Being rich-especially very rich-is still in vogue. Honestly, people have continued to strive for extreme wealth, even while the rich and super-rich played down their affluence over the last few years. What's clear is that many-not all, but a solid majority-of the affluent are more than interested in amassing a Brobdingnagian fortune. What's also quite evident is that those lower in the financial hierarchy are also looking to create significant wealth.
From get-rich-quick schemes pitched in infomercials to "exclusive" investment opportunities to the array of experts willing to-for a price, of course-share their wisdom on how to become wealthy, supply has yet to catch up with demand. For example, I'm seeing more and more examples of adepts in the aeaeae artes expanding their practices to provide personal wealth creation advice. In the span of a month, I sat down with a self-identified master of catoptromancy; two mediums, one living his life backwards (à la Merlin) and the other personally channeling Julius Evola; a spiritual hypnotist specializing in past lives therapy; and a bellicose crusty thaumaturge willing to take on protégés. All of them are working with the wealthy and those aspiring to be wealthy, providing advice on how to become rich.
What I'm also starting to see is a small but growing number of professionals-from attorneys to investment advisors, from accountants to life insurance agents-who cater to the wealthy expand their practices to include various facets of wealth creation coaching. There is a strong overlap between their services and this type of coaching.
There are a number of reasons for professionals to incorporate personal wealth creation coaching into their practices, including the following:
Meeting high client demand. When it comes to advice on how to become meaningfully wealthier, we're talking about a growth industry that-by all the signs-will keep growing at an accelerated rate. From the super-rich for whom the sky is not the limit to those who lost substantial wealth over the last few years and want to bounce back (fast) to the average single- or double-digit millionaire who has decided to become a lot richer as quickly as possible, there's a will to pay-and pay well-for this type of coaching.
Gaining a competitive advantage. All professionals are fungible. It's not that some aren't more competent than others. But when it comes to technical capabilities, many similar professionals are interchangeable. Moving beyond investment management or tax planning, for instance, to advise clients on growing their wealth is a way for professionals to differentiate themselves and be in a better position to garner more clients.
Building strong client relationships while generating revenues and referrals. Wealth creation coaching makes for deeper client relationships. Professionals gain a more intimate and purposeful understanding of their wealthy clients that not only helps them grow their clients' net worth, but also leads to the advisor managing a larger share of the client's assets and sets the stage for a flood of referrals.
Personal wealth creation coaching certainly isn't for everyone. It has to make business sense for both the professional and the client. The pedagogical methodologies for providing this form of coaching range from the mystical (see above) to the much more mundane. As there's no one "correct" personal wealth creation coaching methodology, professionals have to adopt approaches that mesh with their existing practices.
While personal wealth creation coaching will likely expand in lockstep with the ranks of the increasingly iconic super-rich-accentuated by the snail-like economic recovery-only a select group of professionals will enter the field. Personal wealth creation coaching requires a mental acuity and skill set that is beyond the abilities of many professionals. However, professionals with the required skills can effectively grow their practices at a greater rate than their peers and will very likely be working with much more prosperous clients. At the same time, those affluent clients will become much wealthier.