EP31 Rachel Kerr Breaking Barriers: A Journey through Finance, Entrepreneurship & Neurodiversity

In this episode 31 , my guest is Rachel Kerr , Financial Consultant and Director in her own business , 15 years experience in accounting and finance to her name .
Ever wondered how to juggle the demands of starting your own business while maintaining a healthy work-life balance? Finance Director Rachel Kerr, a seasoned professional in her field, offers a fresh perspective. This episode is a tour-de-force of an entrepreneurial journey, as Rachel reveals her story of building a business, dealing with ADHD, and the influence her mother had on her career trajectory.

Alongside discussing her professional journey, Rachel shares her insights into the importance of self-care. She doesn't shy away from opening up about her recent diagnosis with ADHD and complex PTSD, providing a genuine insight into her personal life. Rachel also unveils her revolutionary idea of a software that promises to streamline HR, accountancy, and production cells - an innovation that could revolutionize how businesses operate.

In our final segment, Rachel and I delve into the nitty-gritty of networking and mentorship. Rachel emphasizes the importance of these two elements in the finance industry, offering practical advice on how to build your network and the critical role mentors play in achieving success. This illuminating episode is sure to inspire you and provide valuable insights into starting your own business, maintaining work-life balance, and succeeding in your professional life. Tune in to absorb the wealth of knowledge Rachel has to offer!
0:00 Introduction
0:09 Start Your Own Business With Consultant
10:24 Challenges and Opportunities in Finance and Startups
16:35 Prioritizing Self-Care and Building a Business
22:58 Building a Strong Network and Mentors
36:17 Trailblazer's Tips
Follow Rachel Kerr
Instagram @sapientiaeconsultingltd
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-kerr-03269250/
Mentions 
Neurodiversity https://adhdaware.org.uk/what-is-adhd/neurodiversity-and-other-conditions/

Listen : to the audio version Apple Spotify .Amazon Music Google Podcasts
Watch and subscribe to my YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@Thetrailblazersexperience
Follow Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/thetrailblazersexperience/

Transcript

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 0:09

Welcome to the Trailblazers Experience podcast, and my guest is Rachel. She describes herself as a dedicated and results driven financial resilience consultant, finance director of her own business, with a passion for empowering businesses and individuals to thrive financially in and out of the face of economic challenges. She's got 15 years experience in accounting and finance.

Rachel Kerr: 0:37

Welcome, Rachel. Hi, how are you doing? Thanks for having me. How are?

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 0:40

you Brilliant yes, always, always great to have amazing women on the podcast and someone from the finance industry. I was reading a Gartner survey which said these are the top priorities for CFOs finance people in 2023. And one of them had talked about evaluating finance function strategy. Scope design, but also financial resilience is a big. It's like a buzzword, but it's necessary, especially in the economic downturn.

Rachel Kerr: 1:16

It definitely is. If you want your business to thrive in all economies and to actually attain goals and be able to push and advance, you've got to need financial resilience, you know.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 1:29

It's a big one. So you've been in the business for around 15 years in accounting and finance. What led you to take the step to say? You know what? I'm going to start my own business and focus on consultancy and being the finance director of my own consultancy.

Rachel Kerr: 1:48

It was kind of a knee-jerk reaction. I'll be fair with you. I was in the. I had worked at my previous job, I had been there for five years and there was kind of a conflict. I wasn't getting promoted. I had three children at the time and I had just come back from maternity leave and they had actually changed my role. So there was now four people doing my one role. So then I applied to be the manager of the team, obviously, because if I was doing the role by myself for five years and now you've got four people rightly so I would expect myself to be the manager of the team or something you know, but I didn't get that role and fortunately, while I was going through that conflict, someone offered me a role as accounts manager somewhere else, so I took that and then I grew that function.

Rachel Kerr: 2:38

I was able to increase their turnover and their sufficiency, and so they wanted it to go from a part time to a full time because they were growing and growing their branches so. But I didn't want that because, as I said, I had three children. So I just decided to take the leap of faith on myself and use the same template that I had used for their business to create my own clientele portfolio and replicate the same for my own personal clients.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 3:05

I mean, rachel, that's, that's an eye open, isn't it? So you, you come back from Matleaf and there are three people doing the role that you used to do yourself that's the eye opener there to say, actually, I'm very qualified, I know, I know my staff, and if there's anything that can pivot or just change the direction of your career, you sort of just said, well, I think I need to look at something different.

