How long have you been a Financial Mentor and how did you get to be a Financial Expert?
I suppose you could say I have been a Financial Mentor for over 30 years, as I have advised customers and clients how to mange their money to achieve the outcome they require.
I started in the financial sector working for a bank, being promoted over the years to various positions to complete my career with the bank as a personal lending adviser where I responsible for a lending portfolio of over £2million through overdrafts and loans.
I built long term relationships with customers and worked with them to manage their borrowing requirements. Borrowing could be for few days just to tide them over or for 5 years depending on what the borrowing requirement was. I would assess their capability to make the repayments, what other commitments they had and how well they managed their account generally.
Quite often I would go through their budget with them to improve their financial situation to give them the ability to live within their income as soon as possible. I very rarely had any problems with repayment of the borrowing, as customers knew they could talk with me to find solutions if they experienced a problem. I believe if you support and are willing to help find a solution there will be a positive outcome rather than a bad debt.
I held a SME portfolio for accounts with borrowings of less then £10,000 as well as working with start ups and business owners who wanted to grow their business to the next level.
I decided to take voluntary redundancy when the bank announced all borrowing in the future would be credit scored and any clients with financial problems were to go to a central department to be managed. During the short time I was with the bank after the change over I had to refuse clients I would have normally agreed facilities for, despite their previously good borrowing history because a computer said no! I acknowledge progress has to be made but banking become more about selling rather than customer service.
After the bank I qualified as a financial adviser, meeting existing and potential clients needing life assurance, critical illness and income protection, discussing their mortgage requirement and general investment options. Regretfully due to my divorce I resigned as I couldn’t give my clients 100% commitment. I consider excellent customer service to be an essential part of the service I provide.
Although I wasn’t a financial adviser it didn’t stop me from still being involved in finance as I become an office manager for a recruitment agency supplying temporary and permanent staff. Part of my job was to control the temporary staff payroll, giving advice to the temporary staff about their tax situation and explaining to them what they could do to manage their finances when they were between jobs.
I was involved in setting up best practices between clients, the agency and temporary staff to ensure customer service levels were maintained to a high standard.
My next position involved working for a market research company who run in depth research for banks and financial institutions to ascertain client attitudes and banking needs. I set up interviews with high level executives, organising events for the directors where they would give the research conclusions to the banks through presentations which I would complete using the table of results. I found the research results to be highly informative of people’s attitudes to banks and financial institutions.
Deciding I wanted to be self employed, I set up my own Virtual Assistant business providing freelance support for SME’s from book keeping through to diary management to sales. I often mentored my clients with my previous experience within the bank and as a financial advisor I would ask questions and give scenarios and have discussions to help them to expand the business. One client gave a testimonial stating his business doubled thanks to me being on board not only to help in the business but being there to mentor him.
My defining moment came after talking I realised paralysing fear would prevent financial decisions being made with confidence. Speaking with friends, clients and colleagues it was obvious they did not understand finance, they knew how to earn money, that they had to pay taxes and pay their bills but any financial decision such as moving their mortgage to a fixed rate or investing in a stock and shares ISA caused them to be fearful, some actually experienced physical symptoms such as shaking, cold sweats even feeling sick. Because they were fearful they would make the wrong decision.
One of my virtual clients is actually unable to retain information about tax, PAYE or VAT simply because that part of the business scares him and he simply has a mental block when trying to understand what he has to do, over time he has finally come to realise he can let go of his fear and take responsibility of knowing what is going on, but letting his accountant do all the work for him. A win, win scanario, he doesn’t get stressed, his accountant gets the business and the HMRC are happy they are receiving the necessary returns and they are being paid on time. Before appointing an accountant he would have numerous letters and fines for late filing, or failure to complete fillings.
Financial mentoring is about changing the mindset to give the client the freedom to be free of fear, and then to educate and coach to ensure clients have a financial plan in place and keep them on track without making any expensive mistakes which they could do if left to their own devises initially as their knowledge grows itis up to them if they continue with me or go it alone, however, so long as I have appointments available they can always come for a 1-2-1 to discuss their finances.
I decided my legacy was to change the mindset of women to be able to get them past their blocks to making and having money and for them to know how money works and to have a plan to provide peace of mind and financial security.
Who are my clients?
My clients are just like you, working or self employed, with or without children, married, separated or divorced, partnered or single, young, middle aged and even retired. Knowledge and education doesn’t stop when you are retired.
| Accountants | HR Managers | Retail Managers |
| Administration Clerks | Interior Designers | Secretaries |
| Architects | IT Consultants | Solicitors |
| Bankers | Life Coaches | Surveyors |
| Bus/Coach Drivers | Marketing Consultants | Tutors |
| Consultants | Nutritionist | Virtual Assistant |
| Decorators | Office Managers | Wedding Planner |
| Dentists | Office Staff | Will Writers |
| Doctors | Personal Assistants | |
| Estate Agents | Personal Trainers | |
| Electricians | Photographers | |
| Event Planners | Plumbers | |
| Hairdressers | Private Teachers | |
| Holistic Therapists | Reflexologist |
What is the difference between a Financial Adviser and Financial Mentor?
