MEMBERSHIP

Joshua Akinbohun

I do private personal finance coaching via live online video calls. I want to also have on-demand teaching sessions where people can access this in their own time. I currently do not have a website and was thinking of the best way to give people access to my content once they have made a payment.

1. 1. Would you recommend creating accounts on Upwork/Fiverr to fulfil this kind of service?
   2. Are they any better alternatives?

PROPERTY

Eve

I think it could be really useful to understand what others like Yemi. Errol and others who do B2L are doing in the current economic climate. Esp with  decreasing tax thresholds etc.

There was a recent post Ken sent about an interview he had with two B2L investors who have now changed their strategy to HMOs.

1. Is Buy To Let a viable option at this present time?

CRM

Nemi

Hi, I’ve been asked to provide a Customer Relationship Mgt (CRM) service by my brother for his online business. 

Could you give me some advice on how to structure the business, decide on how to run the administration and how to approach employing as I won’t be able to do all the work by myself.

Government home buying scheme

Natalie

Hi Ken and Mary, please can you provide your thoughts on the government’s First Home Scheme or summarise this in a YouTube video if that’s easier? 

Thanks

Response during the call:

https://www.unbiased.co.uk/discover/mortgages-property/buying-a-home/what-is-the-first-homes-scheme-and-how-does-it-work 

https://www.gov.uk/first-homes-scheme 

Buy to Let

Eve

Could we have an item to discuss what dreamakers should start to consider now, to be ready to do their first B2L witinin the next 2 years, e.g. section documents.13, 21 etc, new EPC regs, tenancy agreements, network of professionals to start to engage in these early stages.

Also, should we view interest only mortages on a B2Ls as good rather than bad debt and why. Any other ways to cover yourself from things going wrong, e.g. B2L life insurance, if there is such a thing. How easy or not, is it to pass B2Ls to children when you have an interest only mortgage which is never really paid off. Maybe these are questions more suited to a property masterclass?

Thank you

Property

Jeena

In this current climate of economic turmoil what is the best way to build a large property portfolio.

Could you please explain how the freedom pot work if you are only investing minimal and earning less than the average salary in London?

If you have a target to monetize your Youtube channel within 6 months, what should you be doing?

If you have a property but you need to wait 5 years to remortgage the property as you max out on loan? (85% equity) What other ways can you build your property portfolio?

Veronia

Hi Ken & Mary, my question is around the tension between buying a house and financial independence.

Myself and my husband are hoping to buy our house near the end of 2023/ beginning of 2024, but given the recent changes in the economy we have a few things to think about.

We currently don’t have children but will be thinking about this in the next couple of years. We are trying to understand whether we should be basing our housing decision on our current circumstances (just the 2 of us) or potential future circumstances (ie. Kids).

If we base our decision on current circumstances, we would probably be comfortable staying in a 2 bedroom house. However if we’re thinking about having a family, we would ideally like to have 3 bedrooms. However, the difference in asking prices of 3 bedrooms compared to 2 bedrooms is about £25k – £50k more, which seems a bit steep considering we’ll also have higher mortgage rates. I’m also not a first time buyer and will therefore be buying an additional property, so we will have to pay the extra stamp duty.

We also live just outside London, and as you know london is not cheap! Ideally I would love to live outside london so I can be close to family, but since the pandemic the prices seem to have skyrocketed. My husband would prefer to move further up north since it’s so much more cheaper, but I have concerns as we won’t be near family at all. So the first question is, would you pay a more premium price to stay near family? Or would you buy a cheaper price but become FI/ Mortgage free much quicker?

Secondly, if you did pay the premium price, would you buy a 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom house considering the large difference? My initial thoughts were that we could buy a 2 bedroom house first as a starter home and then buy another house in the future and rent the 2 bed one out (but I’m just wondering if 2 bedrooms will be too small especially if we start a family).

Alternatively we could decide to get the 3 bedroom and make this our forever home. However, considering we’re only in our 20s and again haven’t started a family yet – our views might change and I wouldn’t be surprised if we want to move.

Thank you for your help!

Business Direction

Mam

I started CookWithMam as a hobby since 2017 whilst on maternity leave to share recipes with friends and family who are interested in healthy eating. Now, I’m stuck and don’t know which direction to take it and turn it into a business.

