In your latest Future Planning update, read about our latest teambuilding exercise, which combined rock climbing with a business review of 2023 and our plans for 2024.
We also have a new member of the Future Planning family to introduce, plus some exciting news about a new Help to Grow project.
But first, discover how three members of the team got on when they headed south to Dawlish Warren to take part in a weather-affected triathlon in aid of Prospect Hospice.
Wild weather turns the triathlon into a duathlon but doesn’t dampen our spirits
On Sunday 24 September, Ana, Edi, and Adam took part in a triathlon at Dawlish Warren in aid of a charity very close to our hearts, Prospect Hospice.
Before they began their preparations Adam hadn’t swam in years, Edi had a fear of sea swimming to conquer and Ana had to master a road bike, having never ridden one before.
Future Planning is committed to giving back to society and this proved the perfect opportunity to do just that, making a positive impact while supporting worthy causes. It also forced the team to push themselves to their physical limits, fostering personal growth and resilience.
Through incredible teamwork, they proved that together we can all achieve the extraordinary.
One thing that can’t be tamed or mastered though, is nature. Originally due to comprise a 300m sea swim, a 16km bike ride and then a 5km run, choppy conditions meant that the swim leg had to be cancelled.
But the Future Planning team stepped up to the new challenge of a duathlon and raised nearly £1,000 in doing so.
We’re sure you’ll join us in wishing our trio of intrepid “duathletes” a huge congratulations!
Rock climbing and pizza at our latest team-building event
With barely time to recover from their exertions at the duathlon, Ana, Edi and Adam joined the rest of the team for a fun team-building day.
After a morning discussing our highlights of the year so far and our plans for the business in 2024, we headed to Pizza Express for lunch.
Next, it was off to Rockstar Climbing in Swindon. Here, we literally put our lives in our colleagues’ hands as we learned to belay (holding the rope for the person climbing). We also had a great instructor called Ed who belayed us on the more challenging sections of the wall.
Massive kudos to Sian, our mortgage adviser, who faced her fear of heights and turned out to be by far the best climber of the day!
Sadly, Sanjay – our most experienced climber – couldn’t join in as it had only been a week since he’d had his appendix removed. But he cheered everyone on from the sidelines and offered a lot of motivation. We ended on a challenging wall with some questionable inclines and angles.
Everyone did brilliantly and we all had a great day.
Help to Grow
After securing a fully funded space to attend the Oxford Brookes Business School in February, Ana attended her first event for the Help to Grow scheme.
The Help to Grow programme is a management course offered to small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) decision-makers by the Small Business Charter and world-class business schools. It aims to boost leadership skills, innovation, and growth.
Ana had a great time at the evening event and was inspired by meeting lots of other business owners from the Wiltshire and Oxfordshire area.
Ana says, “I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in and hopefully inspiring other small businesses and female leaders in the financial services profession in the not-too-distant future!”
Stay tuned for further updates on the Help to Grow scheme in the coming months.
A new apprentice joins the team
Finally this month, Drew Bolger-Primmer joined us in September as a financial services administrator apprentice. He’s a bright young man with huge aspirations and he will be a great addition to the team.
A huge Future Planning welcome to Drew and we wish you all the best for your time with us.
