Female Founder Feature: Deb Vawdrey

Female Founder Name: Deb Vawdrey

Business Name: Core Business Bookkeeping

Website: corebbk.com

Tell us about your business. What products or services do you offer?: Professional bookkeeping services, BAS Agent services and accounting software consulting, setup, trouble shooting

What inspired you to start your business?: To bring a female perspective to the male dominated accounting/finance space sprinkled with yogi philosophy and a passion to help other business owners flourish

How long have you been running your business?: in various iterations - 25 years

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a woman in business, and how did you overcome it?: General inequality and lack of respect from male professionals - overcome but standing my ground, trusting my abilities and proving them wrong by actions

What has been your proudest moment as a business owner?: Surviving a couple of hard hits from previous business partners and having the resilience to continue despite them

What strategies have helped you grow your business?: Actions louder than words, my integrity, honesty, commitment to my clients

What tools or resources have been game-changers for your business?: Technology in general - couldn't manage the number of clients without it

Can you share one key lesson you’ve learned about managing finances as a business owner?: Haha, I am way better at managing other peoples than my own but a game changer for me recently was to employ an internal admin person so I can delegate tasks to keep my own data up to date but for business owners in general - have up to date, accurate data, a chart of accounts that makes sense to you as well as provide insight without detailing too much and review regularly against forecasts and budgets

How do you balance the demands of your business with your personal life?: I am a yoga teacher as well, this has helped me manage my physical and mental wellbeing immensely but also learning to not sweat the small stuff and practice what I preach in my yoga - self care and appreciation of those we love

What leadership qualities do you believe are essential for running a successful business?: Resilience, communication, compassion, listening, clarity

How do you motivate and manage your team?: Keep the conversations real, acknowledge the small wins, lead by example

What role does mentorship or networking play in your business journey?: Something that I have lacked over the years and feel is vitally important, we all need a mentor or people who understand business that we can lean on

What trends do you think will shape your industry in the coming years?: Technology development will be the main driver of change, we all need to keep up

How do you stay ahead of the competition in your industry?: I like to think I am leading my own race so no real desire to stay ahead, just bring what we bring in our unique way and keep it real, people want to trust you and if you are trying to be something you are not that will never work

Who or what inspires you in your business journey?: My clients, my team, other women in business - in particular those I work with. The desire to be the best I can be

What books, podcasts, or resources have had the biggest impact on your professional growth?: I think there are quite a few but a lot are around the self-help, yoga side of my world rather than business. Brene Brown has been a powerful impact on me, especially her book "Dare to be Vulnerable"

What’s a fun fact about you that most people wouldn’t know?: Being a yoga teacher, although not such a secret than it used to be.
I also used to train as a kickboxer for quite a few years :)

What’s one thing you wish more people knew about your business?: That we bring the personal into business, we employ local people, provide personalised service and actually still work in an office together to ensure collaboration and connection within our team.

Reflecting on your time in business, what is one piece of advice you would give to another woman to help her on her business journey?: Trust your gut, if your instincts are telling not to do something, don't do it however be brave, listen to yourself, sit with decisions and see how they feel in your body - say yes and sit with it, how does it feel? Then say no and see how that feels, your body will guide you on the right direction