I never thought someone like me could be a financial planner!

Thinking about a career in financial planning?

In this episode of Financial Planner Life, Miriam Murphy joins Sam Oakes to share her powerful career switch story, from Executive Assistant to qualified financial planner, with support from the St. James’s Place Academy.

Miriam opens up about her early money mindset, paying off debt, buying a home, and how mentorship from Rob Gardner helped her see the potential she hadn’t yet recognised in herself. If you're considering becoming a financial planner or making a career change, this is the episode for you.

We cover:

• How the St. James’s Place Academy supports career changers
• The emotional journey from debt to financial freedom
• Why executive assistants make brilliant financial planners
• The power of mentorship in shaping your career
• How financial planning changed Miriam’s life
• Building a business with purpose and empathy
• The mindset shifts that make you better with money
• Creating a niche offering as an Executive Financial Assistant (EFA)

👉 Interested in finding out more about the St. James’s Place Academy?
Click here: https://www.sjp.co.uk/academy

Be sure to follow Financial Planner life on YouTube for extra content about career development within Financial Planning.

Reach out to Sam@financialplannerlife.com in regards to sponsorship, partnerships, videography or podcast production.

Want to appear on the Financial Planner Life podcast? drop Sam a message.

Chapters

• 0:00 Miriam's Journey from EA to Financial Planner
• 9:00 Personal Money Story: Debt to Homeownership
• 16:27 The Power in Financial Vulnerability
• 22:12 From Executive Assistant to Financial Advisor
• 33:47 Building a Financial Advisory Business
• 45:40 Vision Boards and Future Plans

Transcript

Miriam : 0:03

Your history, your experience, is exactly why you've got the right skills, miriam. But also you're a hard worker, you like to see people succeed and help them to succeed and, yeah, I just think you'll be great. You're a people's person. He actually worked a plan out with me and I followed it. I followed the plan and it was a ten year plan. I managed to get out of debt and get on the property ladder in four years.

Sam: 0:26

The feeling internally that I had that I was less than was so embarrassing to me that it created some toxicity within me about how I thought about money and a scarcity mindset that I've only just been working on.

Miriam : 0:43

And I like to tell them about my story and show my vulnerability so they know that you know what it's okay. You know it's okay to feel like that. You're taking the noise away from the clients, the financial noise, and you know, let's be honest, there's a lot of financial jargon that people don't really understand and switch off to, so I take that noise away from them. I mean, how can I tell people about what to do with their money when I can't even manage it myself? But actually, if you look at it on the other side, I've been there, I've done that and you know what I've turned it around and I'm here to help you, you know, to make better decisions.

Sam: 1:21

Miriam, thanks so much for joining me today on the Financial Planner Life podcast. How are you?

Miriam : 1:24

I'm very well, thank you, and thank you for having me.

Sam: 1:26

You're very welcome. I always get the privilege of talking to people before they come on the podcast and I often think I wish I pressed record on that, because that's like the story, isn't it? To get to know somebody. I call it the pre-podcast chat and I get to know people really quite well and I really enjoy talking to you. I quite well and I really enjoyed talking to you. I think we talked for about an hour, didn't we?

Sam: 1:44

we did yeah your career and about your, your life and our relationships as well with money, our personal relationships with money and how they've formed over the years yeah and how, in your case, has also shaped your career, and your lived experience is now being passed on to the clients that you serve, and I personally absolutely love that type of journey. The podcast is about financial planning careers. We have a strong relationship with St James's Place and we today are going to talk about how you got into the financial planning profession, your journey with St James's Place and where it's really taken you, and hopefully any listeners who are thinking about getting stuck into financial planning might consider the same path and the route that you've been on, so ready to share all.

Miriam : 2:28

I am ready.

Sam: 2:29

I love in the fact you're wearing white and I'm wearing black as well. Yeah, yeah see black and white, exactly right. So what were you doing before you joined St James's Place and went on your financial planning career journey? So just before I joined St James's Place and went on your financial planning career journey.

Miriam : 2:45

So just before I joined St James's Place, I was working at a company called Reddington, which is an investment consultancy company. I started there in 2016. I was 34 years old and that was my first introduction into the world of finance. I had never worked in the finance industry before then, never imagined that I'd work in the finance industry, but my role was very much operational. I was an executive assistant to the co-founders, rob Gardner and Dawid Kanoti-Ahulu Both of them completely different personalities but both massively inspirational in their own way. And yeah, so I was there supporting them and I was there for a few years. And then, in 2019, rob joined St James' Place as the Director of Investments and he asked me to join him. So, yeah, I went over. Well, came over with him.

Sam: 3:37

Rob Gardner. Obviously he's quite prominent on LinkedIn, instagram, does a lot around ESG. Tell us what it's like to work with him then.

Miriam : 3:47

Okay, so Rob is extremely inspirational and I love to work with him, but he's definitely the hardest person I've ever worked for, and that is because he's so entrepreneurial, he's got so much, his passion is immense and that's great. It's a great thing, but also, to work with someone like that as an EA is quite tough, because as an EA, you should be a few steps ahead of your senior leader, and it's really hard to be a few steps ahead of Rob. I was running around town in my heels, running after him, you know, and he's walking really quickly to the next meeting, and we had meetings on the tube and things like that, because I had to try and tie him down, um, you know, to get some time with him, um, and he also brings you along the journey with him, so he actually really respects your opinion, which is great. You know, he wouldn't just say to me to do this. Um, he would expect me to tell him what to do and looking, looking after him.

Miriam : 4:43

It was more about me managing his life than him treating me as an assistant to do what he wanted me to do. So it was great. It definitely took me out of my comfort zone. There was laughter, there was tears. But do you know what? I believe that that's why I'm here today as a financial advisor because of Rob, because of him being so inspirational and seeing something in me that I may have not necessarily seen in myself.

Sam: 5:07

What was that?

