Corinne Lamoureux

Corrine joined the ranks of the self-employed as a mental health first aid trainer, after experiencing a decline in her own mental health because of her work.

Of course, there was the small matter of managing her accounts and filing her Self Assessment to consider, something that Corinne admits were a little overwhelming at first: “I’m not confident about what I can and can’t do with my accounts and Self Assessment, and I didn’t want to pay out large fees for an accountant when I was just starting out.” That’s where Crunch came in.

“Crunch is cost-effective and the system is very user friendly. When I’ve made the odd mistake it has been rectified very quickly.”

With Crunch by her side, Corinne was able to launch Mental Health Switch, providing mental health first aid training, and followed her passion for helping people recognise, manage, and overcome their mental health challenges.

“I became interested in mental health first aid after my own mental health declined as a result of the profession I was in. I’m passionate about what I do and there came a point where doing this full-time seemed like the only logical thing to do.”

So, now that Corinne has taken the plunge and become self-employed, what lessons has she learned, and what pearls of wisdom does she have to offer those thinking of following in her footsteps? Simple: don’t focus too much on the cosmetics - get yourself an accountant!

“Lots of people worry about websites and logos”, she said. “My advice is get your bank accounts and your account systems set up first so that you can focus on growing your business.”

If you’re ready to follow in Corinne’s footsteps, take a look at the sole trader and limited company accountancy packages offered by Crunch.