After having a conversation with his son about what he did for a living, Carl Mba, director at Carl Mba Financial Planning, had a moment of reflection and left his job of 17 years to pursue a career in advice.
Speaking to FT Adviser as part of our Coffee Corner series, Mba said he felt as though he was not inspiring his son enough with his role at the time.
Tell me about your entrance into advice
“I used to work for BT, I was there for 17 years after joining the graduate scheme,” Mba said.
“But one day I was speaking to my son and talking about what I do for a living and I could see he wasn't very interested.
“He asked me what we do all day and I told him, but as I was telling him, I saw his eyes glazing over.”
Mba said he realised his role was just obviously not very engaging for his son, especially when he questioned why he did it.
“I said, we've got to pay bills and explained how money works.
“And he still said, 'why don't you just do something that you like more?'
“I thought about it and I felt like I wasn't inspiring him enough because I've told him that he should do what he wants to do and follow his dreams.”
Mba said it was a moment where you reflect on your life choices and what options you've got available.
“I decided to leave BT but didn't quite know what I was gonna do next,” he said.
“I didn't plan on going into financial advice at that point but I thought about maybe setting up a business or doing something that I was more passionate about.
"[The move to advice] came about after speaking to my wife, because I've always been good with money - I have always invested and I've always been passionate about investing."
Mba said he originally did not think it was a career he could do as he thought it was too late to change.
“I was mid-career, but I knew some other people in the industry,” he said.
“They said 'It's not too late. You'd actually still be one of the youngest advisers if you were to join'. So that was the path followed.”
After completing his studies, he began looking for a role.
What would you say are the biggest challenges facing new business owners today?
Mba said starting off having money is a challenge and said he was lucky in this regard.
“As I said before, I've always had investments so I have got a bit of capital behind me to weather the storms of just having no income. Even though I'm seeing clients and I'm writing business, it takes a while for that to build up.
“Without the financial buffer that builds up personally, I'd be relying on something else,” he said.
Mba argued that it can be quite demoralising, especially when you want to focus on the good aspects of the career.
“It’s easy to think, I'm doing all the right things but personally I'm not getting anything out of it,” he said.