Rachel Kerr: 3:32

Yeah, literally you know, I went, I applied for the position. I wasn't getting it and then I felt like it was just good really, because during I was having that conflict, I had only been back two weeks after maternity leave and then I got called for that other position. So I just went there. I was there for a year. I was able to use the same templates that I probably would have used at my position there and to grow their turnover. They were able to get to a position where they were actually able to replicate that business and, you know, branch out. So, yeah, sometimes you've got to be pushed in it to actually take that leap of faith on yourselves.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 4:06

I think that's it. I always say, when you, when you've got a setback that's actually you know for you to now reposition yourself and think about how do I come back bigger and better as well.

Rachel Kerr: 4:18

Yeah, and I think for me, because I'm like at the time I was a mother of three children and like the breadwinner, so I guess it was like probably easier to stay comfortable, staying in a position, you know, when I've got consistent, regular income, you know, because the weight of the family kind of rests on you don't want to change just ability, so you kind of have that pressure. But I feel like, yeah, actually being forced out of that position really helps me to grow and be able to position the family better and give me more time for the family.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 4:45

Definitely. So let's go back 15 years ago, because you've got all these qualifications ACCA, aat, bsc and all of them, or all the other things, but when did you fall in love with finance? Because it's not a natural thing for many people, I suppose.

Rachel Kerr: 5:04

So I guess it's that home life so like for me. Even with my children I'm like home is the first teacher. So my mom she's an immigrant from Jamaica. English is not really like her greatest language, her greatest subject, but MASH, she's really good at math so she used to teach me the times table, teach me how to tell the time. So before I was even into school I was able to tell my times table and stuff like that. I had a lot of older brothers and older cousins so we used to watch a lot of like gangster movies and stuff like that and the key person was always like the lawyer or the accountant.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 5:38

So I just had that as a teacher. I like that. Even a pig needs a drug dealer, needs a finance man, a finance Right, okay.

Rachel Kerr: 5:47

So just let me that was already incident number of things, because that's what my mom did with me last year. You know what I mean. So then it just like this is what I want to do. So literally from I was six years old, I knew I wanted to be like an accountant or a business lawyer.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 6:00

Yeah, I mean that's interesting. So did your mom then know that you were good at maths and numbers? And just you know they were?

Rachel Kerr: 6:09

all good at maths and my mom always had this attitude, I think, like a lot of immigrants have it, or they're just like whatever you want you can be, like I mean, there's nothing holding you back work 10 times harder. She just needs to make me practice, practice. Yeah, you need to tell me, whatever you want to be, you can be. So I've never had it in my mind that it wasn't possible until I went to secondary school and I wanted to do stuff and I was just so restrictive. The stuff I wanted to do I wasn't allowed to do. You know, those were the only times when it was like an outsider made me think that things that you wanted was not possible. Yeah, yeah.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 6:47

So, moving on to your professional background, because obviously you specialize in financial resilience, when did you know? Because obviously you said you've improved people's customers or clients turnover when did you know that actually there's something here and this has legs in terms of doing it for myself? I mean, you've talked about the providing for your family and moving to a new role, but at what point, when was the turning point? And you said do you know what? I think I might have a portfolio of clients or build that myself and build the business.

Rachel Kerr: 7:21

So to be honest, I feel like when I went into a cult and I always knew that I'd want to have my own business I have a lot of family that are artists or in the entertainment business. So originally I would have had an accountancy firm just tailored into artists and stuff like that and that's really the niche that I was kind of marketing for. But when I had my children, as I said, it kind of went to the wayside. So I'd say just like literally just a knee jerk reaction when, after I went to the Averrol and they wanted me to go full time, I was really comfortable doing work in the house, but I wanted part time being able to be there for my children. There was no way I was going back. So that was it.

Rachel Kerr: 8:02

That was the point where I was like that's not going to be for me. So the next day, literally I was putting that I was on a gum tree and I put up advertisements for my services and I started looking for people that were looking for like soul traders and stuff, that were looking for an accountant and bookkeepers to do their accounts.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 8:21

And you've just hit the nail on the head there. You just said you went back to basics. You were like I am looking for soul traders who are looking for accounts and build up that base. That's pretty smart, you know.