Miriam : 5:08

Well, he said to me he was the one that suggested to me that. You know, why don't you consider becoming a financial planner? And you know I almost laughed and was like, well, why would I do that? You know, you know my history and I'll go into that with you shortly. But you know my history, rob. Like what makes you think that I've got the right skills? And he said your history, your experience, is exactly why you've got the right skills, miriam. But also you're a hard worker. You, you know you like to see people succeed and help them to succeed. And yeah, I just think you'll be great. You're a people's person. I think you'll be great.

Miriam : 5:48

And I thought, oh, okay, well, I never really thought about it like that, but you know what, if Rob believes in me, then I'm going to see where it goes. And I did my exams, passed them all, loved it. And here I am today, and it is because of Rob I am today and it is because of Rob. You know I am here today because of him. You know, not living, but my career.

Sam: 6:08

He hasn't saved my life. He saved my career. Yeah, but sometimes it takes to work with somebody who sees your true colours and will inspire you and mentor you and push you to be the best version of yourself, but also to help push past those beliefs that you've built about yourself that you can't do something. Yeah, why did you feel that, when you sat down with rob and rob said you should be a financial planner, that you felt like you shouldn't be a financial planner? Why was that?

Miriam : 6:42

so I think, being an executive assistant, there's a lot of um judgment sometimes around oh, you're just an assistant, you're helping the professional succeed and you kind of internalize that. But I have massive respect for anyone that's an executive assistant, especially someone that you know works in the way that I did is in they're telling their leader what to do, as opposed to the other way around, because it's tough. It's the toughest job I've ever done in my life. Um, and I think when he said to me about being a financial advisor, to me that's a profession, you know I, you know I support people, I, I help people. But you know, am I that person that's good, that's gonna, you know, be that professional?

Miriam : 7:24

Um, but actually, yeah, do you know what my I, that person that's going to you know be that professional? But actually, yeah, do you know what my clients are now my bosses? My clients are the people that I now support? So actually I feel like, you know, I have absolutely got the right ingredients, or did have the right ingredients, and that's why I'm here today. But I think that internal dialogue about you know, I'm just an executive assistant just held me back a little bit maybe yeah and it made me lack a little bit of self-belief.

Miriam : 7:48

Um, but I actually think actually my executive assistant journey has made me the financial advisor that I'm. I am today and I'm aspiring to become as well, you know, because I'm quite early in the journey so mainly focusing around investments.

Sam: 8:03

Then, when you were working with Rob yeah, personally, what was your relationship like with money? Were you good at managing your own finances? Did you use a financial planner before you actually became one?

Miriam : 8:17

Yeah. So, going back to Reddington, when I first met Rob, he takes all of his new joiners out for breakfast, which is really lovely. So we went out for breakfast and I even remember where we went. We went to Paul's on Old Broad Street, which is around the corner from here, and I even remember what I ate. So it was back in 2016, but it was a cheese and ham croissant with a skinny vanilla latte, and I remember it because it was such a significant moment, you know, for me because it was a moment of change.

Miriam : 8:43

And then we were talking and about you know telling me, telling him about myself, and he was telling me about himself. And we got on the conversation of you know, what do I do, what do I like doing, etc. And at the time I was renting my flat with a friend and I like to go out every weekend and, you know, live the party style life and go shopping and just, you know, live for the moment. And when I told Rob, you know, that I was renting, he looked a little bit puzzled because he probably thought, hang on a minute, you are in your 30s, you know, you probably just expected that I would have a mortgage, um, and he said Miriam, can I just, can I just ask you why? Why are you renting? Why haven't you got on the property ladder? And I said to him to be honest with you, it's really hard to get on the property ladder. Um, you have to save up a lot for your deposit and I haven't got the money to do that. Um, I've also got quite a bad credit file because I got myself in a little bit of trouble in the past with credit cards and store cards. Um, you know, my want for instant gratification sort of made, you know, completely, I guess, ruined my credit credit file in that. In that respect, um, and yeah, I just, like you know, I'm 34 now it's not going to happen. But you know what? I'm happy renting, it's fine, it doesn't matter, you know, I just get by.

Miriam : 9:59

And he said but Miriam, you can, you can change that. What? What makes you think you can't? And he said then he gave me some strategies of what I could do. And you know he actually worked a plan out with me of what I could do to actually get myself out of debt and get myself on the property ladder. And I followed it. I followed the plan and it was a 10 year plan we were actually going to. We were actually going to call it 10 Years Wealthier because it was going to be a blog. And do you remember 10 Years Younger the TV programme?

Miriam : 10:27

Yes, yes yes, it was like that. So it was 10 Years Wealthier, it was called, and we were going to do a blog on it and do it, record it every so often and just see how it went. And I managed to get out of debt and get on the property ladder in four years. So that was him that. And get on the property ladder in four years so that was him. That was him coaching me, and I never would have listened to anyone before.

Miriam : 10:49

I think the fact that he sort of challenged me that morning I felt a little bit embarrassed, not because he was trying to make me feel embarrassed, on the contrary, but it just made me realise actually, what the hell are you doing? You know what are you doing? You're just like living day by day, day. You're not really thinking about the future, um. So, yeah, I changed, I turned things around and I think, because of my past and because of the things, the choices I've made in the past, the questionable choices, um, I had a little bit of a?

Miriam : 11:18

Um, a mindset that you know I'm no good of money. You know who's going to want to listen to me. How can I tell people about what to do with their money when I can't even manage it myself. But actually, if you look at it on the other side, I've been there, I've done that and do you know what I've turned it around, and I guess that is a great story to have. And I'm so passionate about helping people because I know what it's like like to make the wrong decisions and to not think about the future how many people get themselves into debt, spend too much on their credit cards, chasing what we would consider to be instant gratification?

