A little (or a lot) of background:
Before I was a financial coach, I was a graphic designer. I was going to school, and dreamt of being a concept artist and character designer for video games (nerdy, I know). Over time, I came to love other parts of graphic design like logos, websites, and packaging design. I felt like I would be happy doing all those things, but to be honest, I didn’t felt completely content.
I remember sitting in my graphic design seminar class (which is basically where professionals come in and talk about their careers), and one of the speakers talked about his trip to South America. As part of a work project, he was able to go over and help those who were less fortunate.
I felt a fire inside of me. That’s what I really wanted to do! I wanted to be able to help people! I didn’t want to just do branding for companies or design pretty things, I wanted to make a real difference in people’s lives and help them.
But I wasn’t sure how to do it or where to start.
So I kept going along, doing what I was doing before. But I never forgot that feeling.
Fast forward to a couple years later after I had transferred to a new school (which is a whole other story), and I couldn’t get in the graphic design program. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to or wasn’t good enough, it was because of the way the program was structured. It was virtually impossible to get in for any student, especially transfers.
I was so ready to be done with school. I had already been in school for three years, I had a husband now, and felt like life needed to move on. It was basically like I was starting over at this new school if I wanted to pursue graphic design. The program was severely backlogged and I couldn’t wait another five years with only the hope of getting in. I was incredibly frustrated, and confused. I felt like my whole life leading up to this was a waste. I wanted to be a graphic designer since I was fourteen, and now I felt like I had nothing to show for it.
But all this was a blessing in disguise.
I decided to switch my major to a more general one so I could get through school quicker. This actually gave me a lot more freedom to choose different classes. I took psychology classes because I’ve always loved that, and ended up taking a finance class out of curiosity as well. I wanted to better my personal financial situation, and wanted to know more about it.
As I went through this class, I thought of all the people in my life that would benefit from what I was learning. I realized a lot of people were having problems with finances, and didn’t have the great resources I learned in my finance and psychology classes. I thought about how much it would help them in their lives, and the prospect of helping my friends and family got me really excited.
I started looking at jobs that revolved around this idea: helping people overcome their money barriers and live a less stressful life. I looked into financial advising and other financial jobs (which weren’t quite what I wanted), and eventually after a lot of time came across financial coaching. This was what I had been looking for!
I would be able to help people in a meaningful way like I always wanted, all while combining a lot of my talents and skills. I would be able to use the skills I learned in psychology to overcome bad habits and change mindsets, use my technical financial knowledge, and even use my graphic design (I figure if you have to look at something as boring as numbers, it might as well be pretty :)).
After that epiphany, I started working with clients and loved it! At one point, a fellow financial coach asked a community of coaches if anyone knew how to make spreadsheets. I had made a lot of personal material and had really taken an interest in it. I showed him what I had, and he asked me if he could hire me to make him one! I was so thrilled, and began work immediately.
As I worked with this client, I got more and more excited. What if I could spread these tools to other coaches as well? What if I could touch even more lives by creating a ripple effect of coaches using my material, who in turn use it to help their clients? I also realized it involved even more of my talents, as it uses a lot of graphic design. My schooling and all my practice was not for nothing!
And I realized, it was the perfect fit.
Now, I am so passionate about helping coaches get the proper tools to run their business. Not only because I'm nerdy and like making spreadsheets and care way too much about font choice, but because I remember what it was like to feel overwhelmed because there was no where to turn for these kinds of things. Sure there are a lot of resources out there, but they're either not geared towards financial coaches, they have bad design and poor user interface, or they don't have the quality I am looking for. And it's a lot to create all these tools from scratch!
I know you because I was you.
So I hope if nothing else, you can find things from this site and other outlets that resonates with you and simplifies your life. Starting a business is a big undertaking, and I hope to aid you in this journey!