The dream of working from home has caught on with 21st-century Americans. Telecommuting is on the rise with a 115% surge in the number of people telecommuting in the U.S. over the past decade. Opportunities to work remotely have permeated every industry imaginable, including financial services. These five remote business opportunities in the financial services industry, from accounting and stock trade to consulting and credit repair, could change your career path and lifestyle for the better.
1. Consultant
In terms of business opportunities in the financial services industry, a consultant is a versatile title applicable across industries and the spectrum of financial services. That versatility makes consultants valuable no matter what their location is. Since consultants can perform many of their responsibilities to a company via verbal, written, or video communications, this is an easier job than many for you to perform from home.
If you're considering becoming a consultant, play to your interests and expertise. Companies want to hire consultants with a breadth and depth of experience in the area in which the company entrusts these individuals. See if you can answer “yes” to any of these questions:
- Do you have your finger on the pulse of potential mergers and acquisitions deals in a particular industry?
- Are you an expert at lead generation no matter what the industry, product, or target audience might be?
- Do you regularly walk away with what you want from high-stakes negotiations for you and your clients?
While "consultant" may be a general, vague term, the value and expertise a consultant can offer a company is much more concrete and measurable if you can find your niche and sell your skills. That kind of expertise and measurability comes for a price, which makes being a successful consultant a lucrative option for a remote career in the financial services world.
2. Financial Analyst
Financial analysts’ versatility makes them valuable to just about any type of business or industry. Because much of the number-crunching and report-writing a financial analyst does can easily occur on most computers or mobile devices, being a financial analyst is an ideal move for a remote career.
Business owners today are drowning in data about financial services, market trends, and customer pain points and spending habits. Financial analysts make sense of the endless data, charts, and formulas to extract insights that can improve customer service and experience, marketing and operational strategies, company policies and practices, or the company's finances.
Financial analysts can also play to their strengths here to find a niche role to fill, such as payroll analyst or pharmacy benefit audit analyst. You may prefer to be a financial services analyst in a particular industry, such as technology, healthcare, or food and beverage manufacturing.
3. Stock Trader
Many individuals are interested in trading on the stock market with little to no technical knowledge or conceptual understanding of how to properly assess and manage risk to do so successfully. Stock trading online is yet another potentially lucrative business building idea for financial advisors looking for remote work. But it's not enough to simply call yourself a stock trader—you should be a knowledgeable and experienced trader with proven results for clients or your own investments. You will also need to invest some significant time, and money, into getting a Series 6, 63, and/or Series 7 license.
The industry is also in flux with the breakneck fluctuations of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, giving financial experts whiplash and leaving customers confused in their wake. Now more than ever these individuals need financial services experts they can trust to make smart decisions with their investments and financial futures. As a remote stock trader, you can work with customers to better understand how cryptocurrency works and how much, if anything, they should invest in these currencies.
4. Accountant
Because accountants conduct much of their tasks and communications via computer these days, remote accountants or accounting firms have become a go-to for many companies looking to reduce overhead costs. You have two main options here in terms of routes to take this particular career path.
You could work for a company that already offers such services to customers and join their team of remote accountant. Benefits include having a turn-key employment option with built-in policies and systems, a steady paycheck, and an existing slate of clients and leads, in addition to your own. However, such an arrangement could limit your freedoms in certain ways if you prefer to be your own boss.
The other option is entrepreneurship. You could build a remote, online-based accounting firm from the ground up yourself, either a solo operation or potentially with help from other partners or investors. This route takes much more time, effort, and focus, particularly at the outset as you establish and expand your new business, but it also means more freedom as you assume more responsibility.
5. Credit Repair Specialist
Rather than consulting for a company, you could also offer consultations and financial services directly to consumers by becoming a credit repair specialist. In 2017, credit card debt in the U.S. reached a record high, surpassing $1 trillion, according to a report by the Federal Reserve.
More credit card debt means a greater need than ever for knowledgeable, trustworthy credit repair specialists. As a credit repair specialist, you can teach consumers about better credit habits or help them reestablish their credit after a bankruptcy. With nothing more than your knowledge of credit repair, a computer, mobile device, and internet connect, you can begin a sustainable career as a credit repair specialist and begin changing the lives of your clients, while also shifting to life as a telecommuter.
Depending on your expertise and skill sets, any of these five remote financial services business opportunities could offer you a fresh perspective on your future occupation—and lifestyle.
For more information about business opportunities in the financial services industry, read this Financial Services guide for the next steps of finding your new career path.
