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 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 bill pay feature built in. 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 has always been 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 similar to services like LastPass. 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 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, so you can do a lot with that still.
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.
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.
Never Split the Difference
There’s a ton of great stories that teach you how to negotiate with people. I already did things somewhat similar to how he negotiates prices, but there’s a whole lot more in here you can apply to life and business.
Profit First
I’ve mostly been doing this for the entirety of my business without calling it profit first. I haven’t actually set up 5 separate accounts, but I track everything based on the percentages like he says. I know several people who use this system. It’s a good read even if you don’t fully implement the system.
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.
Note: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.