Sam: 11:52

that could be a nice new dress, it could be meals out with your friends, it could be absolutely anything. I think you're not the first and you won't be the last to do that, and there's plenty of people that are in their thirties. And that's your money story, isn't it? That's your story.

Sam: 12:05

It is relatable, and actually it's way more relatable than you think. But how many people carry that mindset that they can't then progress on in their, say, financial security or financial plans purely on the basis that they feel almost ashamed because they got themselves into debt, when we live in a society which is designed to create debt? Yeah, especially nowadays with social media yeah, and we feel guilty about that yeah it's very strange.

Sam: 12:35

It's a very weird concept and I think it's once we start to break that down and understand it and that, okay, it's there, it's accessible just as much as alcohol is, or chocolate or sugar or all these other things that can create comfort in us to have an unhealthy lifestyle or relationship with something that doesn't serve us. It's all there. It's just about understanding it, how it works and what my triggers or my routine or what my triggers are in respect to why I'm spending that money, perhaps as well yeah, and you start to kind of delve a bit deeper, and then the psychology around it becomes quite interesting yeah

Miriam : 13:11

this is what I'm finding yeah, no, I agree, I know that. Um, obviously I've thought about it a lot and I've reflected a lot and growing up we didn't have a lot of money, um, so my mum brought us up on her own. I am, I've got a good relationship with my dad, but my mum's from Belize, which is Central America, and my dad's from England and they got divorced and my mum was over here, so we're in a foreign country to her and she brought us up on her own. There was four of us. So you know we didn't have a lot.

Miriam : 13:40

I used to get hand-me-downs from my sister and when I'd go out with my friends and you know they'll be getting new clothes I'll be having the hand-me-downs and I hated that. I felt almost inferior because my friends were getting all these lovely clothes and, you know, because I guess their parents could afford it um, and I felt almost ashamed. Um, you know, my mum was very resourceful for what she had. She, she was like she, she was very careful with money, but she didn't invest or anything like that. But you know, she saved and made sure that we wanted it for nothing, but we didn't have a lot at the end of the day, and as soon as I started earning, I couldn't wait to spend, you know, and that was the thing I was like wow, I've got.

Miriam : 14:18

I think my first job was I think I used to get about five hundred pounds a month because it was an apprentice Five hundred a month because I was an apprentice. £500 a month To me that was amazing, but I'd spend it all, I would spend it all. And it doesn't matter how much you earn. If you've got that mindset that you're going to spend it all, you're going to find things to buy. You're just going to find more expensive things to buy. And I just got into a little bit of a bad habit of spending, spending, spending. And I do believe a lot of that does stem from when I didn't have much. I mean, I did have the hand-me-downs from my sister and you know almost like well, look at me now. Look, I can afford it, I have got this, I have got that. So it's an insecurity.

Sam: 15:00

You're feeding insecurity, 100%. I did it myself in my own business. I was a business owner for 16 years, working with financial planners for 16 years, right, yeah, but the beliefs I held around money were so almost shameful in my head that I didn't know how to manage my own money. I didn't run the finances of my business and it did create a huge amount of anxiety in me and I used to compare myself to other people right, I had a business that was doing like 1.5 million. I had 20 people working for me, but I was never earning as much as like my friends and I would look and I would compare all the time and I didn't have a home, I didn't buy a house and I had a kid and my wife and I didn't own a property.

Sam: 15:38

Uh, until I was about the same age as you actually probably about I actually know, actually I owned a property when I was 27 and I sold it because I broke up the girl and that was the thing I always felt bad about the fact that I had had it and sold it and then I ended up not getting a property and buying one, actually until my 40s. So I'm 43 now and it was 41 when I ended up buying my family property. So I was renting in Bristol with Kerry-Anne and having my daughter as well and I thought, well, I'll sell the house, live in this rented accommodation and earn some more and then I'll buy a property soon. I ended up staying in this rented accommodation for seven years. I spent the deposit because I had a baby.

Sam: 16:25

And it was like, oh God. And then I felt and I was constantly chasing, constantly chasing I eventually ended up getting my property. But the feeling internally that I had that I was less than was so embarrassing to me that it created some toxicity within me about how I thought about money. Toxicity within me about how I thought about money and a scarcity mindset that I've only just been working on because I have deep insecurity around money. And it's only now that I'm working on it, where I have sat down with somebody who I trust and I've told them how I feel, and I've told them about how I act around money and how I feel I don't have enough of it, and that I've got these plans in my head that I'm going to retire at a certain age, but I don't know how to do it, you know, and the only thing that was driving me was the fact that I need five million quid by the time I'm 55 and then I'll retire.

Sam: 17:18

And I remember sitting down with this person. He's like why do you need that much money? Why do you think you need that? Well, that's obviously what I need. That's that's how I, you know, that's that's how I'm going to get there.

Sam: 17:27

And it was amazing when I sat down with that person and the whole conversation was zero to do with any financial planning. It was all to do with me and my family, my lifestyle, my career, debt, all that kind of stuff, and we looked at absolutely everything at that point and explored how I felt about it and then from that she went away and created a plan and came back and said you know that plan that you want to get that coffee house over in Thailand and to rent your home over in the UK and maybe buy somewhere in Dubai whilst you're there. By the way, it's completely doable and here's how you're going to get there. I was like, oh my god, and the relief that I had and the feeling that I had just from having that open and honest discussion was powerful. Yeah, before you know, even talk about investing money or whatever. Yeah.

Sam: 18:13

That bit was the most powerful bit. Yeah, and it got me thinking about the fact that I wonder how many people just sit in that state of mind, even if they've got money when I've had money, I've still felt the same way or if they don't have money, yeah, and it's a powerful area, and it's that honesty and openness and truth that does set you free to be able to move on past those limiting beliefs that you have about yourself, that we continue on throughout our lives and tell ourselves that yeah and that money habit and that money formation doesn't leave us, does it?

