Financial Secrets Revealed

Susanne Bransgrove

October 20, 2021 Amanda Cassar
Financial Secrets Revealed
Susanne Bransgrove
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Show Notes Transcript

 Welcome to the Financial Secrets Revealed podcast episode where Amanda Cassar introduces Susanne Bransgrove, Founder of Families in Transition, LiquidGold Consultants and now the Women in Family Business Network.

I first met Susanne, now lovingly known as Susu when she was working in corporate firms in the finance sector in Australia after moving out from Germany in her early twenties.  Today, she runs the largest support group in Australia to deal with the challenges faced by women working in family businesses.

Susu, is a third-generation member of a family business and is dedicated to creating positive change for others employed in family businesses.

She bravely shares her journey including financial setbacks and having to rediscover her own beliefs around money after walking away from a relationship and how she now manages her money.

“We spend a lot of time thinking about money and give it power that it doesn’t need to have in our lives.” – Susanne Bransgrove.


Links
The Women in Family Business Network  (Company Website)  

Resources — The Women in Family Business Network (Relativity Podcast Episodes)

Susanne Bransgrove | LinkedIn (LinkedIn profile)

Women In Family Business - Australia & New Zealand | Facebook (Facebook Page)

Episode 2 – Amanda Cassar — The Women in Family Business Network  Joint Podcast Episode of Relativity – Susanne Bransgrove & Amanda Cassar 


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Or follow Susu’s adventures on Instragram @womeninfamilybusinessnetwork 

 

 



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Intro:

Hi, I am Amanda Cassar and welcome to the Financial Secrets Revealed Podcast, where I have collected the wisdom from some amazing people around the world to understand better their money story. I have financial advisors, multimillion dollar corporate executives and those surviving on Centrelink, even running global charities. I hope you enjoy listening to the episodes as I speak with these incredible people about their

Amanda:

Hello, and welcome to the Financial Secrets Revealed podcast. Today I am joined by my friend the sassy Susanne Brandsgrove. Now Susanne and I go back a very long way. So that means she's now called Susu, not Susanne anymore. Now, she used to be in financial services many, many moons ago and left the dark side to become self employed. So corporate land is in her rear revision mirror, which is where I first met her. And she once asked me why I was self employed when corporate land seemed to offer so much more. So, we'll have to delve into that conversation a little later today. Thank you for joining me, Susu. story.

Susanne:

Thank you, Manda Moo, as obviously as what I get to call you

Amanda:

We're going totally casual today.

Susanne:

Been so many years. And it's always funny, being reminded as to what life used to look like, you know, so many years ago, and certainly if you would have predicted where I stand today, I would have just told you don't be so silly. You don't have any idea what you're talking about. So, there you go.

Amanda:

Well, you'd gone from I suppose business development roles in some of the larger Australian corporates and then made a massive leap of faith, I suppose, after a series of redundancies and disappointments, to set up your first business, Families In Transition, which is much more where your passion lies. And I suppose there's been quite a few incarnations of what you're doing since then. So can you please fill us in on on where you're at now and how you got there.

Susanne:

Well, as you sort of so beautifully put a few redundancies I call it the global financial crisis, it really was one redundancy that prompted a completely different journey. You did leave out one business, of course, which started, actually truly started this journey, which was Amplify Governance. And as you might recall, really, sometimes I would love to tell the story, how I very meticulously have plans, where I find myself today and what it is that I'm doing. And I could always see that in my future. But that's infact not the case.

Amanda:

Yeah, I can definitely laugh at that.

Susanne:

So I just disappoint myself a little bit with that, but, but it is exactly. I'm standing in the spot that I should be standing in and Amplify Governance and the redundancy. And I sometimes like to joke about that's where I got my soul back is but started this journey, working with family businesses, in the beginning, truly on the business governance side, and then through Families In Transition, working on the family governance side and handholding family members. Much more, and really starting to help them understand the importance of aligning family, managing relationships, good communication and then of course, business rigor sits on the other side of that, but it's been really quite an amazing journey. And there's so much I have learned in that time. And I do still learn something new with every single family I work with, which I'm very grateful for.

Amanda:

Now you are a third generation family business owner yourself. And your history actually starts in exotic Europe all the way back in Germany. So can you fill us in on what life was like I suppose for you growing up. What influences there were and how you ended up in Australia and the land down under

Susanne:

Germany is so exotic too isn't it, especially North Germany, where I come from.

Amanda:

There's beer and sausages hey, that's exotic, right?

