INTRODUCING PAUL PRITCHARD
Hairdresser and Accountant
Paul left school at the age of 15 and immediately started working in a local barber shop. He quickly progressed through the salon chain that he worked at and moved onto cutting women's hair. He then learned to highlight, perm and do hair extensions (he does everything back to front!) and by the age of 18 he was managing a growing salon in Essex.
After a very short spell of working in London's West End, Paul put into practice the business skills he had picked up and formed his own hairdressing business and his earnings started to rocket accordingly. Paul was constantly in demand for his services, and typically had a wait list of 4-5 weeks for appointments.
"I loved the excitement of working in the hairdressing industry", says Paul. "Although sometimes very tiring, it never really felt like work as your clients end up becoming close friends. I have always enjoyed being creative, and no two days are ever the same when you're styling hair."
Having become self employed at just 18 years of age, Paul needed an accountant to help him keep his records straight and to ensure everything was filed correctly with HMRC. Unfortunately, he had a string of bad experiences with accountants, which culminated 3 years later in having the taxman sitting in his lounge discussing a tax repayment plan!
A few years later, Paul started experiencing a lot of back and neck pain (due to poor posture when working) and an osteopath suggested he look at a career change whilst he was still in his twenties.
"I was always pretty good with maths at school, and since having bad experiences with accountants I wanted to see if I could retrain in accountancy and do a better job",recalls Paul. "Ialso needed a career that I could learn in my own time via open learning, as by this time I was married with children and had a mortgage to pay. Accountancy ticked all the boxes."
By gradually building up his accountancy business, and slowly tapering off the hairdressing business, Paul was able to maintain financial stability, and also give his back and neck a chance to recover.
He still misses hairdressing, but is actively involved in helping other hairdressers to thrive in their businesses. Using the communication and personnel skills that he learned as a hairdresser, Paul has built an award winning accountancy business that takes full advantage of technology to help salon owners become more efficient, profitable and ultimately to pay less tax.
He likes nothing more than to "talk salon" with another business owner and help them to avoid the mistakes that he made when in the hairdressing industry.
With a unique blend of energy and passion about his subject, Paul's presentations are always received with eagerness by audiences young and old.
Contact Paul Pritchard via www.abacus-accountancy.com
"I loved the excitement of working in the hairdressing industry", says Paul. "Although sometimes very tiring, it never really felt like work as your clients end up becoming close friends. I have always enjoyed being creative, and no two days are ever the same when you're styling hair."
Having become self employed at just 18 years of age, Paul needed an accountant to help him keep his records straight and to ensure everything was filed correctly with HMRC. Unfortunately, he had a string of bad experiences with accountants, which culminated 3 years later in having the taxman sitting in his lounge discussing a tax repayment plan!
A few years later, Paul started experiencing a lot of back and neck pain (due to poor posture when working) and an osteopath suggested he look at a career change whilst he was still in his twenties.
"I was always pretty good with maths at school, and since having bad experiences with accountants I wanted to see if I could retrain in accountancy and do a better job",recalls Paul. "Ialso needed a career that I could learn in my own time via open learning, as by this time I was married with children and had a mortgage to pay. Accountancy ticked all the boxes."
By gradually building up his accountancy business, and slowly tapering off the hairdressing business, Paul was able to maintain financial stability, and also give his back and neck a chance to recover.
He still misses hairdressing, but is actively involved in helping other hairdressers to thrive in their businesses. Using the communication and personnel skills that he learned as a hairdresser, Paul has built an award winning accountancy business that takes full advantage of technology to help salon owners become more efficient, profitable and ultimately to pay less tax.
He likes nothing more than to "talk salon" with another business owner and help them to avoid the mistakes that he made when in the hairdressing industry.
With a unique blend of energy and passion about his subject, Paul's presentations are always received with eagerness by audiences young and old.
Contact Paul Pritchard via www.abacus-accountancy.com