These are the link to the socials for it

YouTube : https://youtube.com/@CookWithMam

Instagram: https://Instagram.com/CookWithMam

Blog: https://cookwithmam.com/category/recipe/

Business – Naming

Malaika

What name do you think is better for my homeware brand, ‘Considered Room’ or The Considered Room?

If you could give me your advice on this, I would be most appreciative!

Kind Regards

Malaika

FJA Resource

An

I will be traveling during the coaching call but hope to catch the recording.

I want to test a business idea I have. I want to help small businesses automate their processes using technology tools.

1. Is there a resource within the FJA repository I can use as a guide? Particularly, how do I validate this idea, get my first client etc

Response during the call:

We use Convertkit:

https://thehumblepenny.com/Convertkit (affiliate link) 

Sponsorship

Sarah

1. How do you get sponsorship deals for your blog/podcast?
2. How do you link your podcast to your blog, so people can find you easily, as I am a better speaker than a writer?

Blog Income

Kashina

I have a goal of being able to make 1k a month from my blog post by next year. 

1. How often do I need to post to begin with to get started with this? 
2. Is this a realistic goal? (I am currently working through the SEO course which has been great and really helpful)

Blog or Coaching Business

Stephanie 

Hi Ken & Mary,

I just joined FJA last week and I am excited to be part of this journey. This is exactly the type of website I have been looking for. It has all the information in one place so thank you so much for creating such a space! I also love that you both have Christian values.

1. My question is around where to start. I have an idea for a business but then I am quite interested in blogging. Which one is better to start with – a blog or the business? The business I am thinking about is coaching as I have recently finished a course. I think the challenge I have is there are so many different routes to becoming financially free and which one to start with or choose.

Start a Side Hustle while working

Davina

I have recently shifted my mindset from just working and saving to making my money work for me and building wealth. I would like to buy an investment property in 2023, I know this will be tough given the rise in interest rates as well as me being a first-time buyer, but I don’t want that to discourage me. I have also started investing in the stock market.

I would love to start a side hustle to create passive income, I work full time as a finance analyst and will be studying to become ACCA qualified, so I won’t have alot of time to put into an active business. The problem is I don’t know which business to start, I was thinking of a digital product like an e book or a guide, but I am struggling to find an idea for the content. 

1. Do you have any suggestions on which business I could start or how I can figure out an idea? 
2. Or any additional ways I can generate income?

Thank you in advance, I am new to FJA but have been watching your videos on youtube for a while now. Thank you both for all that you do, it is much appreciated.

Response during the call:

FJA Course:

Decide What Business To Start

https://members.financialjoyacademy.com/courses/decide-what-business-to-start 

It covers:

• Lesson 1 – The 3 Seed Formula
• Lesson 2 – Online Business Models
• Lesson 3 – Choosing a Business Model
• Lesson 4 – Choosing Your Niche
• Lesson 5 – Keyword Research

Company Structure

Sarah

I want to offer a service to help people, but not sure if I sure if I should start a social enterprise or a limited company? What are tax benefits and rules about this?

Response during the call:

Decide On Sole Trader vs Limited Company: 

https://members.financialjoyacademy.com/courses/decide-on-soletrader-vs-limited-company 

This masterclass also has an accompanying quiz to help you decide.

Government home buying scheme

Natalie

Hi Ken and Mary, please can you provide your thoughts on the government’s First Home Scheme or summarise this in a YouTube video if that’s easier? Thanks

CRM

Nemi

Hi, I’ve been asked to provide a Customer Relationship Mgt (CRM) service by my brother for his online business. 

1. Could you give me some advice on how to structure the business, decide on how to run the administration and how to approach employing as I won’t be able to do all the work by myself.

Open Q&A / Hotseat 

Annie:

I feel like i’m spreading myself thin with two children, job and side hustle i’m trying to grow. 

Blogging Content

Olivier

I might be interested to dive in blogging

1. What are your thoughts about a blog that combines text, audio, videos and pictures? 
2. I would like to post educational blog (French learning) about a specific theme, twice a month, and I could repurpose some materials I already created, videos, audios, etc…

Current Government Actions

Alicia

I would like to hear your thoughts on the effects good and bad of the last government measures in the UK. Thanks

Next Steps to Move Home

Ebele

I have had my 1 bedroom flat in London for about 15yrs. I currently live there with my husband and 4yr old and as you can imagine it is just too small and uncomfortable and we are desperate to move. My initial plan was to sell and use the equity to buy a 2 bedroom house in my name and shortly after rent it out and then we could purchase a bigger family house jointly to live in. Recently however, I have been advised not to sell the 1 bedroom flat as it’s an investment property and I should rent it out as a let to buy instead and just purchase a new property. 

