EVERYTHING TECHNOLOGY
Ok, not entirely new – not yet anyway. I decided to take the plunge and set up a web development business on my own. It was here that I learnt my first major finance lesson - “Cash is King”, and I learnt it the hard way. Through a number of bad choices (mainly not taking payments up front for building websites), I found myself out of pocket with clients refusing to pay me. Ultimately, poor cash flow management put paid to my first fledgling business, and I made the decision to close it down.
But that failure taught me a valuable lesson. If I was ever going to succeed in running any kind of business, then I needed to have a much better understanding of finance. So I did something about that gap in my knowledge. So I took a big step backwards, and found a job with the Inland Revenue, collecting taxes and working closely with the self-employed. During this time I also took evening classes on bookkeeping and accounting, until I completed the courses.
I then found a role as an assistant accountant with a young entrepreneurial educational business and my finance career began. Over the years I was promoted through several roles, moved companies a few times and gradually learned more and more about the world of business finance. I may have started as an assistant accountant, but I ended up as a financial controller and European financial planning manager.
I qualified with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in 2010, and my career since has taken me on a journey through a variety of business sectors, helping each and every one use their financial resources more efficiently. That included working as a financial contractor for some blue-chip organisations, which was a real eye opener into the general state some businesses can find themselves in financially, without really meaning to.
This was all leading to where I am today, the latest chapter in my winding business story, and another venture into entrepreneurship.
I love working with smaller and medium sized businesses, because I understand exactly what they are going through. I’ve been through it myself, and I know how devastating it can be to a business if the finances aren’t taken care of. So I focus on identifying that pain point, that thing that’s holding you back, and use the data within your business to create reports that help you forge a path to move forward and be successful. Ultimately, I want to make your life easier, and help your business become a success