Latest / TFS WealthCast / Women in Finance: Empowering the Next Generation

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Women in Finance: Empowering the Next Generation · TFS WealthCast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Dream big.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Plan smart.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: Build well.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: This is the TFS Podcast where money talk gets real and financial freedom is more than just a goal.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Without further ado, let's dive in.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to this special International Women's Day episode of the TFS Wellcast Podcast.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: Today we are celebrating the journeys, resilience, and leadership of women in business.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_02: I'm joined by Sonali Rodrigo from Tomorrow Financial Solutions.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_02: Sonali, let's start at the beginning.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: When you first moved to Australia, what were you hoping your life would look like?
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_03: Hi Jenny.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, when you move to a new country, right?
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_03: Everything is unfamiliar.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_03: You need to get used to the systems.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_03: At the time when we moved, um, we had just got married.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_03: We moved two weeks after we got married.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_03: So um, and then we were very young, so we didn't have a lot of networks or anything built up.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_03: So um it was quite daunting, um, to say the least, but um, it was also exciting and challenging in a way as well, because we felt like we had our whole life ahead of us.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_03: So um, and you know, people call Australia the lucky country.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_03: So we were like, okay, so if we work hard enough, we should be able to make something of our lives out here.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_03: So um we wanted to see, yeah, where it could take us.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_03: So it was yeah, a bit of both, and leaving home is always a bittersweet.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_03: Um, my family was there, Brahma's family was there, so we were just two kids, just moving countries, hoping, you know, to make a success out of it.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_03: But um, yeah, it panned out well, I think.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: Of course it did.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that's great, and of course it's a huge step to take.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so when you all moved initially to Australia, what were one of the what were the biggest challenges that y'all faced?
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I think so.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_03: I had finished my studies by then.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so coming here, I was applying for jobs.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_03: My my background was in accounting, so I was applying for accounting jobs.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_03: But then a lot of the time um I got quite a lot of responses back saying, sorry, but you're overqualified for jobs.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_03: And then other times they would be like, Oh, sorry, um, you don't have Australian experience.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_03: So, and then I was there thinking, well, someone needs to give me a chance to get Australian experience because there has to be that first job for me to get Australian experience.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_03: So it was a little challenging in that sense.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then you know, sometimes you feel a little um disheartened as well when a job search is not going great.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_03: So um yeah, there was a little bit of that, and plus um we did we were new to the country, like um, like I said, we got married and moved here.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_03: So we had not really lived our adult life um in another country.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_03: So this is where we were starting our adult life essentially.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_03: Um, starting a marriage, so all of that.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_03: It it was new territory for us.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_03: So um there were quite a lot of unfamiliar things we needed to get used to.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but yeah, it it it all you know, step by step.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_03: So I I got my first job in financial planning, so that was a funny story as well.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I saw an advertisement in the paper, and then just I messaged uh the owner saying, Can I come and meet you?
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_03: I'd love to work with you.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_03: So, and then funnily enough, she asked me to come in, and that's how I actually got my first job.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_03: It wasn't through like a vacancy or anything like that.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_03: Um so yeah, sometimes fortune favors the ball.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_03: So I reached out and said, Yeah, please would you mind considering me for a job?
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_03: And yeah, the rest is history.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, that's great.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: And um, also when you were getting rejected from jobs that you have applied for, did you ever feel uncertain about things and felt like this is not gonna work, maybe this was a wrong decision that I made?
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, shouldn't I come in the first place?
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_02: Was there moments like that?
