"Surviving a failure gives you more self-confidence. Failures are great learning tools.. but they must be kept to a minimum." Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO of General Electric.
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upfront
elp you in your office!’ is exactly what Lee Corrigan, owner/operator of Canberra Secretarial Services loves to do. After 26 years in the ATO, Lee found that there was life after the public service when she set up her business Canberra Secretarial Services. According to Lee, she "helps people to do the things she loves doing, and that her clients generally don’t like doing." This can include assistance with office administration, document design such as leaflets or advertisements, one-on-one help with using a computer, editing and proof reading, data entry, MYOB bookkeeping and office re-organisation. “My clients not only enjoy their clean and tidy offices after we have done a big re-organisation but they work far more efficiently due to the fact that they don't have to waste time searching for things that need to be at hand,” Lee. said. “The process pays for itself in time saved by my clients once they are organised.” Lee also loves the variety of the work undertaken by Canberra Secretarial Services. “Nearly every day something new and different comes in. We have had projects involving scanning photographs and creating DVDs, designing and printing Christmas cards for businesses, and producing books for special occasions.
"One book we created was for a young woman celebrating her 18th birthday and included photographs and good wishes from people from all over the world," Lee said. “We have also sorted chronologically and stored in folders, 60 years worth of hand written letters for another client. The client now has a wonderful legacy to leave to his children and grandchildren and the letters are protected against any further damage," she said. Lee admitted that because of the demand for her skills, her own business reached saturation point. She then quickly brought on three part-time staff who shared her passion to manage the business' workload. Lee has her next business challenge firmly in her sights. "My next challenge is to move to bigger premises and I am working on that,” she says enthusiastically. “I get so much satisfaction seeing people realise that by employing our services it frees them up to use their valuable time to do what they do best – which is generally earning more money. It can't get better than that!” Canberra Secretarial Services, 7 Painter Place, Palmerston, T: 6241 770 or 0427 559 446 lee@cansecserv.com www.cansecserv.com
Photo: Ross Corrigan
Canberra Secretarial Services: helping you sort out your office
Lee Corrigan, owner/ operator of Canberra Secretarial Services
Bendigo donates $50,000 for local OzHarvest van
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zHarvest Canberra, a food rescue service has a new van following a $50,000 donation by Calwell and Wanniassa Community Banks Branches. The local branches have used a percentage of their profits to purchase a new van equipped with refrigeration and signage. Since its commencement in February 2008, OzHarvest Canberra has rescued more than 300,000 quality meals which would have otherwise ended up as landfill. Calwell & Wanniassa Community Bank’s Chairman Jayson Hinder said directors of the local branches were constantly on the look out for worthwhile community organisations, which will benefit from the bank’s profits. “What better community organisation than providing food to local charities, which are run by volunteers dedicating their time to rescuing unwanted food,” Jayson said. “Our Community Bank directors and staff and I’m sure our shareholders and customers, are thrilled to be able to assist an organisation such as OzHarvest Canberra,” Jayson said. The latest community grant is one of many already delivered to the community since the Community Bank branches inception. Other significant community contributions
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March 2010 | B2B in Canberra
include $10,000 to Tandem Respite, a not-forprofit organisation which provides respite, personal care, and other support services to more than 600 children, young people and adults with disabilities, people with mental illness, frail older people, and their families and carers living in the ACT community. The board also allocated funds to ACT Eden Monaro Cancer Support Group, Autism Asperger Association, Down Syndrome Association,
Neighbourhood Watch, Kulture Break, Lions Youth Haven, RSPCA and numerous local schools. “Our Community Bank branches have met their primary goal of providing personal and business banking services to the district while also making significant grants to community organisations and providing shareholders with dividends,” Jayson said, “This is the tip of the iceberg. As our business continues to grow, so too will the benefits to the community.”
L-R: Alan Hodges, George Kelly, Jayson Hinder, Maureen Cane, Toby Mahoney, Terry Godfrey, Deb McLellan, and Peter Groves