Blog2Nov2025

Some careers arrive with a plan. Others unfold quietly, one decision at a time, until one day you look back and realise you’ve walked yourself into exactly the right place.

For Hayley Steeles, a financial planner based in West Norfolk, the journey into financial advice wasn’t a grand design. It was a natural progression shaped by curiosity, confidence-building, and a genuine love of helping people make better choices for their future.

From sixth form to a 15-year banking career

When Hayley finished sixth form, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do next. Her mum worked in a bank, so she sent her CV to local branches and landed her first role at Lloyds.

She started as a cashier, moved into an account manager position, then into management. What she enjoyed most and what kept her motivated was the people:

“Sitting down with clients, finding out about them and what makes them tick… that’s always been the bit I love.”

Money, she says, is never just money. It influences people’s decisions, stresses, happiness, and long-term possibilities. Understanding that human side was what nudged her towards financial planning.

The big leap: leaving Lloyds for Chalk Farm

After 15 years at Lloyds, Hayley reached a point where she felt defined more by the brand than the person behind the desk. Clients needed the bank, not her specifically.

Then Jonathan from Chalk Farm Financial Planning called and asked if she’d consider retraining as an adviser.

“I thought, ‘I can’t leave the bank, it’s all I’ve ever known.’ But the more we talked, the more it felt like an opportunity I couldn’t ignore.”

The appeal? Finally being able to be Hayley, someone clients choose to work with, not just the person assigned to them.

Despite the fear of leaving the only professional world she’d known, she said yes. And today, she’ll tell you:

“It’s the best thing I ever did.”

Training, qualifying and finding her feet

Hayley joined Chalk Farm on 18 November 2018, then spent a year studying at the St. James’s Place Academy, passing six exams to qualify as a financial planner. She completed her diploma on 28 February 2020, right before the pandemic began.

When she reflects on the last seven years:

“If you’d told me back then that I’d be running my own business now, I’d never have believed you.”

The journey has felt surreal at times, but also completely right.

Launching her own St. James’s Place practice

Although she didn’t see it coming at first, starting her own practice was always part of the long-term plan. Jonathan told her from the beginning that, after around five years, she’d be ready to branch out independently.

“He gave me the push I needed. Now it feels like the perfect step.”

Today she owns and runs Hayley Steeles Financial Planning, while still working closely with Jonathan at Chalk Farm. They share an office, a practice manager, and the values that have shaped the business from day one.

The client experience hasn’t changed, just the confidence and pride that comes from building something of her own.

What personalised financial planning really means

For Hayley, personalised planning is about far more than pensions and paperwork. Yes, she needs the “hard facts”: income, savings, investments but what really matters are the soft facts:

• What brings you joy?
• What do you want life to look like?
• What are your fears, goals and day-to-day pressures?


“It’s about finding out what people want out of life then making their money match their goals.”

She asks questions clients don’t always expect from a financial adviser, always reassuring them that everything they share is confidential and part of a trusted process.

And while she loves delivering great news, she’s also honest when the numbers don’t support someone’s hopes, something her clients appreciate.

The client who thought he had five years left to work

One of Hayley’s most memorable moments came during COVID. A client she’d only met over the phone told her he hated his newly changed job role and hoped to retire in five years.

After detailed planning and cashflow work, she realised he didn’t need to wait.

“I told him, ‘If you want to retire now, you can.’ His reaction was priceless.”

He initially stuck to an 18-month plan… but called back a week later to say he’d handed his notice in.

Since then he’s sent her updates about the life he’s enjoying with his wife; meals out, simple pleasures, more time. He has also referred several friends to her. For Hayley, that sense of relief and joy is exactly why the work matters.

Beyond retirement: her passion for holistic planning

Although retirement planning is a big part of her work, it’s far from the whole picture.

Hayley also supports clients with:

• Long-term care planning
• Protection for families (life cover, income protection, critical illness)
• Protection for business owners
• Holistic financial planning across all life stages


Her interest in long-term care is especially personal:

“Older people have so much knowledge and experience. They deserve the right care and support. I feel really passionate about that.”

Where she meets clients

Hayley keeps things flexible so people can choose what feels most comfortable:

• At the Chalk Farm office in Narborough
• In clients’ homes (often the easiest place to find paperwork — usually hidden in the “drawer or box of doom”!)
• Online via Zoom or Teams
• Over the phone for an initial chat


Her goal is always to make the process feel relaxed, private and human.

Life outside the financial world

When she’s not with clients, Hayley loves movement and community. She lifts weights at Downham Ladies Fitness three times a week, enjoys Pilates and parkrun, and spends plenty of time with family and friends.

Her non-negotiable?

“Going to the gym. It’s the one hour where my brain switches off completely, and I’m just there for me.”

She loves the accountability and the small-group personal training style, having her own “cheerleading squad”, as she calls it.

Small businesses she loves to support

As a small business owner herself, she tries to support other independents wherever she can. Some of her favourites include:

Downham Ladies Fitness
Free Your Body Therapy in King’s Lynn
Victoria’s Cheese in Ely
Mabel The Bakery in Downham Market
Kate Anderson Photography, of course!!!


The advice she’d give her younger self

When asked what life advice she’d give her younger self, Hayley paused then said:

“Be brave. Be confident. Believe in yourself. I wish I’d trusted myself more when I was younger.”

It’s clear that confidence has grown massively throughout her journey, and it’s something she now inspires in the people she works with.

How to get in touch with Hayley

You can contact her directly via:


📞 07825 338535

📧 hayley.steeles@sjpp.co.uk