they really want is the freedom that comes with being debt free, or the sense of security not having to worry about debt. This is why it's important to focus on what they want in your messaging (i.e. freedom, security, financial independence) rather than the means of how they'll get there.
- My niche are...
What is the best physical planner and why?
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What is the best physical planner and why?
Garrett - I'm a huge fan of the Momentum Planners by Productive Flourishing. It does a great job of helping you create goals and a vision for the year, and then breaking them down into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily chunks. This allows me to see whether what I'm doing on a daily basis is working toward my weekly goals, whether what I'm doing weekly is helping me accomplish my monthly goals, etc. It's simple and straightforward. I personally use their digital version, but the physical notebook is a great option as well.
Monthly and weekly planning at a glance
Erin - I just got a Clever Fox and so far I’m loving it! It has lots of places to do goal planning, mind mapping, monthly review, and of course the monthly and weekly planning.
Sherry - I am heading into year three of Passion Planner and I love it. I’ve tried a few others. I love being able...
What Payment Processor Should I Use?
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Which payment method is the safest and most convenient way for clients to process payments?
Garrett - All major payment processing services - Stripe, PayPal, Square - all prohibit Financial Services professionals/companies from using their product in their terms of service. So while you may not get kicked off of one immediately, there is that possibility.
There is a company called AdvicePay that offers invoicing and payment processing that’s compliant for financial service professionals. They’re the ones we’re sooo clooose to completing an agreement with to offer their platform for FCN members for free/a discount!
I've used Stripe as well and have without issue, I just don’t like the idea that I could be booted at any time. I think it comes down to what’s the lesser of two evils for a person - a platform you could get booted from, or a compliant one that doesn’t (currently) have every bell and whistle.
Go for...
Building referral relationships with Financial Advisors
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How do I communicate the value of a referral relationship to a Financial Advisor?
Garrett - prioritize connecting with advisors (or other referral partners like life coaches, therapists, divorce attorneys, etc.) who share your ideal client. This will make your life much easier because if your ideal client truly needs what you offer, and the referral partner is working with your ideal client, that means the client of that referral partner needs your help!
Because they already know intimately those ideal clients, they'll resonate with your excitement and want to serve them. It can be hard to find advisors who share your ideal client, but it will make the time you spend connect so much more valuable and efficient. And, if you have a hard time finding advisors who share your niche (since many advisors are very broad in who they serve), branch out to other referral partners.
Show them you're two sides of the same coin
Pam- I tell financial planners...
Startup Costs for Becoming a Financial Coach
How much money do I need to get started as a financial coach?
Garrett - I started Be Awesome Not Broke with approximately $25k in the bank, enough to last me just over a year if I were to make $0 over that time. I got this number by adding what my bare-bones living expenses could be, with what I thought business expenses would average out to a month for the first year. I had side-hustles up my sleeve if I needed to make additional money (which I did over the first few months to stop the hemorrhaging), and doing so ended up giving me additional peace of mind.
On a specific-to-me side note, one spending category I highly underestimated that first year was my professional development expenses. I was transitioning into an entirely different industry and while many of the skills I needed I already had, I realized that I wanted/needed to take some coaching courses to help me grow as a coach and entrepreneur. The downside: I spent about $5k dollars on personal coaching that first year...
Financial Coaches vs. Financial Advisors
What's the difference between a Financial Coach and Financial Advisor?
Garrett - Most financial advisors tend to focus on implementing financial products and strategies, while financial coaches focus more on the basics of personal money management, behavioral change, and accountability to a client-driven spending plan. And while financial advisors most commonly help to manage wealth that already exists, a financial coach’s job is to provide a client the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that will help them build wealth in the first place.
Another major difference between financial coaching and advising is that coaches typically have no tie-in with products at all; they do not manage investments, nor sell insurance. We might educate our clients on these basic concepts but we never provide specific recommendations - we refer clients out to licensed professionals for this. In many cases I don’t even discuss the above topics with my clients because they aren’t at...
Coaching Family & Friends
Can I work with friends and family? If so, how?
Garrett - My coach who worked with me around client issues (and is a LMFT) said that it depends on the type of work that you are doing with them. Therapists aren't allowed (or shouldn't) have personal relationships with their clients, due to the type of work their doing. As a financial coach, it's possible to focus only on the numbers (although I don't think it's that effective) or be on the other side of the spectrum and dive deep into a persons patterns/emotions/behaviors around money (what Deborah Price does in her Certified Money Coach training).
The deeper the work you do with someone, I believe the more discerning you need to be about drawing that line. Because people will be revealing very personal information to you, not just around money but their goals, fears, etc. This can complicate relationships with friends/family because they'll know you know parts about them that even their partners might not know, and can change the...
