Latest / The Side Hustle Career Podcast with Fexingo: Second Income, Freelancing While Employed / How a Financial Advisor Built a 12K Side Hustle in Fractional CFO Work
Transcript
- Lucas: So Luna, have you ever wondered what a fractional CFO actually does? Because I used to think it was just a fancy title for a part-time finance guy. Luna: Totally. I mean, isn't that just a consultant who checks the books a few hours a week? But I've been seeing this term pop up more and more. Lucas: Exactly. And today's guest story is about a financial advisor who turned her expertise into a twelve thousand dollar a month side hustle doing exactly that. Her name is Sarah, and she's a certified financial planner by day, but she's built this whole second income stream without quitting her job. Luna: That's impressive. So how did she get started? Did she just put up a shingle and wait? Lucas: Not exactly. She actually started by listening to her clients. She kept hearing the same refrain from small business owners: they couldn't afford a full-time CFO, but they were drowning in financial decisions. They needed someone to help with cash flow forecasting, budgeting, pricing, even fundraising prep. Luna: So she found a gap. What did she do about it? Lucas: She started offering what she called 'CFO office hours' to her existing clients. Two hours a month, flat fee, and they could pick her brain on anything finance. That was the seed. But she quickly realized that some of them wanted a deeper engagement, more regular check-ins, and that's when she formalized it into a fractional CFO retainer. Luna: That's smart. She converted her advisory skills into a product. So what does a typical engagement look like for her now? Lucas: She has about five ongoing clients. Each pays her between two and three thousand dollars a month for a set number of hours, usually ten to fifteen. She does their monthly financial reviews, helps them build projections, and she's on call for strategic questions. That's the core of the twelve grand. Luna: And she does this after her day job? That's a lot of evening hours. Lucas: She's careful about that. She caps her client load at five, and she's very disciplined about her time. She blocks out Tuesday and Thursday evenings for her side work, and she's clear with clients about her availability. That's a huge part of the story. Luna: I bet. So what's her secret sauce? How did she land those clients without a massive marketing push? Lucas: It's actually a mix of referrals and a niche. She didn't go broad. She focuses specifically on professional services firms, like law offices and architecture firms. That's her sweet spot. She understands their revenue models, their billing cycles, and their key metrics. So when she talks to them, she speaks their language. Luna: That makes a lot of sense. It's easier to sell when you're a specialist. But what about the actual work? Is it really just analyzing spreadsheets? Lucas: No, it's way more than that. She told me that the biggest value she provides is being a sounding board. These business owners are often lonely at the top. They don't have a trusted financial partner to talk through big decisions. So she's part strategist, part therapist, part numbers person. Luna: That's a good point. It's about judgment, not just math. Lucas: Right. And that's why she can charge a premium. She's not just doing bookkeeping; she's helping them think through whether to lease or buy equipment, how to price a new service, or whether to take on a partner. That kind of advice has real, measurable value. Luna: I can see that. So what about the risk of conflict of interest? She's a financial advisor, but she's giving CFO advice. Isn't that a different hat? Lucas: That's a great question, and she was very careful about that. She made sure her side clients were not the same as her financial planning clients. She kept those relationships separate. And she got her own liability insurance and set up an LLC for the side business. So she's protecting herself. Luna: Smart. So this isn't just a 'hang a shingle' kind of gig. There's real business infrastructure. Lucas: Absolutely. And that's a lesson for anyone thinking about a side hustle: treat it like a business from day one. She even hired a part-time virtual assistant after six months just to handle scheduling and client communication. That freed her up to focus on the high-value work. Luna: That's a great point. So for our listeners who might be in finance or accounting, what's the first step they should take if they want to do something like this? Lucas: Sarah's advice is to start by talking to your current network. Ask your clients, former colleagues, or local small business owners what their biggest financial pain points are. Don't pitch anything yet. Just listen. You're looking for a recurring problem that you can solve. Luna: So it's about finding the need before you create the offer. Lucas: Exactly. And then, once you have that insight, you can design a simple offering. Maybe it's a monthly financial review or a quarterly planning session. You don't have to start with a full retainer. You can test the waters with a smaller package and see if there's demand. Luna: That's practical. I also like that she set boundaries from the start. With a side hustle, it's easy to overcommit. Lucas: Yeah, and she's a great example of that. She told me that her rule is no same-day requests. If a client sends an urgent email, she'll respond within twenty-four hours, but she won't drop everything. That's been essential for her sanity and for her primary job performance. Luna: Speaking of primary jobs, how does her employer feel about this? Is there any tension? Lucas: She's actually been transparent with her employer, which was a bit risky, but it paid off. Her firm saw it as a positive, because it showed initiative and deep expertise. They even started referring clients to her, as long as it wasn't a conflict. So that's a good lesson about communication. Luna: That's refreshing. Most people would hide it. But being upfront can build trust. Lucas: Right. And it also helped her negotiate some flexibility in her own schedule. Since she's already working evenings a couple nights a week, her employer was more willing to let her take a long lunch on Fridays for a side client meeting. So it's a win-win. Luna: Nice. Now, before we wrap up, I want to circle back to something you said earlier about the value of this kind of work. It really seems like it's about providing clarity and confidence to business owners, not just crunching numbers. Lucas: That's the heart of it. And if today's episode gave you a clearer picture of what fractional CFO work looks like, and maybe even some practical steps to start your own high-value side hustle, then this is exactly the kind of content we want to keep bringing you. The way these episodes stay ad-free is through listener support. If you've found value here, you can buy me a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It helps us keep the lights on and the content coming. Luna: Yeah, we really appreciate that. Every little bit helps us keep doing what we love. Lucas: And speaking of keeping things going, let's go back to Sarah's journey. One thing that struck me was how she scaled her pricing. She started at a lower rate to build confidence, but within a year she raised her fees by thirty percent for new clients. Luna: That's bold. How did she justify that increase? Lucas: She had results. She could point to a client who saved forty thousand dollars a year by renegotiating a vendor contract, or another who avoided a costly expansion mistake. When you have those numbers, you can charge more because you're delivering real ROI. Luna: That's the key, isn't it? It's about outcomes, not hours. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the mindset shift that turns a side gig into a real business. You're not selling your time; you're selling your expertise and the results you can generate. That's why Sarah's clients happily pay her a premium. Luna: So for someone listening who might be thinking, 'I could do that,' what's the one thing you'd tell them to do today? Lucas: I'd say start a conversation. Pick one business owner you know and ask them about their biggest financial headache. Just listen. You might be surprised at how many people need exactly what you can offer. And that first conversation could be the start of a very lucrative side hustle. Luna: That's a great takeaway. Thanks for sharing Sarah's story, Lucas. Lucas: It's a good one, right? It shows that with the right skills, a little strategic thinking, and some careful boundary-setting, you can build a meaningful second income stream even while you're working full-time.