This is Part 2 of 2 on my Business Model Changes, prompted by a reader email. You can read Part 1 here.

Reader Jason asked me back in November if I could explain my business model as he was interested in starting a similar service. After a number of months of business changes I'm happy to reply now that my details are more static.

• Q: How did you get started?
  
  Beyond the information here there's not that much more to tell. I have always been interested in this field so I read a lot and took the formal study that I needed.
• Q: How do you find clients?
  
  Being exposed to clients already through my success and leadership training work I was able to convert a number of them into financial planning clients. On top of that I talk about money all the time and I offer my help whenever I can. Word of mouth marketing works when you provide good service. Since this is a part time venture I rarely am at a loss for ways to fill my time. I think people are drawn to you when you show that you love a topic, especially when they know they don't and you can help them.
• Q: How do you advertise?
  
  I don't, just through word of mouth. All my clients come from other clients. I hand out a lot of business cards as well. Basically everyone I meet knows I offer this service. I talk about money with people on their terms and they trust me to help them. I think it's really about getting people to talk about their dreams then turning that into a money discussion to get them there.
• Q: What do you charge?
  
  More of my work is done for free than I'd like to admit. At the end of the day I like to help people and many of them don't have the money to pay me. However, in the best case I charge an hourly rate depending on what I think the client can afford. That varies from $20/hour up to $100/hour. Sometimes I show the client what I did and ask them to price it according to what it's worth to them. I am occasionally disappointed but not often. Most times people value it appropriately.
• Q: How do you operate? In an office, out of home, Starbucks & laptop?
  
  I have a home office and I also work out of my day job's office on off hours. Since I'm juggling so many things I have to be mobile. It's not a good idea to work on financial data at a Starbucks (or any other public wifi) because it's not secure. I highly discourage this. If you are on a wireless network make sure it's secure. I do keep client data online on my private accounts but it's all encrypted.
• Q: Anything else about your story to share?
  
  I think if you want to get into this profession it should be for one reason only - because you like to help people and you want them to reach their dreams. Tell someone you want them to reach their dreams and you can help it happen and most of the time they listen. It's about trust above all else. I may not end up being a real CFP since I'm not taking the exam, but I do look to their code of ethics for guidance.

Bottom line for me is that I like to do this stuff for myself and I have a service I can offer others as a result of that. I work hard for my money and I want my money to work hard for me. To the degree that I can help others get there too I enjoy the work.

Hope that helps! Thanks for jazzy me up to write this, even if it took a few months.mortgage calculator