Susanne:

Yeah I'm pretty sure, you know, it's a very similar climate to London, so not very exotic at all. As you mentioned, born in Germany, I'm a third generation, our family business related in the shipping industry. Our family business is actually 376 years old. So my grandfather, quite the entrepreneurial thinker, did purchase this business of the last remaining family member of the original family that owned it and when I say my grandfather bought it, he was quite the nifty entrepreneurial thinker. So I wondered just exactly how much money changed hands and back in those days.

Amanda:

He was corporate raider. He was a pirate. He swooped!

Susanne:

Yeah let's not delve into that too much. But it's, so, one thing I can say, when I talk about it, you know, how did I end up here and this is where I should be is that family business tends to be in your blood, their conversations that you get to listen to and just ways of dealing with employees or suppliers and business in general, that is very different in a family business than what you would experience in corporate. And I can honestly say that because I have experienced both, so I can draw that comparison. My dad, of course, was the controlling figure in our household and he now is the the major, actually no, he's not the major shareholder any longer. We're in a management buyout, but that's a completely different story. But for most of my life, that I can remember my dad controlled the business, the family, the purse string, so certainly was a very strong influence from a business mind and thinking perspective and how to make financial decisions, where my mom was really the the emotional influence, and was the nurturer of the family. And I sometimes like to joke that I got my business sense from my dad and my emotional capability from my mom, and I'm really happy about this, if it was the other way around, I will probably be a bit screwed. Because I'd be somebody who didn't know anything about business, I wouldn't I wouldn't even care about it. I wouldn't care about anybody else, either. So I was quite fortunate with getting the best of both worlds, I'd like to think,

Amanda:

Yeah, and you tell the story of how I think your parents were basically war babies. And there was a massive sense of scarcity around and the feeling after, I suppose both wars really. So you told me about these women who were involved in rebuilding the cities after World War II, and I'm gonna have a crack at this German word. And you're gonna laugh at me. So they were referred to as the 'Trmmerfrau'

Susanne:

That was pretty good. It was a bit ok, was a bit of a grrrrrr in

Amanda:

My 8% ancestry German, just kicked in.

Susanne:

Because, you know, you sort of make it sound German exotic, right?

Amanda:

I'm still working on that. So can you explain what these rubble women, which sounds much more exotic in German, actually, did, it's a it's an amazing story.

Susanne:

So just to put the hard German pronunciation, we called it Trmmerfrau

Amanda:

That's exactly what I said.

Susanne:

No but you made so much more sexier then that.

Amanda:

In Spanish.

Susanne:

Obviously, after the second World War, or actually, through the second World War, a lot of men were either lost, or completely so they lost their lives, or they ended up as prisoners of war, or they did come back disabled or severely impacted. And so, and of course, this is destroyed as the male population was so with the cities. So Germany was severely bombed. And so rubble really is exactly what the cities looked like. But to be able to rebuild and move on, you had to somehow start creating order into in the chaos and start removing some of the rubbish in the rubble and create a foundation to be able to rebuild from and that's exactly what a lot of the women did, they started to get to work even before the men were released to put some order and some structure back into you know, what the city landscape and allow for new buildings to take place or for renovation or anything that needed to happen for a rebuild, to take place from so they were very instrumental and very selflessly and working tirelessly to create, to create that foundation for rebuilding.

Amanda:

I remember you also saying that back then, because of like you said, the scarcity of men full stop, let alone able bodied, that the man was the plan, financially. If you could find someone from a wealthy family, that was the way to secure your financial personal and family's future. So aside from I guess, secretarial school, finding, you know, an able bodied capable man who could still work was was a really big deal.

Susanne:

And secretarial school is exactly where my mum found herself.

Amanda:

Oh, there you go.

Susanne:

Of course, a little bit. So in my mum's generation, slightly different because, of course, it was more an issue as to how many children there really were and and how many people survived. So German families were very small. And, and I think there weren't many wealthy people as such, anyway, but some families fared better than others. And so as you pointed out, quite rightly, for whatever reason, but certainly in those days, your livelihood was secure through your husband's ability to feed the family and create financial means and hopefully more than just getting by. And so what that unfortunately does is that women learn to just live with whatever they have to live with to keep that family or keep that man in their lives and make sure that their children or their offspring are secure and that they don't have to suffer. Which is very different to how we get to make decisions. In particular, on the financial level. We make decisions based on our view of the world to certain extent, it's not we're being selfish, but we had the opportunity to generate or have our own path forward, and we don't, for one second, think these days much anymore that we need a man to be able to get by. It's nice to have them in your life, but we don't probably need them as much as my mother did. back as those days.

