05/10/2026
I remember being 19 and starting out in the finance industry.
It wasn’t something I ever expected to do. I was actually at university studying criminology, but I needed a part-time job and happened to know someone working for a finance company that said they needed a part-time assistant. The role did not require experience and I could walk to work.
I applied, got the job and I loved it.
I’ll be honest though, it was daunting.
I had to learn how to understand what type of finance someone needed (often they didn’t know themselves), assess their circumstances and know what questions to ask them, get to know different lenders and their products, understand their individual criteria and preferences, and then work out how to structure and present a deal in a way that gave it the best chance of success.
At the time, it was a very male-dominated industry.
Once I had learned how to assess an enquiry, structure a deal and present it to a lender, I was often met with resistance simply because I was a woman. On more than one occasion, I was asked to get a male colleague to call back instead. Even clients would often ask to speak to a male colleague if they could.
In hindsight this was a gift as I had to become better.
Interestingly, my criminology degree gave me some skills that proved incredibly useful such as understanding risk, asking the right questions in the right way, spotting inconsistencies and recognising when someone wasn’t being completely open with the information they provided all became valuable parts of what I did.
The more I pushed through the resistance, the more confident and experienced I became.
Nearly 30 years on, I still remember just how challenging it was to learn how to:
• Understand what a client really needed
• Assess their circumstances and the associated risks
• Identify the right lender and product
• Negotiate the best possible terms
• Manage the process and get the deal completed within the client’s timescale
And that’s exactly why I believe clients shouldn’t have to navigate all of this themselves.
If you need to refinance a property, fund a purchase or finance a development, why spend your time trying to learn an entire profession?
I also hear lots of talk about AI and whilst it can be incredibly useful in some ways, it can’t replace decades of experience, relationships, skill and knowing how to navigate the nuances of a deal.
That is where we thrive!
With 27 years of experience and established lender relationships, we can save you time, stress and, most importantly, costly mistakes.
You focus on your business and your plans.
We focus on finding the right financial solution to make them happen.
If you would like to chat about a financial requirement, send me a dm or email [email protected]