November has marked our trade mark attorney Rachel Havard’s anniversary of joining Two IP – happy anniversary Rachel!
Moving on from many years in traditional private practice with lengthy commutes, fixed targets and long working days, Rachel took the leap to join Two IP after realising that there was another option out there for her. Read on to find out how Rachel’s life has radically changed in the past 12 months!
Rachel was at her old firm for 23 years – 16 of those years as a partner – so it was a massive part of her life. With frequent days in the London office, Rachel was spending numerous hours a week commuting from her Warwickshire home – many of those hours needing to be made up for in evenings and at weekends. The responsibility that comes with being a partner in traditional practice, on top of the tiredness Rachel was feeling from the commuting and long hours, undoubtedly took its toll on Rachel’s life at home. In Rachel’s own words “I wasn’t a very nice person to my family. Although I loved where I worked, I could see that my work-life balance was actually a bit out of kilter”.
A change of direction
So in 2022, Rachel recognised that something needed to change.
With her work-life balance askew, Rachel was looking for something a little bit different. “I wasn’t quite sure what that solution might be. I’d been a partner and I didn’t really want to go and be employed somewhere else. I was already in a place where I really liked the people, and so really it had to be something absolutely totally different for me”.
And that is when Rachel found Two IP. After an initial chat with director Anna Molony, Rachel could see that this would be her opportunity to “go it alone without being alone”. Two IP could offer infrastructure, organisation and support but without the constraints and rigidity of process found with a traditional firm. And in November 2022, after taking a much-needed month’s break in between roles, Rachel joined the Two IP team.
So what has changed?
For Rachel, the biggest impact has been on her home life. “My family noticed the difference straight away. Before they would say that I’d be in the room, but not in the room, whereas now I am actually present” shares Rachel.
Being a mother to a teenage daughter who previously found her mum a little unapproachable due to her focus being elsewhere, Rachel has found herself able to offer support and encouragement throughout her daughter’s recent exams. Rachel has also had the time and capacity to support her wider family, to be a more active member of her local community, and to pursue her other interests like getting away in her VW camper van and being an executive producer of a micro-budget independent feature film – find out more on this here!
Rachel’s commute has switched from 5-hour round trips on her London office days to wandering through her garden to her home office. Rachel now has the freedom to choose her own hours, taking the odd afternoon off as she chooses without feeling guilty.
“Ultimately, I feel invigorated and re-energised from making the change. I feel happier”
It is not only Rachel’s personal life which has improved, her clients have benefited too. One year on, Rachel has worked hard to develop her business and now has a solid client base. “I feel like I can give a better service to my clients as I’ve got more time to think around what they need and I don’t have rigid time targets”. Rachel has enjoyed maintaining and cultivating long standing client relationships, as well as building new ones as she also grows her client base closer to home in Warwickshire. “I have more energy which means I can give my clients my full attention without distractions and I feel under less pressure as I set my own time targets”.
The Two IP set up has also brought great support to Rachel in her first year: “It is great to be part of something bigger and to benefit from others’ experience, but at the same time have visibility of everything, with full control over my business development, my diary and my targets”.
As Rachel brilliantly sums up her first year with Two IP: “I am now able to be there for my people – I am no longer distracted and I can be totally mindful and present. And after all, if you’re happy in your private life then you’re going to be happy in your work life, and vice versa!”
