Monday
In my working life, I am constantly wearing two hats. One is that of co-founder and partner at Bath-based Epoch Wealth Management and the second is as chief executive of i4C, which is our cashflow modelling software.
Today actually started yesterday with the six Epoch partners travelling to the Isle of Wight for our annual away day.
This is an opportunity for us to think more strategically about the wider issues facing the business, away from the day-to-day interruptions of a busy office. As you would expect, it was not all work, work, work. We enjoyed a boat trip as well as the hospitality of our hosts.
Tuesday
Back to Bath with a bump this morning and straight into meetings with the team from i4C arranging demonstrations, discussing go-to-market strategy and prioritising the future development pipeline. In the afternoon, we travel to an IFA to demonstrate the software, which went down well.
Throughout the day – partly as a result of being out of reach yesterday – I field calls from the Epoch team with client queries and advice questions. Although the two businesses are different on paper, answering the questions of the team on one side often helps with the other. For example, now we have added a protection wizard to the cashflow model, I can more easily and quickly assess protection needs for my Epoch clients.
Wednesday
I cherish my midweek school drop-off day because I often get home later than I would like in the evenings and sometime miss my two daughters' bedtime. I am also in charge of our new Dachshund puppy, so he joins me in the office to great excitement from the staff.
The rest of the day is spent in client meetings for which my team has already prepared and briefed me, so they run smoothly. At the end of the day, I meet my cousin in the pub as he has asked me to be his best man and we need to plan the stag party.
Thursday
I spend Thursday on the road with the some of the senior team. Our head of business development and Epoch’s managing partner join me in meeting with a firm of corporate financiers in Reading with a view to exploring mutual opportunities. i4C allows us to show other professional firms that we have embraced true financial planning rather than the traditional product selling model. We are also able to show them (and other corporate professional advisers) that cashflow modelling can often help bring the deal flow forward.
After that, we travel on up to London to meet with an accountancy firm we already have a relationship with, to discuss how that is going.
The evening is spent with partners of the accountancy firm, attending a charity ball hosted by the Lewis Moody Foundation. It is a great night with lots of rugby legends, although I wish we had finished drinking earlier.
Friday
Getting up today is a struggle, I am not going to lie. Having finished at 1am, I am back in Bath for a 9.30am meeting with the i4C team followed by a day of admin and catching up with my Epoch support team to plan next week’s meetings. Next week looks like having a much greater slant towards Epoch client work.
Any residual hangover is sweated out at my personal training session over lunch, which feels great.
At 4:30pm the whole business decamps to the pub for a well-earned hair of the dog. I am glad it is a bank holiday weekend.
Jon Rolfe is co-founder of Epoch Wealth Management and chief executive of i4C