I would prefer to move outside of London or anywhere else in the UK as long as it’s close to good schools. My husband however prefers to remain in the London area. I also only work part time earning 15,000 whilst my husband works full time earning around 30000. 

He invested some money last year into forex trading and believes he can raise 100,000 by January 2023 towards the deposit. Meanwhile I have equity from the 1 bedroom flat. The current value is about 240,000 to 250,000 with about 115,000 left on the mortgage. In addition the current mortgage is a tracker and since the recent continual interest rates increase, I don’t know if I can look for a fixed rate deal when I might be doing a let to buy mortgage soon. 

1. Is it wrong to want to sell the 1 bedroom flat as people always say never sell your first property? 
2. What do you think and what options are available to me? 

Business Growth

Joba Mogaji

I work as a contractor within the public sector but also run other contracting jobs through my company and I am grateful for where I am at the moment in the money journey. However, due to my specialisation, I am looking at taking on more consultancy via my company and use the income to grow my online business.

1. Would you recommend paying for blog writers, video script writers and basically outsourcing most of the tasks or would you recommend I slow down on my consultancy and spend more time on building my online business?2
2. Should i pay blog writers, video script writers & outsource tasks or would you recommend I slow down on my consultancy and spend more time on building my online business?

Public Speaking

Joba Mogaji

I love to speak and encourage people, it brings me joy seeing the few people I have “mentored” making huge steps and hence my desire to grow as well so I can do more. So, apart from my Youtube channel and occasionally speaking in my local church

1. How else can I improve my communication/speaking skills and confidence? 
2. Are you aware of any speaking clubs?
3. Currently reading: The art of public speaking by Dale Carnegie. Any other recommendations?

Business Growth

makeda Bonsu

At what stage of a business do you recommend it should be registered at Company house?

Elijah Wright

Hi Ken & Mary, i’m new to FJA. I’m deciding between my side hustle niches. I Work as a cloud engineer in the cloud computing space and i’ve also lost over 2 stone in the past 3 months.

1. Should I create a Youtube & Blog around teaching others who are working in an office who want to lose weight and get in shape 
2. Or should I focus on teaching people who want a career change into the cloud computing space and what they will need to do to get into it?

Sarah Olaifa

Coaching call – call 66 – Wednesday 14 September 

02:05 – Thoughts on Hart Culture

Makeda Bonsu

In terms of investment opportunities, have you heard of Hart Culture Credit Union (HC Credit union)? They stated they offer higher interest rates than the high street bank. I would appreciate your reflection on this bank. 

03:10 – Multiple Business Under 1 Limited Company

Sandra Laws

I have set up a limited company for my coaching business. 

1. Can I run one or more separate businesses under the limited company name? 
2. Can each of the businesses have different business activity or do they have to be similar in nature? Could I have a coaching, a clothing and a property business under one limited company name? 
3. How would this work in practice? Thanks very much for the advice.

05:00 – Selling Products and Services

Esther

As a business owner, it’s good to have various services that cater to the needs of clients, depending on what their needs are.

1.  What advice can you give regarding how to sell/promote services and categorise them so it’s easier for clients to choose from? 
2. Some clients may feel overwhelmed doing too many things at once, so what would be a more viable/easier option?

Thank you.

 09:17 – STAY HUMBLE

Natalie

1. As a Christian myself, one thing that drew me to the Humble Penny was their humility in comparison to how far God is taking them. Do they have any tips on how to stay grounded and humble as someone is progressing in their journey to being financially free please?

14:48 – CROWD FUNDING (come back to this)

Ann-Marie Kinlock

I’d love to know what you think of equity crowdfunding. What are the pros and cons? Has anyone had experience doing it? What are some important points to consider to ensure success?

16:07 – Selling Established Ebook

Alicia

I am new to the community and trying to go from financial security to financial freedom. My obstacles are fears around visibility and social media that I hope to slowly overcome by pushing pushing pushing.

Content creation seems to be the way for me and I am currently exploring what could be my niche. I keep going back and forth between “there are many things I could write/record about” (I am an experienced coach, a hypnotherapist, a linguist, a translator, a mum, an executive assistant and a handful of other things…) and “I know nothing and I have no idea what to talk about”).

