BMP - Business Made Personal

"When I started out originally, I said to myself, ‘How awesome would it be to be in every major state I wanted to be in?’." By his own admission, Franz Du Plessis has made quite a few mistakes in the last few years, but that has not stopped him from acquiring multiple businesses in various industries. Driven by his mantra of just being happy and enjoying what he and his team do and learning every day, something new, Franz believes that if you fail, you see that as a lesson - you learn quicker, and you just start up again.

"How do we get out of our own way so we can be transformational leaders?" Speaking of the insurance industry, Lyle Steffensen says, “We're an industry of mavericks. We're an industry of people who don't fit other places”. She follows that up with, “But I don't think I've met many people who know that.” It is clear that Lyle has a passion for the insurance industry, but it isn't the usual ‘I fell into it and loved it’ story.

"I've never been good at being a specialist at anything so I became a generalist at everything." Like many people in this podcast series, mine is a migrant's story infused with the generous support of so many people, particularly from within the Insurance Industry. The ability to develop relationships and create a career working across so many diverse sectors of the insurance industry has ensured that I have had massive opportunities to learn, grow, and develop.

"I look back now, and I think this (insurance) industry has made me a better person. That, to me, is the value of this industry; it gives as much back as you put into it." An accounting background allowed David Cook to work in retail. In his words, “Accounting wasn't for me. It just didn't suit me and my style. I loved the retail side of it, but sitting down there crunching numbers wasn't for me.” Joining a premium funder was the start of his love affair with insurance.

"Insurance was never on my radar. It didn't strike me as a career." Eradicating doubt is imperative in clearing the first hurdle to a successful career, and Kara McInnes discusses how she managed to do that in her life and career. In dealing with clients suffering significant stress during major catastrophes, she believes that using emotional intelligence and remaining emotionally resilient is critical to assisting those Clients and ensuring those stressful circumstances do not overrule and take over your entire day.

"You've got to put the hard yards in, and there’s no easy path, no shortcut; you have to do the hard work!" Jonathan's first foray into insurance was with the Nottingham City Council In England. He felt he had found his calling in their insurance claims department. He then moved to Australia in 1994 and met some great people. His love affair with loss adjusting began with GAB Robins, where he was given the role of trainee liability adjuster. Thirty years on, his is an interesting story.

"I always wanted to be better for myself. It was never that I wanted to be better than somebody else." Migrating from Ireland with a background in banking meant that Shaneika had to take a step back and start from the beginning in the insurance world. Her thirst for learning has seen her escalate her career in a very short time frame, and in 2023, Insurance Business honoured her with the Rising Star Award.

"I found it (Antarctica) the most incredible place to be (for work). The scenery, the shades and the colours and the vastness of where you change your whole mindset" Complex, interesting, major losses helped pave the way to become the loss adjuster and person Nick is today. In his own words, “When I left the farm, I never ever imagined I would be doing what I now do or become what I am now.” With experiences in Antarctica, Exmouth and the Pilbara, when Nick was forced to leave his farming life, he never ever imagined he would be doing what he now does or become what he is today.

"Your footprint should be bigger than yourself." Influenced by a grandmother and father, both of whom devoted their time to public service, Katrina Shanks has established a huge presence public presence in New Zealand and, as a recent migrant to Australia, hopes to continue that work in her new role as CEO of ANZIIF.

The Business Made Personal team wishes to thank all those who have supported the podcast series, including our fabulous guests, our awesome listeners, and those wonderful people who have taken the time to provide us with their suggestions. How to Connect with Mark: Email: mark@bmppodcast.com.au

"I learnt pretty quickly when I was young that nothing great comes without hard work." A professional rugby player for 13 years, Tim looks back on that time - a time when he says, “You earn really good money, you don't even have to buy running shoes or lunch”, what it taught him and how he was able to apply it in his business journey.

"I think women have a tendency to need to feel confident about what they do before they step into an opportunity." Sitting in law school, going to lectures, and learning about the law, Isabell was uncertain as to what her career would look like. She knew she was not interested in attending Court, and that’s when fate stepped in. A brief experience in the insurance industry convinced her that she wanted to make a difference in people's lives, and she has not looked back since.

"I wasn't going to let anyone prevent me from getting to where I wanted to be." Being challenged as a young female by a plethora of difficult personalities, Heather has had to learn the sometimes difficult art of standing up and calling people out. Having now worked out her own strengths and immersed herself in education, Heather believes she is in an excellent position to provide support to her team as well as others facing similar challenges.

"One of the biggest challenges for me was being made redundant because the world economy had collapsed." Finding herself as a solo parent in London with two small children caused Deborah to reevaluate life. Most would have moved back home to New Zealand for the safety of family and friends, but Deborah decided to pack up and move herself and her two small children to take up a role in Barcelona, much to the surprise of her boss. Deborah’s view on life: you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and find new opportunities because your best performance is still ahead of you.

"I was never going to let the wheelchair define my life!" With a strong belief that being number 1 amongst a cohort of inconsistent performers is not something to aspire to, Tim’s number one priority and belief is that if we change the speed at which we settle insurance claims, we would change the perception of insurance for the general public.

"It changes your DNA when you have to build and grow your business with no safety net." Working as a box girl at Lloyds, taught Anita that being young and female was something to be proud of and embrace wholeheartedly. It was also instrumental in developing her power of observational behaviour and becoming intuitive and resilient, which has stood her in good stead as she co-founded underwriting agency Solution Underwriting.

"Get in front of people and ask stupid questions!" A career in insurance means Nick is able to indulge his passion for traveling as well as expand his capabilities within the business environment. To date, his biggest challenge has been that of managing people - he is quick to add that it is a good challenge.

"Do not jump into whatever you get. Think of what you love and what you want to do." With parents who were a teacher and an accountant and living in Agra (India), Tanushree and her University sweetheart (now husband) created a dream to migrate to Australia whilst they were in their 20s. Having achieved that dream but then finding that her destiny was being ‘ruled’ by Organisations, Tanushree decided to take her future into her own hands and set up her own insurance broking business with her husband.

"I used to think that wealth was a measure of success but you soon realise that that’s not the case." By his own admission, whilst he trained as an Accountant, Dale knew it wasn't the career for him, however, that grounding gave him insight into how numbers work and the early warning signs in business to be aware of. His trajectory from Accountant to entrepreneur wasn’t always an easy one and Dale speaks of some of the sacrifices and costs involved in following his dreams.

"It's important to be able to make mistakes." In February 2022, Tetiana’s world turned from very rosy and optimistic to a very dark place. With her home Country, Ukraine being invaded and suffering pre-natal depression, starting a new business was a struggle. Feeling she just needed to survive and find pleasure in the small things in life gave Tetiana the momentum to get back to being the center of energy, so she could lead people and inspire them.