Sam: 18:41

and before you know it, time flies by and perhaps we have wasted time, but it's not as we work it out. At whatever age you're at, what does it matter? Yeah it's just try to work it out before you know. You torture yourself for years, isn't it?

Miriam : 18:55

yeah, it's true. I think you know what you do today is going to have a huge impact on your tomorrow, and when you're young, you don't really think about that. Well, I didn't, anyway. I was like, you know, I'm 18. Why do I want to think about when I'm 40? That's really old, you know. I'm now 42 and I'm like, for God's sake, you know how the hell did that happen? If I was a little bit, I saw things through different eyes at that age and I would be in a different situation now.

Miriam : 19:22

It's not about how much you earn, it's about what you do with it. And it's not about I want £5 million when I retire. It's about, okay, where you are now and where you want to be. Why do you want that? What are you trying to achieve?

Miriam : 19:36

And then you build a roadmap, a financial roadmap to get you there, and you look at all different areas of your life. You know, because you need to consider all areas, you need to take a holistic approach. So you've got your property, you've got your family, you've got your career and you've got your lifestyle, and you need to think about every single one of them separately and work out what you want and when you want it, and then you build your plan around that, because if you're just investing for investment's sake, then you're chasing gains, and chasing gains isn't going to get you anywhere. You might end up getting a lot of you know massive tax bill, for example, you know. So it's about planning carefully and making sure that you're working towards a goal. You know a goal that you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it. Understanding why you want to achieve it. And a financial planner you know, that's what we do. We help you get there I like that careful planning careful planning.

Sam: 20:22

That's a great word. Yeah, I love the fact the analogy there of chasing gains might just get you a massive tax bill, right? Yeah, at a time when you might not really appreciate it exactly, if you haven't planned for that. It's all right to chase gains, but if you're not planning for it, then it could cause some issues and some hiccups. Yeah, if you're not sticking to that plan of action, right yeah, tax efficiency careful planning. I think it's a lovely term, you know like the word care in that. Yeah.

Sam: 20:44

Yeah, I love it. Your personal money story and journey with money. Now that you have become a financial planner, does it give you some feeling of confidence when you walk into a room with a client? Do you feel like you are instead of burying this side of you, do you talk about it, do you use it as a kind of energy for yourself to push forward?

Miriam : 21:08

I do because I think you know, when you meet someone for the first time and you're talking about their money, that's very personal. Some people feel, you know, they don't want to talk about them, they don't want to open up about it. You know, they feel a a little bit anxious about it even, and I like to tell them about my story and show my vulnerability so they know that you know what. It's okay, you know it's okay to feel like that and actually, hey, I've got this past that you know this was me and this is where I am now and I'm here to help you, you know, to make better decisions. It's not something to feel embarrassed about, it's not something to feel worried about, because actually the fact that you're sitting here talking about it now means that we're going to do something about it, and good for you, for actually, you know, letting yourself be vulnerable as well. So I think it does. It gives me that almost that icebreaker, I guess, with clients and I'm just completely honest and open with them about it.

Miriam : 22:02

It has worried me in the past because I think I said to you when we had a call, you know what, if people think, oh, she's irresponsible, but actually, if anything. It shows the other way around, because I've learned a lesson. Life is all about lessons, right, and it's not about what we've done in the past. It's about what we do. You know, what we do about it you know in the future and how we come through them. Lessons, you know, and that's what makes you really good at what you do. So, yeah, I am open about it and I'm going to continue to be open about it.

Sam: 22:29

It's vulnerability. There's power in vulnerability. There's power in authenticity. It builds a deep, meaningful connection.

Sam: 22:34

It releases that oxytocin, that makes you connect deeper with somebody and before you even talk about the actual plan itself, it about getting on the table all your your deepest and darkest secrets isn't it around money and how you feel about it? And make someone feel comfortable and ready to talk to you, yeah, then you can build the plan. Otherwise, if someone's minimizing and hiding something, then it's only going to come out in the wash a bit later on and it might derail them from their plan, right?

Sam: 22:57

yes do you find sometimes that that happens um that people don't always kind of fully put their cards on the table? Oh yeah. Yeah, you know, and then later on down the line, and that's okay, right, because you can readjust things as you go.

Miriam : 23:10

Yeah, because it's about trust, isn't it? You know you have to trust your financial advisor and you're not going to instantly meet someone and trust them. Yes, you're going to instantly meet someone and have a feeling about them, but you can't just trust someone straight away. You know, and that's why you know, you have multiple meetings with people and if someone you know is a little bit reserved, I'm not this sort of person that's going to push, because that's just not me. I like people to decide in their own time. But do you know what?

Sam: 23:44

If you're not ready to me, please do. We'll keep that relationship going. I like that. So James's Place are heavily focused on attracting new talent to the financial planning profession, and not just young people to the financial planning profession, but people that are in careers that may be doing quite well, but perhaps they're feeling a bit stale. They don't feel like they're getting the progress that they're looking for. Maybe the environment's not fulfilling enough for them and meeting their or managing their expectations, and they focus on the switch, and GE Footed does a great podcast called the Switch, where she talks to people who've switched careers.

Sam: 24:15

You went from being an executive assistant, albeit within financial services. That transition from executive assistant to financial planner how was that? And if any executive assistants are now sitting there thinking, well, I might be in a financial planner, your journey sounds really good. Maybe we can talk directly to them about your experience of being an EA and then moving into financial planning and how that transition was supported by St James's Place. So first of all, I guess, like you know, what's the similarities between being an EA and working as a financial planner? Are there any?

Miriam : 24:52

Yes, absolutely. First of all, I started my career as an EA. I was working at university, so I was in education and then I went over to hospitality and then I went to financial services. So I have had experience in these different sectors as well. But, yeah, being an EA and being a financial advisor, there's so many similarities. One, being a financial advisor, is extremely admin heavy. So that experience that admin experience that I've got has become valuable, extremely valuable admin experience that I've got has become valuable, like extremely valuable, although at the same time, I find that I have to.

