Becoming a paraplanner can be a little bit confusing. There’s a lot you have to figure out as you go, but you don’t have to do it alone. Below are all the training, tools, and resources I’ve used to build my paraplanning business.
Note: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links” and I earn a little bit of money or get a store credit if you purchase a product or service I recommend. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Training
There’s many places you can get additional training, but these are the ones I’ve used and recommend.
Simply Paraplanner
I really loved the Simply Paraplanner portal. I was lucky enough to meet the whole team in person last year as well. Alex and Jen are fantastic people and have built an amazing resource for paraplanners and the advisors looking to hire them.
I really got a lot of value out of all the courses, exposure to software, and virtual meetups. I also ended up connecting with other paraplanners in a mastermind group and made some amazing friends and mentors there too!
The American College of Financial Services
I completed my Certified Financial Planner, CFP® and Chartered Financial Consultant, ChFC® coursework at The American College. I was able to get a military and veteran scholarship which covered 100% of my tuition. I felt the material was challenging and very educational.
FPA Externship
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) Externship was a really great program! I completed the first Externship in 2020. It’s worth 160 experience hours toward the CFP® and ChFC® designations.
The program runs for 8 weeks and runs through all areas of the financial planning process presented by a different planner each week. I got a ton of value out of the program. If you’re a career changer like me or just testing the waters, you’ll get exposure to a lot of great planners and perspectives.
Software
I use a variety of financial planning software, but here I’ll focus on everything I use for my own business. These are all what I currently use and may change over time.
Quick Books Self Employed
I used Quick Books Self Employed (use this link to get 75% off your first 3 months) to send invoices, accept payments, and track my hours. It’s very affordable and works really well.
The time tracker (beta version) isn’t the greatest because you have to log back in every hour. I usually work in 90 minute time blocks, so having to log in all the time gets a little annoying. There is an app for your phone, but I haven’t really used it.
I invoice my clients and they pay me through the builtin bill pay feature. You do have to pay a processing fee if they use a credit card, but that’s not a major deal.
Toggl Track
I use Toggl Track to keep track of all of my hours. It was suggested to me by the folks at Simply Paraplanner and I’ve been using it ever since. I have also been using the Quick Books Self Employed time tracker, but it’s not that reliable and I don’t trust it fully. Toggl Track works really well and also links with the app on your phone too.
NordVPN Virtual Private Network (VPN)
I use NordVPN for my VPN services. It’s affordable, works really well, and is highly rated. If you’re not sure if you need a VPN, I feel the default is yes.
Small businesses are big targets for cyber threats. The VPN encrypts your data that passes from your computer to wherever you’re accessing on the internet. I feel this is really important because of all the cloud-based software we have to use for financial planning.
They’ve also started offering NordPass which is a password manager. You can save all your passwords using it and even generate unique and strong passwords. It saves me a lot of time. I highly recommend using a password manager.
Microsoft 365
Not much to say here, Microsoft Office products are the industry standard. I use Outlook, Word, Excel, and OneDrive the most. With Microsoft 365, you get access to all the Microsoft apps you’ll need.
Bluehost Website Hosting
I use Bluehost to purchase my domain names and to host my website. It’s pretty affordable and works well. Also, I’ve called the customer service before and they were actually really helpful. I used WordPress to build all my websites.
Canva
I use Canva for all the images and logos on my pages. I pay for the pro version and it’s well worth the cost for everything I do. However, keep in mind, I do a lot of content writing, so I use Canva to create images for that work too. There is a free version, but you’re a little limited on what you can do.
Hardware
I don’t have a super complicated set up, but it works really well. I pretty much have a laptop, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Here’s my current set up:
Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360
Samsung 32″ Curved Screen Monitor
You don’t need a ton of fancy equipment or a super expensive computer. I waited for Samsung week and got $500 off when I bought my laptop. It’s been a really great computer so far.
Favorite Books
I read – a lot. Probably too much. Regardless, these are the most relevant books to my work as a paraplanner. These are in no particular order, but they are the books I wish I’d read BEFORE I’d started my business.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
This book is one I recommend every human being read. It’s timeless wisdom for being successful in any facet of your life: business or personal. I reread it about once a year to do a “bring back the basics” reset. There’s so many great nuggets in this book that have made a huge difference in how I live my life. If nothing else, just the idea of beginning with the end in mind and thinking about your purpose for your business is really helpful.
Profit First
I’ve mostly been doing this for the entirety of my business without calling it profit first. I went a few years before I actually set up 5 separate accounts. I use RelayFI as my bank account and it automatically moves the money each month. You can literally implement the Profit First systems in a few clicks and a few minutes. I wish I’d started using this from the very beginning.
The E-Myth Revisited
This book is especially helpful for thinking about what services you offer and building an actual business – not just an idea. It helps you think through how you structure your activities and systematize everything. I’ve gone back and started implementing the ideas in this book, but it’s a lot more work to go back and build things. It would have been easier to build this from the start.
Building a Story Brand
This book is very helpful to me in my content writing. Basically, they teach you to speak in your customer’s language so they understand how you are going to help them. I haven’t totally rewritten everything on my website after reading the book, but I’ve definitely changed the writing I get paid for as well as my blog posts.
Other Helpful Businesses and Products
There are many other products and services I use. I’ve tried out so many things, but only a few would I recommend.
Business Banking – RelayFI
I’ve been using RelayFI for about a year now. They have been awesome to work with! You can set up all your business banking accounts to implement Profit First in just a few clicks. The automatic transfer rules make it super easy to set everything up. This makes it super easy to keep from overspending in the business and helps you build a habit of sending actual “paychecks” to the house each month. This has been really helpful for me.
Promotional Products
I really like having different promotional products to give to people to support my businesses and projects. Who doesn’t like free stuff? I have tried several different places.
Stickers – Sticker Mule
The best place for stickers I’ve found so far is Sticker Mule. They also recently added a referral program, so if you use my code, you’ll get a $10 credit for your first order (I’ll get a credit too). I’ve had these stickers on my water bottles and coffee cups I use daily and they hold up really well (haven’t tried them in the dishwasher though). I’ve tried their t-shirts, but they’re not great. Their hot sauce is actually pretty good though. Either way, if you want stickers, they’re the way to go.
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