Rachel Kerr: 8:34

Yeah, that's right.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 8:35

Do most of the time. People always have this myth that starting your own business, you have to have some swanky office, some swanky profile and look for that one shark, catch the one shark. But actually starting a small, building your portfolio, that's not the way to go.

Rachel Kerr: 8:53

No, literally yeah, and then so a lot of the clients. They have their own offices and they're not even occupying their offices, so it will lead you to be there the whole time. So you're there by yourself doing the accounts or whatever, and you're able to network with other businesses that might be in that complex. So if it's a shared office space, you're able to network with them, and also using LinkedIn. So, like you know, philanthropists used to reach out to me and start through LinkedIn. So I've got a lot of clients that way and even as a small or up-and-coming firm, you can also reach out and partner with what do you call them recruitment firm, so like Reed or like a robot horse or something like that, and then actually get the contract through your limited company and build up your portfolio that way also. So that was the average route. Sorry that I took.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 9:47

Very smart yeah. What aspects of running your own business do you find the most rewarding? What are you enjoying at the minute?

Rachel Kerr: 9:54

The most rewarding is being able to be there for my children. So the first, I'd say two and a half for my children, I wasn't there for them. I worked literally, you know, like when my daughter was one I went back to work. So my son, well, he got to one, went back to work, and the cycle went on with my third child until I got the opportunity, you know, to like literally work somewhere that was 10 minutes down the road for only like two to three hours a day. If I want you to, I could bring in breastfeeding in the office, you know.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 10:24

Yeah, so it's that flexibility, isn't it?

Rachel Kerr: 10:26

It's that flexibility in that it just gave me back like, it just allowed me to, like, gave me back my feminine energy. I don't know. Do you know what I mean? It allowed me that space to just breathe. Do you get me a lift, you know? Yeah, that's the most honest and authentic way I could just put it.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 10:44

Yeah, and is there, you know, thinking about that, if you were to talk to someone who's you know, a woman who maybe also has, you know, children like you and is in the finance industry? What, based on your experiences, what are some of the things that you think have stood out for you in terms of the main challenges, maybe, that you may have faced currently?

Rachel Kerr: 11:11

Wait. So currently or back then entering stage?

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 11:14

Yeah, well, yeah, just in general, because you know you've got children and working in finance, it's probably more structured. The flexibility maybe might not have been there.

Rachel Kerr: 11:26

Yeah, I guess now. I guess now the flexibility you are able to work from home. So just have a structured day. So have a structured day, plan your day out, get up as you usually, get up and get yourself dressed and have a separate place to work from your home. So, even if you're working from home, maybe find like a cafe or a library that you can go to to be able to do your work. Just get yourself out of that environment. Otherwise you're going to find yourself finding things to do in the house, because that's just what mothers do.

Rachel Kerr: 11:52

So I'd give that advice, but I'd say, entering, I just be like have a clear plan and a pathway of what you want to do. So, if you want to be, if you want to be a bookkeeper and accountant, do you want to go through with your ACCA? What is your actual path? What do you plan to do? Would you like to be an FD in the long run or are you going to be someone that's going to be happy doing data entry? Find, you know, actually decide what you want to do and make yourself, make a path and a plan and actually, once you decide what you want to do, start dressing like that person, start acting like that person, like you're in that position already, give yourself that authority and audacity to act like that person already. That's what I'd say.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 12:32

I like that Act, like the role you want to actually be in. You know, body it and work towards it. That's a very good tip already. So financial resilience you know UK is an economic downturn, but also there are lots of new businesses that I think sprouted up during the years of the pandemic. So there's a change, isn't it? There's an economic downturn on one hand, but on the other hand, there are lots of entrepreneurs, lots of people starting their own business, and you're specialising in that. What pathway have you then set yourself for the next two to three, five years? Where do you see yourself going For the next two to three, five years.

Rachel Kerr: 13:14

As you said, there's a lot of startups and new businesses coming up and I feel like that. I want that to be my key focus because, as we know, a lot of startups do tend to fail within the first three years. So I feel like it's really key because we want the UK to be more innovative, we want to have, like, more success, we want the economy turnover and we want it to be consistent long term. We're tired of short term success. We want something that's long term, that can reduce the economy and provide more jobs, breathe more life into the younger people as well. You know to be creative and actually, you know be able to see and have visualise where I want to fit into this society.

