Stephanie McClarence is the Founder and Chartered Financial Planner at Laurel
North.
Luxe sits down with Stephanie to discuss challenging perceptions of financial
planning, building a business around curiosity and connection, along with creating a
Getting to know you
Name?
Stephanie McClarence
Job title?
Founder and Chartered Financial Planner, Laurel North
Where is home?
Gosforth, Newcastle.
Three reasons you love where you live?
The variety.
Within half an hour, you can be in Newcastle for a coffee or a glass of
wine, on the beach clearing your head or out in the countryside getting muddy. I like that I don’t really have to choose.
The day job
What do you do for a living?
I help people make confident financial decisions. My job is part financial planner, part translator, part sounding board and occasionally, part therapist.
Whether someone is trying to understand their pensions, invest for the future or
simply make sense of everything competing for their attention, my role is to help
build a plan that fits the life they actually want to live.
A day in the life of you?
Most days start with coffee and a walk with Scout, my dog. After that, the day can go in a few different directions. I might be in client meetings, writing reports, researching a planning question, shaping content ideas or working through something I’m curious about. It’s a mix.
Any upcoming or ongoing projects we should know about?
At the moment, I’m putting a lot of thought into how Laurel North shows up in the
world. The advice side is familiar territory for me but building the business around it is the new part.
I’m thinking carefully about the client experience, the content I create and how
everything fits together. If someone comes away feeling more comfortable asking
questions than they did before, I feel I’m moving in the right direction.
What does downtime mean to you?
I’ll be honest, I’m not very good at downtime but I’m getting better. I’ve always loved reading and walking Scout is probably the quickest way to switch my brain off.
Add in good food, a glass of wine and whatever creative hobby has captured my attention that week – whether that’s crocheting, sewing, learning to paint or trying to become a better writer – and I’m pretty happy.
Lessons in life
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I don’t think I ever had one fixed answer. I’d watch something and immediately think, “Oh, that looks interesting.”
I was briefly convinced I’d be Elle Woods after watching Legally Blonde, a chef after watching Charmed (assuming my Hogwarts letter didn’t arrive) and some kind of terrifyingly stylish fashion editor after watching The Devil Wears Prada.
At one point, acting felt like the obvious option because then I could be all those
things at once, which, in hindsight, probably says quite a lot.
I think it’s that relationships shouldn’t feel one sided. I’m still learning that, to be
honest.
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
I used to think it was my job to keep every friendship, every relationship and every
family connection going. These days, I’m trying to remember that people have to
show up too. You can care deeply about someone but you can’t build the whole
connection on behalf of two people.
What is your greatest fear?
The easy answer would be heights but that feels like a bit of a cop out.
My biggest fear is that someone has a question I could answer but never feels
comfortable enough to ask me. Maybe they think it’s a silly question, maybe they
don’t believe financial advice is for them or maybe they’re worried they’ll be judged.
Financial planning has traditionally felt exclusive, and I hate the thought of someone missing out on confidence simply because they didn’t feel welcome enough to ask.
Which living person do you admire most and why?
Outside my immediate family, it’s a lot of the founders I’ve met over the past year.
Being part of an accelerator programme has introduced me to people building
businesses in industries I’d never even thought about before but they all seem to
look at the world a little differently. They’ll spot a problem most people have simply accepted and immediately start trying to fix it. I find that mindset incredibly inspiring.
Living luxe
What is top of your bucket list?
Personally, Japan. It’s been at the top of my travel list for years and all being well,
we’re hoping to go in 2027.
Professionally, it’s creating the Laurel North office I’ve had in my head for years. I
want it to feel luxurious, a little unexpected and completely unlike the kind of financial services office people might expect. Somewhere clients walk in and think, “I feel like this should be intimidating, but it isn’t.”
What is your most treasured possession?
I don’t really think of treasured possessions in terms of expensive objects.
The things that mean the most are usually small, thoughtful things. A postcard from a holiday or something that made someone think of me when I wasn’t there. It’s never really about the object, it’s about the moment behind it.
More than anything, though, I think I treasure time. Since starting my own business, I’m much more aware of how little of it there seems to be.
What does the weekend mean to you?
Again, it probably comes back to time.
One of the best things about being self employed is having a bit more control over
my diary but weekends are still when everyone else is free. They usually mean
seeing family, catching up with friends or giving myself permission to switch my brain off for a little while – although if I’m honest, that usually lasts about five minutes!
A memorable holiday?
Taking my other half to New York for his 30th.
I kept the whole trip a surprise and quietly saved, so that once we got there, he didn’t have to think about the cost of anything. Watching someone realise they can simply enjoy the experience is a lovely feeling.
We still try to mark milestone birthdays by travelling somewhere new but that’s the part of the holiday I’ll always remember.
Best dress?
Hopefully the next one I make. I have a bit of a tradition of making my own dress for the Women in Finance Awards each year I’m a finalist. Last year it was a blush pink backless halterneck gown, the year before I made a cape, (which strangers were very excited to try on by the end of the night) and before that a full strapless dress with a ballerina skirt.
This year I’m a finalist in the “Woman of the Year – Investment advice category” so
the dress is already underway.”
Who would be your top three dinner guests?
Aside from my family and friends of course, Morgan Housel because I’d love to
spend an evening picking his brain about why we behave the way we do with money.
Grace Beverley because I genuinely admire the way she spots problems and builds businesses to solve them and Rory Sutherland because he has an uncanny ability to make you look at ordinary things in completely different ways. I have a feeling I’d leave with about 20 new ideas and absolutely no sleep.
The last place you ate?
Pine in Northumberland.
We tend to cook a lot at home, so eating out is something we really savour. Rather
than going out all the time, we’ll usually book one or two really special meals each
year and Pine is exactly that.
It’s a tasting menu but what I love is how the whole experience feels, from the food to the tiny details around it.
The last book you read?
Ignoring whatever’s currently on my Kindle, I’ve just finished The Handmaid’s Tale. I’m on a bit of a mission to read some of the world’s most frequently banned books and slowly build a library of them.
The last thing you listened to?
Probably an episode of Last Podcast on the Left.
I’m a bit of a true crime podcast fan, so if I’m walking Scout on my own or at the gym, that’s usually what I’m listening to. The recent series on Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, was fascinating.
The last thing you watched?
Fight Club.
Apparently I have a type. If there’s a story that explores psychology, identity or why
people behave the way they do, I’m probably going to enjoy it.
Three luxe things in life?
A quiet morning, a beautiful workspace and dinner with the people I love.
