People often assume that because I'm a Chartered Accountant, I always knew I'd end up running a finance business.
However, my journey into finance started with a Chemistry and Spanish degree and helping my dad run his construction business.
After university, I moved back home and began helping him with the everyday running of the company. At the time, he was a sole trader working incredibly hard and earning just enough to cover the bills. Like many construction business owners, he spent his days on-site delivering work and his evenings trying to keep on top of paperwork, finances and everything else that comes with running a business.
While I worked out what I wanted to do after uni, I became his unofficial back office department.
I looked after finance, HR, IT, marketing, pretty much anything that needed doing that wasn’t the building. Whilst I enjoyed all aspects of helping the business grow, I found myself particularly drawn to the finance side. I loved the way numbers could tell a story, reveal opportunities and help make better decisions.
Together, we transformed the business from a small sole trader operation into a company generating over half a million pounds in turnover.
This is where it all began… Not with spreadsheets or accounting qualifications, but with helping someone I cared about navigate the challenges of running a business.
It's also where my understanding of the construction industry started. I experienced first-hand the pressures that construction business owners face, managing cash flow, pricing jobs correctly, staying on top of costs and making sure there was enough money in the bank to keep everything moving.
Those early experiences have stayed with me throughout my career and continue to shape how I support clients today.
Building my career in finance
Helping my dad's business sparked my interest in finance, but I wanted to develop my skills further and understand the profession properly. So, I secured a training contract with BDO Stoy Hayward, as it was then, and began the journey to becoming a qualified Chartered Accountant.
Over the next 15 years, I built my career across a wide range of businesses and industries. I worked within large corporate organisations with billion-pound turnovers, private equity-backed companies, growing SMEs and ambitious start-ups. Every role gave me a different perspective on what makes businesses succeed and where they often struggle.
I gained experience in finance reporting, forecasting, strategic planning, business partnering, acquisitions, systems implementation and building finance teams. I worked alongside talented leaders and saw first-hand how strong finance information can drive growth and is the backbone to every company.
It was an incredible learning experience, and I'm grateful for every opportunity I had. However, over time I began to realise that in many larger organisations, the finance teams could spend a huge amount of time producing reports, analysing numbers and preparing information that wasn't always acted upon. The reports were created because they were expected, not necessarily because they were helping anyone make more informed decisions.
Then, in 2019, after moving into another finance role, I decided that I wanted to focus on Finance in a slightly different wat to the norm. What I enjoyed most wasn't the reporting itself - It was helping and supporting people.
I loved working directly with business owners and leadership teams, and helping them understand their numbers, solve problems, make confident decisions and stop worrying about the finance challenges.
The creation of Finance with Flow
That's when the idea for Finance with Flow was born.
I didn't want to create a traditional accountancy practice that simply churned out year-end accounts and tax returns. I wanted to build something different, being a finance partner that works alongside business owners every day, with a team that becomes part of our clients team understanding their business, their goals and where they want to go.
I wanted to have a team that was only ever a phone call away when clients need advice, reassurance or someone to sense check an important decision, as I know that running a business can feel lonely at times.
There are countless decisions to make, challenges to overcome and responsibilities to carry. Often, business owners are expected to become experts in finance, HR, operations and strategy whilst still delivering their core service.
And that's exactly why Finance with Flow exists today.
By combining the expertise and professionalism I'd gained from working in large organisations with the personal, hands-on support I first provided to my dad years earlier, I have been able to create something that has the clients best interests at heart.
Looking back
When I think about where it all started, I always come back to those early days helping my dad with his construction business.
At the time, I had no idea it would lead to a career in finance, years spent working across large corporates, private equity-backed businesses and start-ups, and eventually starting Finance with Flow.
It has been an unexpected journey, but one that's reinforced something I learnt very early on: businesses thrive when they have the right support around them.
That's a lesson I've carried with me throughout my career, and one that continues to shape the way I work today.
Let’s connect
If there's one thing I've learned throughout my career, it's that no business owner should feel like they have to figure everything out alone.
If you'd like to have a conversation about your business, your goals, or the challenges you're facing, I'd love to have a chat.
You can reach me and the team on undercontrol@financewithflow.com or 01206 326610, or find out more about Finance with Flow take a look at our website www.financewithflow.com.
