Cilla Hegarty, a finalist in this year's local Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur Of The Year competition, is sharing her story with
Australian business women this week.
Mrs Hegarty, the founder and chief executive of Christchurch-based
NZ Tax Refunds, New Zealand’s leading online tax refund
company, is a speaker at the third annual Women in Focus conference
in Queensland.
The conference with the theme "New Frontiers", hosted by
CommBank’s Women in Focus program, will draw over 100
business women from a range of industries and expertise across
Australia. Mrs Hegarty joins a lineup of international speakers who
will challenge delegates to think expansively, courageously and
with vision in their business, as they embrace new frontiers.
Mrs Hegarty says, "Attitude is the biggest thing for an
entrepreneur. Being successful requires the right mindset. You need
a can do attitude. You can be somebody and do something.
"Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset is also crucial. For me
failure has never been a consideration or an option. Challenges are
part and parcel of being in business and being successful.
Entrepreneurs also need to dare to have vision and think up new big
ideas and be curious and explore new things."
Mrs Hegarty says she seldom listens to a conversation without
thinking about how it could apply to her business. "Everything I
read, hear, see and do informs me - and might end up sparking an
idea to make my business better. Great ideas can come from
anywhere."
Mrs. Hegarty founded NZ Tax Refunds in 2008 out of a desire to make
it simple for people to get money back from the IRD. She had the
idea of making it easier for clients to find out if they were due a
tax refund while working in her accounting business.
"93% of our customers have found out they’ve overpaid their
tax in the past 5 years. Using our custom-built web-based system
our customers can find out whether they’re owed a tax refund
within 60 seconds in most cases. We’ve built a successful
business out of helping put the overpaid tax back into the pockets
of thousands of Kiwis. It’s been really satisfying."
The Women in Focus conference will be held in Noosa on 22-25
August. Two days after the conference concludes, on 27 August, Mrs
Hegarty will find out if she has been selected as a New Zealand
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year category winner. The New
Zealand winner will be announced on 18 October.
