Women Leading The Finance Industry: Benazir Hussain On The 5 Things You Should Do To Increase Your Financial Literacy
An Interview With Jason Hartman
Invest your savings. Don’t park your money in a low interest account. Talk with your peers or mentors about what they are doing. What has worked for them and what has not? What are the different investment options available? Is there anything that helps you save taxes and grow your money? Find a financial advisor that can answer all these questions and guide you through this journey.
As a part of our series about “Women Leading The Finance Industry”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Benazir Hussain.
Benazir Hussain is an inspiring example of a determined entrepreneur who, with hard work and dedication, achieved her dream of financial freedom. A lifelong learner and a strong believer in taking action, Benazir earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom. She is also a Canadian Certified Professional Bookkeeper.
As an immigrant and a BIPOC woman, she faced many challenges in her career. When the COVID pandemic hit, she decided to take a massive leap of faith and started her own business. This marked the start of her entrepreneurial journey.
As the founder of AZON Bookkeeping Services Inc., she is maximizing her potential by supporting aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners facing similar challenges.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the finance field?
It really was my mother who introduced me to this world. It was 1994 in Dubai, when I was 13 years old. In order to support our family, she started a retail business from home. My mom never went to school, so she did not know how to read or write. She would sell things that our neighbors and her friends always needed and bought on a regular basis. She would buy them at wholesale prices and charge her clients retail prices at credit. Whenever I would come back home from school, she would show me her supplier invoices and ask me to calculate what her cost per item was and then she would set her prices.
Since she sold at credit, I would write down the sales that happened that day. She would even make me write a statement of account for each of her clients that she would share with them to remind them how much they owed.
At that age, I had no idea what a bookkeeper or an accountant was and yet, that was exactly my role in her business. To this day, I am amazed at what my mom had accomplished despite her upbringing and background and it continues to inspire me.
Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
When I had my kids, I took a 10-year break from my career. During this time, I focused on my family, my education and my community. I volunteered as a board member for a charity that focused on helping women in the Middle East. During this time, my kids enjoyed seeing me at school volunteering at the different events.
When I migrated to Canada with my family, I decided to start another chapter in my life by finding work again. I was lucky to find work as an accountant quickly and easily, as the stories I heard from other immigrants told me the struggle of finding a job.
My son has always had a strong immune system and rarely ever got sick. But on my first day at work, he woke up with a fever and was too lethargic to attend school. I panicked not knowing what to do. I was fortunate to have a close friend who lived next door and offered to look after him. She asked me to go to work rest assured that he will be fine as she will look after him.
I remember texting her throughout the day asking for updates. Thankfully, he was in better spirits when I came home from work that day. I still remember the guilt and shame I felt for leaving my child to go to work.
It is a heartbreaking choice a lot of mothers make every day. The choice between being there for their loved ones and their careers. It is such a difficult choice as they need the money to provide for a better future for their kids.
This is why I do what I do. By helping my clients in navigating the financial aspects of their business, I give them the time and space to focus on other important aspects of their lives.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
A lot of bookkeeping firms focus on businesses that are established and looking to scale. But there is a large section that is just starting and needs the right tools to set themselves for success from the initial stages of their business. A lot of business owners focus on short-term gains during this crucial stage of their business. I believe everyone can succeed if they are provided with the right knowledge and tools. For this reason, I have been working on an affordable package that will set them up for success.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
We focus on empowering our clients by educating and motivating them with knowledge. For a lot of small business owners, their businesses are an extension of who they are. It is important to align their personal goals with their business goals. We help them understand how their financial decisions impact both their person and business by breaking down the financial jargon into words that they speak. Once they understand how their actions affect their business and personal life, they are able to set SMART goals.
Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. Wall Street and Finance used to be an “all white boys club”. This has changed a lot recently. In your opinion, what caused this change?
I believe this change has been driven by two factors. Firstly, the enrollment of women in higher education has increased over the years. And secondly, over the years, it has become more acceptable in our society for a woman to delay motherhood to focus on her career. This shows how committed women are to their careers.
As we all know, mothers can experience disadvantages in the workforce. Even though discrimination on the basis of pregnancy or childbirth is prohibited, mothers are still discriminated against during pregnancy. Employers cannot fire you, but can still impact your promotions and wages.
We all saw what happened during the pandemic as women had to take a step back to either help their kids with online school or look after sick kids. And how can we forget about the wage gap that affects all women.
