Business Profile: Brigid McCleary
- What is the name of your business and what is your role? I’m a Financial Advisor with a franchise of Old Mutual called Designed Wealth.
- Describe your business in two sentences. I Guide my clients to achieve financial independence regardless of their circumstances by helping them understand their needs, navigate and change harmful habits, set up savings policies to achieve their goals and mitigate any risks that may prevent them from achieving their desired life.
- How long have you been in business? I have been a financial advisor with Designed Wealth for 4 years after spending 2 years with Momentum selling medical aids and Gap cover policies.
- How did you get into this business? I nursed for over 33 years and realized that there is an intrinsic link between health and financial well-being. When Old Mutual offered to train me as a Financial advisor, I welcomed the opportunity to help people from a different perspective.
- What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced, and how did you overcome it? Starting a new career based on commission-only income and having to start studying all over again at the age of 55 years was daunting! Recognizing the potential to help people gave me the boost I needed to get going, and I soon discovered that it was a subject that I found interesting and exciting.
- What single trait/skill could you not have succeeded without? People skills. Being able to connect to people and communicate easily is my greatest asset.
- What is the best business advice you’ve received? If you concentrate on giving your best to each client, the money will follow automatically.
- Your secret to business success is? I love what I do and do what I love!
- What is your business goal for 2025? I enjoy educating people so that they can make informed decisions about their future, so I’m looking into ways of presenting more talks, sending out educational emails, and I’m also researching ways to do online discussions/webinars.
- Tell us one thing that not many people know about you? As much as I love people, I am very introspective and spend hours alone researching ways to improve myself and grow as an individual.