ENNISKILLEN accountant Donna Whyte didn’t take the mainstream academic route to success. At 18 she got “hooked” on accountancy and spent the next 11 years in various local accountancy jobs whilst studying with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) on a part-time basis.
A self-confessed “home-bird”, she never had any intention of leaving Fermanagh, but she did intend to grow professionally. 
It was this commitment that resulted in her setting up her own business six months ago.
Donna will celebrate her thirtieth birthday next week. 
The young entrepreneur is “proud” to have taken the leap into self-employment and has recently taken on one employee – she plans to hire more staff going forward.
Donna urges local businesses to be “agile” in the face of such uncertain economic times and voices frustration when she sees traders “muddle through” without efficient sales targets.

Q. Tell us about yourself.
A. I am Donna Whyte. I was born and bred in Enniskillen. I went to Jones Memorial Primary School and Enniskillen High School where I studied Business. 
After my A Levels, I began a course in Business Finance with Investment in Coleraine but I hated it. I was there for six months and during that time I decided on accountancy because you can study it alongside your job. 
I moved back home and applied for a job with McElory-Quinn in Maguiresbridge. I was 18. I loved it from day one. I was completely thrown in at the deep end and I got hooked.
The thing that I didn’t like was that we were always dealing with things historically. 
In 2008 I began studying for CIMA. It was a really good move for me because a huge part of the CIMA qualification is management: how do you use the numbers to manage a business better? CIMA is about trying to drive your business forward, achieve greater sales. Forget about the fact that you will have a tax bill at the end of the year, because, if you achieve more sales, you are going to be able to pay your tax bill.

Q. What finally made you take the plunge into setting up a business?
A. Since I was 18 I have worked in two local accountancy offices, The Lough Erne Resort, The Enniskillen Hotel and as Group Management Accountant for the Enniskillen Hotel, Lusty Beg and Pat’s Bar. 
I loved my most recent job but I had a desire for more variation. Throughout my working life I have often felt restless when I was sitting in an office all day – I felt confined.
I had an inkling that I could set up on my own. For years I’ve done the book-keeping in Irvine’s Butchers in Maguiresbridge (owned by my partner’s brother). 
He really relies on my advice and he’s steadily growing. I thought: ‘If he relies on me, then what’s to say there are not more businesses that would be interested in working with me?’ And when Dale Ebitt opened The Tap House, he took me on board to help him get set up and I still call in every so often to keep him up-to-date.
Working for myself was a huge gamble because there are so many accountants in town. You are going up against many established businesses that have been here for years. I was petrified.

Q. What was involved in setting up your business?
A. I talked to my family and my partner. Then I decided that January 2016 would be a new year, fresh start.
I’m a big believer in branding. If I just went out as Donna Whyte I could pick up four or five clients and that would be me. But I didn’t want it to just be me, I wanted it to be a business, where I can employ people and grow it bigger. To do that I realised that I would need a brand, a logo, a website, a social media presence. I wanted something that would stand out so I came up with Lemontree Accountancy.
Branding research says that you need to trigger an emotional response from people. I wanted it to be a fresh approach to accountancy so I went for Lemon. Tree stands for wisdom.
I know I am young. People may look at my age and ask: ‘What does she really know?’ but I have had exposure to a lot of different industries from working for different accountants, then the hotel and bar industry. I feel that I have a knowledge there.
I have just this week got my practicing certificate which means I can legally sign off people’s accounts at the end of the year. I am very proud of myself that I’ve managed to get that before I’m 30.

Q. How have the first six months been for you?
A. It’s been really busy. Any money I have earned so far has went back into the business. The biggest costs associated with it were registering for the practicing certificate, professional indemnity insurance and purchasing the most cost-effective software.
I haven’t had to target anyone yet. So far it’s been word of mouth.

Q. What has been the main challenge to date?
A. Trying to get people to change. People in Fermanagh tend to be very reluctant to change. A lot of what I do is looking at business processes and examining if that’s the best way for a business to do something. If I was to go into a business that I don’t know and tell them they are doing it wrong, there’s a challenge there. I have to build a relationship and gain trust.

Q. What has been the main reward to date?
A. I have become a completely different person. I have no stress. As busy as I am it just doesn’t bother me because I love every bit of work I do.

Q. Can businesses forward plan in the post-Brexit uncertainty?
A. It’s incredibly difficult. If even the politicians can’t give you a guide to what’s going to happen, where are we?
[Fermanagh is] in the unique position where retailers are going to benefit from this in the short-term. But in terms of larger businesses, there is no magic formulae for this.
The key thing is that if a business is geared up to be able to adapt to change very quickly, they will survive this. You have to be agile and be willing to invest. Don’t hunker down and hold on until there’s more clarity. Now is the time to actually invest. For example, now is the prime time to go down south if you haven’t before. People will ask: ‘What if there’s a hard border and the export business is affected?’ But I say: ‘What about the short-term impact that you could be putting down south for very little capital expenditure? All of a sudden you are growing your business and taking advantage of this?’ That’s what I mean about being agile. You need to be able to move with the times.

Q. What does it take to be an entrepreneur in Fermanagh?
A. You need to be a very honest person. Fermanagh is so small. If someone hears a bad story, it travels so fast and so far and you can’t get rid of it. The key thing to me is to ensure that I am very honest with everyone I talk to. 
You also need guts. 
One thing I think Fermanagh businesses don’t do enough is set targets. Many are not ambitious enough. A big part of my work is budgeting but there are some businesses floating along with no budget. I would advise all businesses to set an annual target because it gives you that motivation every day to drive the business forward. It also gives your employees motivation to work harder.

Q. Tell us about you plans for growth.
A. I have just employed my first employee; a part time accounts assistant. It’s a weird business because I have no office; you’re essentially working for a client but you’re actually working for me; and you might not see me from one week to another. I wasn’t sure if that would appeal to anyone. The employee I took on is so passionate and was exactly the right fit.
I have ambitions to grow further. Within the next year I would like my current employee to become full time. I would then like to employ another part-time member of staff and continue to grow like that year-on-year.