5 Types of People You Need on Your Financial A-Team

You don’t need to go on your personal financial journey alone. What if you built out your Financial A-Team with the same intentionality as you have with your professional networks. Here are five types of people you should have on your Financial A-Team to help you go further and have more fun!

“To go fast, go alone. To go far, go together.”

1 – Specialists

Who are they? Well, it depends on your goals. These licensed professionals are the closest to your goals with strategies to get you there.  With the right education and experience, they are trusted fiduciaries who know your goals and your personal economy.  It’s time to be transparent with your current financial situation and your future goals, so these experts can provide the most help and value to you. 

What do they do?
– Ask the right questions to gain clarity on your goals.
– Analyze and understand your current financial state.
– Offer specific advice based on their expertise, your financial state, and your goals.
– Layout a path to work towards.

2 – Connectors

Who are they? Yes, you know one or two or three connectors.  Seek out your outgoing friend who doesn’t believe that money is a taboo topic. Connectors aren’t qualified to give you professional advice, but they are well-connected.  They have circles full of professionals and love nothing more than connecting future business partners.  Connectors are in know and love to read, learn, and listen.  They are probably already making money moves and would be happy to share their favorite book, podcast, or articles.

What do they do?
– They can help, not advise.
– They can help you determine which Growth Partners you need.
– They can make connections or brainstorm how to make those connections.
– They either have a direct connection or a place for you to start searching for your growth partners.

3 – Mentors & Mentees

Who are they?  You have seen how having professional mentors and mentees have helped you flourish in your career.  Find people who are 10-Steps ahead of you and 10-Steps behind you financially.  Did you hear that your professional mentor also invests in real estate?  Start asking some questions about how they started.  What do you wish you knew as a recent college grad?  Find an early professional and start a conversation about money.  With all money conversations, I liken having money conversations to peeling back the layers of the onion.  Start small and safe on the outer edges of the onion/money topics, then peel back a few layers with every conversation.

What do they do?
– They inspire and motivate.
– They change the world.

4 – Financial Friends

Who are they? These are those friends that you don’t have to say much for them to get it. You don’t have to be on the same financial journey because it’s not a competition. Your financial success doesn’t mean their financial loss.  Everyone can achieve financial success and everyone may be working on different goals.

What do they do?
– They cheer the loudest!
– Have you achieved a goal, hit a milestone, or taken the first step.  It’s time to celebrate.
– They know your short code. Just signed a new SOW? Maxed out your 401(k)? Increased your paper assets?

5 – Diverse Thinkers

Who are they? They were the early adopters of online banks, taking risks on cryptocurrency or reading about Sacred Economics.  Diverse Thinkers fascinate me.  I’m certainly don’t agree with everything they are doing/saying but I don’t have to follow in their footsteps.  I recently had a conversation with someone who was reading Sacred Economics and went down a big rabbit hole learning about it, mathematically, I can’t get it to workout.  But I learn about different perspectives and it helps me have better money conversations.

What do they do?
– They educate (maybe indirectly).
– They test the waters.

I’m confident that if you have these five types of people on your Financial A-Team, you are well on your way to achieving your financial goals and having fun along the journey.  Who do you have on your A-Team now and who do you need to add?  Use this workbook, The Pledgettes_Financial_A-Team, to help build out your Financial A-Team by adding where you need and removing where you don’t.

If you have someone on your Financial A-Team currently who makes you feel shame or guilt about your money, it’s time to give them the boot. If you have someone who is not supportive of your goals and actively helping you achieve them, consider if they belong on your A-Team. Find the balance on your team of the High-Five Tribe and the Diverse Thinkers.  Find the right Growth Partners and Connectors getting you closer to your dreams and goals.  Learn and share with your Mentors and Mentees.  Having this well-round Financial A-Team will lift us all up as we go along on personal financial journeys.