I want to put myself out there but I want to do it properly – with a thought out strategy and brand. I don’t want to write random stuff and and I don’t want to write crap for my standards (sorry) because I changed my mind and I am no longer excited about the subject I chose.

1. One specific question I have is that I already have what you would call a digital asset: a book on mental health (“Depression into Joy”) that I self-published in Amazon,and that is making 0 money as I have no idea how to market it / monetise it. It would be great to be able to monetise it and maybe integrate it in my strategy, since it’s already out there, right? Any advise or idea would be welcome.

22:29 – YOUTUBE

Elijah

1. Is creating a Youtube Channel around my weight loss journey possible or is this a too saturated Niche in order to help others and create a side hustle around this?

27:40 – CASH IN INSURANCE PLAN

Ruth

Dear Ken and Mary/FJA Team,

Firstly my apologies for what may be a bit of a long-winded question.

I joined FJA a week ago and I’m at Stage 2 on the Money journey. Over the past week, I’ve completed a thorough review of my current assets and investments and I’m concerned about one in particular – the Generalli VISION Unit Linked Insurance Plan. I took out the plan in 2015 which has a 20-year term and my monthly premiums are EUR1000. As usual, when I took it out, the person who sold it showed me some fancy graphs and illustrations promising returns between 600 – 750k assuming 5-8% growth. The plan has the typical feature where huge fees etc are taken out in the initial years so the policyholder only starts to see gains from Year 9 onwards. At my last review, I found out that I’m not on track to get the returns I was hoping for – actually I will probably get between 3-5% : 281K @ 3%, 368K @ 5% or 486k@ 9%.

Fully understanding that actually returns of any kind of investment are dependent on market performance, this is still quite disappointing. This plan was supposed to supplement my pension at my standard retirement age, currently 65 (15 years from now)

1. Given the knowledge I have gained in investing over the past 18 months or so, I am considering cashing in on the plan and taking the circa 10k loss, using the surrendered funds circa 70-80k to clear existing debt and free up more of my monthly income for investing.
2. Thereafter open up 2 separate index or mutual fund accounts, 1 for circa15 years and the other for say 30 years. My thinking is that even at a potential average return of 10%, I should do better with Index/Mutual funds than the plan I’m currently on.
3. I know you are not Financial Advisors and cannot give advise, but I’d like to leverage the experience in this community regarding the VISION plan or similar type plan and I’d be keen to hear any feedback or pearls of wisdom on this topic to help me move forwards in a better direction.

41:18 – ACHIEVE DREAMS 

Joba Mogaji

1. Would love to see how couples working full-time with toddlers manage their time to achieve their dreams

52:26 – BLOGGING 

Nathan Perrin

My question is about content planning and executing. I have an Instagram page called “Thecomfymoney”, The main topics I make posts about are investing, personal finance, pensions and general good money habits and one day I want to make posts about have to make money from side hustles etc. I want to be able to have a content plan and make sure that I do not run out of ideas for my Instagram page.

I plan on starting a blog also and I feel I will struggle to come up with content ideas. 

1. What is your process of planning your content for your blog
2. How can I consistently churn out great content that I feel will benefit my audience. I want my audience to get value from what I am posting.

I have plans to make an “Introduction to Investing” Ebook as a lead magnet to start getting my email list going also. I will put this into the community once completed to make sure it’s up to standard.

Link shared during the call: 50 Breakthrough Blogging and Content ideas eBook 

Coaching call – call 57 – Wednesday 11 May

BECOME A STAY AT HOME MUM?

Melanie

I have been in a simliar role for the past 15 years and moved around different companies. I am bored, and would love to earn more in my role in project management or in a different industry but dont have experience. I am keen to also have a side hustle but I am not passionate about anything in particular. I have £20k of savings and continue to save. Buy-To-Let was the area I wanted to target but i would rather somewhere in London but can’t afford it. I’m 45 with 3 kids and would love to spend more time with my kids. What is your advice?

Links provided during the call:

https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/membership/ 

https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/digital-project-management-training/ 

Rent-To-Rent: https://members.financialjoyacademy.com/courses/make-money-through-rent-to-rent-masterclass

Invest in cheaper properties: https://members.financialjoyacademy.com/courses/buy-cheap-properties-for-passive-income

SELF PUBLISHING

Jessenia

I am writing a childrens biligunal book. I am self publishing.

