Tell us a bit about your business

I launched The Director’s Helpline in 2017 due to a gap in the market. For Directors facing testing financial circumstances, support and advice options outside of the conventional routes were lacking – and this is the gap we plugged with The Director’s Helpline.

It’s a free, impartial helpline which acts as a support and guidance tool for company Directors across a range of topics – from general financial information, through to business recovery, restructuring or even closing a company.

Our company’s mission is to support and guide Directors through pressurised and uncertain financial times – helping them to assess all their options and implications before speaking to an insolvency practitioner.

More than 600 Directors use our helpline each month, seeking support on a range of topics – including HMRC debt, Bounce Back Loans, and Recovery Loans, through to business restructuring and company closure.

Our in-house team of experts are dedicated to empowering callers to navigate complex business scenarios with confidence and clarity.

To date, we have helped more than 20,000 company Directors, and we are also the only company of our kind accredited by Gov.uk.

We aim to be a critical friend to business owners across the UK, many describe our company as a ‘lifeline’.

Tell us about your role within the business

I’m the Founder and Director of The Director’s Helpline.

I’ve been helping firms for over 17 years – mostly with restructuring and insolvency – and during this time, I realised many Directors were lacking support and free guidance on their company debts. Therefore, I decided to set up The Director’s Helpline.

In my role as Director, I oversee all the goings on within the business, ensuring that we help every single business owner that gets in touch with us.

Alongside managing the day-to-day running of the company, I also take a hands-on role in helping the companies and sole traders that are in financial difficulty – by advising a variety of solutions, from restructuring their creditors with insolvency solutions to funding options such as invoice finance and commercial finance.

Versatility is essential, and I work closely with an extensive network of partners – including independent financial advisors and accountants – to deliver bespoke solutions to each person that gets in touch.

I’m also the Director of The Director’s Helpline’s sister company, The Director’s Choice – a business that specialises in helping Directors find and choose products and services for their company – so there’s always lots going on.

In your opinion, what is the most rewarding thing about working at The Director’s Helpline?

Undoubtedly, the most rewarding aspect of working with the team at The Director’s Helpline is when we know that we’ve helped someone to save their business.

An example of this would be when we helped Growth Engineering, a learning technologies company established in 2004, to restructure their debts following COVID.

The firm’s Director, Juliette, took out a CBILS loan during the pandemic and, despite making repayments, the loan provider believed the company would not repay the full amount. There was a possibility Juliette would lose her business, so she reached out to us to help. She said that our advice saved her and her company – for me, it doesn’t get any more powerful than that.

Ultimately, we exist to provide guidance options that educate, inform, and empower business owners, helping them to make the best decisions for their business, and we love what we do.

How long has the business been operating and how long have you been based in Macclesfield?

We were founded in Macclesfield in 2017, and while we’ve been fortunate enough to call Macclesfield home the entire time, our business reach has been UK-wide, so we’re proud to represent Macclesfield on a national scale.

What made you choose Macclesfield as a place to base your business?

I live just outside Macclesfield, and I really wanted to establish a base for The Director’s Helpline in the centre of a local town, so it was the perfect fit.

We’ve invested money and time into our community over recent years, too. We’re now major sponsors of Macclesfield Rugby and Cricket Club – it’s fantastic to be able to support sports clubs in our local area and allows us to develop the connection we have with our community.

What’s the best thing about working in Macclesfield?

Being located in the town centre means that we’re in the heart of the community – well placed to help business owners, both locally and beyond.

Also, it’s a wonderfully vibrant place. Since the end of the pandemic, it’s been great to see many new shops opening and a buzz return to the town. It’s a place we’re proud to call home.

Do you have any specific future goals for the business that you would like to share?

We want to further amplify awareness of The Director’s Helpline, so that all business directors in the UK know about our services and how we can help them if they’re facing pressurised financial circumstances.

We also have plans to create a free, real-time support package for business owners. And finally, as our business continues to grow, I’d love to have an executive management team in place to handle the day-to-day running of the company.