More than just a number: Ex-HSBC banker, Ian Brightwell, and his experience becoming his own boss

Three years ago, Ian Brightwell said goodbye to HSBC and hello to starting up his own business. Together, with his wife as Practice manager and St. James's Place as a Partner, Ian built Brightwell Financial Planning from the ground up. Ian shares his experience of starting a company, his hopes, his fears and where he is now.

"I really enjoy going into work in the morning" - how many people can honestly say that? Ian discusses how the decision to go self-employed has completely changed his life for the better. He shares his experience working within a large company during his time at HSBC, saying that while he did genuinely enjoy his role there, after the mishandling of redundancies within the team around him, he began to feel like he was "just a number"; disposable and undervalued.

He describes feeling like a "temporary servant" to short-term clients, never being able to establish a long-standing relationship or determine which clients he managed. He no longer felt like monthly pay checks provided security, and employment no longer felt like a given, making the employed role feel just as risky as entrepreneurship in the current climate.

When asked to compare this to his experience as a Partner, Ian shares his genuine joy that he now has a client bank that he could "happily pick up the phone to anyone at any time," full of people he has chosen to work with. Partnering with SJP enabled him to feel confident setting up his own business, providing him with training and support without forcing him to compromise on his professional autonomy.

Ian says that, for him, the best part of partnering with SJP is the expansive support that they offer people setting up their own advice companies, from marketing to technical assistance: "if you have a technical question and you don't know where to go with it, you can get on the phone to industry leading experts for 1-to-1 conversations."

Ensuring quality advice is something that Ian is incredibly passionate about. He shares how SJP's proposition enables him to provide the best investment options for his clients: "I can’t think of a client need that we can't help; [the proposition] enables us to do a real service to every client in every scenario". He can feel assured that the advice he is providing is the best it can be, backed by a large company.

Ian shares that his goal for next year is to become Chartered, to show his commitment to delivering high-quality advice. He explains how SJP have helped him to achieve this goal through webinars and facilitating connections with other entrepreneurs who are doing the same thing. No matter what your goal is, Ian stresses that SJP's business development managers will be on hand to help: "the support network in the background is massive!"

When asked to share his advice for people currently thinking about starting their own business, Ian says that the most important thing is to "make sure it's right for you emotionally, professionally and for your family." He shares that speaking to people who had been in his situation, felt his fears and asked his questions themselves, was the most helpful thing he did when deciding whether to go self-employed.

Ian encourages those thinking about making the leap to reach out to someone to ask those questions that are holding them back. "I'd happily take a call from anybody; it's the best decision I've ever made in my professional career." He understands that there will be fears, that the decision takes time, but ultimately, he describes it as a "life-changing moment."