Starting a Home-Based Financial and Credit Counseling Business

Consumer debt, including credit card debt, has exploded in the USA during recent decades. This trend has been responsible for many people ending up with more debt than they can manage - even before the Great Recession hit this country. Recent years have seen a significant increase in the number of consumers seeking assistance from financial and debt counselors.

Financial and credit counselors provide professional financial advice to consumers who are seeking to manage their finances, improve their credit rating, or reduce and eliminate debt. Some financial counselors may specialize in investment and portfolio advice while others may specialize in credit repair and debt consolidation.

The United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports in the occupational projections data that there were more than 208,000 personal financial advisors during 2008. This occupational field is expected to grow by more than 30 percent over the decade from 2008 - 2018. Median annual wages are reported to be "very high" at $69,050. 29.3 percent of personal financial advisers were self-employed in 2008.

Getting Started

Starting a home-based, financial or credit counseling business can vary in complexity based on the state where you live and the type of services that you plan to offer. Regulations governing the financial services industry vary between states and depending on the type of services that are to be offered. For example, some states may require licensing for financial counselors dealing with investments but not for counselors dealing with credit repair and debt elimination. These differences between state requirements can have a significant impact on the financial cost and paperwork that is required to start a home-based, financial or credit counseling business.

Home-based, financial or credit counseling businesses that will not attract frequent customer visits to the office may be easily set up in a back room or spare bedroom. Those businesses that expect to have customers visit the office regularly may consider setting up an office that has a separate entrance from outside, whether this office is in the home or in another building on the property, such as a converted garage.

Marketing

The marketing plan for a home-based, financial or credit counseling business should begin with a clear consideration of what services will be offered and who will be the target customers. This understanding will help in developing a marketing plan that delivers the best results.

Business websites are essential communication tools for many modern businesses. A home-based, financial or credit counseling business can also benefit from a well-designed and well-maintained website. This provides an inexpensive place to communicate with potential and existing customers, and provides a way for customers to find financial or credit counseling businesses in their local area. Perhaps the best part of using a website to market your home-based, financial or credit counseling business is that you can present an image that is just as professional as the image presented by the corporate competition in the same city. The Internet has helped to level the playing field between home-based businesses and their big-business competitors.

Business cards are an important marketing tool when combined with personal conversations, letters, or brochures. Business cards allow any business person, whether home-based or office-based, to share their name, business information, and contact information with anyone in an inexpensive, "take home" format.

Direct mailings, whether post cards or letters, can be effective marketing tools. Mailing lists can be purchased from Internet list brokers like Melissa Data. Mailing lists can be purchased based on a variety of demographic criteria allowing the marketer to build a list that is specific to the target customer demographic.

Advertisements placed in local community newspapers or classified publications can serve to keep your business in front of a large and diverse, local audience. These publications usually offer affordable advertising rates and will typically offer discounts for long-term advertising contracts.

Cautions

Regulations governing the financial and credit counseling business can vary between states, and depending on the type of services being offered. Consult with an attorney if you still have questions after looking into the regulatory and licensing requirements in your state.

Operating a home-based business is not a problem in most areas if the business does not involve frequent truck or customer traffic to the home. Zoning and land-use requirements vary considerably between locations, so be sure to check on applicable zoning laws before starting a home-based business that will bring a lot of customers to the home office.

Conclusion

Starting a home-based, financial or credit counseling business can be a profitable venture for the financially literate entrepreneur.

SOURCES

United States Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Site accessed on 7 October 2010.

Melissa Data Corp. Site accessed on 16 January 2011.

Tatiana Morales. Debt Counseling: The Good, Bad & Ugly: Ray Martin on Debt Counseling. CBS News. Site accessed on 3 December 2010.

Starting A Credit Counseling Service. BizyMoms. Site accessed on 3 December 2010.

Kristie Lorette. How to Start a Consumer Credit Counselor Business. Chron Small Business by Demand Media. Site accessed on 3 December 2010.