Military to Financial Planner Podcast

Michelle Petrowski joins us on the podcast to share about her journey as a career changer into financial planning, her work as a CFP and CDFA in the divorce space, the opportunities she had to help military families along the way, and what her firm is like now working with empowering women with both financial planning and life coaching. What I loved here is how transparent Michelle was about the personal experiences that mirrored the professional, how she had to restart so much of her life and career on several occasions, and the ways in which the power of networking and relationship-building repeatedly opened up doors for her. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellebuonincontricfp/

Financial planning represents a classic kind of knowledge profession. As such, there is almost an infinite amount of information out there that you can continue to learn and grow to become better at your craft. Being constantly curious is a key skillset to succeed in this profession.

I get asked frequently what are some of my favorite resources that I personally use in this field so I wanted to put together a list of podcasts to help give you ideas of other shows to listen to. This will probably be more than you can handle or have time to digest all at once so you can consider picking 2 or 3 ideas here to explore further and build out from there.

Listen in this interview as Daniel Yerger shares his career journey from PSYOPS Army life to career changer into financial planning, now owning his own firm, teaching investment planning, and pursuing his PhD. He also recently published a new book on career-changing into financial planning that is a must-read for learning about the nuances, challenges, and opportunities of making the leap.

https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Door-Starting-Financial-Planning-ebook

https://www.mywealthplanners.com/ 

MilMoneyCon is a new conference hosted by Lacey Langford for financial professionals united by military service. Our mission is to bring together service members, veterans, and military spouses to help build and progress their careers, continue their education, and grow their earning power as practicing or rising financial professionals.

https://milmoneycon.com/

Conferences are like going TDY for training--you need to strive for a decent balance between enhancing your skill set and actually getting things done. We’ve all seen those people that are always TDY for different training, and not doing actual work. However, there are some great networking and learning opportunities at conferences if done wisely. In this episode, Forrest and Daniel discuss the benefits they see in conferences as well as cons and costs in your time and money to plan for.

Financial planning and tax preparation are ultimately two separate services that some planners decide to include in their offering while others outsource it or work with the clients’ tax preparers. There are pros and cons to both. In this episode, Forrest and Daniel share ways to think about it and how it might apply to your firm and career journey. The bottom line though is that tax planning is incredibly valuable and important regardless of the tax prep decision. 

Join our private community for listeners: https://tinyurl.com/2dr24bn6

There are many career paths in financial planning but most are two versions of joining an existing firm or starting some version of your own. In this episode, Daniel and Forrest share more about how to think about both options for your career goals. 

Join our private community for listeners: https://tinyurl.com/2dr24bn6

As with many aspects of military life, try to begin with the end in mind. You should be building and iterating a five year plan as you look ahead to a career in financial planning but also as you approach the various aspects of military life in the interim. Part of that is defining “enough” ahead of time so you ultimately build toward the life you want. Being intentional about this evokes the Japanese concept of ikigai, or your reason for being. In this episode Forrest and Daniel share how you can build your five year plan towards the life and career you want!

Join our private community for listeners: https://tinyurl.com/2dr24bn6

Andrea Clark, CFP, joins us this episode to talk about her career journey as a military spouse, earning the AFC and CFP credentials, working as a base financial counselor, and ultimately launching her own financial planning firm. As a longtime military spouse and financial counselor for military families, Andie brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this interview. In this interview she shares her career journey, how being an AFC helped her develop critical soft skills working with clients, what ultimately drove her to launch her own practice, and many of her favorite resources along the way. Andie’s career path shows what might be possible for you too! 

https://thetablefinancialplanning.com/

While this might be a later stage firm topic, begin with the end in mind. True financial planning is always in service of the client and what’s best for them. Sometimes, you will encounter situations where a client wants or needs “X” and for whatever reason, you don’t do “X.”

A mismatch in communication is often the culprit here. Ultimately though, sometimes you need to fire a client. In this episode we share some thoughts on how to go about it.

