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I joined the industry by fluke after being made redundant from running a wine bar aged 23 in 1987, having just taken on a mortgage. Panic!!! My Dad was in direct sales for an American Life Company (he joined straight after leaving the RAF so he also fell into financial services). I had no idea what to expect – I was given a ‘patch’ to canvas and work in a Yorkshire mining area. No social media marketing , no buying leads- just pure door knocking and talking to absolutely everyone about life assurance and pensions. Truly baptism by fire into the financial world – but looking back it gave me a backbone. My Dad used to say “every ‘no’ brings you closer to a yes, so 10 no’s is a success!!” 35 years on and I’m still talking to everyone.
I started as a sole trader, and after a horrendous 1st year of failure after failure, it sunk in that my attitude was what was holding me back. So, I stopped feeling sorry for myself, stopped sulking at rejection and set to work. Within 2 years I was promoted to a sales manager (basically you had to still sell but also go find your own recruits and then train them). They were long days, lots of evening work – but lots of fun and camaraderie too.
The next stop was promotion to a district manager (so now I am still selling, and recruiting and getting my team to manager level and getting them to recruit). Everything was run on sheer positive mental attitude and hard work.
I moved to Surrey in 1995 to get married, and was headhunted by Allied Dunbar Wimbledon, with access to proper business consultancy – this was when I started to learn ‘how to run a business and be profitable’.
I started all over again as a sole trader, as I was now planning a family and wanted flexibility. My daughters were born in ’96 and ’98, and I have made everyone of their school sport days, plays, assemblies – you name it, I was there to see them. I merged with anther sole trader and together we grew a top 10 business £1,000,000 plus business within Allied Dunbar/ Zurich – leaving in 2006 to become founder members of Intrinsic Financial Services.
In 2010, after the property recession kicked in, my business partner and I decided to separate – and at the same time so did my husband and I. The next 2 years were quite a challenge. Single Mum and negotiating my own ego after having had a very successful business to ‘what do I do next’.
I took a few months out to look my options – did I want to stay in the industry? Did I want to stay in management and build a team again? Or did I want to go back to just being a client facing adviser and looking after my great entrepreneurial clients – whilst also having some time for myself and my family after working so hard since 1987?
From being a fledging sole trader, to a successful company director and adviser, to back to where I started as a sole trader. And that is the beauty of our industry – we have options on how we want to work, when we want to work, with whom we want to work –choosing our clients as well as the environment that we work within. We can steer our own paths financially as well as holistically.
I now service my loyal eclectic client bank, along with my much loved and trusted PA Sam who has worked with me for over 20 years. I take lots of holidays, I have days out to be with family and friends, I spend time on my own, I have my own goals – no-one else’s. And that is why I love this industry – because we have the flexibility and opportunity to do just that.
