One Year as an Independent Consultant: It Was Always About the People.
I want to take a minute — okay, realistically five, once I started writing — to thank the people I have had the privilege of working closely with this year.
When I left Phoenix, I knew I wanted to do my own thing. Partly for the freedom and flexibility of location and working hours. Partly to take the opportunity to see what else was going on in the world, after nearly eight years in the same place. And partly to figure out what having an impact as an individual looked and felt like, compared to doing it within a large organisation.
What I have realised, a year in, is that the “how” is remarkably similar in both. It is all about the people.
The thread that runs through everything
Whether you are inside a FTSE 100 company or building something independently, the thing that makes work possible, worthwhile, and enjoyable is the same: the people who trust you, who you collaborate with, who share their wisdom and their hard-won lessons, and who are working hard to do great things themselves.
In an era of automation, AI, and an ever-faster pace of delivery, I have become more convinced than ever that human connection is the whole game. So this is a thank you to the humans who made my first year as an independent consultant and business builder what it was.
The people who made the year
Lauren Peel and the wider team — what Lauren does not know about inclusive design is not worth knowing. One of the hardest-working people I have ever met, and an all-round good human: driven, supportive, and endlessly generous with her wisdom. The work I have done alongside Inclusive Outcomes and The Big Window has combined lived experience and customer research with deep expertise in inclusive proposition and journey design across financial services and energy. If you want better outcomes for your customers and the ability to evidence them, this is the consultancy to work with.
Elaine Galston and Eleanor Morris — women of sheer determination, with clarity of vision and a genuine belief that everything is possible. I cannot wait to see them lead in the women's health space. Together we worked on Bettii, which is building the first-ever women's menstrual cup washer for public toilets and launched Scotland's first-ever all-day women's health event.
Lauren Adair, Andrew Fassnidge, Marc Abel Mugenwa, Isabel Kagema, and Emily Okello — the dream team of tech in Africa. I have no words adequate to the resilience and sheer hard work it takes to pull off what they do through Africa Tech Summit, driving recognition and investment into tech across the continent. It is the event to be at if you are building tech in Africa.
Ali Poulton and Donald Martin Stewart — passionate beacons of knowledge, driven and determined to give everyone access to financial guidance and advice. They taught me an enormous amount, in both technical knowledge and the softer skills. Their work with Octopus Money is for any individual or organisation that wants to support people with financial coaching — a genuinely special and passionate company determined to ensure everyone has access to financial advice.
What I am taking into next year
There are far too many people to name them all, which is itself a kind of answer to the question I left Phoenix to explore. Impact, whether inside a large organisation or as an individual, is built on relationships. The freedom I wanted turned out to be real. But the thing that made the freedom worthwhile was the people I got to spend it with.
One year as a remote consultant and business builder complete. Here is to whatever the next one brings — hopefully working alongside many more great people.