Charlotte and Bill’s story

We first started going to see Neil back in 2004. We were looking for some financial advice as we were both self-employed.

At the time, we were both getting burnt out in our professional lives. Our children had grown up and left home, and we were talking a lot about our future and what we wanted. There were lots of changes happening for both of us at work, and we eventually decided we wanted to do something quite radical for the next stage of our lives.

We’d been coming to Skye for several years and loved it here, so we decided to pack everything up and start a new venture running a Bed and Breakfast here on Skye! We spoke to Neil about how we could financially manage that move.

We worked incredibly hard to make our venture a success, but we went through some really hard times where we thought we’d bitten off more than we could chew. One of the things that Neil was really good at was helping us keep our longer-term goal in perspective during those challenging times. On really difficult days, a phone call and chat with Neil would get us back on track.

We usually manage to combine our annual reviews with Neil when we’re back visiting family on Teesside. Neil would talk everything through and keep us motivated. He was always very positive about what were we achieving and how we were doing at times when we were feeling like we couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Running a Bed and Breakfast is very hard work. Looking back, we were very naive when we started out. It’s physically and emotionally demanding. Your guests want to enjoy their holidays so it’s important to be in a good mood and a friendly host. But we’ve made a success of it – we’re a top pick for our area in the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet as well as a few other US and European guides, so we’re always full.

We had a tough mortgage schedule though. But Neil kept his eye on us and when we spotted that we needed to slow down, he came to us with a suggestion that would allow us to have a little more time for ourselves utilising a pension fund.

Now, the conversations are about winding down. We’ve had a lot of conversations about the right rate of winding down and what we can afford. He’ll ask us tough questions that make us take a step back and put our plans into perspective; he’s great at helping you see perspective.

Even throughout the last year – we’ve been impacted very heavily by coronavirus and we’ve only had nine weeks of business over what would have normally been a fully booked season – Neil’s still been there to reassure us and offer suggestions that there are things we can do. He gives us options.

Neil is a very grounded, pragmatic person. And he’s very approachable and reliable. He’ll always get back to us if we ring up for advice, and he’s always there to give the advice we want.

We’ve always thought of Neil as very ethical in the way he approaches our business and his own – this has always been very important to us.

It’s been such a positive relationship.