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_03: Look, there's always going to be um moments where you feel uncertain, unsure of your decisions.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_03: But um, one of the reasons we left Sri Lanka was because of um, you know, there was quite a lot happening back home.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um, there was a war going on, the future looked quite bleak for a lot of people.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_03: So we wanted to explore opportunities overseas.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_03: So as much as we felt uncertain uh in some instances where you know a job search wasn't going well or something like that, we also knew it was the right decision and we just needed to persevere and to kind of keep at it.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_03: Um and then, you know, and be also open to any opportunities that came along.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's the main thing.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_03: Um, because you need to be able to grab it with both hands.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_04: Sure, of course.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_03: So while there were moments we felt uncertain about how things were gonna pan out, um, I don't think we ever regretted the decision to move um to Australia.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_02: That's the mindset you should have, of course.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: And um, let's go back to the early days of building TFS.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um, whose idea was it and how do we thought begin?
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, I think it was Pramu's idea, to be honest.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I am I I was working, like I said, with a financial advisor.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so she was also suggesting, you know, maybe you should look at building something for yourselves.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then we Pramu initially started in property, so um, as a complementary sort of service to the financial planning clients that we had.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so it then branched out from there, we moved to finance, um, mortgages, all that sort of thing later on.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so it was actually Pramo's idea.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then I'm very risk-averse, whereas Pramo takes a lot of risks.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_03: So for me to join the business, um, it took a while as well.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_03: But I I did, I was working, and then at the same time I was helping Pramu build the business because um being risk averse, I wanted to make sure there was stable income coming into the family while he was able to then take the risks.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, self-employment is not for everyone.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_03: So um, like cash flow can be up and down.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_03: So therefore, I wanted to make sure that we had a stable foundation to build on um while you know we set things up.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_02: That's great.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: And also when building TFS, like the initial stages, like you said, was Pramul's idea, and then he was focusing on that, and also you helped him out with it.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so during that process, what stands out most in your memory?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_03: I think the the sacrifices we had to make.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_03: So people always see like a just a very little bit of it.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_03: It's almost like an iceberg.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_03: You see the tip of the iceberg, you don't see the the you know, early mornings, the late nights, the the the time together that we sacrificed, um, the time with family that we sacrificed, the you know, sometimes like there was a period where we didn't visit Sri Lanka as well.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_03: We missed all our friends' weddings because we didn't have the finances to be able to do that because we wanted to reinvest back into the business.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_03: So there were a lot of things in the early days that we had to do to make it, essentially.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_03: People don't see that, they just see, you know, some might even say, oh, we were lucky or whatever, but um, I don't I don't think that's the case.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_03: It's a lot of hard being it's a lot of hard work, it's being consistent, um, and then you know, and doing things every day to advance forward, um, trying to be better, trying to learn um every day.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_03: So I think success essentially is built in the quiet moments when no one is watching, really.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_03: So um, yeah, so we had a lot of that.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and yeah, that's what really stands out because when we look back on um, you know, we've been in business for over a decade now, so um, and it was a lot of hard yards, yeah.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_02: That's great work actually, and today TFS works with major organizations and has grown significantly throughout the years.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, what do you think helped build that credibility over that decade?
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's more so um being true to yourself, um, doing the absolute best you can for your clients.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then over time, people learn to trust you, people learn to sort of, you know, there were times when even if it meant that um we turn business away, sometimes we'll be like, no, that's not the right thing for you to do, so don't do it.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um, even if it meant that, you know, we could have turned it into a business.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_03: If it's not the right thing for the customer, we would say, no, don't do it.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so I think over time uh you build up a certain level of credibility and trust with customers.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and that is essentially what I think um yeah, um is makes you a sustainable business over the long term because um we are in financial services, we were dealing with people's finances, so um trust and credibility is one of the most important things.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, um personally Sonali, I know that you have a very strong work ethic.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, where do you think that drive comes from?
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I think I've always been a bit of a perfectionist.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_03: Um it's drive essentially, I think I want to sort of um basically just do the best that I can in whatever that I do.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_03: So um if it means we do a client scenario, I want to see what the best option is that I can present.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_03: If we do something in the business, I want to do it to the maximum level possible.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_03: Um, if it's, you know, sometimes with family, I want to sort of try and do and uh be the best that I can be there as well.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_03: I don't always succeed because sometimes, you know, um there's trade-offs that I need to do.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um but I think it's just trying to sort of make sure that everyone gets the best that they they deserve.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um, whether it be my family, whether it be my clients, um, just doing the best I can for them, essentially.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you're actually handling everything pretty well.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_03: Work and some days I feel like superwoman, some days I want to be a puppy.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_02: But we actually did a really good job, um and also what do you think that um about success?