Miriam : 25:26

I've decided that I'm going to start outsourcing some of the admin, because I used to do that for a living and I can become a bit of a perfectionist and actually I'm not that anymore. I am a financial advisor. But it's about getting to know someone, understanding them and then helping them achieve their goals. Where I helped um sort of senior executives who are very busy, have got so much going on. I help them build a strategy what do you want to achieve? You know where you are now, where do you want to be, and I help them build that and work towards it. So I would take all the noise away from them. Take all the noise away from them, understand what they want to achieve and help them get there. So their objective was my objective.

Miriam : 26:04

I love to see people succeed. That's something that you know gives me great pleasure. I really enjoy helping people and supporting them. So, with an executive, while they are really busy and you know they haven't got time to think about lots of different things I'm there to take that noise away. Rob used to call me his air traffic controller no-transcript. You know how can I help you, and then I just take that away and just work with them to make it happen. So you're helping someone, you're planning someone's life, but instead of their career, you're planning their financial life and also being an executive assistant as well. You not only just help them in their career. Some executive assistants save marriages Because you're looking at everything and, being a financial planner, you're looking at everything. So people are completely open with you and you're there to help them make their as cheesy as it sounds make their dreams come true, and so it's very similar. It's very much a support role and trust is key.

Sam: 27:22

So people open up to EAs.

Miriam : 27:24

Yeah, oh, yes, you have to open up. You don't have to, but if you want to get the best out of an EA, then yes, you should open up to them. I've worked with executives that are quite self-sufficient, which is great, but also not so great, because there's things that I knew I could streamline and they wouldn't want to let go and then they could make decisions that weren't actually great. Or I've worked with other executives that would throw everything at me, you know, and that was good because you know you deal with that, and then I can work out how I, how I can, you know, how I can best implement things.

Miriam : 27:56

Um, and the same thing is with, you know, clients. You get some clients that want to do it themselves and end up, you know, going online and looking at oh God, crypto's doing good, I'm going to put loads of money in that, you know, and you have to kind of bring them back down to earth, and not that, you know, I'm not saying anything bad about crypto, but you know you have to, like, show them different, you have to educate them, I guess, in different ways.

Sam: 28:27

But everything, and because they want you to just deal with it because they haven't got the time, um, so yeah, everyone's different. You've got to treat everyone differently. As an executive assistant is, you know it might. I've never had an executive assistant, I'd love one um, do you take on like personal responsibilities for them as well, so like family responsibilities or personal bills, or managing, helping them manage their personal lives as well? Is that the sort of thing that an EA would actually do? So they're kind of almost on the side of right. I understand the business objectives. I understand that's hugely important to somebody who's a busy executive, right yeah and you've got to help them manage their administration, their days planning.

Sam: 28:58

More often than not, people who are probably on it a lot going and seeing people aren't probably very good at organization yeah, I'm not very good. Do you then also help them on the personal level side as well? So there's kind of like two sides to it. Like an ea, it's not just all business, there's also the personal side of that person's life as well. Does that happen?

Miriam : 29:16

absolutely. I think um, you know that's one of the things about a good good ea you they're related know if your personal life isn't going well, then you're going to bring it to work, and if work's not going great, you're going to bring it home. So you need to think about again. You need to look at it holistically. You need to look at everything, just like financial planning, because you know if you're giving too much to work and you're forgetting about family appointments, for example, that's not great for you. So you're there, taking care of them and making sure that they're doing everything they need to do at the right time and not forgetting things. So you're looking at their blind spots.

Sam: 29:48

You're helping them in all areas when it comes to then you becoming a financial planner, we're going to fast forward a little bit and look at developing business, because that's a big part of being a financial planner and probably the toughest part really is developing business not for some. Some people find it really easy, but a lot of people don't. Right then it's about identifying and finding clients. Have you, have you, lent into that market? Have you looked at executive assistance? Or, I guess, does your background of being in ea open you up to understanding the pain points of those that probably hit the salary bracket or requirements of having an EA? Therefore you know what their pain points are, where they are in their life, where their struggles might well be. Have you used it to your advantage to be able to help you, to rub shoulders with those types of people?

Miriam : 30:37

do you know what? I've only been doing this on my own since the end of October, the beginning of November, so I'm constantly thinking of new ideas and, I guess, my ideal client but yes, and actually it was you that we spoke about it during our call and absolutely I think that's what I want to do. I want to work with senior executives where I'm their finance executive assistant, you know, not just their executive assistant. I'm going to take all the noise away from you with your guys, your finance, leave that with me. I'm going to make sure that everything's you know everything sort of put things in place to make things run smoothly for you or to help things run smoothly.

Miriam : 31:12

And I've actually had a couple of a couple of um former bosses that have reached out to me, one in particular recently that I only actually worked with him for a month and he reached out to me and he said to me that he needed a financial advisor.

Miriam : 31:26

And I'm now his financial advisor, sweet, and I worked with him for one month and the reason it was only a month is because I was working in the hospitality industry and I was waiting for my contract to come through from Edmonton and then my boss at the time left and this guy took over. So we met for that one month period and we became, we got got on really well and I guess it's really nice. He trusted me and during that one month period and then later on he reached out to me and I think things happen for a reason I do. I do believe that you look back and you think actually I was meant to meet him, you know, and he's just signed up with me and he's lovely, he's my ideal client, and then he's got other people that he can then refer me to, and that's how it works. And he knows he can trust me. He knows you know I care and you know I'm hardworking and he knows me, which is great because he can be an advocate for me.

Sam: 32:12

Busy people who get amazing support will only ever refer that person onto somebody else. Yeah.

