Two Years of Guardian Actuarial
This article was originally published on LinkedIn on 4 July 2017.
One of the nice features of LinkedIn is the ability to connect with people in your network around important milestones. Over the last week I’ve been delighted to hear from so many of you, sending congratulatory messages about my two year anniversary at Guardian Actuarial. Thank you!
While a two year anniversary in a role is not uncommon, this anniversary is very special to me because it marks the second anniversary since I left stable employment and established Guardian Actuarial. My vision was to create a consulting business where we genuinely looked after our team members, so they in turn could look after our clients, so our clients in turn can look after their people (e.g. customers, clients, workforce).
The second year of a new business is very different from the first
The second year of growing a consulting business has been very different from the first year, for many reasons. The vertical learning curve has still been steep, but having the basics of the business established in the first year meant that the second year has allowed us more time to focus on our clients and the market.
In the first year of business, everything is new. First client? We need to develop an engagement contract. First staff member? We need to develop an employment contract and other HR policies and procedures. Computer isn’t working? We need to find a solution ourselves since we don’t have a helpdesk number to call.
However, in the second year, these policies, procedures and templates have already been developed, so bringing on new clients and staff members is much easier. This allows so much more time and energy to be devoted to looking after new and existing clients and team members, as well as staying on top of market developments.
The learning curve continues
Looking around the (no longer home-based) office, interacting with our growing client base and team, it would be easy to fall into the trap of believing you have “made it” and know more than anyone else. However, remaining relevant in our fast-paced business world requires ongoing practise and effort.
One of the benefits of having those first year foundations already laid is that the second year of business has enabled us to better invest in our skills and experience. Sometimes this has happened through repeat client work, where our clients have benefited as we’ve applied learnings from earlier projects to deliver better outcomes on the current project.
Investment in our development has also happened in a structured way, through planned external learning. We’ve made use of the vast array of online courses – both free and fee-based – to build our skills in specific areas, such as learning to program in R. We have also explored classroom learning options relevant to our work.
Building our network
I’ve spoken before about some of the complex, wicked problems in our society, e.g. poverty, homelessness, child abuse and, more recently, the challenges insurers are facing with mental health claims. Solving, or even improving, some of these issues will require input from a range of professionals, industry bodies and government. These are not issues that a single professional or team can easily solve. By improving our connectedness and strengthening our business networks, we can better work together to tackle these issues.
Again, having the foundations of business laid has freed me to further expand my network this year. It has been exciting and eye-opening to discover how much good work is being done to improve outcomes for people in our society. There is a lot of activity in this space, and if we have a better understanding about what is already available and being done, it means we can focus on the gaps, rather than reinventing the wheel.
Business continues
I’ll always remember a quote hanging in one of my client’s offices:
“Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.”
Another year on and my business has grown, but so have I, as have my four beautiful children. My husband and I have become foster carers. We’ve made a difference within our extended family and our community, in addition to the contributions we’ve made through business. There is often a blurry line between work and home, and ultimately it is the package of both elements that allows us to build rich and fulfilling lives.
