Carrie (04:50)

It's such a pleasure to have you on Mumbition today Julie. Welcome. Now we love making business connections. Please. Can you share with us your 30-second elevator pitch so that we can share your business with our network?

Julie Garis (05:06)

Thanks, Carrie. Try and make it 30 seconds. My passion is really to help women going through separation and divorce to support them through the financial aspects. That's the property or financial settlement process. So, I meet my clients where they're at on their journey, whether they're thinking about separating or have already started the process. As you'll appreciate, an incredibly tough time, emotional, overwhelming and very messy. So, I work with my clients to simplify the process, educate and empower them, and so that they can make hopefully informed decisions to move forward and thrive financially. The reason I'm so passionate about what I do is because 10 years ago, I was, my marriage ended in a whirlwind of emotion and had two little kids juggling life. And I understand the overwhelming confusion and the fear that surrounds it all. So, my career background is in finance and forensic accounting. But at that time, I was so emotionally overwhelmed that that experience helped a little bit, but it wasn't enough. And in hindsight, knowing what I know now and the connections and the people that are out there to help, I would have done things very differently. And essentially, that's why I started my business, to help people navigate this process financially.

Carrie (06:22)

I could hear and see you, Julie, as you even just cast your mind back to that experience. I could. I'm sorry you had to go through that experience and how remarkable it is that you are able to pull from that and then now have a business which helps other people navigate that really daunting process.

Julie Garis (06:29)

I always get a tear in my eye.

Carrie (06:47)

Because I did want to ask how does your business actually help through that?

Julie Garis (06:51)

Yeah. Yeah, I actually feel really privileged to be able to do this work. My business helps women, saying that I have had male clients as well, but predominantly the people that gravitate towards me are women who come to me either directly, they are planning to separate, they want to get their ducks in a row, so they're in that very early thought process of doing it, or they have separated whether that's been instigated by them or by their ex-partner. And I work with them in a number of ways, essentially educating them about the property settlement process. Really, there's a bit of counselling in there, a lot of detailed financial analysis, working through documents, explaining concepts to them because they want to understand. They want to understand sometimes if they haven't been privy to what's gone on financially in their relationship, that might be by choice or just by, unfortunately, financial coercion and that is a thing that is coming out these days a lot more. But for whatever reason, they're in a position that they just want to really understand what happens. They can make those informed decisions and not look back with regret about what they end up agreeing to. So, I get those clients coming to me directly. I work with them and I will refer them to family lawyers that I trust. They're my trusted advisors in this space. I'm very clear on my boundaries about... I'm an accountant, I'm not a lawyer. So when that time is right, I refer them to somebody that I really trust in that space. And then I can continue working with them if that suits the circumstances. I guess the other way I help is I get referrals or family lawyers contacting me and they might have identified a financial issue that needs a forensic analysis. Just something that, you know, dig a little deeper into this. Add power a little bit more what's going on in this situation and for those lawyers they can see the value in having someone like myself doing that process and then working with them closely like their advisor and that works really well with some of the lawyers that I work with.

Carrie (08:54)

Can you just explore a little bit more about that? Because I was reading your background and thinking, okay, forensic accountant, that kind of implies another level of scrutiny and investigation. Yeah, could you just explain a little bit about that a bit deeper?

Julie Garis (09:11)

Yeah, I guess forensic accounting and my background was, you know, in working with the big four firms where we had big fraud investigations or we did litigation support work, which was slightly different to what I'm currently doing now. But essentially it's just digging really deep and understanding what's happened, putting that puzzle together. That's how I like to frame it with my clients. Let's map out what's happened. Let's follow through any issues that they might have. It might be, you know, they might, my client might suspect that there's been a gambling issue or there's been money that they just have no idea where it's gone. So it's following the trails of that sort of thing. It's a lot of different ways that I can, I help, but basically just getting to the bottom of any financial issues that might be of concern to either the client or the lawyer. Often the clients will come and they've got these ideas of what might have happened. And I'm very big on not letting them go down rabbit holes, because I think that can be a dangerous place to go. But saying that, if they really truly want to do something and want to understand it, I will caution them and say, it might not get you any more money at the end of the day, it's not going to find a pot of gold down there. But as much as they want to and be guided and work with them in that way as well. That's right, but also, sometimes the lawyers will come to me and they've just got a client that's completely stuck and can't get them moving and it's costing the client a lot of money. So that's another way I can sort of help the lawyers get involved and just, I actually go to people's houses and sit with them and go through documents and things.

