#8 - Niche, Be Transparent, and Build in Public - Justin Green

Justin's Bio:

I founded Assist FP to help online fitness coaches and fitness entrepreneurs navigate the financial challenges associated with being a business owner.

The real me.. (keep scrolling for the professional version)

In my free time, I love to spend time with my fiancée, family, and friends. I’m usually in a gym or somewhere by the water during the summer (I hibernate during the winter). I love to read business and personal growth books, listen to podcasts, binge documentaries, or watch Boston sports during my downtime.

My fiancée is a travel nurse, so we currently bounce around the United States every 13 weeks.

I believe that life is too short to take it seriously all the time, so I try to inject humor often. A little laughter goes a long way.

Why did I become a financial planner?

I got my first job at the age of 17 while my peers focused on school. I grew up in a lower middle-class family until my father was disabled in his early 30’s which seemed to bring harder times. My parents did the best to provide for our family and I’m forever grateful for all they have done for me. I never went without the necessities. Rent was paid, lights were on, and food was always on the table.

After college, life gave me a crash course on personal financial planning. I didn’t know what the stock market was until I was 22 years old. I had to learn everything they don’t teach you in school. That led me down a path of taking control of my own financial life, and I fell in love with it, so I decided to go back to school to learn how to help others take control of their financial lives too!

Why did I start my own firm?

“Millennials want to be seen and heard by the financial planning profession.”

As a sophomore in college, I received a phone call that my mother had been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. She passed away 6 months after her diagnosis (on the day before her health insurance lapsed!!) at the young age of 40. I had to grow up a lot quicker than many of my peers, and I decided early on that I was going to be very intentional with how I built my life.

Like many of you, I have always had the entrepreneurial itch. My first entrepreneurial endeavor was the classic lemonade stand story. I grew up in a neighborhood with an outdoor basketball court, and during the summer they had men’s league games. I saw an opportunity and convinced my mom to let me set up a Gatorade stand next to the courts and started selling.

I knew from day 1 of pursuing the journey of becoming a financial planner that I wanted to create my own business that was different from any other financial planning firm you’ve seen.

Let’s shake up the traditional model of the financial industry together.

Professional..

Certified Financial Planner™ Professional

Master of Science in Personal Financial Planning, Kansas State University

I decided to pursue my interest in personal finance a few years after receiving a Bachelors of Science in Sports Management from the State University of New York at Cortland. I was living in Manhattan, Kansas (the Little Apple) at the time and I decided to enroll in the Personal Financial Planning program at Kansas State University.

In 2016, I completed the education requirement of the CFP® certification and entered the profession at a small fee-only firm on Cape Cod, MA. During that time, I became a CFP® Professional after fulfilling all of the necessary requirements. In December 2019, I graduated from K-State with a Master of Science in Personal Financial Planning (MSPFP).

At some point, I will probably add more designations and add to the alphabet soup after my name.


Music in this episode is provided by bensound.