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KENTWOMENINBUSINESS
KENT WOMEN IN BUSINESS:
SARAH FERRELL
FOUNDER, FERRELL FINANCIAL
What first drew you into financial advice- and what still excites you about it today? I was on maternity leave with my first child and was weighing up the merits of going back to an employed role, either full time or on a job share basis. It was at this point I decided to start my own business, so I would have the flexibility to work while also looking after my daughter. I tended to work at lunch time when she was sleeping and in the evenings once my husband was home. This evolved as I had two more children and they are now all adults!
This flexibility also suited my clients as they often needed to deal with their finances outside of working hours. Finance can be complicated to navigate, so being able to make a difference to people is very rewarding; I deal with mortgages and specialise in equity release- helping older clients release funds from their homes, which is particularly rewarding as they are often worried that there are no options available.
What’ s your favourite part of the job? And what do you find most challenging? Offering solutions to people who didn’ t think there was any answer to their financial problems is especially rewarding. So often people need to raise money at a stage when they had not anticipated needing funds. As for the most challenging aspect? Not having enough hours in the day!
Money talk can feel overwhelming for many people. How do you make it simple and empowering for your clients? I ' m very proud I ' m able to explain things in a way that people can understand and feel comfortable with. I build a solid relationship with my clients to really understand what ' s important to them and discuss things in the right way for that individual. Finance can be a scary topic, so I try to take the fear out of it by talking everything through and making sure my clients know exactly what to expect.
What’ s one common myth about mortgages or retirement finance you’ re always keen to quash? Lifetime mortgages( also known as equity release) still have a‘ bad name’ due to the plans of 40-50 years ago. People often think you will have to sell your home or will lose all your inheritance and it just isn’ t like that these days; there are so many different options and often the costs are significantly lower than people may think.
If you could give every Kent businesswoman one smart piece of financial advice, what would it be? To plan ahead as much as possible. I know it is not always possible as there are often unexpected expenses or emergencies, however when it comes to mortgage planning you can’ t really start too soon!
ferrellfinancial. co. uk
Tel: 01233 630000 www. mageegammon. com
Working WITH YOU, not just FOR YOU
Tax planning Profit improvement strategies Business development advice
Inheritance tax advice Succession planning Payroll
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