Christopher H.
About me
| Christopher H. | |
| Chemistry | |
| Chemistry | |
| Undergraduate | |
| James | |
| 2007 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Financial Adviser | |
| Chris Harris Financial Adviser | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Finance and consultancy | |
| Small business (0-49 employees) | |
| 2016 |
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A day in the life of a Financial Adviser in the United Kingdom
Self employed financial adviser, business owner, YouTuber, podcaster & publisher.
My advice to students considering work
I would say be pro-active, tenacious and you must have the self belief in your abilities and be prepared to adapt and change. The job of today may be obsolete or totally different in the future. Diversify and create, you never know what you can achieve. I adopt that personally and I now own the largest a level chemistry revision channel in the North of England and the biggest A level chemistry podcaster in the UK. I am just an ordinary person from a state school in the North East with parents who work in the public sector and the first one in the family to graduate with an honours degree.
My advice about working in my industry
You have to be determined to help people and be prepared to work long hours. Established professional links with others, you really will struggle if you try to do it alone. Be creative in your approach, don't talk jargon (believe me there is plenty of it in finance) keep it relevant to the client and look after them as if they were a close family member. You are their personal financial adviser.
Contacting me
I am happy to answer questions on anything related to what I do, life being self employed, setting up youtube channels and podcasting or what to do with your science degree. My life after graduating from York has been varied and exciting. The rigours of a chemistry degree really has set me up to deal with running 2 business and has encouraged me to be creative in my approach and to be trend setter not the trend setting me. I may be able to help mentor too. Get in touch, you have nothing to lose from a chat.
What I do
I am an FCA regulated financial adviser working with private clients and business in the North East of England. I advise clients on how they can achieve their aspirations and goals through professional advice. This includes advice on - Investments, Pensions, Mortgages, Protection and General Insurance. The entails a lot of responsibility as I manage millions of pounds of money via individuals and business.
How I started my business
I started it alongside my private tuition business which was established in 2009 called allerytutors.com. I decided to diversify my skill sets and sit my exams for Financial Advice. Once passed I embarked on joining a network (a requirement to be a financial adviser) and started marketing my services.
What inspired me
The desire to help people achieve their goals plays strongly in my ethos. My family are my real personal inspiration. Professionally my inspiration is not glamorous but is Paul Archer from paularcher.com. He created a set of revision material that really inspired me to change careers and retrain as a Financial Adviser. His videos are very motivating so much so that I have developed my own youtube channel that is growing so quickly.
Skills I use and how I developed them
I use skills such as effective communication with clients, numerical skills are vital in the job I do. You have to be empathetic too, sometimes you deal with clients who have inherited money from loved ones and they are still grieving. Something which I really champion is to be understood, this is vital in dealing with complex financial matters and chemistry matters when it comes to my YouTube channel.
What I like most
I love the fact that I get to help and support people achieve their dreams and aspirations. Buying their first home, helping them to save for their children's future or sorting out financial matters in times of need. I love the flexibility the role brings and meeting so many people with fascinating life stories and backgrounds!
What I like least
As mentioned dealing with the finances of someone who has passed away is traumatic time for the family but non the less important. Professionalism really kicks in and you just have to everything you can to take the worry of sorting out bank accounts, life policies, mortgages from the grieving family. I suppose from a self employed point of view you have to be the jack of all trades, marketing, promoting, web designer, creative thinker, accountant on top of doing your normal job. It's a tough slog!
What surprised me most
I wasn't expecting to be meeting so many 'ordinary' people. By 'ordinary' I mean people just like me, with a standard job in 3 bed semi. I was expecting a lot of millionaires and investors. It's nice to see that financial advice really is for everyone not just for the well of.
Next steps...
If you like the look of Christopher’s profile, the next steps are down to you! You can send Christopher a message to find out more about their career journey. If you feel you would benefit from more in-depth conversations, ask Christopher to be your mentor.