For this week’s blog, I thought I would tell you a bit about me and how Oakhouse Business Services was formed.
I spent 15 years working for two different companies in the insurance industry, starting as an Admin Assistant and finishing as Operations Manager. My roles were always very much focused on the ‘back office’ functions – IT, managing the business support team, overseeing regulation such Health & Safety and Data Protection etc, HR, office maintenance, industry compliance etc. I was made redundant in 2013 (the day after I found out I was pregnant with my daughter!) as a result of offices merging and mine having to close.
I stopped work at that time and had my daughter. In 2015 I felt the need to challenge myself to do something, although I was reluctant to go back to work full time. Thanks to the support of (my now) husband, and a government scheme to encourage people to start their own business (New Enterprise Allowance Scheme), I set up Oakhouse Business Services in June 2015.
Fortunately, I found my first client later that same year and the business has been running ever since.
As well as an income, the biggest benefit of the business is that I can be flexible and work around school hours and club runs. It means that I can attend events like sports day, school assembly, Christmas plays and continue to be there when my daughter needs me and still fit work in.
It can be daunting and scary at times and the buck always stops with me. However, I have a great support network around me and there are always friends, family and online forums which provide fantastic advice.
In the next blog, I will give you my top tips for setting up your own business.