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What is life like as a Rosemary Bookkeeping franchisee?

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Nirmal Thakkar, owner of Rosemary Bookkeeping Garden City, shares her experience as a Rosemary Bookkeeping Franchisee.

Rosemary Bookkeeping is one of the UK’s only bookkeeping franchises.

Our business owners work for themselves but not by themselves to deliver personalised and expert bookkeeping services to commercial clients and small business owners nationwide.

Nirmal Thakkar opened her Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise, Rosemary Bookkeeping Garden City, in July 2022 after the brand was recommended by a friend who is a CIMA-qualified accountant.

Upon having a brand intro call with ServiceMaster Brands UK Franchise Sales Manager Emma Chappell, Nirmal was sure she and Rosemary were a perfect match.

“When I met people at Rosemary, I felt that I could be a part of the family, and I will never feel left out.”

“I feel proud to be a part of the Rosemary Franchise,” she says.

Who is Nirmal Thakkar?

With a Master’s in Business Administration and having worked in the financial industry for about 15 years, and as part of a family of accountants, Nirmal supports her clients with years of knowledge and experience.

“My husband is a Financial Director of his property-based company in the UK. He is an accountant. All the men in my family are accountants.”

“Bookkeeping runs in my blood,” she says.

As a mum in a family of four, Nirmal balances her responsibilities as a Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise owner, mother, and committee member of her local Indian Cultural Association, which includes planning events and cultural activities throughout the year like Holi, Diwali and Navratri.

Why Rosemary Bookkeeping?

As a busy, family-oriented businesswoman who is entrenched in her local community, Nirmal chose Rosemary Bookkeeping to “work for [herself] and have control of [her] work-life balance.”

Franchisees like Nirmal also benefit from being part of a trusted brand, a nationwide network of bookkeepers, and a centralised and dedicated franchisor support team that helps with queries, best practices, sales, marketing, and operations.

The tried and tested Rosemary Bookkeeping model ensures they are on track to succeed in all they do – with the unique opportunity to achieve a turnover of £135,000 in just five years, based on an average commercial job value of £2,100 pa.

The Rosemary Bookkeeping Experience

Nirmal says the fundamentals of running a successful Rosemary Bookkeeping franchise have been to take small steps and work to her strengths.

“My people skills have [seen] me achieve success,” she says. Having also received esteem for her interpersonal skills, Nirmal knows that she can use this to her advantage when faced with the things she finds harder – like aspects of marketing.

“Face-to-face marketing helps a lot, as it shows your confidence and commitment in what you do, and the business owners can feel the same,” she says.

Words of advice

She says this commitment is what will enable your success as a franchisee.

“No matter who you are and what you have done, your commitment will make you successful.”

“If you are ready to work for yourselves and are passionate about your business, you will always succeed.”

Need a bookkeeper? 

To contact Nirmal and receive her expert help with your bookkeeping, call 01462 41944.

For those elsewhere in the UK, find your nearest Rosemary Bookkeeping business today to book a free quote from one of our experts.

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Diwali celebrations in the Garden City

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We sat down with Rosemary Bookkeeping business owner Nirmal Thakkar to chat about how she will be celebrating Diwali in her local community this year.  

Today is Dhanteras, marking the beginning of the festive season ahead of Diwali for 2022. Diwali, the festival of light and the new year, takes place on Monday 24th, signalling the end of the 5-day festivities for many in communities across the UK.

We sat down with Nirmal Thakkar of Rosemary Bookkeeping Garden City to talk about how she’s celebrating with her family and community.

Celebrating at home

Due to Diwali being the festival of light, Nirmal and many others hold religious celebrations with their families and decorate their homes and temples with hanging lights and candles.

Then, “on the actual Diwali day, we get together as a family with all my cousins and family and friends, and then we kind of cook lovely dinners. We, make a variety of foods, a sweet dessert and a full-fledged meal with delicacies included in it,” Nirmal says.

Community Diwali Celebrations

Within her local community in Stevenage, Nirmal also participates in an Indian cultural association within her area called ICA (Indian Cultural Association).

This includes a day celebration where the entire community within the Hertfordshire area get together to celebrate together. These normally consist of dinners among the 500 attendees and shows from the children where they act, dance, and show off their artwork.

“And then for the past couple of years we’ve had a DJ,” Nirmal says, “So we’ve had a Bollywood dancing night with everybody. We all dress up in our traditional clothes like either a Sari or something like salwar kameez, which is a traditional outfit as well.”

