'I realised there are plenty of people already out there': Young entrepreneur Carl Lincoln changes start-up plan after entering saturated market place

Sitting in his car, Carl Lincoln stares into his phone camera and tells watchers to get a piece of paper.

He tells them to write down as many ways as possible they can make £10 this weekend to get them “into the mindset of earning extra income”.

In a tweet he hails his latest “side hustle for kids” in the winter, where he tells readers to scrape people’s cars for cash.

Carl Lincoln has launched personal finance firm Wiser Wealthier
Carl Lincoln has launched personal finance firm Wiser Wealthier

In posts on Instagram, he lectures about avoiding common eBay mistakes and where to get refunds on music bought on iTunes.

These cash-boosting snippets were the basis of his new business Wiser Wealthier, which he is running from his home in Northfleet, Gravesend.

The concept, he said, was MoneySavingExpert.com meets personal training for the younger generation.

It involved flooding all forms of social media – mostly Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram – with his money-saving “hacks”.

“I had no intention of leaving my job but as more and more people started noticing it and MoneySavingExpert got in touch I wondered if there was a business in there somewhere..." - Carl Lincoln, Wiser Wealthier

For those interested in learning more, they could sign up to his personal finance personal training courses, where he reviewed customers’ spending and would give advice on how to improve income and get expenditure to sustainable levels.

Less than four months into the venture, he was so convinced of its potential he quit his job in the marketing team of medical device manufacturer Integrated Technologies Ltd (ITL) in Ashford after three years. Then, a few months down the line, his plans changed.

Originally the young entrepreneur’s idea was to run a social media start-up designed to sort out the finances of the younger generation.

Yet having set up a website and printed hoodies with his Wiser Wealthier branding, he realised his only qualification for offering financial advice was having paid off his wedding months ahead of schedule.

Mr Lincoln, 26, said: “Having learned more about the industry I realised there are plenty of people out there that offer financial advice and support. My skillset is marketing.”

Having jacked in his job and realised his big idea might not be what it was cracked up to be, Mr Lincoln had to adapt quickly.

Carl Lincoln has launched personal finance firm Wiser Wealthier
Carl Lincoln has launched personal finance firm Wiser Wealthier

“The business has evolved from the personal finance personal training service, which was basically financial coaching, to marketing consultancy for finance professionals,” he said.

“They are not good at marketing themselves. There is a big need for great quality marketing on the part of the advisors, especially when it comes to social media and video marketing.

“There is a more suitable business there than me learning to be a financial coach.”

Mr Lincoln admits he was swept up in his personal finance personal coaching idea after he being contacted by MoneySavingExpert.com within two weeks, the website founded by Martin Lewis and now owned by MoneySuperMarket.com.

“When I hit upon the ideas of finance personal training I thought if someone else is doing this in three years, I will regret it..." - Carl Lincoln, Wiser Wealthier

“They asked who I was and said they liked my videos,” he said. “They asked how Snapchat is working for me and I said it’s the right place to be.”

Mr Lincoln, who runs a blog with financial tips, still believes there is a market for a good financial advisor to tap into the younger generation with better use of social media.

He said: “MoneySavingExpert.com is great but the way they package their advice on social media is miles behind where it needs to be. They are not even on Snapchat.”

Despite changing his business plans, Mr Lincoln has no regrets about leaving a well-paying job and setting up on his own.

He said: “I had no intention of leaving my job but as more and more people started noticing it and MoneySavingExpert got in touch I wondered if there was a business in there somewhere.

“When I hit upon the ideas of finance personal training I thought if someone else is doing this in three years, I will regret it.

“I didn’t want to leave my job because I loved it at ITL but I had to try this out. It has worked out right in the end.”

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