Rachel Kerr: 13:53

I feel like when there's lack of opportunity or everyone's negative about the economy or inflation, when people are scared of inflation, whereas for me, inflation excites me and it motivates me. It's like you know what more can I do? And I feel like that's the kind of impact that I want to have and I feel like by working with startup businesses and driving them to success so that they can replicate that, so that they can diversify their portfolios, it's really what's going to help to do that turnover and that change. For me. That's how I can add value apart, aside from just financial value to my clients.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 14:30

Yeah, and in every business or every person needs financial literacy, isn't it? It's interesting how I think that the stats, if we were to look at the stats or research financial literacy isn't a strength of many individuals, Exactly. So having someone who they can trust with the direction of their business, their cash flow, their balance sheet, I think is important. Are there specific sectors that excite you, where you'd say you know what. This is a sector I'd like to focus on.

Rachel Kerr: 14:58

To be fair, I don't. So I also have ADHD, which means so I why I think I enjoy accountancy even further? Because it allows me to go into different industries. So there's no form of boredom for me, because it's transferable skills the same financial skills but transferable to any industry. So that's where I really thrive as well, because it's like the ADHD makes it exciting to puzzle, solve, be analytical and to just think really, really outside of the box of that industry. Maybe I'm applying something for construction into, I don't know, the healthcare system or something like that, you know, or something that the architect industry might use, I might go to use for educational and ADHD services, so something like that. So I feel like that's the best I can answer that question for you.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 15:50

And also it keeps you. I think it keeps it interesting, isn't it? Imagine if you would just have one niche, but you love different puzzles, pulling them together.

Rachel Kerr: 15:58

That's a very good way to do it.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 16:00

Yeah, so you've talked about you're a mother of three children.

Rachel Kerr: 16:05

No, I have five in total.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 16:07

You're building your own accountancy firm, basically.

Rachel Kerr: 16:11

Yeah, I'm trying to control that.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 16:15

How do you prioritize self care and just maintaining a healthy work-life balance? What do you do when you're not mom and running your own business?

Rachel Kerr: 16:24

Well, first and foremost, I'm Rachel Kerr. That's who I am first. Yes, I'm great. We need to let mothers be proud to say I am me first. Yes, I am really first.

Rachel Kerr: 16:35

Just like in the airplane you have to put on your own mask first. You have to take care of yourself first. You should always be a priority and I don't feel guilty about that anymore. Let go of the society guilt and the home guilt, and that's just how I live my life now. That's the best example I could set for my children to put myself first, you know, and in that way they get the best of me and they're able to thrive in that environment too, because there's no splitting of me. They will get individual time as well, collective family time. So, yeah, that's how I prioritise it by putting myself first, blocking out my mentor. She suggested to me blocking out time on my calendar for important days. So when I start my work here, I know what days are family days, what days are for myself and they're not. Also do therapy as well, which is something personal for yourself. So that's also how I show that I have self-care and prioritise myself.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 17:34

That is so important. So I think it also helps you maintain resilience from a personal perspective and professional. You know, putting yourself first is the first step.

Rachel Kerr: 17:47

So often, as women, we lose ourselves because we're caregivers, natural caregivers we're usually the ones looking after the tribe, thinking of everyone else, so to take that space back is so key, yeah exactly, yeah, because I only recently got diagnosed with ADHD April this year but then last year I was diagnosed with like complex PTSD and it's like because, as women, we have a lot of coping mechanisms that cover up anything that we might be going through. So that's why I've like, and I always used to think, that I prioritise myself and put myself back. I always actually thought that. But, just as you said, it can be a thinking of falling, a thinking and a feeling, but it's not actually action. So it's following through and going through with that action, seeing something actual, like information that you can see that actually I've done this for myself.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 18:40

Do you know what? Honestly, rachel Kudos to just even for sharing, for opening up and sharing that, so what you know? You were diagnosed but did something within you. Did your instinct then say I think I have something and I need to know what it is, because most people just go through life on that constant treadmill but yeah, yeah, I did think I'd do something wrong with me all the time. What is this superpower that kids can be?

Rachel Kerr: 19:08

going. Yeah, try like I think it might be maybe two thousand or 12 or 13, like their life coaches and all that stuff. But really in 2020, 2020, 2020, yeah, 2020, I got a new mentor. So she's she heads a great organization called a diverse creative which does a lot of work with that neurodiverse people.

