In an exclusive column for the latest issue of Financial Planning Today Magazine, Nitu Mehra, founder of i-Paraplan, talks about the reasons she decided to launch her own business.

'I fell into financial services without any intention of joining the sector. Having moved back home to Manchester from Liverpool, I applied and got offered an administrator position with Edward Jones in 2006. I had no idea what pensions and investments were back then. Three years and a few exams later, I got offered a trainee Paraplanner role, where my Paraplanning journey began.

'Since then, I have had numerous roles in operations management, mentoring, compliance and advising.

'However, being the super ambitious and career driven person that I am, in January 2022 I decided to set up my own outsourced Paraplanning business. The biggest merits I saw in this were independence, greater flexibility and a work life balance. These were more important to me than earning a substantial amount of money. However, I quickly realised that becoming a business owner came with its own challenges.

'I had no idea where to start, what I needed and how much it would cost. I spoke to other outsourced Paraplanners but had never anticipated the amount of planning that was involved. Overnight I had to learn about marketing, compliance, IT and book-keeping, and that’s all before I’ve sat down to do my real job of Paraplanning. I would constantly ask myself why I was doing this?

'Fast forward to today and I can say it’s been a challenge, and still is, but no two days are the same. There are days when I am too busy and others when I am sat wondering if I will ever get any more work. However, I wouldn’t change it for the world. I now have the freedom to work where and when I want but also have the personal fulfilment and motivation to want to get up and go to work, for the first time in my life.

'Demand for outsourced Paraplanning has increased, more so since the pandemic. It has become an attractive, cost-efficient alternative to employing a full-time Paraplanner. I would advise any Paraplanner thinking of setting up alone to just go for it. There has been no looking back.'

• This article and many more like it can be viewed in the latest issue of Financial Planning Today magazine. To find out more, register for Financial Planning website and then click on 'My Account' to find out about upgrade options to receive our bi-monthly magazine. It's packed with professional articles and knowledge sharing from leading Financial Planners and Paraplanners. Regulars include 'Planner Casebook', 'The Client Hunter' and 'Inside My Business.'