Starting Young, Building Smart with Imogen Pickton

In this episode of Better Financial Futures, John Boatman is joined by 23-year-old business owner and LinkedIn specialist Imogen Pickton for an honest and engaging conversation about financial education, entrepreneurship, personal branding and building a business from a young age. Imogen shares how she started her business at just 18 while completing her A-levels during the pandemic, and how putting herself out there on LinkedIn opened the door to opportunities she had never expected. She reflects on how little financial education she received at school, the importance of developing good money habits early, and the challenges of learning how to price your services when you are first starting out. John and Imogen also discuss social media, the pressures younger generations face around spending and debt, building confidence online and why undercharging can make a business unsustainable. They also explore the growing role of AI in personal branding and why technology should support your voice rather than replace it. This episode is a reminder that you do not need to have everything figured out before you start, but learning about money, understanding your value and being willing to put yourself out there can make a huge difference to your financial future. **What we cover in this episode** - Imogen’s journey from A-level student to business owner - Why financial education is still missing in schools - Developing healthy money habits from a young age - The financial pressures facing younger generations - Starting a business at 18 and learning as you go - Why undercharging can make a business unsustainable - Understanding your value and improving your pricing - How LinkedIn can create career and business opportunities - Building confidence through personal branding and engagement - Using AI without losing authenticity in your content **Key takeaways** - Developing good money habits early can have a lasting impact - Financial education is particularly important when becoming self-employed - Low pricing may help you gain experience, but it needs to evolve as your business grows - Putting yourself out there can create opportunities even if you are not naturally confident - Engaging with others is a simple way to start building confidence on LinkedIn - Your pricing needs to reflect both the value of your work and the sustainability of your business - AI can improve efficiency, but it should support rather than replace your own voice **Episode highlight** Imogen explains how charging around £100 per month for her first clients helped her gain valuable experience, but quickly showed her why pricing has to evolve if a business is going to become sustainable. She reflects on how learning to value her time and increase her prices became one of the biggest financial lessons of starting her own business.