2023 – well, it’s been quite a year, hasn’t it? We celebrated our 50th Birthday, dragging the founding Partners up to London for a lovely meal and a bottle or two of wine. Emma, Vicky and I spent more time together as we re-adjusted the office routine to life after covid – it’s been great to get the team back in the same room, laughing and eating too many chocolates.
I’ve just added up how many miles I’ve driven for work this year and it’s a lot! Since the summer, I’ve been doing that in my second-hand Tesla which has been utterly brilliant. Quiet, comfy, bonkers fast when appropriate and cheap as chips to run given the lack of road tax, minimal servicing and that the vast majority of the charging is done at home ‘off peak’.
It’s not all been sunshine and roses though and we’ve faced some significant challenges during 2023. We’ve tried to keep smiling during these difficult moments, but I’ll be honest, it’s not always been easy. Here’s hoping 2024 is more straightforward.
We’ve talked often of Financial Wellbeing and how we embed it into our approach to all client interactions. Our purpose is to make our clients happier, not just wealthier. By helping people identify what makes them happy, we can work with them to find ways to use their wealth to achieve and maintain this happiness – not that you need to spend money to do something that makes you smile. Walking through the countryside doesn’t cost anything but brings much happiness to many people.
Part of this is the financial plan we’ve incorporated into our client reports to make getting a handle on finances and options easier. And it seems to be working, based on emails like the following from a potential new client:
“Thanks so much for coming over yesterday for the financotherapy session. We can’t tell you how calming it is to feel our finances are sound and under control!”
But it’s not just new clients who get this treatment! The personal touch and caring, hands-on service is something we feel strongly about delivering to everyone we work with. A longstanding client who we don’t speak with that often recently got in touch for the first time in a long time and then sent us this email afterwards:
“I phoned your offices on Friday and landed up having a wonderful conversation with Dave. Can I just say each and every time I’ve communicated with anyone at Gibson Lamb, I’ve always received prompt, friendly and very professional service. What a delight it is to interact with all of you. Thank you.”
So, although there’s lots going on out there that we can’t control in any way, we’re going to keep focusing on the things we do that we know make a difference thanks to the supportive feedback of our wonderful clients.
Have a lovely festive period everyone, and here’s to a calm and uneventful 2024!