Welcome to Insight Associate’s very first instalment of Meet the Team! In this new series, we’ll be introducing you to each member of our team and finding out what makes them tick. We’ll find out how their careers started, what they love about their job, their biggest client success stories and so much more.
So, onto Shirley, our wonderful Associate Director.
Shirley has been into all things administrative for most of her life; she is, in her own words, “one of those strange people that likes accuracy, guidelines and processes.” At college, she studied business, communications, business applied maths, shorthand and typing. After gaining experience as a business administrator at companies operating in industries as varied as military technology, pharmaceuticals and aerospace, she landed at Insight Associates – and 20 years later, she’s still keeping us all on our toes!
The ups and downs
Shirley loves her job (of course we would say that, but it’s the truth!). “The top thing for me,” she says, “has to be seeing our clients’ growth over the years. From their initial enquiries, when they’re uncertain of their financial standing, to watching them make confident decisions about the future of their business, I never get tired of watching their transformations.” She adds, “And working with such a great team of people isn’t bad, either!”
Shirley really appreciates the friendly, fun atmosphere we have here at Insight. “There’s lots of laughter and we genuinely miss each other if someone is away,” she says. “And if you’re unsure about anything, there’s always someone willing to help and everyone is encouraged to learn and grow.”
If there is anything Shirley would change, it’s the number of clients we can take on at once. “We want to help everyone and wish that we could take everyone on board. However, it’s intense, time-consuming work to get clients embedded with all our systems and processes, so sometimes we have to be selective.”
A client success story
Shirley prides herself on being a steadying hand for her clients during the onboarding process, giving them the confidence they need to make the leap and take those critical first steps towards financial freedom. And one client particularly sticks out in her mind.
“There’s a lovely creative business we’ve worked with for some time now. They decided to undertake our Just One Day programme, which gave them the confidence to make some key decisions about their business. These days, they are absolutely flourishing and the owners have more time to focus on their areas of expertise.”
A typical day in Shirley’s life
Shirley wears a lot of hats here at Insight Associates. From taking calls from prospective clients to managing our ever-popular blog and social media channels, to approving payments and taking care of our HR system, we’re surprised she doesn’t have the world’s worst hat hair!
You might not know…
… that our Shirley is a massive biking aficionado, rides her own motorbike and is a Course Marshal at the Isle of Man TT Races! When she’s not biking, she somehow also finds the time to dance Lindy Hop, Charleston and Swing and also sing in a rock choir! Oh, and she can do the splits.
She also once literally got stranded on a desert island with her husband when the ferry they were travelling on accidentally left them behind. Luckily, she’s still here to tell us that if she were stranded again, she’d have her buddies from her rock choir with her to lift her spirits.