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_02: People don't see a lot of things.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um they just look at success and think, oh, this is it.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: And like you said before, it was just a lottery or they just got lucky or something like that.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um that part of the journey, that what part of that journey is actually difficult?
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's the hardest part is probably being consistent because um success doesn't happen overnight, right?
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_03: So building a business, it takes like I said, it takes a lot of hard work, but then you don't always see it.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_03: Um it's not very obvious.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_03: You don't see it immediately, you don't see the results immediately.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_03: When you look at it over the long term, you do see the growth, but when you're in the daily grind of it, you don't really see um sometimes you feel like what you're doing doesn't make a difference, but it actually does.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_03: It's the hardest part is I think staying consistent when progress feels quite slow, right?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_03: So you you even when you don't see um what you're doing, when you put one foot in front of the other, be consistent.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_03: Over time, it makes a significant difference, right?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_03: In terms of you the brand that you're building, the credibility that you're building with your clients.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_03: Sometimes customers might not even do business with you, right?
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_03: Then and there, but they will always come back, yeah, right.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_03: So um you might feel like you know you haven't done much or achieved too much, but when you look at it, when you look back, you'll see, oh, we've done quite a bit.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_03: But that is because you did what put one foot in front of the other and you stayed consistent.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_03: So um when you're in it, you don't really see it.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's one of the hardest parts to be able to sort of keep going when it feels very slow and yeah, you know, um that's that's the yeah.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_02: Because a lot of people they they just want to give up once it gets difficult.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_02: That's right.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_02: They don't want to be consistent.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_02: Correct.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_03: There are a lot of small businesses that fail in the first year or two of operations.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_03: Um, even our business, it was quite difficult.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_03: Like I said, um, it probably only survived because we made the decision that one person would work and the other one would try the business out.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_03: Um, there were a lot of hard times in the beginning where you know we felt like, oh, this is really not working out.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_03: But we persevered, we stayed consistent, we did what needed to be done.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_03: We made sure that we learned new things, yeah.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_03: Um we changed our mindset to have a growth mindset.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's one of the most important things as well.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so yeah, and that helped us out quite a bit.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_02: That's amazing.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_02: And uh Sanadi, so as we discussed before, so you and Travel moved to Australia as soon as you guys got married.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_02: And why did you think coming to Australia as an immigrant shaped the way you approached work and opportunity?
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, definitely.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_03: I think there is an extra layer of I got to make this work when you're an immigrant.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_03: Like uh the first thing was we need to get our permanent residency.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_03: We have to make sure that we are able to live in this country long term.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_03: Um, next thing would be obviously trying to get citizenship so that we can, you know.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I think an immigrant, those two are the main things that we all work towards, right?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, once you achieve that, then step by step trying to get into a good job, um, maybe buying a house, you know, starting a family.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I think immigrants have a lot of goals that we kind of almost like a checklist that we tick off.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then that means every opportunity is grabbed with both hands, right?
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_03: So we work that much harder, I feel, um, because we don't take it for granted.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_03: That it is it is a privilege to be able to move into a country such as Australia.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_03: So we want to make sure that you know we make use of every opportunity that we're given.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, we work that much harder, we put 110% into whatever we do.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_03: I think that has uh I we see a lot of immigrants um in our day-to-day business as well, and that's something that's common amongst all of them.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_03: It's almost like um, yeah, you you're just like, okay, we gotta make this work, you know, somehow or the other.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_03: And then you do have almost that inherent belief that we will do it as well.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_03: And a lot of us do, so you know, so yeah, I I think that is that you're more willing to learn to adapt because you understand how valuable the opportunities are.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, of course.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: And with that experience, has that helped build resilience in your career?