Rachel Kerr: 19:37

So I knew I was dyslexic and I'm dyspraxic because I'm always falling over and I muddle up my letters and my words, all that all the time. And she's my mentor and she just encouraged me a lot of the work that she did with me. She just used to say little things and it kind of like used to make me think. And then I started working on my own HR and Accountancy software and I got to a really like good milestone and a goal with it and I just like plateaued and I really could not push forward like with it and it just really made me like frustrated that even though I wanted to and I had all the gumption and all the tools, I just couldn't, and so that's really pushed me to just go and pay and get my diagnosis.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 20:18

Oh, that's amazing, and neurodiversity is something that should be celebrated. You know, it's described as just a unique way that your brain is working. That's basically it yeah let's talk about this software. So what made you come up with the idea of pulling the software together?

Rachel Kerr: 20:36

Initially I had worked on an app that was for my accountancy firm. It's just going to be an accountancy app, but the more I dug into it and I thought about it, I might just just the ADHD mine, I guess, the analytical mind, just my experience as an accountant all the struggles that we have of compiling what we need it, just really made me think, no, this is what we need, this is what we need. I'm going to build it out to this where I thought, actually, this is actually a structure that can actually change business and how we do finance within organisations across the board as a whole. So, yeah, it was built out from there. Yeah, so, where we could just control HR, control, accountancy, production cells, etc. For all that information together. So there's more coherent, more you know, a more streamlined flow of information, and I feel like that's where resilience is coming in. Where you have, when there's clarification, you have a clear detail of your numbers, of your stats, of your KPIs, of your margins, etc. You're able to be more productive, be more efficient.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 21:47

That's a brilliant tool and it's something that you can continue to develop and potentially roll out. I mean, it has scope, then, to become even much bigger, doesn't it?

Rachel Kerr: 21:57

Yeah, to a certain point.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 22:00

How do you deal with client demands and deadlines, Because they can be really intense? Because when I was speaking to the potential small business owner out there who's navigating the same way as you, who's probably a financial advisor or consultant, how do you navigate client demands with your own business? So setting boundaries, I guess, isn't it?

Rachel Kerr: 22:22

Yeah, I was going to ask you this question, so I guess at the beginning, when you start up, you just want clients, clients, because you're not getting enough funds. You just want the clients, clients, clients. But I feel like actually take a minute. I'm closing my eyes because I'm thinking about my own ethos, like what is my ethos? You know what are my core values and I feel like once you have that, you can pick and align your clients in order with your core values and your ethics and I feel like that will help to you being a yes person. That will help you to be able to say I have a clear line of who I'm going to say no to and your time commitments, you know. Be honest with yourself about what you can commit to as well. Don't overcommit yourself and then bring your your character on your reputation because you can't fulfil them.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 23:08

That is so true. I mean, you know, because the dynamic nature of the financial industry it's so important to you know maintain balance. But you know, when you're a new business you're trying to bring all the clients in and say yes, but it's striking that balance of what you can actually deliver for them as well. Exactly.

Rachel Kerr: 23:29

And don't be scared to reach out to people around you because along your way to be even a qualified accountant. You would have encountered a lot of people. So stay in contact with those people like a lot of people that mentored me and helped me with tax specialist and stuff like that With my clients. I would have reached out to them and asked and funded by us. So maintain a good, strong, healthy network of other financial experts around you.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 23:53

Let's talk about networking, because it's not easy, isn't it? For for you know, for people, to build a network, but it's like you've built yours along the way, so, for each different stage level of your career, that's how you sort of built those building blocks, isn't it?

Rachel Kerr: 24:11

I thought yeah, that's how it's been. It's kind of been natural, because I'm saying that I'm a naturally awkward person. That's why I said I've always known this so far. You're a unique girl.

Rachel Kerr: 24:20

I don't know like I'm. Some of the issues that I know people in our community phase have been different from me. I guess, like you know, yeah, more passive and stuff like that. But yeah, just building connections, being confident, having the audacity. So yeah, I feel like just my home training helped out. My mum used to tell me I'm a queen all the time, you know. So I walk into a room my head up, strong. When I'm shaking his hand, it's a strong, firm handshake. I'm looking in your eyes. These are the things that build up trust, that, before you even open up your mouth to validate the experience or the knowledge that you have or the value that you can add to the company, is these kind of things as well, that kind of add it. So now I'm uncomfortable having pairings or having tattoos. Now I don't feel uncomfortable having that because I know that I can be assertive. My presence and how I look is assertive in another way how I contact with you. So, yeah, I feel like that's helped a lot.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 25:20

Exactly, yeah, I think, owning the room, isn't it? Owning the space that you're in is important and you are a queen, and once you exude that, that's already the first step to oh, what's the worst that can happen? I've always said you work into a room, you speak to someone, you don't communicate, it doesn't gel. Ok, you keep it moving, isn't it? So you're building a skill.