Good financial planning is a team sport. Don’t go it alone but instead be intentional about building a support network around you! That involves family and your partner as well as friends, colleagues, peers, mentors, and more. In this episode, Forrest and Daniel talk about navigating your professional networks and how to bring all of this together in your own financial planning career.

Join our private community for listeners: https://tinyurl.com/2dr24bn6

True financial planning goes beyond any one topic and holistic advice encompasses all aspects of financial health and wealth. In this episode, we talk about what that kind of planning looks like and how you can work to integrate all aspects in your work. Understand your competency and licenses so you don’t go beyond them. Ultimately, you must also remember that you can’t want your client to do something more than they do.

Join our private community for listeners: https://tinyurl.com/2dr24bn6

Hannah Moore joins us on the podcast to share about FPA Externship, gaining early stage career experience, Amplified Core Planning, her career journey, and so much more! Hannah is a Certified Financial Planner™ and Certified Financial Transitions™ expert. She is the owner of Guiding Wealth, host of the podcast You’re A Financial Planner, Now What, heads up the FPA Externship program, and has also created the new Amplified Planning CORE program.

There are 2 ways for candidates to fulfill the experience requirement for CFP® certification: the 6,000 Hour Standard Pathway or the 4,000 Hour Apprenticeship Pathway. You can earn qualifying experience in a number of ways, from engaging with clients directly to supporting the financial planning process to teaching financial planning-related courses. Daniel and Forrest share their experience and recommendations for you to advance your career experience and how you might be able to accumulate many of these hours before your military separation.

Coaching vs advice? Why is this distinction so important?  In a word--regulation.

Anyone can give financial advice, for free (you get what you pay for).

Once you hold yourself out as a coach, advisor, counselor, or any other position for which you receive compensation, then you need to be mindful of what advice you’re giving, and whether you’re properly licensed. Don’t mess this up as it can get you in hot water.

Understanding health insurance for your own/family situation is great practice for real financial planning -- you can add MASSIVE value to your clients in this area. Even though this is different from Tricare, it’s also not as much of a black box as you might otherwise think once you start to understand how it all works. Even if you are a military retiree who will have Tricare, you should still listen to this episode to learn how to help others/clients.

Startup costs for your own RIA are one of the most frequent questions we’ve gotten from listeners so in this episode we tackle that important question. Funding your startup doesn’t have to be that intimidating so long as you have a good plan to address it. In this episode, listen on as Daniel and Forrest share their valuable lessons learned, their recommendations of considerations to think through, and ways to think about this for your financial planning career!

BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front):  Over the long run, your practice will reflect you.  However, at the beginning, it will be very hard to ‘niche’ your practice because profitability is initially a revenue problem.  Over time, you may have more flexibility to make intentional decisions that will shape your practice.

Main question:  Do you want to be an ER doctor, or a right-hand surgeon?  Most surgeons end up having to do some time doing the things they don’t like, but eventually end up where they want to be.

Listen on as Daniel and Forrest share their valuable lessons learned, what's worked and what didn't, and ways to think about this for your financial planning career!

Sales is the lifeblood starting out in most financial planning careers. For many people, this can feel clunky, forced, or like a used car experience when in fact it should be quite the opposite of that. Focus on a collaborative process and make your fees and process clear.

Listen on as Daniel and Forrest share their valuable lessons learned, what's worked and what didn't, and ways to think about this for your financial planning career!

The military offers a host of education benefits for servicemembers and spouses that can help make the career transition into financial planning easier. Forrest and Daniel share how they used these benefits and walk through lots of the options out there to help you too.

https://www.theamericancollege.edu/military

https://www.afcpe.org/news-and-publications/the-standard/2018-2/educational-scholarship-opportunities-for-active-duty-veterans-and-spouses/

https://www.kitces.com/cfp-scholarships-list/

https://info.xyplanningnetwork.com/cfp-exam-scholarship-program

https://www.cfp.net/get-certified/tools-and-resources/apply-for-a-scholarship

https://www.cfp.net/get-certified/tools-and-resources/apply-for-a-scholarship/third-party-scholarships