Carrie (10:50)

Right. It's fascinating. And I think that's part of it. There's so many decisions that you have to make when you're going through this process. It's exhausting. So I can just imagine how much when you come in and you actually have that lens of just establishing the facts, helping you collate information, get a clear picture of what's going on. It must be such a huge relief to have someone like you by their side in that process because often I think a lot of, you know, and I'm not generalising here. I actually have invested quite heavily in my financial understanding over the last decade or so, not in the early years of, you know, and so I know where, you know, I'm monitoring transactions, like just not for anything, you know, my husband's amazing. It's just more that I want to know like where I can allocate. But I'm not sure if everyone is at that point where they have that interest or the awareness.

Julie Garis (11:49)

That's right. Yeah, going back to what you said, the words decision fatigue come to mind when you were talking a bit earlier about, there's so much emotion and things, I can help come and set out the facts and really help them with that decision fatigue. And the financial literacy side of things is a big thing. Like it's something that's missing in a lot of ways and it's not taught in schools. It's a big thing that I'm going, why isn't this stuff taught in schools? Males and females, not just to women, but really life, life goes on and people, you know, establish roles in relationships, whether it's, you know, often my clients happen to be the ones that have taken on the childbearing roles may or may not have worked. The husbands or their partners have been primarily the income earner and they've had the relationships with the accountants, the financial advisors. And it's just, you know what, it's all good until it's not. So why would they necessarily think to go and ask about all of this stuff? I think it's very important to do that, but they don't often think that way. And then all of a sudden the rug's pulled out from under them. They might have instigated it, the husband might have, whichever way, but they're left in a way that they just don't have the knowledge to navigate this process confidently. So there is a big education part of this. And I think once I can help them get through and work with their lawyers and get through this part of it, the next step is to bring in financial advisors to get that future planning done as well. So I'm a big proponent of getting people in a community involved in this. I wish I had known it 10 years ago that it's not just your family lawyer that can help you. There are people, there's communication experts in high conflict situations that can really help. There are advisors that are specialists working with women going through this. I think I've found some really trusted people that I can refer my clients to. And that's what I love. Even, people in health and wellbeing, that's just key. The other day I met a client, I went to her house. I referred her a coach, an advisor, and happened to have an accountant at the same practice. Her friend needed somebody who could help with the communication in a high conflict thing. So I ended up leaving about four referral things there. Now they don't need that all right now, but I just want people to know that when that time is ready, when they're ready for that thing, there is this community of people. And what does it say? It takes a village. It's all that sort of stuff. It really is true. Whereas I've seen the landscape change, particularly from when I went through it 10 years ago. I had a lawyer, but he... I'm not saying he was a bad lawyer at all, but emotionally I wasn't even ready to communicate with him and I didn't know anyone that was divorced. It's that feeling of being really alone and vulnerable. And so that's why I just want that sense of empowerment in bringing people together. because when you work from home by yourself, you know the productivity, the accountability can, I mean I've had days where I've sat at night saying but I've sat on the lounge and watched Netflix instead of doing work when I should have been. So yeah, being accountable, I like that idea. Group of strangers just sitting on Zoom or something, is it?

Carrie (23:51)

Yes. Well, we actually have them with our community as well. We have had those focus sessions with the Mums & Co. community too, where you just literally dial in and everyone's doing their own work, but you're together, together doing work. Yeah. And it just focuses you because you're like, I've committed to it and here I am and I've got no other distractions. I can't watch Netflix because I've accepted this invite to be here to work.

Julie Garis (24:14)

Interesting. Yes. Yes.

Carrie (24:14)

Yeah. Okay. Is there a tech tool that you can't live without? And this could be for the home or for your business.

