The Money Honey - Women in Property, Finance & Construction
The Power Couple Code: Navigating the Challenges of Working Together as Husband and Wife

Summary
In this episode, Lisa Stones, Operations Director of Mortgage First, shares her experience of working in a husband and wife business partnership. She discusses the challenges of being seen as 'just John's wife' and the importance of building her own credibility and brand within the industry. Lisa emphasizes the need to focus on one's strengths and carve out a niche area of expertise. She also highlights the importance of teamwork and mutual respect in a husband and wife business dynamic. Lisa encourages women in similar situations to introduce themselves as individuals and not be defined solely by their relationship to their spouse.
Takeaways
Focus on your strengths and carve out a niche area of expertise.
Build your own credibility and brand within the industry.
Work as a team and have mutual respect in a husband and wife business dynamic.
Introduce yourself as an individual and not solely as your spouse's partner.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
09:31 Challenges of Being Seen as 'Just John's Wife'
13:49 Building Credibility and Branding
18:21 Balancing Personal and Professional Identities
25:09 The Importance of Supportive Partners
30:45 Switching Off and Finding Balance
35:34 Nomination: Pam and Nina Brown, Kim McGinley
After studying Fashion Marketing at Nottingham Trent University Lisa worked for Topshop/Topman in a brand manager for role for 8 years before launching her own wedding planning company in 2008.
At the same time her husband Jon launched Mortgage 1st and ran the company as a sole trader for the first few years. As the business began to grow, Jon asked Lisa to join Mortgage 1st in 2015 to help with the day to day running.
Fast forward to today and Lisa’s role of Operations Director sees her overseeing a team of 70 and managing multiple areas of the business from finance to HR and Marketing.
Lisa’s passionate about their team as well as the local community having written and delivered lessons to thousands of school children about mortgages, resulting in Lisa reaching the finals in the best leadership category at this year’s Woman’s Recognition Awards.
These achievements also led to Mortgage 1st recently being named as a Top Mortgage Employer by Mortgage Introducer and winning Broker of the Year 11-50 advisers at the Financial Reporter Awards.
Lisa & her husband Jon live in Chesterfield, Derbyshire and have two young children.
Thank you for tuning into The Money Honey - The show that brings together women in finance, construction and property!
Don't forget to Like, comment and subscribe! You can also follow along with Manuka Media here:
Instagram - @manukamedia
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/manukamedia
Website - www.manukamedia.co.uk
- Broadcast on:
- 22 Dec 2023
Summary
In this episode, Lisa Stones, Operations Director of Mortgage First, shares her experience of working in a husband and wife business partnership. She discusses the challenges of being seen as 'just John's wife' and the importance of building her own credibility and brand within the industry. Lisa emphasizes the need to focus on one's strengths and carve out a niche area of expertise. She also highlights the importance of teamwork and mutual respect in a husband and wife business dynamic. Lisa encourages women in similar situations to introduce themselves as individuals and not be defined solely by their relationship to their spouse.
Takeaways
Focus on your strengths and carve out a niche area of expertise.
Build your own credibility and brand within the industry.
Work as a team and have mutual respect in a husband and wife business dynamic.
Introduce yourself as an individual and not solely as your spouse's partner.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
09:31 Challenges of Being Seen as 'Just John's Wife'
13:49 Building Credibility and Branding
18:21 Balancing Personal and Professional Identities
25:09 The Importance of Supportive Partners
30:45 Switching Off and Finding Balance
35:34 Nomination: Pam and Nina Brown, Kim McGinley
After studying Fashion Marketing at Nottingham Trent University Lisa worked for Topshop/Topman in a brand manager for role for 8 years before launching her own wedding planning company in 2008.
At the same time her husband Jon launched Mortgage 1st and ran the company as a sole trader for the first few years. As the business began to grow, Jon asked Lisa to join Mortgage 1st in 2015 to help with the day to day running.
Fast forward to today and Lisa’s role of Operations Director sees her overseeing a team of 70 and managing multiple areas of the business from finance to HR and Marketing.
Lisa’s passionate about their team as well as the local community having written and delivered lessons to thousands of school children about mortgages, resulting in Lisa reaching the finals in the best leadership category at this year’s Woman’s Recognition Awards.
These achievements also led to Mortgage 1st recently being named as a Top Mortgage Employer by Mortgage Introducer and winning Broker of the Year 11-50 advisers at the Financial Reporter Awards.
Lisa & her husband Jon live in Chesterfield, Derbyshire and have two young children.
Thank you for tuning into The Money Honey - The show that brings together women in finance, construction and property!
Don't forget to Like, comment and subscribe! You can also follow along with Manuka Media here:
Instagram - @manukamedia
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/manukamedia
Website - www.manukamedia.co.uk