A Financial Adviser will complete a fact find, asking questions about any policies you hold, any borrowings, take details of your income and expenditure, any dependents, etc. and also find out what your attitude to risk is. Armed with the information and having discussed with you what you requirements are whether health insurance, life assurance, or a pension review or maybe investments, even a mortgage, he or she will then provide solutions by recommending produ
As a Financial Mentor I will spend time ascertaining what your beliefs and behaviours are around money. How you deal with money, what thoughts you have when you have to make financial decisions, what do you do when you have money, or not. What you say or do when money is discussed if there is a conflict between you and your other half, such as one spends and the other wants to save.
Unlike a financial adviser I will not review your current financial situation, but I will educate you to know what you need to know and understand the aspects of financial management, to support you I will work with you through a programme of questions and discussions to ascertain what your goals are for now and in the future, I want you to have a clear picture in your mind and a plan in place which will give you the ability to start creating the outcome you desire.
Once you have a clearly defined picture I will then be able to illustrate to you the options you have to be start your plan of action to work towards your financial security and peace of mind. Whist we are working on your goals I will provide the tools to change your thought patterns so you have your plan in place, because you will have a good relationship with money and won’t sabotage your efforts in putting your plan in place.
“Karen has such a wonderful open approach to coaching. Her kind nature is so supportive and she really draws out of you what you need to do and become aware of in order to create the life you want. She has given me some really amazing time management tips which I have found invaluable, I would highly recommend Karen to anyone.” C. Everett www.absolutehomeopathy.co.uk
What type of personalities do you work best with and what is expected of me?
I work best with people who want to be on the right track to achieve financial freedom now or in retirement, who want to become financially savvy, who are committed to improving their financial situation, and will follow through on the recommendations I provide.
From personal experience a lot of people say they want to be financially free, but when it comes to action, they stay exactly where they are and don’t actually do anything different. Therefore I suggest if you are thinking of having a full review you consider what you want from the review, and once you know what you want, ask if you are you prepared to make a decision to go forward with the financial plan you will have at the end of our meeting. If you are not, then this review is not for you, you will be wasting your time. I prefer to work with pple who are committed and willing to take action.
Does Financial Mentoring really work?
As with all financial planning for it to work you have to be committed to starting then going through the programme and then follow through to achieve the results you want. Are you prepared to?
- Answer the questions – some of the questions I ask will be challenging and you may find you become defensive, simply because I will be making you look at you – the person, and how you behave and think about money you may even find you are challenged emotionally – all for good reason, unless you have a good relationship with money, you may struggle to succeed in putting in place and achieving your financial plan.
- Give your time – we all need more time in our day, committing to a financial review requires your time, are you willing to give the time it takes to go through everything or not, just remember unless you give the time nothing is going to change, and unfortunately having the time on the day you retire is too late!
- Commitment – it is no good spending the time and effort to then fail to follow the suggestions and recommendations – are you willing to do so?
- Continuing to educate and keep to the plan – for the plan to work, you have to continue your own education and to keep working at your plan – are you willing to?
If you have answered yes to the above then yes, financial mentoring works. I will give you a guarantee to refund my coaching and mentoring charges in full in you take the actions I recommend and fail to see improvements in your finances within 6 months of working with me.
What results can I expect?
Each person is individual and therefore the results will be dependent upon your commitment and need to make changes to your financial situation, whether you are in business or a job. Unless you are prepared to work hard and take action, coaching and mentoring are not for you.
A successful coaching and mentoring client was Jane, a single self employed woman who wanted to reduce her outgoings so she could start contributing to her retirement. By going through the programme, it become obvious she had a tendency to spend money when she felt lonely or upset. We worked at changing how she dealt with her emotional reaction to her loneliness and why she would feel upset. Once she knew why she was spending so much she was then able to implement changes in her budget sufficiently to be able to contribute a £100 per month towards her pension.
Jane is now spending her time growing her business so she can achieve her dream of travelling when she retires and the only way she can do that is to ensure she is financially independent when she retires.
What do you want to achieve with your financial coaching and mentoring, do you need to reduce your expenditure, clear your debts, save money? Maybe you are aware there are ways you can protect your family or save for your retirement or fund the children’s university fees but don’t understand how every thing works, or are just too scared to investigate further because everything financial is so confusing. Coaching and mentoring will allow you to understand what policies are relevant to you, or what you should be doing about you retirement funds, you will be confident to make financial decisions because you will be financially savvy and have peace of mind because you know what you need to do.
Note: Be aware the value of your investment can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the amount you invested.
How long can coaching/mentoring be for?
Coaching and Mentoring is for you if you want to create a financially successful lifestyle, where you are making sound financial decisions to increase your income, grow your investments and give you and your family financial security. The programmes are designed to give you the mindest and knowledge to implement the changes over 9 sessions dependent on how quickly you want to achive your financial goals. I will coach and mentor you to ensure you make the right financial decisons for you, to save you making expensive mistakes as you start on this stage of your life.
“I have known Karen for some considerable time as a 1230 The Women’s Company Member. Her manner is sensitive, discreet and professional, and it is a pleasure to know Karen” Jackie Groundsell 1230 The Women’s Company.