Julie Garis (24:21)

Okay, I mean, all I could think of was my iPhone. There's lots of things and lots of apps on my iPhone, it's, yeah, Sat Nav, my navigation guidance, my iPhone, and most recently, my Duolingo to learn Italian.

Carrie (24:37)

Beautiful. My mum also uses Duolingo. She's like a ma. I don't know what the highest level is, but she's like Jedi level. The streak. That's what she tells us about the streak.

Julie Garis (24:37)

That's what. I'm not there yet, I've just literally been... been three weeks but I set myself this crazy vision which I can share on this podcast that I want to move to Italy. So I'm like this is my first step to put it out there.

Carrie (25:03)

So you're going to dial into our Mums & Co. focus sessions and then just work on how to get to Italy and it could be like doing Duolingo or yeah, amazing.

Julie Garis (25:08)

Yes.

Carrie (25:12)

Thank you. And speaking of, I guess, technology and technology is usually a bit of a disruptor. Has AI actually played a role in your business or how perhaps do you feel about it?

Julie Garis (25:24)

Oh, look, it scares me a little bit because I don't understand enough about it. But as you can see, it definitely has a role in fast tracking. When I first came across AI, when I was working in forensic accounting, and that was a while ago when the first data analytics tools and things came through sifting through massive large data sets in different fraud, different ways of using it in that aspect. I never really understood at that time because there were people writing codes and doing stuff and I was like, you know, but in my work now, there are certainly tools coming up and they already exist, but in dealing with a large load of documents, for example, so it might not be your technical AI stuff, but certainly systems and things that can be used in understanding large, for example, a whole database of bank statements. Or something like that, if there was a matter of litigation, family law litigation matter that needed analysis of copious bank statements to work out expenditure patterns, things like that. So there is a thing I'm a bit of a learn as I go. Unless I have a matter that needs it, I haven't really explored it too much, but it's definitely got absolute potential, but it does. Just because I don't know enough about it. It's in terms of the capabilities of it. Yeah, a little bit scary.

Carrie (26:45)

Yeah. And I think it's just, it's very much little steps at the moment. I absolutely think technology is an enabler and we, you know, it's, it's always about just kind of giving a little, giving it a try, right? Seeing where it, where it might apply to your life. And AI is definitely something that, you know, just testing out, whether it's for creating a recipe plan at home or...

Julie Garis (26:48)

Hmm. Yes.

Carrie (27:11)

You might be able to ask it how to create a lesson plan on how to make sure that you learn Italian in the next three months. It might give you like a full lesson plan of how you can achieve that. But yeah.

Julie Garis (27:25)

Yeah. I have jumped in the chat GPT questions and things like that, which is always helpful, but I do fact check that as well because I am. But it is a handy tool, chat GPT.

Carrie (27:35)

Yeah, yeah, the accuracy of things. Now we've got a question that we're going to jump in from one of our members, Lily from Sydney. She's asking, relevant to entities, I know it is, what is the most transferable skill between motherhood and business?

Julie Garis (27:59)

Apart from organisational skills, it comes very first and foremost to mind, but I would say in my business, I like to think that in my personal life, in my family life, I'm an empathetic, caring, loving mum. And those skills, you know, dealing with the people, my clients and the vulnerable people that they are in that stage of going through a financial separation, relationship separation. Those skills are absolutely important. And having had been there in those situations, I can completely empathise. So that to me is the most transferable skill in my particular business. Yeah.

Carrie (28:38)

Such an important skill and crucial because we are the business as well. You're in a particularly heightened situation and exchange, but empathy is something that if we want to understand our customers and their needs and their pain points and their challenges and how they want to communicate with us, then empathy. And that's a great strength of a lot of the women that run these businesses, particularly professional services, but in all aspects where you have a customer.

Carrie (29:00)

Now we're fascinated by the ways our relationship with risk impacts the way we do business. How would you describe your relationship to risk?