Of course, despite the progress, we still have a lot more work to do to achieve parity. According to this report in CNBC, less than 17 percent of senior positions in investment banks are held by women. In your opinion or experience, what 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society to support this movement going forward?
First and foremost, what should be done is to offer a flexible working environment. The COVID pandemic has shown us that it is possible to have a remote workforce. Everyone (not just women) need flexible working environments for a healthy work-life balance.
Secondly, provide meaningful opportunities for women to grow within the company. By providing mentorship and professional development courses, companies can set up female staff for promotion into senior positions. It is cheaper for companies to retain staff than hire new ones. When the female staff is overlooked for promotions, they will eventually look elsewhere for better opportunities.
Thirdly, address biases within the hiring and promotion processes. Companies need to look at the wording of the job post. Use of more masculine wording makes women less likely to apply for these positions. One of the ways this can be done is by setting measurable goals for hiring a more diverse workforce and in promoting more diverse employees in leadership roles.
Let’s now turn to a slightly new topic. According to this report in Fortune, nearly two-thirds of Americans can’t pass a basic test of financial literacy. In your opinion or experience, what is the cause of these unfortunate numbers? If you had the power to make a change, what 3 things would you recommend to improve these numbers?
Unfortunately, I see this all too often in my field. Honestly, for a long time I failed to understand why some people struggled financially while they seemed to have a very good income. I feel one of the main reasons is that people don’t talk about their finances enough. There is a lot of shame associated with not being able to manage their money wisely and also there is this pressure in our society where people are expected to live a certain way. From my own experience, I have heard people who saved and invested their money being called misers just because they save their money rather than spend it on outward displays of wealth.
For a lot of people, money is something to spend. It also doesn’t help that our kids are not taught financial literacy in school. I strongly believe financial literacy should be a mandatory subject starting from middle school. And thus this is the first thing that I would change to improve financial literacy because knowledge is power. A lot of the time, people don’t know the difference between debit and credit cards. They fail to understand that whenever they use their credit cards, they are using the bank’s money. Not paying their credit cards on time or going over their spending limits can adversely affect their credit scores.
Second change is making people more comfortable in talking about money. This is something I implement in my business. I ask my clients what their goals are and what is stopping them from achieving them. A lot of my clients want to save for a down payment for their first home or they are saving towards a dream vacation with their kids or they want to increase their business sales from $10K to $50K. No matter what they want to achieve, the goal should be to set a plan and take consistent action to reach that goal.
The third recommendation would be to understand that it is ok to fail. Like I always say, failure is the first step to success! Failing means to have tried, which means that you made a conscious effort to change your finances. From that failure, you can learn and make intentional and focused decisions for your future. It is important to remember that financial literacy is a journey not the end.
You are a “finance insider”. If you had to advise your adult child about 5 non-intuitive things one should do to become more financially literate, what would you say? Can you please give a story or example for each?
I started my kids on their financial journey very early on — if I remember correctly, when they were around 3 and 5 years old. Whenever they asked for a snack, I would take them to the convenience store and give them some cash with instructions to buy anything they wanted as long as it was within the amount of cash they had. This was a great conversation starter as they had lots of questions of how much things cost and how they could combine their pocket money to buy a bigger ticket item versus a few smaller ones.
The money conversation has evolved as they have grown older. Last year, I opened bank accounts for them to deposit their pocket money. Last summer, they both got their first jobs and now their pay goes into these accounts. I can see the joy on their face when they see the money grow inside their bank accounts.
For adult children, I would suggest these strategies to become financially literate and independent:
1. Track your spending. I like to divide spending into different categories. The first category is “Needs” that are more or less fixed every month like mortgage, rent, insurance, utilities or car payments. These items also tend to go out of your bank account automatically, therefore, it’s important that you have sufficient balance in your bank account to cover these. The second category is “Grocery.” I like to track groceries separately even though it is a need. The reason being that you can control how much you spend on a monthly basis. Always monitor your grocery spending and research ways to bring the bills down as low as possible. The third category is “Shopping.” For this category, I suggest a fixed monthly budget that you can carry forward to a future period if you underspend. The fourth category is “Dining Out.” Dining out is expensive but it’s ok to reward yourself once a while. A cheaper option is to buy frozen or prepared food from your local grocery. It’s cheaper and still convenient. Any amount that remains unspent from your Dining Out budget should be transferred to your “Savings” budget, which is also the last spending category. Look at your income and set an attainable budget for your savings.