Rachel Kerr: 25:42

You're building a resilience skill. Same way, you know you're building something in yourself, within yourself. It's all about self, and once you stop projecting about what it's about outside, that's when you can start getting the value.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 25:54

Exactly, you mentioned core values and ethics. What are your core values?

Rachel Kerr: 26:06

My core values will be to be authentic. So I just believe in being authentic, honest and transparent, Mainly because I'm aided. You know, I just don't have the. I can't keep up with the pretence. But you know, I can't keep up with the pretence and I feel like to get the best out of any relationship and transparency is needed, authenticity is needed and, honestly, I want to know what your strengths are. I want to know what your weaknesses are and likewise, I want you to know what mine are, so you can see if there's a balance in how we can actually work towards that. I feel like that's one of my core ethics. Also, it doesn't take nothing. So, as in, it doesn't take nothing, it doesn't take nothing to be kind. It doesn't take nothing to share. It doesn't take nothing to do this for another person, even if it's not in my job role. So I feel like it doesn't take nothing for us to see together. So that's the best way I could describe that additional part of my ethics.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 27:08

Yeah, and for those who maybe might not be watching the podcast, so Rachel has got her tattoos, she's got her face be. She's got her piercings. She is authentic, she really owns you know her look and she looks amazing for the last time I saw her as well. And I think that's it. You have to be the most authentic version of yourself and own that space and you're an intelligent, you know financial director as well, so that's so important. You talked about mentorship and how that's been important and what led you to say actually I do need a mentor in my life and how has that helped you with coping with your work-life balance professional and personal as well?

Rachel Kerr: 27:58

Because I see myself having international success, so I don't see myself being limited to even just being a financial consultancy or just having a software that takes over Microsoft. I see myself being in other industries as well, and international, and so obviously I need mentorship. A leader always needs to know how to, needs to be led, also needs to be teachable. I'm very teachable, I'm very open to new skills and I know I can't manage everything myself. I also need accountability and structure accountability is also good, and someone also to run minding of what you actually have achieved, because I forgot so much of what I was doing because I was just on the go, I kind of really, really forgot. Though yeah, I feel like there's so many different benefits that I've received from having mentorship, but to name a few, those are it so accountability? What else did I say? I know you don't.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 28:58

Yeah, well, someone who, yeah, you said accountability, and also someone who reminds you of your achievements, and I think that you've done as well. Yeah, yeah, and how did you find your mentor? Is it, you know? Was it dropped in your lab or did you go seeking for it? Did you how? One of them?

Rachel Kerr: 29:14

I went seeking for them. One of them. I went seeking for them and I've literally messaged them all the time on Instagram.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 29:22

I love it. I love that.

Rachel Kerr: 29:28

I saw her at an event and then from the event I just started messaging her and then she opened up. Maybe like two years later. She opened up like a mentorship program, and so I was one of the first people she reached out to.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 29:39

Oh, that is brilliant that is resilience right there, isn't it.

Rachel Kerr: 29:44

Yeah, I met Lady Remy. I had encountered her on Instagram again and then I reached out with her and I booked my miniseries session with her and through how I was able to launch my first prototype of my software, I was able to. Well, I saw her down. I got featured in Black Girl Finance, so I don't know if you've read that book by Selena. A few things Also. Through her mentorship I was also able to find out that I did have ADHD. She runs a lot of projects, a lot of programmes well, business boot camps for directors, so I was able to plug into those as well. Yeah, just reaching out, harassing people. If you want it, you have to just go out after it. I believe in my faith, so sometimes it's got to not keep knocking, as I did with you. So, yeah, literally.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 30:47

Do you know you have just described it's sort of like a mini blueprint. So there's a thing about you know you may want to mentor, but you also have to be proactive in you know seeking the opportunities or people that can help you, and also know what you're looking for as well, because you've touched on the prototype of your software, the circles you want to get into. You also have a clear vision for yourself of what you're looking for and I think that helps mentors in terms of how they guide when you already know what your worth, what your value is and where you're trying to take your life 100%.