Sam: 32:20

It's just what you do. Yeah, if I come across somebody who's awesome, saves me time, makes me money, I will pass it onto somebody else. Yeah, always, definitely. I'm always going to refer good quality people onto other people, because I know how painful it is to actually be in a position where you can't manage your own, you can't organize yourself and all that kind of stuff. So executive assistant market. So there's also the ability for you to communicate directly to executive assistants. Right, because you've done the job and you know the pain points of what they're going through. So, whether they themselves would require to have financial planning, or you can create a podcast or marketing where you are the EFA. So, executive financial assistant yeah, so instead of the IFA.

Sam: 33:01

I'm the EFA.

Sam: 33:01

I'm the executive financial assistant. Hi, executive assistant, I'm an efa. Let me tell you what that is. I'm an executive financial assistant. Have you ever come across situations where your person you're working with might need financial advice or might need some financial considerations or whatnot? Here's something that I can do and, if you like, I can come in and talk to you about what I do to help educate you as to when best to use my services. And all of a sudden, you're smashing into an EA market who have, obviously, if you speak to 100 EAs and 100 of those EAs are working with very busy professionals, there's your market right there, but you've also got two layers to it. Yeah.

Sam: 33:35

And you can create a whole brand around that like the UFA brand. Yeah, I kind of love that I don't see anybody hanging their hat on that, and it seems like a a good use of your experience and it seems like, um, there is a market there that's accessible. I think you can create a whole brand around. That's just me getting all crazy.

Miriam : 33:52

I love it. I love your thinking and I can see your eyes going as well, because you're thinking that.

Sam: 33:56

I love that um it's kind of hanging your hands.

Miriam : 33:58

I don't want you to share this because well listen, good ideas are to a penny yeah, yeah, it's the people who execute them yeah, well, I'm going to execute it yeah, I'm going to execute it and then I'm going to say thank you when it, when it happens, oh, wicked.

Sam: 34:10

Yeah, do that. All right, that sounds really good. Fantastic some books on here, because robert um wrote some books, robert gardner, and I recognize this one, the freedom one, ro Gardner, illustrated by Carl Richards, who illustrates for the New Yorker, very popular financial educator and planner in America, and Carl Richards has been on my podcast, oh wow, he's a really top bloke, really really good, and I recognize that anyway, just purely from the front cover yeah so this, you've brought these along for me, which I'm, which I think is really really kind.

Sam: 34:46

So three money moves to transform your finances freedom. So earn it, grow it, keep it rob gardner, grow it yeah which for me right now, by the way, is perfect timing, because not only am I looking at it for myself, but I'm looking to create content that's geared towards clients. So for me, to understand the kind of simplification of complex and Rob's very much like that, isn't he?

Miriam : 35:12

Yes, he is.

Sam: 35:13

Then I'm really, really looking forward to reading this one. So thanks so much. And there's the other one, save your Acorns, which I saw as well, and obviously I've got my nine-year-old daughter over in Dubai with this, with the silly monkeys game, save your acorns and as oaks is, that's very, uh, that's very on point. So thank you for bringing those. This save your acorns one is really good. Do you read?

Miriam : 35:34

you got children yeah, yeah, I do, I've got two. I've got two year old and a four year old and my daughter loves save your acorns yeah yeah, she loves it. My little boy's a little bit too young to understand, but he still brings it over to me to read, you know, yeah, but my daughter loves it.

Sam: 35:50

Do you sort of try to educate your children about money as early as you possibly can?

Miriam : 35:55

Yeah, they've both got pensions. I think you've set one up.

Miriam : 35:57

Yeah, I love it Actually do you know what was so lovely when I was pregnant for Elissa? I mean, rob was telling me all about pensions for kids at the time. I wasn't an advisor at the time and he actually opened one up for her when I had my baby and then when I had Albie he did as well and I've continued paying into it. So I pay £150 a month into each of their pensions and it will compound and by the time they retire retire, they're going to have a lot of money.

Sam: 36:23

That's amazing, isn't it?

Miriam : 36:26

And that in itself is going to educate them, because when they understand what pensions are, I'm going to tell them what I'm doing and why I'm doing it, so hopefully they're going to pass that down to their children as well. I talk to them about money all the time, so, yeah, I think it's important.

Sam: 36:40

You've inspired me actually from this conversation. So when I go back to dubai, it's something that I want to do. I need to sit down with my daughter and explain money, because she's like eight and a half. Maybe it's a little bit too late now, maybe I don't know. They say you're never too late.

Miriam : 36:52

Never too late, oh yeah that's true, never too late.

Sam: 36:54

So I will sit down with her and I will go through it and I love the idea I haven't set up a pension for, but I knew that anyway, I used to work for Aviva and I knew that because we used to do the pension plans there, like the stakeholder pension plans at the time. But yeah, and everyone was doing that and I remember thinking that's a really good idea. I'll do that when I've got a kid. Yeah.

Sam: 37:08

Haven't done it Terrible, isn't it so great. So you've just started to become a financial planner. Then you went through the St James's Place Academy.

Miriam : 37:18

I did. I was already qualified because I did my exams whilst I was working for Rob, yeah, and I went through the academy as a newly qualified advisor. So I did the fast track three month program, which was great. I'm glad that I did my exams before then because I kind of for me. Well, I did my exams whilst I was my. I started them in 2020, the beginning of 2020.

Miriam : 37:49

Then I found out I was pregnant for my daughter, alyssa, and I was working full-time um, so I was like, oh god, like I still did it, though. I did three of the exams and then I took a year out in 2021 because I had a new baby and I had mum guilt. You know I was trying to do continue to do them, but I thought, no, I need to spend time with my daughter. So I took a year out and then, 2022, I picked them up again and then found out I was pregnant for Albie, um, and I thought this time I'm going to complete them. I need to complete them. So I did um all of my exams and then went through the St James's Place um academy.

