Mobile services are everywhere. You can get food, legal advice, and now even financial advice from a truck. Financial literacy coach Marsha Barnes chatted with BlackEnterprise.com to talk about The Finance Bar, a new way to get financial advice on the go.
What is a mobile finance bar?
The Finance Bar is a premier mobile hub offering an array of personal finance products and services. We offer personalized one-on-one sessions for couples, women, and young adults seeking to make smarter financial decisions and savvy financial investments. The Finance Bar offers in person or convenient virtual consultations, e-learning, and specially designed online courses. The content of our courses are uniquely crafted around the need of each client and each course is designed to guide you from a place of financial insufficiency to a point of sound financial wellness. We are also stocked with amazing, on-trend novelties to keep clients and followers motivated and connected to their personal finance goals.
The Finance Bar seeks to be the community’s mobile finance bar, providing hope to individuals and families via affordable finance advice, solutions, and resources. We bring smart financial ideas and our fees and products are affordably priced to offer our clients the opportunity to live a financially confident lifestyle.
BlackEnterprise.com: Where did you get the idea for a mobile finance bar?
Barnes: I’ve always adored the thought of being a traveling personal finance consultant. It was also important to recognize that not everyone who has the desire to be financially well has the means to access the services that the Finance Bar provides. You may not have the capability to travel or you may not even have the technology resources available. Additionally, avoiding commercial space allows me to set consultations at reasonable prices. Prior to The Finance Bar, I served 100% in a non-profit capacity. My hope is to remain closely attached to many untapped areas such as homeless shelters and understanding the needs of those who remain on the streets. The end goal is to serve relentlessly.
What services do you offer?
The Finance Bar offers free consultations, advice on understanding your money mindset, the importance of saving, debt management, credit report consultations, a budget bar, and many more. We also offer a shop that allows the purchase of novelties such as totes and mugs, which serve as motivational money reminders.
How much do you charge and how long is each consultation?
Fees vary beginning at a price point of $30 to $55. Sessions are approximately one hour and 15 minutes.
Where do you see yourself and your business in five years?
The goal is for The Finance Bar to gain 500+ clients within a year. And in five years I envision that The Finance Bar will grow as a fleet of traveling buses. In fact, the business plan for a second bus is already in motion. Gaining financial knowledge shouldn’t be considered as a luxury. Everyone has the right to learn personal finance principles.
What advice would you give others who want to be where you are today?
Recognize early in your process that being 100% committed to financial wellness extends far beyond the desire to forego a shirt, pair of shoes, or the latest sale. It’s a daily practice of measuring areas of reducing expenses, being strategic in increasing disposable income, and not being afraid to take investment risks (fully understand those risks first). The Finance Bar was a risk that I was willing and prepared to take. I was thrust into uncomfortable territory very quickly. One day I would learn about the importance of branding and the next day would be small lessons on a diesel engine. Remain an open book, and always choose imagination over practicality, and lastly done will always trump a waiting fest of perfection. Leap and learn along the way.