2. A budget is not just for tracking your spending but to help you identify patterns in your spending and take action to help you achieve your financial goals. Are you going over your shopping budget? If yes, why do you think this is happening? What are the steps you can take to control this issue? These are some of the questions you should be asking when you look at your spending figures. Talk to your friends on how you can save money. There are some great books and blogs that can give you ideas on resolving your issue.
3. Invest your savings. Don’t park your money in a low interest account. Talk with your peers or mentors about what they are doing. What has worked for them and what has not? What are the different investment options available? Is there anything that helps you save taxes and grow your money? Find a financial advisor that can answer all these questions and guide you through this journey.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are many women that have helped me in my journey so far! I am extremely grateful for the hands that reached out to me when I needed help. Sara Bingham, the associate director of the Women Entrepreneurship Centre (WEC) at Wilfrid Laurier University, is definitely at the top of this list. I met her virtually right after I incorporated my business. I started my business in May 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic when most businesses were closed in-person, and there were no networking events that I could attend to connect with other entrepreneurs. It was during this time that I came across WEC and booked a meeting with Sara. She helped me gain clarity on my business and how I can navigate the challenges that I was facing. She encouraged me to join the Start My Business Program. and then the Grow My Business Program.
Being an introvert and a numbers person, I struggled with marketing. But through the support I received from these two programs, I was able to come out of my shell and rediscover my true authentic self. I chose the word “rediscover,” because I had all these skills but the years trying to juggle motherhood and work took a toll and I had lost a piece of myself. This journey has helped me regain who I am and what I want to achieve in this life. Meeting the amazing people at WEC has helped me gain more clarity on who I am and why I do what I do. It has also opened my eyes to the challenges that other entrepreneurs were facing and how I can tailor my services to serve them better.
Every now and then, when I meet Sara I feel that there is so much more that I can achieve and success is within my grasp.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Chris Grosser said, “Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.” This quote is what drove me to build a successful business. When I was stuck in a dead-end job, where I felt undervalued and underpaid with no promotion in sight, I decided to stop waiting for an opportunity. I created my own opportunity to succeed and grow. I founded AZON Bookkeeping Services Inc. where there is no limit to what I can achieve and make. I created a place where I can grow my ideas and bear the fruit of my hard work. A place that will help me create my perfect work life balance. A place that helps me in giving back to my community.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
When I moved to Canada, I was told I could only work in certain fast food and grocery chains to gain Canadian experience. I was told to forget about my career. I was told I would not get a job because of the way I was dressed. All this negative talk only furthered my resolve to succeed and show others that it is possible to make your dreams come true. If I could inspire a movement, it would be to show the light to others who are struggling with limiting beliefs on what they can achieve. I want to tell them, if I can do it, then so can they. Never give up on your dream. Find your tribe who will help shine the light on your path to success.
Thank you for the time you spent on this interview. We wish you only continued success.
About The Interviewer: Jason Hartman is the Founder and CEO of Empowered Investor. Jason has been involved in several thousand real estate transactions and has owned income properties in 11 states and 17 cities. Empowered Investor helps people achieve The American Dream of financial freedom by purchasing income property in prudent markets nationwide. Jason’s Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ is a comprehensive system providing real estate investors with education, research, resources and technology to deal with all areas of their income property investment needs. Through Jason’s podcasts, educational events, referrals, mentoring and software to track your investments, investors can easily locate, finance and purchase properties in these exceptional markets with confidence and peace of mind.
Starting with very little, Jason, while still in college at the age of 19, embarked on a career in real estate. While brokering properties for clients, he was investing in his own portfolio along the way. Through creativity, persistence and hard work, he earned a number of prestigious industry awards and became a young multi-millionaire. Jason purchased a California real estate brokerage firm that was later acquired by Coldwell Banker. He combined his dedication and business talents to become a successful entrepreneur, public speaker, author, and media personality. Over the years he developed his Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ where his innovative firm educates and assists investors in acquiring prudent investments nationwide for their portfolio. Jason’s sought after educational events, speaking engagements, and his popular “Creating Wealth Podcast” inspire and empower hundreds of thousands of people in 189 countries worldwide.
While running his successful real estate and media businesses, Jason also believes that giving back to the community plays an important role in building strong personal relationships. He established The Jason Hartman Foundation in 2005 to provide financial literacy education to young adults providing the all-important real world skills not taught in school which are the key to the financial stability and success of future generations. We’re in a global monetary crisis caused by decades of misguided policies and the cycle of financial dependence has to be broken, literacy and self-reliance are a good start. Visit JasonHartman.com for free materials and resources.
