Fiona McLean has made the transition from working in the finance operation of a large company to being an entrepreneur and FD of her designer lingerie business. Here, she tells us all about it.

For eight years I worked through the ranks in finance management in the telecommunications industry.

After a career break in my mid-twenties to travel the world, followed by a stint in financial services accountancy, I met my business partner Clare and together we schemed to take on the world by, well, pants. Nice pants, mind. In fact, the very best in designer lingerie.

We came up with our grand plan more than three years ago over a post-work drink. In 2005, we launched Boudiche – our dream company – in Edinburgh. Colleagues and the finance team we managed thought we were mad. The words “early mid-life crisis” were murmured as we said goodbye to monthly salaries, non-contributory final salary pension schemes, management bonus schemes and company cars.

They were right, of course. We were completely barking mad. But nearly three years on, we have a hugely successful retail business. We’ve attracted a six-figure investment sum from a leading retail entrepreneur with 30 retail sites throughout the country who loves our brand and what we have created. We were named the Lingerie Retailer Of The Year at The Drapers Awards (the biggest industry fashion retail awards) last year in London. Our website processes orders daily from all over the world – from Europe to the US and Australia. And we're currently planning a second retail site.

The ad hoc day-to-day excitement of being FD and co-owner of your own brand is hugely different to routine processes and systems, budgeting cycles and financial management in a large corporation.

In the early days, we had to do pretty much everything ourselves – buying, IT, book keeping and sales – but I wouldn’t change it for the world. We now have a brilliant team but I still have control over where we are taking the business. Projecting your own company growth makes business planning actually exciting.

*Fiona McLean is FD and co-founder of Boudiche

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