Getting back on track

Nobody enjoys being under financial stress – it can ruin relationships and make life unpleasant for nearly everyone.

Tammy May first witnessed the ugly impact of debt on families and people first hand through her work at a small debt collection company and her husband’s position in the mortgage industry.

“On one hand people were going to my husband trying to consolidate their debt because that was the only way they could get out of trouble and reduce their financial position to reduce their stress,” May recalled.

“On the other hand when I was speaking with clients asking what they could afford to pay back on their debt I learned that they didn’t know what they could afford to spend. It wasn’t that they weren’t earning enough income, it was more about the fact they just didn’t know – they had let their spending get out of control and weren’t really managing their money.

“That’s when I wondered who I could send them to in order to work out their finances and work out what to pay and get them back on track.”

When she looked around the marketplace and realised no-one else was offering this service, May started MyBudget when she was 22.

“The business started from the kitchen table at home until we got a small office and hired our first member of staff,” she said.

“Then we built some systems and a few years after that we decided to make those systems sophisticated. Before then everything was done manually – writing client bills in diaries and highlighting them when they were paid and then running it through a basic software package.

“Then we developed our own software package and built that from the ground up. Once we had that system in place we could focus on the front-end and growing because we had those foundations to deliver the service we were promising to our clients.”

May said the company’s goal was to remove financial stress from its clients.

“We do that by physically managing clients’ budgets on their behalf and helping them to get out of debt,” she explained.

“The main thing is taking the pressure off people’s shoulders – we deal with their creditors on their behalf, make their payments on their behalf, then all they have to worry about is their day to day living. We actually improve the quality of people’s lives – you can imagine they are under stress and under pressure with lots of arguments within relationships. Our immediate goal is to relieve that pressure from the client and take over and take care of it on their behalf.”

Despite the education process that has been required to show consumers what the personal budgeting company does, May said the response had been extremely positive so far with more than 60% growth in the business in the past three years.

“We began building referral relationships around Australia and also through government departments,” she said.

“We also started to build a brand and an advertising campaign on radio and TV. We have been growing really quickly and we have the same sort of growth plans for this financial year as well because we are now expanding into new markets.”

After developing a strong market presence in South Australia, MyBudget will open offices in other states in the next three to five years.

May said managing growth was also a challenge for the company and management team.

“When you go from 10 employees to 50 employees it is difficult to keep the momentum going and to keep the core values and core purpose alive,” she added.

And her advice for others who are building their business?

“I learnt early on that systems and procedures are crucial – without them you can’t grow,” she said.

“It is hard to leverage something without a system in place, because people will be reliant on you and your key people. You need the key people to be focusing on their goals and growth rather than managing their team. You need to have all those systems and processes in place before you can really look at growing.”

Now that the company has bedded down its procedures and products – there are plans to develop new products for existing clients in the works as well – the next step is to manage the national roll out and look for international opportunities in New Zealand and the United States, May concluded.

At a glance

Name: Tammy May

Position: director of MyBudget

Age: 31

Founded: 2000

Turnover: $4.2 million