The Challenges of Setting up in Business through 2020
By Sarah Medd
I’m a mother, farmer’s wife and self-employed mortgage adviser…in that order. This is my experience 1 year in after setting up in business.
My first and main lesson over the last year is that perseverance and persistency are essential and without these traits I wouldn’t have been able to function successfully keeping all the plates spinning, like working mum’s have to do.
Unknowingly, I decided to set up as a self-employed mortgage adviser just 4 months before the Covid pandemic was rife and we entered into the first lock down.
Lock down…we couldn’t do anything about it, and without the distractions of the children’s hobbies and clubs and unable to have a social life, the focus was on home schooling and getting the business established. At this time the farm was entering one of their busiest seasons -lambing.
So, this was an opportunity like no other we’d had; to be on the farm together and experience lambing as a family. Never before had I or the children been able to spend so much time together on the farm. The girls enjoyed helping the new baby lambs into the world and all the work that goes with looking after all the farm animals. For this we felt very lucky. We didn’t have as much restraint as others as there was the freedom of being out on the farm whilst following the rules. For the farm, it was business as usual.
As I was just at the start of setting up in business I felt it was important to forge forward and progress. I can work from anywhere really, not restricted to an office or location, so at times I was taking calls and working whilst on the farm, with a lot of farm animal sounds in the background.. Everyone understood and I found over time that clients were very ok (under lockdown conditions) with the odd barking neighing or bleating in the background!
After lambing and as we moved into summer with the loosening of restrictions, I started to feel conflicted. My business (mortgages) was getting busy; so many people were looking to progress up the property ladder. This was great and for me the summer was crazy busy. I did have a lot less time with the children than anticipated and I was unable to help my husband on the farm as much, but I was looking at the bigger picture and focusing on getting my business established, hoping that the freedom and time would come eventually.
I can work at any time, from anywhere, so I would try and take more time out of mortgages when the children were around and then make up for it when they’d gone to bed. There has to be some work life balance, otherwise what’s the point. This is after all why I decided to work for myself in the first place; to have more freedom in my work life and more time with the family, to always be there for key events.
From starting out in November 2019 to now, I’ve gone through a few structural changes, but feel like I’m where I want/need to be with the business.
I’ve made the biggest steps forward over the last 6 months. It’s gone from just me to a team of 3, employing 2 full time members of staff. Part of what’s allowed me to do this is changing the structure of how the business operates. From just working locally, to now having a national focus, all client appointments over the telephone, or via zoom or teams has made a huge difference and allowed me to scale quickly.
Now with more support from my team, I’m hoping to get back to having more time with the children and being able to be there to support my husband on the farm at times. We are approaching lambing once more and I hope to again be of assistance.
This last year has been a difficult year for all and especially for those who have lost loved ones or and being financially impacted by the pandemic.
My main aim of sharing my experience, is really to give hope to others also starting out in business, that are also busy mums and wives, that with some determination and dedication, it is possible, and you can do it!
Bio
I am a Mortgage and Protection Specialist at Active Mortgages. Active specialises in finance, mortgages and protection for the self-employed and ltd company director’s. I can help client’s with their residential or BTL mortgage needs as well as bridging and development finance.
Social media links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/smedd/
https://www.instagram.com/meddsarah/
https://www.facebook.com/ActiveMortgageSarah