In the last eighteen months Ashley has started his own business, helped plan his wedding, written a 220-page e-book and invested in his financial future with advice and guidance from two10 Investment Services. And he’s done all that with a smile on his face!
Blackburn-born Ashley completed his schooling in the sixth form at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School and graduated from UCLan with a degree and a masters, both in computing. This 26 years old Longridge resident became a freelancer in web development in 2017 upon his graduation.
However, in the autumn of 2021 Ashley did what many dream of and started his own business. Leaving his employer with their blessing, Ashley set about writing code and building online systems and services for clients who came to him from his reputation in open-source development.
Ashley had previously contributed code to the Laravel framework and in turn this drove traffic and clients to his own nascent business.
Ashley’s business, Ash Allen Design, now boasts clients in London, Sunderland, and Washington State, all serviced from his base in Longridge. Ashley continues to contribute to open-source development, blogging about security vulnerabilities and their remedy and methods to speed up websites.
The blogs are not only helpful to others they are a powerful marketing tool, delivering leads for new business. Feedback to the posts is so positive, in autumn 2022 Ashley launched his first e-book “Battle Ready Laravel” based on extended versions of his popular blog posts.
New business aside, Ashley also decided to get serious about his financial future. Acutely aware that self-employment did not automatically come with a pension or lump-sum at the end, Ashley sought advice from UCLan’s business hub “Propellor” which offers ongoing business support for its graduates. His mentor, Craig Lawrenson, agreed that planning his long-term financial future was an integral part of his business plan. Craig’s advice was simple: “choose a company you are comfortable with, and which understands you and your business”.
Ashley contacted two10 Investment Services and met with Clementine Bell, one of the two10 Investment Services advisers. “Immediately upon meeting Clem I knew I was doing the right thing. I knew Raymond James Ribble Valley was integral to my community and heavily involved here. Clem explained how two10 Investment Services was ideal for me, just starting on my financial journey with some limited savings from two previous employer’s pension schemes. Consolidating these into my new two10 scheme was unbelievably easy. I view my two10 investment as part of my exit strategy from my business, even though that is decades away. I know several people older than me who all say they wish they had started saving for their pension sooner and now regret they didn’t. Clem has never made me feel as though I was asking a silly question even though I would guess I knew as much about investment strategy and financial planning as she did about open-source programming! We have settled on a plan which means I do not have to worry about where I will stand financially in the years ahead and which is affordable to me now.”
If you’d like to discuss your own financial future, why not make an appointment with the two10 team? Like Ashley, you’ll be made welcome, and our coffee is great too!
8 Berry Lane, Longridge, Preston, PR3 3JA | 01772 970470 | info@two10investmentservices.co.uk
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two10 Investment Services Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, No. 13010014.