Adviser of the Month: Krystle McGilvery

Congratulations to our Adviser of the Month for November, Krystle McGilvery, director of Mind Over Money.

While working as an accountant for many years, Krystle noticed a gap in the market. In the 2010s, she spotted a few men in America connecting psychology and behaviour to finances, a relatively new concept back then. In 2018, Krystle started Mind Over Money to bridge this gap.

She explains:

"I worked as an accountant for many years and saw that the way a majority of organisations were doing it wasn’t addressing this area of connecting psychology and behaviour to our finances, which is relatively new.

"I went down the route of studying behavioural economics, psychology, coaching and how to address the human side when it comes to your relationship with money, business and entrepreneurship."

Krystle also discusses how her late dyslexia and ADHD diagnosis affected her approach to business, as well as advice on what business owners can do now ahead of next year's employer NI tax rise.

What got you interested in this line of work?

I'm an accountant and have been doing this for 18 years.

I quit my nine-to-five (in 2018) to go into business and realised quite quickly that as much as people had a business, they weren't necessarily open to learning about finances, although they were struggling with it. I wondered what was going on there and that's when I thought to go down the psychological side and understand what's happening there behaviourally.

I went down the route of studying behavioural economics, psychology, coaching and how to address the human side when it comes to your relationship with money, business and entrepreneurship.

What brought about the decision to start Mind Over Money in 2018?

I worked as an accountant for many years. I saw that the way a majority of organisations were doing it wasn’t addressing this area of connecting psychology and behaviour to our finances, which is relatively new.

I spotted a couple of white and Asian men doing it in America and that was it. I thought about entrepreneurs and reliability and there was clearly a gap.

What is the biggest misconception about business finances? 

A lot of my clients are creatives and there's the assumption that if you're creative, you're not going to be good at math. To that I say, I'm also creative. I paint and act, but I do numbers.

When somebody believes that about themselves, they close the door to even learning. For a lot of my clients, it's about addressing those misconceptions so they can lower their barriers to learning.

Another is the pricing of services. This is largely to do with not understanding how to value their services. So, what goes into a customer's perception of the value that they could provide to them? This feeds into pricing, sustainability and profitability and is a large area of what I cover with my clients.

How can you support small businesses?

I'm known for connecting money to the mind as the starting point for improving financial dexterity. I focus on the psychology of financial decision-making, financial education and the opportunities it grants.

I can support people at the beginning of their business journey with pricing and early-stage financial planning. Understanding realistically, how much money am I going to make? When can I pay myself? How do I pay myself and what does that mean?

A lot of people are quite confused as to how and where so I can do a one-off or a short series of sessions to work together and get that sorted.

On the other side, if it's someone who is more established, then I offer finance director, fractional CFO-type services and support them on a monthly basis as they navigate their businesses.

Advice for owners who are feeling overwhelmed by their financial situation

If they're feeling the struggle in terms of uncertainty, something like a SWOT analysis is quite helpful. So often in these times, if your main area, product or service has taken a hit, it might be time to diversify and think about other ways you can get creative to see through this time.

Alternatively, the biggest tip I give people is, you've started a business. It doesn’t mean you're a finance expert and don’t beat yourself up about that fact. Instead, get support from somebody who is a finance expert to fly in, help you with the current issue and fly out if need be.

Biggest lesson you've learnt since becoming self-employed 

One of the biggest areas was when I first started, I didn't realise the importance of systems and processes. As an accountant, I heavily rely on systems and processes, but I didn't realise that when you're employed, a lot of that is already structured and built-in. When I started my own business, I was so scrappy and quite quickly, I became overwhelmed. I'm also an ADHDer.

So, I would advise putting time, effort and money into getting systems and structures set up. It just makes things so much easier and that includes on the operation side like managing projects but also on the finance side.

How can businesses set themselves up for financial success in 2025, given that many are predicting a NI tax rise? 

Immediately revise your budgets. Businesses often would have created a budget at the beginning of the year, or financial year, whatever makes sense to them. Now is a good time to revise your budgets and think about what adjustments need to be made to see through this period.

Also, depending on the size of the business, be prudent and look at what can go if it's going to affect your business to the point where you're no longer sustainable.

Has your dyslexia and ADHD diagnosis affected the way you approach work?

I was only diagnosed a few years ago and I've gone through my whole career; I've got a Master’s, a Bachelor’s and just found ways to cope.

When I realised that I was, I announced it publicly on LinkedIn and Instagram. I had over 30,000 impressions and messages from people and then realised about 60% to 70% of my client base was neurodiverse. So, I drilled down to understand why, and it was because of the way I communicate about my area of finance and through feedback, the way I deliver my services. The way I set things up, makes it easier to navigate. It's definitely encouraged me to double down on what's working and make it more refined.

If you're aware that you have ADHD and run a business, processes and systems become even more important. But often you may find it difficult to set up. That's where I found accountability helpful. Find a network, join a community or buddy up with other founders, so you can do things together.

Do a skills audit on yourself and identify what areas of the business you're not as strong in and get external support. Whether it's a virtual assistant or a senior person to sort the area out, don't be shy. You're not supposed to be good at everything. I realised that myself and got support.

Watch this webinar to discover different strategies, tips and tactics used by industry leaders to craft and manage budgets that drive financial success:

Becoming an Enterprise Nation adviser

I joined as a member for about a year before I became an adviser. I was just an observer for a while until I learnt about the adviser part and the opportunities that it presented for only a couple of £100s a year. It was a no-brainer.

I had never been part of a community like this before. What made me become an adviser was the opportunity to have access to more people and do talks. Whether that's providing my content for free or through Lunch and Learn sessions, it’s exposure and one I need to pay attention to.

On the other hand, it allowed me to be part of a community that was sharing content that was helpful to my business.

Being part of the Enterprise Nation community has got me to put the marketing and promotion side of my business at the forefront.

Not yet an adviser member? You can join here or upgrade via your dashboard.