Background 

The client had left a successful career in finance to follow his passion and run a business redeveloping old houses into exciting, modern family homes with a strong design aesthetic.

He had recently been offered new opportunities to return to the world of finance, using his network to raise finance / investors for large real estate projects. On the surface, it seemed to tick many boxes, tying previous experience to his real estate ambitions. Initially, the client wanted to explore how we would go about raising his profile and presenting himself to re-enter the world of finance.

What We Did

In our initial conversation, it emerged that there was more than one option available to the client,  so the proposal for work was to determine which of the opportunities best fit with the clients own ambitions and then to build a plan to match the activities required to finance, market and promote to suit that decision.

We discussed in detail what the client felt about the opportunities, particularly those of returning to the world of Corporate Finance and how they would fit with the values and lifestyle that were really important to him.  As we dug deeply into the pros and cons of the various opportunities the client discovered that what he really wanted to do was the building development work he was already doing and that it gave him the best options with regard to interests, values and family life.  What he really needed was to be more organised about his approach so that he could step it up and expand it.

We then addressed what the principal requirements were in how to build that business – what was necessary to have in place, options for financing, the practical aspects of having a back office “team” and the type of branding, marketing and promotion necessary to attract the preferred clients

The Breakthroughs

The principal revelation for the Client was realising that the opportunities he was afraid to lose could potentially have worse consequences if he were to avail of them. Our work together helped him develop the confidence and belief in his own skillset and experience to stop holding himself up to the perceived judgement of others, which was stifling his ambition and creativity. 

The client finished our work with a short plan of actions to take for his next steps was really able to get excited about the opportunities he would build for himself on his own terms. 

The Outcomes 

Our thorough discussions of the opportunities allowed the client to really establish what he wanted to do – run his own business on his terms.  The opportunities with third parties, while great, all had potentially big costs with regard to family life and friendships, both of which were of prime importance to the client.

Being certain of what he wished to do and having a plan on how to develop his business, gave the client a renewed sense of purpose and we finished our work together with the client confident and energised with a plan to develop his own business further.

"Aoife has a great ability to make you be honest about some of the career challenges that many of us face at some point in our life. She combined her natural business acumen with common sense to help me chart my new path. Hugely encouraging at every step she dares you to believe in the journey you really want not the one you think you should want."  T..  January 2021

If you face a similar opportunity and need to think through your options, don't hesitate to get in contact by email to ahealy@pathwayconsulting.eu