About
Hi, I'm Ian.
I help senior executives, partners and business owners work out whether the money they've built is actually working for the life they want.
Most of the time, nobody has ever joined it all up for them. That's the gap I fill.
Chartered
Financial Planner
FPFS
Fellow of the Personal Finance Society
Certified
Coach
17 years
in financial services, 14+ advising
100+
clients helped
My story
I spent years focusing on the wrong thing.
I started in traditional financial services. Pensions, investments, products. Complete a fact find, assess the risk, recommend the policy.
The products were usually fine. The conversations weren't. People left meetings with a new pension and still no idea whether they were okay.
Then I found life-first financial planning. You start with what a genuinely good life looks like, and build the plan around that. Not the other way around.
I started Work to Live in [2019] so the conversation always begins in the right place.
What I believe
The views behind every plan I build.
01
Most people have done everything right.
Good income. Pensions from a few jobs. RSUs, profit share or a business. And no idea whether it's enough, because nobody has joined the full picture up.
02
The important conversation isn't about money.
It's when someone tells me what they actually want their life to look like. That's when the numbers start to mean something.
03
Retirement isn't the goal. Choice is.
Most people I work with don't want to stop working. They want to stop having to. The job is to make work optional, often sooner than they think.
04
Live well now and protect the future.
Not one or the other. Working flat out now to enjoy life later, when you're less able to, is a backwards deal. A good plan does both.
05
Advice should start with you, not a product.
Most advice starts with products because that's what advisers are trained to do. I'd rather understand your situation first. The right recommendations follow from that.
06
You should know exactly what you're paying for.
That's why the Blueprint is a fixed fee, agreed in writing before any work starts. No surprises.
"We work really hard to enjoy time when we are not as able to enjoy it. It's a really backward way, isn't it?"
Something a client said on a call. It's why Work to Live exists.
Working with me
What to expect.
It's me
You work with me directly, from the first call to every review. Not a junior, not a call centre.
Life first
We talk about what a good life looks like before we look at a single number.
One plan
Everything joined up in one written plan, with a 12-month action plan. How the Blueprint works
Where
Based in Appleton, Cheshire. I meet clients face to face locally and by video across the UK.
What clients say
In their words
"Ian stood out because he really wanted to understand our goals in life, rather than just jumping straight into the standard money conversation."
Jon, senior executive
"He has balanced what me and my family need today while laying the foundations to support us later."
Chris, senior executive
"Ian isn't in the business of selling financial products. He has the experience to look at your whole financial picture and work with you to identify what you need."
Ben, business owner
"My only regret? We should have got this advice 10 years earlier. It is really like seeing the future."
Caroline, business owner
Outside work
Good coffee, all sport, and the moment a client realises their future looks better than they thought.
[Optional: I'm writing a book, How to Create a Life You Don't Want to Retire From.]
Outside work
Lead sponsor of the Broomsfield Youth Project
A multi-award-winning local charity supporting 13 to 17 year olds with their emotional, behavioural and mental health needs.
Ready to find out if I'm the right fit?
A free 45-minute Discovery Call. No homework, no pitch, no obligation. I'll tell you honestly whether I can help.
Book a Discovery Call.Or take the 3-minute Make Work Optional Scorecard
