When you first start out as a coach – regardless of the type of coaching you do – often, your first clients come from people you already know: family, friends, that one kid from high school who likes all of your posts…you get the idea. 

But the magic doesn’t happen overnight – and it doesn’t happen if you don’t actually create opportunities to expand your network. In fact, if you want to grow your business, you need to become confident in your talent – and your marketing. 

On today’s episode, we’re going to talk about how incredibly awkward things will feel as you start to expand outside of friends and family, and add in things like social media, workshops and presentations, emails, and more.

The income that you can make as a financial coach is quite literally up to you. According to Indeed, the Average salary for a financial coach is $59,277 – if you’re working for a company (like a bank or financial institution). In this case (working for a bank or other financial institution), you don’t pick your clients, you don’t pick or own your process, and you definitely do not have your own brand. 

But, if you are self employed, or a small business owner? The sky is the literal limit on what you can earn as a financial coach. Now, as a solo financial coach, you’ll need to create or source your coaching process and create your own brand…but you have the freedom to change your methods, your pricing, and even your offers as you need or want to. 

As an entrepreneur,  you get to choose. Your methods, your certifications…and that choice is valuable. And yes, you have to find your own clients, but by finding your own clients, you can decide who you want to work with (and how you want to work with them). 

Curious what some of our Mastermind coaches are charging and making (November of 2022)? We thought you might be interested! That’s why we asked them a few quesitns: 

1. How many 1:1 clients do you support? 46% zero, 23% 1-3, 22% 4-10
2. How long to get 1st paying client: Right away (23%) or Less than 6 months (20%) 

Here’s the truth: once you gain a client, they stay a client for a lifetime.

When I hear that other coaches are worried because the people who need to hire them are “broke”...it always gives me pause. Often, we apply our own logic, our own experiences, and our own financial choices to others during our sales conversations – and that’s a dangerous thing to do.

Are there people out there who cannot afford to hire a financial coach? Yes – but once you own the fact that you actually help people who are struggling financially, it’s a lot easier to accept that you get paid to help those same people. 

Let’s talk about those who we cannot help – when someone is broke, living paycheck to paycheck, can’t pay their bills, and is heading for a financial disaster is never going to either, 1, be able to afford you as a coach, or 2, be willing to part with their money even if they could.

The reason is that they do not possess the required growth mindset and because of that can’t make the jump in their minds to paying someone to help them, 1, save money, or 2, pay off debt. 

When you’re marketing your business, you need to share your conviction – your belief – that you can help them change their money story and write a new one.

Want to know how you can make money as a financial coach? Get excited – in today’s episode of the Financial Coach Academy Podcast, we’re going to dive deep and discuss all the creative ways you can increase your revenue (from recurring/subscription options to 1:1 work). 

I’m so excited to welcome fellow financial coach, Jean Chatzky who is joining us today for this conversation. Jean is the CEO of HerMoney.com and host of the podcast HerMoney With Jean Chatzky. A New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author, her latest book is Women with Money: The Judgment-Free Guide to Creating the Joyful, Less Stressed, Purposeful (and Yes, Rich) Life You Deserve. 

When people hear the words “financial coach” often, they think of someone who is right there with you, coaching you through – and that’s absolutely true, but there’s so much more that you can offer as a certified financial coach. 

Yes, you can absolutely work individually with your clients, but you can also offer a wide variety of programming that allows your current and future clients to engage with you in many different ways. 

From masterminds to digital downloads to courses…the options are endless. And, if you want a semi-comprehensive list, here you go: 

• 1:1 sessions
• Group coaching
• Masterminds
• Downloadable Content (workbooks, worksheets, e-books, etc.)
• Retreats
• Power Hours
• Memberships/Subscriptions
• Speaking

Financial coaching is just getting started – and I get asked all the time if people can actually “make a living” as a financial coach. 

The short answer is an emphatic YES!

The longer answer is…yes, but. 

Yes, but everyone starts somewhere. When I first became a financial coach, my goal was small – I wanted to make $2000 per month. I was charging $50 per session…because I didn’t see the possibility. At least, not yet. 

Financial coaching is more than just helping people train their money to work hard for them – it’s about believing in yourself and your clients. It’s about confidence. It’s about transformation. 

The wonderful thing about financial coaching is that you can make this amazing career into whatever suits you best – whether that’s a side hustle, part-time, or full-time. The amount of time that you invest in your financial coaching practice will (in part) determine your income. 

Honestly, the biggest challenges that you’ll face as a coach are marketing yourself (which takes confidence) and understanding that your first few clients may work with you for a discounted rate (or even for free) while you get your “legs” under you. 

Once you’ve got some experience, you can start charging – not for an hour of your time, but for the actual transformation that you provide – that’s where the value of your work comes from.

In today’s episode, we’re going to answer another burning question: is financial coaching different from financial advising? 

The short answer is YES. While both financial coaches and financial advisors are needed in the world, financial advisors are future-focused. A financial advisor will run a variety of scenarios and your likelihood of financial success based on your investment strategies, rate of return, risk tolerance, asset allocation, and portfolio. 

In contrast, financial coaches help people with their money NOW. This can get complex depending on what the client’s unique financial situation looks like. We strive to focus on the whole person – not just the financial side of their life, diving into the reasons behind their financial habits so that we can create lasting change 

At the end of the day, we both help people do better and feel more confident about their money.

In today’s episode, we’re going to spend our time dissecting financial literacy as it relates to financial coaching. Now, this could be a boring and dry conversation…but it doesn’t have to be! 

Financial literacy is focused on education and knowledge. Financial coaching is focused on applying that knowledge and creating action steps so  your clients follow through with the financial goals they’ve set.

In today’s episode, we’re going to discuss the actual demand for financial coaching. I get asked all the time whether or not the financial coaching market is “saturated”...and I have some pretty eye-opening statistics to share with you – including that 42% of people in the US are struggling financially - that's 138,000,000 people that need a financial coach. 

It’s important to note that financial coaching is still a fairly new profession…and because of that there’s a lot of education that needs to happen so that the people we are called to help can actually find us – and today’s conversation is a great first step.

In today’s episode, we’re going to discuss what a financial coach is…and what a financial coach isn’t. My coaching journey began more than a decade ago with me working from my dining room table. What was once a little business of mine has grown into a 7-figure company that employs more than a half dozen people as of today. 

While this has been my journey as a financial coach, it doesn’t have to be yours. Whether you’re just dipping your toes into the financial coaching world, or you’ve been coaching for a while, we’re going to dive into financial coaching’s mix of both technical financial and emotional behavioral support as you work with your client to improve their financial situation. 

Welcome to the Financial Coach Academy Podcast - a podcast for aspiring and experienced financial coaches by Kelsa Dickey, a pioneer  in the financial coaching profession and CEO of the Financial Coach Academy. Join Kelsa for this in-depth podcast about all things financial coaching. She’ll tackle the most frequently asked questions about how to become a financial coach and run a successful business. And she’ll show you why financial coaching is the most rewarding way to make a living.

 If you are an aspiring financial coach or have been coaching for years, Kelsa’s here to help you create a business you love that gets your clients massive results. 

The Financial Coach Academy podcast is launching in mid November on Apple podcasts, I Heart Radio, Spotify and where ever else you get your podcasts. Subscribe today and get ready to fall in love with financial coaching.