Ep #123: Building a Virtual Paraplanning Business - The Career of Alex Hopkin

October 25, 2017

What would you be able to accomplish if you were able to persevere through challenges in order to achieve your dreams? Alex Hopkin took advantage of both challenges and opportunities to advance her career and get to where she is today. Alex is now an associate planner with Gen Y Planning and the owner of Simply Paraplanner. Not only a planning firm owner, Alex had the opportunity to live abroad in Japan for four years while her husband was stationed there for the airforce. Leverageing a grant program, she was able to access both the CFP and AFC education and sit for both exams.

In this episode, we talk about the challenges she had to navigate as someone who wanted to succeed in working virtually. She talks about when she returned to the U.S, her husband was stationed in rural Oklahoma where no financial planning firms existed and the opportunity that came out of that discovery. She also talks about how she networked at XYPN 2015 and found virtual contracting opportunities, to becoming a full-time virtual employee of Gen Y Planning and where that's lead her since. Alex shares openly about why she started Simply Paraplanner, a job board and soon to be resource center for planners that want to be or hire a virtual paraplanner. Tune in to the full conversation below to hear more about Alex's journey and the lessons learned along the way.

Listen to the Full Interview:

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What You'll Learn from This Episode:

Alex’s experience living in Japan and the grant that offered the opportunity to pursue a career with flexibility.
Alex’s perspective on the crucial differences between the CFP and AFC and how they compliment each other.
How Alex landed work when she did her initial search for virtual clients and how she juggled multiple contracting jobs.
How Alex sits in on meetings and navigates tasks for financial planners with different personality types.
Why the option of working virtually can open doors for financial planners as well as firms.
Why Alex started Simply Planner and her vision for the future of the company.