Running your own business is very different from working in a business; you have to put on a lot of different hats. You are not just an accountant – you’re a sales manager, debt collector, staff manager and so on. It’s been a real eye-opener how many things I have to get involved in, and how to do them the right way and try to build the client base.
There are five of us and we’re growing well, focusing on our niche. We’re building our brand through marketing, predominantly on LinkedIn – our ‘Tuesday Tax Tips’ posts have gone down very well. I also do networking within industry, and word of mouth is bringing in new clients.
I brought big-business finance to a small business
It all started when I was at school and my dad said that I should be an accountant because accountants always have a job. So I took accountancy A-level then wrote to all the local businesses and found myself a job in an accountancy practice, starting my ACCA qualification at 18. It was a small practice and at the time we still did audits, so I did very varied work there. I qualified at 22 and then moved into industry as a management accountant. Because it was a big company I had to follow all the suspicious-activity reporting rules and get involved in the audits.
I took a break to do some travelling before taking an FP&A role, which was a bit different. By then I had a young family and no longer wanted to travel for work. My husband had set up a recruitment business and I took care of the finances; I brought big-business finance to a small business. It was a very successful business until Covid-19, when activity dropped off a lot. I then took a role as head of management accounts for a big recruitment company but eventually the work-life balance wasn’t what I wanted, which is why I set up my own practice specialising in recruitment businesses.
It’s very common in the recruitment industry, if you have contractors on your books, to have factored debt. We’re very experienced on that front and have good relationships with banks to support those clients. There’s also a lot of employment legislation that we need to be on top of, such as IR35 and intermediary reporting, that is specific to the recruitment industry.
A concern for recruitment is how many people are outsourcing work to other countries
It’s vital to have the industry knowledge; because we talk to so many recruitment businesses, we know which markets are doing well and which aren’t – within an industry as well as across the board. Jobs are currently being held open to save money since costs have gone up as a result of the payroll tax. Minimum wage went up at the same time as national insurance increased, and this is having a detrimental effect on how businesses hire. A concern for recruitment across the UK is how many people are outsourcing work to other countries because the costs are so much lower elsewhere.
Away from work, I like going to the gym and I enjoy running. My daughter plays football for the Southampton FC Academy, so I spend a lot of time driving her around for that. My son is a swimmer, so we have a lot of kids’ sports going on, but going on holiday is my favourite thing!
