Michele:

I knew from the age of eight, I wanted to be an entrepreneur. You could say this stems from my grandparents, Greek Cypriots who came to the UK with hard-earned savings with a dream to be successful and provide for their family. They ran a successful property and hospitality business with a restaurant in Southampton Way, southeast London, where I would spend most of my childhood. I would watch the daily routine of the busy restaurant, with regular customers who would come in just to receive my family’s warm hospitality. I always watched with amazement and wanted to help! But I was always told I was too young. So as soon as I could, at the age of 14, I proudly started my working life: my first job being a shoe sales assistant at Freeman, Hardy, and Willis in Woolwich. Although the pay by today’s standards would be poor – it was my money and earning it felt good. I dabbled in lots of other ways to make money before I found my ultimate specialty.

My accounting journey started at the age of 16, working for companies such as Duchy of Cornwall, Knight Frank, and Berry Bros; and at the age of 21, my entrepreneurial journey started. I opened my own Bookkeeping and Training Company. The business evolved and I started venturing into other sectors: Dating. Confectionery, Consultancy, Business Development, Property, Hospitality, and Investment. In 2011 I started my own Accountancy Practice, which from 2018 is under the current name Future Insight Consultancy Ltd. And in 2021 I expanded and opened a branch in Malta.

Between the years 2013-17, I lived and worked in Malta. There, I set up the training school ‘Bookkeepers Malta’, teaching bookkeeping qualifications. Our first qualified bookkeeper, Francisca Hehr, succeeded up to Level 4 of the ICB Qualification. Our training school was recognized by the EFOB (Austria) – (European Federation of Bookkeepers). For our success in the training of bookkeepers, we were nominated for an award at the ‘Constantinus Awards 2018’, in the Accounting & Payroll Selection. We came second runner-up.

In 2016 I also set up business support and a networking group in Malta for women running their own businesses, called ‘Ladies Who Latte’, which provides a platform for businesswomen to share tips and words of encouragement. We share success stories, help each other to overcome and conquer hurdles and expand our markets. Working for yourself can be lonely unless you make the effort to connect with other entrepreneurs, and I believe I succeed in making our journey more enjoyable.

People around me, including my team and clients, have noticed that my entrepreneurial spirit, passion, ambition, and expertise have inspired women to find their own path to success within the accounting industry. This was one of the reasons several of my clients nominated me for the ‘Top 50 Women in Accounting’ award. I am humbled as well as proud that I was chosen and won a place in the Top 50 group. I hope this will further inspire other women to be courageous and follow their dreams.

I am passionate about inspiring women to try their own businesses. I am a proud sponsor of and participant in the Women in Business Big Show (WBBS); I am a regular guest speaker at the events and on WBBS Radio, where I share tips and my journey to be an inspiration to other women that have started or plan on starting their own business. I provide training to my team members to expand their knowledge and earning potential and I intend to keep expanding my team with strong women who are keen to share their knowledge with other women. I also offer bookkeeping and software training to any client who is willing to learn and offer complimentary sessions for initial meetings with new start-ups.

My business, just like many others, has been adversely affected by the economic effects of the Covid pandemic, which hindered my next project: I endeavor to start a bookkeeping franchise, into which I had already done much research, but due to Covid the project was put on hold.

The majority of successful businesses have succeeded in large part due to good financial planning and good strategic decisions – and it all starts with good bookkeeping. If your books are in order you can draw up the truest picture of management accounts that will lead to the most informed decisions. Good bookkeepers are like gold dust: few and far between and invaluable.

Our franchise will offer packages to bookkeepers that want to build on their experience with further qualifications and training, encouraging them to start their own entrepreneurship journey. It will provide a networking and marketing platform to support them in establishing and growing their own business. I intend to utilize and build on my experience with training bookkeepers in Malta; I wish to pass on my knowledge and expertise to inspire and support women in particular.

Hooray!

Malta has been taken off the financial action task force grey list on Wednesday. This means that international trading becomes more Accessible with more people traveling to work over there.