Kat Mock, who is also a Chartered Financial Planner, recently launched Unity Paraplanning after 10 years of Paraplanning both in-house and outsourced.
She said the new initiative was aimed at providing her with “more flexibility to do the job I love and get involved in other industry projects, while maintaining a work/life balance”.
Ms Mock, who called the firm Unity to encourage teamwork, told Financial Planning Today “The idea of starting a business was really daunting at first and I wasn’t sure I would be ready to take the leap.
“However, after several difficult events in my personal life, I realised that I just needed to go for it.
“I’m a great Paraplanner, I care deeply about doing the right thing for the client and I’m good at getting things done – If I built a business around these things, I was sure it would be successful.”
Looking to the future Ms Mock, who is director and head Paraplanner at the firm, said: “I am aiming to foster long-term relationships with the firms I work with.
“Just like clients, every planning firm is different and there are many different processes, best practice and philosophies.
“I want to provide Paraplanning tailored to how they work with their clients.
“I am not planning on taking on vast numbers of clients as I would like to concentrate on being a reliable and trusted resource for my clients.
“I will be the only Paraplanner to begin with, but I expect to be busy and will definitely be looking for some support in the near future.
“Business-wise, I am organised, and I work hard to get the job done well.
“I enjoy working things out so getting to the root of weird and wacky technical questions makes me happy.
“I love writing, it really is my favourite way to communicate and I am always looking for new ways of explaining things or making them simpler.
“I am technically strong across pensions, investments and protection with a real geeky streak for trusts and estate planning.”
She added: “In recent years, I have spent more time analysing DB pensions and helping to build solid review processes.
“I’m a big fan of using plain English in reports and having detailed research and documentation on the file to back up the advice.
“I would like to help make Financial Planning easier to understand for the end client and make the process of putting advice together easier for the planner.
“I named it Unity as the best client outcomes
“I’ve seen have come from people working together and using all available skills well.
“In Financial Planning this is key.
“You need to be an optimist and creative as much as a critic and a detail guy.
“You need technical skills but that’s nothing without the relationship skills that gather all the client facts and thoughts and feelings. Harnessing all of these skills creates the best solutions, a fun, rewarding working environment and ultimately the right advice for the client.”