Miriam : 38:17

In June 22, I joined fantastic, and then I came out of it in September 20. Yeah, sorry, june 2023. And I came out of it in September 2023. And, yeah, it was great. I think there's a lot of soft skills that they teach you which I feel like I personally have. It's a lot of the technical stuff that I needed to learn, and they also teach you that as well.

Sam: 38:40

So, whatever you've learned, you put into practice which was great it was when you go, when you, when you join St James's place. It's really good you actually talked about that because a lot of people go out there and they go and get their qualifications and they think they can be a financial planner and that's actually really difficult and tricky thing to do, right. So you do need those, the skills that you learn, like you say, the soft skills, the technical skills, and that's brilliant that with St James's place, you don't have to start your qualifications with them. You can come in with full qualifications and kind of fast track yourself through it, right. So that's just something that people need to need to understand as well that there is that route there. When you're in, you could either go down the route of joining a partner practice or you can go down the route of starting your own partner practice. What did you do?

Miriam : 39:18

so I was fortunate to be offered um a partner to be a partner because, they take you because they interview you and they either say to you you know, I think you'll be ready to be a partner or I think you should join practice first. They offered me to be a partner but because I've been employed all of my life, it was scary, right. I thought I've never set up my own business. I don't even you know I've got imposter syndrome about being a financial advisor, let alone being a business owner. So I decided that actually I want to join a practice because for me I'd be surrounded by experienced advisors and I could learn off them.

Miriam : 39:54

So actually it's funny because it reminds me of a conversation with Rob um. He was saying to me do it on your own, you can do it, you can do it. I was like no, like look, I look, I'm going to join a practice, this is what I need to do. He was like okay, so I joined the practice and it was good, you know, I learned things. But I also quite quickly realized that maybe I should have gone on my own. And hindsight's a wonderful thing, you know. You know you can look back. Maybe if I did go on my own, maybe I would have thought that I wish I went through a practice first. So you know, going through that practice helped me because I learnt off other advisors. But then I decided that I did want to go on my own, so I set up on my own in the end of October last year.

Sam: 40:36

A couple of things there. Right One is you don't know what you don't know, right? So you have to kind of go on the journey to and. Was that something that was easy to do?

Miriam : 40:50

I had huge support from St James's Place. They were amazing. You know, I had a great academy development manager, because you have someone that helps you, looks after you. He was amazing. And then, you know, I spoke to. You know other people that were able to help me. So it was easy. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be actually, and I have no regrets. I'm so happy that I'm now running my own practice and I can build my own culture. Obviously, it's just me, but eventually I do want to grow and I think the support of St James' Place was amazing it really was and I think without that it would have been a lot tougher.

Sam: 41:28

And there wasn't an element of pushiness from St James' Place. Was it more supportiveness?

Miriam : 41:33

Supportiveness.

Sam: 41:34

Okay.

Miriam : 41:35

Definitely supportiveness To me. You know, if there was pushiness then I wouldn't be here today, because I don't like being pushed into things that I don't want to do. They were completely supportive.

Sam: 41:46

So when you joined a partner practice, self-employemployed, you very quickly pivoted and wanted to run your own partner practice. Yeah, the thought that you had at the time, which led you down the route of sitting under an existing partner practice, was it a justified thought, was it something? Now you look back on and think. Can you articulate what that thought was? So if anybody else is thinking it right now, perhaps we can challenge it um, yeah, I mean, it was the unknown, it was the ambiguity around.

Miriam : 42:18

You know, I don't really know. You know how to be a financial advisor. I've done all the training, but you know I need to be around people that are going to teach me. But actually I think that I could have absolutely gone on my own and I think if I was going to advise someone that was in the same situation as me, I'd say go off and do it on your own, because actually, especially if you've got a network there's lots of networks out there that support you you're going to learn anyway, no matter if you start as an employed role, a self-employed role or start off on your own. You're still in the same situation. You're still starting this new career that you've got no experience in and you're going to learn along the way. Speak to other advisors, other partners that can help you, other IFAs. You know, go and speak to them, learn off them. Get a mentor. You know you don't have to.

Miriam : 43:12

If your end goal is to open up your own practice, then I would start with that straight away. That's what I would do. Um, you know, there's some great. You know, some people prefer to be part of a practice, which is great, and the practice that I joined is great. They're very successful, um. But I just think for me, I wanted to build something on my own and maybe if I had the confidence in myself and listened to people around me that said I could do it, then I would have done it. But it was that inner voice, unfortunately, that stopped me. But I did quickly learn, let's say.

Miriam : 43:39

Okay, great, and that's what it's about, isn't it?

Sam: 43:41

It's about being able to quickly pivot. It's not like you were sat in your back bedroom on your own, directly authorised, and you oh god, you know you were able to pivot very, very quickly. Yeah, right, simple as that, and that's, that's good news. But that comes from also a supportive environment, that that is supportive in whatever choice that you make and will be a sounding board and help guide you. Yeah, but what you wish you did was believe in your confidence and the confidence of others around you that you could do it.

Miriam : 44:07

Yeah, yeah yeah, and you know what I've been listening to? Manifest by Foxy.

Sam: 44:12

Roxy Nafusi.

Miriam : 44:12

Yeah, you told me about her. Yeah, I like her During our call and I've actually been listening to her audio book and she says a similar thing. You know, you just have to believe in yourself, yeah, and you know in the about self-belief. You know, just go out there, just do it. I wish I listened to that before. I think I would have probably maybe, um you know, believed in myself a little bit more it's funny.

Sam: 44:40

When I met you, I thought you'd enjoy that yeah, yeah, you judge a character.

Sam: 44:43

I really liked it, you know, and I looked into the whole manifestation and the, the theory behind manifestation, the science behind it and everything. And the more I started to believe in the vision that I had, the more the more I I believed I I thought it into reality. If I think it and if I speak it I do a lot of speaking. I'm very good at articulating things that I'm going to do in the future. When I haven't done it to the point where I believe that I'm doing it, it's like it's inevitable. Last week I just did a, an amazing video about farming and within that was client stories, advisor stories it's something that nobody in financial planning services is doing at the moment and how I'm going to use that to break into the farm, the farming community, blah, blah, blah. I thought about that, not specifically farming, but I thought about that whole style two years ago and it just hasn't left my head.

