Astute Ability Finance Group among Australia’s best businesses

Astute Ability Finance Group has been shortlisted as a finalist to win in the Best Community Engagement Program and Best Customer Service categories at the 2018 Better Business Awards, partnered by NAB and hosted by The Adviser, a leading publication for Australian mortgage and finance brokers.

In 2017, Mhairi MacLeod JP, Principal of Astute Ability Finance Group, and her team delivered a series of financial literacy and entrepreneurial seminars to teenage audiences at the International Football and Tennis School at Kariong, TLK Alesco at Berkeley Vale and the Bateau Bay Neighbourhood Centre.

Now in its fifth year, the annual Better Business Awards recognises individual and group excellence across 18 award categories.  All category winners are eligible for the coveted Broker of the Year Award. Mhairi will be in the running for the Editor’s Choice Award, which recognises an individual’s outstanding contribution to the broking industry.

Mhairi said she is humbled by Astute Ability Finance Group’s nomination for a Better Business Award, after scoring nominations for the Women in Finance Awards, the Australian Broking Awards and a NSW Finalist in the MFAA Excellence Awards in 2017. “Astute Ability Finance Group’s recognition for its excellent contribution to the Central Coast community reinforces the strength of the brand in connecting with the community and engaging with our customers,” she added.

The winners of the 2018 Better Business Awards will be announced at the state award dinners between 15 February and 15 March 2018.

Working with teenagers

Astute Ability Finance Group’s entrepreneur seminars have opened the eyes of many Central Coast teenagers to the opportunities involved in owning a small business. Mhairi noted, “We delivered the program to 30 students at the International Football and Tennis School who are in the last term of year 10 and are starting the Year 11 curriculum for Business Studies.

“It is a very interactive program that enables the students to work on business plans and marketing strategies with the objective of delivering a start-up business by the end of the 5-day program,” she said. “By the end of the week at the International Football and Tennis School almost 90% of the students identified that owning a small business was a viable alternative to being an employee.”