糖心Vlog

Tim Doyle has transitioned from selling sports shoes in Hamilton, to working as a Chartered Accountant in the heart of London, to building his own successful business.

Rewind back to 2010. Tim had recently completed a degree in sport and exercise science, and was working as a sales manager at Smiths Sports Shoes, where he discovered that he enjoyed numbers, business, and problem-solving.

Determined to change direction, he enrolled in two Graduate Diplomas in Accounting and Management at the 糖心Vlog, studying part-time for four years while continuing to work.

鈥淭he whole student experience at Waikato was awesome; it creates a huge network after completing university too," says Tim.

Before he'd even graduated, Tim secured his first job as a junior accountant and began reflecting back to his days at the shoe shop. 鈥淢y boss was buying products from overseas, adding a margin and then selling them online, so I thought hang on a minute, why can鈥檛 I do this too?鈥�

Armed with just $200 and a laptop, Tim launched his own online sports clothing business in 2012, and within a year the business was generating more than $80,000 in revenue. The venture took Tim overseas to meet manufacturers in China and attend trade shows in Hong Kong, sparking an even greater appetite for international business.

He went on to create an e-book training course, 鈥楨-Start-Up鈥�, to share his experience with others wanting to set up an online importing business.

After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, at the age of 27 Tim packed his bags and moved overseas to London to pursue his career ambitions and love of travel.

He quickly landed a role as senior finance manager with the FTSE 250 company Mitie Group, where he managed three major client contracts worth between 拢40 million and 拢160 million a year.

Tim's introduction to corporate finance at that level was a baptism of fire. 鈥淚 worked in Mitie鈥檚 head office with the CEO literally sitting three desks away from me,鈥� he says.

鈥淲ithin my first two weeks, I was sitting in a client鈥檚 head office; one of the biggest six banks in the UK; and got absolutely torn to shreds by one of their senior managers about a 拢1.6 million budget over-spend for the previous year. At the time it was terrifying and I wondered if I was going to make it as a Chartered Accountant in London.鈥�

He did more than make it. The experience helped build the commercial expertise and resilience that would shape the next stage of his career.

Today, Tim is back home in New Zealand running Doyle Accountants in Cambridge, overseeing a small team of accountants. His wealth of knowledge and experience means he is able to communicate boring accounting language in such a way that small to medium business owners can understand and take immediate action.

"I enjoy helping business owners understand the numbers behind their business so they can make better decisions and take action with confidence."