We are lucky to welcome Katie Braden, CFP® to our podcast In The Suite! She’s the passionate CEO of Innovating Advice, which provides consulting, coaching, and community for forward-thinking financial planners and advisors. Katie’s journey is inspiring, and we can’t wait to share it with you.
Upon graduating from RMIT University in Melbourne with a degree in photography, Katie was forced to return to Seattle when there were changes in the Australian immigration rule.
She obtained the CFP designation and joined her mother’s successful fee-only investment advisory firm. While taking so many responsibilities from a very young age, she learned that the existing financial advice and planning models were outdated.
As a result, Katie left her mother’s company and started one of the first completely virtual, fee-only, monthly retainer (no AUM) financial planning businesses, Belmore Financial. She’s also become an active member of the CFP Board’s Women’s Initiative Council.
Since then, Katie has traveled to 35 countries and territories to work with financial services professionals. In February 2020, she launched a podcast called The Innovating Advice, which she hosted for a year before passing it on to someone else. She has had amazing guests from the finance industry, including Travis Perry and Kate Healy. Her goal is to create a common link in which best practices and knowledge can be exchanged globally so everyone can benefit from them.
Katie believes that we need cheerleaders in our lives, people who are willing to nudge us forward.
In order to help others develop their own brands, she has formed a number of programs designed to teach business, communication, and marketing skills.
She emphasizes the importance of video marketing, especially since we live in a virtual world, and co-hosts the Video Creation Masterclass, a three-month course for financial advisors that’ll help them increase confidence on camera, and create engaging videos to attract their ideal clients, and polish their virtual collaboration skills. She’s offering free e-books that are packed with valuable and practical tips.
As Katy says, she was born with a “contrarian gene.” She does not want to live with regrets and makes life decisions based on ‘why not?’.
She loves to get off the beaten track of life.
Whether obtaining a degree in photography, starting one of the first completely virtual, fee-only, monthly retainer financial planning businesses, hosting the largest financial planning conference during the pandemic, or getting a pilot certification, Kate is out to break the traditional mold.
She refuses to follow the status quo after seeing so many people go through life doing all the “right things” and finding themselves unfulfilled and unhappy.
To build business confidence, she emphasizes that it’s important to have interests outside the business that will help us feel right. And if you’re not smiling or happy, you’re simply not working on the right people or projects.
The podcast is filled with words of wisdom that will inspire you to be a better leader and person. Below are our top takeaways:
- There Are More Roles Than Financial Planning: In spite of the finance industry’s struggle to attract females, Katie reveals that there are many roles beyond financial planning. The industry needs talented candidates in communications and marketing roles, so don’t be afraid to dig deep.
- Be Yourself: Katie believes that in order to build trust in a relationship, you must be yourself. If you are in a company or working with colleagues that don’t let you shine, then that place is not optimal for you.
- Network With New People: Katie learned from her research that there are about 60 million ex-pats worldwide. The biggest takeaway is the importance of getting out of your comfort zone and networking internationally. It will help you stay informed about global opportunities and share practices and knowledge with others around the world.
