What Does Financial Coaching Actually Look Like?
When I tell folks that I’m a Financial Coach one of two things usually happen:
1 - They respond with something along the lines of, “oh my goodness, I desperately need one of those!” followed with a nervous laugh and (sometimes) a quick excuse to get away from me.
Or
2 - They look at me dumbfounded and then ask what the heck that actually means (fair).
Since I don’t get to see you in person and respond to your confused looks (or politely let you run away from me), I thought I’d take a break from the regularly scheduled programming here and just spell out step by step what it is I do and what it looks like from a client perspective.
Step 1 = Client Intake/Discovery
THE GOAL of this step is for me to better understand your financial goals, concerns, and situation. I’ll ask a bunch of questions so that I know if I’m a good fit for you (or, if I’m not, I’ll open my mental rolodex to figure out who to refer you to). You’ll get a chance to ask me questions too! The coaching process is relationship based, so it is important that we BOTH feel good about the decision to move forward.
WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE →
A free 20 minute consultation call (book here!) where we chat through what you’re looking for and I answer questions about my work.
Or
You fill out the Client Inquiry doc (email me at caroline@verdiadvising.com for a copy of the form) and I respond via email with follow up questions and answer any questions you have. I sometimes respond via Loom video so you can see and hear me!
After the call/email session I follow up with a proposal that includes:
An outline of your coaching goals
Proposal for coaching series (i.e. # of hourly sessions or recommendation for Sprint Days) and pricing (did you know my pricing is all public? You can check it out here)
A link to schedule your first session
If you decide to move forward with the plan (i.e. you book a session) then you move to step 2!
Step 2 = The Pre-Work
THE GOAL of this step is to make sure you are super prepared for our first session! That way we can hit the ground running.
WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE →
I will send over a Client Service Agreement for you to sign
I will share pre-work in our joint Coaching Notes doc and via email. This doc will act as our hub for all of the work we do together. It includes the proposal, pre-work, all coaching session notes, and links to toolkits/spreadsheets/videos we use during coaching.
Pre-work usually includes:
Answering a few questions about how you feel about specific financial goals or questions (i.e. what do you want your relationship to debt to look/feel like in 5 years? What does financial success mean to you?). These answers help me understand your financial values and idiosyncrasies and make me a better coach.
Filling out a spreadsheet with some financial facts (note: I don’t always have folks do this as pre-work since, for some people, it can be overwhelming to do before the first session)
Step 3 = The Work-work!
THE GOAL of our work is to reach your coaching goals!
WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE →
If you are doing hourly coaching sessions we will schedule these out in advance. They are usually once a month or once every other week, but that cadence is based on your personality and goals. Most people work with me for ~ 12 hourly sessions and then do quarterly or bi-annual check-ins for a while after we wrap.
If you are doing Sprint Days those intensive chunks of time are also scheduled ahead of time. They are 3 hour intensives and most folks do 2-4 blocks (i.e. 6-12 hours), depending on the complexity and scale or your goals.
For either Sprint Days or Hourly Coaching sessions, the actual time together is very similar. I have our coaching notes doc prepped with the agenda, links to custom made spreadsheets and tools and the plan of action for the session. Most sessions focus on one or two of your coaching goals (i.e. “Revenue Plan & Debt Elimination” or “Business Runway and Emergency Saving”). We work through the plan together with me asking lots of questions, running different financial scenarios and discussing pros and cons of next steps. Sometimes we do action steps together (I actually mailed someone’s s-corp filing docs for them the other day!) and sometimes action steps are homework (i.e. we decide which high yield savings account you’ll get during the session, but you actually open it on your own).
I always follow up after sessions with a list of action items, any relevant links (to our coaching notes doc or videos), and reminders about our next sessions.
In between sessions you and I both have homework to complete (i.e. opening accounts, answering questions, moving money). I also reach out to check in on your progress, answer any questions you may have, and give you encouragement on next steps.
Step 4 = The Maintenance Phase (also my fav Podcast)
THE GOAL of this phase is to make sure you maintain new habits, have all on-going questions answered, and help you navigate new financial situations with ease.
WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE →
Most folks schedule quarterly or bi-annual check-ins after they complete their original coaching series. The sessions look largely like normal hourly coaching sessions. We work through ongoing challenges, answer new financial questions, and help you complete long-term goals.
Whew. That’s a lot! If you’d like to learn more, schedule a call with me or email me at caroline@verdiadvising.com. If you’re not interested - no worries! It is definitely not for everyone.
As always, I’m rooting for you.
XOXO,
P.S. This is how a recent Sprint Day client described our time together:
“What you helped me do is take the stuff that is a chronic level of stress that I’m thinking about everyday, but not doing anything about and saying, ‘We’re going to take that chronic stress away. It is not going to be on your mind everyday, it doesn’t need to be on your mind everyday. The time you need to think about it is during this three hour block. During that time we will address those worries. I will help you with a plan and I will set up the plan with you. I’ll hold your hand for as much or as little as you want’”
Sounds dreamy, right? 💁♀️