Financial advisors are in demand from both businesses and individuals. Money makes the world go round, and people need help managing it. As such, setting up a business where you provide financial advice is potentially very profitable.
How would you go about doing this? Well, this guide will teach you a few of the key considerations in planning and setting up your own business as a financial advisor.
Before that, let’s look at why this is a great idea:
Why set up a financial advisor business?
As mentioned, your services are in demand. This means you should have no shortage of customers from both the commercial and public sectors. The work you carry out is also not too taxing, meaning you can see multiple clients per day or work on multiple projects at the same time. All of this comes together to mean there’s a lot of money to make with this business.
Moreover, factor in the incredibly low operating costs for this company. You can run your business from home and connect with clients digitally. There’s technically no need for an office at all, but even if you want one, then that’s the main thing to pay for. You don’t require any special tools or equipment to run this company – all you need is your brain and some financial software.
Massive income potential, combined with low expenses presents a salivating business opportunity. Here are a few tips to help you get started with this business:
Consider getting relevant qualifications
To be a financial advisor, you will need a qualification that’s recognized by the relevant regulatory board for your country. More often than not, this will be a bachelor’s degree. If you don’t have one, then you will have to put your business ambitions on hold until you’re qualified.
The good news is that there isn’t a specific degree that you need to get. Plenty of degrees in different subject areas are all acceptable. So, if you have an accounting diploma, a math degree, or any sort of financial degree, then you can legally be a financial advisor. Hopefully, most of you already have a relevant degree, as this is something you’ve been thinking about for some time. If not, then get studying.
Choose your service area
As you’ve seen already, there are different ways of providing a service with this business. You could offer financial advice for businesses, or you could offer financial advice for individuals. Some people may even offer both! Ideally, that’s the approach to take as you maximize your pool of potential clients. If you only offer one or the other, then you only appeal to one market.
However, if you have absolutely no experience dealing with business finances, then is it a good idea to provide advice to companies? Think about your own skills and maybe start offering personal financial advice while you study behind the scenes and educate yourself on business finances. Then, you can expand your service area by offering business advice in the future.
Create your website
A website is essential for this type of business – more so than many others. You’re going to mainly get clients online. People will search for financial advisors, and you need to have a website to be found by these searches. It’s also a place where you will advertise your services and build a positive brand image. People can see the specific services you offer, get contact information, and build a certain perception of your business. With an excellent website, you can draw in a wider audience and start generating interest around your business.
Keeping that in mind, it’s definitely worth working with a graphic designer to build your website. Yes, this will be far more expensive than using an online website builder. Still, think about the lack of operating costs this business demands. You can probably afford to make this investment as it will benefit you. Your website will be unique, professional, and impress your clients.
Market your business
Naturally, you need to market your business to draw clients to it. Setting up a website is the first step, but you need to improve your SEO to ensure you rank well for financial advisor-related searches. This means that you’re getting the right traffic to your website as the people clicking it will be keen to find out more about financial advisor services!
Similarly, you should explore other digital marketing methods. This is the most cost-effective approach to marketing a business like this. As has been mentioned, the majority of your clients will be found online. So, focus on things like online advertising and social media. Using word of mouth on social media is a great way to spread the word amongst your local community.
Essentially, you need a marketing strategy that brings people into the palm of your hand ready to make some money.
Get your prices right
Finally, you need to figure out how you will price your services. There’s a fine line to tread here. You don’t want to price your services too high as you will scare away a lot of customers. If you price them too low, then you might not make as much money as you want. The best approach is to look at the market around you. What are other companies charging for a service like yours? Here, you can see what the industry standard is and then price your services accordingly.
Remember, you’re a new and inexperienced business. So, it’s better to air on the side of caution and undercut the industry standard just a little bit. As you gain more experience and have proven yourself as a good business, then you can increase your prices.
There you have it; some advice on setting up a business as a financial advisor. Obviously, if you’re already a financial advisor working for a company, then everything is a lot easier for you. You don’t need to bother getting any extra educational qualifications, you have plenty of experience to market, and you can even try and tempt away some of your existing clients. Still, if you are completely new to all of this, then follow the advice in this guide to start your business.