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, for sure, absolutely.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_03: Um, because there are always going to be instances in workplaces or whatever it is that you know things might not go according to plan, but then you keep focused on your uh bigger picture, your goal, and then you're like, you know, it doesn't matter, I'm still going towards my goal anyway.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_03: So I definitely think it's built resilience, um, even in business as well.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_03: Um, like I said, to be consistent to do all of that.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_03: You almost have that ingrained in you.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_03: You got this opportunity because you know um you want to make sure that you make the best use of it.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, 100%.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_02: And so now we always see you, you're on the run all the time, school pickup, and then having team meetings, and then giving us the right guidance.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_02: So, with running a business and leading teams can be demanding.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_02: And um, how do you stay grounded and protect your energy?
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_02: Because you're always so energized and you're I'm very precious about what I decide to spend my energy on.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I'm sure you would have noticed I don't waste a lot of energy on non-valuating things, right?
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_03: So I just think it's a use waste of time.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_03: If even for example, if a team member has done something wrong, what's the point if they know that they've done something wrong?
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_03: If I know that they've done something wrong, other than to help them correct it and to make sure that they don't do it again, there's not a lot of point in wasting my energy on being angry or you know, pulling them up or you know, any of that.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_03: I I'm precious with my energy in such a way that you know, okay, you understand, I understand, let's do this, move on, right?
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_03: So we do quite a bit of that.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_03: I mean uh we do that all the time.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, right.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_03: So because I um because I I give I understand the people who work here with us, um they they are also um invested in the business, right?
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_03: Um they're here to learn, they're here to do a job, and they they value the mentorship that they get from here.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, I'm sure they want to do their best.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_03: So if there's something wrong done, I mean, let's all fix it and move on, right?
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and provide better guidance and clarity for next time.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so that you know that might not happen.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_03: So even with things like that, so even like I do a lot of my um teams meetings in the car with school, drop off, pick up all that.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um I try to make whatever time I have as efficient as possible, right?
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_03: So um, you know, try I'm try to multitask as well.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_02: You do that a lot, personally, I know.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and then don't waste a single minute.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_03: So, like um I joke in the morning, it takes me 12 minutes exactly to make the coffee, make the kids' lunches, make their breakfast, do all of that and pack it up.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_03: It takes me exactly 12 minutes because I've maximized the amount of time, right?
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, while the kettle boils, I'll do something else.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_03: But yeah, like you know, there's not one minute of it wasted.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_03: So that allows me then if I have 10 or 15 minutes downtime to actually just sit and have a tea and just switch off the rest of it and actually be in that moment.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_03: So um a lot of my time I try to protect it in such a way that I am present and intentional about it.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so that helps me conserve energy quite a bit.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_03: So, and then also I I firmly believe that there's no point doing something if I'm stressed out or pissed off, or you know, there's just no point.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_03: To me, the the destination journey, like people say the destination matters, right?
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_03: For me, the journey matters.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_03: If I'm going to get to a destination, I want to get to it feeling quite peaceful and zen, right?
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_03: There's no point just getting there stressed and achieving something.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I there's no pleasure in it for me, right?
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_03: So um, I'm very careful with my energy and how I choose to spend it.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_02: That's really nice how you see certain things in different angles, which like time and prioritizing tasks for that day and see what's important for that day and get that done.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so like some days, I'm sure you guys have visited my house, it looks like a bomb has gone off, but that can be cleaned up, right?
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_03: It can be cleaned up by me or it can be outsourced to someone to be cleaned up.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_03: I'd rather just spend time talking to my daughter as opposed to spending time cleaning up.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, but that's the way I prioritize things.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_03: That's not to say it should work for someone else, right?
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_03: But that's just how it is.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_03: You have to prioritize what you can.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_03: There's a certain limit of energy we all have, right?
