Hi Mitch,

Congratulations on almost obtaining your CFP! Sounds like a good direction to take (it may sound a bit weird, but I actually find the finance world exciting!) :)

I don't know what is the best way to go, however.... Personally, if I were to go into "selling" my services here, I would probably stick with forming an investment company, and looking for shareholders. I'd only pay myself as an investment manager out of the profits which were generated from the investments (so that I would only get paid if I made profits for the other shareholders).... But that's partly due to legal reasons, since I'm limited in what kind of financial advice I can legally give, as I'm not a CFP!

This is similar to what Warren Buffett did early on in his career, except he used a limited partnership structure rather than a Limited Liability Company structure. It's also good for the shareholders because they only pay you if you actually make money for them.... UNLIKE mutual funds, where you still pay them even if they lose money for you.... But back to your situation....

Mitch, as you point out, one option is to charge for your time, which is a good option to consider.

Perhaps another alternative you may not have thought about is to produce a subscription newsletter -- I think this could be quite lucrative. You could give monthly or weekly advice on what should be done financially....

Another option is to start a membership web site, where people pay to join and then benefit from your regular advice....

There are a lot of options outside of the standard things that people do.... I'm sure with more time we could think of many other possibilities too.... :)

- Dien Rice