Event Recap: Financial Wellbeing in Focus with the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce

Gower’s Paul McCormick and Robyn Bowyer Smith were pleased to speak at the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce’s Financial Wellbeing in Focus breakfast briefing, sponsored by NatWest International.

The event was tailored for small and medium business owners, consultants, and third sector leaders, offering straightforward, practical insight into how financial wellbeing affects decision-making, resilience, and long-term success, both personally and professionally.

Financial planning isn't just for business

A key message from the session was that while most of us apply disciplines like budgeting, forecasting, and setting strategic objectives to our organisations, many of us don’t apply the same to our personal finances. As Paul McCormick explained:

“We often manage our business finances with structure and discipline but leave our personal finances to chance. Creating a personal financial plan, just like a business plan, gives you clarity, control and confidence for the future.”

Robyn Bowyer Smith shared simple strategies for getting started, including how to build a financial roadmap, setting goals, identify risks, and stress-test different future scenarios. The aim was to make financial planning feel accessible and empowering, not overwhelming.

Four questions to ask yourself

To encourage reflection, the audience were asked to consider four practical self-check questions:

1. If my finances felt more in control, how would that affect my work, family and wellbeing?
2. If my business, organisation or role stopped tomorrow, would I still be financially secure?
3. Could my organisation survive a sudden drop in income or loss of a key team member?
4. Do I know how much I need to retire, and am I on track to get there?

These questions sparked meaningful conversations, and a few lightbulb moments.

A word from the Chamber

James Hunt, Office & Events Manager at Guernsey Chamber of Commerce, reflected on the session:

“We were delighted to host Paul and Robyn from Gower.  Personal financial planning is often overlooked by business leaders, but structuring your personal finances gives you the headspace and confidence to focus on running your organisation day to day. This session offered clear, practical advice that really resonated with our members.”

Thank you to everyone who attended, and to the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce and NatWest International for making the event possible.

If you’d like to take the next step and build a clearer, more confident financial plan, our team is here to help. 

Take a look at our financial planning offering here