Rachel Kerr: 31:24

Yeah, that's what I mentioned earlier. So it's a good idea to map out what you want, your goals and actually visualise it right down and start acting there and God will plug you with the. You know you'll start seeing those people and it's for you to take the audacity to actually take the step to reach out or to walk in there.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 31:40

Yes, yeah, so you've talked about Black Girl Finance, so we're going to put that in the show notes so people can have a read of that as well. You've talked about your software. What are some things that you're working on? What are some things that you're working on in your pipeline, or some achievements that you want to talk about that are coming up?

Rachel Kerr: 31:57

So I will be focusing a lot on the financial resilience side. I have created a workshop because I also want corporations to incorporate financial resilience for their staff. So start training their staff on it, Not only on a full business level but also on a personal level, because I believe that people are financially strong and happy with their personal finances, They'll be more productive and efficient within the workplace. So I've created a few workshops on that and also I've been doing my YouTube a bit more, just talking about my ADHD journey and just talking about being a bit more committed to the community, talking about, you know, just strengthening your own financial knowledge. I think a lot of my work this year is on character and very much personal. The software will be launching in March 2024, open to the market and yeah, so a lot of the work just be more personal character work.

Rachel Kerr: 32:55

I do have a Mentory Subscriptions Programme for Young Children or Young Girls age 70 to 17. It's a monthly subscription that parents or guardians can get for a young girl. They get a monthly package in the post. It's tailored around adolescence. It opens up conversations in the home that are often explored outside with friends or society. So I just want to empower the home again, bring those conversations back in the home and actually also give the young girls a safe community where they can explore Any. No question, these staff say they'll be able to have their own online community of girls within their age group and mentoring them. So those are just a few of the things that are working.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 33:41

It's a lot. You're so modest and you're like you know, I've just done these few things, you know.

Rachel Kerr: 33:47

See, see, I see things Amazing.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 33:52

You know the thing about the mentorship for 7017 and making it relevant to now. I was listening to a podcast and Scott Galloway was talking about how he's writing a book about masculinity now, so something that's relevant for young boys growing up now and I think that's similar with you. Know, our young women, our young girls they need advice, mentorship related to what's going on in this world. You know, when I was growing up, there was no social media. There was no, so there were different challenges with we're navigating and now it's how do we mentor, inspire, bring those conversations back to the home so that we have empowering young women, going out there into the community and living their best lives, exactly?

Rachel Kerr: 34:39

And young girls are not waiting for teenage years when they're ready to go and being programmed by outside. I think that's the dismemberment there a little bit. And what you can do is stuff through young boys as well and definitely included them stuff like that, because I feel like they can get left out a lot of the times also. So you want to include them, to be having the same program and getting something nice and packaged in the post, you know.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 35:06

Yeah.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 35:08

Yeah, I mean amazing, and the fact that you know you talked about I'm Rachel Kerr. First, you're owning it all, all sides of it. I'm looking at this blend diagram. So you're in the middle. There is the business, there is the family, there's the neurodiversity, there's the software, there's you giving back to the community. It's really inspiring and also one of the reasons why I wanted to have you on the podcast, just to showcase that as well. You know, yeah, yeah. So, circling back, we've talked about so many things. One of the things I've learned during the podcast is when we talk about trailblazer takeaways. So this is you summarizing the tips you'd give to a younger self or your children. What would they be?

Rachel Kerr: 35:59

Your life like an organization. You are the entity Definitely.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 36:07

I need to go on a t-shirt. Yeah, yeah, that's a good one. That's how I say it, that's it. Yeah, oh, that's brilliant, I mean, rachel, thank you so much for your time. I think it's a really very colorful way of demonstrating the fact that you've started your own business. We will hear from you in the future and I look forward to inviting you back onto the podcast to tell me how it's all going. But thank you so much.

Rachel Kerr: 36:39

I appreciate your time, so thank you very much. I look forward to seeing your podcast grow and be back again.

The Trailblazers Experience Podcast : 36:45

Definitely, and we'll put all the things we've talked about the organizations, et cetera in the show notes so people know where to find them. So this is Trailblazer's experience podcast. You know where to find us. Tell another woman about the podcast and thank you, thank you.

Rachel Kerr: 37:04

Thank you so much for your time.