Sandra Jeffery has been involved in the finance broking industry since 1991 and is the Managing Director of SJ Financial Services.
She is passionate about helping people to obtain the right finance for their business or personal lives and works to help educate her clients, looking for the right solution for each circumstance.
With this in mind she launched an industry first; creating the Credit Ready Program to ensure participants are in the best possible credit position before taking out a loan and develop effective money management skills for now and into the future.
- Tell us a little about your career path
I moved to Newcastle in 1991 and I actually started working at NBN. That’s where I met my husband, Nat Jeffery. I was working in the newsroom, sort of involved a little bit in media.
After that I moved into finance brokerage; so I pretty much started with a brokerage company which was Sydney-based, and they wanted to branch out to Newcastle. I started that job on an entry level and I worked up to a management position. I left that job when I had my second child and basically started my own business, and the rest is history.
- What are the key skill sets leaders need?
I believe that leaders need a good attitude, integrity and self-discipline.
They also need vision and they need to be able to develop the basic skillsets of their staff; so it’s pretty much staff development. And being able to see your team’s strengths so that you really leverage those strengths over the weaknesses, so basically those weaknesses become irrelevant. Self-discipline; I believe that leaders need that discipline themselves. So I think these are the skillsets that I probably work with myself.
- What motivates and drives you?
What really motivates me is just wanting to be a better version of myself.
Spiritual and personal growth is a really big thing for me, so I say they are the two things that motivate me the most.
- What is one action or task you ensure you incorporate into your diary each week?
I like to have a routine every morning and it really sets up my day. Each morning I like to get up at 5am and I will read and I will also journal. I like to do some yoga, I love taking my dogs for a walk; so when I walk my dog every morning, I put some headphones in and I listen to an amazing motivational speaker.
When I come back, I like to meditate for at least half-an-hour and then I start my day, and I just think it’s the best way to actually start your day.
- What local businessperson do you find inspiring?
To be honest, my girlfriend Lisa’s Sutton Gardner; we’ve been close friends since our early 20s. We’ve watched each other’s careers grow; she’s an amazing businesswoman, she’s a great mother and she’s a fantastic leader. So she inspires me and I just feel like she is who really motivates me.
