This month we have been celebrating 5 years of stress free finance at Insight Finance Solutions Ltd and we are all very proud of how far we’ve come in that time. Helen reflects on the birth of the business and her plans for the future…
Going it Alone – The Birth of a Baby (and a Business!)
It was 2017 and I was on maternity leave after having my son Ollie. I knew that going back to work in an accountancy office job just wasn’t my “why” any longer. My perspectives had changed and attaining the role of Finance Director in someone else’s business just wasn’t doing it for me.
Whilst I was mulling over what it was that I wanted out of life, I was approached by friends who needed help with their finances, the responses they were getting from their traditional accountants just weren’t making sense and they really wanted to understand their finances better. I loved helping them and explaining their finances over a coffee in a way that made sense – no financial jargon!
Quite quickly I was receiving referrals to other amazing businesses who needed someone to help them understand and manage their day to day finances. Could this be a new avenue for me?
We’ll Give it Six Months…
My husband and I discussed my idea of setting up a business alone, during maternity leave with a new baby. We agreed that I’d give it six months and, if it didn’t work out I’d go back to my job after my maternity leave was over. 5 years later I think we can agree that I’m not going back to my old job!
Initially, I was offering bookkeeping services, accountancy, helping clients understand the financial jargon and keeping in regular contact with them. Many clients find finances terrifying because they ignore it throughout the year and then deliver a bag of receipts to their accountant at the last minute! Staying in regular contact with my clients allowed me to understand their business needs more thoroughly and be in a stronger position to help them grow their businesses.
Steadily Growing The Team
After 12 months of running the business alone, I accepted that we’d grown to a stage where I definitely needed some help! Katie joined in 2018 as a bookkeeper and the clients adored her dynamic approach to finances and her commitment to helping our clients enjoy stress free finance.
In 2019 the team grew again, but this time both Katie and I were adding to our families with the arrival of Rex and Sam! We didn’t let this slow us down and not even a global pandemic stopped us doing what we do best, helping our clients achieve their business goals. We worked hard during the lockdowns to inform and assist our clients with furlough schemes, bounce back loans and government grants – cutting through the waffle to keep them calm, focussed and ready to reopen whenever possible. We’re really proud to say that all our clients were able to re-open fully in 2021 and haven’t had to make one redundancy!!
During the first few months of 2021, the business doubled in size and needed another pair of hands and Abby joined us as our accountant! This year, we’ve grown again with the addition of a fabulous new bookkeeper to the Insight Finance Solutions Ltd family with our new bookkeeper Alice!
What I love most about the team we have built is that we all genuinely get excited about finances and encourage our clients to feel the same positivity towards their accounts.
Where Do We Go From Here?
It has been lovely to sit and reflect on all of the changes the business has been through, from those first 6 months to today. It’s allowed me to make goals for the next months, years and know that if we can continue to go from strength to strength with the struggles of the last year, our plans for world domination might not be too crazy!
Often, when you’re in the flow of the everyday it’s easy to forget how far you’ve actually come. When you take a minute to step back and assess where you are now, we have no doubt you’ll feel as proud of yourself as we do!
Whether you’re just starting out in business or you’re ready to take stock of where you are, you need a firm who will help you to get in control of your money, make new goals and be a cheerleading squad for you.
To arrange a call and get ready for stress free finance, please get in touch.