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_03: So what you choose to spend it on is your choice, yeah, right.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, that's that's great.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_02: And so with the kids and like you know, your personal life.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: So, what does balance look like for you while managing a basic care and personal life?
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_02: Like you said, like sometimes when you go to do the school pickup, you always have Teams calls with us to discuss about files.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so what does that balance look like to you?
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_03: It it it it varies on different days.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um, there are times when you know work comes first.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but there are also times when the kid stuff comes first, right?
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_03: So, for example, the other day um Haley was taking assembly and then she was getting up on the podium, and then she got a chance to read something out, and you know, I had a lot of work on that day, but then I thought, you know what?
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_03: No, I need to be there.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_03: And then I'm sure a lot of moms listening would understand this.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_03: They scanned the crowd to see you, and the moment they see you, she had the biggest smile on her face, and she's like, Oh, you came, right?
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_03: So if I hadn't been there, she would have been so disappointed.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, you kind of need to balance it out, right?
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_03: So there are days when you know, sometimes they come to the office and they wait for me to finish work or you know, things like that.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_03: So um it's it's up to me to kind of prioritize and understand where I'm needed most and to kind of be there.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then also balance from a personal point of view.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_03: Like I said, um, there are times when I feel like, okay, I need to switch off for about 10-15 minutes.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_03: Then I do take that time because otherwise I I wouldn't be able to be the best version of myself, essentially, right?
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_03: But then if I do take that 10-15 minutes, I don't want to think about the million things I have to do that day.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_03: I'm just gonna be like, okay, I'm just gonna do scroll.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_03: So at least then when I come out of that time, I'm like, okay, I did get 10 minutes to switch off.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_03: Now I'm ready to do whatever it is that's next on my plate.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_03: So it's yeah, like you said, it's again the choices that we make, right?
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_03: How we choose to spend our energy basically, and balancing it in a way that works for you and everyone around you.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because I've never seen you angry on the street.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_03: Well, yeah, my family will beg to differ, but yeah.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_02: So that shows that you take your break like.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_03: I do, yes.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's that's actually something that we all need.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_03: I probably should take a bit more break.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um, that's actually great.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_02: Like you know, prioritizing what's what needs to be done on a particular day, where you need to be, and then if you feel like you're stressed out, um take techniques all for yourself.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: That's actually great.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, look, it's not life or death here, right?
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_03: At the end of the day.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_03: Um, yeah.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_02: It is what it is.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_02: And um what advice would you give young women who wants to build a meaningful career but doesn't know where to start?
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_03: I think um grabbing the opportunities that you get, having an open mind is one of the biggest things.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um, sometimes you might not see the bigger picture, but just understand if you do get an opportunity to take on, ask what I can learn from this opportunity, how can I add value to this organization?
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_03: Right?
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_03: A lot of the time, young people these days, their first question is, oh, what do I get out of this?
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_03: So I'll tell you an example.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_03: So the first job that I said that I contacted, um, so she was a financial advisor who had a business.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_03: I said I wanted to work with you.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't know what financial advice was at that time because Sri Lanka didn't have that and I had just moved, so it was a brand new industry.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_03: I did see a TV program on Oprah about financial advice with my background in accounting.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_03: I wanted to, I was like, oh, that sounds interesting.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_03: I want to go there.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_03: And um one of the first things she asked me was, okay, what's your salary expectation?
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_03: Because she was also a small business, she probably couldn't afford a hell of a lot.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, Well, pay me what you think that I'm worth.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_03: Right?
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_03: Pay me what you think you can afford.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_03: Because for me, I want to get into the industry, I want to learn.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_03: That's the most important thing for me right now.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so you you pay me what you think you should.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then years later, she said, That is why I hired you.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_03: She didn't even ask me questions, to be honest.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_03: Other than she was just asking me random personal stuff.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_03: Other than that, she didn't ask me any work-related questions.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_03: Um, she said that's that showed me the sort of mindset you had.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um, so that's something I say to a lot of young people.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_03: Ask the question, what can you learn from that opportunity and what value you can give?
