Simon Read of Financial Careers Ltd is sharing his exciting plans for growth over the next few months

IT’S NOVEMBER! The year is coming to an end and Q4 is well under way. We’re talking to businesses about their plans for the final two months of the year.

Today we’re talking to Simon Read. Simon Read is the Malmesbury-based Managing Director of Accountants For Sale & Financial Careers Ltd. Accountants For Sale is a newly established specialist business broker helping Accountants who are looking to sell their businesses, and those firms who are looking to grow through carefully targeted acquisition. Financial Careers is a specialist recruiter working within the finance and financial services industries covering roles across the UK.

What’s your business highlight for this month or last month?
I am absolutely thrilled to be launching Accountants For Sale as a subsidiary trading style of Financial Careers Ltd. While recruitment will always be close to my heart I have been looking to get back into the Mergers and Acquisitions space for a little while and starting Accountants For Sale is a fantastic addition to the recruitment business. It has been a lot of hard work, but I think we are genuinely going to be able to offer a fresh approach to help accounting professionals achieve a successful exit and reward for their hard work, whilst ensuring their clients are looked after and continue to be well serviced. There is a huge amount of activity in the accountancy market, and we are looking forward to ‘bringing buyers and sellers together’

November represents Movember – Men’s Health Awareness Month and International Men’s Day (Nov 19). What, if anything does this mean to you?
I think it's great that men's mental and physical health is so much more at the forefront now than it was years ago. The winter beard is coming along well apart from the grey!

What’s your top tip for being positive as we enter the last month of autumn?
We spend so much time in a front of a PC screen and with the ever-shorter days it is so important to get out and enjoy the sunshine when it comes out and get some vitamin D. I am lucky to have a dog who gets me out whatever the weather, but fresh air is always a good thing.

Did you know November 13 was World Kindness Day? Has anyone shown kindness to you in the last month or so? Tell us how you view kindness in your business or professional role?
For me being kind in business and in my work is about being straight with people and not raising unrealistic expectations. We often get some great candidates but just don’t have a role for them at that time, it is much better to be honest than give false hope and make promises you cannot keep to people.   

It was Black Friday this month which is now quite mainstream. Do you participate in this within your business or do you prefer the Buy Nothing Day?  
I do love a bargain, but I just tend to by something when I actually want it. Although I do always like to compare prices and not pay over the odds. For me so many sales are meaningless and rarely offer real bargains it’s just a marketing ploy.

Are you preparing for Christmas in your business? Can you share what your plans are going to be?
Like most people, I will go to a few Christmas lunches and parties, but we don’t really send gifts to clients like we used to. I would rather make a small donation to a local charity. The Christmas break seems to get longer and longer every year and as much as I love Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, I find taking time off when the days are so short, and the weather is bad, to be a bit of a waste of time. I will probably spend some time in the office trying to get 2024 off to a good start!

Have you got any events planned for November or December you’d like to shout about – either that you are running or attending?
My partner Angela runs Cotswold Networking, a business networking group which has really grown hugely this year. We have meetings for the Malmesbury, Cirencester and Cheltenham groups, as well as a Christmas party in Cirencester so there will be lots of networking and socialising!

Have you got any services or special offers you’d like to mention?
We are offering a 10% discount off our normal fees to any clients that have vacancies they need to get filled. Engage us in a search between now and the end of year and remember to mention Total Guide To Swindon.

And finally, is there anything else you’d like to say?   
I am a bit of a motivation junkie and I love this particular quote "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill.

You can find out more about Simon by visiting www.accountantsforsale.co.uk or www.financialcareersltd.co.uk