She left the Army and became a Financial Planner Mum, With St James's Place Academy | Katie Volker

In this episode of the financial planner life podcast, Sam Oakes sits down with Katie, a former Army officer who transitioned into a successful financial planning career with the St. James’s Place Academy.

Katie’s story is one of resilience, adaptability, and building a business that fits around life’s big moments, including becoming a mum mid-way through growing her firm.

We cover:

✅ How military skills like leadership, discipline, and resilience translate into financial planning

✅ What it’s really like going through the St. James’s Place Academy (and how Katie passed her exams in just 6 months)

✅ The importance of mentorship and building your support network

✅ How social media, especially Instagram Stories, has helped her win new clients

✅ Balancing business growth and motherhood, and how becoming a parent opened new networking opportunities

✅ Why financial planning needs more diverse voices and more women in leadership

✅ Tips for using LinkedIn and Instagram for business development

✅ The power of storytelling and human connection in financial services

Whether you’re ex-military, thinking about a career change, or wondering how to balance parenthood with self-employment, this is a must-watch.

Be sure to follow Financial Planner life on YouTube for extra content about career development within Financial Planning.

Reach out to Sam@financialplannerlife.com in regards to sponsorship, partnerships, videography or podcast production.

Want to appear on the Financial Planner Life podcast? drop Sam a message.