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What is your name?
Mary Hemingway
What is your occupation?
IFA/Toddler-wrangler
Where do you live?
Coldstream in the Scottish Borders
When did you start your career in finance? How did you get into it?
I was a plumber who got a job as a bank cashier! My very first day as a naïve and totally unqualified 19 year old I met the bank Financial Adviser and immediately knew I wanted her job. I became the youngest financial consultant for The Bank of Scotland soon after.
What would be your biggest piece of advice to someone coming into the financial planning profession?
Don’t let anybody make you feel like an imposter! This industry NEEDS people from every race, gender, socioeconomic background and education level to properly serve our clients.
How would you define your personal mission?
To be a role model to people entering the industry, young women especially.
How would you define your personal vision?
To find a good personal/profession balance based on the four principals of Ikigai: What you love, what the world needs, what you can be paid for and what you’re good at. I want to find the sweet spot between all of these!
How would you define your personal values?
This is actually something I nailed last week as I’m in the process of enshrining them in my business plan:
Positive reputation and recognition- celebrating wins for myself, my clients and my colleagues and always pushing harder to be better.
Deep empathy and kindness- even if it doesn’t come easy.
Equality and Fairness- always and without exception.
Integrity- being true to my core values at all times
Self- reliance/resilience- This is my personal trait I value most of all, I have gotten myself through some tough sh%!t, I’ll nurture this strength whenever I can.
What is your greatest achievement outside of work?
Surviving 2019 is something I’m very proud of! It started out well by having my wonderful daughter, Ada, in January, then derailed when my 9 year old nephew, Tom, had a major stroke and nearly died. Over the course of 2019 my husband and I battled toxic work situations, mental health problems and near homelessness. But we started January 2020 both with new self-employed work, a new home, and a new appreciation for just how tough our little family unit is.
What is the greatest book you have ever read that helped you in your career?
I don’t actually read much non-fiction! I have a copy of ‘Get rich lucky bitch’ on order though which I’m excited about.
What is your most valuable asset of being a NextGen Planners member?
The confidence it gives me that the industry is so much more than “old white guys selling pru pensions” (there’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s little else in the Scottish Borders unfortunately!)
(Only answer this one if you truly want to…) Who is your favourite NextGen Planners member?
Catherine Morgan… I want to be her when I grow up 😊