Supporting career dreams

Claire's story

Claire Smith’s sister, Michelle, was fit and healthy when she died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism at the age of 37. Claire went into shock at the news. “It was completely out of the blue,” she says. “It was horrendous.” 

Overnight, her entire outlook changed. “It made me re-evaluate my life,” she says. “I had been working in the corporate world, in sales and marketing, for 25 years. I had a high-pressure, target-driven, full-on job, five days a week, which involved travelling all over the country. I loved it – but it was exhausting. And I just decided I didn’t want to do it anymore.” 

With two kids of her own, Claire realised what was important to her. “I was one of those mothers who was always in a business suit, running around like crazy. I wanted the flexibility to pick and choose my own hours so I could spend more time with my parents and children.” 

She decided to take the leap and set up her own marketing business. Five years later, she still has clients who signed their first contract in the company’s early days and have been with her ever since. “The rewards have been phenomenal,” she says. St. James's Place

For Claire, the biggest benefit of running her own business is the improvement to her work-life balance. She can go on several holidays abroad each year and spend much more time with her family than she used to. “That’s what’s really important to me,” she says.

Being self-employed enables her to be creative and to spend her time working only on projects that excite her, with people she really enjoys working with. “I’ll do a discovery call and if, during that call, the client and I aren’t vibing – which doesn’t happen very often – I’ll advise them to go elsewhere. Because I want to work with people who are on my level, who enjoy my company.”

And the success of the business has put her into a secure financial position. She and her husband have almost paid off the mortgage on their home.

From a personal perspective, getting financial advice has made a big difference to how Claire feels about her finances – and her future.

“Lauren’s advice has been invaluable to me. Her knowledge and experience have given me confidence. I trust her implicitly, and I know she’s got my best interests at heart,” she says.

The amount Claire is saving should allow her to meet her retirement goals and start drawing down her pension when she’s in her late 50s. “My husband and I plan to travel a lot,” she says. “He loves playing golf and I love sunbathing – and we both just want to enjoy life.”

Claire says she has learned the hard way that life is precious. “And now, I just want to make the most of it.”

Claire’s daughter Georgia, who is 18, is already following in her mother’s footsteps as a businesswoman. At 15, sick of working in part-time hospitality jobs for low wages, she set up her own social-marketing business, Evolve Your Social.

Three years later, she has just finished her A levels alongside working on projects for seven different clients and hosting the Social Commuter Podcast, which is about social-media marketing and drops weekly.

“I’ve got so many business ideas and plan to have three businesses by the time I’m 19, instead of going to university,” she says.

Georgia has always been savvy with her finances and explains that, unlike her mum, she’s a natural saver. “I’m careful with my money,” she says. “I have a financial planner that I fill in every month, and I budget everything I spend.”

She’s now earning more than four times the hourly wages of most of her peers and, after seeking advice from Lauren about what to do with her spare cash, has started saving into a pension.

“I would rather do that than have a wild night out and spend £200 eating and drinking,” she says. “I love concerts and I like going shopping occasionally with my boyfriend, but I’ve never really seen the benefit of big nights out.”

Lauren also helped Georgia to navigate the world of ISAs and Child Trust Funds. “Georgia got access to her Child Trust Fund when she turned 18,” her mum, Claire, explains. “We got £250 from the government when she was born. Then, on her first birthday and on her christening, some relatives gave her money, and we saved that in the fund too. It added up to £6,500 in the end.”