As someone who did a lot of stage shows when she lived in India, Nirmal is an experienced Bollywood dancer and has recently been enjoying sharing her love of dancing with her daughter.

After a few years in which celebrations like Diwali have been off the cards or hindered by COVID-19 for communities like Nirmal’s, she says she’s looking forward to being able to be with everybody again and celebrate together.

She tells me that her favourite part of Diwali by far is the night setting off fireworks and firecrackers with her family. (Not too late and having warned her neighbours, of course).

“I love it,” she says. “Getting ready, cooking all the different delicacies and doing the fireworks of the day. [Because] everybody takes part in it, and because it’s a festival of light when we light up a rocket or sparkler or something, it just makes you feel that your life is brightened up as well.”

Nirmal also says that it’s been interesting to watch over time how the local and ICA community has developed since she moved to the UK.

“When I came to this country in 2002, of course, I didn’t know about the [ICA], but it has been running for the last 40 years.

Every year more and more students come from India and neighbouring countries come and join us. [And their] English partners come through as well to see the dance and be a part of Diwali, learn how to kind of be a part of our community and learn the culture.”

Nirmal says that this is important to her particularly as it has helped her feel accepted where she lives and in her local area.

She is also excited to bring this openness to her new clients and expand her community to include them and is planning on treating some of them to some traditional sweets for Diwali in the years to come.

Need help with your bookkeeping?

If you would like to receive Nirmal’s help with your bookkeeping, get in touch with Rosemary Bookkeeping Garden City on 01462 419444 for bookkeeping services in the Stevenage area.

Or, nationwide, find your nearest Rosemary Bookkeeping business today to find out how we can help you take the stress out of your bookkeeping.

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New business owner brings Rosemary Bookkeeping services to Stevenage

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Meet Nirmal Thakkar, the new business owner bringing Rosemary Bookkeeping services to Stevenage and surrounding areas.

Back in June, we sat down with Nirmal Thakkar, the brand-new owner of Rosemary Bookkeeping Garden City, at the end of her training academy to talk about her life and new business.

Nirmal tells me she loved taking part in her bookkeeping training and that she feels prepared to carry out the processes required to help her clients with their bookkeeping needs, and is looking forward to building even more skills that will come with practice.

Background

Nirmal came to the UK from India in 2002 and received an MBA from Hertfordshire University before working in sales banking.

She then took a break from the industry whilst on maternity leave and helped a friend build his business from the ground up.

More recently, Nirmal has been working within the NHS as a 111-call handler, which has seen her lead a team with 25 people and work as a trainer and auditor.

Nirmal balances her work life with home life as a Mum to her 10-month-old son and 11-year-old daughter.

When not working, Nirmal loves to travel and is a big fan of Bollywood dancing.

She tells me she has a keen interest in reading self-assessment books to access skills to improve in all areas of her life.

Looking ahead

She says if she had to pick one favourite quote from her reading to apply to her business and personal ethos, she would say: “We rise by lifting others.” from Robert Ingersoll.

It is this that Nirmal says she is most looking forward to about her new work as a Rosemary Bookkeeper.

She will be able to use her experience and expertise to uplift and help her clients to become more confident with their bookkeeping with their help.

The Rosemary Way

At Rosemary, all of our bookkeepers can be more interactive with clients by working through their books with them on a regular monthly business.

Small business owners like Nirmal can be in business for themselves, but not by themselves, as a Rosemary Bookkeeper can eliminate worry about managing their books by becoming a part of their support network.

As Nirmal knows from her own experience:

“It’s the small things that make a lot of difference.”

As part of an established franchise of experienced bookkeepers, Rosemary clients can receive regular and bespoke support from a brand trusted by small business owners across the UK.

Rosemary Bookkeeping Brand Leader Nina Skoczόłek says she is: “Really pleased to welcome Nirmal to the Rosemary Bookkeeping Network.”

“Nirmal is focused on helping local micro and small enterprises to thrive. She brings a great amount of knowledge, experience and ideas on how to coach and help others achieve their business financial goals. I’m looking forward to following and supporting her on her journey,” she adds.

Excited to help her clients and their businesses grow, Nirmal opens her doors to clients in Stevenage and its surrounding areas today.

Need a bookkeeper?

To contact Nirmal and receive her expert help with your bookkeeping, call 01462 419444 or visit her website.

For those elsewhere in the UK, find your nearest Rosemary Bookkeeping business today to book a free quote from one of our experts.

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