Amanda:

Very different generational issues that we're facing, isn't it? So you grew up hearing lots of conversations about business and always loved the idea of money. So you took yourself off to study banking and finance in Bremen, after high school. So even I think you had said your work experience was in a bank. So finances has always been something that's important to you. So how did you go from there to moving out to Australia?

Susanne:

Oh, yeah, I forgot about that part didn't I. You're quite right, it's actually funny, because some people, well my mum sort of used to ask me at some point, you know, why did you want to pursue this banking and finance career? And I think what I didn't say was because I like money, which is very strange. I think my relationship with money wasn't quite always as positive as it was in the early years, I certainly was a lot more this matter of fact about it back then. But, met an Aussie playing hockey, here in, not here in Germany, but there in Germany, and he mentioned that the weather was much better here so fair enough, he was right on that. So that's how I ended up here. Once I finished my qualifications there. And that's yeah, the rest is history as they say.

Amanda:

It is indeed. So the best financial advice you've been given. Now, I know you've got these double degrees in finance and accounting, but I'm guessing what you learned probably wasn't from a university study. So what is the best advice you've been given financially?

Susanne:

I'm sort of wondering apart from the advice of my amazing financial planner gives me that's definitely the best advice I could possibly ask for. Love you long time. It's interesting, I think, as the case with with most of us, we need to find our own relationship with money and our own pathway, I do think, which is it because if I look back, my, my dad certainly did his very best to instill a very strong sense of order, and budgeting when it comes to life, when it comes to money and how to live with money. One thing that's quite funny is that even today, he still lectures me on spreadsheets and budgeting. And I know that this is his way of showing me he cares.

Amanda:

It's his love language.

Susanne:

I have to admit for, for a long period of time did I live by that. And until the day when I met somebody who didn't have the same relationship to money and didn't have the same ethos around that I did. And unfortunately, as much as I said, before, that I live my life very differently. In regard to how my mum used to live, there was a probably some, something that I must have learned from my mom that made me that, that ended up with me forgetting who I was, and making financial decisions that weren't, they weren't quite,well, lets just say they weren't the best decisions that I made. And, and I forfeited securities, safety, and actually, a sense of self and understanding how I should be making decision to make somebody else happy. And I don't have to really tell you how that ended up. But certainly, those were the kind of lessons that you'll never forget. Because if you live them, then they're you know, they are part of your understanding of how money really works or how your decisions that you make impact you for the long run. So yeah, that's probably the best way I can look at it.

Amanda:

Yeah. So you've come from this quite structured background, you've lost yourself in this relationship. I think you once talked about it became chaos in your life, I suppose emotionally, financially in many different ways. And you had to rebuild so it's a beautiful segueway to the next question of, you know, have you had financial setbacks so, yeah, massive, and then how did you recover from that? So for people who, who sort of think oh my god, this is the end of the road I'm, you know, at the end of my rope, how, how do you turn things around after that to make good again?

Susanne:

That's a really, really long question. I'm trying to work out how to how to structure it up, but , so yes, in short as you said, I did hit rock bottom when it comes to pretty much all parts of life. I was, I'd like to sort of think I was mentally emotional and financially pretty broken and, and in the end, it's nobody's fault, but my own. And to turn that around is a whole lot of hard work. Because once you've suffered setbacks like that, that scarcity thinking rather than abundance, thinking as part of something that's part of your life, and it's really been a long journey to turn that around, and just keep stepping forward and this key, I look back and understand what part you played in that. So there's no point blaming others for the situation you find yourself in, and that takes a little bit of time and healing, but then to look at the lessons that are within t, and it might be just build the life back up the way you probably should have always lived it and make the decisions the way you probably should have done them or made them in the first place into bit by bit gain confidence and that and just keep stepping forward, one thing I started to realize is that there is not a situation in life that you can't find a decision for also a solution for, there's always something you can do. And it might not be where you would like to be put in a perfect kind of scenario. But there's always a step forward. And there's always a way that you can find, to create something positive about the situation that you're in. And I think for those listening, the one thing I can say is, it might be really, really hard to start with, and there might be a lot of fee involved in it. But if you just keep persevering and this keeps stepping forward, then it just starts getting easier and easier. But the lessons that you have learned and and the discomfort that you had to grow through to get yourself forward, those things will be the foundation for your life. Nobody can take that away from you. And so don't be ashamed of where you might have ended up. Because in the end, in the long run or in a few years time, nobody will care about what happened to you back then or the decision that you might have, they'll see the progress that you've made.

