J001010 - Lycetts Newsletter Jan 2024 LR - Flipbook - Page 21
Q& A
L AU R A
BE R RY
Laura did not start life wanting to be a 昀椀nancial adviser. In fact,
with an educational background in hospitality and beauty therapy
and experience of working in the 昀椀tness industry and as a teaching
assistant, it took a few years for her to 昀椀nd her calling.
Growing up in Low Fell, Gateshead, Laura had her sights set on a different
kind of career. She studied Catering and Hospitality at Newcastle College,
gaining an GNVQ, and then did a Higher National Diploma in Beauty
Therapy at Gateshead College. She opened her own exercise studio in
2002 which she ran for four years until she fell pregnant with her daughter
and trained instead as a teaching assistant, working for eight years in a
primary school.
Married to her husband Craig for 15 years, Laura says that his involvement
with financial advice triggered her interest. He has since moved over to
investments and she has taken up the mantle. She qualified as a Financial
Adviser, achieving the Level 4 Financial Advice qualification in 2018 through
the London Institute of Banking and Finance while still working as a
teaching assistant, with two young children at home.
A CAREER IN FINANCIAL SERVICES
When she first qualified, Laura worked for a company called IFS, giving
restricted advice recommending products from a preferred panel of
providers while she built up her experience. When the owner of the
business moved over to the True Potential Network, Laura went with him,
but in May 2023 she heard of an opportunity at Lycetts which was a full
time job, with access to the whole financial services market and not reliant
on commission, providing more scope for her clients and a more certain
income for her and her family.
From the new Lycetts Financial Services office within Bank House, she now
advises a diverse range of clients from across the country on pensions,
investments and protection policies.
Laura is the proud captain of the
Gateshead Fell women’s rugby team,
o昀琀en packing down alongside her
teenage daughter.
L I F E O U T S I D E LY C E T T S
When her daughter was 14 and a keen rugby player, there was no adult
team for her to progress to. So, when one of the coaches suggested
forming the Gateshead Fell women’s rugby team he also told Laura that
she had to join. She did and she now plays flanker and captains the team,
training three times a week and playing regular matches within the
NC3 League.
At home with her two teenage children and a dog called Clyde, there is little
time for anything else, but one of the aspects of Lycetts Laura particularly
enjoys is that everyone is encouraged to volunteer and get involved with
charitable giving. She has nominated Gateshead’s Feeding Families for her
own staff-allocated grant and, together with some colleagues, wrapped
Christmas presents for children in foster care.
21