Sam: 45:40

And then, all of a sudden, boom, I'm doing it yeah you know, and it when you think it and you keep talking about it and you tell people about. It's why I love podcasting. Most of the time I'm sharing ideas of things I want to do and I'm saying them out loud. And if you say it out loud, it's going to happen. Yeah, it's like when you have a thought in your head and if you don't write that thought down, if you don't materialize, that thought it lives in your head, but when you write it down, it becomes a thing on a piece of paper yeah you could set fire to that piece of paper and it could go forever and you think, oh, it's gone now, well, you could add to it and write to it and do a spider diagram and all of that.

Sam: 46:15

You can take that concept, that idea to life, but it's down on paper yeah that's what I like. I like taking an idea and I like putting it out there and I just believe it until it comes true. And there is something. There is something in that yeah, I think um, it sounds like woo-woo, but it works for me?

Miriam : 46:29

No, it's not, though. Is it? It works? It really does. You know, I had a vision board back in 2019. And I've done every single one of the things that were on that vision board, apart from and this is out of my hands getting engaged. So this is on my partner, not me, but you know, apart from that, I've achieved everything that I put on there, and it was about becoming a financial planner after having that conversation with Rob. It was about having two children. Didn't have, you know, I didn't have, um, children at the time, and it was a boy and a girl. And I've got a boy and a girl, and it is crazy because I've achieved every single one of them. A house as well, achieved my house, and I do. I think it helps you. It keeps you focused and you want focused, and if you put it down on paper, you're going to execute it. You just need to work on it every day.

Sam: 47:14

What does that remind you of?

Miriam : 47:16

What does that remind me of?

Sam: 47:18

Financial plan.

Miriam : 47:18

Financial planning. Yeah, yeah, of course, yeah.

Sam: 47:21

So there's a girl called Lady, called Bobby Sahota.

Miriam : 47:26

I listened to your podcast. Did you listen to it?

Sam: 47:27

Yeah, vision boards yeah, loved it, loved it and we're now working together yeah, I know we're planning it yeah we're planning on creating a vision board, yeah, for financial planning, yeah, and delivering it at like a seminar wow, that sounds really good from that conversation, yeah

Sam: 47:43

I believe people will love it. Yeah, because it's visual. Yeah, I'm a visual person and I want to be able to see what I want in front of me and I can put it up there and we can create my vision board. How many people would love to come along and create a vision board around their own financial futures? How many people even do it like, yeah, it's interesting and it's fun and it's, and it's just a different way of approaching or looking at financial planning. It's changing the narrative, isn't it?

Miriam : 48:06

yeah, definitely, and I think, um, you know, when you take clients through the, you know the fact find process, you do break it down into the different categories and you look at different areas of their life. Like I was saying earlier, to actually make that visual, it just becomes more real, doesn't it? Yeah, becomes more real.

Sam: 48:23

What's the plans then? Next? Where are you going? What's going on? What's the next year looking like?

Miriam : 48:31

going on. What's the next year looking like? So obviously I'm still early days, um, I just want to build my business up, work with clients that you know appreciate good advice, and then people that I get on well with. I think you know the fact is, at the moment I'm so earlier on in my career, um, I want to make sure that I work with people that you know that see my value and vice versa.

Miriam : 48:46

I think it's important, um, and I think maybe in the next three years, I'd like to have my own office space where people can come and visit, because at the moment, I'm based from home and I go to people's houses and I also come into London to Lombard Street and and have meetings here. But I want to have my own place where I can make it my own, you know, um, and maybe have an advisor working with me who I can mentor, um, definitely having my own executive assistant, because they are amazing as well. So having my own executive assistant maybe mentor them into becoming an advisor later on. So I've got a lot of ideas that I want to do, but I think for now, for the next year, it's more about, you know, you know, networking, meeting clients, building my business up and getting it into a good space um. And then you know, building on my cash flow and then eventually I'll start expanding base um.

Sam: 49:30

And then you know, building on my cash flow and then eventually I'll start expanding. That to me sounds like a vision board. I think you should. I think you should go home, create your career vision board, take a photo and send me it I will.

Miriam : 49:39

I'm gonna do it this weekend. Do it. I am gonna do it this weekend. I'm gonna buy loads of magazines because you can do it online, but there's something about cutting things out of the magazines. I think is quite a nice, it's fun.

Sam: 49:48

Yeah, it's fun and get a glass of wine, and you know. I suppose the other way you could do it, if you wanted to do it digitally, would be what's that Pinterest? Isn't that the?

Miriam : 49:54

same interest, then you've got Canva as well, because that's the same thing, really isn't.

Sam: 49:57

It's the same concept. It is, it is. I want to. Why don't you set yourself a Pinterest where people can come to your Pinterest and then they could and you're showing them how, on your Pinterest, that you're building, you're, you're building, you're creating a vision board through Pinterest. I don't use Pinterest, by the way. Yeah, I know that.

Sam: 50:12

That could possibly work Amazing and listen. Thank you so much for joining us today on the Financial Planner Life podcast and sharing your career switch and your career journey and how you have been supported here at St James' Place, but also, I think what I've taken from this is you know, the people that we work with tend to be the people that know us really, really well, and sometimes we should stop and we should actually listen to the advice that they're giving us, because they tend to believe in us more than we believe in ourself and I wonder, if we stopped and we actually listened, how much can that change your career? A bit like the conversation you had with Rob, who's obviously been very instrumental in your career, and I wish you all the best and thank you for the books thank you and um send me the vision board.

Miriam : 50:55

I will do. Thank you, so it's been lovely speaking with you cheers.