Amanda:

Yeah and I suppose it's the one thing that I know, both you and I are committed to and it's this lifelong learning, like never stop learning. And, you know, you've gone from this very structured, you know, the budgets rule, cash is king kind of background. And also, I suppose there was also the, I suppose the very Western view of success meant a nice car, a nice house, good clothing, the outward trappings of what looks right. And you know, you've come out of this, like you said, pretty broken and could only afford $100 a week for rent. So thank goodness for wonderful friends. And I suppose the ability that you had to go back to that original training of going right, I need to implement this budget, again, I need to understand where every dollar is coming and going. So that foundation, I think probably put you in good stead to move forward financially. Of course, it takes a lot longer, I think for the emotional scars to heal. But yeah, you had that that grounding, I guess to move on from.

Susanne:

Yeah, absolutely. And it's interesting, because when you go back to what feels right for you, there's a lot of pleasure in enforcing the habits that you used to have in the first place. So every first of the month, when I pay myself, I just get such pleasure out of putting money into it's spread accounts. And having the discipline around having a budget for the month. And you know, it's really interesting, because I observe myself at the beginning of the month, and I'm quite, I'm by nature, I like to be generous if I can, I tend to be in the first 25 days.

Amanda:

When you're account's a bit fuller.

Susanne:

By the time I get to the last five days I got, hmm I might have to sort of..

Amanda:

Tighten that belt.

Susanne:

But I try not to delve into my savings, I actually tried it. So I do set myself almost a daily budget from what I put aside and I know that there's then there's extra for things that I want to spend money on that actually it's a really quite strange satisfaction to get to the end of the month and have some money left over and put that aside or what to be able to do something and to sort of live within your means. I think there's nothing wrong with enforcing a little bit of scarcity as far as not having this instant gratification occasion. Yeah. And to be able to just sometimes say would you actually really need this right now? And most often the answer is no. And it's really changed my my spending patterns like you know, I don't get joy from shopping, I just get what it is that I actually need. That doesn't mean I don't buy a nice dress or a nice pair of shoes. But I do buy that if I feel that I that I really do need it. So it's changed my relationship to materialistic goods to money significantly, but it's taken time.

Amanda:

And there's something you mentioned there that seems to be such a common theme. And I know many financial advisors swear by it, but live within your means. I think we do live in such a materialistic world where the entire role of marketing engines is you know, to part a fool and his money pretty much, that you need this to look successful, to be a better dad, to be a better person to be whatever it is that they're touting that day, you have to spend the money on these magic products right now. To, you know, to have success, you must buy these tampons so you can run on the beach. You know from..

Susanne:

What if I don't want to run on the beach.

Amanda:

Handbag, you're sort of sitting there going, OK, enough already. And like you said they'd become, it becomes stuff and you end up with either wardrobes or bookshelves or houses full of stuff that doesn't even bring pleasure

Susanne:

No,that's why I look back and as painful as it was, anymore. it's created a much better life with very different, I said this the decision making is definite, as to know what really matters. And I'm sure this is a common theme and thread that you hear from most people you talk to when they have a difficult event, they turn around many years later and go, that was the defining moment, as painful as it was. And as much as I don't wish that on anybody. But to overcome into have the resilience and to rectify almost say, areas where you've just got, you've just taken the wrong path. And just this fix it even if there was a cost involved in fixing that. I think that's, that's something that you can look back on. And and yeah, nobody can take that from you, as I said, is, you know, many people probably do define that as this one moment. Right.

Amanda:

So you once told me that with the, I suppose the business lessons, definitely that the relationships come first. And it's it is just money. But you also gave practical tools about having, I think you said something about having a year's worth of fixed expenses, or whatever you can afford to put away within three months or six months in an account. So it was taking longer, I suppose to build up that capital. But if it's also part of your dream, then never give up on that. And I thought that was a very practical point, as well.

Susanne:

Yeah, there's no doubt and I often do get the chance to talk to some who are inspired to start their own businesses, and certainly having the ability to turn around, as you said, and say, absolutely follow your dreams. Dream if you have a vision, you should definitely follow it. But make sure that before you jump, you have at least a certain amount of cash in the bank and just understand that it always takes longer to build something, and then you then you think because other people don't operate on your timeframe. Thats the problem.It's always thoer people not doing what I want them to do. And then I'm like what is this.

Amanda:

Another lovely lady I interviewed for the podcast, they moved down and to from Darwin to the Gold Coast and set up shop and they're like, why isn't the phone ringing? Doesn't everybody know we've arrived? The dream was there. The activation of it and the practicality. So with all these lessons you've learned, I suppose, you know, we've got these and again, intergenerational lessons. What is your personal favorite form of investment?

Susanne:

My businesses?

