Vibrant Accountancy: from co-founder to sole owner

What is the history of Vibrant Accountancy, and how has your journey co-leading the firm been? I had left my previous role at Cooper Parry after training as a chartered accountant and chartered tax advisor, and set up alone, working on tax advisory work and helping small business owners with their business affairs, alongside balancing family life with two young ones. I soon discovered that I needed more. I was introduced to Ian Ball in June 2019, who was also working freelance. We shared the same vision and ethos and, together, we launched Vibrant Accountancy in September 2021. Ian and I have worked exceptionally well together to build the business, taking on different roles within the company with a shared goal – to support, guide, comfort and celebrate achievements with our clients, and to use our 20 years’ combined experience to make Vibrant a success. I have been the face of the brand from the beginning; during the first national lockdown, when we were all told to work from home, the decision was made to reduce my workload to help react to the ever changing situation with regards Covid. I made guest appearances on podcasts, wrote articles that I shared on our social media channels and in various publications and took part in webinars to help clients and the wider community make more informed decisions themselves during a hugely challenging time. Our finances took a hit but post-pandemic, we’re in a better position than before with a growing team, new premises, and we have surpassed our Year Two sales – which were an almost 100% increase on the previous year. When the opportunity arose for Ian to join CoMech Metrology, we knew that Ian had found his calling. It was a difficult decision for him, but I was 100% supportive. We’re still the best of friends and have laid some fantastic foundations at Vibrant to move the business forwards. What led to your decision to take sole ownership of the firm? I’m genuinely a believer that everyone should be happy in their role. Ian was working for a couple of our clients providing FD support for them, and found his calling in this FD role. He decided that this was the route for him. I was open to different pathways, more than happy to continue the business with him and without him - Vibrant is a child of mine, and one I will continue to nurture and develop. I value Ian’s expertise and advice and I know he’s there when I need him. He’s still going to be a client going forward, so he can’t get rid of me easily. How has the transition been so far? We’re only a week in but super excited to have this out in the open. We have been taking steps to assist with the transition, recruiting a new team member, seeking more administrative support, and utilising a consultant to work with me on the marketing front. This meant that when Ian left on 31 August, it just meant he wasn’t in the office as much - although he’s been in on a few occasions and we’ve spoken since he’s left. The clients that Ian dealt with have been super supportive of being looked after by me and my team, and I appreciate the support of all of our clients during this period of transition. What challenges have presented themself along the way? There’s always challenges for small business owners; getting the right team, ensuring that you’re continually evolving and keeping a check on why you set up originally and whether you’re achieving what you set out, both personally and for the business. Challenges are what make us stronger though, and Covid was also a true indicator of this. How will the firm operate differently under your leadership? We now have found ourselves as a team of women, accidental rather than by design. My leadership style is very much about inclusion, seeking the team’s opinion and openness. This was always my style, but now with sole ownership I can maximise this further. The firm will continue to operate under the same vision and values, and will focus on delivering the impact we seek to on business owners! What plans do you have for the firm? We are continuing to push the status quo, we do not rest on laurels and we’re constantly trying to improve our processes and systems, including app integrations and our whole customer journey. We plan to further build the team over this year and support clients in the East Midlands. I would like Vibrant to offer more services. One of the ideas is to provide a cohort of small businesses the toolkit to understand their numbers, seek trends, record key KPIs, forecast and provide more support by way of coaching services to help them keep on track to achieve their goals. We’re also keen to seek more opportunities to use AI in our business, empowering our clients and helping them to flourish. What inspired you to make Vibrant Accountancy an eco-friendly business? What benefits will this have? I would love to pursue being a B Corp in the future, and this is the first part of this. I want Vibrant to have a carbon neutral impact on the environment, and ideally carbon positive and will be introducing, in the future, an electric car scheme similar to the Cycle To Work scheme, for our team members. We can all make simple smaller steps and this can make a difference! What skills and experience will Amie Fellows, upcoming head of Management Accounts, bring to the firm in October? Amie joins us having been working in practice for the last 15 years, with her last six years spent working for KPMG in Birmingham. With her experience at KPMG and her previous role in a local Derby accountants, she brings a great range of supporting business owners with management accounts and compliance. What are Vibrant Accountancy’s growth plans, and where do you see the firm in the next three years? We continue to have lofty growth targets, with growth in our team to support additional clients. In three years, we have ambitions to have doubled our size in turnover, supporting business owners that want us to partner with them rather than working solely on their compliance. We want to make a positive impact on as many business owners in the East Midlands to assist more business owners to achieve the dreams they have for their businesses. Our ethos and values will remain – to be disruptive in the market, to empower and inspire. These are exciting times at Vibrant Accountancy as we begin a new chapter.