My passion for finance and psychology was born at a very young age when I experienced how the behaviours of others and a lack of money can influence our happiness and freedom.
How did you get here?
Initially, I took charge of my money and worked & studied hard. At age 17, whilst still at school, I was managing a small café. I later studied accountancy at Stirling University whilst still running the café although I soon went on to supervise a much larger operation. After graduating I devoted all my attention to qualifying as a professional chartered management accountant whilst progressing rapidly through finance management roles. After qualifying, I launched my own accountancy business part-time, whilst still working full-time in strategic level finance.
After training as a NLP Practitioner, I left full-time employment so that I could dedicate my attention to my own business combining finance and NLP. I later trained as a hypnotherapist and embarked on a six-year journey to study a psychology degree part-time through The Open University to further build upon and add credibility to my psychological knowledge. I’ve currently got just 1 year to go! (April 2019)
Why do you write books as well as weekly blogs?
Writing and publishing books has been a life-long dream of mine since my Gran introduced me to books many years ago. Furthermore, I want to help everyone who needs it although I’m limited by time so books I feel are a perfect way to reach people across the country or in a different time zone, and even those who speak a different language from me.
Do you do all this yourself or do you have a team behind you?
I have a team! I could never do this alone although a very early independent version of myself thought she could…
My team is currently made up by my mentors, my partner, Sophie, and my assistant all giving me different levels of support to run my business, study and write my books. Additionally, I have teamed up with fellow accountants and many other business owners throughout Scotland and England to give my clients the ultimate service.
Tell me more about your assistant
Her name is Margaret Ward and she is great with the clients. She is my right-hand lady and all our clients love her. She is a fitness enthusiast, has a keen interest in travel and can speak Spanish and French. Margaret knows first hand how to set goals, achieve them and bounce back from challenges.
Who is Sophie?
Sophie is my adopted cat. My partner & I found her in a cat rescue shelter. She kept me company when I worked from home, before moving into the office 5yrs ago with Margaret, but she still keeps me company when I’m working from home writing blogs and the next book. She is a great editor but can be swayed very easily with some chicken or milk…