Chris Hornby (Alpha Associates)

I began to offer a mortgage advice service to the residents of St Neots, Huntingdon and surrounding Towns and Villages in 1999. Forming Avon Financial Services Ltd in 2004 to coincide with the new regulatory regime set up by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

I am fully qualified and certified to give professional mortgage and Protection Insurance advice and by using some of the latest technology to source from the 1000's of mortgage products available is able to offer the best deals and rates available in the whole market to suit your lifestyle and budget no matter what your circumstances...

We can arrange home visits in and around Cambs & Beds. We provide impartial mortgage advice that will help you make the best financial decisions from the comfort and privacy of your own home.

Chris says... "Working from home in the St Neots area I have built a loyal client group and have a network of professional friends who refer clients to me and to whom I refer clients with requirements beyond my areas of expertise.

Having passed the the ER1 (Equity Release) qualification I am now able to advise my older clients (and the parents of my younger ones) on the complex issues of releasing money from their property (for any purpose) to allow a more comfortable lifestyle during their retirement." **

**This is a lifetime mortgage. To understand the features and risks, please ask for a personalised illustration.

Have lived in Eaton Socon St Neots for 25 years although as I was born just 6 miles up the A1 at Buckden I haven't moved far from home. My (very) long term partner Sandy is from the same village and we both have family there still.

Sandy and I share our home with two cats Darcy & Georgie rescued as kittens from the nearby floods in 2008.

I am an Electrician by original trade having served an Apprenticeship with the Department of the Enviroment at RAF Brampton also spending some time at RAF Wyton as airfield electrician.

In 1980 I saw a job advertised with a company car turned out it was for a Photo-Copier engineer. It seems to have suited me as I was in that industry for 20 years in various companies experiencing the previous slump in 1990 as one of three directors of a start up Office Equipment/supplies business and going on to set up and run my own small Office services business until 2000.

Call it a mid-life crisis if you like but I felt the need to do something different in the late 90s and in 2000 sold my business to a friend and colleague and became a mortgage adviser, as you do... It really was that simple then. No qualifications required. However I did immediately study to gain the (at the time) voluntary qualifications CeMAP etc. I worked through various brokerages as a sole trader but eventually realised that the way forward was to have my own business and formed Avon Financial Services Ltd in 2004 to coincide with the new mortgage regulatory regime that saw the FSA take over.

I 'found' 4Networking in early 2009 when I met Gary Johannes at a local networking event in St Neots and was invited along to the Peterborough 4N meeting. I very nearly didn't "get" it and was leaving after my 3rd free visit to Peterborough when Gary invited me to join and offered me the opportunity to get involved in the new Huntingdon group.

Within a few meetings, I was asked to join the leadership team of the group and despite a fear of public speaking, found myself agreeing to this role. That moment of decisiveness was a turning point as it was a huge step out of my comfort zone!

Within 3 months I had launched and was running 3 groups and building a team as an Area Leader. Later, I became Regional Leader for East Anglia and until recently lead a team of seven Area Leaders across the region.

It was during this period that I learnt about the Platinum Rule™ and began to use it as an online assessment tool to develop my team of Area Leaders as well as a set of principles to create better and faster rapport with potential clients.

I didn’t hesitate, when later, the opportunity arose to work with Tamsen, within Alpha Associates, to develop the Principles of the Platinum Rule into a set of workshops and further training.

While my Financial Services business is still running successfully, I outsource most of the non-advice admin work. This allows me to focus on building the profile of Alpha Associates and training individuals and corporate teams with the principles of the Platinum Rule.