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_03: Because employers are not stupid, they know good people are hard to find.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, then they do see you right.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_03: And a lot of the time we the employ as an employee on this side of the fence, I go, okay, what are they gonna make of this opportunity?
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_03: I want to see how they go about doing these things, then I want to see their investment into the business because it's not all because you will get rewarded when you show how valuable you are anyway, right?
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_03: So for young people starting out, I think those are the two main questions I would say.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, what can you learn and what sort of value can you add?
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then it it'll yeah, it'll take you places.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_02: That's great.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's like a point a lot of people miss out on.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_03: For sure.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, 100%.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_03: 100%.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_02: And like you said, um consistency before is key.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_02: So then when you start something new, it can be challenging, it can be hard, but it's about not giving up and learning one step at a time.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_03: One step at a time.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_03: Because nothing comes easy, nothing worthwhile is gonna come easy, right?
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_03: You have to put in your hard yards, um, because otherwise everyone would be super successful, right?
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so you have to keep at it.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and then once you struggle and once you learn and build that, like you said, and then at the end of the day, you'll also have some self-satisfaction.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, for sure.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_02: Like you've learned and it was a journey.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I always like um we have quite a lot of women working in our organization.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I do sit down with them sometimes and go, okay, look back in the last six months.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_03: What do you feel like you've stretched?
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_03: You do you feel like you've grown?
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_03: Do you feel like you've learned new things, learned new skills?
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_03: Do you think because that's one of the things I'm passionate about that I used to do um in my first, second, third jobs as well.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_03: Um when you are given a job, I I used to try and learn everything around it.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_03: So, what I mean by that is say financial planning, for example, if I had a client come in back then, um, it's also interrelated with mortgages, with real estate, with accounting, all of that.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_03: So I used to learn about those things as well.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_03: So after a while, when you learn things around what you're given, you build up a good base of knowledge, right?
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_03: So when you get given now, even for you, Jenny, right?
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_03: Sometimes I give you stuff which is probably not too related to what you do, but it gives you a good idea of related things, right?
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_03: So that when you get given something or a work task or even a personal thing later down the track, you'll know, okay, I've done this before.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_03: Because, you know, and you will invariably draw on that experience.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_02: I've had moments like that.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, for sure.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_03: I I've I've always had moments like that.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_03: I've been quite lucky.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_03: I've had three bosses in Australia and they've all put me in the deep end.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I could have complained about it, um, but then I decided, no, they've put me in the deep end because they trust that I'm capable of swimming.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_03: So therefore, I'm gonna make the most of this, right?
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_03: That's another thing I would say to young girls starting out, right?
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_03: You can look at it in two ways.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_03: You can look at something if you get given, say, for example, you get given a hard file, you're like, You I don't know where to start.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you can think, oh, why am I getting given hard files?
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_03: Why is somebody else getting given easy ones?
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, or you can be like, okay, my boss trusts me enough for me to figure it out.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, right.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm gonna, if I don't know, go and ask her.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_03: And then that means at the end of it, once I finish the file, I would have gained all that knowledge, right?
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's it's your attitude that you know um that is the most important with these sorts of things when you're starting out, especially.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_03: So, like I said, I had three awesome bosses who put me in the deep end, like there were so many things that I would be like, seriously, I have no idea how to do this.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: So they were like, no, figure it out.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_03: But then I did figure it out, yeah.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_03: But it also meant a lot of research, a lot of reading in the night.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I mean, I remember, I remember once I had to travel for that job.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and then Liam was, I think, two years old at that time.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_03: I came home, eight o'clock, put him to bed, and then I was in bed reading ASIC regulatory guides, right?
