i-brand e-bulletin: August/September 2007

name: Simonne Gnessen

position or title: Financial coach and founder of Wise Monkey Financial Coaching

company: Wise Monkey Financial Coaching

website: www.financial-coaching.co.uk

location: Brighton, East Sussex

What has been your most valued professional achievement?

I'd class my most valued professional achievement as being one of the first financial coaches in the UK. Financial coaching didn't really exist when I first launched Wise Monkey Financial Coaching. I'd been working as an independent financial adviser (IFA) prior to that and designed a new style of service in March 2002 in response to what I began to recognise clients needed - an integration of the technical and emotional side of money where clients could receive guidance and support on any type of money issue without the fear of being sold a product.

Name the five most distinctive characteristics or attributes that have helped you to achieve your success:

1. Thinking outside the box. I'm constantly considering new ideas about how I could improve my service and develop more skills to further help clients with their understanding and control of money matters.
2. Passion and determination to make a difference.
3. Maintaining a high level of integrity. I'm committed to being the best, and to doing the best for my clients. This is the ethos behind my service and as the company grows, it remains my bottom line.
4. Staying authentic. Bringing my individualism into the way I work.
5. My interest in people and aspiration that everyone should have the opportunity of living a happy and fulfilled life and be able to overcome any obstacles in their way.

What makes your business distinctive?

The service I offer and the way I deliver it, are both distinctive. Financial coaching is a little known concept in the UK and there are only a handful of individuals or companies offering this type of service. Having trained as both an IFA and life coach, I'm able to provide expertise on the technical and practical aspects of money management and financial planning as well as supporting clients to reach their goals and overcome any barriers to their financial success. I also tailor my service to specifically address the needs of each client - so I'm just as likely to arrange a one-off session with someone who wants an impartial financial health check as I am to fix up a series of sessions with someone else who wants to change their relationship to money and start taking control of it.

Money arouses strong emotion in people and while IFAs do an important job dealing with the nuts and bolts of money issues, they rarely tackle the emotions that go with them. That's where my service stands out - I have the expertise and experience to tackle both, and in an integrated way.

What key skills have helped 'you' your Personal Brand become distinctive?

• Intuition - I work intuitively to determine how best to support my clients.
• The ability to demystify the financial world to the uninitiated.
• My ease with crunching numbers on a spreadsheet, while at the same time talking very sensitively with clients about their emotional conflicts with money.
• The ability to motivate people to take action.
• My patience, calm approach and compassion.

My brand is a world apart from conventional financial advisers; it symbolises my impartiality, approachability, trust, energy, passion and fun.

Where do you look for inspiration?

Conversations and people's stories are rich sources of ideas. I'd say that my main source of inspiration comes from listening and talking to people, exploring ideas and dreams. This includes friends and business associates as well as my clients. I also find myself researching ideas on the web - I can lose hours that way - and I get a lot of inspiration from reading books, in particular learning about different schools of thought that exist for helping people take charge of their emotions.

When the going gets tough what helps you through?

Reminding myself of the impact my service has on clients' lives always keeps me going. Some people come to me at the end of their tether, and I'm able to help them sort things out and reduce their stress. So recalling feedback is always good thing! I live by the sea and taking a walk by the beach or going on a bike ride is the perfect remedy to a tough day. Or equally, calling a friend for a chat can help me gain perspective. I also use relaxation and breathing techniques sometimes to ground myself physically.

Advice you wished you'd had when starting out?

1. Get a professional to design your website. I originally started with a homemade website. I spent hours designing it and making it just right, wasting time that I could have spent developing the business.
2. Don't spend money on advertising but instead try to get PR coverage.
3. Don't print thousands of promotion leaflets right at the outset in case you want to adapt it as the business evolves.
4. Don't get carried away buying a massive stock of stationary. I'm still using envelopes that I bought 5 years ago!
5. Don't forget to allow for the cost of training. When I first started out, I hadn't really considered how much regular training I'd need to expand my skills.

Most Valued Brand?

I personally love the Ikea Brand. It denotes good value for money, enabling people to access contemporary designs at an affordable price. And it seems to be environmentally sensitive.

Most inspirational famous Personal Brand or Celebrity Brand?

Jamie Oliver. I'm inspired by the way he's used his celebrity status and individualism to give disadvantaged young people the opportunity to change their lives and how he's fought the campaign to ban junk food in schools.

the mind gym

brief synopsis
This book is one that is full of useful ideas; it contains a mixture of many self-help techniques and strategies. It is a very practical, well designed book full of fun ways to start looking at personal development. If you like interaction, you can do the quizzes in the book or online. I like that you can dip in and out of the book at leisure, perfect for those commuting or people who want to tackle one issue at a time.

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We are living in a world where we have more choices than ever before. We no longer have to conform to what our parents, teachers, tutors or religious teachers have told us. We can choose our own destiny!

For many people, the opportunity to create their own path in life is an exhilarating prospect. But for others, understanding which road or option to take can just be too overwhelming, so they keep on going along the same path hoping that something will change.

Today we need to look beyond the traditional way we work. We have to take a leap of faith and ask ourselves "Who am I?" This is a deep question that can lead to much soul searching. However, if you don't ask this of yourself now, then when? In the future, could you look back on the way you are living now and feel proud of it? Are you living fully today? Or are you looking to the future for a better job, relationship or more money to make you happy? It is all too easy to get sucked into the day-to-day challenges and get stuck in a rut, not knowing how to improve or change your current situation. When feeling discontented we often wonder, 'Is this as good as it gets?'

Even with the knowledge of all the opportunities now available to us compared to those of our parent's or grandparent's generations, we still tend to define ourselves by our jobs or position. This keeps us trapped and unable to look outside of ourselves, at the strengths, passions and values that make us who we are.

Sometimes the best way to see a new perspective is to look to people who are living their dream. Oprah Winfrey once said; "I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint - and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you."O Magazine

We all have unique gifts and talents that we have developed over time; many of us may not have been encouraged to fully explore or express these personal qualities and are instead forced to hide behind the career choices we have made. The work we do allows us to survive and pay the bills and there is not often an opportunity to take action on our dreams or even to think about what we once believed was possible. Our true desires from our youth often become stifled or repressed as the dreams fade with time and the Monday to Friday routine takes over.

Has the job you do for your living or your family become your identity? Maybe it's time to stop and take time out for your life. It is your choice and if you want to take advantage of what life has to offer, it does means setting aside time to actively manage your life - it is your responsibility no one else's! It is easy to allow external pressures to persuade you that you don't have a choice. We are living in a culture where we focus on blaming others for the position we are in. There seems to be no personal responsibility or accountability. Unfortunately, we are not taught at school how to manage ourselves or our lives - this is something we learn through trial and error.

Today take some responsibility for yourself by seeking out what inspires and motivates you, what drains you and where you spend most of your energy. Go through the events of your day and ask yourself;

"What did I learn about myself today?"
"What five things did I really enjoy today?"
"What have I got that I am grateful for today?"

The answers may surprise you, but most of all they will allow you to take the first steps towards making time for managing your own life goals and recognising what really matters to you!

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