About
I live for that lightbulb moment — when everything clicks and you truly understand your numbers.
My (horror?) story
Honestly, I wouldn’t feel comfortable teaching you to avoid the pitfalls of business finance if I hadn’t needed to claw my way out of nearly every one of them. So here we go. Here’s my story.
The olden days
It begins in what today’s kids might call the olden days: 1989.
Dreaming of a brighter future, my then-husband and I started a trade-based business. At the start, I worked at the coalface of the business and moonlighted as a corporate finance/operations manager for another company.
It was a constant struggle, a series of mishaps and poor decisions. But over the next decade, we managed to grow our team to 10 employees — while simultaneously raising two wonderful boys. We somehow even landed a mortgage on an investment property.
It all comes to a head
By 2011, the cracks in our business had widened to chasms, and we owed the ATO a lot of money. This certainly isn’t something you want hanging over you at any time of your life, but especially not when you’ve got employees, suppliers, and mortgages to pay. Honestly, my second job was what kept food on our table and a roof over our heads.
Now, I knew things weren’t going great from a business point of view. But why were they going this bad? Well, there’s no use beating around the bush: my husband had no idea about money, and this led him to embrace his… dodgier tendencies.
He spent more than he made, built up tonnes of debt on multiple credit cards (thankfully in his own name!), spent years “pinching from Peter to pay Paul,” and kept taking wads of cash out of the business. I don’t know why I believed his lies and excuses for as long as I did. To put it in perspective, it got so bad that he would get a deposit for a job, start but not finish the job, and then move on to another deposit and job just to keep his head above the rising tide of his debt.
Only one way out
At this point, we had only one option before us: to sell our family home. This was a blow on so many levels. For all the pain we’d endured in the years leading up to this, our family had still made some beautiful memories together, many of them between the walls of that house.
But at least we’d now satisfied the ATO. One hurdle cleared. Many more to go.
Seven gruelling years
I thought I’d known struggle, but the next seven years were gruelling. Lawyers. Court. Divorce. So many other challenges. The end result was a dead business, massive debt, and a single mum with two teenage boys and no financial support from their father.
Thankfully, I’d picked up a skill or two trying to keep our wreck of a business afloat for all those years, and I suppose I still had my wonderful (toxic!) corporate job.
And then finally, among all that darkness, a beam of light.
One last hurdle
In 2017, I took everything I’d learnt and started a bookkeeping business to supplement my income and support my boys. Those first three years weren’t easy, but I genuinely enjoyed the work and made some incredible connections along the way.
So of course I sprang on the redundancy offer from my corporate gig when they presented it to me in 2020.
By this point, my bookkeeping business was going strong. And over the next three years, it only grew stronger. I was a single mother not only paying rent and feeding two hungry teenage boys; I was saving money as well. I’d spent all those darker years learning what not to do, and now it was paying off big time. One final, massive hurdle stood before me, though: the debt on our investment property, and the fact that my husband was living in it.
If we couldn’t get him out, if we couldn’t sell the property to clear our debt, I’d lose my BAS registration, and that’d be curtains for my new business.
In the end, he laid down his arms, and we made the sale… for a $4k loss.
But I had my business. And I had my boys. And I had our future in mind.
It all pays off
Every day that time put between me and my past made me a happier person. I loved, truly loved, helping my clients clean up their books. But again and again, I found myself offering broader-picture advice — looking at the actual story behind the numbers. And how I prayed that their stories didn’t end up in the horror section.
I could do more than pray, though. I could take everything I’d learnt since the “olden days” and evolve my business to help people just like you avoid disaster and grow their businesses sky-high.
And since 2024, I’ve been doing just that. I’ve found my happy place. And I can help you find yours.
My vision
My vision is crystal clear: I want to change the statistics on Aussie business.
Currently, 60% of businesses in Australia fail in their first 3 years, while 20% fail in year one. It’s too easy to grab an ABN (and often the wrong business structure!) and say you’re a business. Most businesses fail due to a lack of understanding about cash flow and putting money aside for the ATO. I see it all the time, and I’d love to change it.
But for that to happen, business owners need to feel comfortable enough to reach out for support, not just in the early days, but even after 5, 10, 20 years of business. If I can help even a fraction of Australia’s business owners understand that it’s absolutely normal to not understand your numbers and totally okay — and honestly courageous — to ask for help, I’ll go to the grave smiling.
"Karen helps your business flourish because she is truly your cheerleader and mentor. I have loved working with Karen and having her as part of the team to help my business thrive."
Alethea Dreyer
Director: Into the Mask Theatre and Education
"Karen’s dedication and attention to detail are truly commendable. Her proactive approach has helped us to identify areas for improvement and implement efficient financial practices . "
Joel Dimasu
Nu-Vision Painting Service
“I am always impressed with Karen’s attention to detail, conscientiousness and warmth and friendliness. It has been particularly gratifying to work with her - this is my first time in business and there's so much I don't know. Karen is kind, good at explaining things and she has been ever so patient integrating my practice management software into my Xero file. I would strongly encourage anyone to work with her.”
Kylie
Kylie Bell Counselling
The bravest business owners are the ones who ask for help
If you’re ready to pull back the sheet on your finances so you can ditch the guesswork, avoid nasty surprises, and confidently grow your business, start by booking a Clarity Call.
Still feeling uneasy about this? That’s okay; it’s perfectly normal. Just know that this call comes with zero expectations and absolutely zero judgment. And believe me — the power of uncovering your business finances outweighs any temporary discomfort..
FAQs
Most of the time, to give my clients clarity and confidence with their numbers, some degree of bookkeeping is required. I’ve been bookkeeping for 35 years. If it’s something that would give you a tonne of value and save you time, we can absolutely discuss it during the Open-Book Reflection.
I work remotely with small businesses all throughout Australia, but not outside of Australia, as my expertise is in Australian tax law.
Nope. But through analysing your books, I’ll ensure they’re ATO-compliant. If you’re looking for a great accountant, I can provide you with several recommendations to choose from. These are people I trust. They do exceptional work.
Working with small businesses with teams of up to 10 people is what really floats my boat. But if your business is bigger than that, feel free to book a Clarity Call anyway!