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"I always helped friends and family with tricks to manage their money, shared stories on my experiences and helped them understand the many terms of investing and what they really mean. After gaining a greater insight into the Canadian economy, I could see the potential of where Australian’s problems could end up if they couldn’t access information and education on money and investing in a non-threatening and no-selling environment. When I returned to Australia I did some research and found that no-one was providing this service.”

At the age of 28 Jody was appointed to a national management position within Toll Holdings, the youngest and first female in her division.

“I originally started work with Toll in 2001 in a Business Analyst role. Being an analyst allowed me to work on many strategic projects to improve the profits and growth of the business. I worked hard to learn as much about the transport business as possible. This allowed me to then work on projects across other business units giving me an opportunity to improve profits at a much higher level. Some of the more exciting projects included assessing building and acquiring new regional branches and implementing a new computer system.

I was then promoted to the role of National Commercial Manager for the sales division where I was responsible for $300m of revenue. This role gave me an opportunity to implement changes in how we worked with current and future clients and increased our flow of information. I was also responsible for the strategic growth of the sales division which included a lot of business process re-engineering.”

Working overseas was an experience that Jody had always wanted to have.  She took the opportunity to go to Canada under a Working Holiday Visa and was soon employed by Sears Canada as a Senior Commercial Business Analyst. In this role Jody provided commercial support to the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer. Sear’s Canada is Canada’s largest retailer with $6 billion revenue and over 37 000 employees.

“I lived and worked in Toronto, the finance capital of Canada and home to the stock exchange of Canada. Being a financial hub, many of Canada’s largest companies have headquarters in Toronto including Sears. 

The sheer size of the Canadian economy and being so close to New York provided me with a great deal of experience not available in Australia. 

Working in the head office of retail giant, Sears Canada, also provided me with a new appreciation for the levels of consumer debt. Canada is also more advanced than Australia in the pay-day loan category and I learnt a lot about this industry as well.”

At age 31 Jody opened Boutique Money Management as an independent financial educator where people can learn all they need to know about money and investments.

Jody’s advice if you are thinking of starting your own business is to “Go for it”.

“After you have done your research, find someone who can help you get everything setup right before you begin. My biggest advantage has been investing the time and resources to set the business up correctly from the start as it saves a lot of time down the track.“ 

When it comes to money management and investments Jody advises to sit down and think about what you really want to spend your money on. 

“Setting yourself financial goals is the only way you can achieve all the things you want. My next bit of advice is to then work out what you are currently spending your money on. Most people aren’t spending their money on the things they really want to. We are so busy that we can easily forget what we really want. At this point you may need to make some changes to your spending. Go out and learn as much as you can about the different types of investments available, which ones you like and which ones are suitable for you. Read books and attend seminars. My last bit of advice is to forget about what everyone else has, unless it is something you really want who cares what the neighbours just bought!”

”Boutique Money Management is a new era of how financial information is provided to the public, we are changing a lot of industries. It is never too late to change.”

If you want to learn more about managing your money, grab some friends and host a personalised workshop. Workshops can be tailored to suit you and your interests, whether that is property, shares and managed funds or how to make money work in a relationship.

Contact Boutique Money Management on:
Telephone: 07 3103 1516
Email: info@boutiquemoney.com.au 

Make sure you visit the Boutique Money Management website for plenty of money tips, monthly free stuff and details on all their workshops. Go to:
www.boutiquemoney.com.au

See the Professional development opportunities of this newsletter for more information on free Boutique Money Management seminars for alumni:

'Let’s Talk About Money
– Tips, Tricks & a Great Debate!'
Free Griffith University Alumni Seminar
Melbourne - 12 August 2008
Sydney - 14 August 2008 

For those of you who can not attend the workshop, Jody has  provided some information to help you manage your money at:
http://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/cpa/hs.xsl/index.html

You can provide a student with the same head start as Jody by offering a scholarship toward business and commerce degrees. Scholarships usually start at AU$5000 and can be named in your honour.  

All gifts made to the Griffith University Fund are eligible for tax deductability within the guidelines outlined by the Australian Taxation Office.

For more information, contact:
Ms Fiona Mac Annaly
Telephone: 0434 171 935 (from within Australia)
Telephone: +61 0434 171 935 (from outside Australia)
Email: f.mac-anally@griffith.edu.au

Courses include fine art, photography, design, film/television and indigenous art practices.