Amanda:

Ok, brilliant. Well you've invested a lot in them, so.

Susanne:

Look, it's a really interesting one. As you might know. I do, having left corporate, I do struggle investing into a construct that I don't personally believe in. So ethical, sustainable investments are my preference, and well, where I like to, to invest the ability to have positive impact, as much as possible. I'm actually much more at peace investing into businesses that have a similar philosophy or or view on life as I do. So I tend to find every time I invest in something that's corporate linked, it never works out for me. So I've, I've decided to give up on that. So certainly, that that would have to be my favorite investment.

Amanda:

Yeah, there'scertainly a trend and I know you're a Gen X, but among the millennials or Gen Y that that is their preferred form of option now, either social impact, or, you know, the ethical form of investing. So it's not going away. anytime soon, I think there's going to become a tidal wave,well I hope so.

Susanne:

It's interesting if you looked at it, and there are really good reasons. So I was talking about this, because I'm passionate about it. But there's a huge shift, what they call the lifestyle of health and sustainability, which we're seeing an increase in investment in those kind of products and services, about 10% per year. And that has been the trend for the last 20 years, and that is your Gen X and Millennials are driving that. But interestingly, also women are increasingly financial decision makers, they tend to have well paid jobs, even from a family business intergenerational, you know, when when assets change hands women are much more now beneficiaries of that and women make different decisions by mostly. They tend to make decisions based on purpose and why and passionate in the same way that let's talk about impact and sustainability. So I think we're gonna continue seeing that trend. So that's, that's not gonna finish here. You're quite right, the tidal wave, good reasons for it.

Amanda:

The other thing I wanted to ask you is having worked in corporate and now gone out into the financial world of owned business, which can be much less, I suppose, regular for income, you can have feast or famine. Do you see any advantages in working with financial professionals? Or are you a much more DIY girl?

Susanne:

Well, admittedly, I like to think of myself a little bit as DIY girl. But the reality is, I don't have the time to invest into researching or actually, quite sometimes I just don't have the time, full stop by not even for myself, especially not what it's like. The reality is we not the best people to make financial decisions for ourselves and that's one thing I certainly have learned over the last years. Having somebody who can be your sanity and your and your, you know, the person who sometimes can sort of wave their finger and say, now now, you know, you should or shouldn't, as much as I may or may not, as you know, very well. But having said that, I will I do, you know, I'm incredibly grateful for all your, you know, when you're gently checking in and saying, hey, you know, is that time you should,

Amanda:

I didn't mean this to be applied.

Susanne:

No, I know that, but it's just, it's the truth right. And I have come to come to value that these days, a whole lot more than I probably did, especially when I was not, when I was struggling, or when, when I probably didn't quite understand the value of the advice that was given. So hindsight is a beautiful thing. And I can honestly say, there's a reason why you should have people alongside you who are objective and are able to just hold you accountable and hold the straight line when it comes to whether it's insurance, whether it's super, whether it's investments or divestment. Realistically, you know, I'm probably the worst decision maker when it comes to that, because, um, my bias is, you know, will keep me where I already, you know, where I'm comfortable. And so, the financial advisors role assisting is incredibly important from that perspective.

Amanda:

Yeah. And I think the accountability, like you said, is one of the main reason people do use financial professionals, I guess, apart from the strategies and ideas, like you said, you don't know what you don't know. But I also just love the idea of outsourcing things that I don't have, the time, the headspace, or, you know, it also allows you to focus on what you're good at. And if you're, you know, best role is to be sitting in front of family businesses and helping them and that not only gives you satisfaction, but brings your income in. Then yeah why wouldn't you outsource anything from your ironing to your financial planning.

Susanne:

Yeah I'm with you on that one. And I can guarantee you, if you left it up to me to get like income protection, or TPD, or whatever, it wouldn't happen.

Amanda:

And you're not the only one, you're definitely not the only one. Well, thank you so much, Susu, for sharing your insights with us. Very interesting, having a slightly different background to many and really appreciate that.

Susanne:

Thanks so much. It's always a pleasure sharing. So and I have to say some of the questions were been harder than than I thought there would be, but

Amanda:

You thought you'd get off light with me. You really?

Susanne:

Thank you so much.

Amanda:

Thanks again.

Outro:

And that was another episode of Financial Secrets Revealed. Thank you so much for joining me. I hope you got some nuggets of wisdom out of that guest and enjoyed listening to their story. If you'd like to know more, please reach out to me my contact details are in the show notes, or hunt down your favorite bookstore to find financial Secrets Revealed and learn more for yourself. I look forward to hearing from you