After 16 years in the corporate world, working in a wide range of industries, I left on maternity leave and haven’t looked back since.

​I spent two precious years looking after my baby son full time. My husband left his full-time job, to start his own company, when our son was born. Not the best timing, but an opportunity not to be missed. I started helping, keeping basic records of his accounts (using spreadsheets), which I would then pass on to my accountant friend to do her magic.

I knew I needed a job to fit around my new life as a mum. Bookkeeping seemed like an obvious choice, so that I could not only do my husband’s books properly, but also hopefully start taking on my own clients.

​My accountant friend suggested the ICB as a route to becoming a qualified bookkeeper. I did some research into courses and course providers and after chatting with Brian at Ideal Schools, I was very excited about starting my journey to becoming a bookkeeper!

I started off in September 2014 just studying in the evenings and then gradually built up my hours when my son started going to preschool a couple of mornings a week. By July 2015 I’d worked my way through Levels II, III and IV, achieving Level IV Certificate in Advanced Bookkeeping. I then applied for my practise licence and started planning my business.

It took a lot of work to set up my business, as there wasn’t as much support and resources available as there are now. It took 6 months to get my first client, which was frustrating at the time, but I was still only able to work on my business part time and it had given me the opportunity to continue with my studies. In December 2015 I completed my Level III Diploma in Completion of Self Assessment Tax Returns.

I continued to take on clients and when the FRS105 course was launched, I signed up straight away and achieved my Level IV Certificate in Preparing and Submitting Final Accounts Under FRS105 in December 2016.

I then moved counties and had to start from scratch again as I was only able to take one client with me. Within a year of moving, I had taken on so many clients that I had too much work! I think a combination of the close business community and my confidence having already been in practice for a while, enabled me to build up my business more easily the second time round. I have since made efficiencies in my business by organising the way I plan and do my work as well as using software such as Taxfiler and Auto Entry. This has enabled me to get my work to a manageable level and to get my work/life balance back.

Having experienced what it is like to go through studying and building up a business, whilst juggling family life, I love the idea of being an Ambassador for Ideal Schools - who provided me with the perfect solution and support to becoming a bookkeeper and successfully running my own business. ​Being able to support others who are starting out on their own journeys to becoming bookkeepers is really rewarding.