How To Become A Financial Advisor To Start Your Own Business

Becoming a financial advisor can be an extremely lucrative profession to enter into as a young entrepreneur. Once you have become a certified financial advisor, you can start your own financial advisement firm to start your self-employed career. Of course, there are some steps you need to proceed through in order to become a financial advisor. There is no way to sidestep the expected. Then, you will finally be prepared to start your own financial business. If you are an entrepreneur with an interest in financial services, keep reading below to learn how to become a financial advisor to start your own business in the future.

Get A Degree

First, you must pursue a degree in finance. You cannot be a financial advisor without a degree. Consumers will not trust anyone without some type of advanced education. Entrepreneurs can choose to major in a number of different areas. The best degree to pursue is a degree in business with a finance concentration. However, you can also choose to pursue an accounting degree, a degree in economics, or today you can even find online finance degree programs. These college majors are the best for financial advisors to obtain. Regardless of which one you decide is best for your higher education pursuits, make sure you obtain your degree. This is the first step to becoming a financial advisor.

Become An Intern

Next, you will need to get accepted to an internship program at a financial firm. You will need to have internship experience in order to get certified as a financial advisor. You can search for these internships during your time in college. After graduating with your finance degree, you can still use the career services office at your alma mater to find you internships to apply for. Complete an internship program at a financial services firm. They are always doing some sort of finance recruiting at nearby colleges. Then, you will have the necessary experience to proceed to the next step of becoming a financial advisor and starting your own financial advising firm.

Complete A Certification Program

In order to become a certified financial advisor, you will need to complete a certification preparation program approved by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. There are many different types of certified financial planner, or CFP prep programs that are accepted by the certifying body. In fact, your college education may have been a CFP program. Do more research to determine your own personal situation. Just be sure to attend a CFP certification program before you sit for the CFP exam. Then, you will be as prepared as possible for the challenging certified financial planner exam to finally start entrepreneuring in finance.

Sign Up For Training

When you have your certification, you can become a financial advisor by signing on with a training program. This gives you the chance to work with a large investment firm. In a formal training program, you work with senior experienced financial professionals. While some financial advisor training programs are more competitive, acceptance could help you prep for the the exams and create new opportunities in this industry.

Pass The Exam

You need to pass an exam to become a certified financial planner. There are a number of different certification tests that you can elect to take to become a financial planner. If you want to be able to sell packaged securities, you will need to pass the Series 6. If you want to become a certified financial planner, or CFP, you need to take the CFP exam in particular. Be sure to study hard to prepare for your financial certification exam. They are some of the hardest certification exams in the country. Once you pass your financial planning exam, you are finally one step closer to becoming a certified financial planner. All that is left to do is wait to make sure you pass your exam and then apply for CFP certification.

Research State Licensing Requirements

Finally, once you have become a financial planer, you can start our financial advisement business. Different states have different financial advisor licensing requirements. Your licensing requirements may also differ based on how much of your business operations will be based solely on financial advising and planning. Research these financial advisor business licensing requirements in the state you plan to incorporate your business in. Then, make sure you complete all the different paperwork and meet all the different guidelines to apply for SEC licensing for your financial planning business. Once you do, you will be legally certified and licensed to offer financial advisor services to consumers in your state. Finally, you will be able to start earning a self-employed income from your financial advisor business.

If you want to start a financial advisor business, you first need to become a certified financial planner. In order to become a certified financial planner, you need to follow the steps detailed above. This is the easiest way to learn how to become a financial advisor. Then, you can bootstrap to start a financial advisor firm on your own. Your financial advising business is sure to help you earn quite a nice living for yourself as a self-employed professional. You definitely will not regret all the effort you put into getting your degree and getting certified as a financial advisor. Good luck!