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George Isaacs, Manchester
When George first asked to learn more about the Affinity Associates franchise, we were very keen to hear the story behind a young man whose ambition and business sense was clearly beyond his years.
He had recently completed his ACCA qualification and was already working his way through ATT and CIOT. He was driven, obviously very capable, and had everything in place to start a well-paid career working for any number of accountancy firms – in fact, he had already gained valuable experience working in his uncle Reuben’s business.
However, George had his sights set on much more and dreamed of taking the helm of his own business. Despite his ambition, the idea of actually starting his own practice felt like something “so far down the line that I couldn’t even work out where to start.”, as he described it.
When ambition meets reality
He moved to Manchester three and a half years ago, and has been steadily building his career and qualifications ever since. “I realised that if I didn’t push myself to do something more, that would probably be it for qualifications,” he explains. Anyone who’s studied for accountancy qualifications whilst working full-time knows what that takes. It’s the kind of self-drive that tells you someone’s ready to run their own business, and George just lacked the framework to help him do so.
“I loved working with the people in my last team but, when you’re working for someone else, you don’t necessarily get the satisfaction from the job that you could be getting.” George told us. “You put in the hours, you do the work, but the rewards don’t necessarily match the input. I wanted to be my own boss, and structure my life and career the way I wanted, but without having someone there to guide you, and some kind of starting point to build from, it can be a very daunting prospect.”
This is exactly the gap that franchising fills. It’s not that people lack ambition or ability, it’s that the practical steps to get from employed accountant to business owner can feel overwhelming when you’re trying to figure it all out alone.
The missing piece of the puzzle
However, his uncle Reuben was well aware of George’s talents, and wanted to help him build the future he deserved by supporting him both financially, and as a professional mentor. Together they looked at a number of options for creating a lasting legacy together, including setting something up from scratch, and even taking over existing accountancy practices in Manchester.
However, nothing quite fit. “An accountancy practice is difficult to set up, especially from first principles.” George explains. “Without an infrastructure already in place, you’re looking at least 6-12 months to get your business up and running properly. On top of that, you can end up spending a fortune on employing people as you grow, and learning from your mistakes on the fly. It just didn’t feel viable.”
Which is why, when they came across the Affinity Associates franchise, the outsourcing model immediately made sense. They could see how it would scale as they grew, but what really clinched the deal was how quickly and easily they could tap into the existing systems and support from day one. Not to mention a huge wealth of services which would otherwise take years for them to add to their offerings, all available immediately for their future customers.
The more they learnt, the more clear it became that joining Affinity was the perfect way for them both to achieve their goals.
“What appealed to me the most was that this would still very much be my business, but there would be a whole structure behind me, too. There are people I can contact if I’m struggling, or need pointing in the right direction. In fact, I’d be tapping straight into a team of hundreds all around the world! It takes away that scare factor that would definitely be there if we were doing this completely alone.”
A bright future ahead
“I don’t think I would have pushed myself to do this without the Affinity model taking away some of that unknown,” George admits. “The difference between where I was a year and a half ago – just thinking ‘maybe one day’ – and where I am now, actually launching this business, is massive.”
If you’re a qualified accountant keen to start their own business, but the practical reality of starting from scratch feels insurmountable, the Affinity Associates franchise has everything you need to turn that “one day” into “today”.