As parties are in full flow and we frantically try to complete everything on our ‘to do’ list before we break to celebrate Christmas and the end of the year, I really enjoy reflecting on what we’ve accomplished – and what’s still to come. Here’s my brief review of 2025 and look forward to 2026.

2025 has been the year of cake!

I am so grateful for the amount of cake we’ve consumed because it’s testament to how much fun 2025 has been!

One of the most exciting celebrations this year was the Hour Hands 10th birthday.

Over our 10 incredible years in business supporting SMEs across the UK with bookkeepers and personal assistants, we’ve fulfilled some interesting challenges as well as managing day-to-day tasks.

Over 10 years we’ve:

• Worked from a kitchen table, in a garage and a shared office. We’re now in our own office space. And 2026 will see us moving to even bigger premises – watch this space! It may seem like madness in an age of home and hybrid working to take on a bigger space, but at Hour Hands we’ve always believed in combining the flexibility of working from home with the energy and collaboration that comes from being together in person.
• Worked with so many wonderful clients across too many industry sectors to mention – from hospitality to retail, manufacturing to toys!
• Won awards including National Business Woman of the Year and Business of the Year
• Supported a number of wonderful women to get back into the workforce or change careers. We’ll be welcoming new team members in the near future, again watch this space for introductions.
• Met some great business colleagues through networking. The small business community in Hertfordshire and London is vibrant and fun.

I look back on the early days at my kitchen table when I founded Hour Hands with the vision to provide simple bookkeeping and PA services and offer women a flexible way to work around their families. Over the years, we’ve streamlined those services and are looking forward to scaling the offer further. We now are a fun team of thirteen, enjoy having our own in-house marketing team and a very special wellbeing lead, ensuring that we all enjoy a healthy lifestyle and maintain the very important work/life balance. We’ve come a long way!

I’ve learned a lot over the past decade and neatly summarised it into three bullet points. I’ve shared this on social media before but feel it’s worth repeating.

These are my learnings:

● Time is Priceless – every hour saved or moment enhanced for our clients reinforces the value of what we do.
● Flexibility is Key – the world changes quickly, and we’ve learned to adapt without losing sight of our core mission.
● Teamwork Makes the Difference – no milestone is achieved alone, and collaboration is at the heart of everything we do.

2025 has also brought its challenges. We’ve waved goodbye to some very important people. Some have embarked on new challenges or even gone travelling around the world – which I heartily recommend. I’m conscious that the circle of life keeps turning, our children keep growing, things naturally change and that change brings time for reflection and growth.

We have missed key member of the team while they took time to grow their family and are very glad to have welcomed them back at the end of the year! Growing the business has come with its challenges, cash, people, time. All a fine juggle that has seen me awake during more than one night.

Personal celebrations meant more cake!

2025 was also the year that I celebrated turning 50. I look back at how many times I’ve been able to use this as a great excuse to interact with my wonderful friends, colleagues and peers. I’ve had some fun gatherings in Ireland, Germany and the UK. I’ve eaten cake, lunch, and dinner, enjoyed drinks and coffee, and numerous online interactions where I’ve swapped greetings, learnings and opportunities. I’m so grateful for my fifty years on the planet and being surrounded by so many very special people.

I am genuinely intrigued about what the next year will bring for Hour Hands and for me personally – how many adventures are ahead and how much more cake I can consume (thanks to our resident in-house bakers!).

As 2025 comes to a close, may I finish this message with a heartfelt thank you to all our clients, team members, partners, and supporters and wish you all a very happy and healthy 2026.

Christine