By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
REDUNDANCY is a word employees hope they’ll never have to hear.
But Gail McTaggart, who lived in Clyde North for 15 years, was able to build her own business after being made redundant and is spreading her message for those who will listen.
Gail said it was important to act quickly and turn a bad situation into a positive one.
“I worked as a mortgage broker but the company decided our department wasn’t profitable any more so myself and four others were made redundant,” she said.
“Finance has been my whole life. I went straight from being unemployed to making my own business, from one to the other.”
Gail operates her business, GM Mortgage Services, from her current home in Kooweerup and is also an active member of the local Business Network International group and the Women Making It Work business network.
In setting up her business, Gail admits she was fortunate to have access to previous clients but she said there were key strategies she used to get her business off the ground that can be used universally.
“I had to market myself and managed to survive,” Gail said.
“The best way to help grow a business is to do joint ventures with people, to network… networking is imperative.”
Gail is one of many women in Casey and Cardinia who has completed the National Women in Business Survey set up last year. The survey indicated that over 20 per cent of participants started their own business after being made redundant.
Career and business coach Annemarie Cross, who launched the survey said redundancy can bring up a mixture of emotions that can be a struggle to balance.
“It can also cause a severe blow to a person’s self-confidence, which can make it very difficult to move forward. So, it’s important not to take it personally,” Annemarie said.
“Take the time to review your current skillset and decide what you’d like to do next. If working for yourself is something you’d like to consider, investigate whether your current skillset can be used to start your own business, similarly to what Gail did.
“Do your market research first to ensure there is an interest for your services and identify whether you can bring something unique in comparison to what else is being offered in the market.”
