Accountant, writer, speaker, mentor, ICAEW Council member – Della Hudson has many strings to her bow, largely as a result of her ability to think beyond accountancy in its purest form. Her third book, Changing the Numbers: How to deliver advisory services for maximum success, taps into her passion for advisory work and was recently Highly Commended at the Business Book Awards. She says: “Everybody’s trying to do advisory, but not sure where to start. Some feel that they should be doing it; some are already doing it and don’t realise it; some are doing it and need to know how to make money out of it.”

For business owners, especially relatively new ones, advisory is invaluable, says Hudson. “They start their business with a dream of some sort. But they have no idea how to run a business. And that dream quickly turns into a bit of a nightmare. Accountants can come in, help them to manage the business side and free them up to really enjoy their main thing. One client recently said his wife had noticed he’d started whistling again – it’s so nice to know you’re making a difference to people’s lives.” 

Having qualified in practice, Hudson then spent 20 years in industry, which is where the business advice comes from. “As a financial controller or finance director, you learn a lot about marketing and sales and operations and so on, which is then easy to convert into smaller business advice,” she says.

As someone who has founded not one, but two, successful accountancy firms, Hudson is well placed to offer advice. She sold her first business in 2017 with a view to turning to full-time speaking, writing and coaching work. In 2020, that all changed. “Lockdown hit, which meant two things for me,” says Hudson. “One, the speaking work disappeared overnight, although it eventually came back online. At the same time, a lot of accountants appeared to have gone awol, at a time when clients needed maximum support. So I set up a Minerva Accountants in May 2020. It was intended as a side hustle, just to keep my speaking and coaching relevant, but it’s a thing in itself now. So I spend about 50% of my time on Minerva Accountants and 50% on speaking, writing and coaching.”

While her writing has brought her awards (her first, ‘The Numbers Business’, was named best specialist book at the Business Book Awards in 2019) and recognition beyond the world of accountancy, she sees this as just a small part of what she does – and something that came about almost by accident. 

“When I was running my first practice, I ran quarterly events where I would speak on a business growth topic with a guest speaker, demonstrating my expertise in order to promote my practice. I was also asked to do some tax writing for AccountingWeb. After I sold my business, people were asking me to speak based on ‘The Numbers Business’, so the writing took off as a thing in itself. I’d say the speaking came first, then the writing boosted the speaking. 

“The writing has proved valuable,” she continues. “One, it promotes your expertise when you’re not there. It’s also a good way to get your thoughts in order. So even if you only write it for yourself, there’s a lot to be said for writing it down. That was definitely the case with my first book – I wasn’t sure if I was capturing my memoirs of how I’d run the business, or creating a methodology for my coaching. And if you’re speaking, then the writing provides a source of content for you. Again, your speaking helps you to demonstrate your expertise. So both speaking and writing are good ways of promoting your business.” 

And if you do want to write an actual book, Hudson would always recommend finding a good publisher. She says: “I worked with Sue Richardson, who runs the Right Book Company – I have to say I definitely couldn’t have won the awards without her.

“It’s a lot to plan a whole book, because it needs to be cohesive and consistent in format. And because I write the chapters separately, sometimes I find I’ve got almost identical content in two chapters, which you don’t notice until you read it as a whole. So it’s really helpful to have somebody else to help with both planning and editing.”

Hudson’s work on ICAEW’s Council gives a different perspective on her everyday working life. “It’s great to meet with professionals in different areas of accountancy and get outside your normal bubble. There’s quite a diverse range of views and opinions on what’s the best strategy for ICAEW as a whole. It’s an interesting balance between acting in the public interest, yet we’re funded by members and represent members as well. I’m on the governance implementation group, which is a working group to update what the governance should look like going forwards. It’s just good to reach a stage in your life where you’ve got the time and enough knowledge and experience to be able to give back.

“And, of course, the Institute does far more than people realise because we only ever see a little bit of it. So now, I do know what I get for my membership…”