I had an interesting conversation with a male colleague yesterday, revolving around the concept of “women in business helping women in business”.

I feel the need to point out he was male, simply because it was pleasing to hear that he understood and supported why women often feel more comfortable in business situations when they are talking with another woman.

You will all have seen the message attached to my logo “Connecting Women with Numbers” – I am passionate about supporting all business, but place particular emphasis on assisting women to understand and interpret their finances.

So there I was thinking about the “Sisterhood, when I found myself watching the interview on Channel 9 between Ray Martin and Julia Gillard…

In no way am I about to discuss my political allegiance, but as a professional woman, I have never understood the scrutiny Julia came under while holding the position of Prime Minister of Australia.

No person in their working capacity should be judged on gender, marital status, height, weight or who does their hair in the morning!  Yet sadly, it is too often I hear women judging others on exactly these things (well…maybe not the hair thing…)

Is it too much to ask us to be professional about these matters?  To recognise that we are all different, with strengths and weaknesses of our own?

We all make mistakes, we all second guess our decisions…but as a human race we should do our very best to support others, and as a woman, I endeavour to support all women – this is my pledge to the “Sisterhood”!

Regards

It’s wedding season!  Spring time, love, confetti, cake…and the occasional family drama…I love a wedding!

And while I am the first to wish my friends all the best when they tie the knot, it is a sad fact that not all marriages and unions will last forever.

I don’t want to put a dampener on things…but;

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2012 there were 49,917 divorces granted…I’m unsure of the number of marriages which end in divorce, but I am sure that we all know someone who has been through one.

Something we’ve often seen on television and in the movies is the “pre-nup” (pre-nuptial agreement) – I don’t personally know anyone who has entered into a “pre-nup”, but the older I get…the more logical they seem.

In Australia, a “pre-nup” is known as a Binding Financial Agreement (BFA) and they are recognised by the Family Law Act 1975 (Commonwealth).

A BFA, which must be prepared by a lawyer, is not completely watertight, but can be a great way to be transparent with your partner about your financial situation.

You might want to consider a BFA if you:

• are marrying later in life
• are part of or are entering a blended family
• have children from a previous relationship
• have significant assets
• wish to avoid an expensive legal process in the event of separation/divorce

I know all of this doesn’t seem very romantic, but I’m sure if you ask a recent divorcee…they would support my recommendation to at least consider this…

Regards

The World Wide Web…whatever did we do before the internet??

I love the internet, I use it daily, in fact I use it many times daily…but then most of us in the business world need to!

With more and more businesses creating an online presence – it is important to protect yourself as best you can!  Even if you aren’t quite ready to launch a website, if you are in business, then I suggest you register your domain name…

In Australia, if you want to register a company or a business name, there are measures in place to ensure it is not too similar to anything else already registered – but there is no such protection for domain names!

In addition, when it comes to domain extensions, it’s important to cover your bases if you want to protect your brand.

If you’re reading this then you’ll see that I own the domain name www.thetaxchic.com , but did you know that I also own the domain names ending in .com.au and .net.au?  If you google them you won’t find anything, although I hope google will send you to my .com address…but I purchased them simply so that no-one else can!

If you decide it’s time and you’d like assistance is registering your domain name, please use the form on our Contact page, and we’ll be happy to help you out!

Regards

How do the sayings go? It’s not what you know but who you know, and the world works in mysterious ways connecting people?

While I firmly believe you still need to “know your stuff”…the “who you know” can be very important too, not just in business but in life!

I am always very humbled when I receive some correspondence that comes from someone who has heard a good review of me…it helps to remind me that I must be doing something right!  And referrals/connections are an integral part of generating business for me, as they are for many business owners.

But when thinking about how the world works with connections, I have recently been well and truly floored by the people who have come into my life…and I mean that in a good way (in fact, I mean that in a really good way!)

Earlier this year I was introduced to a lady at a fundraiser, subsequent to that we had a chance meeting…and I am pleased to now call her a friend.  This lady led me to another professional I’ve had recent contact with, and at a seminar she was presenting just last weekend, I reconnected with someone I have not seen for over 30 years (and we are both still in shock!)

For me, this is a classic example of the world working in mysterious ways – and it’s now up to us to keep these relationships going…I wonder what the world has in store for us?

Regards