Financial Planning Business Transformation: 1985 – 2025

Episode 1 – Join Us as Beyond Finance Approaches 40 Years in Business

Established as County Financial in 1985, this business transformed into Beyond Finance in 2023. A process driven by client feedback, employee focus groups and core beliefs.

Andy Hounsell joined Beyond Finance in March 2013 and became Managing Director in 2015. A safe and successful business with over 500 clients, by 2019 County Financial was at capacity and ‘closed for new business’. A frustration for both team members and clients.

In 2020 Andy appointed a business coach to help clarify his thinking. With this began three years of bringing the best of the past to meet the best for the future. Giving much thought to the business’s purpose, passion and community. Andy and his team, with client and experts to support them, transformed from a business of safe, traditional money talk to one of taking everyone Beyond Finance.

In this six-part series we learn what informed decisions and why decisions became easier with full and frank feedback from clients, team and other members of the community.

What we cover in this episode:

• What the business was like before the transformation
• What triggered the decision to change
• What the business looks like now
• The decision to appoint a business coach and what it entailed
• We ask the business coach about coaching and what it can lead to
• We explore some of the conversations that took place
• What led to sourcing 20 client conversations in 2020, how they were set up
• We explore the findings of these client conversations and next steps
• We answer your questions and share what’s next in Episode 2