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_03: Because my boss had decided I was doing some corporate governance um policy thing, yeah, right.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, I don't know how to go about it.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_03: But he was like, I don't know, figure it out.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_03: So then, but me being me, I wanted to do it to the absolute best of my ability.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_03: That meant I needed to learn everything there was to learn about it, yeah, and that meant I needed to read at 11 in the night, and so be it.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_03: I did.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_03: But those things that I did in that job still serves me right now.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, as you said, um, we have obviously we've partnered with one of the largest financial conglomerates in the world.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_03: Sometimes when I'm in those rooms, I draw on those experiences and I'm really not faking it, being there.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_03: I I deserve to be there because I know what I'm talking about.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and I'm like, yeah, I got this, I know what I'm talking about, but that is because I have done all of those hardiats in those days, right?
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_03: If I had faked it or if I had done the bare minimum, I wouldn't be able to have a conversation, uh, an intellectual conversation with anyone, right?
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_03: Nobody would take me seriously.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_03: And being a woman, you always are on the back foot, right?
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_03: Um, yeah, you and especially in like a male-dominated industry like financial advice.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_03: I remember back then when we used to go for like you know seminars or whatever.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_03: I was young, I was a girl, I was brown, and in a sea of men who were 40 to 50 years old, that was the financial planning industry back then.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, it's difficult anyway to sort of make it in that industry.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_03: But um when you put in the hard yards, when you do what you need to do, people do take you seriously, right?
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_02: So because they can clearly see that you know what you're talking about, yeah, right at the end of the day, they're uh as long as the job is done, as long as that person knows what they're talking about, yeah.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_02: The tasks done.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_02: And like once you've been pushed into the deep end, like you said, and you have to figure things on your own, there's a lot of reading and learning that you do by yourself.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_02: And that gives you a lot of knowledge.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and if you're lucky enough to have mentors who are um able to answer your questions or guide you or show you what you need to do, make the best use of it.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_03: Like I had, like I said, my first boss, I still talk to her.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, um, she was one of like a like a guiding light in our life here, right?
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_02: So um even that's like you in our pizza.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but I did promise her that I would pay it forward because she's done a lot of things for me.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_03: She's actually she sponsored our visa as well.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, so I said, Look, I'm gonna pay it forward.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_03: You're gonna have a whole lot of you know women who would be uh sort of indebted to you indirectly because you helped me, I'm happy to help other women do the same thing, right?
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, I still keep in touch with her.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_03: So if you guys are lucky to get a mentor who's able to take their time to sort of guide you in the right direction and make the best use of it, yeah, yeah.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_02: You do that to us all the time, Sanas.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so if you are to sum up this entire advice into one sentence, what would that be?
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_03: Stay patient, stay consistent, trust the process, do the hard yards, and one day you can look back and be really proud of yourself.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_02: That's great advice.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Pramat Sanali.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so on International Women's Day, we often talk about women supporting women.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_02: What does that mean to you personally?
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_03: I think I just touched on it.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_03: So personally, I have had women supporting me, so I want to make sure that I am a mentor to other women as well, and then I'm hopeful that they in turn will pay it forward so that you know the impact that we have can be multiplied tenfold.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's so true.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so the final question if you could go back and speak the version of yourself who first arrived in Australia, starting from scratch, what would you tell her?
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_03: Oh I was a very shy, introverted, I'm still shy and introverted, but um person back then.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_03: Um wasn't very sure of myself back then.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_03: Um but I would say do what you did back then.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_03: Um and every challenge will eventually become a lesson.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_03: Every step forward will be build something bigger than you ever thought possible.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, I would say keep going.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_02: That's great.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_02: So Nali, thank you for sharing your journey and your insights with us today.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_02: Your story is a powerful reminder of what resilience, belief, and hard work can build.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for your time.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you, Jenny.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for tuning in to another episode of the TFS Podcast, where we turn knowledge into action and big goals into real results.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_01: Now, don't forget to like and subscribe and share this episode with someone working towards their next financial step.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_01: Now, with that being said, until next time, keep building.