I have found my illustrator, she will be starting the images very soon.

For the last part of making this book. I don’t know how to put the book together, how to design the book format, does anyone know how to get the book ready for KDP amazon printing?

Thank you

Link provided during the call: 

https://thehumblepenny.com/self-publishing/

OPEN Q&A 

WORDPRESS OR SQUARESPACE

Sian

Hello Ken and Mary 🙂

Good to be here, I am new to the community and am familiarising myself with the resources. Thank you for the work you have put in! I have a question which you have likely answered many times before (sorry!)…

I am looking to create a blog that I can eventually monetize. I was going to use Squarespace to host and design my blog; mainly for ease of use and because I don’t have to worry about updates. 

I have noticed that you discuss WordPress more, is this just a preference or are there reasons WordPress would be recommended over Squarespace for example?

With thanks

Sian

Link shared on call: https://help.mediavine.com/en/articles/79355-in-content-ads-faq

Image shared on call:

Open Q&A

SAS STOCKS & SHARES INVESTMENT

Stephanie Taylor

Nicky and I have transferred profits from one of our businesses into our SSAS pension and now have our first SSAS funds to invest.

We would like to invest in the stock market until we look for our next property project next year.

I have found out from our pension administrator that we can use Vanguard Investor to invest our SSAS.

And as I use Vanguard for my personal investing and like the platform, I’m going to do this.

When I chose funds for my stocks & share ISA I just chose a few funds I thought would perform well and offered some diversification.

Now investing a significant sum for our SSAS.

And being accountable to Nicky I feel a little more pressure!

I’m wondering if it’s just the same approach

– choose funds you think will do well based on the market/past performance

– spread risk across funds which offer some diversification.

Or is there anything else I should take into account when choosing funds?

I know you can’t give advice, but just from your knowledge, which funds would you be looking at if you were investing now?

OPEN Q&A

Coming soon!

Coaching call 52 Wednesday – 2 march 2022

TAX 

Hello Ken,
I was hoping to share some current circumstances I am faced with financially and to get your advice.

I have a normal 9-5 job earning 60k per annum before tax. I have another part time job that gives me 15k before tax

My 9-5 job takes care of all my tax liabilities but the issue is the other 15k

Based on my earnings I am required to pay 40%

I urgently need your advice on how I can maximize my expenses and reduce the tax I get to pay before this financial year runs out in about 6 weeks.

I also want to set up a Limited Company to properly manage this same situation for the next financial year.

I found your video about that on youtube.

Thank you

CREATE FACEBOOK COMMUNITY 

Chelena

I’m thinking of starting a free Facebook community alongside a blog. I have been in many free business groups where they just become a flea market with business owners trying to sell their wears to other business owners who are not their ideal clients…

1. How much time would you spend in a free community, how would you add value/show up and on a practical level would you allow people to post freely or would you grant approvals for posts? 

BLOGGING OR YOUTUBE

Chelena

1. I have always been told the art of reading is dead! In this IG reel / YouTube shorts generation do people still read? 

I am considering starting a blog but am cautious that readers have become watchers… Would love to hear your thoughts?

FIRST TIME BUYER DREAM PROPERTY VS PRACTICAL PROPERTY

Stephanie Ivuerah

Is it better to enter the property ladder as soon as possible (for me this would mean getting a two bed flat with hopes of moving up the ladder later) or wait until I can afford the property I really want (a three bed house). In both circumstances, I’d like to rent out the spare room/s. The main thing stopping me from getting “my dream house” is my current income. I’m also conscious of the leasehold v freehold debate. I currently live at home and though I contribute to the household, it isn’t as much as the average rent so I’m in less of rush to move out. 

1. What do you think is best for someone is my situation.

Also (this is a hypothetical question) if I was planning to get married soon, myself and my partner are in the position to buy properties independently of one another.

   2.  For the purpose of building wealth, is it better to buy separately or wait until  marriage and buy together.

OBTAINING POTENTIAL TENANTS 

Sandra Mighty

I have a buy to let 1 bedroom property that I am thinking of letting out to contractors as I understand that you can get a higher return on your money than normal lettings.

What’s ur view on this and how do I go about finding contractors/where do I advertise. Turning it into an Airbnb is also another option. 

1. Which do u think is a better option?