Julie Garis (29:17)

Yeah, that's an interesting question. As for me, as someone that's come out of a marriage where I didn't work full time throughout my marriage, you know, there was always income there. My ex was the sole provider, but it wasn't an issue. We always had the money. So there was stability. I didn't really need to worry about money. But when I separated, I had to work out what I was going to do. I hadn't worked for a long time, even though I was successful previously working. You know, and I got a settlement, how was I going to do that? So I guess my relationship to risk changed to, it was all on me at that time and no backup support. So initially my tolerance for risk was quite low. But now as I've developed my business, my confidence has grown after a lot of inward sort of growth work, I now back myself more and my tolerance for risk has changed and I'm more willing to not. Risky investments, but I do have a more secure in myself that I'm going to be okay. It's changed. But being an accountant, I'm very clear with my boundaries in my business as well. So I don't step into areas of legal advice, financial advice, you need qualifications to do that. So I'm in terms of the risk, you know, I'm very clear of that. I deal in facts and numbers that leave the advice to financial advisors and legal advisors. So having those clear boundaries of what I will and will not do, I'm the first person to go, no, you've got to go and speak to this person or that person. Saying that, and also, I've got all my insurances in place. I've got my public indemnity insurance, my cyber security insurance, and that comes from me wanting to tick all the right boxes to make sure that I've done everything right. So I guess I've got a pretty balanced risk tolerance at the moment. That makes sense.

Carrie (31:08)

Interesting that you've gone through so much of a risk phase and now you've come out and you're really comfortable with it because you've actually seen that you know any given time we are going to be exposed to you know even like a you know I'm a mum too so my youngest is quite curious and gets involved in lots of bumps and bruises.

Julie Garis (31:16)

Yeah. Yeah.

Carrie (31:31)

So your risk radar is always on, right? You're always trying to go, how do I keep them safe? And once you start looking for those signs, you figure out how do I actually manage that? How do I mitigate that? Or I've learned from that before and this is what I need to do to make sure that when things don't go to plan, I've got something in place.

Julie Garis (31:51)

Yes. My boys are now 18 and 19, so different risk factors now around the children, certainly the financial risk, they're becoming much more independent. So that's sort of taken a lot of the pressure off me rather than having little kids that don't know what's going to happen. Now it's different. Anyway, that's another story. Just different.

Carrie (32:13)

But the risk doesn't stop.  Yes, fellow mum, fellow boy mum. Congratulations and congratulations. No, they're beautiful.

Amazing, amazing. They're everything. And now our co is everything. So you alluded earlier in our conversation to probably some amazing women in your network. Who do you confide in? And if you'd like to give a shout out to any of them, we'd love to hear.

Julie Garis (32:49)

Oh yes, so I was going to say I'd like to be out there confiding my teenage boys but they think I'm a little bit woo woo and a bit crazy sometimes. So my inner circle of close girlfriends are my personal, for a personal vent or even business advice as well because some of them support me in my social marketing. And I've never really had a business mentor but I've recently found an amazing lady and I've just signed up for a 12-month programme with her, which I'm really, really excited about. Yeah, I mean, there's lots of people. Helene Serracus is an awesome social media website lady. Marianne Mentis works closely with her. They've been big supports to my business. Plus a whole bunch of girlfriends that just mean everything. So yeah. And then the wider network of people as well. I mean, I could name a dozen people. Or more. I mean, I just, yeah.

Carrie (33:47)

Yeah, it's hard. You don't want to forget anyone. Amazing.

Julie Garis (33:50)

And the last part of all to listen to me is my dog George. He's 15 and he's a bit deaf so he's quite happy to sit there and look at me.

Carrie (34:00)

Beautiful. Thank you so much, Julie, for sharing. Been great to chat with you today. And thank you for joining us on Mumbition today. If you'd like to find out more about Julie Garis, you can find her on our Mums & Co membership directory. And we hope today's story has inspired you and we'd love to help support you on your journey in 2025. Mums & Co helps women in business grow. And we have three tiers of membership that provide strategic advice, access to deep networks and opportunities to be more visible. Head over to mumsandco.com.au for more details or to book a one-to-one call with me today. And if you've enjoyed this podcast, please make sure to tell someone about it or drop us a review. We'd love hearing your feedback. We read every single one that comes through and it helps other women in business find us so that we can support their business journey too.

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